Sawaha Sumra

Feeling so very loved...

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Three Laws of Robotics

2012-01-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Primarily introduced through the 1942 short story "Runaround"by Isaac Asimov

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

sA

2012-01-21T11:03:00.001-08:00

Reminders of Beauty

2012-01-20T15:56:00.001-08:00

In bloom

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Love is..?

2012-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

Originally published in Huffington Post (feel free to comment there or here):

Krishnamurti defines love as the intense will, resolve, and determination for liberation from samsara (the round of births and deaths), and for union with God. And Charles Eisenstein, author of Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition, defines love in one instance as "the expansion of the self to include others" in the viral YouTube video "The Revolution is Love" (which I highly recommend viewing in its 5 minute entirety below). Tying these two definitions is a love predicated on the dissolution of the self, the me, the I, a "perfect unselfishness" (as Krishnamurti called it)---whether it be in the service of and gifting to others or the will to be one with God. It is interesting then, when we look at the cultural manifestation of romantic love---in movies, music, poetry--- that we would be compelled to possess and own the other, or a depend on the other to provide that love one must build within to gift to others..."Baby I want you," "I can't quit you," "I need you," "Please come back to me, I NEED you. I am alone without you," etc...These "yous" that are NEEDED by "me" are usually humans, sometimes, as in the case of Rumi, Hafez, and others, they have been metaphors for that will to be one with God. And as one of my spiritual guides reminds us "Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love." So what is the appeal of associating love with possession and ownership? How have we come to be compelled with this application of "love"? Can this even be love?

There are no shortage of definitions of love, so why did I think to put the two in conversation with each other? For me, these two definitions do not just create a crossroads of meaning when intersected but more so, the saliency of the connection is that one is a mircocosm standing in for the macrocosm. How can we hope to perfect that consummate unselfishness to merge with One, if we can't first practice that with other humans? Why should we even be qualified to receive to the peace, love, mercy and grace of God, if we cannot even be that for the other? Krishnamutri closes his section on love (one of the four qualifications on the Pathway) by asserting, "For if you yearn to be one with God, it is not for your own sake; it is that you may be a channel through which his love may flow to reach your fellows."

And this is my lifeblood...

2012-01-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

So clean...

2012-01-14T23:08:00.001-08:00

Deepak Chopra on "Science, Consciousness & God"

2012-01-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

DEEP.

"Consciousness explains physical laws but physical laws do not explain consciousness."

"Selective attention and intention is an attribute of consciousness."

"What is the most primal experience of life that we have? It is our subjective experience of reality. and this reality is within consciousness."

"Pure consciousness is infinite possibilities."

One thing---Nothing---Everything

2011-12-24T17:05:00.000-08:00

A Sufi once said: "Every religion serves a Divine purpose. Hinduism
teaches us how to master the body. Buddhism teaches us how to master
the mind. Judaism teaches us how to master the intellect. Christianity
teaches us how to master the heart. Islam teaches us how to master the
soul."

word to 108.

#Dec15 #GratitudeDay

2011-12-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Sunday morning in Hong Kong

2011-11-26T17:53:00.001-08:00

Sun is bursting on crisp water this morning and the view of Victoria Harbour is clear and inviting.

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Location:South Ln,,Hong Kong

TO YOUNG AMERICANS OF SYRIAN ORIGIN

2011-11-18T12:53:00.001-08:00

A little known poem penned by one of the world's best selling poets, Gibran Kahlil Gibran, in the July 1926 issue of "Syrian World" (NYC's first Arab American English newspaper):

TO YOUNG AMERICANS OF SYRIAN ORIGIN
By Kahlil Gibran

I believe in you, and I believe in your destiny.
I believe that you are contributors to this new civilization.
I believe that you have inherited from your forefathers an ancient dream, a song, a prophecy, which you can proudly lay as a gift of gratitude upon the lap of America.
I believe that you can say to the founders of this great nation, "Here I am, a youth, a young tree whose roots were plucked from the hills of Lebanon, yet I am deeply rooted here, and I would be fruitful."
And I believe that you can say to Abraham Lincoln, the blessed, "Jesus of Nazareth touched your lips when you spoke, and guided your hand when you wrote; and I shall uphold all that you have said and all that you have written."
I believe that even as your fathers came to this land to produce riches, you were born to produce riches by intelligence and labor.
I believe that it is in you to be good citizens.
And what is it to be a good citizen?
It is to acknowledge the other person's rights before asserting your own, but always to be conscious of your own.
It is to be free in word and deed, but it is also to know that your freedom is subject to the other person's freedom.
It is to produce by labor and only by labor, and to spend less than you have produced that your children may not be dependent upon the state for support when you are no more.
It is to stand before the towers of New York and Washington, Chicago and San Francisco saying in your hearts, "I am the descendent of a people the builded Damascus and Byblos, and Tyre and Sidon and Antioch, and I am here to build with you, and with a will."
It is to be proud of being an American, but it is also to be proud that your fathers and mothers came from a land upon which God laid His gracious hand and raised His messengers.
Young Americans of Syrian origin, I believe in you.

