Tuesday, January 27, 2009

In Love they said - Elizabeth Barrett Browning


How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! —and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), English poet wrote Sonnets From The Portuguese (1850);


I always loved literature, maybe thats one of the reasons I had a BA in English literature. Yet I never liked poetry, very few would really touch and amuse me but still I was forced to study it and not like it. I have a good collection of books from different eras, the 18th and 19th century work of poets and writers. I never thought of Shakespear as a genius, he was sure talented but to me most of his work followed the same line of the rise and fall of tragic heros.

Since I have given up on reading literature for a long period of time now as I switched to the marketing and branding lane and I am more into that for like a decade now, yet every now and then I find myself starring at the book shelves in my room and wondering what really happened to the old me, I used to love it, enjoy it the most, I used to write analysis about how I feel about certain lines in James Joyce and D.H.Lawrence work and smile when someone believe that Bernard Shaw is nothing but a modern Shakespeare as thats how I used to say it too. Utopia, Brave New World for Huxely and The Waste Land for T.S. Eliot, were just my favorite. I was really so into that, but that was long time ago!

Anyway as I am trying lately to try and buy anything that might make me happy -yeah stupid me believing that this is the way for my 2009 pursuit of happiness scheme-. I came to reconsider the idea of going back to reading literature, and since I have this huge amount of novels, I will give it a try and pick any book without looking at its title and just open any page and read the first lines of its 2nd or 3rd paragraph and if it made me really eager enough to continue I will have it by my bed side so I can grab it easily and read again.

I picked a plain white book without caring much for its title and I found it to be a small collection of poetry from the 18th century, poetry written by women in a time that they were slightly able and allowed to create, write under their own name. I remember reading before for Elizabeth Browning, as I mentioned before I didnt like poetry that much but every now and then I did allow myself to enjoy few lines. I believe it was merely luck to pick up this book and open this same page inwhich I found these lines about her describing how she loves probably her guy, to me I would describe loving my child this way instead, but thats only me. And since I am not in love currently and -uh never say never- but I am more rational in a way now and dont have stars in my eyes, but one cant deny the lines are so touching, coming from a woman who can express herself right is just amazing.

I loved the most the following lines :
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! —and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.


Well that is just deadly romantic and so "uh" okay I am not going to make fun of it I am too cynical these days, apparently I lost faith in the so-called love and since I am in this condition now its better to just shut up.

Anyway I enjoyed it thats why I am posting it, its one of the best lines written about loving someone.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Buried Alive ...


Have you ever even imagined what it feels like, being buried alive?
Fine let me describe it, imagine you wake up every morning to go to a go-no-where job that you just need for its paycheck and sure to not be another number in the unemployed chart, specially while u did work for a period of time and managed to have few post graduate degrees, beside being a well bred person with a number of good qualities and sort of talented and hard worker yet unlucky.

Since you are blessed to have a car as I guess its a humiliation nowadays to even consider benefiting from the so-called public transportation. Yet due to your daily work destination, walking or cycling is not an option...let me rephrase this properly, due to your country status, walking or cycling is not an option, but I am not to discuss that now. The lucky you get in the car, drive to work for over an hour just to reach office, not going to describe that trip as I guess no one who lives in Cairo would care to hear about it, we all live it daily, complain about it daily, and nothing will every change to it entirely.

You are blessed if you managed to find a spot to park your car in to get to the office and sit there waiting for your employer who is due to the current circumstances and recession is freezing everything. Sitting on your desk you absolutely end up doing nothing for 8 hours but browsing websites that are not blocked by firewalls, or just stay gazing at the celing, doing nothing and wondering whats next...

You know you havent the guts to just leave as currently all employers around the world are not hiring due to the recession ugly phase we are living, actually people are being laid off and you are lucky u still have a place to go to. Anyway, the day goes by as unproductive as the one before it and after it, you start the same journey back home but now its over a 2 hr journey plus 20 minutes trying to park near your place and getting more and more not interested in breathing so whatta bout any afternoon activities, as for God's sake I just parked the damn car.

No interest in anything, no clue whats next, cant leave a lousy job, cant afford risking it, cant afford risking what you saved in such a time to start a business on your own, you go learn something new, you go buy something new, its just fake pursuit of happiness, as what kind of happiness would come without satisfaction. You hang out with your friends, some got news, some are moving on, some are just planning, and some just like you are just standing still.

You convince yourself ... one day its going to be different as nothing lasts forever, but that day is really too slow, I wonder if it will ever come. Now you go to bed in your room to wake up and go to your office in your car, to repeat the cycle over an over again. And incase you considered working out you enter your indoor gym, one full with heavy duty equipments and just a terrifying smell of different sweating odors.

Happy people you dont have to respond to this...its just my desperate depressed me talking so save it.... but you can ask yourself the same question, home(box) car(box) office (box) gym (box) outings (mall/coffeshops = box) where the hell would I find the air......sorry fresh air.... Jobs are lousy, economy is really bad, no need to discuss relationships as thats another thing. No need to mention society, stupid useless traditions, family burdens, responsibilities, no challenges, nothing to be creative for, nothing ... no air

despressed depressed depressed...I am buried alive

Saturday, January 24, 2009

She dont want to get married !!!



