Mubarakiyya Souk Magic
These are not part of The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge. (If you haven’t voted, please go there and vote for your favorite.) These are photos I take to document what places “used to look like.” In Germany, I took photos, but twenty years later I could take the same exact photo. Most of the buildings built a couple hundred years ago are still standing – even some built three or four hundred years ago still have the same foundations (and problems with seepage, etc. )
Not so in places like Kuwait and Doha. You look away for a second and something is gone. Can anyone tell me where the Tarek Rajab Museum store has gone? Do they have a new location? It used to be in Salmiyya; the last time I took people there – it was gone. Just gone! And entire block of stores has disappeared.
So here, for posterity, are some photos I have taken of Mubarakiyya Market, because I love the quirkiness of the place and because there is some really interesting public art there. Also, because so many of my readers are in schools across the US and Europe, and they are hungry to see what different places look like.
Delicious olives, every one different!
I am totally addicted to these dried pomegranate seeds, which are also called anardana:
These portraits of two different butchers show such individuality. These are not some stylized ideographs; these portraits give the impression of being real butchers. I wonder if I could find the originals and stand them next to their portraits?
Look at these painted carpets! They lift the entire mood of this utilitarian area. Look how bright and clean this area is, easily washed down, entirely of tiles and washable surfaces:
Look how this artist extended his painting to include the store on the right:
Where does anyone else sell slingshots these days? I fear for the poor market cats, when young men get their hands on these.
Vote Now! The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
We had some thoroughly splendid contributions to one of my favorite challenges of all, the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge.
Here are the challengers – please visit their photos before you vote:
DaisyMae
Bu Yousef
ShoSho
TeaGirl
Fewer entries – but every entry a gem. This is going to be a very difficult vote.
Thank you to our great photographer-participants. Your photos were truly Market Magic. 🙂 It was a thrill for me to see each and every one.
Bright, Shiny Day
The clouds are gone, and it is looking like a beautiful day in Kuwait. With the schools out for winter break, the roads are even driveable! Wooo HOO, Kuwait, get out there and have yourselves a great day!
In the hard copy of yesterday’s Kuwait Times (unfortunately, not the electronic edition) there was a small article featuring a Kuwait meteorologist who said that due to the south (easterly?) winds prevailing at this time of year, we could expect rain frequently throughout February. We sure need it. Yesterday was such a treat, but to quote Jewaira we need “More! More!”
Stat Bump Laugh
Kuwait bloggers, if your statistics matter to you, if you want one great day, get blogger Mark, at 248am.com to give your blog a shout-out, and a link.
I got a one day bump of nearly double my daily traffic when he referred to me in a blog entry. LLOOLLL; you can see the spike so clearly!
At one time he used to post his stats; he had over 2 million the last time I saw them, which was a long time ago, and got over 10,000 hits a day. Imagine . . . . 🙂
African Heads and Art
From this morning’s e-mails – I think this is a sincere one. If anyone wants to contact this artist, his e-mail is:
africanhead_art@yahoo.com
Good day sir\ma
it is a great pleasure of getting across to your wed site. Am Mr KOLA OWOLAWI JUNAID am muslim an artist am the founded of african heads art and cultural gallery african heads art gallery was base in lagos and osogbo osun state in nigeria
i participated in my first art exhibition at GENEVE COMITE INTERNATION committee of the red cross ICRC am one of the winner in the art competition i also exhibit at US Embassy in lagos ,IITA ibaban German cultural Center , British High Commission ,american international school,Britsih high school, National art council in Accra Ghana i received an award for up coming artist an many more
i will like to make an inquiry on if i could join the Qurain cultural festival or organizering a cultural art exhibition on Qurain words, painting adire ,batick ,tye and dye and other local fabric art work for up coming this year.i will ilke to know if it could be organizes and what was the general registration or inquiry is needed for the exhibition thanks you.
please if you ilke to see the samples of the art works i will be glad to show it
Why I Love A-Word-A-Day
This is today’s entry from Anu Garg’s A Word A Day.
Wordsmith.org The Magic of Words
This week’s theme
Words from Obama
This week’s words
cohere
with Anu Garg
Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we’ll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews.
Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He’s a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see his thought process. He’s not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures. He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn’t mean he’s wrong — sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right.
Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We’ve come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman.
Anything is possible… but don’t hold your breath.
cohere
PRONUNCIATION:
(ko-HEER)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To be united; to work or hold together.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).
USAGE:
“I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually cohere.”
Barack Obama; Dreams From My Father; Times Books; 1995.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)
Here is what Anu Garg isn’t saying, and my guess is he hasn’t thought twice about it. He is an American. He was not born in America, he immigrated to America – as most of us did, meaning our forefathers and mothers came from Europe, from Africa, from Asia and from India and the Middle East and – and – and. As an immigrant, as an American, he is free to say what he wants. Free to be happy Obama is president, and at the same time free to say that the system is not yet free enough.
I also totally love it that his quote for today is from Martin Luther King, who we are celebrating in America, on this national holiday.
