Caramblogage

One of the many reasons I have grown to appreciate interviews with Arundhati Roy over the last year of what I'm calling her book tour is that, in contrast with many speakers at conferences and interviewees, I never have the feeling she is trying to sell me something. She speaks in a calm, collected voice, full of knowledge, experience and occasional wisdom, without being desperately full of herself. One of my favourite sayings is, so far, goes something like "The most successful revolution was the secession of the rich onto a global planet, wherefrom they cannot see the poor. There is no more India, no more USA, no more Europe- there is planet Rich, then there is planet Poor, and both are global."* Carers at their limits- now more than ever. For €2400 and some chocolates?  A month or so into what may be a new normal, my life is still pleasant- with some adjustment, I am, so far, privileged in this absence of change and an ability to follow the crisis as I would fol...

This IGAF (Is Goodness a Fashion) series explores, from a non-expert point of view the social, economic and narrative ramifications I see developing from the COVID-19 crisis, worries, but also hopes for a future that the current shock to the system may result in. Somehow, the shop I work at has escaped all the shutdowns so far- apparently, printing remains essential, as does the picking up of packages (or the purchase of ethically questionable medical masks ). I did go to work on Sunday- yesterday, by now. I needed a few hours of normality for myself and this is where I find some of it- work therapy. Immersing myself in other people's problems for a while, dealing with easily solvable and routine tasks and generally pleasant people- assuming the role of the genial shopkeep. It's not a bad place to be in a crisis. It's 20 minutes away on foot. At the tobacconist under my house, they set up beer boxes to mark safe distances. The old man, Uncle, I call him, whom I like,...

There are two definitions implied here: the industry of creatives, which occasionally results in things that may be termed art (even if it is cleaning the floor), the act of producing something creative. A second reading might be a capitalist mode of production, in which creative people produce exponential amounts of content that is, or is not, creative, to retain their relevance and the attention of audiences.  The question attached to that is: once "creatives"understand their work mainly as a form of labour, through which they earn money, and themselves as a factory, are they still producing "art", or is it design? This leads us to the difference between art and design, but that's a discussion for another day. 

I have a new favourite pen: Chalk Markers. The guy at Overkill gave me a dirty look when asked whether they had something so… impermanent. in stock. I got comments from friends and family that I was at last cleaning my windows (window, please. I'm too lazy to clean around the windows to reach them, write on them, then clean them). Anyway: I spent a week writing short & spontaneous ditties about weekdays on my window. This is how it went down: First fora Saturday 1 Sunday(with Green) Reverse Friday: Monday Tuesday (for the lazy Wednesday. The middle of the week Thorsday! (Don't tell Disney) The Second Saturday, and introduction of the Green!

Remember this word. It is the name of a country. Today is the 70th anniversary of the day they call the Nakba. They do not celebrate this day, but their neighbours do, hiding behind a tall fence made of concrete. See also: https://caramk.blogspot.de/2015/12/memus-israeli-separation-barrier.html

"But sir…" "Do it. That's an order." "We'll be laughed out of the international community for this. People will stop respecting our military might" "I am the leader of this nation, and I am ordering you to drop 107 million in ten Dollar bills on Damascus." "But…" "Ten Dollar bills, Schmidtke, ten Dollar bills." He was impeached two weeks later for his gross abuse of executive power. // *Inspired by some current events. Replace name of city and amounts to reflect conflict of your choice. 

And she reminded her child "You may believe yourself to be an innocent and speak innocent thoughts. You are the only one to believe that- all others will see you, hear you and believe that you are like them in thought and speech. They will subvert your innocence to fit the way they see the world"

"We used to have this concept called "future". It implied that, at some point in time beyond now, there would be change. I reject this concept- look at where we are! We are cared for, educated, fed and entertained. I never hear of anyone dying of disease or violence. Things work, people work, the state cares for us absolutely. We can live and die in peace. What more could we want? What change could we want? Even if we could fly to the stars, what would we find there to make it worthwhile? I'm sure that in their wisdom, they have taken steps to ensure that things never change… The idea of future fills me with dread. Better to live in the Moment" From the notes of the dissident Louk DeSalam, ca 235 STE After writing this, my fascination with the Arabic word for future "Al-Mostaqbal / المستقبل" grew under the shower. It derives from the root "Q-B-L"- which my Hans Wehr gives far too many translations for. Assuming Mostaqbal ...

Power is a very versatile parasite that feeds off belief, which is given. No Power is ever really taken, only given, or coerced over time- it can be demanded, demonstrated, rumored and/or reported, but it is not established until all involved voice their consent that what is on display is, indeed power, and not a display of fear. Once consent is given, an asymmetrical dynamic that is almost impossible to dismantle is established- ideas tend to flourish once they germinate. (Also: Zap)

The Agreement was the basis. Introduced and spread through media, it laid out the contract that upheld the Society, outlining the rights and duties of each citizen and the state that enveloped them, protecting them from any manner of harm from others.  The main right and duty of every citizen was to consume- to uphold the loop of capital that flowed from them to the commercial entities and then back to them through taxes. This system had been introduced in recognition of the fact that, although most basic needs had long since been satisfied, it now fell to every individual to express their individuality by indulging it as much as possible. To this end, a key of goods associated with every permissable type was created and frequently updated, describing the correct way of accessorizing to signal your adherence to a certain worldview. Depending on your monthly investment, your credit for the next month was adjusted. The more you spend, the more you get back (minus interest)-...

