istanbul – Ashura procession

The New England Patriots are undefeated, the Red Sox just completed one of the most memorable comebacks in baseball history and are champions, and just today, Slate has put Kerry ahead of Bush in the Electoral College leading into Tuesday’s election. For the first time in months, I am optimistic. I have hope. I know there is ambivalence about Kerry, but I like the man. He has convinced me over the course of the past few months that he is a good man, he is thoughtful, and will act with great care and consideration before pursuing a course of action…

So proud to know Willow. Looking forward to this book.  ‘Granddad, There’s a Head on the Beach’ and Other Summer Reads – NYTimes.com. But this year’s improbably charming book about hackers is “Alif the Unseen,” a novel prompted by its author’s frustration. G. Willow Wilson, admired for her graphic novels and memoir, says that she was sick of treating her readers as separate factions (“comic-book geeks, literary NPR types and Muslims”) and sick of assumptions that blogging and social media could not have political consequences.  So she conjured Alif, a young Arab-Indian hacker living in an unnamed Middle Eastern high-security…

Chair Shiraz Hajiani. Raised in E. Africa, of S. Asian descent. Talks about Texas cyanide arrests; Saudi banning of Jewish tourists; Title VI issues. Mentions they relate to each of the three panels: Public Policy, Interfaith, and Education. Mentions this is the fifth conference. First four chairs were all women; mentions ethnicities: African-American, European-American, South Asian American, Central Asian American. Observant Jews will not be in attendance today because of Sabbath and Purim. Will be present tomorrow. Introduces Karen Leonard.