Thoughts, articles, and published work.
May 26, 2021
I want to tell you about The OA. You might not understand why I’d take the time to tell you about a TV show while reality itself seems to be falling apart, children are getting murdered in their…
May 22, 2021
What you need to know before bringing a dog into your life: Talk to them. Never hit them. Expressing disappointment when they do bad is punishment enough. Expressing happiness is reward enough. They…
February 19, 2021
Watching the finale episode of Season One of For All Mankind, and it really is a well-written show. Two particular moments stand out so far, and for almost opposite reasons - [SPOILERS] In the first,…
December 31, 2020
Gabriel: Dadda, can you get me a paper towel? Me: Didn’t you just tear one? Gabriel: Yes, but it kept tearing wrong. I want you to tear me a perfect one. Me: Why does it have to be perfect? Gabriel:…
September 3, 2020
I just found out that David Graeber died yesterday. He was the smartest guy I've ever had the honor to know. We met on Twitter during the revolution after I’d read his Fragments of An Anarchist…
July 10, 2020
I just found out that Mahmoud Reda passed away today. I didn’t know him well but met him while shooting a documentary on his work with Keti Sharif. He was a wonderfully sweet man, and he was…
February 20, 2020
There is nothing this world needs more than empathy. I want to build an empathy bomb, big enough to envelop the whole world in an explosion of empathy. If all the fed can feel the pangs of hunger…
January 22, 2020
1917 is a damn good movie. By focusing on a microcosm, a tiny slice of story within what was otherwise a ‘world’ war, it creates incredible cinema. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is fantastic.…
June 9, 2019
Gabriel: Dadda!! Let’s play Hide n’ Seek! Me (exhausted): How about we play Hide n’ Forget..? Gabriel: What’s that? Me: You hide, and I forget about it. Gabriel: Is that a real game, or did you just…
September 19, 2018
Egypt has suffered a great loss today, as Gamil Ratib, a fantastic actor who made many of his roles unforgettable, died at 92. Aside from being a wonderful actor, Gamil was also a kind, gentle, and…
January 25, 2018
We're the ones who lost. We're the ones who took to the streets in the hope that if there were enough of us out there, things would change. We're the ones you saw down from your balconies, the ones…
June 8, 2016
This keeps happening, and I want to mention it. Every once in a while, as I am wont to do, I get into a bit of an argument or a conversational clash online. Often others get involved, people…
April 8, 2016
Bruno. Before he went back to Italy, to warn him not to go. To warn him of Mocenigo. Or, alternatively, in 1600 before they burned him, to tell him that a full four hundred years later, people would…
August 26, 2015
In 2011, as we walked past Agouza on our march from Mohandessein, people cheered us on from their balconies. Families looked out of their windows, and they expressed both pride and joy, young men…
August 8, 2015
You survived, and you're sad. It's easy to think that you're sad because you survived, but that's not quite true. It's not like you don't have better reasons to be sad, smarter reasons. You're sad…
December 26, 2014
He cries, and there's very little you can do to help. He cries, and it makes you feel useless. You try to console him; you smile at him, you make silly faces, you do whatever comes to mind. If it…
March 15, 2014
I just caught up to the news that Tony Benn died. I don't know much about Tony Benn, but what I knew of him caused me to respect him a great deal. The UK literally had to re-wire some laws because he…
February 19, 2014
We talk about losing faith in humanity because we see and do terrible things. But think of what that means. What are we comparing humanity to in order to be disappointed? Are we comparing it to the…