Happy Eid

From super devoika to all the Muslims around the globe... with love... Enjoy your sweets... =)

Dancing in Public!

I love when people claim back their public spaces. People should be able to do things collectively and on an urban scale!!

That's why when I first saw the video of Lebanese dancing Dabkeh at the Airport I got so excited...



But then I saw various videos of Jordanians dancing whatever styles in the mall... and I thought [Seriously...!?]. For many reasons it just looked meaningless and shallow to me...



Don't get me wrong! There is nothing wrong in wanting to dance! But in a country or in an area where we have so many causes to take... so many issues to address... why would we choose to dance on Lady Gaga's songs!!!?

Of a late, there has been many flash mobs and flash dances organized by BDS Movement... I saw videos of that happening in the US and in Australia....



You look at these people who have a strong stand about something they think is wrong and here they are standing by the Palestinians and against injustice... while we dance on Lady Gaga!!



I wish there will be a day when all the injustice in this world will be gone! When we have no problems at all... and we can rejoice and dance...
But until then... I have to sing along with these people if I ever feel the urge to dance in public...

Lab Tajribi... another step

Lab Tajribi | Experimental Expressions is a non-physical art atelier for experimental art and forms of expression. Currently the lab is mine... but hopefully it will attract other experimental artists in the near future....

I'm still moving in there so visit us again...

300

This is my 300th post!
Happy blogging myself!

My favorite Arab-based websites

:: iToot: is a network of Arab blogs. It saves me the time of visiting all the blogs I check by listing their latest posts and giving you a glimpse of what to expect. The bloggers featured are Arabs from all over the world. Up till now they have around 150 blogs. You can submit your blog there to be reviewed and maybe added to the network.

:: Ikbis: is the place where you go to upload your photos and videos and share them with the rest of the world. You can search and explore the shots uploaded and link or embed them inside your blog or website. You can also contact people, make your own favorites selection and comment on others videos and photos. Visually I like the look of Ikbis. Any one can sign-up and have an account there. Me there.

:: Questler: is a network where you connect with other people on an intellectual level. After you sign up you can share your discoveries, ask questions and answer others questions. It is truly a website where minds connect. People with a wide range of interests discuss issues related to them and their lives. Me there.

Another two website which I liked the idea but I'm not a user there:

:: Yamli: It is where you can put your Arabizi into use and turned it into a real Arabic text so that you can search and use on-line. Here is how it works.

:: Watwet: a social network where you connect with your friends, make new friends, upload photos and put your mobile connectivity into use. Till now is only invitation based. And here is more about it.

A Royal greeting on YouTube

So... Queen Elizabeth II decided to embrace the real world of YouTube... and send her Christmas message via a special channel on YouTube... yet to be launched around 1500 GMT on December 25....
Yahoo had the news...

© Andrew Palmer / Alamy

[...upon] Media Technology | Take 2

For their Mid-term exam students of Design were asked to create a video art that tackles one of these issues:
:: TV… the loved member of the family
:: Mobile phones… connecting/ disconnecting us
:: Virtual relationships
:: Arabic commercials… respecting/disrespecting our intelligence.
:: The others in media…

This course is not supposed to teach them about any software or hardware techniques of making video art. So external help could be sought and what was most important for me as their teacher is their conceptual approach to the issue they chose and the way they translated their ideas through video.

Here are some of my favorite samples...

Addicted to TV; The new loved member of the family| Dina Nagur

TV | Rajae Twal

Humanoid Box | Kamel Abu-Yihia

Pixels | Yasir Abu Thuriya

Legitimate TV, Fact or Fiction | Ala'a Taba'a

Sonnie | Dana Qabani

:: [...upon] Media Technology | Take 1

Third class ticket

In a world full of images of every sort... with media feeding us the same mold of people... idolizing bodies and shapes... we get lost with the masses...
BUT...

