You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2008.
A sinking sun sets a mosque aglow in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Lee, Russell, 1903-, photographer. Jack Whinery, homesteader, and his family, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940 Oct.
The Library of Congress has teamed up with Flickr to create Flickr Commons featuring 3,115 of the library’s archival photos in the hopes that users will use tags to provide new data about them.
It’s a fascinating look back at American history.
And, if you enjoy style as much as I do, you’ll love scanning through The Sartorialist, the fruit of photographer Scott Schuman’s prowls for unique, fabulously put together men and women on the streets of cities around the world.
The 620 km wall that was meant to keep Palestinians caged and apart, now helps bring people together. Whether you’re looking for a unique Valentine’s Day gift or simply want the Palestinians to know that they are not forgotten, this is an intriguing idea.
1) You pay (€ 30) and Palestinians spray the wall with your message
2) You get 3 digital pictures by e-mail.
3) Your support sustains humanitarian projects for Palestinians
4) And, someday, when the wall comes down and chunks of it are sold to art collectors, your message may live on as a part of history
From the Sendamessage website:
The Wall won’t fall just because your text is written on it. True.
But your message reminds Palestinians trapped inside the Wall they have not been forgotten. You help to keep hope alive. ‘Our’ Palestinians want to send you one single, simple message: “We are human beings, just like you, with sense of humour and lust for life.” That’s why they do this, and enjoy it.
Part of your money stays in Holland, to cover the (minimal) costs of setting up and running ‘Sendamessage’. The bulk of the money will go to the Palestinian NGO’s (independent foundations) doing the work. They will fund small social, cultural and educational projects with the money earned (from buying bicycles to fixing the roof).
This week, a beautiful poem from a beautiful soul and one of my favorite bloggers!
Irving Karchmar has been a writer, editor and poet for many years, and a darvish of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order since 1992. He is the author of Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel and writes the Darvish blog.
Enjoy!
—
The Language of Love
The language of love has no words
Listen
For God’s sake
The syntax of the heart’s longing
Is silence
Neither noun nor verb nor consonant
Why all this talk then, O Lover?
Sit and wait
Slow the heartbeat, ease the breath
Unless you become thought
Less
There is no room in you for Hu
Poetry is self-indulgence
Words a veil,
Silence, silence, silence
And the Beloved bursts forth
Everywhere
And all is Love
- Irving Karchmar, May 2007
Published in Sufi Magazine (Winter 2007, No. 74)
In his article 29 Things to be Happy About, SF Chronicle columnist Mark Morford has this as his number 13:
From the authors of It’s Just a Plant – meant to explain parental use of marijuana to children – comes a new coloring book: I Don’t Want to Blow You Up!
They don’t have an Amazon “look inside” feature but the two articles reviewing the book (New York Magazine and GOOD Magazine, both pdfs) say it tries to present Muslims as “productive members of society instead of dastardly terrorists” by highlighting 2 ordinary kids and 11 prominent Muslims including American hip hop star Nas, Swiss theology professor Tariq Ramadan, and Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari.
“We’re just trying to promote the idea that you can give the benefit of the doubt that when you meet someone, they’re a loving person. It’s addressing otherness and xenophobic tendencies,” says co-author Richard Cortes.
Originally planned for a 11/9 release (the inverse of a more famous date, you see), the book was delayed when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar objected to “unauthorized” use of his image, though all the information was gathered from public biographies.
A well-intentioned effort and the perfect stocking stuffer – score!
Recent Comments