It’s not often that I get obsessed with music, being the tone deaf person that I am. Yet, when I do get obsessed – man, then we got a serious problem.

My latest obsession: Sufjan Stevens.

It’s as if the cursed music appreciation class I had to take in college finally paid off. Sufjan’s music sends me to another world, I just sit there lost in the richness of the symphonies; fluttering string arrangements, soaring background vocals, and worldly warmth. He makes me feel like I’m walking through a multifaceted wall of instruments and sound, combining sleigh bells and heart-squeezing electronica. His music is so good that I don’t even mind his lyrics, which are both preachy and too spiritual for my taste.

Here are my three favorite songs of his, if you’re into “Baroque funk” (whatever the hell that is), or Christian music, you can thank me later.

“John Wayne Gracy Jr.” is what started it all for me. I have no idea how it ended up on my computer, but it did, and I fell in love. It’s so morbid, yet so beautiful.

“Casimir Pulaski Day”:

And my favorite Sufjan Stevens song, “Vesuvius”:

Look, Sufjan is even a good writer, and he has a blog! My favorite post of his is about how an American white boy ended up with a name as exotic as Sufjan. The opening paragraph:

“After a few years moving in and out of various towns, religious cults, faddish diets, etc., my parents finally sat me down and apologized for the weird name they gave me. “We were out of our minds!” they admitted. “We didn’t know what we were thinking!” To make up for it, they said, I could change my name to anything I wanted. Anything at all. Something familiar, normal, American, easy-to-spell, perhaps? It was totally up to me. What democracy! What fun! I scanned the possibilities: Benjamin, Jason, Derek, Chad. Endlessly delightful, perfectly ordinary candidates! I was given a week to decide, and a Webster’s dictionary. I scavenged for something conventional, conservative, and concise: Calvin, Colin, Jeremy, Kenneth. I was drawn to the monosyllables of Bob, Rob, Don, John, Dirk, Chad, and Chuck. Oh! To be summoned with one simple, single-syllable sound of the English language. Dave! Matt! Mike! Pat! Pete! Paul! No more spitballs behind the ears and getting my lights punched out behind the dugouts. No more dizzying taunts and esoteric rhyme schemes at recess. No more pokes in the ribs and jokes in the locker room. I was going to be just like Carl and Scott and Steve and Rick and Gordon and Aaron and all those other handy-dandy factory pre-made key-chain-name-tag-button-shot-glass-sticker-greeting-card names you find at gas stations!”

(Read rest of post here)

This is the funniest video ever: Tamer Hosni crying his eyes out after being booed out of Tahrir.

The great Mashrou Leila just released a Clint Eastwood cover called “Ghadan Yawmon Afdal”, a dedication to today’s Arab youth.

Lyrics:

مبسوط، ما بني شي
مخبى الشمس بكرشي
مالي عازه، بس مش مطول

غداً يومٌ أفضل يومٌ أفضل، يومٌ أفضل…

بقى جاي يحكيني إبن الكلب
عن كل قضايا العالم
يا رح تتصفف بجانبه،
يا أما انك ظالم

بقى تتعلم تتفادى أحاديث
بعمرها بتوديش

لا رح تنقذ أهلك
ولا رح بتغير عالم،
شنا الناس دايماً بتنتقم
وعمرها ما بتحبش

قوم بلاش ما تنفصم
أشرفلك بس تطنش،
حتسيبك بوعظات جاي
من عمارات من عاج،
حكيتهم خيي بتستاهل
وإلا بس طعاج

From Wikipedia:

العِلمانية (بالإنجليزية: Secularism‏) تعني اصطلاحاً فصل الدين والمعتقدات الدينية عن السياسة والحياة العامة، وعدم إجبار الكل على اعتناق وتبني معتقد أو دين أو تقليد معين لأسباب ذاتية غير موضوعية

A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion/nonreligion over other religions/nonreligion.

Among the first to delineate the nature of a secular society, D. L. Munby characterizes a secular society as one which:

1. Refuses to commit itself as a whole to any one view of the nature of the universe and the role of man in it.
2. Is not homogenous, but is pluralistic.
3. Is tolerant. It widens the sphere of private decision-making.
4. While every society must have some common aims, which implies there must be agreed on methods of problem-solving, and a common framework of law; in a secular society these are as limited as possible.
5. Problem solving is approached rationally, through examination of the facts. While the secular society does not set any overall aim, it helps its members realize their aims.
6. Is a society without any official images. Nor is there a common ideal type of behavior with universal application.

If you asked me a month ago to give you ten things that make me proud of being Arab, I would have listed ideas among the lines of we have very strong family bonds, we have awesome food, and our history is kick ass.

Today, in the wake of the Tunisian revolution and the Egyptian uprising, I have a very different list. I am neither Egyptian nor Tunisian, but what I do have in common with both countries is our shared Arab heritage.

Here are ten things that happened in the Arab world in 2011 that really made me smile:

1. Doctors, nurses, and regular people pooled knowledge and resources together to create a makeshift hospital in Tahrir to help the injured.

2. With a tattered image, thanks to a few radicals, we prove yet again that our civilization is based on mutual respect. A human shield created of people who are either Christian or not praying protecting those in prayer. You can see the cross on this man’s wrist.

3. People from all walks of life cleaning the streets of Cairo.

4. Non-Egyptians like BloggerSeif and Sarah Karam stood and are still standing with Egyptians to support their right for dignity.

5. Civilian neighborhood protection units protected Egyptian neighborhoods from thugs. These men stood guard overnight to ensure that it is a safe environment for their communities. How awesome is that?

6. People in suits, in jeans, and in leather forming a human shield around Egypt’s priceless museums.

7. Giving out water and food in Tahrir to help others.

8. Arabs go out to support Egypt by protesting in their own countries.
 

9. My Facebook stream becoming a mosaic of Egyptian and Tunisian flags, although most of my friend list does not consist of people from either county.

10. Different channels from all around the Arab world broadcasting AlJazeera in solidatity, after they were blocked by Nilesat.

It’s been an awesome 2011 so far.
 
Dear Tunisians, dear Egyptians, thank you for reminding us that there is hope. Thank you for making it clear that the acts of immorality taking place in our region such as lack of acceptance, petty crime, and nonchalance are out of desperation, as opposed to lack of culture.

Thank you for proving that our integrity as human beings comes first and foremost, before our genders, our idealogical beliefs, and our differences.

Great definition I found here:

“What does the word mean to you? Have you ever been told you are being disrespectful simply because you disagreed with someone or have a different opinion, belief, or idea that you aren’t afraid to voice? By definition, being disrespectful implies rudeness and the definition of rudeness is to be impolite, rough, and boorish. So if you disagree in a polite, calm, and civil way, how is this disrespectful? I believe that a lot of people would define respect in a different way, however. From what I have observed, respect to them is unquestioning silence. Special privilege or immunity from disagreement. This is not at all justified. It is an unrealistic, egotistical, even dangerous expectation. What if slavery (which was at one time thought of as completely moral by the majority) had never been questioned or challenged by the minority because it might have been disrespectful to do so? Scary to think about, isn’t it?   Would these same people assert that they must respect the beliefs/ideas of suicide bombers or racists? We should absolutely be peaceful and kind to our fellow beings. However, we should not have to sit muzzled while everyone around us asserts what is good and true. Challenging thoughts and ideas, especially when done in a peaceful way, is not disrespectful. Furthermore, it is essential to our growth as a civilization.”