It had taken years to realise that some of them lived on the tick, some on the tock, and yet others in the silence between tick and tock. And so, when The Time came, they were forced to discard their differences and collectively pledge themselves to a system that was not natural to any of them. It did not come at once, and not every one of them agreed at the same time, but it was close enough for comfort. 

Addiction is a much-maligned, muddy word. Until (ca.) the 18th century, it connoted tendency and drive, rather than (self-) affliction. Opium changed that- reportedly.  Lives described as addiction: to the approval and company of peers, to power and its accumulation, to enjoyment and personal satisfaction (to some people, this may be suffering) and to basics such as air, food, water… and possibly even living. When framed this way, and defined in reference to this word, life suddenly becomes a selfish pursuit in which the living will do anything to get their fix, devoted addicts all.  On that note:  Marylin Manson  - I Don't Like the Drugs, But the Drugs Like Me.  Also: Addiction is apparently yellow. 

Transcript from a conversation with a travel agent representing Mindful Journeys Ltd. "The grass is greener on the other side- we strongly suggest you book an all-inclusive trip to the other side. Don't listen to the voices in your head telling you that happiness can be lasting and found within. They're wrong. We're right. You know this, don't you? And now sign here, here and here, initial here, date here, your autograph here, cash or credit card? We're happy you chose us to accompany you in your search. Your credit card, please." 

Descended from Greek males- exclusively- this word has become open to gender-bending and in its more modern forms includes women, as well as assorted animals, aliens and the occasional heroic single-celled organism.  A powerful idea and a double-edged sword: On the one hand, the idea of heroism and heroes inspires achievement, goals, values and something to work towards. On the other, it can hamper this very inspiration by allowing the inspired to delegate their actions to those they consider heroic- transferring the possibility of a heroic act or life to other, more obvious figures. In stead of asking "what can I do", the question becomes "why doesn't the hero do?" and the person asking that question doesn't, though they could.  Heroes come in varieties:  1.) those that swoop in, capes aflutter, to save the day in a flash of colour and explosive displays of heroism. They then swoop out again, maybe never to be seen again, but are remembered forev...

These worlds are inhabited. Inhabitants may range from relatively normal people to epic boss-monster-things and terrible creatures you end up hoping to meet, no matter how dangerous their reputation or fangs make them. Sometimes the scariest creatures look no different from the humblest ones. In many ways, they are no different to real people, except that the writing is occasionally better. Meet the real NPC’s.  Functionally, an NPC is a feedback and support mechanism. Feedback, in the sense that they can be used as organic mechanisms to enforce the players sense of existing and developing within a game world by commenting on actions and decisions they have undertaken in that world- their reaction to the character communicates a certain status within the world’s society and attitudes towards the character and their actions hitherto, giving them meaning and multiplying a personal sense of accomplishment. They help the player immerse themselves in the world by acknowle...

My beautiful friend When did you become death When did the red of a sunset  on your body become  the blood of corpses washed ashore When did you become a mass grave marked by the stones of power instead of a home? Why do I stand before you a year later, so many paths and lives later unable to greet you with the joy you deserve

After a long, self-imposed hiatus on writing and publishing any news on this blog, current events lead me back to this space. Racking my brain what I would write about, and after many unpublished attempts at expressing what happens in a mind that is slowly putting itself back together again, it is research that leads to this post, the first in a series of hopefully many to come. Over the last three years, I have written a lot about social uprisings, personal reflections on societal change and a whole load of nonsense- I stand by it fully- reflecting my state of mind at the time. This year, 2014, has been full of activity and action. It has been, from my personal perception, one of the most special years of my life, due to a number of personal and professional developments, regressions and decisions. Never mind this year and the past, welcome, dear reader to the here and now, enriched by those memories and framed by the experiences of the abovementioned years. "If graffiti ...

This was published on the now- defunct Daily News Egypt Website on the 17th of March 2012.  Caram Kapp is one of the artists that participated in the "Festival of Egyptian Culture" held at the Tutankhamun exhibit in Frankfurt. The below are moments in time picked out of the workshop "Egyptian Street Art and Arabic Graffiti" on April 7-14, 2012. Amidst the skyscrapers of Frankfurt, hidden away near the train station on Güterplatz, stands the tomb of Tutankhamun. More interestingly, in front of that stands a wall, and an out-of use generator building. Over the last few days, terrible things have been happening to this wall, some may say. In the opinion of some others, street artists are painting a mural. Flown in from Egypt, Paris, Berlin and Frankfurt via Sao Paolo, a crew of emerging and established practitioners of the art of mural statements have begun painting a wall. Their names recall comic book heroes: Ammar Abo Bakr, Aya Tarek, Case, El Seed, and Ga...