John Sanchez, Leaving, 2006, currently on display at the Dorsch.

For a discussion, go to Artblog.

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(Photo Evert Elizinga/Associated Press)

According to a story in the New York Times today, if you’re planning to migrate to the Netherlands you should be prepared to watch a film clip of an attractive woman sunbathing topless, and try not to be shocked. Also, watch footage of two men kissing in a meadow, and practice repeating the same response.

If I understand the story, doing any of this will be difficult for you if you are a Muslim. In fact, some say, the Dutch are calculating that the film will keep Muslim immigrants away.

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In response to yesterday’s post about Persian blogging, film-maker and friend Sedika Mojadidi sends this link to a girl blog from Iraq.

Here’s the blogger’s entry from a day in January when she learned about the death of the interpreter for the journalist Jill Carroll:

I found out very recently that the interpreter killed was a good friend–Alan, of Alan’s Melody, and I’ve spent the last two days crying.

Everyone knew him as simply ‘Alan’, or “Elin” as it is pronounced in Iraqi Arabic. Prior to the war, he owned a music shop in the best area in Baghdad, A’arasat. He sold some Arabic music and instrumental music, but he had his regular customers - those westernized Iraqis who craved foreign music. For those of us who listened to rock, adult alternative, jazz, etc. he had very few rivals.

He sold bootleg CDs, tapes and DVDs. His shop wasn’t just a music shop- it was a haven. Some of my happiest moments were while I was walking out of that shop carrying CDs and tapes, full of anticipation for the escape the music provided. He had just about everything from Abba to Marilyn Manson. He could provide anything. All you had to do was go to him with the words,”Alan- I heard a great song on the radio… you have to find it!” And he’d sit there, patiently, asking who sang it? You don’t know? Ok- was it a man or a woman? Fine. Do you remember any of the words? Chances were that he’d already heard it and even knew some of the lyrics.

During the sanctions, Iraq was virtually cut off from the outside world.We had maybe four or five local tv stations and it was only during the later years that the internet became more popular. Alan was one of those links with the outside world. Walking into Alan’s shop was like walking into a sort of transitional other world. Whenever you walked into the store, great music would be blaring from his speakers and he and Mohammed, the guy who worked in his shop, would be arguing over who was better, Joe Satriani or Steve Vai.

In such small unanticipated details one discovers the death of people and culture in war.

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