Topkapi Palace

What is the term 'brown-skinned' doing on the front page of a major Canadian daily?

2006-07-10T09:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.robert-fisk.com/articles589.htm

Stop the oppressors...

2005-12-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

Another human lost to the miserable world of "colateral damage"; another child killed by politicians who've lost all dignity and moral consciouness. Without talking in the language that anthropologists from the pentagon harvest for the neo-con media, without that ambigious word "terror", how does one set out to say the "politically incorrect" matter of the day ?

Look beyond the world of racism and religious bigotry. The stage of life, is not for some 'select', you're part of it. Decide your script, decide your play, lead an example for those who'll follow...

War is not a game - it's real, it's brutal.

Act Now.

Whether you're a teen or someone whose not far from being dug 6 feet under in the near future, play your part, don't shy away, it's not over. Be optimistic even under the most pessemistic, and sinister scene.

People are suffering injustices across the globe - why are you so docile ? Are you waiting for the script from the oppressors.

When will you snatch the tablet of life and curve your act ?

Kingdom of Heaven

2005-05-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

Kingdom of Heaven | Ridley Scott

Three words: It was pleasant

I really liked the Andalusian styled architecture of Sybille’s palace. The oriental motifs were simply resplendent. The oriental fascination with design and detail wasn’t left out in any manner; even the shields used by Balian’s rival army, showed miniature calligraphic inscriptions. I have to commend Scott on paying attention to oriental visual arts. Sybille’s clothes anyone ?

I’m glad it wasn’t a typical orientalist depiction of the east, vis-à-vis inferiority complex. For once, a Hollywood production brought out the better side of the cultural equation. A must see.

Ali and Nino | The Orientalist

2005-04-21T15:19:00.000-04:00

Ali and Nino | Kurban Said :: Essad Bey :: Lev Nussimbaum
The Orientalist | Tom Reiss

Essad Bey, kurban Said aka Lev Nussimbaum, reminds me pretty much of Muhammad Asad ( Leopold Weiss ) - I wonder if they've met. For some reasons, I could very well relate to this character. Infact his days at the oil rick town of Baku, reminded me of my days spent in the west-coast of Arabia, lest I forget - none of us being 'native'. I'm glad I read Ali and Nino first, as Tom Reiss ( the biographer in 'The Orientalist'), tries his utmost best to wieve Bey's [I'll use Bey, for consistancy] own lifestory as a fulfilment of Ali from the novel. Bey's attempts to carve a niche for himself in the world of left vs. right politics, speaks volumes of my own drives...

While Ali and Nino is a fictional account of a love story between an Azeri boy - Ali, and his Georgian girl - Nino. The orientalist is an investigative-journalistic-biographical attempt to uncover the real 'bey'. In what follows, you see a parallel between the novel and the biography. Ali tries to make sense of the revolutions around him, and in a certain way, conducts his own Jihad, in an attempt to understand himself. Reiss, paints a romantic picture of Bey, in a similar manner; turning our Little Lev, into a Muslim 'Prince' ( I ought to call my self the Andalusian Prince ).

Bey growing up through the dreaded revolutions of Russia and Germany finds himself in the quagmire of the vassals of Nihilism and turns to what represents the final hope - Islam. I couldn't help but remember Gai Eaton, when he remarks something about one revolution leading to another.