BBC's One Block in Harlem

2011-10-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Although it starts off with a questionable introduction about the subject matter: "Harlem: It means ghetto, political activism, impoverished despair" it is worth hearing my former master's thesis advisor, scholarly mentor, the late Manning Marable's analysis of the historic meaning of Harlem in the black imaginary.

"Harlem was a school for civic education"-Manning Marable

Part 1:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/mobile/documentaries/2011/02/110202_one_block_harlem_tx_1.shtml

Part 2:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/mobile/documentaries/2011/02/110208_one_block_in_harlem_tx_2.shtml

On Spirituality & Religion

2011-10-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

Although it can be problematic to see the two as isolated binaries, I once had a friend brilliantly characterize the difference between spirituality and religion:

Spirituality is an experience with the Divine

Religion is an explanation of that experience.

My new job

2011-09-14T18:29:00.001-07:00

Sometimes there is an upside to flight delays.

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Location:Propeller Ct,,États-Unis

Old world beauty solutions

2011-09-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

at "Old World" prices, aka "I get all my beauty secrets/tips from my younger sister 10 years my junior." And I wanted to share my natural beauty product discovery with my online family: using Rose Water sold at Middle Eastern markets as a post-face wash toner. High end brands like Kiehl's will try to market the low-cost natural remedies as skincare delicacies by adding pretty packaging and rose petals in order to justify boosting the price. This one from Kiehl's sells for $16 (ignore the link polyvore forcibly added as part of me using the website image for the product). But...

Kiehl's Rosewater Facial Freshener and Toner - Toners -... (clipped to polyvore.com)

You can get the same version from Sadaf at either your local market's "ethnic food" section, a Middle Eastern grocery store or your mama and baba's food cabinet for $2.50 (obviously the last option would be even less).

West LA Farmer's Market

2011-08-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's Farmer's Market I scored the deals thanks to my Arab-dar and liberal use of the Arabic. A Tunisian vendor gave me the below six items at more than half off!

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Location:Mississippi Ave,Los Angeles,États-Unis

UPDATE on Family in Latakia

2011-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers, duaas and concerns from friends and folks from the worldwide brotherhood and sisterhood I have not yet met. The latest word is that my family in Latakia seems to be safe. They have quarantined themselves in their apartment---that being the safest retreat from continuous round of shelling from the outside. I have also been told that there are electrical and water shortages. Apparently CNN is reporting that the Syrian regime, sounding too much like a Tom Cruise suspense fantasy flick, is declaring a "Mission Complete" in Latakia.

This is a photo I snapped last year of the newly built Rotana resort hotel on Latakia's invitingly warm waters. May beauty and calm befall the residents.

Please Pray for Latakia

2011-08-15T15:22:00.001-07:00

My mother's family in Latakia continues to endure the daily terror of the Assad regime. A few days ago, the Syrian navy shelled this city. I have no idea how my family there is doing. In the meantime, please join me in praying for them and their fellow country folks' safety. Maybe even contemplate calling your representatives and find out the US government's strategy, policy and position on responding to the regime's reprehensible violent response to demonstrators and protesters. Below are photos of the seaside city I took almost a year ago to date as my siblings, mother and I visited her family in Latakia.

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Obama on a "Debt Limit" in 2006

2011-07-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government can not pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

- Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

Lovely

2011-07-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

Surprise sunflowers in summer...Gentlemen still do exist.

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Location:NYC

Visual History on Atlantic Avenue

2011-07-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

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Location:Pacific St,,États-Unis

Hard to leave

2011-07-05T03:19:00.001-07:00

So far, one of my most favorite corniches in the 'Arab world'...literally a five minute walk from my uncle's home.

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Location:Beirut, Lebanon

And so it remains

2011-07-04T00:37:00.001-07:00

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Location:نيكولا ربيز,,Liban

Drool...

2011-07-03T09:33:00.001-07:00

At Diwan Heliopolis in Cairo

Mi filosofia de vida

2011-06-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Si o no?

2011-06-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

...to the sexified "I Love Lucy" dress? Please disregard the accompanying hairstyle.

Happening right now

2011-06-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

Partaking in some homemade tajine in Rabat while speaking on world politics in Darija/French and watching M6 #BeautifulHosts

Seaside at Oudayas

2011-06-22T03:08:00.001-07:00

I look dumbfounded by the intensity of this heat + humidity moment in Rabat.

