NY notions

Rashid Khalidi on Obama at Columbia's Global Center in Amman

2009-03-24T15:58:00.007-03:00

Hadn't it been for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, I wouldn't have heard about Rashid Khalidi. Sad or not that an Arab had to hear about a political Palestinian activist through the American elections isn't the issue here. It's about the stories that have been weaved to attack Obama via this academic Columbia figure (NYT, LAT).

Well today, right here in Amman, this New Yorker spoke about his relationship with Obama, at the inaugural speech for Columbia's Global Center in Amman. See for yourself:

Like Music to My Ears

2009-03-22T17:38:00.002-03:00

Columbia University, the New-York City positioned Ivy League opens it's Middle East research center in Amman.
As of today.
Rashid Khalidi, used as a token of fight by the Clinton campaign against Obama, is to roll an event in the next days, about his book Sowing Crisis.
What a start.

A New Yorker's Take on Sustainability, Future of Cities, & Gaza

2009-02-16T19:02:00.009-03:00

Interview with Michael Sorkin by yours truly. Full version to be presented here once magazine is sold out.

JO Magazine, February 2009

When Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better

2009-01-11T15:58:00.004-02:00

"Although compared variously to Las Vegas, Manhattan, Orlando, Monaco and Singapore, the sheikhdom is more like their collective summation and mythologization: a hallucinatory pastiche of the big, the bad and the ugly." The Mike Davis take on Dubai.

Dubai: a city which presents itself in part as a Manhattan replicator & competitor. Manhattan: a borough which presents itself as itself.

I Am Not A Paper Cup

2008-12-09T12:20:00.004-02:00

In New York City the paper cup is a hallmark of a particular case of urbanism: the dwellers & commuters are constantly drinking while on the go. Each block generates almost as many paper cups per day as the numbers of the people living on it (according to my crude reasoning). But then paper cups go a long way. The trash can is just the first journey along many for this paper cup to sustainably reincarnate itself in another form.

The metro-governance of the City of New York is busy untying big development knots like those going on at Ground Zero or at the yards of Hell's Kitchen. And it's busy selling porcelain cups that look exactly like their paper counterparts but that are more friendly to the waste management system. "I Am Not A Paper Cup" is officially brought to you by the Official Store of the City of New York. I say buy it and spare some more trees from your Caffeine rush.

A Katz Effect

2008-11-10T15:21:00.004-02:00

5th Avenue. Spring. 365. Wednesdays with Katz. A write-up on Amman.

JO Magazine. October 2008. Published by Al-Farida.

The Bay Ridge View of Manhattan

2008-09-11T03:27:00.001-03:00

Courtesy of Andrew Henderson

Even Google Can't Resist NY

2008-09-08T16:38:00.003-03:00

So the other day I was saving an event on Google Calender. It was first thing on my schedule for the morning. Look what I got:

Mon, September 8, 9am – 10am What: e.g., Breakfast at Tiffany's

(With a paper cup and a Danish wouldn't I want too?)

A New York Moment

2008-08-27T14:35:00.005-03:00

They claim that there is always a moment when you move into the city and realize that you have become a true New Yorker.

Mine was during one afternoon when I had grabbed a cab with a fresh newcomer to the city. Our trip started from Grand Central, heading towards Union Square (yep we grabbed a cab although a 4 or 5 train would have took us in less time, not to mention money), but I was out ruled for a treat. So, we entered and I asked the driver to take us to our destination. He asked "Shall I go through Broadway", and I answered "Yes". A few blocks and many conversations later, the driver mumbles something that sounds English but makes no sense. I looked out the window and there we were on 14th street, but Union Square was nowhere to be seen. I asked him where we were but he couldn't tell, then I shrieked: "Please don't tell me we are near the blue line." He was clueless but I went on in a high-toned frustrated voice "The A, C, E lines, there isn't a subway station at the upcoming corner on the right, is there?" Then I saw it, we were in Chelsea! "How can you do that, we are on the wrong side of the island, Union Square is on the East, we're on the West, why didn't you stay on Broadway?" I went on, then I turned to the newcomer, who was witnessing a rant hopeless to help, and explained that the square is on the intersection of Broadway and 14th, and that it's outraging how a cab driver wouldn't know it. We turned back and headed East, with the meter off, and back on when we hit Broadway, the only sign of proper interaction from the driver. I leaned back thinking that my moment had come.

*If you can't see the interest in such a topic, then most probably you haven't lived NY at all.

