Sitti’s Kitchen: Kibbeh Lessons
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Food
I have a soft spot in my heart for traditions. Coupled with a penchant for history – I am a historian, after all – I was happy to spend quality time with sitti (Arabic for “my grandmother”) last night learning the family recipe for kibbeh. For the uninitiated, kibbeh is the national dish of Lebanon. Families pride themselves on recipes that are often passed on from generation to generation. Kibbeh is made from meat, usually beef or lamb, and bulgur, and it can be prepared in various ways.
Having been a vegetarian for close to fifteen years, my sitti’s kibbeh was one of the first meat dishes I ate after switching my diet. I have to admit, this comfort food is delightful.
In an effort to learn my family’s method for cooking this delectable dish, Dharma and I paid a visit to sitti’s house last night. However, first we made a stop at a local Arab market for some meat from the butcher. My family often prepares kibbeh using beef instead of lamb. The beef is incredibly lean. It is common for Arab butchers to triple-grind the meat for this dish. In addition, we picked up some extra fine bulgur. In our recipe we use approximately one cup of bulgur per pound of beef. A filling (called “hausa”) is made by sauteing about a quarter of the meat with a bunch of onion, olive oil, pine nuts, salt and pepper.
You then mix by hand the bulgur and meat, working ice cold water in to soften the bulgur and get everything to stick together. Add in salt, pepper, allspice and a puree of green pepper and onion and you’re ready to start layering. A thin layer of kibbeh goes on the bottom of an oiled pan. Then the hausa gets placed on top of that. The top layer is kibbeh again. Then you slice it up into pieces, drizzle olive oil over the top and bake for about 1 hr 15 minutes in an oven heated to 375.
Well, that’s about all I can share. Some family recipes are meant to be secrets. The kibbeh tastes great, and I suspect we will be eating much of it over the next few days.
Dharma and I hope to meet with sitti over the next several weeks to learn additional Lebanese dishes and family recipes. I hope to record some of these cooking sessions as well. It’s my small effort to keep alive a family tradition while enjoying some great food!
Check out some not-so-great iPhone pixs of our lesson here.
 |
| From Sitti's Kitchen: Kibbeh Lessons |
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Food
New Media Tools For Information Collection and Dissemination
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Technology, Work
It’s official, our iTunes U site is now live! Be sure to visit often for new educational and public programming materials from the Arab American National Museum. This is just one of many tools we are utilizing, or planning to implement, to help better inform the public on the history and contributions of Arab Americans.
In other news, we are in the process of exploring additional ways to build community history and collective memory through electronic means. This includes collaborative digital tools such as wikis. Additionally, one particular tool that has caught our attention is the MemoryMiner software developed by GroupSmarts, LLC. According to its website:
MemoryMiner is the award-winning Digital Storytelling application for Mac and Windows used to discover the threads connecting peoples’ lives across time and place. It lets you zero in on the stories depicted in your photos by linking them to each other based on people, places and time. Using simple drag and drop actions, you specify who is in the picture, where the picture was taken and when… A variety of other digital media, including sound, video, documents and URLs, can be added to each frame. The story elements are linked to each other by way of annotation layers identifying the people, places, dates and events captured in each frame, and can be exported for automatic publishing online.
The Magnes Museum has a nice project, called Memory Lab, that utilizes this software to “focus on narrating the history of the networks of Jewish life in California and beyond.” From what I’ve seen, this software looks promising. However, I plan to take a more in depth look at the software later, and I hope to place a call to the Magnes to hear about their experiences with the application.
Our institution seeks to become the premier destination for information on Arab Americans. To meet this goal, we plan to utilize collaborative, new media tools that permit our audience and diverse communities the opportunity to document its history collectively. This is particularly important given that we are a community-based institution. Additionally, these resources extend beyond the physical boundaries of the museum and provide important, timely information to a national and global audience.
If you have recommendations on other software or tools that you think would be useful, please shoot me an email or drop a line in the message section below.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Technology, Work
Is Social Media A Fad?
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Technology
A colleague of mine shared this video with me last week. I’m fascinated by some of the information presented in this short piece. It’s amazing how far social media has evolved over such a short period of time. It’s transforming the ways in which we communicate and interact. It’s changing how we conduct business and disseminate information.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Technology
My Response To The Ann Arbor Chronicle Article
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Community Involvement
I’m a big fan of the Ann Arbor Chronicle. Having worked a short stint as a photojournalist at some of Michigan’s biggest papers, I have a high respect for both journalism and citizen journalism. The Ann Arbor Chronilce is a great local resource.
