Beirut body count
Simple website brings home the horror of Middle East violence
Anthony Augustine
Death toll— www.moiz.ca/coffin.htmm
— When Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers
from a checkpoint on July 12, few experts could have predicted
the devastation that would follow in both Israel and Lebanon.
Although Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper has called Israel’s
actions in Lebanon a “measured response,” it’s
hard to ignore the fact that a disproportionate number of Lebanese
people have been killed since the conflict began. This visual
representation of the current death toll in the region is a simple
yet powerful look at what’s currently happening in the Middle
East.
Space invaders with real humans—
www.notsonoisy.com/spaceinvaders/
— When most people want to play a game of Space Invaders,
they either dig out one of their old gaming consoles from the
basement or find an online version. Not Guillaum Reymond. The
avid gamer got together with 67 of his friends, rented a theatre,
set up a camera to recreate the first stage of Space Invaders,
spent hours editing the images and then uploaded the finished
product to YouTube.
From Beirut to the Beltway—
www.beirutbeltway.com
— One of the most important independent voices to emerge
from the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces was Baghdad-based
writer Salam Pax and his Dear Raed blog. Mainstream journalists
were embedded with U.S. troops, but Pax’s candid portrayal
of what was happening on the streets of Baghdad was much more
riveting than anything in the newspaper or on TV. From Beirut
to the Beltway is one of a number of blogs focused on Lebanese
politics and society that has been receiving increased attention
since Israel began military operations in Lebanon. It may not
have the raw emotional impact of Dear Raed, but it does offer
an insider’s perspective to the current conflict.
Israellycool.com— www.israellycool.com
— One of the strengths of blogs is their ability to
quickly inform the public of what’s going on during a crisis.
Along with offering a perspective on Israel’s current conflict
in both Lebanon and in Gaza, this anonymous blogger has been providing
real-time analysis of events occurring throughout the region.
Balanced Records Podcast: Episode 3—
balanced-records.com
— Local electronic imprint Balanced Records has recently
thrown its hat into the podcasting ring and is already on its
third instalment. Although the label doesn’t have an archive
set up yet, you can sign up for a monthly MP3 that currently features
a “distinctive mix of cinematic hip hop” from local
downtempo producer Fascade@137db. With cuts from Rjd2, The Herbaliser
and DJ Krush, this is something you don’t want to miss.
Lolla Lives — Webisode 1—
tinyurl.com/h8fjz
— Not content to throw one of the biggest two-day festivals
of the year in Chicago this summer, Lollapalooza founder Perry
Farrell also launched a series of short webisodes covering some
of his favourite visual artists. In the first instalment, the
Jane’s Addiction frontman discusses the Andre the Giant
Has a Posse viral marketing campaign with artist and creator Shepard
Fairey. What started with Fairey selling a few stickers in a skate
shop quickly snowballed into to one of the most recognizable images
in pop culture.
Anthony Augustine is a freelance music and pop culture writer
who spends way too much time in front of the computer. He also
hosts a weekly two-hour electronic music program on CKUW 95.9
FM Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com. |
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