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Location:Rabat,Maroc

Hassan II Mosque

2011-06-20T09:03:00.001-07:00

Or "Hassan deux jama3" if you are attempting to instruct a red "petit taxi" with your mix of Syrian dialect and limited French.

This mesmeric (complete with interior escalators---take that over-the-top sheikh zayid mosque!) half a billion dollar masjid pushed out slum-dwellers with no compensation. What the postcards won't show you regarding the the "view"

And of course the wall-E mobiles:

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Once you have seen one Arab corniche

2011-06-20T08:56:00.001-07:00

You have seen them all

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Location:Boulevard Franklin Roosevelt,,Maroc

"Toma La Calle": Revolucion España 2011 continues

2011-06-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Named "15 May," a continuation of the protest that started in Madrid's Central Plaza that took place on the 15th of May has organized a nation-wide "manifestacion" (or protest) the day after I leave. Below are flyers all over Granada publicizing the movement by Los Indignados :

Apparently there is a twofold shock with this movement:
1) People that would not normally participate in political protest (as opposed to the typical activists) are the dominant participants and organizers of these protests.
2) They have spread to the barrios of Spain. This was unprecedented, especially since the stock leftist activists and anarchists don't have a presence there.

My de facto office in Granada

2011-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

"You know, you are the only one we allow here to use our Wifi (weefee) and not consume anything." And beyond that, they bring me mint limonadas as I comb through the massive back files of writings due months ago. This is one of the Spanish waiters I have come to know in this past week and a half at my de facto office, known to others as the Casa Pillar lobby/restaurant. Unlike many of the Spaniards I have come to know during my visits to Madrid and now Granada, he speaks English fluently and initially caught me off guard when I first met him. I walked in entering through the bar side of the restaurant/lobby focused on finding an open cushioned wicker chair to prop me and my mobile offices on for hours. He started reading the Arabic name plate necklace my father bought me years back from Abu Dhabi. Although I have come to find a sizable community of Moroccans and Syrians in Granada, I was thinking: what is this Spanish-looking man doing reading Arabic? So I asked in Spanish. And he responded in Arabic: "I lived in Tehran for 7 years." Even more confused, I later asked, "how and why did you learn Arabic in IRAN?" It turns out that his mother converted to Islam while he was young and moved the family to Iran after marrying an Iranian man, where he went to school and learned Arabic as part of his standard grammar school education. I come to learn more about him everyday that I am here, and close down the place with my attempts to coordinate my skype sessions with my PST family, friends and work colleagues.

And this is one of the beauties I have come to know of traveling as an independently 20-something woman, the almost instant connections that emerge out of everyday, sometimes even transactional, experiences. It's unfathomable to think that I only have two full days left here, especially as I am only starting to apprend a conversational level of Spanish, getting my navigational bearings down, and fostering friendships with affable locals.

This happens everyday...

2011-06-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

and thank the Creator for mysteriously designing me with most miraculous metabolism to handle it!

Of course, as a testimony to the inferiority of the Spanish cuisine, the heledaria considered the best in Granada is an Italian ice creamery branch (and compared to its adjacent competitors, much more reasonably priced).

If Paris Hilton was an adoring teenage fan of Justin Beiber who also moonlighted as a drug dealer...

2011-06-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

She would have this swarovski encrusted mobile device as her second phone:

"No, no, I mean, where are you FROM FROM?"

2011-06-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Title for my next academic article about the politics of being.

Bab-ilicious

2011-06-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Tunis must be the 'entrancing' bab capital of the world
(I am well-aware of my nerdiness, perhaps I should create a category for it):

the old city

Sidi Bou Said

Beauty of Tunis

2011-06-06T10:29:00.001-07:00

View from La Marsa

If they tell you that the role of social media in Arab Spring is overblown...

2011-06-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

...don't believe them.

Downtown Tunis

Sidi Bou Said

2011-06-05T01:46:00.001-07:00

Allez les bleus

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Location:Tunisie

Sometimes your paradigms need a little shifting...

2011-06-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

...especially when it comes to my impressions of Parisians (well maybe only need to do the shifting for the African Parisians).

