pair of socks.

This was my final project for my Fashion Journalism class. It turned out rather nice, but I couldn't figure out where exactly I would like to have it published, if anywhere.

The model was a great sport. I don't think he'd posed for a camera before, but in the end I think he thought, even for a moment, that he could make a career of it.

My professor liked the project at least.

Behold, my exposé on the world of men's underfootwear.
(Best viewed as double-paged. Not sure hot to accomplish that with Scribd.)

Socks

Thanks, O.

all for love.

Annals of Crime : The Chameleon

Somehow in 2008, I did not read this, though it is a fascinating and chilling article from the New Yorker.

The story of Frédéric Bourdin, a French con artist who, for all of his skill in lies and persuasion, didn't do it for the money. But for "love."

The world can be a cold place.

ideas.

This summer, I'm taking a film photography course. 35mm camera, dark room, rolls of film. The whole she-bang.

As was said the first day of class, our final project will be a collection of photographs tied together by a theme. Paris seems like the perfect place to do it. But it's been a struggle to find something that I want to take pictures of. 

I've been falling in and out of love with this city for awhile. My time here can be summed up in a simple metaphor. Often in Paris, it rains and pours. It's cold. It's grey. But out of nowhere, you'll have a day when the sun appears and warmly kisses your skin. The wind blows your dress, and you're afraid that people will see your underwear, but it's because you're not wearing tights (thank the gods!). You can lie down on some grass because it is neither damp, nor cold enough to run inside.

Everything feels perfect.

And then, the next day it rains and pours.

Were there ever sun nymphs in the mythologies? Surely, because I have to be a descendant of one as light and heat are obligatory to my existence. 

To tie this back in with my photography course, I want to take pictures of moments that one may never see. Maybe only the sun sees. Not necessarily beautiful, because my eyes haven't seen only beautiful things. 

That's my wish, my idea, for the moment. I hope to have this fleshed out soon. A game plan is in order.

the lady is al(ways) right.

Photo taken by me at Musée de Louvre

Spelling errors aside, this is one of my favorite statues in the Louvre. Though I'm not religious or spiritual, there is power in gods, if only because humans themselves have conceived their identity.

socks.

Had a great model for a class assignment! Thought I would share a photo that I really liked.

Many thanks to Le Chaussetier for being amazing as we purchased all the socks in the photo(s) from them!

assignment #6: why do they hate us?

Photo courtesy of Foreign Policy

“We are more than our headscarves and our hymens. Listen to those of us fighting. Amplify the voices of the region and poke the hatred in its eye. There was a time when being an Islamist was the most vulnerable political position in Egypt and Tunisia. Understand that now it very well might be Woman. As it always has been.” Mona Eltahawy in “Why Do They Hate Us?”

After watching a short interview with Mona Eltahawy on CNN International and having a friend recommend her article, I was compelled to head over to the Foreign Policy website myself to read Eltahawy’s article on the Middle East’s War on Women. I highly recommend the article as it provides a viewpoint of the situation Arab women currently face from someone who has lived on both sides of the fence (Eltahawy is Egyptian-American, having spent her younger years in Saudi Arabia.)

There are consistent reports on the injustices against women in UN and NGO papers and publications, and once in a while the Western media chooses to report on these. There are countless other voices of abused, disenfranchised women that go unheard. Generally speaking, the coverage in the USA is more “tsk tsk” than outrage, after all you can’t expect those backwards Muslims to do any better.


And so much for the “Arab Spring” which seems to be only a spring for Arab Men. Egypt is such a country, which rose up from decades of autocratic oppression last year, only to find that Muslim Brotherhood would fill the seats of government. Note that it’s the Islamic Brotherhood - not the Islamic Alliance - the name tells you everything you need to know. Perhaps this is a victory for Egyptian men, but Egyptian women will be sorely disappointed as it is likely they will continue to be oppressed. Here’s Ms. Eltahawy’s report on that one:

“Then there's Egypt, where less than a month after President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, the military junta that replaced him, ostensibly to "protect the revolution," inadvertently reminded us of the two revolutions we women need. After it cleared Tahrir Square of protesters, the military detained dozens of male and female activists. Tyrants oppress, beat, and torture all. We know. But these officers reserved "virginity tests" for female activists: rape disguised as a medical doctor inserting his fingers into their vaginal opening in search of hymens. (The doctor was sued and eventually acquitted in March.)”

Isn’t that charmingly progressive?

It’s awful the way the Western world so easily vilifies one country and yet whitewashes another. There’s been some media attention to the plight of women in Yemen, and yet they rank way down there on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report with our erstwhile ally, Saudi Arabia; here in the USA we only hear about that country when there is talk of oil or strategic partnerships.