We don’t have to agree. I love it that he is passionate about his beliefs, and that he provides A-Word-A-Day as a public service, entirely free, every day sending a new word, defined and used in context, to subscribers in every nation in the world. I admire people like him, like the Rajab family here in Kuwait, like Andrew Carnegie who started most of the small town libraries in the United States, people who use what they have been given to give back to the world-at-large.
You can see A Word A Day leads my blogroll. You can subscribe by clicking on the blue type above. 🙂
Fighting Pornography
For the last week, I have been beset by some of the filthiest spam I have seen in a long time. Most of it goes straight to spam, thanks to WordPress’s effective filters, but occasionally, one passes. I think there is a major effort going on to test the filters and see what can get through. It puts pressure on me to check the blog frequently and eliminate anything I see that is inappropriate.
Most of this spam takes you to pornographic sites. I hate porn. It degrades those who indulge. It gives people an unrealistic idea of what sex is all about. It infects normal relations with unrealistic images and expectations. And those images are engraved on your brain, spoiling what is good and beautiful, smearing it with what you have taken in on those sleazy websites.
I have said it before and I will say it again – those women and men are PAID. They are doing those things because they were PAID. The animals are doing it because they are forced – as are some of the humans. It is like prostitution – no, yours is NOT the biggest they have ever seen, they are saying that because you are PAYING them.
That is fantasy. If you get your head straight, reality is 100 times better than this degradation can ever be.
You have a choice. Please choose NOT to support these websites, which are trying to appeal to the very weakest parts of your character. These websites are not just a crime against women and children – they are a weapon against the goodness of your own character.
I am now spraying this blog against filth. You are warned.
NBK Scam Letter
This is a total hoot. Like I really have an account under the name “Intlxpatr”. My friends, if you get this letter, do not click on the blue type and go to the website which will LOOK a lot like NBK, but will not be NBK. DO NOT give them any information, none! If you have the slightest doubt, go to your bank directly, but do not give these identity thieves any information!
From: info@update.com
Dear valued Watani Online Bank member:
Due to the number of incorrect login attempts, your Watani Online Bank Account has been locked for your security.
This has been done to secure your accounts and to protect your private information.
In case the login attempts were not done by you..
At Watani Online Bank we care about your security .
So, for your protection we are proactively notifying you of this activity.
If you did not trigger this lockout, follow this link to Log on to your Watani Online Account:
Click here to unlock your online account
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for using Watani Online Bank !
Out of Control
I can’t help it, I watch my statistics. I watch them even though they are totally out of my control. The truth, as I see it, is that when I write, mostly I write about things that interest me, and when I think I am writing about something that interests you, I often get it wrong.
Some of the best posts come out of nowhere. As my friend and I were leaving downtown heading home the other day, we passed the ruins, and the light was so good and the ruins so begging to be photographed, I jumped out and – literally, snapped some shots. I had my friend waiting patiently in the car, I didn’t want to be perceived as photographing the British embassy and all the security problems that could involve – so I was snapping and snapping quickly, without a lot of thought or effort, and that post is another one of those which my commenters then helped write, and helped educate us all. The same is true with several posts – ones that I just toss off, or tiny news items I share with you end up getting huge hits months later – totally out of my control.
Every year, the day after Christmas, my statistics take a huge dip. The first year, I was shocked and discouraged, the second year, I was disappointed, but this year – ho hummmm. They are now creeping back up to where they were, and I just have to put this all in God’s hands – I can call this “my” blog, but I have to laugh at how all I really can do is to provide content, and then trust that it will go where it is meant to go.
Today the statistics showed that I have passed 2,000 blog entries. This one is 2002. People have made almost 14,000 comments.
Thank you for being a part of this amazing experience. Some of you I have come to know as you comment regularly, some of you I have conversations with in the background, a very few of you know me in real life and give me material for some of the posts, and some, I am guessing, are Kuwaiti students away at university who hunger for a glimpse of home and check in for the sunrise over the gulf and weather. The vast majority of you glance through, and never stop to say hello. (Aaarrgh!)
My very favorite posts are the ones YOU help write. You share information, you correct my erroneous impression, you give me ideas where to go for further research. You share your photos. You share your recipes. You share your grandparents’ stories. Thank you. Thank you. Please come back often. 🙂
Photo Contest at Anamigo.com
From my morning e-mails, may be of interest to my photography friends out there. Bu Yousef, send them a photo or two of your pigeons!
Hi
I’m writing to let you and your readers know about a photo contest that’s going
on over at Anamigo.com. There’s a daily prize of $25 and a weekly prize of $125,
totaling $300-a-week for the cutest pet photos (voted by users). Anamigo.com is
a new online community for pet lovers and their pets. It doesn’t cost a thing
and all you have to do is join. I’ve put together this minisite which explains
everything:
I thought this might be something you would like to share with your readers. Feel
free to steal anything from the news release and if you are able to post, or
have any questions please let me know.
Thank you so much,
Dan
—
Dan Krueger
dan@anamigo
http://www.anamigo.com
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