It's 1:13pm/13:13 in Paris as I write this. I am sitting in Air France's Business Lounge I bogarted my way into. This has been but one part of a series of events that speak to the good fortunes I have experiencedsince boarding my flight in LAX. As soon as I landed I started time strategizing for what I thought would be an impossibly lengthy layover. Given that most airlines will not check your baggage more than 5-4 hours before a flight, I was thinking about a master plan for dividing the 9 hours before my next flight. Since I did made the bookings, LAX-CDG and CDG-TUN, separately, my luggage did not continue on to my final destination of Tunis. I approached the ticket counter with my apprehension given that I was an American who was going to "ask for something altered." Afterlaughing at my Arabic pronounciation of "Tunis" (as it sounding like me saying "To Nice" in English), the Air France ticket counter clerk told me it was my "lucky day" and checked my luggage in 9 hours before my flight. I then re-entered terminal 2 with my carry-ons. As I was unloading my electronics on the scan trays I realized my phone was missing. I was sure that I left it out at the chairs by the ticket counter as I was re-arranged my the content in my carry-ons to consolidate three bags into two. As I walked back, my mind was racing, preoccupied with "next steps": find wifi connection, go onto my mobile me account, locate and wipe the phone, etc. I thought it was long gone within seconds of leaving my sight. When I returned, I saw a young woman on a phone that appeared to be an iPhone. She looked at me and realized it was my phone. She was calling mycontacts to find out the owner's name! I thanked her profusely and returned to the security line. And now here I am at the Business Lounge I probably was not suppose to be in feeding on chevre, perrier, and free internet with French news playing in the background.

On the Eve of LAX--->Paris--->TUNISIA

2011-06-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

One of the intentions with this blog when I started it almost four years ago was to track traveling escapades and the tandem thoughts that joined them in that voyage. I am sure, although a night very much like tonight, one given to an atmosphere of nervous excitement, I never thought I would be blogging about an impending trip to a post-revolution Arab/North African country---especially the one that weathered the storm for Arab Spring to bloom. Less like four years ago, when I was preparing to spend a month and a half in my parents' homeland, I have naturally resolved to expect the unexpected and oxymoronically, to eject the expectation of the unexpected. I find that when I enter a place, space, situation tabula rasa only decorated with the vow to have good intentions, that I am the recipient of splendid serendipity, or as I learned today, "rhyming events." I guess that's an expectation to be surprised by adopting an expectation-less approach.

"This won't give you back Congo"

2011-05-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

If you don't know about the world's deadliest conflict since WWII, let these youths school you"

My non-hydrogenated baby

2011-05-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

At double the price, the glass jar, Italian-imported version of the creamy hazelnut/chocolate spread is well worth the out of town trek and the elevated price-tag.

Interview with "There is No Spoon" blog on Malcolm X with Dumi Lewis, Zaheer Ali, Fouad Perez, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, and Fatima Ashraf

2011-05-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

I was invited by the good people at "There Is No Spoon: Cliff Notes for the World Now" blog to join in on this historic conversation about something that has turned out to be my quarter life's work (podcast is located at the end of this post, or click on the podcast hyperlink to be re-directed to the post on TINS blog):

Podcast Episode 5: Malcolm X and Hero Worship

On this episode of There is No Spoon we discuss the legacy of Malcolm X. X has become an icon of human rights activism, Pan-Africanism and Islam. Panelists Dumi L'Heureux Lewis (City College of New York), Fatima Ashraf (Community Activist), Fouad Pervez (Georgetown University), Ibrahim Abdul-Matin (Author of Green Deen),Mayatha Alhassen (University of Southern California) and Zaheer Ali(Columbia University) discuss the recent publication of Manning Marable's "Malcolm X: A Life of Re-Invention" and its influence on X's legacy.

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Gastroporn by way of Trader Joe's: Black bean & veggie tacos

2011-05-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

I "kinda sorta" (look at me employing my academic words in non-academic writing) cheated here, but not without good reason. TJ's introduced a cut veggie cooking pack---which I think they actually introduce and re-introduce frequently. This one bursts with a colorful mix of baby carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, red onions and acorn squash. As for the black bean interior, I cooked an organic can of black beans with pico de gallo salsa from my farmer's market, cilantro and tomatoes, and spread it on a blue corn tortilla. And the best part is the topping---a couple of dollops of Greek yogurt---this multipurpose magic murders sour cream any day. Try it and be pleasantly surprised and use the remaining amount to blend a date shake and call it a tex-mex-a-rab fusion night.

Gastroporn by way of Trader Joe's: Ahi Tuna steak salad with veggies and quinoa

2011-04-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

In the past year I have been gradually limiting my consumption of all food products that I don't know the ingredients and origins of. Being several steps away from growing my own crops and tending to livestock, I have decided upon exclusively buying food from Trader Joe's (with the exception of produce which I pick up at the farmer's market, local specialty ethnic markets, and random runs to Whole Paycheck for certain unavailable products at TJs). Considering that TJ's plays musical chairs with its inventory and compared to most grocery stores has a modicum amount of products, I thought I would share my attempts at making this formula work for me, by making Trader Joe's Gour-met (said gor-met). Here is what I cooked tonight for dinner:

The ahi tuna steak (pan seared in EVOO and lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon) salad rests on a bed of herb salad sprinkled with Italiana-mama dressing, quinoa sweetened with floral water/olive oil sauteed cranberries and almonds (my chef friend suggests that I try saffron butter next time---so looking forward to it) and rounded out with oregano and basil seasoned farmer's market veggies that were also sauteed in EVOO.

