Man on Wire

"The towers were built for him". As soon as Philippe Petit saw the creation of the World Trade Center, he told himself that he had to dance between the two towers...on a tight rope...and he did. Man on Wire documents the solid focus and determination of Philippe Petit to walk on a tight rope between the two World Trade Center towers.

This 90 minute documentary presents Petit as "this man, who seems wholly self-consumed and unaware of the potential problems of any such idea he stumbled upon and the emotional pressure he was putting on his friends who could have aided his death, speaks frankly even when discussing the aftermath of his stunt - which indirectly ended many of his friendships with people close to him. But despite his own shortcomings, viewers cannot deny Petit as the man who did something that none of us could ever imagine: he pinpointed his dream and he achieved it." (IMDB).

"It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working." - Philippe Petit

A Friendly Reminder

I'm a big, big fan of the public library. On average, I check out about 5 books a week. The Richardson Public Library is outstanding. It always disturbs me when I check out a book and someone has written in the book. In fact, it makes me plain mad. The books at the library are for everyone to enjoy. You're not supposed to write, draw, or mark in the books. And yet for some reason, there's always that one person that thinks it's okay if they do. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not okay. So stop.

Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon

A frequent reader of this blog had questions about my previous post titled "Pity the Nation." Maybe I should clarify. I did not post the poem with the intention of anything political. I posted the poem to demonstrate how there have been all different types of art produced by the Arab world.

With that being said, I have to admit that I enjoy Lebanese culture and history. Out of all the Arab countries, Lebanon is at the top of my list. Of course, I tend to be biased because one of my closest friends is Lebanese and so I have a favorable view of the country. Nonetheless, Lebanon is an amazing little country with a very distinct culture, language dialect, and politics.

One of the most knowledgeable people on Lebanon is British journalist and author Robert Fisk. He lived in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. I'm currently reading his book Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon. It's a really good book that gives a clear overview of Lebanese history and politics in an enjoyable, readable format. I can't recommend this book enough.

It's human nature to tend to group things together. Unfortunatley, in our current political climate, Westerners tend to view all Arabs as the same. It would be easy to categorize Lebanese as the same as Arabs from the Gulf countries. However, the truth is that in Lebanon there is a large Christian population. The President of Lebanon is required, by law, to be Maronite Christian. 40% of the population in Lebanon is Christian. I think this is important to note because it creates a common link between Westerners and the Arab world.

I love America and am proud to be an American, but I like to travel. If the world were safer, I'd be on the first flight to explore Beirut.

Pity the Nation

According to the New Yorker, after William Shakespeare and Laozi, Khalil Gibran is the third best-selling poet in history. Who is Khalil Gibran?

Khalil Gibran was born in Lebanon and was a Maronite Christian. He lived in the United States for much of his life. His most notable work was The Prophet, a book of poetry. Most of his art focused on Christianity. Not only was he a writer but he was also a painter, sculptor, philosopher and theologian. Khalil Gibran died at the age of 48 in New York City on April 10, 1931. One of his best known works is the poem below.

Pity the Nation

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

-Khalil Gibran, The Garden of the Prophet (1934)

Arabic Script

I've been reading a book that I thought I would share with everyone. It's called Arabic Script. It tells the history of the Arabic script in a very enjoyable read and also has a plethora of beautiful pictures of Arabic calligraphy.

By far, my favorite art form is Arabic calligraphy. I think it is so beautiful. I already have one piece of Arabic calligraphy from Hassan Massoudy. Those who read my blog will remember that he wrote my name for me, in Arabic, while I was in Paris. Eventually I'd like to be able to have a collection of Arabic calligraphy from all over the Arab world. In addition, some of the most beautiful Arabic calligraphy comes from Iran and Afghanistan. Although Arabic is not spoken in either country (Farsi in Iran and Pushtu in Afghanistan), the religious and Islamic art is written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islam.

Below are some pictures of Arabic calligraphy for your enjoyment. The calligraphy at the top of the page reads "Truth" in Arabic.

This is religious art in Arabic calligraphy.

The art of putting calligraphy into the form of an object or animal is particularly popular in Iran and Afghanistan.

The Arab World

Needless to say, a lot could be said about the happenings in the Arab world, particularly the Middle East, right now. A few people have asked my opinion on the situation taking place between Israel and Gaza. The truth is that I am certainly not an expert nor know enough about the situation to make a comment. After studying Arabic for over two years, I've come to the realization that there are basically two types of Arabic students:

1. The students who study Arabic for political reasons, to study the political situations in Arab countries, to work for the government, and to generally comment on situations such as the one happening in Gaza.
2. The students who study Arabic for cultural, artistic and linguistic pursuits.

I fall into the second category. The politics of the Arab world do not hold the same sleepy enchantment for me as the beautiful culture and art that has been produced by this region.

In conclusion, I ask my readers today to turn their eyes away from the bloodshed and violence of the Middle East and enjoy the beauty that has resulted from the many artists in the region.

Out with the old, in with the new!

Happy New Year!