September 2010
Beirut: Mapping Security
Beirut: Mapping Security is an ongoing research work and a newspaper publication edited by Mona Fawaz, Ahmad Gharbieh and Mona Harb, developed and assembled within the international network DIWAN.
“Armed conflict normalizes the presence of visible so-called security measures in the form of barricades, road blocks or army personnel in the everyday life of the city. This is perhaps one of the legacies of the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990), the Israeli occupation of parts of South Lebanon (since 1978), and the ongoing Arab Israeli conflict that have all marked Lebanon’s recent history. In Beirut security associated with these conflicts, whether in the form of protecting key political figures and/or preventing inter-communal violence, has been a latent aspect of the cityscape which heavily affects people’s everyday practices and movements. The recent development of a network of high-end shopping and entertainment facilities in Beirut has established a new layer of security, this time intended to protect the rich.
Our aim in this project was to initiate a public debate about the normalization of security as an element of urban governance and how this new narrative of threats and fear profoundly alters everyday practices.”
30 September 2010 | Food Pyramids
I missed this when it first hit the web, but wow, that’s a striking presentation.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published this graphic during the 2007 debate on the US Farm Bill.
Design Manifestos 2010
I’ve added three new items to my growing list of design manifestos, all from 2010.
- January 2010: The Role of Design in the 21st Century, a manifesto and vision for the future of Danish design from the multidisciplinary Danish Design Association.
- September 2010: Anti-Design Festival Manifesto. Tomorrow the Anti Design Festival kicks off in the UK as a counter-event to the London Design Festival, both a protest against its “pretty commerciality” and attempt to “unlock creative fires and ideas, exploring spaces hitherto deemed out-of-bounds by a purely commercial criteria.”
- August 2010: The Obstructionist Manifesto. Mark Goldman writes against harmful, heavy-handed, insider-driven city planning.
In June I wrote about Conflict Kitchen, a pop-up, take-out restaurant in Pittsburg that only serves cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with. In October, Kubideh Kitchen will go out of business and change identities to highlight and provoke discussion around Afghan culture. The organizers have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $4,000 by the end of September. Donations will go towards the creation Bolani Pazi, which will serve Afghan food wrapped in a custom-designed wrapper printed with Afghan perspectives and opinions. Pledges of $15 or more will receive copies of the stylish (and informative) food wrapper designs from both Kubideh Kitchen and Bolani Pazi.Update 9/25/10: Success! $4,178 raised!
How startling seeing some of those old demo flyers from nearly 10 years ago. Those were emotional days on the streets of New York, trying to help where needed and to reign in the war machine.Subject to Search
My Stories
In July 2009, I noted a study concluding that Brazil’s telenovelas have inspired both a drop in birth rate and rise in divorce. Via the Communication Initiative Network, I found a a few other items on soap operas and public health:
- A German report looks at TV soap operas in Kyrgyzstan, the Dominican Republic, and Côte d’Ivoire as vehicles for HIV/AIDS education.
- A radio soap opera in Vietnam reached millions of farmers changing their attitudes and practices managing rice pests, fertilisers, and seeds.
- Authors of a 2006 paper on a radio soap opera in Bihar, India document how it spurred fundamental, sustainable shifts in people’s values and beliefs.
- A May 2008 Master’s thesis looks at the effect of two Ethiopian radio dramas on attitutde towards reproductive health and spousal abuse.
- Fans of a radio drama in Sudan learned about, or were reinforced in, the importance of abandoning female circumcision, giving girls more control of their reproductive health, having a small family, and staying away from drugs and alcohol.
And though I couldn’t find a study on its impact, straphangers in New York City may remember Julio and Marisol: Decision, an episodic comic strip soap opera dealing with AIDS that ran in English and Spanish in NYC subway cars from 1989 through 2001.
A call for Israeli architects and planners to refuse to design settlements in Ariel, a sliver of land that goes deep into Palestinian territory: “After dozens of actors, theater workers, professors and writers declared their refusal to appear in the new cultural hall in Ariel or any other settlement, the time has come for architects and planners to wake up and announce publicly that they will not continue planning new buildings in the settlements. Architects and planners are the ones who implement in practice the occupation policy of Israeli governments and continue the conflict on the drafting table.” (via)Update 9/6/2010: More than 150 US and UK actors, writers, and directors have signed a letter of support for the Israeli actors who said they would not perform in Ariel.
