Strictly For Fans of Michael Jackson's Thriller

Okay, so first have a look at this. Just watch the first minute so you get an idea of what its all about. Then, please direct yourself to this clip, which is essentially the same video except that some guy has decided to add a 'translation' based on the closest English words that approximate the lyrics.

I know, I know, call me juvenille but I almost had a fit while laughing. An 80s Indian version of Thriller is funny enough, but the English 'lyrics' just allow it to transcend to a higher artistic plane.

IZ

The Hathor Legacy

Came across an interesting site: 'The Hathor Legacy'. Its essentially posting on books, film and some general cultural issues from a feminist perspective. What's interesting is the authors' interest in science fiction/fantasy genre fiction. Reading through a few of the posts, (and the comments) such as this one on the "legacy" of Octavia Butler proved illuminating and so up it goes on my blog roll.

And now I have a new book to look out for: 'Zahrah the Windseeker' by Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbachu. Looks interesting.

IZ

On Libraries

Now here are some interesting and telling statistics. Who knew that they are more public libraries in the United States than there are MacDonalds'? Or that on average Americans go to libraries more than twice as often as they go to the movies in a year?

All this and Federal spending on libraries is 54 cents per person per year.

Does Karachi have more public libraries than MacDonalds? I'm not sure. Some digging around turns up this list of libraries which hearteningly enough, is more than the 13 outlets I seem to recall MacDonald's having in Karachi. But a few of the public libraries I've seen are to a proper public library as a bun-kabab stand is to a MacDonald's. Frere Hall, which is one of the better ones, alas has seen better days.

IZ

Going Green

So, any thoughts on the new template? Any adjustments to be made? Or should I dump the whole thing? Comments please!

IZ

Neat Photography - Grace Weston & David Alesworth

Check out Grace Weston's website.

Some amazing photography, mostly using children's toys, like this:


I found this on Neatorama. Some interesting stuff on there.

Grace Weston's work kind of reminded me of some of the photography of a former colleague of mine, David Alesworth. Unfortunately I can't find much in terms of his work on line except for this picture that was titled 'Snow White and Bubble Boy':


Its one in a series of fabulous photographs of second hand toys found at Itwar Bazaar. I've tried fishing around on the internet but alas can't find much of David's work at all. He has a website, which does not seem to have been tended much apart from the main page and there is a section on him here at the website of the Vasl international artist's collective, but little else apart from that.

That's a real pity because David really has a keen aesthetic sense and a real eye for possibilities and incongruities that make him a stand-out photographer. He's a sculptor by training but his sculpture has never resonated with me in the way his photography has. I don't pretend to have seen a great deal of his work, but some of his photographs have to be amongst the most interesting visual art that's come out of Pakistan in the last decade and a half.

IZ

Rumi at the Caravansary

Hey, look what I found. And its like so close to me. I must check this out soon, and I'm so there at the Sufi music concert. If only I had known about this earlier! There's no way I would have missed the drumming workshop in the park!

IZ

Edit: Also, this is an interesting article about women scholars in the classical Islamic age. I like this quote:

Akram’s entry for someone like Umm al-Darda, a prominent jurist in seventh-century Damascus, is startling. As a young woman, Umm al-Darda used to sit with male scholars in the mosque, talking shop. “I’ve tried to worship Allah in every way,” she wrote, “but I’ve never found a better one than sitting around, debating other scholars.”

t2f: The Second Floor

Hmmm. A bookshop/coffeeshop in Karachi? With its own blog team? And, to top it off, one which claims to be "a platform for opinion, outrage, and graphic agitation"?

Interesting.

IZ

Edit: I originally posted this in my other blog. Then sanity returned and I realised it belonged here.