Now, being the overly-elitist quality snob, there are two food items I am having a hard time settling for at TJ's, its EVOO and balsamic vinegar (not to mention the atrocious roasted seeds they call coffee). Any suggestions for the best of EVOO and balsamic vinegar in LA?

I got my copy of "I Speak For Myself"---the book I contributed to...

2011-04-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

And look at who is reading it right now...

This might have something to do with it...meaning look who's name is above my head:

So the question is, do you have yours? You can either pre-order it for a dramatically reduced price through our website (www.ispeakformyself.com) or through me for a reasonably reduced price (apparently I need to work on this whole saleswoman thing).

My interview with DJ Halal on One Legacy Radio

2011-04-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's clickable!

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

Thanks to DJ Halal for inviting me on and for designing a great set of questions.

Few people know that I am part Mexican

2011-04-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

And here is the proof:

Prince's Dance Party for the People

2011-04-15T12:06:00.002-07:00

I thought Sting was out of his "got damn mind" for coming back for a third encore after a 3 hour set at the Hollywood Bowl last year. But then there was the Purple One, His Royal Badness, the High Priest of Pop, the artist known as Prince, who came back for 5 ENCORES!

Prince's concert at the Forum in Inglewood last night was preceded by chitter-chatter around the uniqueness of the LA part of Prince's national tour. Announced last week on the George Lopez show (who coincidently opened up last night's show by imploring the packed house to "welcome Prince to our hood"), Prince's series of dates in Los Angeles were to all take place at the Forum in Inglewood, not at the Staples Center in the bustling, emerging locus of "new Los Angeles cool," not in the suburban haven of the Hondo Center in Anaheim, and tickets went on sale two days before the first show for $25 (that's even after exorbitant ticket master processing fees were added). 80 percent of the tickets sold went for that amount, while the floor seats hovered in the hundreds. But that still didn't serve to exclude the party people from joining in the dance party.

Although my friend who purchased our tickets struck the ticket master que "best available" seat lottery, meaning we started out with an incredible viewing experience, we somehow ended up in the FRONT ROW by the night's end. The series of pictures will demonstrate our progression.

Performing for a total of 3 hours plus with an outstanding band (the bass player was ridiculous!), a trio of thick curvy, powerhouse female singers, a ballerina and of course, Sheila E., Prince thrilled the crowd with favorites (preferring them over "B sides from the 2000s"), rocked out to guitar solos, jumped up on his purple piano, and of course invited guests to the stage to join him in this dance party for the people (thankfully kim kardashian was no where to be found). Experiencing a Prince concert like this, and finally emerging from my doctoral program cocoon to enjoy art as a spectator and, yes DANCE my hips away into the wee hours of the evening, sparked so many thoughts in my head about the role of the artist, the role of the entertainer, the therapy of dance (collective dance as well), and the power and gift of experiencing creation, the exhibition of an artist's creative gift to the world. Perhaps this will be unpackaged in a future post, but for now enjoy my spectacular view of the purple one as caught by a iPhone 4 lens:

"Me, we."

2011-03-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

-Muhammad Ali

The UCLA Rant seen 'round the world

2011-03-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

In spite of the fact that UCLA poli-sci student Alexandra Wallace made the decision to remove an ill-conceived youtube "rant" titled "Asians in the Library" and issue an apology, a re-posted copy has already reached close to a million views on youtube and inspired many responses and spoofs. Demonstrating white privilege at its finest, Wallace simplifies Asian students into one monolithic category who's right to be admitted to UCLA and to be considered "American" she resolutely calls into question without the blink of an eyelash. I cannot wait to show my students this tape so we can un-package her rhetorical convictions. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think:

Here is a response from a non-UCLA student:

MY USC EDUCATION FOR FREE (new series): Race the Power of an Illusion

2011-03-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

I first watched this series as an undergrad at UCLA in my African American Politics class. Some years later, the central arguments in the film about the legal and political significance behind the construction of race and whiteness in the US, remain as a part of my lexicon.

If you are even remotely interested in the construction of RACE in the US and have a modicum of knowledge about US legal and political history on citizenship, naturalization, and public policy like the post-WWII GI Bill, you need to watch this film (available online for viewing). My students are watching it as we speak:

http://video.nku.edu/index.php/videos?task=viewvideo&video_id=1180

and please take a look at the producer's recommended resources, and maybe even take the test:
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm

On presence

2011-03-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, It empties today of its strength."

worrying empties one's ability to be present, in the one. my mind fixed on future, with no productive promise for the moment, why do we do it? why does a human animal have a propensity towards worrying?

