Tag: culture

by jad

Japan Trip: The Tokyo Tower Inside Don Quixote

Extremely online people sometimes joke that zoomers are just young boomers, and sometimes that’s unfair, though it does name a certain drift to social and political conservativism among some in that demographic. But even if that’s wildly generalized, every meme carries a kernel of truth, and I can’t unsee this horseshoe as more from this age bracket become my colleagues. There are chaotic tendencies at work that can’t simply be explained by lack of experience: confused communication, sloppy reasoning, and the kind of cavalier attitude to technology that I’ve only ever seen among the olds. It’s baffling. Do they seriously … Continue reading “Japan Trip: The Tokyo Tower Inside Don Quixote” →

by jad

St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve marked a St. Patrick’s Day ritual of some shape or form for 16 years, and this is how we mark it in Seattle. “It’s just another Monday, right?” That’s how the guy at Market House Meats laughed off how busy it was when I was straining to hear my name being called out. The scene today was straight out of a movie, complete with a couple of New Yorkers trying to figure out how to order in that loud New Yorker way. There was a padre there and a cadre of cops too; a construction worker and a plumber, … Continue reading “St. Patrick’s Day” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 9

I was charmed by this whole area. Google Maps insisted on sending us in random directions, but the locals kept us on the right path, joking with us about the almost-nonexistent signage pointing the way. At one point, Google sent us down a road that turned out to be blocked; “maqtou3a, maqtou3a,” a guy on his scooter told us. Before we knew it, another guy in a pickup truck opened up the gate to his farm and told us to drive through his land to get back down to the main road. All in the typical Druze accent and matter-of-fact … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 9” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 8

Today’s my last day here. Yesterday, Christine picked up on an “extra sweetness” in my messages, asking me if feeling nostalgic now that my time in Lebanon is coming to an end. I replied: “I’m being sappy I guess.” She put her finger on the pulse: “It’s more than sappy, I think. I can’t imagine having your heart split in two places. And I think that’s what you’re feeling right now. The beautiful agony of knowing you cannot be in two places at once.” I cried. Today is a day to remember. Thousands of families have forced a new status … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 8” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 7

I’m nearing the end of my time here in Lebanon. Pages are turning, chapters are closing, narratives are being bookended, and parentheticals are emerging like ducks in a row. It’s gratifying, for example, to see how far @ridersrightslb, the afterlife of the @busmapproject I started working on 10 years ago, has come. I might say more about that at some point. It’s good to put faces to internet names and make new friends. It’s also nice to go with the flow more often. This country isn’t kind to sticks in the mud. There have been days when I’ve slowed down … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 7” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 6

“If the palimpsest enables hidden traumas or hauntings to be evoked, then brecciation may reveal other forms of accommodation and seduction present at a site. Indeed, brecciation has the potential to capture another means to be critical of the productions of space and time, and therefore, the practices of heritage.” (Nadia Bartolini) While we were walking here, I overheard a woman berating a guy I’m assuming was her significant other very loudly, basically wiping the floor with him as they brisk walked around me. Her tone raised my eyebrows and when I looked away from my LCD screen, I locked … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 6” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 5

“Heritage is never rediscovered; it is only the objects/monuments or the material remains of past socio-cultural dynamics that are rediscovered. The interpretation of these objects creates what is commonly known as Heritage. This creation is carried out through a story-making/storytelling process in which all these ingredients are meticulously positioned according to their differential value and related significance, as Heritage is no more than a value-based construct.” (Assaad Seif, ‘Beirut as a Palimpsest’) I’m reaching the point of the visit when more of the things that make Lebanon “Lebanon” are beginning to grate on my nerves. This was bound to happen; … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 5” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 4

I’ve been to Saida’s Old City a half-dozen times over the years, but I honestly don’t think I’ve seen the same streets twice. This is Saida’s Qala’a or Sea Castle. The Crusaders built it in 1228 on a small island connected by an 80-meter footpath. The site used to house a temple to Melqart, the Phoenician version of Heracles and what’s known as a “dying-and-rising deity.” A god of resurrection. This is Khan Sacy, a private residence being converted into a hotel with a museum underground revealing the many layers of history found during excavations. This first room is the … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 4” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 3

Have you heard of Daheshism? Me neither. Not until Abu Imad mentioned Dr. Dahesh (“Astounder”) in passing the other day. Apparently, a “Daheshist believes that all of creation is spread out over a multidimensional universe divided into three principal realms, each divided into 150 levels.” I don’t know about that, but it does sound a little bit like Lebanon. Layer upon layer upon layer. Destroyed and rebuilt again and again, usually worse than before. And yet it endures. Now that’s truly astounding. I’ve been binging on local news in this week of speedy developments; first, a new president, now a … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 3” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 2

Weaving through the “Sunday Souk” (also open on Saturdays) isn’t exactly a “shock” to the senses (I’m not an orientalist writing paeans to the grand bazaar), but it certainly is a vibe. There’s one surreal sensory dimension to this Souk that I could never handle for more than a couple of minutes: multiple pre-recorded messages on tiny squawk-boxes and megaphones repeating the latest deals over and over and over and over in the same deadpan monotone. They made me laugh but I could easily see my sanity slip away if I had to endure that for a whole day. I … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 2” →