Category: Ecstasis

by jad

Share More, Enjoy With, Connect To, Spiral Out

“.. beauty, which is what is meant by art, using the word in its widest sense, is, I contend, no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave as they choose, but a positive necessity of life, if we are to live as nature meant us to; that is, unless we are content to be less than [human].” (William Morris, 1880) The other day, I heard a very strange statement. It was not quite an argument, but more of a fascinated nod at a controversial stand; a hermeneutic proposed to account for what it would really, really … Continue reading “Share More, Enjoy With, Connect To, Spiral Out” →

by jad

Cosmic Things

“It seems to me that in the end it is the kind of lighter touch social relationship signaled by the notion of «friend» that probably has most to offer cities in making them resilient.” (Nigel Thrift, 2004) I quickly learned an expression when I moved here: to get “plugged in.” It means to network & participate in what other people are doing in the city. As a metaphor, it sounds odd, & maybe a little off-putting at first, but very soon it loses its ‘Matrixian’ overtones & starts to make much sense. Meeting folx up to all kinds of good … Continue reading “Cosmic Things” →

by jad

Stronger Than Hate

They maxed out the main sanctuary; they maxed out another sanctuary; then they maxed out the basement gymnasium. I later heard that there were hundreds outside as well. This was a real outpouring of love and solidarity, with the participation of the Mayor of Seattle and the Governor of the State of Washington, who both made great speeches. But it was Rabbi Will Berkovitz of JFS who truly floored me. I hope they upload his speech somewhere—I can’t do it justice here. But I will quote one small part; something that many will benefit from hearing today: “Your life matters. … Continue reading “Stronger Than Hate” →

by jad

10/10: World Mental Health Day

10/10 is World Mental Health Day because 10/10 is not a mark that too many of us can make that regularly. An important day for us all; if I were to make an educated guess, I’d say that ten out of ten is the percentage of us who have felt crushingly alone at some point in our lives. 10/10 is a good day to remember that at the very least nine out of the ten in my made up statistic might suffer a little bit less if we knew we didn’t have to suffer alone. Not in the generically abstract … Continue reading “10/10: World Mental Health Day” →

by jad

Seattle Signs & Wonders

It’s always creepy when a city plays to stereotype. On any given morning in Beirut, you will hear someone playing Fairouz; in Seattle, you’re going to expect Nirvana or Pearl Jam on the radio at some point. Maybe you’d expect Kurt Cobain’s name to come up in conversation, probably in a story from the old-timer wearing that original In Utero t-shirt from way back when. But only in your most morbid fantasies could you think that one day, you’d meet and hang out with the former police detective who was at his death scene. The best part is that this … Continue reading “Seattle Signs & Wonders” →

by jad

On Evil | طَأ طأطَأ طَأطَأتِينِي

There’s a reason why a taxi driver in Damascus ten years ago stiffened and fell silent when I jokingly said I preferred to put my seatbelt on, as “a good citizen,” despite ours being a very late-night ride to my hotel. That’s what authoritarian systems do to you. A quip like that could be a signal of something far more sinister. The walls may not have actual ears, but you hold your breath regardless. But the goose step doesn’t start there. You don’t have to wait for the garish banners to unfurl and the cultish anthems to ring to see … Continue reading “On Evil | طَأ طأطَأ طَأطَأتِينِي” →

by jad

Total Football! #WFC2018

You know what’ll make me post about futbol on social media? A self-governing island British Crown dependency playing a sometime-secessionist North American hipster bioregion. May 31: HALF TIME at the Cascadia v Ellan Vannin World Cup Match (Group A) match, kicking off the Confederation of Independent Football Associations #WFC2018 and the once-every-few-years season when I’m interested in the beautiful game. Also happening: Abkhazia vs Tibet, Western Armenia vs United Koreans in Japan, and Szekely Land vs Tuvalu. June 2: The Cascadia v Barawa World Cup Match (Gourp A) is about to start. You might have heard by now how Cascadia … Continue reading “Total Football! #WFC2018” →

by jad

Bus Map Project: “Shared Transport is a Shared Responsibility”

2018 has been very busy for Bus Map Project, a grassroots pro-transit initiative I co-founded in 2015, and it’s already almost May! It’s time for a catch-up post; we have a lot to tell you… On January 6th, we held our very first #BusCommunity event in Hamra and had a lively discussion with friends and peers from YallaBus, H2 Eco Design and others from our network of collaborators and supporters. Later that month, we did a mini-collective map action in Tripoli, to familiarize ourselves with the city and plan for more mapping in North Lebanon. This was followed by our … Continue reading “Bus Map Project: “Shared Transport is a Shared Responsibility”” →