Tag: instagram

by jad

Seven Years of This Account (Pike Place After Dark)

Pike Place, after dark, on New Year’s Eve. x I started this account seven years ago as a grounding tool; a way to mark my x on the spot with a move as massive as immigration. Over time, it became a diary of sorts. A way to break with hesitation and rearticulate myself and my thoughts, especially in the depths of pandemic longing and despair. But now I find myself wanting to write less and say less. Some of that is a consequence of having picked up photography as an honest-to-god hobby, instead of just a visual pairing with the … Continue reading “Seven Years of This Account (Pike Place After Dark)” →

by jad

Japan Trip: The New Vacation Slide Deck

Instagram is the new vacation slide deck. We actually screen mirrored Christine’s phone on a friend’s TV the other day and talked through our posts just like a bunch of boomers. Our excuse was that they’re planning a trip to Japan soon. This deck features Japanese Denny’s, @pigment_tokyo, and more from inside the Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome. x We watched Fellini’s 8½ last night, technically a re-watch for me, but, apparently, I could only remember the very last sequence after all these years. It’s a film about filmmaking that I watched in film school, so I’ll forgive the formalism that … Continue reading “Japan Trip: The New Vacation Slide Deck” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Hiroshima (Part III)

Another interesting feature of Hiroshima’s topography that I learned on Tommy’s tour is that the reason why the city has so many iconic trams is that it’s simply not possible to dig any subways here, given that it was built on reclaimed marshland. We rode trams of all vintages, including one of the only two trams that survived the bomb still running today. This is one of Hiroshima’s hibakujumoku (被爆樹木) or survivor trees, an a-bombed camphor at the base of the hill leading up to the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art. I’ll post a highlight video from that visit shortly. … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Hiroshima (Part III)” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Hiroshima, August 6 (Part II)

Very soon after the official Peace Day ceremony, we joined Tommy on a walking tour of the city center, learning about the history and geography of Hiroshima and stopping at various landmarks from that fateful day 80 years ago. One thing I didn’t know before Tommy’s tour was that Hiroshima was literally carved out from the sea. The Hiroshima Delta, where the Ota River fans into multiple channels before entering the Seto Inland Sea, was originally a marshy estuary. For centuries, much of what is now central Hiroshima, including the area near the Peace Memorial Park, didn’t exist as solid … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Hiroshima, August 6 (Part II)” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Hiroshima, August 6 (Part I)

We woke up very early on August 6. Our guest house was about a 30-minute walk from Hiroshima’s Peace Park and we wanted to be there as the gates opened to welcome attendees and participants in the 80th commemoration. You can see highlights from that event from the Reel I posted earlier today (tap the tab on my profile to see it). The walk itself was almost as good as the event itself. The 6:00 am sun was still a gentle glow, bathing everything in golden light. There were way more people there than I’d expected, with the sound of … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Hiroshima, August 6 (Part I)” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Nara

But even before going to the Expo 70 Commemorative Park, we took the train to Nara. I am unashamed to say that this was completely Instagram’s influence; one does not simply pass up the opportunity to feed a deer that bows in gratitude. Luckily, Nara was more than just that! We would have explored this cute town even more, but it was only our second morning, and we had an appointment with the Tower of the Sun later that afternoon. And boy did we sacrifice enough sweat and tears (not crying, just sweating from our eye sockets) to the solar … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Nara” →

by jad

Ugliness Machine

Imagine there was a tool or system for doing things that increasingly made your output uglier or less intelligent. The more you used it, and the more that others used it, the crappier everything it was used for becomes. Imagine that. Would you still use it? Like a pen that made your handwriting worse and worse, and in some magical way, made everyone’s handwriting worse and worse too. We would throw that pen in the trash, wouldn’t we? But that’s sort of the deal with the social media tools we’re using today. Do we really want to keep making spastic … Continue reading “Ugliness Machine” →

by jad

Latergram

If you want some insight into what it was like to follow me on Instagram in 2013, when I first joined this app, here’s a little peek. Not much has changed, I guess. February ‎24, ‎2013: The windows overlooking Lena’s terrace, where I tasted oranges in a salad for the first time, thanks to Lena’s Sicilian cooking. I don’t remember what we talked about, but the conversation was probably peppered with names like Deleuze and Trotsky, because it often was. Hanging out with Lena was like stepping into a jittery scene on a 16mm reel. March 21 is Mothers’ Day … Continue reading “Latergram” →

by jad

Remembering Dubai

“No matter how long an expatriate has been in Dubai, even if they are born in Dubai, they are not Dubaian. At some point, they must leave. This process of exclusion leaves these particular expatriates betwixt and between–they are not legally Dubaian and can be deported at any point, nor are they culturally of their countries of passport. For some, this uncertainty is liberating; it certifies them as global citizens. For others, it merely points out the dangerous condition of their liminal state.” (Dubai: Guilded Cage) Going through my old photos in that memory stick I found in Lebanon reminds … Continue reading “Remembering Dubai” →

by jad

Romanticize Your Errands

According to Instagram, this is the sort of space to be at and be seen in if you’re serious about photography—especially the good stuff i.e. film. It’s also pretty convenient when you’ve got a bunch of heavy duty laundry to do but your building’s dryers are on the fritz. But that’s a bonus. Pros will time this errand for maximum halation effect. see also: x x x x x x x