No no no...its not as you might think, its not as Natasha Bedingfield song goes...

I'm not waitin' around for a man to save me (Cos I'm happy where I am)
Don't depend on a guy to validate me, I don't need to be anyone's baby (Is that so hard to understand?) No I don't need another half to make me whole
Don't need to be on somebody's arm to look good(I like who I am)
This is my current single status - My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places - Right now a star's in the ascendant
I'm single - That's how I wanna be ....etc.

To me its more simple than that or so I guess...
In our age one would need someone mature, not another macho figure, not too emotional neither too cold, someone who doesnt have to share your same interests, someone just different but interesting.

A relationship called marriage in which one wont be taken for granted is not even negotiable, you need someone who you can have fun with and without, who would give you the required space when needed. Someone to be there in time of need, a fellow, a partner, a friend and a lover who is there in sickness and in health as they say, someone who is not only in for the fun and once you are not he turns his back to you leaving you wondering in despair!

A stable serious relation inwhich there is something called mutual respect, understanding eacother needs and principles should be considered, a relationship thats not a copy/paste of our parents, someone who would care less about what the society would say/judge and care more about his own and his partner happiness and good life.

If you managed to find such a one, and divorce isnt to be considered as a valid option as it would be needless, why the hell would you prefer staying single.

uh ChoColaTe

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I am not sure how to react to this but ....

Iran executes two men by stoning

Two men convicted of adultery have been stoned to death in Iran, a rare punishment that the Iranian judiciary says it is trying to have scrapped.
The stoning took place in Mashhad in December, said judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi confirming press reports.
In stonings, men are buried to the waist and stones are hurled until they die. Women are buried to the shoulders.
A third man, an Afghan national, managed to dig himself out of the hole, and therefore escaped execution.
In 2002, Iran's judiciary chief issued a directive imposing a moratorium on execution by stoning and it has been scrapped in the new draft penal code which has yet to be passed into law.
Several stoning sentences are said to have been suspended or commuted, and the last reported execution by stoning was in July 2007.
International and local human rights groups have long campaigned for a ban on stoning in Iran as a "grotesque" punishment which is designed increase the suffering of the condemned.

source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7826018.stm

Ok now I dont know how exactly to react to this... but away from me not being sure that in Islam stoning 2 death those who commit adultery is really required as all I know is the 70 whipping punishment mentioned in Quran, maybe there is a stoning penalty till death for those who commit adultery while being already married !!...no clue! However whats really interesting that they do punish "men" now...huh and more interesting is this shoulder/waist rule when burying them before preparing them to death.

Thats new to me...so okay...whatever !

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

well thats new !!!

An American professor made the intriguing and controversial claim that depression can be good for us. In Professor Jerome Wakefield's new book, he says that medicating depression as if it were a disease stops us embracing our miserable side and so prevents us from changing our lives for the better.

Read below...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1123083/Can-depression-EVER-good-Six-writers-share-views.html

Monday, January 19, 2009

Sweet Ballad (OST by Munchausen By Proxy Feat. Zooey Deschanel & Von Iva)

YES MAN - "Sweet Ballad" music video by MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY



Got nothing to prove, I'm not your whore
You're gonna lose, coz I got more
Not sure you can endure
I'm not your little, I'm not your little, I'm not your little
Whore...

Von Iva: Whore whore whore...
Zooey: Not your late night booty call
Von Iva: Whore no more...
Zooey: Don't call me past 11pm, it won't happen again
2x

Like a scab that won't heal, just another sore
Lost face in the crowd such a lonely bore

Don't call me past 11pm, it won't happen again
Happened once, it happened twice it happened three times, maybe four times, maybe five times, maybe, maybe it happened six times but it won't happen seven times
No no no no no no...

Whore whore whore
Not your late night booty call
Whore no more
Don't call me past 11pm it won't happen again
2x
You could call me at 10.59 but don't call me at 11 coz that's my rule now

Sunday, January 18, 2009

My favorite terrorist .... I KILL U


Achmed The Terrorist - Watch more Free Videos

إن التطرف هو أن تختار مسكنا فكريا و عقائديا لتقيم فيه راضياً عن نفسك و لكنك لا تريد لغيرك أن يختار لنفسه ما يطيب له من فكر و عقيدة بل تلزمه إلزاما بالحديد أحيانا أن ينخرط معك تحت سقف فكري واحد
زكي نجيب محمود

Away from it being a real funny clip but one cant help being caught in the thought of martyrs being awarded virgins in the other life!!.

