Archive for May 2008
This morning USA Today printed an article about a Muslim cleric named Safa al-Lami who, at tremendous risk to his own life, made a courageous individual effort to bring peace between Iraq’s Shi’a and Sunni factions. The article reads:
Safa al-Lami knew he might be on a suicide mission. He had taken a taxi into Adhamiya, one of Baghdad’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Now, wearing a white headdress that identified him as a Shiite religious leader, al-Lami planned to walk up unannounced to a Sunni mosque and ask whether he could pray alongside his Muslim brothers. In an area where militias were shooting many Shiites on sight, “I knew there was a big chance I would be killed,” al-Lami recalls. “I kept walking toward the shrine, whispering to myself: ‘Don’t be afraid.’ “
If you read the article, you can see the events that transpired afterwards. It’s really quite incredible what this man did. He’s made a major positive difference already.
Every now and then I become more amazed at the way Google continues to innovate and extend its reach. Now they’ve released an online service called Google Health.
The Official Google blog has a post titled: Google Health: the First Look
ZDNet has an article as titled Google Health Beta Test Launched that talks about the new service and some of its potential controversy, problems, etc.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art currently has some Jeff Koons sculptures up on their roof. I took pictures of two of them.
One of the tricks in a public art showing is to get a picture of the art without someone else wandering into the picture. Above, didn’t do so well. Below, success!
Here’s the wikipedia entry for Jeff Koons. He seems to be quite the personality.
Here is his website.
Ha-Aretz (which I sort of view as the Israeli version of the New York Times) has a glowing article today about Mohammad Shamsi Ali. He is the deputy imam for the Islamic Cultural Center (or ICC) located on 96th Street in the Upper East Side - a couple of blocks away from where we live. I took a picture of the mosque dome some time ago. Maybe it’s time to drop by there for another visit.
Is there really a clash of civilizations? Alright, I just felt like throwing that phrase out there.
While pondering that question one might want to read two current (this week) and fascinating New York Times articles on the subject of Saudi Arabia’s youth and LOVE. The articles are titled: “Love on Girls ‘Side of the Saudi Divide” and “Young Saudis Vexed and Entranced by Love’s Rules.”
A particular tidbit at the very end of the first linked article caught me completely by surprise. A girl named Shaden is being described:
She turned back to the stack of DVDs she had been rifling through, and held up a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, a film she says she has seen dozens of times. “It’s a bit like our society, I think,” Shaden said of late Georgian England. “It’s dignified, and a bit strict. Doesn’t it remind you a little bit of Saudi Arabia? It’s my favorite DVD.” Shaden sighed, deeply. “When Darcy comes to Elizabeth and says ‘I love you’ — that’s exactly the kind of love I want.”
Officially, I like to grumble about Mr. Darcy. Just ask my wife - an avid fan of the Jane Austen movies and Pride and Prejudice in particular. We have a few different copies at our place and in the past I’ve wondered aloud if I need to worry about Mr. Darcy. I’ve also complained that I live in Chickflickistan and that maybe we should purchase some ‘manly’ movies to counterbalance all the drama spilling from the DVD shelf.
Off the record though, I’ll concede that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are compelling characters and that Jane Austen’s fiction has plenty of insights to offer about the good and bad in human nature. It doesn’t really surprise me that Jane Austen’s stories have such lasting appeal to so many people.
But I wouldn’t have predicted that a Saudi Arabian girl would hold up Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as the example of ideal romantic love. In my estimation, that anecdote really proves the point about Jane Austen’s mastery and capability to communicate the thoughts and emotions that are most truly human. It also makes me think that on a basic essential human level - despite numerous political and religious differences - Saudis and Westerners aren’t so different after all.
Okay - enough is enough. I’m off to find my copy of the Bourne Supremacy.