First Person Films Blind musicians, Iraqi refugees, stressed-out emergency room doctors and men who iron clothes with their feet. These are a few of the subjects of compelling short documentary films produced this year by students in the professional and graduate programs at the American University in Cairo’s Center for Electronic Journalism. Join us (if …
I’ve been busy this semester, and have not been the reliable correspondent I was earlier in my adventures here. Apologies, but as I near the end of my fellowship, I’m trying to cram in as much work — and interesting excursions — as I can as my time in Egypt nears its end. Here are …
My cousin Mary Kay, a pediatrician in Cleveland, has a clinic partner who hails from Cairo. When Dr. Mervat came from Ohio to visit her family here in February, she invited me to dinner with them. She and her sisters all have names that begin with M (much like another family I know). At that …
One of my favorite people in this world is Ann Wood, a Brooklyn-based artist and dear friend whose blog is filled with delights — from papier mache ships with billowing sails made from vintage materials, to finely crafted horses, spiders and owls that she sells in her online shop. But her newest passion is to …
To see the Nabataean ruins of Petra by day is amazing (and I’ll write more about my trip there soon), but two times a week, there is an event at night that offers a beautiful and mysterious walk by candlelight into the mile-long chasm leading to the first marvelous ruin at Petra, the stone-carved facade …
About a year ago, novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote this in a widely-read article: No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful. If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF …
One of the disadvantages of living overseas is that I miss the rerun of The Ten Commandments on television this time of year. I love that famous, and anachronistic, Edward G. Robinson gangster sneer: “Moses, where’s your Messiah now!?” So I made up for it by visiting Mt. Nebo last night with my traveling pals …
I’m back in Cairo after a lovely week in Jordan. Will have stories and videos to post soon, but wanted to give you a sneak preview of some of the still images — from Petra, Wadi Rum and Jerash — in advance. Enjoy.
To read an article I wrote for the latest edition of the “Convergence Newsletter,” an online forum about trends in media convergence from the Newsplex at the University of South Carolina, look here: Converge Like an Egyptian.
Just a quick note from an Internet cafe in Aqaba, Jordan. My trip has been truly awesome so far (and I rarely use that “a” word, but it applies to so much here). Petra was amazing. So much bigger and expansive than I had imagined. And the desert landscape of Wadi Rum was likely where …