I met this photograph a couple of times while I was in Edinburgh last year. I even borrowed his camera one afternoon... I didn't expect that behind his silent acquaintance that he'll hold such a sharp eye that looks at things in a way I can relate to...
His name is Guillem Lopez and his latest is a journey he with a friend of him started across Europe and all the way tracing the Silk Route along Asia.
He has already an amazing photo gallery of his travels...
Now he is in Eastern Europe... an area that half of my genetic blood cells calls home...
He is capturing the essence of the places with perspective points that I as an architect find charming...
I love them...
And by chance I saw a blog that he with his friend is dedicating for this journey. Their blog is called Third Class Ticket... a must read/ see blog...

After all... an eye can choose what to see... and despite the masses... real life still stands out...

[...upon] Media Technology | Take 1

I'm teaching a course in Media Technology to third year design students. The course should focus basically on how the new media has effected art and encouraged exploration and experimentation. Though the course is 3 credit hours of theoretical lectures I gave the students a chance to get their hands dirty with digital media. So I asked them to do 3 or more short videos shot using their small cameras, their mobile phone cameras or their web cam. they only worked on their projects for a couple of hours including editing time. The idea was to create something that could be seen like a fluxus art work and it should be experimenting with their bodies, the space they are in, and the media they are using.
The results were very interesting. A large number of students got the concept well and did some creative work.
So here are some samples... give me and them your feedback...

Radio Ramadan Edinburgh

Radio Ramadan Edinburgh is back to broadcasting during the holy month of Ramadan...


A couple of years ago I had the privilege of working with the station and it was worth the while... The Radio relies basically on volunteers from the local community and is non profitable... the idea of providing the Muslim community in UK/Edinburgh with alternative media that suit their needs during Ramadan is the inspiration and the concept behind the radio.
The programs are presented in three languages ; English, Arabic and Urdu giving a chance for more people to listen and interact. Also different age groups are addressed like the Fun @ 4 show which is for kids.
you can listen to the Radio Ramadan Edinburgh online... which again makes it more accessible and help it spread more among Muslims in other cities or even countries...

What I loved most about it is that you can hear the Adhan of each prayer... which is something that you miss when you live in a non Islamic country...

Radio Ramadan Edinburgh is a good media choice for any one during Ramadan... and I highly recommend it...

another tag | 6 for '06

I got tagged a while ago by Roba and now once again! This time the tag is a reflective one upon 2006…
I was trying to postpone it as much as possible…
Well… though my first things in 2006 are more to be concealed than shared… but who said that metaphors can’t be used?! So here you go…
:: first time to fly.
:: first time to climb a mountain.
:: first time to fall in love with coffee.
:: first time to learn the language of ducks.
:: first time to taste honey.
:: first time to be home again.

I’m not sure if I should tag someone else… in any case I tag: Rambling Hal and Sha3teely…

A Tag!!

Ok… this is a good one… I’ve been tagged by Roba…
The rules said that I should grab the nearest book to me and go to page 123, 6th line and copy the three lines from there, and mention the title and author of the book… then of course tag another 3 people…
Well… I grabbed the first book! “Graphic basics index” page 123 is red and empty expect for a part of the words “composition, component, concept” which set on page 122 and 123!! Tough luck… second book “The Bookseller of Kabul”… page 123 only 4 lines!!! Ok ok… grab the next one “Content” page 123 is a collage of images of some spaces!! Ugghh…
Last try…. “The Kite Runner”… finally here it goes

[[I didn’t remember what month that was, or what year even. I only knew the memory lived in me, a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past, a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become.]]

The novel is by Khaled Hosseini… one of the best I read related to Afghanistan…
Now I tag: Subzero Blue, Rambling Hal, and Black Iris…

intersting I ikbis

a very intersting new video/photo sharing website...
ikbis

this video features many of my students at the school of Arts and Design/JU


Click on the image above to see the video!

well it is a good laugh...
make sure to sign up and share with the rest...

graphing websites...

This is really cool! By analyzing the HTML code that structure websites you can obtain a visual graph using this…
The visuals are interesting to look at and since they are based on real data that build your website, it can give you an [honest] representation…
This is how my blog look like as a graph…



Via Aharef… and he got all the logic behind it...
more websites' graphs...