Discrimination by Planning Law

2008-07-31T09:30:00.000-03:00

Consulting the Zoning Glossary of the City of New York (which to remind you consists of the five boroughs of Kings “aka: Brooklyn”, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and The Bronx) only one borough was tied to a definition: Manhattan, not in its entirety too. Read and go figure;

"Manhattan Core*
The Manhattan Core extends from the southern tip of Manhattan at Battery Park to West 110th Street on the West Side and East 96th Street on the East Side. It is the area covered by Manhattan Community Districts 1 through 8."

Laid-back Boston, Hectic New York

2008-07-31T05:31:00.006-03:00

The Boston Turnstile

The New York Turnstile

The tale of the differences of these two cities in a nutshell can be told through the turnstiles at subway stations. Urban life is conveyed in the detail. Yes, turnstiles: just look at them and you will tell the difference. Boston’s are made of two pieces of glass that open automatically once you scan your card (Yes New Yorkers GLASS). I found this as such a horrifying idea since New York turnstiles are meant to handle the large volumes of people successively passing through them at the fastest speed and most aggressive way a commuter could get too. Not to mention other subjects that hit these turnstiles such as small luggage bags, laundry trolleys, guitars, and kids crawling in the clearance between the lowest bar and the (dirty) floor. 10 minutes: that’s what I’d give one of the Boston turnstiles to survive at 42nd Street-Bryant Park station during rush hour.

(Images snatched from Google Images)

The New Yorker Strikes

2008-07-16T03:34:00.000-03:00

In a true judgmental, stereotypical, uninformed mentality, and un-NY fashion, New Yorker published a satirical cartoon on its front cover of the Obama couple running the White House in a radical militant islamist (the small caps "i" is intended) manner. While they were at it, why didn't they veil Michelle, put a few Quranic verses on the wall in recognizable Arabic calligraphy, and put a gun beside a Clinton cigar on the desk? Screwed as it is, it wasn't visually Arab-related. Actually, the ethnic and religious dilemma of linking Islam to Arabs is dropped here. At least they got something right.

Ironical enough, this cartoon is titled "The Politics of Fear". Well at least let's give them credit; there is one thing about this piece that triggers laughter.

Melting Pots

2008-03-19T12:51:00.006-03:00

The heightened identity issues in NY in my everyday examination of it through academia and walking down those sidewalks forces me to rethink my own identity in the city I grew up for the largest share of my life, Amman. They make me think how Amman, this young city, is emerging....and blending identities; Bedouins, Palestinians, Jordanian non-Ammanites, Iraqis, Circassians, Armenians, Egyptians, and Syrians. Moreover, micro minority groups also exist; Greeks, Romanians, and Russians. A lot is inscribed on and perceived of these identities, many types being stereotypical such as the construction worker, the prostitute, and the good house cook (you can play the game of matching whom to which, it's not fun so I am not playing it). The way in which these identities were formed, most of whom fled from war, makes this city a place of immigrants with a history and many stories to tell. The presence of these identities is political, whether we choose to deny it or not. The setting of this city correlates to NY more than they claim Dubai does. Let's think deep, not posh. Think social networks rather than gleaming skyscrapers.

(In response to Amman and me)

From Sex in the City to the State

2008-03-13T23:42:00.002-03:00

Here. No, I mean there.

America's 4th Most Miserable City

2008-02-23T14:48:00.001-03:00

New York. Also worst for commute and income taxes.

White Harlem

2008-02-22T22:50:00.000-03:00

From Behind Your Camera Lens, Do I Know Who You Are?

2008-02-02T16:24:00.000-02:00

Every time I see a fabulous picture that one of my friends would have taken, I think of this question (bear in mind when reading this that they are not professional photographers, nor is the discussion about the pros). Building on a personal belief that a photograph is a two-way production between the photographer and the object/place/subject/person/feeling etc. being captured, it makes me wonder how much does this 2D depiction tell me about that person? What roads does it take me through in their intimate mental area that I never would have traveled down unless in very rare relationships?

Sometimes, I have to admit it may be tricky and the grounds of the depiction are murky because of its dual nature mentioned above. Add to that the technological aspect of how sophisticated the camera is and then the nature becomes tripartite. For instance, a wonderful photo may turn out to be a matter of using the right camera in a rich setting at an appropriate time of the day/night. A bummer, huh?

