Truth is, I never really learned to write.

Although I always held words very highly, I was only taught to equip letters to suit my purpose, and that was usually to jot down information or fill out forms. All my other dealings with words was and continues to be through typing- ordained digital light.

When I joined the Syntax team, I was bombarded with type and calligraphy. Literally speaking. I discovered that there are more details, counters, and curves to letters than what meets the eye. I realized that there are a million ways to describe the way a letter looks. I also realized that I didn’t know much about this world. So when a colleague put up the opportunity to take a four week workshop on Arabic calligraphy with Syrian calligrapher Saleh Nasab, I found myself getting really excited.

I know that four sessions with reeds and ink will not even begin to scratch the surface of Arabic calligraphy, but hey, it’s a start. Watch this space for a weekly photographic recap of two hours spent learning to write.

According to the OpenNet Initiative:

“Access to Internet content in Jordan remains largely unfettered, with filtering selectively applied to only a small number of sites. However, media laws and regulations encourage some measure of self-censorship in cyberspace, and citizens have reportedly been questioned and arrested for Web content they have authored.”

The report also says that there isn’t much transparency. Personally, I think that there is a lot less internet freedom these days than when there was 5 years ago in Jordan. To me, it is not just the official channels though, it’s also society at large, which most Western-based reports do not take into consideration.

It’s an interesting report, although it seems to be slightly outdated when it comes to dates and figures, and you can read it all here.

Thanks to Y’s brilliant ideas, the whole office enjoyed a delicious, filling, and healthy meal for under 4 JDs (combined total).

This CNNSI article reads “Carmelo arrested on DUI suspicion”. Not such a great place for a Cornona ad… Contextual advertising is pretty funny sometimes.