Monday, September 24, 2012

"Penn State | Happy Valley"


Last week I had the honor of performing and lecturing at Penn State University in State College, PA. Situated right in the middle of Pennsylvania in what is known as the 'Happy Valley', my time there was extremely productive, very memorable, and definitely left me feeling happy - due in no small part to the efforts of my gracious hosts Judy and Beth at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. 

Striking a balance between work / play is how I like to spend my days on tour, and in 48 hours I was able to do just that: lecturing in two Sociology classrooms, performing at a fundraiser for Syrian refugee relief, enjoying a host of local foods, roaming the Amish countryside, and exploring a 30 million year old cave.

I've posted some photos / commentary about my experience below:


Old Main: the first building of major significance on campus is in many ways the architectural focal point of the school - though it can perhaps be argued that Beaver Stadium really is for most of the 50,000+ students ... #LionCountry


The sky was clear and the weather was a perfectly cool. This is the view from the top of a downtown parking garage where you can get a sense of how PSU is situated in the valley ... #SeptemberSun 


Speaking of PSU, I often felt like the 'P' really stood for 'Paterno' ... He was everywhere - from cardboard cutouts to building names ... #FootballMoney


The first class I visited that day was called 'West Meets Middle East' (SOC 300). I was told the mission was to 'prepare students to create an ideologically neutral environment for dialogue so that participants can recognize and voice their true concerns about race relations in a productive and meaningful way'. Upon arrival I quickly realized this was the 'Middle East' component of the group who would later meet with the 'West' component after our discussion. The majority of these intelligent young minds were originally from GCC countries (Saudi Arabia / Bahrain / Oman / UAE / etc.) with a couple of them hailing from other Muslim-majority countries as well (Pakistan / Jordan). Being KSA-born and having attended a Saudi school for most of my young life, I felt like I could relate to their stories and thoroughly enjoyed hearing each of their viewpoints. As always, the girls seemed to shine a bit more than the fellas (no offense guys!) and really carried the conversations to interesting places. The shirt I wore that day fit nicely innit? ... #PunIntended




The next class I had the pleasure of visiting was SOC 119, with 720 students seated in a massive amphitheater-style classroom making it the largest course on race relations in the country. It is taught by none other than rockstar professor Sam Richards, whose cool demeanor and visionary approach to teaching left a huge impression on me (maybe that is why he had the distinct honor of being named one of the '101 Most Dangerous Academics in America' according to some lame book). He was able to keep hundreds of students engaged at all times by asking provocative questions, providing eye-opening statistics to back up his arguments, employing the latest in live polling technologies to gauge their reactions, and synthesizing all this information at lightning speed to keep the discussion fluid and focused. Then to top it all off, he let a Syrian-American Hip-Hop artist close out the class with a live performance ... #AcademicBoss




We even had a live Skype session with an actual Iranian (dan dan daaaaaaaaan) ... Pedram (aka Pedro) was able to challenge the negative stereotypes of how Iranians viewed Americans by saying things as simple as: "if you (Americans) visited Iran people here would love to show you around just to have the chance to practice their language skills with a native English speaker"... When Professor Richards asked him what his favorite TV show was, he quickly replied: 'How I Met Your Mother'... As the US / Israel & their allies steadily beat the war drum with Iran, it was 'dangerously' refreshing to hear this perspective in an American university classroom ... #WageDialogue 




Towards the end of the class, I was given about 10 minutes to briefly introduce myself to the audience and perform a song of my choosing. All he asked was that it include some Arabic in it - so I chose one of my most popular bi-lingual pieces called 'Destiny' in order to speak directly to the hybridized existence of a young Arab-American. In the Q&A session that followed, I pointed out how the use of a Paul Anka sample in the song was intentional. It gave me the opportunity to highlight how the first 'American Pop Teen Idol' was actually the son of Lebanese immigrants who first learned to play music while attending a Syrian-Orthodox church in his native Ottawa, home to one of the largest Lebanese diaspora populations in North America. I truly felt that I was able to contribute to the discussion in a positive way with my presence that day, and many of the students reached out to me afterwards (both in person and on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram) to show their appreciation ... #OneHumanFamily