I read Quran and still I dont get the morale behind many of its verses, they say my limited mind wont be able to get it all!
But among the different matters that really makes me wonder is ... if God created women and made them equal to men in many aspects, and by them alone this universe can be complete, yet why in Quran verses women are referred as rewards in heaven just like wealth and food and many other "things"....
Aint it degrading in a way... or at least the way Achmed is showing how Gehad to him is really is worth it as he will be having virgins in heaven as a reward ... whatta cause!!
I am a muslim yet sometimes it still requires me effort to understand my religion, I believe in God and thats not to be even doubted...sure obey what I can of the given rules and sure dont give a damn to what "beards" would say as I take Quran as my one and only reference. Yet still when it comes to some verses in Quran I am so in the dark, I keep thinking and challenging myself saying one day I will get it all, or so I hope.

Can we enjoy life their way ...

The restless exposed ....

I found this quiz in one of the popular blogs I check usually, its simple...,
u answer by saying the first thing that comes to ur mind, easy way to say more about urself:

What Wows Me:
• Good sense of Humor
• People with Hearts
• Smarts
• Classic ethics – they are classic as they don’t exist anymore
• Bocelli's voice

Dead to Me:
• I practiced the "let go" remedy. They are all forgotten now

Most Important to Me:
• My family and friends
• My career

I Don't Care What They Say:
• People who discriminate, judge and stereotype
• Extremists of all kind
• Stupid masses in general

My Shoes:
• Cant afford Christian Louboutin so any nice shoe with heels will do

My Foods:
• Chocolate
• Caramel ice cream
• Peking Vegetables spring rolls
• Thin crisp mushroom pizza

My Remedies:
• Chamomile tea
• Chocolate ice cream
• Carbs. Plenty and constant carbs

I Love(d) Reading:
• Memoirs interest me more than fiction
• Guess I am a collector with no favorites
• Blogs

I Love(d) Listening To:
• Barack Obama's speeches and debates
• Celien Dion, have you ever been in love
• My niece giggling
• Tango music

I Love(d) Watching:
• CSI
• Law and Order
• Friends
• Tom Hanks in any of his movies
• Egyptian B/W movies

I Wish I Lived In:
• Egypt but with Egyptians from the 40s
• A townhouse in Spain

I am Miserly About:
• French Fries

I Want to Own:
• A 4X4 SUV
• A small apartment with a view to hide in

I'm Addicted To:
• Chocolate
• people.com
• Vienna coffee

The First Thing I Do in the Morning Is:
• A hot cup of tea

I Use:
• Nokia phone (new 2 it though)
• Mac book
• Ipod
• Perfumes and bags

I Admire:
• Creativity
• Self-starters
• Passion
• Denzel Washington smile
• Aerobic dancing

I Respect:
• Myself
• People who respect themselves
• The kind and the conscious
• Discipline
• Rules

Atheist Bus Campaign is 'offensive', say complaints to ASA



When you read such post you will think different matters, but as I am sort of numb nowadays, maybe just gave up on all life whatever, I came to conclude the following:

- Western Christians filed a complaint, Muslims "mainly in Eastern countries tab3an) would have set bus on fire and screamed in streets La ElAH eLA ALLAH :P

- Maybe when this prevail, both Muslim and Christians will stop fighting for a while on nonsense silly absurd matters, uh u never know.

Anyway I believe there is a God, such campaigns wont bother me much, I will take it lightly and consider it a funny ad for doing the nasty :P ...

as if people cared aslan or feared God meen asaso....weirdosssssss

Read the post:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/09/atheist-bus-campaign-asa

?! :(


Browsing the web became one of my usual habits...
yet today the 18th of Jan 2009, I gazed for a while when reading two headlines. One was in Times of India online and that was just funny and kindda silly at the same time while the other was CNN and I will not be commenting on though I am disgusted to the core and dont know till when such creatures will keep on breathing our same air that they managed to toxic by every possible mean.

Two minor girls married off to frogs

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Two_minor_girls_married_off_to_frogs_in_Tamil_Nadu/rssarticleshow/3994895.cms

Top Saudi cleric: OK for young (10 yrs old) girls to wed

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/index.html

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

And thats how Iran is next !!!


This is extracted from The Jerusalem Post website Jan 12, 2009:

Iran warns Hamas not to accept truce:
By:Khaled Abu Toameh

Iran is exerting heavy pressure on Hamas not to accept the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, an Egyptian government official said on Sunday. The official told The Jerusalem Post by phone that two senior Iranian officials who visited Damascus recently warned Hamas leaders against accepting the proposal. His remarks came as Hamas representatives met in Cairo with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman and his aides to discuss ways of ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas representatives reiterated their opposition to a cease-fire that did not include the reopening of all the border crossings into the Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesmen said on Sunday. The spokesmen said Hamas voiced its strong opposition to the idea of deploying an international force inside the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian official said that the two Iranian emissaries, Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, and Said Jalili of the Iranian Intelligence Service, met in the Syrian capital with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah. "As soon as the Iranians heard about the Egyptian cease-fire initiative, they dispatched the two officials to Damascus on an urgent mission to warn the Palestinians against accepting it," the Egyptian government official told the Post."The Iranians threatened to stop weapons supplies and funding to the Palestinian factions if they agreed to a cease-fire with Israel. The Iranians want to fight Israel and the US indirectly. They are doing this through Hamas in Palestine and Hizbullah in Lebanon".

