.:what twisted love is hate:.


In a way, it's odd to think that the bombing of a building can cause so much hurt. Attacks on American buildings even if there were no casualities would still cause me to drop my head and close my eyes in saddness. An attack on a church, even if there were no casualities, would fog my mind and keep my lungs from filling. Imagine then, an attack on an historic religious site, a mosque that held the bodies of two prior imams, and the home of one to come. Perhaps for those who are not Muslim it is hard to understand why the bombing of a mosque could cause so much anguish. For those who are religious of any kind, imagine an attack on one of the more scared holy sites of that particular religion. For those who are not religious whatsoever, I suppose the mentality needs to be explained a bit more. While I cannot speak authoritively for all religions, I will try to explain to the best of my ability. God is not the church, or the synagogue, or the mosque, or the temple. Most religions (perhaps I should stick with the ones of the book) caution against the worship of material things. During the Reformation, Christians were afraid of the worship of Christian icons, and perhaps rightly so. In Exodus 32, Moses scorned his people for bowind down and sacrificing to a gold calf icon. In Islamic art Mohammad's face is often not drawn for fear of worshipping the prophet and not Allah. So why then, is a building so significant? You know, as I'm trying to articulate my thoughts in my own I cannot help but think that I won't make sense to others, and perhaps that is the problem of faith. But I'll try nonetheless. The building is a holy site. It is a place where we worship. But then the question and proposition arises that any place where we worship our God is holy. And yes, that is a mentality that is often not considered but should be. It's hard to say that one site is holier than another without sounding like a fool, but oh well. I think, however, that the pain and heartache that comes with an attack on a holy site is the pain that comes from a lack of respect. It's not that the building is God, but rather that it is a place where we go to forget about our lives in a modern world and go to praise someone higher than ourselves. And an attack on that place is a show of disrepect both to our faith and to our God. And that is what hurts.

Allah hafiz. God bless. (My arabic is obviously very lacking, so fyi, apparently people used to say Khuda hafiz to mean God bless)

on the tv: cnn. here's the article on the attack

.:sensuality:.

trace, with your finger, the vein that travels from the intersection of your bicep and forearm. follow it, slowly. closely. inhale consciously and exhale lightly. when you reach your wrist choose which path to chase. notice how foreign your own skin feels. how each touch is like the sensation of a thousand dull knives running across the skin. how with each trace your eyelids hover closed for a second longer. continue the movement so meticulously and slowly. trace until your skin can take no more and the hairs on your arm stand erect for want of climax. taunt your skin until your face can no longer bear the tease.

....

there's something so irrestibly sexy about sensuality. perhaps it is to be attributed to the desire to be greater than the mediocrity of bodies, to achieve a different type of sense-satisfication. try the above exercise on someone else. but mean it. live it. breathe it. pretend, if for but a second that nothing exists outside of you two. become so lost in one another. let your fingers be your compass.

on the ipod: hakim's album: talakik, followed by cat power's the greatest
best musuem: national gallery of art. why? this man knows why

i love this picture. and i took it 

.:stressing out:.

so the econ 2 midterm is tomorrow evening and i'm somewhat freaking out. not because i'm that worried, but because i'm not worried enough. i'm no econ buff but i'm more tempted by my drew barrymore edition of vogue than i am by the hundreds of pieces of data i should be reading.

oh! Happy Valentine's Day! I'm neither for nor against the holiday. I think it's fun to have days commemorate something special! Who cares if we don't have someone special... call a family member or a best friend or a distant friend. love isn't always romance or passion. it's caring and sharing :) (here's a picutre of mine!)



















on the ipod: sympathique by pink martini
art: my new slr photos! this one is my favorite

just a picture of me with my artsy glasses 

.:oh what a world:.

so today I went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. The museum was spectacular; I most definitely recommend it for those who enjoy American art. Actually, there is a rather peculiar photography exhibit called Nan Goldin that is here until tomorrow. (I only say peculiar because it didn't exactly fit with the theme of the rest of the museum but it was amazing it it's truthfulness.)

My New Year's resolution two months late is to take more advantage of the cultural activities in Philadelphia. I already go downtown quite a lot so it isn't that I need to take more advantage of the "city" so much as the "culture". I invite all my friends to join me on that venture too. Perhaps once a week (or every two weeks depending on midterm schedules) I'll go downtown for some outting to a new part of philly. I figure there is all the time in the world for drunk debachery, but I'm only here for less than four years. Sometimes I feel as though partying is amazing and fun in its own right, but nothing beats that heigtened feeling of consciousness when visiting a gallery, or attending a free concert at the Kennedy Center (okay, so that's DC I know!), or wandering around the Eastern Market (dc too).

I'm also pledging sorority, which despite the hype associated with pledging, is actually rather fun. I think it teaches a lot about dealing with authority more than anything else. In every organisation there are the "rites of passage" as my dad so fondly refers to them. Sometimes it's not easy to cope with those "rites" not because the actions are cumbersome but rather because the actions are demanded. For a person with a great deal of self-worth and independence it can be rather difficult to become accostumed to the demands and expectations of others. I think for me growing up with a drill sergerant for a dad I've already learned how to balance my sense of self and independence with the demands of a few girls. The most important thing I've found to close my eyes, breathe for five seconds and find the humor in the moment. It's there, sometimes we just have to dig to find it.

on the ipod: i will follow you into the dark by death cab for cutie
new art obsession: technique called trompe-l'oeil
art obsession in action: nga exhibit and william michael harnett

.:where have i been?:.

So I realised that I have not made a post since I was accepted into Wharton. Well now I'm here so I figure I should. But not tonight. It's been a rather long weekend... and I didn't watch the Superbowl... but then again I don't have a TV so I feel rather out-of-the-loop anywho.

ipod: things behind the sun by nick drake
tv show: the L word... though it's most definitely not as good