for those who say move on

I ask them how to resolve these personal sorrows and recompense these personal losses. My grandfather's deeds to land and home that were taken by Israelis - his sons (my uncles) on Gaza TV talking about how he died before he could live out his dream of returning home - to the house where he lived and where his children were born. 

another visit...

... another view. 

by my own hand

I'm not even kidding. I took these a while back but held them close - like one (introverts?) tends to do - treasuring something privately before sharing it with the world.

Empire State, New York Life Insurance, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Queensboro Bridge, Roosevelt Island, Triboro Bridge...

mumford's words

Does this seem pregnant with meaning to everyone or just me?

'My hands are shaking from holding so tight for so long'

- Mumford and Sons, Just Smoke

triple shot

one man's trash...

it comes to a point

There are those puzzles where you need to select the shape after abstractly rotating an object. I am horrible at these puzzles. And so did not anticipate that Tower 1 (Freedom Tower, World Trade Center) comes to a perfect point from the right perspective. Bonus!

go pope go!

This news that the Vatican will recognize a Palestinian state makes me happy! It's a humanitarian issue, not a religious one, for God's sake. 

... Give me a P! Yaaaaaayyyyyy.... Pope!

good night generation

My grandfather passed away today. In Gaza. Which means that my father can't go to mourn with his siblings. It means that my aunt who went to Egypt for work related to the PhD she is attempting to complete while living under occupation cannot get back in though she is not far from the border. She has been stuck outside - away from home - for 2 months. It means my uncle in Saudi Arabia who had scheduled vacation time from his work at the hospital to go to Gaza to see his family could not get into Gaza in time to see his father before he passed away and is instead wasting his vacation days in Saudi Arabia. Instead of being with his siblings and the rest of his (my) family he - like my father - mourns in isolation.

It means that when I called today my aunt told me she had been depressed since the last war. My cousin told me that the power had been cut off in the morning when they were preparing my grandfather's body for burial and again a little before I had called, that it's hard to be without power for hours because of the overwhelming boredom that comes with being in the dark for long periods, that during the last war she was in the hospital volunteering and that toughened her up. My cousin who is in college said that it's hard for the little ones who have seen war after war, year after year, and think that it's just the way the world is. My cousin who is still in college who has seen war after war and is now toughened up. My cousin who I have never seen.

river

There is so much grace in this interview of River Phoenix.

My favorite part in the interview is when he talks about the music he made. The interviewer says - 'release it'. And he says 'but it's for me; it's a private venture…' That captures the artist - the inner world that is not exploitable. It's a level of truth most celebrities cannot pretend to know - though they seem to fool others. When they are fully exploitable, they have no private space that is sacred. There is nowhere left for creativity to happen if you've exposed that corner of yourself. 

There is a recent movie that addressed the exploitable celebrity - Beyond the Lights. I think an important movie though it didn't get much attention. It may have been obvious and over-simplified, but it tries to get at this idea of being exploited to where nothing is left sacred, not your body, not your thoughts, not your relationships (Beyonce, take note). And the worst is when the celebrity thinks they are who they portray - but they don't realize that they are nothing more than the mask - and that there's nothing left behind the mask but empty space.

I can listen to Nathalie Merchant's song River over and over. And I do.

bansky in gaza

Check out Bansky's latest in Gaza. As the literal writing on the wall states:

If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, we side with the powerful and don't remain neutral.

Aside: Someone in the video met and spoke with him. Usually it's the Arabs who are into conspiracy theories. It looks like Bansky is a real human man.