The official pointed out that the Iranians were applying "double standards" regarding the current conflict - on the one hand, they encouraged Iranian men to volunteer to fight alongside Hamas; on the other hand, Iran's spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, told the volunteers that they would not be permitted to join the fight against Israel. "The Iranians never fired one bullet at Israel," he said. "But now they are trying to appear as if they are participating in the war against Israel. The leaders of Teheran don't care about the innocent civilians who are being killed in the Gaza Strip".

The Egyptian official accused Iran of "encouraging" Hamas to continue firing rockets at Israel with the hope that this would trigger a war that would divert attention from Iran's nuclear plans. "This conflict serves the interests of the Iranians," he said. "They are satisfied because the violence in the Gaza Strip has diverted attention from their nuclear ambitions. The Iranians are also hoping to use the Palestinian issue as a 'powerful card' in future talks with the Americans. "They want to show that they have control over Hamas and many Palestinians".

Karam Jaber, editor of the semi-official Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Youssef magazine, said that Hamas was caught between the Syrian anvil and the Iranian hammer. The Iranians, he said, prevented Hamas from negotiating a cease-fire with Israel, while the Syrians were blackmailing and intimidating the Hamas leaders in Damascus. "History won't forget to mention that Hamas had inflicted death and destruction on the Palestinians," he said. "We hope that Hamas has learned the lesson and realizes that it has been fighting a war on behalf of others. We hope the Hamas leaders will realize that they are fighting a destructive war on behalf of the Iranians and Syrians".

Egyptian political analyst Magdi Khalil said he shared the view of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt that Hamas was responsible for the war in the Gaza Strip. "Ever since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007, they turned the area into hell," he said. "They imposed restrictions on the people there and even prevented them from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca".

The analyst said that the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service was right when he recently described Hamas as a group of gangsters. "Hamas and its masters in Damascus and Teheran want to spread chaos in Egypt," he said. "They want to solve the problem of the Gaza Strip by handing the area over to Egypt. They want to create a homeland for the Palestinians in Sinai".

He said that Hamas was not only jeopardizing Egypt's national security, but had also destroyed the Palestinians' dream of statehood. "By endorsing the Iranian agenda, Hamas has brought the Iranians to Egypt's eastern border," he said. "Hamas has also copied Hizbullah's policy of entering into pointless adventures".

Source:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424929369&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

U can eat it or dance it

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

He is so boring, you wanna kill urself ....


I have no idea why on earth would they give him such good movies?! Last night out of boredom I couldn’t find anything to do but watching movies, so I picked up one of those I hate because of their actors…yes the most boring numb dull actor on earth Nicolas Cage…and that was his movie "NEXT". A pretty good story not very well directed and for sure very badly acted and that’s because of Mr. dull.

Sure the actresses were very cool, who would be more sexy than Jessica Biel who I guess for such stupid role with no acting required at all, was just perfect. She just have to be HOT and stupid and that will do. Julianne Moore was way too much, very full of herself for some reason in her head and always anxious and angry, come on cant an FBI be cool for once, overall she was okay but to pretty for the role. And sure "3amohom kolohom" the super dreary actor of all times Nicolas cage, what the hell is that!

Well its my mistake I swore I will never watch a movie for him after "Face Off", as I watched it for the sake of the amazing John Travolta no more, and as the saying goes had to squeeze a tree of lemon on me for standing Cage's stupid acting. He is so boring he is not even up to what people describe him as chewing gum for the eyes, damn he got like 3 facial expressions no more, I act way better than him!

No movie reviews from me on that one, the story is good but he ruined it.

And thats what I call G Marketing;)




Whatta brilliant idea... in London Vodafone 3G services offered new level of mobile working experience. To promote their 3G services Vodafone have used interesting desk cars!!!

This car traveled around London traffic to show Londoners 3G experience in a very surprising way. Huh we sure do need that in Egypt but for different reasons, as can you imagine how your life will be in Cairo clean empty streets in one of these desk cars...man !!!

Imagine how you wont ever bother traffic or being stuck in it as this would literally be your office, and you can park your desk anywhere you want, and just enjoy, not to mention how delivery service might be affected as you wont need such service anymore, your desk will take you anywhere you want, and you can enjoy sun, dust, crazy beggars and nagging people around you laughing for no reason and pointing at you...

uh whatta life :)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Just wondering how would Cairo sky look like !!!






I get home and just lose it, I cant even consider the idea of going anywhere, meeting friends, going to gym, its just too much for me after spending over an hour parking over the October bridge on my way back home from office and spending over another 45 minutes in lousy traffic and spending over another 20minutes trying to find a place to park my car to get home and not even have enough effort to hit and bite the pillow.

