I’m still loving the whole cultural element that has emerged from this election. The “Five Friends” campaign is a pretty interesting usage of Hollywood star power to encourage Americans to vote. It’s kind of ironic that in a democratic country you need the likes of Will Smith and Tom Cruise to give you a reason […]

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By now, everyone has probably seen Shepard Fairey’s famous Obama poster that is destined to become a piece of contemporary art history. The “Hope” and “Change” poster has been a trademark of this election’s more cultural elements. But I doubt the poster may have been as famous as it is today had it not been […]

25 year-old man. 19 year-old sister. 30 stab wounds. 16th victim. [source]

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I got this in my email today and even though it may be a bit late, I thought it was still worth posting for those interested:
As part of its efforts to promote women and leadership in the Middle East, INSEAD has committed to send two Jordanian women to participate in a 5 day Executive Training […]

A common sight in Jordan has always been street peddlers. Typically, young Jordanians who weave through the traffic of cars stopped at a red light. In recent years I’ve noticed a change that has been occurring that is perhaps a metaphor for the bigger solution. Up until these past few years, the overwhelming majority of […]

blog.à.vu: (noun) The feeling where you could swear you’ve blogged this before.

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This is a fairly interesting tale on Ammon today. Mayor Maani has ordered for various sites including local news websites like Ammon itself, be blocked from Greater Amman Municipality computers. GAM employees seem to be spending way too much time reading online instead of working. It’s funny how government employees drinking coffee and reading newspapers […]

I haven’t been up with my blog-reading lately and I just happened to read this very interesting post by Palestinian blogger, umkhalil, where she breaks down a single week of Israel “securing” itself and how US presidential hopeful are falling head over heels to ensure that security. Definitely worth a read:
Israel made itself more secure […]

I wanted to talk about this since the Jordan Festival but lately, Tim of “culture rage” inadvertently refreshed my memory with this story of a death in Wadi Ma’in. A Jordanian man drowned because neither he nor his friends knew how to swim in the 5-meter deep waters of the canyon. These canyons have been […]

“Flattery is still the best way to keep one’s job and freedom.” - Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2008. Al Arab Al Yawm Editor in Chief Taher Adwan stated that “sometimes it is the administrations of media outlets or their owners who prefer to flatter the authorities in pursuit of their own interests”. […]

Any movie that has Jordan as its stage has, by default, something interesting to offer me as a viewer. And if behind that movie sits Ridley Scott in the director’s chair, with Russell Crowe and Leonardo Dicaprio in front of the camera, well, suffice to say, this has to be one heck of a movie. […]

Blog.ne.sia: (noun) The inability to remember a post one has written on one’s weblog.
…Something I’ve been experiencing lately. Someone will say “oh, you know that post you wrote about such and such?” and this will only conjure up a blank, dumbfounded stare on my face.

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So it’s Thursday (thank God) once again and I’m trying to start a tradition on the Black Iris where the goal is to end the weekday with a smile on your face because I read somewhere that’s supposed to put people in a good mood for the weekend and I’ve always had a pro-weekend agenda. […]

What is it about male hair that personifies some sort of statement? While women spend more time, energy and money on their hair it doesn’t nearly get the same attention a single hairstyle on a man gets. There seem to be political connotations always attached to male hair for as far as I can remember. […]

In nearly every poll, Obama is leading by several points. From the economic crisis to the Bush administration, to McCain’s voting record, to Sarah Palin as the heartbeat-away President, it seems like everyday something new emerges from the US presidential campaign that points to a universe where all the stars are aligning for Obama. And […]