Strange Bed Fellows
Posted on | August 24, 2010 | No Comments
Let me start by saying that organized religion and I parted ways many years ago and I usually refrain from interfering in “matters of faith.” The current hysteria around the location of the proposed Cordoba center is a bit of different matter. It’s only superficially about religion; it is actually about the core of our nation’s moral principles. It is about freedom of religion and the right to express one’s faith in public without fearing persecution. They say it is not about the idea of the mosque itself; it is about the location. Location location location! a chant more convincing when it comes from real estate agents. They seem to believe it more than the pundits, “experts,” talking heads, etc… who sell their hard-line misinformed opinions on every talk show looking for hot button issues to whip their audiences into hysteria in a quest for ratings. The more I thought about this, the more I realized that the current hysteria benefits no one except the most extremist and hate filled fringes in both directions.
Al-Qaeda and its fans would love nothing more than to see the abandonment of this and any other project to create a faith-based community center that would promote interfaith dialogue. In fact they would go further than that and offer a public flogging of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife for thinking up a project proposing to promote socializing between Muslims and “infidels”. Al-Qaeda will do even more to punish Ms. Daisy Khan, (the leader of the project,) for daring to speak in public to a mixed crowd of men and women with her head uncovered. I say if you really hate this project so much, you should have a group of the most radical Taliban come over and take care of it for you. That way you won’t risk being called a bigot. In fact you can even stand and demonstrate against what the Taliban would be doing while at the same time cheering them on in secret, which is not at all far from the scenario you have scripted yourself into at this moment in time. The Taliban would be so delighted to snuff out any flicker of light that attempts to break the opaque hate filled clouds of extremism that have gathered around this project. I am sure they have not forgotten or forgiven Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf for his eulogy of journalist Daniel Pearl whom they had slain in cold blood in February 1st, 2002. Here’s the full text of the eulogy. You decide for yourself.
Lens in, Help Out: NOLA’s High Resolution Disasters
Posted on | June 22, 2010 | No Comments
Since this disastrous oil spill started I have been unable to stop thinking of just how much I love the crescent city and how sad it is to see it face yet another dark day in its very recent history. There is not a single day that passes that I do not browse through countless pages of news feeds in an attempt to stay informed, but most importantly, constantly on the look out for that most recent piece of news telling that hellish BP hole has been plugged and that no more black poison would gush out of the earth’s guts.
I still remember Katrina and the destruction it brought to the great city of New Orleans. Up to that point I had heard of how exciting a city it was and managed to make it there for a first visit the spring before Miss Katrina unleashed her devastating power on the city and its inhabitants. In hind sight that gigantic storm seems like a manageable disaster compared to what is unfolding right now in the gulf. Katrina came and was gone and people, while battered, hurt and mourning, could once again take stock of the damage and go back to doing something they are so adept doing: rebuilding their homes and restitching their community lives back together.
I remember the intense sense of helplessness mixed with anger every time I saw images or video of the chaos that unfolded once the hurricane winds had stopped blowing. I did not know what to do to help. TV screens everywhere were broadcasting crystal clear footage of people left to fend for themselves. Helicopters were hovering all around and celebrity reporters able to reach people who were going through hell but basic supplies like water and food were not reaching them. They could be interviewed and photographed but not provided the water they needed. There was a symbolic contradiction: if you can reach a victim to film her can’t she also be within reach to grab a bottle of water?
These days I am constantly staring at the eerie colors of those thick jets of crude oil spilling out of earth’s guts and poisoning the waters of the gulf, and all ocean water for that matter since all the world’s oceans and seas are connected one way or other. And in this case too am floored by the paradox of having access to the gushing geyser of crude oil to photograph and film in high definition video and the seemingly impossible task of capping it. Once again we are doomed to stare at the nightmare in the face without being able to blink or reach over and wave it away.
Catching Water in Motion
Posted on | June 6, 2010 | No Comments
Over the last few years photography has become such a wonderful creative outlet for me. Nothing else makes me feel as relaxed and as full of playful and youthful joy. I love figuring out my way around the camera, shutter speeds, lighting, apertures, etc… I wish I had time to take a course or two… I am sure there are much easier ways to do all the things I am trying to do but I am certainly loving the process of teaching myself through trial and error…
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Posted on | June 6, 2010 | No Comments
The Face of Morocco’s First Amazigh TV Network Revealed
Posted on | January 9, 2010 | No Comments
It’s a golden star engraved with what looks like synthetized versions of traditional Moroccan jewelry. Inside the star is a the digit eight corresponding to the number this network carries in Morocco’s roster of publicly funded TV channels. Below the star sit two versions of the channel’s name first one in Tifinagh alphabet. Read left to right the letters correspond to: T-A-M-A-Z-I-GH-T. Below is an Arabic rendition of the same name.
Morocco Launches First Amazigh TV Channel
Posted on | January 7, 2010 | No Comments
In a party organised yesterday in hotel Hassaan in Rabat, the Communication Minister and the government’s official spokesperson, Khalid Naciri, announced the launch of the Moroccan Amzigh TV. The launch of Amzigh TV is considered a very important event in the Moroccan audio-visual field. It is the eighth Moroccan TV channel that uses Tarifit, Tamazight, and Tashlhit (Berber languages) in 70% to 80% of its programmes. Moroccans have been waiting for this TV since the Ajdir royal speech in 2001 where King Mohamed promised to take into consideration the Amzigh cause and make it one of the State’s priorities.