And since I have nothing significant to do for killing time in office but browsing net I came accross this article posted this month in Sunday Times and announcing the launching of the world's first flying car. People, they are turning a vehicle from car to aircraft in 15 seconds!!!

If it survives its first test flight, the Terrafugia Transition, which can transform itself from a two-seater road car to a plane in 15 seconds, is expected to land in showrooms in about 18 months’ time. Its manufacturer says it is easy to keep and run since it uses normal unleaded fuel and will fit into a garage. Terrafugia hopes to deliver the first production flying car by the middle of next year. The company already has orders for 40 aircraft.

Uh its the 2000s baby, people are suffering from the hard times, recession and unemployment or so I heard but I know for sure who will be flying on one of those babies in our sky ;)

Sources:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article5483226.ece
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5489287.ece

Sunday, January 11, 2009

HAMAS ... mentally ill creatures



"This post is about Hamas... so narrow minded ppl who would go attack for the sake of attacking, this is just about what Hamas are doing to their people and letting civilians die while they know for sure their capabilities. Israel is another case They are brutal animals... criminals .. but who gave them the chance!. So better focus People, just use your brain, u have been granted that for a reason, right?! Hamas is to be blamed as well..... STOP KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE"

----------
Hamas are nothing but the fanatics of Islam projecting their own mental illness onto the rest of the world. They are paranoid, delusional and completely cut off from appropriate and normal humanity. They lack empathy, inappropriate affect, distorted perceptions and sociopathic behavior. "Hamas is a mental illness masquerading as a nationalist movement", said Mark Steyn

Unfortunately this time I feel nothing, sure I pity civilians and dead mothers, infants and children. They are helpless misfortunate humans who cant even do anything about their leaders, the ones who are sacrificing them for the sake of their own stupidity and arrogance. Yes they got to defend themselves and their rights, but when civilians are the victims and mainly children, a solution other than sacrificing them for nothing must be found. God said in His Quran "wa a3edo lahom ma estat3tom meen koah" I dont think Hamas got any of that, or else what happened to Israel with Hezbo Allah would have happened again and not over 900 civilian would have been killed brutally like that.

This is extracted from the israel national news website: (YES INN Website ...cuz u need 2 know what ur enemy thinks of u)

"When Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan was assassinated in an IAF strike last week, his four wives and 11 of his children died with him. According to his surviving children, the death of the Rayyan family children was not an accident: Rayyan had trained his wives and children to die with him as "martyrs."

Surviving family members spoke to local Arab media and said that in the days before his death, Rayyan had repeatedly asked his children, "Who wants to die with me as a martyr?" The children would respond, "Yes, daddy, we all want to be with you alive or dead."

Rayyan's adult daughter, Wala, said even the younger children wished to die with their father. "If you had asked my four-year-old sister Aisha, who died in the attack, she would have told you that she preferred to die as a martyr," Wala told Ma'an news.

One of Rayyan's daughter-in-laws said she was offered the chance to die with the family. She stopped by the family's large home in Jabaliya and was asked by Rayyan if she wished to die with him, his wives and their children. She agreed to die, but later left the building, shortly before the IAF strike.

As it turned out, when Rayyan offered his daughter-in-law the "opportunity" to die he had already received a phone call from the IDF warning him to evacuate his house due to an impending airstrike.

The 11 children who died with Nizar Rayyan ranged in age from one year old to 16. Another son died years earlier when Rayyan sent him to carry out a suicide bombing in Gaza. Two Israelis were murdered in that attack."

Sources:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/SendMail.aspx?print=print&type=0&item=129290

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmNjZWMxYWZkMTJjOTc2MjAwY2E4MDE1NmQ1NTI5ODg=

Thats what I call guerrilla marketing ;)


Oreo Elevator from CL on Vimeo.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

When Actions Speak Louder !!!


Unfortunately I don’t consider myself one of the feminists as some of them just totally ruined the cause for the rest. When you handle a certain cause and you go too far with it to the extent that some people would accuse you of being an extremist, when you forget what you are actually fighting for by not allowing reason, logic and being too emotional about it, you are just helping those people who would oppose in having a louder voice and eliminating your supporters chances of joining and backing you up.

When I started this blog I was more into the fun of it, I was more into filling it with positive ideas, some of what I like, what I despise, I wasn’t exposing my beliefs as many of my friends know that I would rather keep that to myself and I prefer it this way. But just a week ago I thought but why not just write down about what is really disturbing you, mainly in your culture, your people so called traditions, and sure your country, just write without offending anybody or even judging anybody, more reason and logic and as much as less emotions as you can manage. And I started writing “Buried in Tradition” but I didn’t post it as I couldn’t finish it, in the middle of it I lost interest and for no reason was demotivated. But that was till this weekend, I guess I will sure post it soon and maybe add more to it.

