Arab Woman Talking

I wake up to sound of stupid tunes blasting outside my window. It's not an ice cream van-it's much louder and it comes around more frequently. If you've been to Jordan you know this phenomenon. It's not a riddle, but a pick-up truck selling cylinders filled with gas. I wonder about the driver, listening to the same tune all day. He's probably used to it, but it must be messing up his brain. I get out of bed, cursing. But he's only trying to make a living. The cost of gas keeps rising. I drive into traffic and try to block the honking. I stop to fill up gas After driving off, I realize, "the guy at the pump just ripped me off." I curse again. He's probably underpaid. Last night they said the temperature today will be dropping "expected rain showers, god willing" Today, it's hot, and the plants on the balcony are covered with dust No water in the tank to clean them up I don't know who to curse. I check my email to find forwards a...

In his book, "Sweden: the Secret Life" Colin Moon states: "Swedish women sometimes sound like they are have a breathing complaint, when they agree, they breathe in and say 'jahhhh' .... They are not about to pass out in an asthma attack. They are just participating in the conversation." p.32 There is some truth to this fact, but it does not always come in agreement- it seems, and It's not only the women who do it, though it is less common for men. Collin gives no explanation to this phenomenon But today, I think I know its root (a non-scientific explanation) In Skansan We arrive fifteen minutes before the Museum closes, "You can't walk into the houses," says the boy in the booth, "but can stay in the park till 7.30" I remember yesterday at Sturekatten: five minutes before closing, and look what happened when I stayed ... I go in along with two friends. Up a hill, we meet a couple of windmills; on the side, a labyrinth. My friends ...

MillesGarden: Enchantment Trying to restrain the body from dancing too much, the voice from singing too loudly To avoid suspicion Poseidon looks out. Sturekatten Cats seated around a table drinking tea An iron gate, a spiraling staircase, a hidden place ..... Akki sushi bar, no name to mark it on the street There's only one available seat, It's for me. Meanwhile, a day in time Palestine to be recognized A satellite dissolves into pieces on impact Syria en-suite de France, While أنا مش كافر plays in an apartment, on the outskirts The world economy is crumbling, as we eat chocolate dipped cookies And in Côte d'Ivoire, children are being exploited in the cocoa industry Everywhere in the world, those who work the land are deprived of what they grow And most of what we buy involves people working under a level of Inhumane conditions Just go out shopping - everything is on sale Universal dysfunction To produce, to consume - to dispose of, to throw away ... Ikea is pretty, but ...

Last weekend, Saudi women got behind their wheels and drove. It was also my father's birthday, as well as father's day in general. I had just come back from Algeria and Spain with many things to say .... I was writing faster than editing, and with so much going on, I scattered my words all over the place .... So I left them. I had wanted to organize a demonstration with art-installations, showing support to Saudi women and their right for autonomy. I even wrote the announcement: where to be and what to do and why. "You'd probably need to contact Saudi women here first" a friend advised, "to not get suspicious eyebrows." She told me I'd have to start the campaign by making a logo and clarifying a statement, and putting it out. It sounded like a lot of work .... I thought for a minute: I had only 5 days to do this, and had just come back from Spain, with a play to rehearse and a book to edit and laundry to do ... weighing the options: I am artist...

Farewell and hello Premise: There are many different meanings to words. We can choose which ones to use. Writer's Keys: * = Word meaning and/or my interpretations. A cactus speaks صبره تتكلم Sabrah tatakallam: It's quiet. It's been an early morning. Hardly any traffic; only a march of some kind on the airport road. I wonder what they are marching about? Might it be Ajloun's deforestation? I would like to believe it was. This crime was the last straw for this nature creature. If my government and leadership allow this to happen, then I have lost faith in all of them. Breathe. It's quite today, I can even hear the birds singing. It's Friday. Our Fridays are the Sundays and Saturdays of the other two. For me, Fridays are the Saturdays of Grand and Lakeshore - at least it feels that way today. But here, there is no Farmer's Market, not like the one over there .... No Pretzel Croissants, fine cheeses, and samples of fruit-in season, organic, and local (the m...

When the world is falling apart: Nuclear waste is polluting the air and water, when governments are still insisting on building nuclear plants in their cancer plagued war-torn countries ... when leaders are killing their people, and people are killing each other, when there is no end in sight ... when the planets are at hard angles in the sky, the wind is throwing rocks at cars, and everything seems foreboding ... when you sit puzzled, not knowing what decisions to make or un-make, "oppressed by bonds that could easily be broken" (IChing, #47), when you're taking yourself too seriously ... when you should be doing a million and two other things ... you sit and write a silly blog under a pseudonym. Reclaiming the Tea Party (Setting: Alice @ the Doctor's office) It angers me that they took the name Tea Party It's from Alice in Wonderland, and that's my favorite book. I don't want to associate it with them. My Tea Party is a bunch of loony toons sitting aro...

Where do I get my inspiration? Different places and times: Sometimes it's from personal experiences and events, sometimes it's from stories I hear or read, with a bit of pepper and salt. Sometimes it comes from nature, dreams, and news reports. Sometimes inspiration just comes, from a place unknown to me. Usually, it's a combination of all those things. Below is a paragraph from my latest performance, "In the Lost and Found", followed by the letter that inspired it. (I apologize for taking so long to publish it Leila .) The letter is set against the reality that in Jordan, as in several Arab countries, a woman cannot transfer her citizenship to her husband (while the man of course can). "They tell me I will lose my inheritance if I marry a non Muslim. He has to convert, otherwise the marriage is false, the kids are bastards, and the wife is an apostate, her "blood is permitted" - with no punishment to the killer. I am obliged to give my husban...