An article was posted earlier today on Project Grow’s annual meeting, which took place last Thursday. Up until that point I had served on the board for the past two years (the last year as Board Chair). Due to various reasons, I withdrew my name at the annual meeting from being re-elected to another two year appointment. This article does a good job of summarizing why I chose to depart the organization. Also, you can read my response to the article here, or here:
Thanks, Dave, for this excellent summary of the night’s events. Sadly, I have learned that two additional board members have resigned, largely due to what is felt as mistreatment of staff and divisiveness amongst the board. This is sad, given that all individuals involved truly want the best for the organization. Further, Melissa’s leadership and presence as Executive Director will be missed.
I trust the board will work to advance Project Grow in a positive direction. As a community-based organization, I hope they will provide a big tent for all to get involved (this includes partnerships with other area organizations; something Melissa did an excellent job of expanding). Right now organic gardening and local food issues are among the many popular civic topics working in favor of Project Grow. There are many wonderful people with past affiliations to Project Grow who are doing great things in the community (e.g. Jeff McCabe at FM@SELMA and Amanda Edmonds at Growing Hope). I hope an open hand will be extended to them as well. By working together the community will only become more connected and vibrant.
Lastly, I hope the current board listens to the suggestions of the community leaders who provided advice to Project Grow. They have great experience and important recommendations that should be explored. For one, I truly hope the bylaws are reviewed and updated. Currently, any person can show up and simply pay $10 to have a say in how the organization operates. While I am a strong supporter of community-based organizations – I work for a very large and effective one in Dearborn – I am troubled by this flaw in the bylaws (and, I feel this is only one of many). At the annual meeting, there were two people who made donations that very day and had a voice in determining the night’s vote and future direction of the organization. These individuals were not gardeners and have little knowledge of the board’s recent activities. It’s sad to think that people with limited knowledge of Project Grow’s governance and day-to-day operations can have such a major impact on the organization. It would be very easy for a malicious group of outsiders to have a major impact on the future of the organization (yes, a worse case scenario, yet a possibility given the current structure of the bylaws).
I have too many thoughts to discuss in this limited space, but I do wish the best for Project Grow, and I hope it will continue to have a positive impact on the community.
I hold no hard feelings and do like many of the current board members. In fact, I wish the organization well and I will continue to be a supporter in the future.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Community Involvement
We’re Looking For A Curator!
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Work
Do you have the skills to conduct informed research? Would you like to have a major role working with a talented curatorial staff? If so, we have an opening for you! The Arab American National Museum is seeking a person to fill its vacant Curator of Community History position.
The AANM is the first museum in the world devoted to Arab American history and culture. By bringing the voices and faces of Arab Americans to mainstream audiences, we continue our commitment to dispel misconceptions about Arab Americans and other minorities. The Museum brings to light the shared experiences of immigrants and ethnic groups, paying tribute to the diversity of our nation.
The AANM is still relatively new. We have an energetic and talented staff, and we working with urgency to build this institution into something big! In its first few years the museum has become an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and an active member within the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. We have big goals for the next few years, and we seek a committed person who would like to help us grow the institution on a national level.
For more information on the position, visit the job listing on our parent organization’s website.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Work
Thanks To Our Friends at Smithsonian Affiliations
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Work
On October 1 we kicked off the fall season of Global Thursdays, a multicultural performance series showcasing the finest in world music, performance art and film at the Arab American National Museum. We were pleased to partner with our friends and colleagues at the Smithsonian Affiliations office to bring thrice-Grammy-nominated Rahim AlHaj to perform as the season’s opening act. The performance was incredibly intimate and participatory, and it served as a great start to what we hope will be an excellent season.
Read more on the event over at the affiliate blog.
Also, be sure to come and check out Native American folk artist Bill Miller on October 29 at 6:30 p.m. Miller is a two-time Grammy Award winner and seven-time winner of the Native American Music Award. Our 150 seat auditorium provides a very intimate setting, and tickets are only $10! You can’t beat that. Head over here to buy tickets.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Work
Coming to iTunes U
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Technology, Work
At last, we are about to go live on iTunes U! For the past several months I have been building our institution’s profile. This has been a slow moving, and occasionally annoying, project. However, earlier today I submitted our final edits and we are set to have a public launch on Tuesday, October 20.
Before I point out some of the lessons learned, I need to explain iTunes U. According to Apple:
iTunes U is a part of the iTunes Store featuring free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, and more, that you can enjoy on your iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC. Explore over 200,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. With iTunes U, there’s no end to what or where you can learn.
iTunes U was launched in mid-2007 to help manage, distribute, and control access to educational audio and video content for both students and lifelong learners. There are three main types of educational providers within the iTunes U store: Universities and Colleges, Beyond Campus, and K-12 Education. Content is both free to host and download, which makes this a wonderful conduit for disseminating educational materials to the public.