Once that is put aside, and you think of the crude eye and mind that were taking the picture, a lot of amazing aspects about a person emerge. After all, what they focus on tells you about their interests, how they focus on it tells you the way they think about their interests. A fabulous photo at the end is one which tells you that much about them in a way you can interestingly and deeply identify with. And maybe, just maybe, a result of such a realization is to move together along a widened understanding of each other, traveling down your newly discovered "mutual" intimate areas.

The Nest

2008-01-19T12:33:00.000-02:00

Beijing being the host of the Olympics this year has pulled an architectural stunt to take our breaths away. Well at least it worked on me (and on some movie makers). The stunt is none other than Herzog and De Meuron's National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics (more commonly known as "the nest" since it looks like one). Having visited the site, I couldn't help but notice how some humble construction practices where working in line with the progressive; like in the straw filled blankets, and the messy corrugated sheets that circle the building at close proximity to its outer facade. Nonetheless to say, the landscape pattern on the floor wasn't as presented in the renderings, wherein it continued the pattern of skewed lines on its surfaces. Wonder what went wrong there.

Visually yours,

The Amman - NY Air Link

2007-12-24T20:22:00.000-02:00

I can't help it. Call it a bias and I don't care, but I just love to draw on links between both cities. In this year's news (before its almost over): Royal Jordanian celebrates 30 years of nonstop flights between Amman and NY, establishing that intimate link with the dear Middle East.

Ok, so I was one of RJ's victims of the recent flights that got messed up... I had my flight change three times, I barely made it to JFK, but, such a mess was worth it at the end; like meeting someone you think highly of.
A whole page ad in today's paper presented an apology and detailed explanation for the mess, quite an interesting way to communicate to the passengers...which brings up a random thought; I wonder if RJ will be hit by the wave of neoliberalism and consecutively undergoes privatisation. Come on, why should it be, it's royal after all!

The Ivy Dilemma

2007-12-21T08:04:00.000-02:00

So they got the City Council's approval.

Dear Columbia:
This is New York City, just why can't that urban context get punched in to the numbers of space per student ratio of yours?

Brooklyn: Home of Unconventional Friendships

2007-12-16T14:20:00.000-02:00

Between Jews and Muslims, or so the mainstream notion views the friendship as so (unconventional), before ARRANGED comes to attack it gently, accepting that they both have lives to lead and not wars to live. And the streets and homes of Brooklyn are so. From Williamsburg to Bay Ridge, the city presents spots where world peace can actually happen.

ARRANGED is a story of marriages in a city where the conventional of so is secular. Where the religious narrative actually is a story of success. You just have to love low budgets (especially those shot in 17 days!)

The Weather Channel & The Idea of "Light Rain"

2007-12-16T13:44:00.000-02:00

3:00 A.M.
Outside the snow a few inches think, maybe 5?
The Channel reported rain.

12:00 P.M.
Rain showers and Windy

And the white on my window sill is?
Product of a natural slush-generative window designed to function as so through the idea of creating a local microclimate.

Slowing Down on Cortlandt St.

2007-12-08T02:55:00.000-02:00

Using the local to go to Manhattan from Brooklyn (& vice versa) is definitely not habitual. In the very few times I did so, I noticed something worth mentioning. As the R line passes through the Cortlandt street station, it slows down. If your not familiar, this station is the one that used to serve the WTC towers and adjacent areas. When the train passes by, you get to see the interior of destruction (or construction, but realistically rather than pessimistically, I see it as the former). It's a sad moment. I find it remarkable that the train slows down, it's a strong statement for NYC to make: as quick as the trains have to go, they slow down in respect and reflection of what had happened at that site. I prefer to think of it as that, though maybe the reason is to not affect the construction on ground zero (a less likely possibility since the trains speed up as soon as they are away from the edge of the station).

Apparently, the MTA was planning to reopen the station this year, but delays happened.

Broadway meets 5th Ave

2007-11-29T01:48:00.000-02:00

in a rather abstract manner...

Brookfield Properties model for the Hudson Yards
Development...modeling outside of the box of the
Yards...

The NYC cab dresses flowers for the fall

2007-11-28T20:33:00.000-02:00

Public art challenges the bland yellow surfaces of the city's cabs in what I personally think is a bold attempt to use a symbol that operates on the rapport of juvenile and feminine representation. Standing on the curb and observing it pass by, it's not really the way I think of it then and there.

