Making Light :: Pictures in Baghdad :: comments

Pictures in Baghdad

Pictures in Baghdad is a photoblog from an Iraqi family: Faiza, Khalid, and MajiTriX (Majid). I don't know much about...

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #1 from Scorpio

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 11:58:43 -0500

Lovely pictures. I started to wonder whether hijabs ever grew oppressive when looking at one of them. Headcoverings in high heat are actually helpful, but still ....

Scorpio
Eccentricity

]]>

Posted June 5, 2004 11:58 AM by Scorpio

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #2 from Jackmormon

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 12:42:40 -0500

Faiza posted some earlier photos in the May archive, labelling them as from "our old life," in which she's out in public wearing cute calf-length dresses and no headscarf.

]]>

Posted June 5, 2004 12:42 PM by Jackmormon

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #3 from Emily

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 13:54:20 -0500

The "Pictures in Baghdad" are actually part of the blogsite A Family in Baghdad which is a blog by Faiza (a biochemical engineer) and her three sons. The blog says father Azzam did not wish to blog. It's worth reading Faiza's blog, including the War Diaries. We find that she is like women everywhere in what interests her, what she worries about, what she enjoys.

]]>

Posted June 5, 2004 1:54 PM by Emily

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #4 from Connie

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 14:06:24 -0500

IIRC, Three Kings chose an Arizona location to shoot in precisely because it offered a very similar environment, including quality of light and the color of the dirt, and the director had done his research on this.

That film has a lot to say presciently about the mess we're in today.

]]>

Posted June 5, 2004 2:06 PM by Connie

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #5 from Anna in Cairo

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 01:48:11 -0500

I am getting ready to host my mom's cousin who is from Ohio but lives in VErmont right now; ever since she visited us last year she has been hungering for that desert sun. If you feel nostalgic for sun-baked landscapes, Teresa, do come to Cairo for a visit. My 13 year old is reading Dune right now and he would just love to discuss it with real Sci-Fi buffs (I read it when I was about his age so he feels frustrated over the fact that I really can't discuss it in any sort of detail).

Also, of COURSE weddings in hot climates have to be at night. Out in the street. With lots of speakers turned up full blast. In the summer, you are supposed to stay up all night and socialize. Sleeping can be done at work during the day.

]]>

Posted June 6, 2004 1:48 AM by Anna in Cairo

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #6 from enjay

Mon, 07 Jun 2004 15:28:31 -0500

The Family in Baghdad site also links to the blog of Raed, another son. This is the same Raed from Salam Pax's "Where Is Raed?" blog.

]]>

Posted June 7, 2004 3:28 PM by enjay

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #7 from Skwid

Mon, 07 Jun 2004 15:29:15 -0500

The, er...the cooler what?

'round here, a "cooler" is aka an ice chest. I'm guessing you mean something different.

]]>

Posted June 7, 2004 3:29 PM by Skwid

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #8 from Jeremy Leader

Mon, 07 Jun 2004 16:56:09 -0500

Skwid, probably a "swamp cooler" hose. A swamp cooler is a cheap alternative to an air conditioner in hot dry climates. It's a big box (2-3 feet on a side) with absorbant material lining the insides of the walls. There's a pan of water at the bottem, I'm not sure if there's something spraying water on the insides of the walls, or if the water just soaks up into the absorbant material by capillary action. Anyway, the box is arranged with intake vents on all sides, and one side open and connected to the house, typically like a window air conditioner. I think there's a fan blowing air into the house. The idea is that the evaporating water cools the air. I don't know if the "cooler hose" is the hose feeding water into the swamp cooler, or if it's a drain hose. In the latter case, I _certainly_ wouldn't want to drink from it!

Personally, I find swamp coolers make the air too humid, but maybe that's just because the LA basin isn't really dry enough for them (too much water evaporating from lawns, etc.).

]]>

Posted June 7, 2004 4:56 PM by Jeremy Leader

Pictures in Baghdad -- comment #9 from Nell Lancaster

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 20:40:03 -0500

Faiza is Raed's mom. Raed as in raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com.

]]>

Posted June 10, 2004 8:40 PM by Nell Lancaster