In my Media Law class, we briefly discussed some interpretations of how media fits into society, the Self-Realization Model being one. This sets forth that one acts to the betterment of oneself, to fully develop a notion of one’s identity. In one of my short essays in the class, I proposed that the Middle Eastern region followed such a model for not only media, but governance. Islamism is a lifestyle, not just a religion. One does all actions for the sake of piety. But it’s obvious that piety has not been realized. Look at the mess the region has on its hands with several congruent revolutions, flagrant human rights abuses, third world conditions. How will anything close to biblical or “Qu’ranical” paradise be seen with the current situation? Do men see better futures over the horizon. I think women just see a sun setting on their dreams.

Though it’s not parallel, I think often of the struggles American women are currently facing in what is also being called a “war on women”. While we have many of the freedoms Arab women in the Middle Eastern region lack, I can’t help but feel that certain groups would prefer that all those rights be taken away. Restrictions placed on birth control, abortion, when these matters have already been decided...All while men refuse to perform similar tasks to ensure equality of the sexes...It’s obvious that women must still fight. It’s even more undermining when, like in the Middle East, the US has women advocating for rights to be taken away as Governor Nikki Haley did recently. 


Even if we can drive, wear miniskirts, and work, we still don’t have it all.

assignment #5: #kony2012

I touched briefly on the subject of Kony 2012 on this blog some months ago. Since I’m woefully tired and facing a deadline for another “Representing International Politics” blog post after this one, I’ve decided to elaborate on a topic from last month that’s a bit more controversial than you may realize. Sorry if that’s exactly what you didn’t come here for :-)

Here is a brief outline: Kony is the believed current head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who had sought to form a Ugandan theocracy before allegedly being forced out of the country. He is charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, recruiting children as soldiers in his army as well as sex slaves. Many of the LRA’s most brutal crimes occurred over a decade ago, but the group’s campaigns displaced thousands if not millions of people and the body count is high.

I was first made aware of this charming psychopath in my International Human Rights course last semester, but Kony’s name did not stick in my mind. I was reminded after viewing the now infamous 30-minute Kony 2012 Youtube video made by Invisible Children co-founder James Russell. The video was amazing and struck a chord in my heart. Of course, now we know Russell is having an emotional and perhaps psychological breakdown, but I don’t think that necessarily discounts his work for this cause.


On April 20, 2012, I participated in “Cover the Night,” an event organized by Invisible Children’s off-shoot Kony 2012 where participants put up posters around their respective city in order to raise awareness on the Ugandan, and perhaps African, situation surrounding the crimes of Joseph Kony. After “covering” the night, I felt like I did something. And it was exactly what I intended to do: raise awareness. That’s all I need to do, right? Heck, I got off my butt and gave up valuable study time.

After the video was released and garnered over 100 million views in less than two weeks, there were many cries of “slacktivism.” The term is perfectly legitimate. I agree that in our quick access and instant gratification society, it’s nice to press a button and feel like you’re helping to make the world a better place. I also agree that sometimes, this is not enough to affect change. But what I found to be particularly insulting was the term’s application to this video. The purpose of the clip was to raise awareness, to raise concern. The very fact that so many people felt compelled to write about how uninspired the campaign was reiterates how effective the clip was.

And to add, I’m almost positive that a majority of the writers of these “slacktivist” articles bought any plane tickets to Africa to go save the nation, build schools, adopt underprivileged babies, end famine...Let’s be honest. The real slacktivists are opinion writers.

Besides the slacktivist argument, others argued that the situation pertaining to child abductions by the LRA has calmed down and now Uganda and the whole of Africa is an awesome place to be. Look, I understand that African countries are on the up. But let’s not be forget the past. If Kony is still alive and there are still accounts of him abducting children, then he needs to be brought to trial. I viewed a video clip of a teenage Ugandan-American girl who permanently resides in the United States speak about how dishonest the Kony 2012 video was. Essentially, she argues that Kony 2012 is just a front for the US military to swoop in and take African resources.

Sorry, kids, China is beating us to that.

While I understand her concern because you can never trust white Americans, I have to stop her right at the beginning of her video when she promotes her pedigree:
“I’m 100% Ugandan. Both of my parents were born and raised in Uganda. And...I tend to visit there from time to time. The last time I went was the summer of 2010[. . .].”

Stop right there! Do not tell me how Ugandan you are though you are clearly American-born and raised. If Uganda was so great, why aren’t you living there now? She goes on to say that Uganda had problems with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, not the LRA, the last time she visited. So while the country is at peace, there are still problems with extreme fundamentalist religious groups.

Look, there were problems ten years ago that aren’t resolved today. Joseph Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity! These aren’t light charges. We are not talking about a slap on the wrist. Why are people so complacent? And for every child that was kidnapped and forced into slavery by the LRA, there should be an accounting. If Kony isn’t in Uganda, then perhaps the US military advisors won’t stay in Uganda. This is an international effort.

So, I praise Invisible Children and Kony 2012 for being able to mobilize people around the world about an otherwise forgotten tragedy. Let’s not forget that.

I'm aware that the situation concerning solely the organization Invisible Children is extremely complicated. This is just my view on one aspect. If you’re interested, here’s more reading on the topic:


Kony 2012