The yuppie's guide to protests

Having been part of the activist community for many years, I've learned a thing or two about organising protests - on both sides. Here's a handy list that you can use to get started on your next rally.

PS: This mostly applies to a Palestinian protest with an Israeli opposition on the other side. PPS: This blog post is not attempting to undermine my peoples, I do after all attend them and believe in the cause, I just also think we can change a few things about them to make them more efficient and make a statement.

Palestinian side

1. A loud woman on a mega phone yelling out the slogans and constantly reminding you of her refugee status: I want to mention that this may just be a Toronto thing because in other protests I've attended across Canada, this wasn't necessarily the case. She yells slogans like "Stop the Killing stop the crime, Israel out of Palestine" and "No Justice no Peace" but she stops, takes a deep breath and likes to tell you a story about where she's from and how she was exiled and all that. Sometimes it feels like the entire Palestinian story happened to this girl (Nakba, Naksa, Black September, Lebanon, Sabra and Shatila, Gaza) so you start wondering.
2. Someone performing spoken word poetry: If there's one thing I hate, it's spoken word poetry. There are over 800 reasons why I dislike it, which I won't get into, and for some reason there is always someone who wants to perform spoken word poetry at rallies. Unfortunately this is like the worst kind too.
3. Gaza: If there's one thing that's really bothering me about the conflict right now it's the separation of Gaza from Palestine. I can't help but get angry when I hear "Free Palestine, Free Gaza" as if the two aren't the same place/people. This is wrong and must be corrected and when you tell people they just look at you, shrug their shoulders and continue chanting it. Another thing that's always noticeable at rallies is that they bring someone from Gaza to speak. Usually this person has never been to Gaza, or visited once in 1995 and has some family there that discuss the situation with them but that's about it. Although they are really connected to Gaza it doesn't make them a credible source. In my opinion, if we changed their role from someone speaking about the situation to just someone giving an inspirational speech that would be better.
4. A previous revolutionary from either the PLO or PFLP to speak: Ahh the glory days! This is a staple event - the man never refers to his past, you just know who he is if you've read some books. He serves as the "motivational speaker" getting the crowd going and excited. Usually the man is a total 3ammo (uncle) wearing a leather jacket, a plaid shirt with a pen in the pocket, probably has a mustache, wears khakis and chain smokes. You relate to him because your dad most likely resembles him. Not mine though.
5. The Keffiyeh: The dude who only goes to Arab parties to meet girls decides to attend his first protest. His contribution? A keffiyeh. Also, everyone who owns a keffiyeh wears it on a day when a rally is taking place, it's the code.
6. Someone selling Marxist magazines: Rain or shine, these homies are there selling.
7. An elderly passing out flyers: Just like the Marxist magazine sales people the old folks are running around the crowd (rain or shine) passing out "flyers". Usually they aren't flyer size but either 8.5x11 or 11x17, typed with comic sans or times new roman and include way too much information. Let's get creative with visual communication materials, as I discussed here.
8. The backwards flag: No matter where you go, this is a staple item. The flag is backwards. Why? Don't ask me, it just happens...every. time.

Israeli side

Yep, those are rockets in the Palestinian flag colour

1. The core seven crazy members of the JDL: You can't have a protest without "The JDL Seven" as I call them. These homies will say whatever is on their mind. Like internet trolls, they scour the city for information on where a Palestinian related event might be and make sure to cause some trouble. I'm surprised no one has arrested them yet. Actually, that doesn't surprise me at all.
2. Offensive signs that if the other side had a sign with similar language we'd all be in jail (exhibits below)
3. Signs with slogans that are irrelevant: Usually talking about Islam and Sharia Law, they have nothing to do with the conflict, save us the 9-11 discourse.
4. Nationalist songs: They need to take slogan advice from their Egyptian neighbours
5. That crazy woman who walks around the city calling people "anti-Semites" and "self-hating" (usually found in Yorkville): She rips posters off poles and harasses anyone near them.

That reads "Sharia is the end of Freedom"

Maybe a little research on this topic will do you some good. Here's my reco: A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two peoples by Ilan Pappe

That reads "Stick the Nakba up your Wazoo"

My top...seven

Several months ago, a conversation took place at Sweaty Betty's regarding my top five songs. It took me awhile, but I ended up compiling eight and then remembered only seven. So, here's my top seven list of songs (in no particular order) that I can constantly loop and never get sick of. I know there's more but you know how it is when you have to think of it on the spot. What are you top songs?

That's the way love goes - Janet Jackson

Away - The Cranberries

Lover's Spit (Beehives version) - Broken Social Scene

If I ever feel better - Phoenix

Never felt like this before - Charlie Smalls

Closing Time - Semisonic

Smooth Operator - Sade

Ladies and gentlemen...

