Reports of My Habitual Life:

A delayed Happy Yalda!

Last night we got together, like every other year to celebrate the longest night of the year. I baked Pomegranate Cake,which surprisingly turned out delicious -hopefully its recipe will soon appear in Tameshk in Kitchen.

It is more than a month now that Zeitoon is with us. He is a ginger 4-year-old male cat adopted from San Marcos street in Austin. In a way the adoption was mutual; he came to get food every day and he slept at the door every night for 2 months. Finally in a cold night at 2AM, in order for him to come in and survive the cold he was taken to the Vet for check up. And ever since he has become a regular part of my days. Besides Zeitoon there is not much to report.

The semester is officially over at UT Austin; One of the busiest semesters I have had so far. I really am looking forward to the next semester with courses more related to my area, modern and contemporary art. During the break I am looking forward to reading a couple of books I've postponed for so long. Also I will try to update Tameshk Film Club and write more on my movie adventures.

Best wishes for the season and Happy Holidays!

Blue Dahlia Bistro, Austin, Fall 2008

No Cure!

Missing you

Is harder than missing the foam on my cappuccino cup,
Grimmer than missing sun rising on the daybreak,
And
Sadder than missing the bus in the blizzard of heat and mosquito,

If I order another cappuccino,
If I wake up earlier the next morning,
If I wait for another bus to come,
If I magically find a cure for all my wistful wishes,
For all that is gone and is missed;

Still missing you has no cure,
No cure,
Neither magic nor Logic!

You cannot be ordered like cappuccino, ‘single shot with extra foam’!
You are not timed like dawn,
You are not catchable like bus,

Missing you has no cure,
But, You!


*Sankofa mural by Regi Thomas (details); In the park side of the dual mural, Rhapsody & Sankofa by the artists Yancey and Thomas, in Austin.

Egungun: Diaspora Recycling

Egungun: Diaspora Recycling
An Art Exposition & Border Crossings


The exhibition will be on view until April 2009, in the Fine Arts Library, UT at Austin. The exhibition combines works of contemporary Nigerian/American artists with the traditional Egungun ensembles: The hours of the exhibition follow the library hours and it is free. The exhibition is curated by Moyo Okediji, whose works are on display as well.

If you want to know what is an Egungun Masquerade, a short description would be: Egungun society members in Yorubaland, Nigeria, honor the deceased ancestors with annual masquerade performances. The most widespread masquerade is the Egungun. These masquerades vary regionally; Egungun is a multimedia performance, which includes music, dancing, singing. the singing usually is narrative. The dancer (the masker), who is covered with the cloth (preferably called ensemble) dances and sings throughout the performance. The masker is not considered an actor, but rather the receiver of the returning ancestral spirit; the spirit takes possession of the masker. So interestingly the mask conceals and reveals at the same time: It conceals the dancer, the person, the individual and it reveals the divine spirit of ancestors. The community members seek the protection and aid of their ancestors through the performance.

Although people were happy with my gallery talk, I was not that happy with it; I don't know how much of the talk that I had prepared, was communicated with the audience; I was nervous and I didn't follow the order I planned for the talk! This is the invitation poster for the opening, which was on Friday.

Egungun: Diaspora Recycling; An Art Exposition & Border Crossings