Now back to my main subject, I had a wonderful trip with great people, I consider them from the elites as they are more intellectual than many people I know and I find it more easily to mingle with and feel safe when I give a piece of my mind infront, they rarely judge as they are open minded, liberal and balanced. So for the sake of having a good time we all joined for a trip to Alexandria as it was a sunny warm day and we all wanted to enjoy each other company and I wanted more than any of them to explore Alexandria as it had been over a decade since I visited it. We managed to plan the day right, visit as many places as we can and check out different areas. But since I am not dedicating these lines to Alexandria I will save trip details to another post. Lets just say I enjoyed the day, noticed a huge change in the city, and was overwhelmed by its beauty and simplicity. Sure one day wasn’t enough to mingle more and get to know about its streets and people, but we did well.

By the end of the day we all decided to check one of the old districts ... they call it the Fish Market, it was dark already so no selling activities took place, then nearby this area we decided having dessert in one of the well-known old places there serving ice cream and rice pudding. We entered the place that was filled with people, three guys and girls and just the server showed us to a small table so we sat, checked the menu, laughed and ordered eagerly. The server brought us the pudding and just left the cheque on the table till we are finished so we would pay and leave while him monitoring us so we wont be leaving without paying I guess. And as it was a really good day I wanted as a nice gesture to pay for the dessert as that was our last stop before leaving and heading back to Cairo. Me simply took the cheque, looked up to the server and handed him the money. It was few seconds but I guess to me it wasn’t. The server who is a rough mid 30s guy and for sure not the owner of the place and not up to be called a waiter, guess maybe not even educated Alexandrian guy gave me a real demeaning look checking his head and asking “what is this?”. I who was a little bit confused as I was handing him the cheque with the money answered back. “It’s your bill, I am paying you now!”.

I noticed that the laughs at our table stopped but I was still looking at the server who shock his head again as a sign of being offended and disapproving taking the money from me, I who was still not getting it, I thought maybe he isn’t the one in charge of taking the money and I made a mistake, so I had to ask him if something is wrong, when he looked to my friends “the guys” and said “I am not taking money from “her” or what do you gentlemen think?!”. Just then it hit me an ignorant middle age male serving dessert in a small district in Alexandria stood there right infront of me refusing to take money from a well-educated young “lady” just because she is in the company of men and she is a “woman”. He made of my action a disgraceful one as how dare a woman pay for men no matter who or how she is like, not to mention now really how she is like. I who was now in rage as I got it, looked back to the guys trying to get from their faces a confirmation just incase I was wrong before I storm out of the place and ask for his employer and give him a lesson in manners that he will never forget.

Unfortunately, I turned to them with a questioning face to find my dear friends deeply embarrassed and looking to me with eyes saying please don’t make a scene. I guess my face was just as red as a tomato, then one of them took the money from the server and put it infront of me and handed the server money from his wallet while the server smiling back at him and feeling so full of himself repeating right infront of me to my friends “I would have never taken money from her, thanks sir” and he left. The girls kept on eating and didn’t look back at me or even say a word, I was shocked to the core and I guess I was a little hurt by my friend’s attitude. If that guy did what he did as a way of saying how come gentlemen not paying for the ladies, I was going to also disapprove it as its none of his damn business, but the catastrophe was him judging and discriminating me for being a woman paying for men!!!. He whose job is to serve and leave, stood there and offended “me” for just being a female. He refused to take money from a female in the company of males !!!

I turned to my friends who were still so embarrassed and I fought tears of anger in my eyes, I was offended and my intellectual highly educated pals supported a macho server over their female friends and more over they were embarrassed by his comment as one of them infront of the server told me “maysa7esh keda”. And as I was in shock I didn’t get what he meant. Even the girls didn’t support and were silent. When we left I tried being as calm as I can and asked them what the hell was that about, one of them told me that’s the guy culture, that’s how those people are, he wont take money from a woman while a man is in her company. Then we argued a little but for the sake of not ruining a lovely day and a nice trip I had to swallow it and shut up, sure they kept making fun and joking on our way back to help me lighten up, I shared few laughs but I was still upset.

I got home, full of bitterness, yeah I got too emotional about it but I guess I was somehow angry at the guys attitude and felt they were really offended by the server and I was amazed how come they didn’t support me. It was too late but my father the 64 yrs old man was waiting for me and then he asked how was the trip so I couldn’t help but telling him and I started saying sure you will take my friends side and tell me its how those people are like. But I was amazed that dad was really surprised, my 64 yrs old dad who is sort of traditional and conservative yet open minded asked me “how dare the server do that, why didn’t you call his employer and told him that his job is to collect money and shut up, why didn’t any of your friends yell at him telling him to mind his own business and do his job without allowing him to comment or judge according to his ignorant stupid mind if he got any?” And I was impressed by what he said, I told him thank God I wasn’t wrong but I had to let it go. Dad said you are a human being, what does your gender got to do with a bill, I invested my life in bringing up a lady who is liberal in her thoughts and very well respected and educated, how can you allow such a guy to offend you like that. I had to tell him that for the sake of my friends I had to not make a scene and shut up.

