Al Markaz has kept its dining room closed due to the pandemic. Carrollton’s South Asian community misses the food, but longs for its beloved gathering space even more. Published on D Magazine.
Blog
Culture shock: What the loss of communal dining means to our sense of connection
"... my fervor for cooking and dining disappeared, leaving me to wonder what this meant for the future of communities. Food, an object of connection and cultural importance, became something that was both harder to access and consumed in solitude."
75 years after the atomic bomb changed her life, Hiroshima survivor speaks out on trauma and the need to remember
"These voids in memory about readjusting to normal life seem to be in some parts due to shock and pessimism, in others due to keeping these parts of her life secret until our conversation. Yet these components contributed to a painfully nostalgic view of her hometown of Hiroshima."
His dream is written in Spanish: juggling of identity in Netflix’s ‘Gentefied’
"Gentefied asks us how we express our love for ourselves without diminishing that of others in our communities, as well as how important our identities are that we are willing to sacrifice our dreams to cling onto them."
The moments of clarity in ‘Ramy’
"... those moments, though our confusing lives continue after them, live in us as a reminder of who we are. At those moments we rate ourselves a 5, when in all other moments we might rate ourselves a 3. Yet we remember what the 5 felt like so we can strive to reach it again."
In Fort Worth, An Old House Is the City’s New Cultural Hub
"Even as this community of musicians and business owners branch out, they find a way to make wherever they are home by appreciating locality."
Social Media Marketing Briefs
These strategy briefs are for recruiters looking for experience in marketing and creative strategy. For questions regarding company jargon, please contact me directly.
Notes to myself February 1, 2021
"We have to get to tomorrow no matter what. And when tomorrow comes, we'll have to get to tomorrow's tomorrow."
Timelessness in the music of Fishmans
"Stripping music of its extra components in such a way is a feat most people desire and appreciate yet one which few people can accomplish. But Fishmans seem to do it at many turns of their career, crafting singular compositions that I probably would have been able to learn in my beginner piano classes and combining them to make cohesive, long tracks that feel like they go by in seconds."
Focus
... at some point, the things that eat at your brain are perfectly distracted by the things you distract yourself with, and the things you distract yourself with are perfectly ignored by the things you can't stop focusing on.
Before I can accept the errors of my conceit
Dear guy with the deep voice talking loudly in the coffee shop, I get it, you’re a social guy. You love telling stories and having people listen. Or perhaps you’re just lonely. But whatever your story, I’d prefer not to contemplate it instead of doing the work I came here for, which likely is the … Continue reading Before I can accept the errors of my conceit
Read This On Your Bad Week
Originally written on four sheets of stapled paper Mirrors and planes always play a huge role in lots of my writing. Everything is a self-portrait, and life is always in motion. I had a moment last week looking in the mirror, feverish, coming off of two weeks of fasting for Ramadan with fatigue so intense … Continue reading Read This On Your Bad Week
Ali Haider 