This guy was seriously #KTG (killin' the game) with his Terra Trike (recumbent tricycle) and mad hatter steez ... #BossOn3Wheels


He. Was. Everywhere ... #PaternoState


Visiting the Department of Food Science was one of my favorite parts of the day (if I could do it all over again, I'd probably be a food scientist / culinary alchemist) ... The Penn State Creamery is the largest university creamery in the nation, with half of the milk coming from a 225-cow herd at the University Dairy Production Research Center ... #BovineBossStatus


They are always changing / testing new flavors and definitely take pride in their craft. The homegirl Ashley (pictured behind the sign) used to work there and insisted on treating me to my first scoops of Pennsylvania's finest ... #FrozenGratitude 




It was a tough choice, but after a couple free tastings I eventually zeroed in on what was gonna be my dairy destiny ... #CaffeinatedCrack




I can honestly say this was some of the freshest, creamiest, most delicious ice cream I have ever had (read: inhaled with the quickness) ... I can understand why alumni far and wide regularly have it FedEx'd to them ... #NostalgiaInATub


God bless the Berkeys ... #LactoseLovebirds 




We ended the day off with a small musical / poetic performance at the Spiritual Center's Memorial Lounge. This event also doubled as a fundraiser for Muslims Without Borders' Syrian Emergency Relief efforts, and I was happy to see many familiar faces in the crowd from my two previous classroom visits. The setting was intimate and the audience was both diverse and engaged. I did my thing ... #NotJustAHobby 


When washing my hands afterwards (the amount of hands I shake post-performance, you would too) I noticed a hilarious sign that I imagine was left especially for the Muslim students. This took me back to my days of being at ISA, where I regularly walked in on teachers cleaning out their toe cheese in the same sink I was planning to wash my face in ... #AblutionEtiquette 




The following day, my host Judy took me on a little tour of Central PA. She was a bit surprised by my fascination with what most city folk might consider 'boring farmland'. I explained that Southern California, my home for the past decade, is beautiful but relatively arid. I grew up on the East Coast, where green fields and rolling hillsides like these brought back many childhood memories of road trips through Maryland and Virginia ... #TheGrassIsAlwaysGreenerOnTheOtherCoast


You know you're in Amish country when you see road signs like this ... #FuelEfficient 


A few hours before my departure we stopped at Penns Cave, America's only 'all-water cavern'. While it isn't quite as magnificent as the Jeita Grotto I often visited during family trips to Lebanon, anything that takes millions of years to create is awe-inspiring and definitely worth the trek ... #AllahSculpts  




Whenever I see stalagmites I'm immediately reminded of the muqarnas in places like the Alhambra in Spain and Imam Mosque in Isfahan ... #ArchNerd



As the legend above illustrates, the story of Majnoon Layla has many parallels across time and space ... #StarCrossedLove 


As I flew away, I was able to sit back and reflect on just how much of a blessing it is to be able to travel and do what I love for a living. From big city shows to rural college towns, there is always something to appreciate if you keep your heart / mind open. Many thanks to everyone who made this trip possible. While I might not be a fan of the Assads, this is one Lion Country I can't wait to see again ;)

Sinsyrianly

- Oo

Monday, March 19, 2012

#SYRIA

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I am a human being who believes in dignity, freedom & equality for all - no exceptions ... I am an artist who strives to reflect those ideals in lyrical form ... This is but a small contribution when compared to the sacrifices being made by beautiful, peace-loving Syrian people on a daily basis.




MP3 Download -- http://soundcloud.com/sami-matar/syria-omar-offendum-sami-matar
Lyrics:

"alsha3b yureed isqaa6 al-nitham (the people want to overthrow the regime)"


Audio Sample taken from the largest Syrian protest to date (Hama - July 22, 2011)

Verse 1

The purpose of these verses is to unify the masses
7oms up to 7assakeh … Banyas to Damascus
City streets to countrysides
Mountaintops to coastal tides
Muslim / Christian / women / men & children
Lets keep hope alive
Stand in solidarity with all your fellow citizens
Peacefully protesting for an end to all the militance 
Torture & imprisonment
Murdering of innocence
Proving that this lying/lion leader's rule is illegitimate
Like father - like son
Mobster or president?
Censoring their people
Trying to stop the embezzlement 
Heavy-handed iron fists
Dropped on the residents
Déjà vu... 
'82 - '11...