Last week I launched my new initiative, Kalimat Magazine - a magazine about Arab thought and culture created by Arabs (within the region and the Diaspora) for everyone. Kalimat is online for now but I'm hoping to be in print soon. Take a look at the online issue at www.kalimatmagazine.com and make sure to visit the interactive components (audio+video) under "New Media Extras". I hope you like it :)

Creative Type No. 3

Last week, I attended the opening night of Creative Type 3 at the Palmerston Café and Gallery. Creative Type No. 3 is an annual exhibit of experimental typography, featuring the works of more than 60 artists and designers from across Toronto.

If you're interested in checking it out, the exhibit is running until May 1 at the Palmerston Café and Gallery. Drop-in gallery hours:

12PM – 5PM Tuesday – Friday; Saturday & Sunday 10AM – 5PM.

iPod touch snaps:

i like stuffffff.

Nice! Old colleagues being used in the print ads. If I still worked at DDB, I wonder if I would've been suited for a criminal shot...hmmm...


Boys, get your summer ties out!

Kul stuff

I need a weekender bag.

Dope.

Social Design - Practice + Perspectives

If you're in or around Baltimore, drop your "Wire" jokes for MICA Place in East Baltimore (814 N. Collington Avenue) on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 from 17h to 19h and learn more about using design as a tool for positive change. I've had a chance to visit MICA, meet some of the panelists and also tour MICA place and it's awesome.

Panelists include Mike Weikert, director of the Social Design (MA) and Center for Design Practice MICA, advisor for Project M, an international social design initiative, principal of Weikert Design and the creator of Small Roar; Ryan Clifford, Faculty Director of the MICA Design Coalition, project manager of MICA’s Center for Design Practice and advisor for Project M; Ryan LeCluyse, former AmeriCorps Vista, co-director of the M Lab, a rural community design studio, and founder of the bicycle co-op, BikeLab; and Becky Slogeris, MA in Social Design graduate candidate with an interest in the role of design in education reform, co-curator of Baltimore: Open City.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will support Baltimore art + design programs for urban youth. For more information please email Elizabeth.

You can register for the event here.

What you're likely to hear

I meant to post this earlier in time for fashion week, but it completely slipped my mind. I've compiled a list of songs you're likely to hear at this season's LG Fashion Week in Toronto. Although LGFW started on Monday, there's still time to hear some of these jams on the runway. My predictions are usually accurate, but if I'm wrong then, sorry.

1. "Hello" - Martin Solveig and Dragonette
2. "Pharaohs & Pyramids" - Cut Copy
3. Most of the Toro Y Moi album
4. Far East Movement - "Like a G6" (Despite it being a last season and season before that runway hit, I think one designer will put it in)
   
5. Anything by Drake. Ugh.
6. "Safari Disco Club" - Yelle
7. Songs from the Twin Shadow album
8. "Snake Charmer" - Bag Raiders
9. Anything by The Black Keys
10. Songs from the TRON: Legacy Soundtrack
11. "Odessa" - Caribou (again, same thing as "G6" but it may come back)

What would be nice to hear:

1. "Lovesick" - Lindstrom and Christabelle
2. Songs from the Bonobo album
3. "Pigna Colada" (Fare Soldie Shake Your Burek Remix) - Sculo Furano
4. "Sorry" - Justus Kohncke and Alexis Taylor
5. "Holidays" - Miami Horror
6. "Boy" (RAC Remix) - Ra Ra Riot

Kalimat Magazine

Back in the summer, I had an overwhelming amount of ideas floating in my head. The months of uncertainty that followed were spent sketching ideas and conceptualising.

In December, I finally had the finalised design and text for my latest project Kalimat Magazine and had a soft "spread the word" type of launch. April is the month where I will be launching the online portion of the magazine, which will be followed by a print edition in the summer (hopefully). On April 16th, Kalimat is hosting a Livestream of TedXRamallah, as part of our partnership with the TedX event. We're also going to have a few talks and live performances of our own. So if you're in the Toronto area, make sure you head over to Beit Zatoun at 612 Markham Street at 18h00 and attend this event.

And don't forget to check out and support Kalimat.

The concept of being busy

We all have friends who are constantly bragging about how busy they are and why they have been missing in action lately, but frankly, I don't consider being "too busy" an excuse to not maintaining a relationship with people, even if it's a brief two minute phone call or message every month or so. I personally consider myself a busy person because I partake in a lot of activities. Alongside my full time job, I also do freelance work, run several personal projects, and volunteer, but I make sure to always have time to hang out with friends, socialize and send personal emails/messages checking up on them, even if they are far away.

People always complain about not being able to "find the time", but the truth is, it's not about "finding time" it's about "making time". Making time helps you manage, organise and prioritise. If you're constantly overwhelmed, maybe you shouldn't be taking up so many activities. The fact that we are constantly connected (internet is widely available, smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc), gives people no excuse to not respond to their messages and not keep in touch or send off a brief "hello, how are you?" If you find the time to check your Facebook account, write on someone's wall, post a few links, photos and comments, it's likely you check your emails and your cell phone messages. And if you have the time to do everything it is people do on Facebook, you surely have the time to respond to a friend who has been attempting to reach out to you for awhile with a simple message.