NYC's initiative of Garden in Transit is promoted as a
community-based project.

two-extra notions:
- the colors are bold and beautiful
- the male-cab drivers, and the suit-jacketed business men: do they have some sort of sexual (as in gender) consciousness to this?

A 10$ digital camera produces this sort of an image

2007-11-17T22:06:00.000-02:00

Bloomberg maybe the gentleman sitting beside you

2007-11-07T02:26:00.000-02:00

on the train. As far as this newsweek's article is concerned. Seems like he uses one of the 42nd street stations (as far as the picture reveals): Times Square's or Bryant Park's. So what line is it gonna be? (hint: he uses it to go to work)

On differences between NY and, and

2007-11-07T01:41:00.000-02:00

Amman. Issue of the homeless.

In Amman: a social taboo.
In NY: Dean MacCannell says it well:
"That the poor, the insane or the criminal could simply be turned onto the streets, that the 'legitimate' members of society could retreat into gated and guarded communities, that the poorest of the poor could simply be excluded from 'society' and asked to 'keep moving along', these exclusionary societal 'solutions' were (and continue to be - even as they emerge as historical reality) theoretically unthinkable. The victory of capitalism over other economic forms has been accompanied by a new attitude, a casual indifference toward the socially excluded. Now that capitalism no longer has an audience, the homeless do not necessarily constitute an embarrassment."

Why? Simple: because Amman is still a newcomer to capitalism when compared to the older receptors, and incubators of it.

Capitalism is old news. And according to academic circles, news of primitive ideological times.

Dia: Beacon

2007-11-07T01:15:00.000-02:00

Look at this pic well, because this is all what your camera can get to capture at the Dia: Beacon museum. It is more of a shrine-of-a-museum dedicated to Minimalist art housing fantastic works of Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt.

And sadly, they watch visitors over there so hard you don't get a chance to snap any pics. However, and saying this with a tone, you can sneak some down at Richards Serra's Torqued Ellipse. So if your approach to pondering upon art is informed by the way you photograph it, this may not be your cup of coffee.

Jordanian women and Facebook

2007-11-07T00:36:00.000-02:00

Or shall I say Ammani women?... since that has been the object of personal familiarization. Anyways, you can say that the condition is pretty much typical so a generalization could be excused. No excuse? Buzz off...why are you reading this blog anyhow?

So, on facebook, there's the profile picture that stands as the visual representation of ourselves. The thing with most of these [us] women on facebook is posting a picture from their weddings. Putting aside all the social constructs that are entailed to reaching to such a level of presentation, don't you think its doing these women's special wedding moments a form of degradation by using them as a virtual identifier of who they are to the public? A moment in your life doesn't represent who you are (basing on a premise here that the profile pic is a representation of who you are). Or, in the case of Jordanian women, it does.

Fashion crime

2007-10-09T14:31:00.001-03:00

I admit to committing this weekend: Walking into Prada's SoHo store with a Jansport backpack and well-worn Nike sneakers on. And having the nerve to hop into that seated elevator. Wondering what that hunk at the front door was thinking…

Open House New York

2007-10-09T14:15:00.001-03:00

NY unlocks some of its otherwise limited access places one weekend each year; the OHNY event. A design and architecture event, you get to mingle with some top-notch architects in their offices or at project locations, to access particular interiors such as the Chrysler lobby, or to access rough, not-ready-for-public places such as Ellis Island's abandoned building.

Columbia hosts Iranian President

2007-09-24T19:34:00.000-03:00

and the city goes crazy. Papers have been generous about communicating their madness and denial on the invitation Columbia University addressed to the Iranian President, Ahmadinejad, who is visiting the city. Scheduled for today, the places were booked since last week so
we couldn't get to attend it LIVE.

However, we went today to see the anticipated commotion in the vicinity of the university. Flashing our CCNY ID's we managed to get through the first security barrier but not the 2nd at the gates :(NYPD were all over place, t.v. stations, camera men, etc. Broadway was so crammed with New Yorkers going out of their way to express a point-of-view. An interesting moment…

Yes, back to blogging

2007-09-24T19:28:00.000-03:00

So, the so-dreaded and delayed decision has been made; and here I am, blogging. Now I have to clarify that I went into this mess before. For two months. And then what happened? I was co-blogging at mensnoncorpus.blogspot.com (I dunno if it’s still open though) and then my minimal privileges were withdrawn, due to indecisiveness reasons. Back now and inspired by NY, here are notions inspired by the city I relocated too.