The Tree of Life

2011-03-09T22:45:00.001-08:00

shajara

"a green tree amid dry trees"

We need a new word

2011-03-09T22:36:00.001-08:00

how we have cheapened it:

also see entry 1: see: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=awesome

MLK Jr & the Montgomery Bus Boycott: "The Montgomery Story"

2011-03-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

a 50 year old comic book was recently translated into Arabic by the American Islamic Congress:

this is what an ice blended date shake looks like

2011-03-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Ahmed Abdul-Malik - La Ibkey

2011-02-28T03:04:00.000-08:00

a find for all you enthusiasts of 78rpm recordings of world music

2011-02-28T02:40:00.000-08:00

and my man at Excavated Shellac makes them available for free download!:

It’s been my philosophy that good music is best when it is shared. Of course, nothing beats that feeling, say, when you alone break open that box from Turkey or Indonesia, place the fragile platter on the turntable, only to feel your hair stand on end when the music begins. The feeling that you’ve never heard anything like this before in your life; it transports you to a place where words are irrelevant. But part of that feeling is thinking how you’d want to share that with others, to have them feel exactly the same way. This music – old music – never sounds “old” to me, personally. In fact, I believe that it is music of THE FUTURE. Our future.

Record collectors are eccentric people. I don’t even like the term “record collector.” They’ve been parodied far too many times. Accurately, I might add. But I could not live with myself as a “collector” without at least one person I could share sounds with. So this blog is for my friends, and for you, stranger.

If you like what you’re hearing, drop me a line. Yes, yes, it’s okay to download everything and then leave, but seriously – if you feel so moved, give me a shout out!

The Rebirth of Uni-tasking

2011-02-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

I definitely can be accused of occasionally sipping from the multi-tasking koolaid ( I type all this up as I have 25 tabs open on my Chrome browser and interrupted my cultural Anthropology reading to post this.). But seeing the futility in such an approach, I'm determined to convert to uni-taskism. As Steven Aitchison and the Frontline special "Digital Nation" * forcefully argue, multi-taskers are less efficient and productive then folks on the straight and narrow path of task completion.

The Death of Multitasking and Rebirth of Unitasking - by Dumb Little Man

*btw, you can not only watch the full episode online for free (and watch it on netflix), but you can download the podcast, and the podcasts to most former

"Only the British could get away with something like this "

2011-02-24T20:36:00.000-08:00

Black licorice throat lozenges

Hat tip: Tim C

James Baldwin on Writing

2011-02-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

...which could easily apply to anyone who considers him or herself an artist.

Baldwin opens his tribute of sorts on Richard Wright in his collection of essays Nobody Knows My Name with these apposite observations on the writing process and a writer's personality (of course touching on the bipolar psyche of the writer that craves human/social connections while simultaneously allowing those connections to fuel his or her misanthropic isolationism).

In "Alas, Poor Richard":

"Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always seem untimely . This is because a real writer is always shifting and changing and searching. The world has many labels for him, of which the most treacherous ins the label Success. But the man behind the label knows defeat far more intimately than he knows triumph. He can never be absolutely certain that he has achieved his intention."

"The writer's greed is appalling. He wants, or seems to want, everything and practically everybody; in another sense, and at the same time, he needs no one at all; and families, friends, and lovers find this extremely hard to take. While he is alive, his work is fatally entangled with his personal fortunes and misfortunes, his personality, and social facts and attitudes of his time. The unadmitted relief, then, of which I spoke has to do with a certain drop in the intensity of our bewilderment, for the baffling creator no longer stands between us and his works."

On the Khaleej

2009-04-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

3/24/09, Abu Dhabi

"Be steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity, and never let the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: (for) that is closest to piety. . .God has promised forgiveness and a great reward to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness." The Noble Quran, 5:8-9

There is so much that you can’t learn from a book or a phone conversation, so much learning and understanding that requires you to just be, be present. Although I have strongly held this belief in the past, it is nice and necessary to be reminded of this axiom in my travels. From Beirut, to Cairo, to Muscat, and finally, to Abu Dhabi; it has been the conversations in Toyota Prados, wondering looks at a coffee shop in downtown Beirut or out of a cab in Cairo, and questions posed walking through Marina Mall that have greatly enhanced my understanding of the cities I have been visiting and the people I have been meeting.

It’s interesting how Abu Dhabi, by virtue of it’s association with the yogurt cup Las Vegas of the Middle East, has garnered an international reputation that regards its accelerated expansion as indication of a diluting of culture and distancing from tradition. Some how culture has died, been cremated and had its ashes spread across the rubble that remains from skyscraper construction. Yesterday morning proved otherwise.