What shocks me is that most people who claim to be unbelievably busy are ones who are in school (don't get me started on people in relationships who choose to seclude themselves in a box, destroy all their friendships and then when their heart is broken, attempt to find a friend to lean on and can't find one). I went to university, and while in school, I worked, volunteered, and participated in countless students activities. I understand that some majors require more work than others

and that constant studying is a priority, but if all you're doing is school, then there really is no excuse. I understand your priorities, but one should never forget to maintain relationships with others.

There's no such thing as being too busy. The fact of the matter is, people like to pretend they are busier than they actually are. They check their phones constantly, attempting to show others how busy they are but in reality, they are just playing a silly game on their iPhone.

Caffeinated illustrator

Forgot to post this but last month my coffee sleeve illustrations were featured as an inspiration on Paintlounge, a social painting tea space in Markham.

exhaustion.

Sometimes you do things, impulsive things usually, and no matter how important they seem to you, it doesn't matter because it's not enough, it's never enough. Sometimes you let go of things, material things, and think that what you're going to pursue is more important than that but then you wake up months later and you're right back where you were initially, with the same faces and places surrounding you, you're left wondering if letting go of that thing, as material as it was, was right.

I've been awake for over 12 hours and it's 14h. I'm the type of person that thinks of 98 things at once...too many thoughts for her own good. I'm that person that runs on 4-5 hours of sleep and has more energy than a five year old. No matter how much I try to rest, my body still can't manage to stay still and I wonder if I am going to spend the rest of my life feeling this anxious. I'm convinced that when I die, I'll still be thinking and waiting and oh how I hate waiting! It's not because I am naturally impatient, it's the fact that I really have no idea what I am waiting for.

There is a Chinese proverb that says the three hardest things in life are loving someone who doesn't love you back, waiting for someone who never comes and not being able to sleep when you are so tired. I might be facing a mix of all three, or maybe just one, I may never know, but instead, I'll continue to wait, and not out of choice.

From my Reader: great ads from across the universe

A friend suggested I use Feedly for my RSS feeds and I haven't looked back since. It compiles all your content in a nice magazine layout and has multiple sharing options. If you're using the Google Reader interface, switch to Feedly, not only because it's aesthetically more pleasing but because it gives you great options to discover on the sidebar and integrates more than one social network. After over a month of letting the unread count on feedly pile up, I finally got around to checking it a few days ago. This "From my Google Reader" post is a collection of great advertisements I stumbled upon and thought you'd enjoy to. So, yep, enjoy!

Agency: Giovanni+Draft FCB, São Paulo, Brazil [via 1, 2, 3]

A commercial using Star Wars is bound to be hilarious.

Agency: Deutsch LA [via: Fubiz]

"Put even your worries to sleep" - what the rich, powerful and famous dream about.

Agency: McCann Worldgroup, Mumbai, India [via: 1, 2, 3]

Agency: DDB Barcelona [via: I believe in advertising]

Agency: Colle+McVoy, Minneapolis, USA [via: I believe in advertising]

From my ears to yours: the yuppie's top music blogs

Friends always stare at me and laugh when we go out dancing because I almost always know the beat and lyrics of the ambiguous song that's playing yet I never know any of the radio hits. Well, I don't own a car and I rarely watch television meaning I don't listen to the radio or watch music videos and so I seek help from the interwebs to fill the gigabytes of my ipod.

To help you enhance your musical palette, I have compiled a list of blogs that I frequently visit for new music. These blogs stay up to date and feature the freshest tracks and remixes. Several music blogs have come and gone, and many of the great ones are no longer active but there's always a new one to be discovered (bless the internet). May the contents be as much use to your dancing feet as they are to mine.

Analog Giant

Harder Blogger Faster

Yes, I adore disco. Discobelle.

Modular People

Gorilla VS. Bear

The Culture of Me

Hands down, a great podcast: Pig Radio

Just like Pig Radio, Freedom Record has a bumping podcast.

Big Stereo

Circle Square Triangle

Asian Man Dan

[Via: David Lanaspa]

[Via: ViaCom]

[Via: Fubiz]

[Via: September Industry]

[Via: Coute que Coute]

[Via: The Shiny Squirrel]

[Via: The Sartorialist]

You don't need to have a lot of money to be presentable.

As someone who has experience working with non-profits and community groups, one thing that bothered me was the mentality that presentable communication materials were only possible if the organisation had a lot of money. This is not the case. I will admit, not all organisations can afford to have such strong and effective messaging like Amnesty International who works with reputable advertising agencies like TBWA and Leo Burnett to name a few, but other communication materials such as newsletters, websites and posters can have great design and content and cost very little. All it takes is to trust that you CAN have these materials and looking for the help in creating them. Most organisations completely set aside the importance of these materials and attempt to produce anything using any software on hand.