Joe Martin – författare

In conjunction with UNESCO''s designation of 2007 as the "Year of Rumi," Joe Martin (Yousef Daoud) released a stage adaptation of Rumi''s Mathnavi. For ten years, Rumi had been the best selling poet in America. But until Joe Martin''s book, most English speakers had found it almost impossible to get a sense of the world of his greatest work, the Mathnavi. The first edition of Joe Martin''s dramatic adaptation provided that opportunity. But the first edition has been unavailable for about five years.

The second edition will again give a wide audience an authentic taste of Rumi''s six-volume work, in a reader''s edition, accompanied by photographs from the 2005 production of the play. The adaptation utilizes loyal renderings directly from the Persian and Reynolds Nicholson''s famous six-volume Persian and English version of the major work by the man often called the Shakespeare of the Middle East. Rumi''s spiritual philosophy and strangely postmodern ability to shift between genres-from parables, to commentaries, to lyric flights of poetry-combine to make his work the most all embracing, open-hearted and powerful of texts to come out of the Islamic world. Rumi''s writing is one of the single greatest antidotes to the "clash of civilizations" thinking used by ideologues on two sides to challenge the peace of the world. A dozen key parables and songs demonstrating the Sufi philosophy of the Unity of Being provide the body the text.

Rumi''s Mathnavi was first sponsored by the Center for Global Peace and the Department of Performing Arts at American University in a reader''s theatre version in 1999 and 2000. Versions of it have been produced at the La MaMa ETC main stage in New York and elsewhere. In 2006, the piece toured the East coast cities as a theatre-for-peace project-with discussions hosted by Quakers, conflict resolution specialists, Imams, Rabbis, a Sufi Sheikh, and well-known peace activists including Iraqi-American Andy Shallal. Performed in the traditional Sufi circle with live musicians and Persian dance, it became a ritual realization of Rumi''s book. UNESCO in conjunction with the Turkish Embassy -- representing the country where the Persian poet lived most of his life-has issued a medallion for the year of Rumi, recognizing his present importance for the world. The events scheduled for this year that also honor Rumi and his incomparable poetic work include a documentary film on current-day students of Rumi and a CD of his poetry set to music. A feature film on the life of Rumi is currently in the works.

Drivers have been taught to always steer into a skid when they spin out. First, they need to know what causes a spin-out. The three things I''ve observed in my 35 years of driving on ice and snow are (1) ice and snow give one no time or space to correct a problem, (2) most drivers panic brake because they don''t have the skills to counter-steer correctly, and (3) they don''t know about surface grip or how to drive on snow or ice safely. They drive too fast to correct the problem. Counter steering correction takes time and space, and most drivers don''t give themselves enough time or space to correctly counter steer. Speed, space, and overcorrection cause most accidents. This training provides the solution to spin-out driving by teaching drivers how to remain in control of their vehicles. Drivers will learn and understand understeering, oversteering, and counter steering. Drivers will learn about the 8 (eight) forces which disrupt motion, how kinetic energy impacts a moving vehicle in three ways, and the rule of two.

The three causes of accidents.

This training can help solve 2 of the three major causes of accidents.

It seems we have not internalized the lessons of George Orwell''s dystopian vision in “1984.” Now, forty years later, that terrifying notion is becoming a reality. Win, the fictional son of Winston Smith, experiences firsthand the horrors of the totalitarian system – a system that takes control of every aspect of daily life with sophisticated and cruel efficiency. A system that clutches each of us with a cold claw right now.

We all live in an illusion of freedom, but one that is increasingly curtailed. If we are not vigilant, we too could be enslaved for good, becoming functioning machines in a repressive and inhumane system of control. The year 2024 is not dystopian fiction, but an urgent warning: we must resist the plans of governments and powerful corporations that threaten our freedom.

While digitization offers incredible opportunities for humanity, it also poses dangers. It is our duty to ensure that no one – intentionally or unintentionally – abuses digitization as a modern ankle bracelet. An ankle bracelet that forces us onto the benches of a punishment gallery, where we have no choice but to row until we drop dead while being monitored seamlessly at every moment.

Under omnipresent surveillance and control, it is possible to instantly identify and punish any misconduct or political opinion, so the very thought of resisting the system becomes unthinkable.

It is time to fight together for a just, free, and democratic future in which digitization does not subjugate us but serves us and supports us in our pursuit of happiness and self-realization.