Mazen Kerbaj, Rooftop Trumpeter in Beirut

Mazen Kerbaj, a Lebanese musician and comics artist, lives in Beirut; last week a friend put us in touch with him through one of Mazen’s bandmates here in Boston. Every day since the conflict started Mazen has been scratching out pen and ink cartoons — captioned with poems — to document the strange new realities of his life. He’s agreed to let us post some of his work here.

See Mazen drink Turkish coffee. See Mazen pack a change of clothes to go to the supermarket. Hear Mazen blow a reedy trumpet riff against a baseline of Israeli bombs.

July 15, 2006:

‘4:51 am

closer explosions

little by little, people wake up and

get out on their terraces to hear

where the sounds are coming

from’

[mazen_kerbaj / Flickr]

July 21, 2006: ‘Slowly but surely, my brain is getting as dark as a Turkish coffee.’ [mazen_kerbaj / Flickr]

For more, click through Mazen’s blog or his photostream on Flickr. For more on the improvisational music scene in Beirut, look here. For more graphic diary blogs, check out this roundup by Global Voices.