My aunt took me to the Mena first thing in the morning. The intention was to shop for some fresh seafood at the fish market by the bahar. Before we did this, she drove through the adjacent fruit and vegetable market, some imported, and some organically grown on neighboring farms. Next, at the fish market we selected from Sultan ahmar and shrimp, had them cleaned and left them to be grilled while we touring around the plant and flower market. Oversized Tunjaras and stirring spoons were piled on top of each other and varying spices were stuffed into label-less plastic bags on top of each other. Was this the same Emirates much derided for its “plastic-ness,” for a hollowed out soul filled with skyscappers?

On Family

2009-04-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

3/27/09, Abu Dhabi

Today I missed my family-not even in a collective way-but each one during separate moments. I thought about my mother as I prayed jummah at the mosque in Abu Dhabi today. What was it about the khutab about youth, the garden of heaven and the mamluks that reminded me of her? I don’t really know. Maybe it was seeing all the women there together that stirred an emotional reaction from me…probably my subconscious sneaking in a wake dream from a thought earlier in the morning. As I was getting ready for the mosque today, I thought about how khalo insisted that I say hi to mom, in the same way that my ummo, Allah yarhumwho, on his deathbed emphatically reminded dad that he had a good wife. It made me think, my mom is a good woman, and I need to honor that. She was put through hell with her extended family and her own family, her brothers and sister don’t understand her. I am very lucky to have my mother.

Hatta, I even really missed my dad last night and I can’t recall when it was, but I know it was a specific trigger that engendered a specific thought. And as I was watching home videos with ummo's family in the family room after lunch, I thought about his namesake, my brother. One of my cousins explained that when his dad even tried filming his brother back in la during the break, he wouldn’t listen as he was too distracted by the laker game. Then I said out loud, “well, yeah, they are obsessed. They watch every Laker game that is on.” That’s when I thought about the organic ritual that sprouted out from a skyview lane family room: all of the family gathered around our cloth covered leather coaching, dad on in master sofa with ottoman attachment throne, my mom’s tiny frame squeezed into any available space in one of the two couches crocheting the same sweater from last year, my brother bobbing his head and body off of the couch- slinging their amateur commentary onto the flat screen. I thought about my brother’s reaction to a missed free throw or last second 3 pointer shot. I missed him deeply. And even talking to my sister on the phone earlier today-for as much as it was too much about my brother’s dubious life choices, I missed having her there. To run to her, to find someone who understood the lunancy of the situation and also one who really knew all dimensions of it.

I missed middle brother as I explained to one of my male cousins about his hidden talents. As I write this, I think about a mantra that I promulgated to all on my trip: that boy, man, is the kindest hearted human I have ever known. This is not said lightly, in any respect. When you are around people 24 hour/7 much is illuminated and little of their character can be cast in shadows. I say this because I have been able to see parts of people in my life that were not too obvious before this trip. So, to confidently maintain this opinion about my brother is further corroboration of his benignity.

What Makes Me Happy...(Part II)

2009-01-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

Inspiring a child to be enthusiastic about learning-even if it is about about a eurocentric literature canon.

Earlier yesterday my sister switched off reading pages and passages from Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor Casterbridge" while waiting for a doctor's appointment at an urgent care facility. Her initial hesitancy, best manifested/demonstrated in her insiduous attempts to weazle out of the reading by claiming that she lost the book, soon turned into an engaged reading session-as we stayed, parked on my driveway 10 extra minutes before going inside to finish up a chapter. And is my pathetically nerdy attempt to generate a deeper interest in the text. I call it the high school, celebrity-focused gossip girl approach :

Me wrote at 4:47pm
dude-i can't believe he sold her to the sailor! I wonder how that relationship is going to work out. What do you think?

Sister wrote at 5:07pm
omg idk!
i think he is going to treat herr better than her drunk husband!
i should find out huh?

Me wrote at 5:07pm
yes-and im in the market to find out with you!

Things that make me happy (Part I)

2009-01-25T17:29:00.001-08:00

Kids that maintain a vivid imagination marked by precocity-one that does not let the visual cacophony of our everyday lives encroach on its boundaries. I was reminded of such gloriousness when I stumbled upon a short story written by my youngest brother at age 7, BVG (before video games):

Once upon a time there was a snake named Dalegman meaning “one with two legs”. Dalegman was hated among his snake tribe, he was an exile. The reason of his exile was because he had a birth defect that made him grow 2 legs. Dalegman thought that the other snakes were jealous of him having 2 legs. Dalegman lived on his own ever since he was exiled from his tribe. He hunted, fought his own battles, built his own snake burrows, and gathered his own resources. He had the ability to survive and he learned to be clever and sly. He now realized over 7 years why he was exiled when he had found the snake sanctuary’s special writings, the writing states: “…Snakes who are two legged due to the fact that the first snake was different and two legged tried to change us all but failed….” Dalegman would show the tribe that two legged should be respected as others should be to. He was planning an invasion against the tribe. One year later Dalegman appears among the village hills with an army of other snakes from other parts of Snaky-Planet. Dalegman charged forth killing no one but showing how indignant he was because he was an exile. After the invasion, Dalegman convinces the tribe about respecting not only others but different types of snakes. Soon Dalegman is promoted to King Snake and makes sure no one hates one another because al snake has two legs.