Museums fall under the Beyond Campus umbrella. Currently, there are approximately 62 providers within this category, which also includes historical societies and public radio/television. Of the 62 profiles, approximately 15 are museums.
I learned a few lessons along the way that will be useful to others building their profile. The first tip I recommend is to remember that iTunes U is built on the same infrastructure as the popular iTunes Store. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, millions of people are already going to the iTunes Store for audio and video content. The disadvantage is that you must remember that everything needs to be constructed as an album. For example, when organizing the content for our biannual arts conference, I created one album with seven tabs for various content (a general bucket for miscellaneous content, one for the opening performance, and five for individual panel presentations; see below).
Seems like a reasonable way to organize content, right? After receiving feedback from an Apple representative, I learned this was a big mistake and it was not recommend from a usability standpoint. Therefore, I needed to reorganize all of the material (various tabs) as individual albums. In addition to better usability, this has the added advantage of optimizing better results from search inquiries.
Next, be sure to get your metadata right on the first attempt. Once you have uploaded your content, you cannot edit the metadata without making the necessary changes and then re-uploading the content. The upload process is slow, and this can set you back hours! Here is a shot of the back-end, which is accessed via a web browser and it is where you upload and organize your content.
Here are a couple of shots of our profile (note that the blue “edit” column to the right will not be seen by the visitor, and this will bring the content higher up). We are hoping to add much more content in the near future. If you get a chance to visit our profile, send some feedback my way. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
On a final note, be sure to check out the Walker Art Center’s New Media Initiatives blog for additional information on building an iTunes U profile.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Technology, Work
What Type of Social Media User Are You?
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Technology, Work
I’ve slowly been reading Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s book, Groundswell: Winning In a World Transformed By Social Technologies (Harvard Business School Press). So far, it’s been a really informative read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the ways in which social media are transforming our daily lives and professional work.
We are currently in the process of developing a social media plan for our institution. While conducting some additional research, I stumbled upon this useful presentation on social media technographics developed by Li, Bernoff, and their company, Forrester Research. Most of this material is featured in chapter 3 of the book. In short, like most things, it pays to know your audience when developing or utilizing these tools.
So, what type of social media user are you, dear reader? I clearly fall within the “creator” category.
On a final note, I just discovered the Groundswell blog and have added it to my RSS subscriptions. Recommended reading.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Technology, Work
It’s All About Detroit
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Professional Development
This month my attention is focused on Detroit. I will be participating in several activities/events that will explore some of the challenges the region is facing, while also seeking to find innovative solutions to bring about change. In addition to this, Time magazine – in partnership with its sister publications, Fortune, Money, CNNMoney.com and SI.com – recently launched it’s yearlong project, Assignment Detroit. So, why is TIme investing so much time and money in Detroit? According to the lead article:
As a story, Detroit has been misunderstood, underreported, stereotyped, avoided and exploited for decades. To get it right, we decided to become stakeholders. Over the next year, we intend to flood the D-zone with journalists, photographers, videographers and bloggers from TIME and TIME.com, Fortune and Fortune.com, CNNMoney.com, Money, even Sports Illustrated… The hope is that through all these efforts, a narrative arc about Detroit will emerge over the next year that can somehow make a difference. While we do not intend to be cheerleaders or apologists, we do have a point of view: we want Detroit to recover and find its way into the future.
This is a curious project, and I look forward to reading The Detroit Blog to see what they report. It’s time some justice was served by Big Media for it’s distorted reporting on the city and region. Further, with a critical eye constantly upon us, perhaps those who seek to exploit local resources will be a little less inclined to do so. Perhaps.
On October 15, I will begin participating in the three-part, Detroit Orientation Institute training on all things related to Detroit and the region. Over 50 speakers will share information that will help “to improve the personal and professional knowledge of participants by providing background information on a myriad of topics.” The three session, Oct. 15, 22, and 29, are considered “off the record,” so unfortunately I won’t be sharing much on the trainings. I am looking forward to hearing, seeing, and learning more about our region through this intensive program.
Lastly, I’m really looking forward to participating in the inaugural TEDxDetroit event on Wednesday, October 21. According to its website, “This year, TED expands beyond its annual conference by seeding smaller, independent events throughout the nation, called TEDx. The first TEDxDetroit will emulate the spirit and ideals of the TED Conference.” I’m a huge fan of TED programming and I am really excited about these new, local events. I’m sure TEDxDetroit will be a success, and I am really looking forward to the exchange of ideas and the new networks that will be formed to bring about change in our region.
On a final note, I sure hope the Detroit Tigers will be joining us this October by sticking around for the playoffs!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Detroit, Professional Development
