Belated - Five Things on Thursday #3

Better late than never? Here are my top links from last week, from the wide world of the internets:


1. Love and other Adorable Things

Photographer and 'artist', Amanda Jane Jones's blog 'My Better Half' is the photographic equivalent of a chocolate raspberry terrine, i.e. sweet yet quirky. Her photos of creative couples (filmmakers, writers, painters, poets, graphic designers) indulges the free-spirited festival-goer inside me, and her latest shots in Denmark ruffle the feathers of my beaded headband. Speaking of which, check out 'Laura' from the new Bat for Lashes album, 'The Haunted Man' due out this October. Totally NSFW album cover, but oh so sexy.


2. Gulfies and Cupcakes

So begins that time of year when the inevitable emergency room, gluttony-induced iftar patients hit the HMC emergency rooms. Meanwhile, seriously, what the frak is up with Gulfies and their obsession with cupcakes? Another Americana garnish to further dilute a struggling culture? Or simply, "The perfect food for our post-industrial, indie vibe Great Recession." So many jokes, kids.


3. Show Me the Money!

From the barren landscapes of Jordan's Karak, to owner of the Jordan Chalk Factory and thirty percent of the global chalk market share, meet the inspirational Salah Oqbi (hopscotch anyone?). As anyone who reads this blog or follows me on Twitter will know, I'm an advocate for digitizing information. As a PhD student, the lack of digitized info on the Gulf and Levant is beyond fucking frustration. So I'm all for this project on archiving Gulf history; and in true Arab/Gulfie style, we're paying someone else to do it for us. Ace.


4. WARNING: Taboo Material

Rape, sexual orientation, women's rights and the Arab world. I am eternally saddened (and also, pissed the fuck off) at the consistent denial of the region (and the world, a la name and shame rapists in the US) re these issues. Underage marriage, unconsented sex and homophobia, are never, ever okay.


5. Did I mention, Guillermo del Toro?

I wish I'd been at Comic-con; it's articles like this that make my obsessive (and slightly unhealthy) love for del Toro flourish even further. What I would give to visit the set of 'Pacific Rim' - if he promises us the "biggest fucking monsters ever," after watching the making of 'Hellboy II' I can only fucking imagine. Oh yeah.
p.s. feed your Guillermo-esque imagination with 'Maccabre & the Beautifully Grotesque' on Facebook (photo credit).