Blood Money

2008-12-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

2/16/07
My idealism/optimism is at times, so intense and good-intentioned, that it is sometimes becomes exceptionally destructive. Sitting at the 6th floor lounge awaiting a 2pm Arabic Conversational Class, I had to fight with all my might, (employing various strategies) pin-point an area in the room far from concerned eyes to stare at, to hold back my effusive tears-Tears elicited from the trapped ideological position I was put in when I read about Adnan Khashoggi’s infamous involvement with the Reagan administration in Iran-Contra, his making a good chunck of his millions brokering arms-dealing for the US government. I felt dirty, compromised, and like an outright hypocrite by association. There was another feeling too, despair, lost hope in Arabs, in Arabs concerned for the betterment of Arabs, in disgust for Arabs who sell out, and cash checks that are tied to the killing of Arabs, all this blood from our blood! I felt dirty, thinking about the birthday party I attended for him in Cannes, for eating cavier, enjoying the extravagancies of that elite lifestyle begotten out of arms-dealing-blood on my hands, dripping from my fingertips, smearing letters on my keyboard. Blood Money.

Bragging about my grandfather’s association with the depraved billionaire. Unfairly placing judgment on my deceased grandfather who has no means of defending or explaining his political friendships. Why would he associate with such a man? How was this freedom fighter, engaged in, actually leading, anti-colonial resistance against France in Syria, continuing his commitement to Arab people? What of all these secret talks with Arafat and Lebanese politicians to reach peace agreements and advance the self-determination of Palestinians? What of all this when he was closely associated, possibly finanacially-backed by a man who aided the US’s conscience-deprived imperialist mission to kill Arabs and control the fate and cash register of the region?

I am struggling to hold back the tears as I type this, as I prepare to re-engage with the insensate academic community….

And this woman, two tables away, in front of me stares at me…I’m wondering if she is trying to watch CNN’s incessant coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith death or if she’s trying to read my soul…

It astounds me how disconnected people are from other people, from sensing the vibrations of energy emananting from people around. How did we get so disconnected? So bad at reading people, at knowing when to cover a hand, ear, or heart for the energy that vibrations on high soul-singing/speaking octaves, eyes that express inner turmoil

Day 6: Taybanah wa Mareedah-Me So Sick

2007-07-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

Day 6: On Assignment From Damascus
Getting sick sucks, but getting sick in a foreign country with no water at night, intermittent electricity (which means no AC in 107 degree weather), a foreign country experiencing it's hottest summer on record and no dependable Internet connection is a death sentence. Ok, perhaps I'm being a little Paris Hilton bougie-esque about this

From the limited view of my bedside view I'd like to ask, why is it that every Damascene seems to have premium satellite television, flat-screen TVs, high-end cellphones, badays!, and yet considers it normal that there is no water at night, that it takes 10 minutes to open up one page (that is if you are stricken with a virus to shut down all your operations in the quarter of your ten minutes of loading), and that the electricity goes off on and on whimsically.

To be fair, as aforementioned, this is the hottest summer on record for Syria. With temperatures 107 and 108 consistently hit for the past week, Damascus is experiencing hotter temperatures than Abu Dhabi! Who knew that was possible! As such, the Minister of Electricity has warned, that because of the unexpected heatwave, water shutdowns and electricity cut-offs will increase in the month of August and will continue through September 15!

Wow, didn't I pick a perfect time to visit Damascus for the first time in my life!

As stated, I have been horribly ill for the past 4 days (out of the 6 I have been here). Today marking the first day I had solid food and didn't vomit water, and today also marking the last day to register for classes for Arabic language training. As such, my plans for Syria have been significantly altered. That will be discussed in a future post (assuming that my next location will have Internet access!).

Anxiety-Ridden Hesitation and Excitement

2007-07-25T01:41:00.001-07:00

These are the polar sensations I drift back and forth from as I think about words that I need to learn to explain my father's Syrian citizenship should airport security prevent me from entering the country, as I envision a life without the faces in frames around me, and as internalize what it means to step in the watan of my parents as my own without them...

All these thoughts and many more careen into each other the night before I leave for Damascus.