We are all Deir Ezzor … We are all Dar3aa
We are all Jisr il-Shughoor … 7alab & the 2al3a's (castles)
We Are All 7amza ... We Are All 7ama ... 
We Are All Syrian … Hands to the samaa2 (sky) saying:

"alsha3b yureed isqaa6 al-nitham"

Verse 2

I have a dream this regime will fall
And that what comes next
Will be better for us all
Alawite - Druze - Armenian - Kurdish
Equality in Parliament
"Il-Kull ilo Kursee" (Everyone gets a seat / is represented)
Envisioning a future that's brighter for the youth
Who've been fighting for the right
To shed light upon the truth
Biting bullets from the troops
Thus far a truce has proven elusive
But martyrs are tightening the noose
On corruption - Bribery - Nepotism
Tribal Disputes
Don't shoot with your mechanism
Soon come the reckoning that looms
Second guessing the protesters 
Was a recipe for Assad to address his own doom...

Its been a long time coming
And there's no turning back now
Voices are the weapons
In these military crackdowns
Millions on the streets
In defiance of your gat sounds
Look who's got you shook
Doctor don't know how to act now...

"alsha3b yureed isqaa6 al-nithaam"

Verse 3



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Live Performance: Free Syria Rally | March 17, 2012 | Washington DC


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3ish Peace My People

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Straight Street"




Commemorating one of the most ancient urban experiences in the world ... 
________________________


Chorus:

it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight

Verse 1:

i took a stroll down the straight called str8
met a medicine man about 1/3 of the way
predecessor to the pusherman
with somethin to say
about an apple a day
keepin the sickness away
i valued his advice at face
at first
till he enlightened me to how precise nature worked
givin us citrus fruits in winter time for vitamin c
just met each other but im already invited for tea
(sub7an allah)
as fate would have it
he & i turned out to be related
a small world's even smaller when you're arab - aint it?
made it a point to soak in all his information
bout regenerative meditations
& preventitive medication
like a modern Ibn Sina
with a pretty calm demeanor
& a remedy for everything
that plagued the arab nations
yet when asked of how to cope with our impossible fate
he just said follow the middle path
to a Street Called Straight

Chorus:

it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
that's where we cease all hate
& pray to 3ish peace all day

Verse 2:

i took a stroll down the street called str8
met a spiritual teacher about 2/3 of the way
predecessor to the preacherman
with somethin to say
about a prayer a day
keepin the satan's at bey
he spoke of angels on our shoulders
and the angles of our solar
systematic self-destruction
metaphysical corruption
with a danger to our polar
ice caps
till it's out of our control
& in the hands of our beholder
we philosophized for over
20 minutes like that
taught me lessons
any questions he would
give em right back
said the answers were within us
& i didnt like that
but i realized later why he did it like that
i had so much more to learn
clock was ticking - couldnt stall
committed his words to my memory
his wisdom was enthrallin
yet when askin him what was the most important to recall
he just said follow the middle path
Straight Street & that is all

Chorus:

it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
that's where we cease all hate
& pray to 3ish peace all day

Verse 3:

i took a stroll down the street called str8
met a carpenter hard at work at the end of the way
predecessor to the architect with somethin to say
about not doin tomorrow
what should be finished today
he manipulated wood & metal till it followed function
building all through Via Recta
& Cardo Maximus junction
somethin told me he was wise beyond his years
i had a feelin
from the way that he'd exposed the beams
& ornamented ceilings
with an ambidextrous half
nonchalantly jest & laugh
sayin that my western education
made it hard to grasp
his connection to the past
deep-rooted in his craft
but was more than willing to share with me
the tools he knew i lacked
and for that i would be grateful
learnin how to build the monumental for the playful
& the humble for the faithful
yet when asked of how we'd stack against our impossible odds
he just said follow the middle path
Straight Street to the Gods

Chorus:

it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
it's just what we call fate
llivin on a Street Called Straight
that's where we cease all hate
& pray to 3ish peace all day
________________________
from SyrianamericanA, released 04 July 2010 

Digital Download & Lyrics Available @ http://offendum.bandcamp.com/

CD Available @ http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/OmarOffendum



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