Author Archives: Ian Whiteman

About Ian Whiteman

see www.cwdm-portfolio.com

Mending fences, chasing demons.

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

I have just returned from a few days filming in Morocco which was an attempt to revisit the time myself and a bunch of young white English and American men and women first visited a venerable Sufi master and his … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, religion, sacred knowledge, tassawuf, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Self-publish and be Blessed

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Self-publishing is a topic which flies about the publishing world like helicopters fly around the valley I live in, seemingly never to land. I do see the attraction to a wannabe writer to fork out not very much money and have his or … Continue reading →

Posted in typography / design | 3 Comments

From Mods to Mecca

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Nostalgia has always been big business. Look how the Victorians ached for a romantic gothic past and the Edwardians for a rapidly disappearing bucolic world with the arts and crafts revival. To find my own past the subject of a … Continue reading →

Posted in music, Publishing, religion, sacred knowledge, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Descent of Man

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

The latest L’Oreal TV ad goes like this: A beautiful female model pouts, “I believe in science, I don’t believe in miracles.” It’s a statement of faith. Odd, as they have a product called Revitalift Miracle Blur. So I don’t think L’Oreal … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, religion, sacred knowledge, science, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Rumi, Rihlas and Other Considerations

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

If you are Turkish, Afghan or Iranian, most likely you would consider your ‘bard’ to be Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi the great poet and Imam who is buried in Konya, the capital of central Anatolia, Turkey. He was born in Balkh, … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, religion, sacred knowledge, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Translation, Lost and Found

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Above: A page from an as yet unpublished edition of the Shama’il of Tirmidhi. Part One Although my work is principally typesetting books, something previously done by men in inky overalls composing metal type, I do actually read some of … Continue reading →

Posted in architectural, language, miscellaneous, Publishing, religion, typography / design | 1 Comment

Songs in the Key of Light

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

This much anticipated CD arrived on my desk last week. I had sent off the artwork to the USA a few months ago and I was glad to see it at long last. The cover picture aroused my curiosity but … Continue reading →

Posted in typography / design | 3 Comments

Mapping the Universe

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Flipping through my WordPress account recently I realised how many unpublished draft posts I had written which I had just parked out of sight. Some were on medical subjects, others on eschatology but mostly on subjects in which I was … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, typography / design | Tagged science | 1 Comment

Life is Transistory

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

The title of this post, a malapropism by an old buddy of mine many years ago, has now strangely become a reality. Little switching devices (ie transistors) like the ones on the left, millions of which are embedded in all … Continue reading →

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A Worm in Your Ear

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Ear worms crawl in your ear when you least expect and when you suddenly find yourself singing a melody in your head you didn’t really want to, over and over again. Apparently it is worse if you are musical. Worse … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, music, religion, tassawuf | 2 Comments