Category Archives: Blog

The poem above was written by Ericka Huggins–a nationally-renowned human rights activist, educator, and former Black Panther Party (BPP) political prisoner who now teaches at Laney & Berkeley City College–where she brings her spiritual activism and dedication to social justice to the classroom…

I am the songbird – in my culture the songbird is the singer – I am talking to my public, asking them to remember the poor, those who have no power, no voice, no hope. Often it’s the orphans or those who lose their parents early who have the greatest problems in life…The worried songbird cries out in the forest, her thoughts go far away.

— Oumou Sangaré, Grammy-award winning singer from Mali

I took a little friend along to watch the giant waves produced by today’s severe winter storm hit the beach in Beirut…

Powerful storm “Zina” battered Lebanon today with violent winds, heavy hail, and rainfall–leading to school closures, flight delays, and property damage across the country…

Now that I’ve returned to Lebanon after a holiday trip to the States, I’m back to hanging out with my young Syrian refugee friends on the streets of Beirut. It’s disconcerting to watch their lives get more difficult each month–without any hope for change on the horizon. So I was comforted to read an Op-Ed by Stephen Hawking in the Washington Post today calling for an end to the Syrian war: “Where is our emotional intelligence, our sense of collective justice?”

Accolade (Persian: آکولاد) is an underground Iranian country band formed in 2011 in Tehran by vocalist Danial Izadi, pianist Farbod Shirmohammad, and violinist Nastaran Ghaffari. When they can, they give unauthorized stage performances in Tehran. Enjoy!

Here’s a video from Yemen on the beautiful city of Sana’a–and its attempts to stay sane amidst the madness…

Sidarta, Balinese Mask & Shadow Master
with Shahzad Ismaily 
Les Poissons Rouge
January 6, doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm, $15 tickets
158 Bleeker Street btwn Sullivan and Thompson, NY, NY

The performing arts of Bali are coming to NYC–get tickets now! I Gusti Putu Sudarta, a superstar performer in Indonesia, will be performing in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday, January 6th. Sidarta will present an evening of Balinese mask dancing and shadow play recounting the reincarnation of the Buddha as Sutasoma, a prince who renounces his worldly wealth for a life of contemplation. The performance will open with an experimental collaboration between Sidarta and the renowned experimentalist Shahzad Ismaily, who has collaborated with Iggy Pop and other prominent artists. The shadow play will be accompanied by live Balinese gamelan music, and the audience will be invited to try their hand at both the gamelan and the shadow puppets following the performance. If you’re in NYC, don’t miss it!