Dear well educated liberal friend when you stand for what you respect and believe in, stand with actions not words, let your actions speak louder than your thoughts and words. If you are seeking a change do it not just dream of it, allow others to do it by supporting them and not yielding to ignorance and allowing it to judge you and embarrass you. I guess if I was a foreigner this server would have taken the money and left silently, but because it seem that men in my country still disrespect women by believing them to be second rated no matter how this woman is like, yet since she is a female then no matter what, men are superiors.

My dear friend who for sure I know its just the situation and being caught in the same astonishment that I was in but differently that made you react this way, I know you do respect women and that’s for sure but next time try supporting what you respect and stand for. Hope I am not embarrassing or offending you as I wont ever do that but that’s my way to get it off my chest. I am going back to Alexandria soon with dad and I will go to this same place and order the same dessert, and though this time I will not be only in the company of a man but an elder respected one, yet I will pay this server the bill infront of my dad and from my own wallet and wait to see how will he reacts, this time I am well prepared, this time I have my supporter with me, this time I hope God will be with this server as only God knows what I am capable of doing if he dared to judge and offend me again.

Dudes I owe you a great wonderful day, it wouldn't have been that lovely without you, love you all, lets do it again.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Carbs Are Brain Fuel



Those who know me well do know my very weak soft point ... AMNESIA

Yes I suffer from memory loss, tried to hide it but huh I'm tired of trying. Anyway since I am doing the best I can to regain that going going gone memory of mine, I came through a very interesting article about how eliminating carbohydrates from ones diet may help them lose weight, but it could leave them fuzzy headed and forgetful.

According to the study "No-Carb Diets May Impair Memory, By Salynn Boyles", the body breaks carbohydrates into glucose, which it uses to fuel brain activity. Proteins break down into glycogen, which can also be used for fuel by the brain, but not as efficiently as glucose.So it stands to reason that eliminating carbohydrates from the diet might reduce the brain’s source of energy and affect brain function. But there has been little research examining this hypothesis in people following low-carb weight loss diets.

Well for that I am announcing here that for the sake of losing no memory of mine, I am back to carbs after 5 hours of quitting ;)

My Favorite Psycho and multiple personality disorder movie characters ;)

Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning in HIDE&SEEK


KATHY BATES in MISERY


EDWARD NORTON in PRIMAL FEAR


KEVIN SPACY in SE7EN and THE USUAL SUSPECT ...

On Selfhood and free will - John Gray says ...



"Philosophy has been a masked ball in which a religious image of humankind is renewed in the guise of humanist ideas of progress and enlightenment. Even philosophy's greatest unmaskers have ended up as figures in the masquerade. Removing the masks from our animal faces is a task that has hardly begun.
Other animals are born, seek mates, forage for food and die. That is all. But we humans – we think – are different. We are persons, whose actions are the results of their choices. Other animals pass their lives unawares, but we are conscious. Our image of ourselves is formed from our ingrained belief that consciousness, selfhood and free will are what define us as human beings, and raise us above all other creatures.
In our more detached moments, we admit that this view of ourselves is flawed. Our lives are more like fragmentary dreams than the enactments of conscious selves. We control very little of what we most care about; many of our most fateful decisions are made unbeknownst to ourselves. Yet we insist that mankind can achieve what we cannot: conscious mastery of its existence. This is the creed of those who have given up an irrational belief in God for an irrational faith in mankind.”

From John Gray's Book Straw Dogs

Monday, January 5, 2009

KEDA !!!!


Its just how it is!!!

I guess I am a world winner when it comes to attracting losers; it's like me having this huge magnetic power all over me just for the sake of pulling towards me the most insignificant creatures on earth. I have no idea why in hell that always happen to me, what could be wrong with me, I know I am a very practical negative straightforward person, some do find me sharp and aggressive too, and I am a blue kind of a human being, I am not cheerful, not easy going or outgoing at all. Yet still when it comes to egg head men, uh they are all drawn to me blindly, what could be that significant about me saying hey scum bag come and ruin what is left of my good temper and sanity.

I guess am gifted when it comes to that, I never get impressed by a guy easily, I happen to have this gift of picturing them all the time in my mind as babies in diapers wearing ties and screaming loudly. They all share the same quality, even my own dad and brothers, they are so self centered and believe themselves to be kings of the world while in reality they are nothing but a bunch of nagging babies. It's always him him him, I love, I want, I was, I am ….endless lines of me me me, and they call women airheads and selfish! Men know about everything, they are experts in stock market, banking, and cars and sure who else is better than them when it comes to politics, football and women. Guys we don’t understand ourselves so how on earth would you get us easily, but they do and that’s for sure cause they happen to known many women, uh sure how else would they show off being a heartbreakers while in reality they are forgotten before even known.