Khalid Naciri stated that the Amazigh TV channel will be a remarkable audio-visual space that will consider carefully the cultural diversity and integrity of Moroccans. In his speech, Ahmed Boukous, the Director of the Royal Institution for Amazigh Culture, deemed that the new Moroccan TV is a “historical event” that will lead to a new vision towards the Moroccan identity of which Amazigh language, culture, and civilisation are parts of its development.
On the other hand, the Director of the new Amazigh TV channel, Mohamed Mammad, gave a presentation about the programmes that will be aiming at social, economic, cultural, and sport shows. Also the TV will air talk shows and debates of Amazigh scholars and members of the community. The Amazigh TV channel that required two years of technical and producing preparation will broadcast six hours everyday from Monday to Friday and ten hours during the weekend.
It Looks Like Tamazight in Morocco Will Finally Have its Own TV Network: About F*&*%ing Time
Posted on | January 6, 2010 | No Comments
It’s delayed for a few days but not totally abandoned. The project of a new TV network to cater to the needs of Tamazight-speakers in Morocco seems to be almost on track for launch within days after being delayed from an earlier launch date of december 31st. This is a major step in correcting long decades of marginalization, and sometimes repression of one of Morocco’s oldest indigenous languages. Hundreds of cultural associations and miltants have been pushing for this for a good part of the past century. The channel promises to devote 70% of its broadcasting time to programming in Tamazight. The remaining 30% will be devoted to programs in other languages including Arabic.
For any out there doubting the power of TV or any type of “moving images,” for that matter, in one’s own language, I have a story to tell you. Back in the early 90s, one of the first movies to be released in Tamazight came out. The title was Boutfounast (The Cow Owner). It was a comedy about a band of small time thieves conspiring to steal a cow from the home a very clever man. In all honesty the movie was a pretty crude attempt at the art of cinema and left a lot to be desired. The only thing that made it stand out was the language it was shot in. It was Tamazight. I bought a copy and brought it home. Put it in the VCR and asked my mother to come and watch. She sat down and was totally mesmerized. All of a sudden my mother became competition when it came to using the remote control. Up to that day she probably never even touched it. My father came home and my mother put the movie back on and was in control of the remote. What ensued were a few weeks of very frequent reruns. My brothers and sisters and I started seriously thinking of making something happen to that video tape.
But beyond the anecdote, what became clear to me is that my mother and father like millions of other Moroccans were basically left out because they happened to speak the “wrong” language. The situation gets a lot more sinister when one thinks of access to civic, health, administrative information etc…It was not until the new millenium that a law was passed to allow Tamazight speakers interpreting services when they to court. Before that they were expected to just “try harder” to speak Arabic.
It is encouraging what Morocco is doing but the road to correcting the illegal marginalization of a huge section of the country’s population is still a long one.
The Cool Side of The Pillow
Posted on | December 3, 2009 | No Comments
Michy Mano’s new album The Cool Side of The Pillow combines so many different influnces to create great new sounds. Derboouka beats, Gnawa rhythms, jazz notes all meet in this exciting album. Check out the third track: Bangolasi. It’s a great piece of music.
Tags: ShoZu
Biyouna’s new album is a lovely surprise
Posted on | December 3, 2009 | No Comments
She is perhaps one of the most recognizable faces in Algerian-and Maghrebi- cinema. Her performance in Viva l’Algérie was beautiful. I think this album is her best to date. Her strong yet slightly raspy voice grabs you, sits you down and takes you through the streets of Algiers and its kasbah. This CD is definitely worth a listen… multiple listens actually. And the beauty of it all is that it’s only one click away on iTunes.
Tags: ShoZu
anecdotes from the world of translation -2- ‘At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.’
Posted on | November 30, 2009 | No Comments
A TEENAGER who paid £90 to have his arm tattoed with Chinese characters got a shock when he learned the message read:
‘At the end of the day, this is an ugly boy.’
Hairdresser Lee Becks thought he had Mandarin for ‘Love, honour and obey’ etched into his skin.
The 18-year-old found out that he had been tricked when he saw the effect it had on a woman serving at a Chinese take-away.
‘At first, she said something about me making people laugh and talked about a crown,’ he said.
‘But then I realised she was really saying clown, not crown. The young woman blushed and was very reluctant to translate for me. Then she admitted what it really said.’
A ‘totally mortified’ Mr Becks went back to the tattoo parlour in Southend, the next day – only to find it had closed.
He added: ‘I suspect the tattooist knew he was closing and just wanted to get his own back for some reason. I always wanted a tattoo and the design looked great. Now I am stuck with it but have to keep it covered up.’
When he dared show off his arm at a nightclub, a group of Chinese girls came up – and burst out laughing. Even his friends have been finding it hard to keep straight faces.
His employer, Gary Doyle, said: ‘He’s a bit sensitive about the tattoos – they look very trendy if you don’t know what they really mean. I don’t think Lee stands much of a chance with any attractive young Chinese lady he may meet.’
Mr Becks plans to spend £600 to have the tattoo removed by laser.
As published in Metro. find source text here