Fortunately I don’t have too many experiences as I do run away from relationships the minute I smell danger. Yet I managed the last few years to interact with such species as an attempt to figure out what is it about them, and damn it ... Egyptian men no matter how educated, sophisticated, they end up being the same, selfish, nagging, self centered, arrogant, envious babies. If I dared saying an opinion, a logical point of view, discuss a matter of fact, consider it differently, I am directly to be opposed just for the sake of them being "always right", and if I dared to question what could ever support their theories, they manage their way around to the extent that a guy once told me "keda" as thats how it is and it is not to be explained, take it or leave it, though I wont allow you to leave it!

Anyways I really do pity them, growing up with them alone made a living proof of how pathetic they are, as in my family my brother is the almighty "boy", "man", "chap". I am not allowed to go out have fun even with a curfew unless my dad approve where and with who am going out with and if all is justified and in the safezone he just say NO as he just don’t want me to, why … keda!, while my dear bro is to go out whenever he wants and with whoever he wants. All my friends got to pass the check point and their parents phone number and address is to be known, ok out of being cautious and knowing who exactly your kid is mingling with that is fine by me, but why only me, when it comes to my brother they don’t even bother, a name is enough for them for the just incase, but am not to complain much about that. When I used to study and pass with very good grades, what did I get, nothing and why is that, cause that’s what is expected from me, on the other hand my brother dropped semesters, changed his faculty after not passing for a whole year and he was rewarded with a car! I am to finish college, find myself a husband, get married and reproduce as that’s my sole mission on earth, he is to date, fool around as long as no headaches are to come out of it and whenever he decides to marry they will fund and support him, why…cause he our son you moron, and what the hell I am "$%#^$@"!!! I know I might sound like a teenager in here but believe it or not even after being an independent responsible adult I still got curfews to respect, and I am not "as I am still single" allowed to go out without my father's permission !!!!

My dad once told me sure your children will be dear to me but they will carry your husbands family name and my name wont be included in their last name, dammit where in hell do they get such ideas from and carry it around to pass it from one lousy generation to another, on the other hand my brother kids will have my dads' name in their birth certificates and that’s why his boy is so dear, wow what a mission for him to accomplish. After giving it 2 minutes to think of how significant that is, I turned to dad and asked what's your great great grandpa name, he turned to me saying "why should I know, I don’t remember, why are you asking", so I smiled wondering how dare you not remember while the main reason of your existence in this world is to carry his name and pass it along with yours and my grandpa name to my brother so he can pass it to his kids, and God forbid they got to be boys too as if my brother got a baby girl, her existence will be of no significant use but to give birth to another guys babies to inherit his family name and not my brothers. And sure I got no answer to my weird logic but him rolling his eyes and saying it's just how it is, shut up.

I love my dad dearly but his logic, if I am allowed to call it so, is so weird. Whenever I question something he ends saying you are a girl and ur bro is a man, as if my mind doesn’t function as good as his though I know for sure that my brother's brain got only two cells left and one of them even escaped while the other is busy searching for it. I am not even going to discuss inheritance and how men are to get twice what women should inherit, or the entire logic behind it as I know the answer for such debate to be that’s what the Lord ordered us, are you to question God?!. But the thing is, in our time men are of no significance whatsoever, they work and women work too, they fight "play station" and huh cant we too, and I am 100% positive that a generation with a creature like "Tamer Hosny" will never be capable of going to war or fighting for whatever, that’s not to mention that thank God we are not to enter any wars isa for a while, even if we are to, who said women wont fight and suffer as much as men. Also many women do support their husbands financially nowadays, not to mention that many women are either divorced or widowed and they are the bread earners in their families, they work, give birth, raise children and are entirely responsible of everything.

We are sure way lucky nowadays, just the other day I heard that my friends maid was talking about her husband not allowing their girl to go to school as she is not supposed to and better leave her place in there to her brother and other boys, sure I am not to even question any logic behind it as I happened to know from our lousy history what kind of mentalities supported that, but I am sure that even if I dared to degrade myself to their level and question what for I will get one answer ... "keda"

To be continued .....

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Branding Israel ...


Israel: Branding Beyond Conflict
posted January 5, in Brand channel magazine

And, yes, acknowledging that the specter of war currently imbues just about everything related to Israel, the nation is taking a long-term and disciplined approach to its branding and position in the world.

Approximately the size of New Jersey, the State of Israel's topography boasts such a diversity of climates and sites that a vacationer could choose to bask in the sun at Eilat, ski down the trails of Mount Hermon, visit excavation sites on ancient lands or indulge in a spa treatment at the Dead Sea. But what the experts at Israel's Ministry of Tourism are hoping is that you'll choose Israel as your next vacation destination, not because of its range of climates or historical/religious significance, but because of its people.

“We want to introduce Americans to Israelis,” says Arie Sommer, Israel commissioner for tourism, North and South America. “There's a big misconception in the United States about Israel and Israelis and it seems tourism is something people do, not only to see stones and sights, but the people too. We want to show that Israelis are warm and hospitable.”

After years of being viewed as a magnet for violence and a home to ultra-religious extremists, Israel has started taking its nation brand seriously. The Ministry of Tourism as well as brand experts for Israel have decided that promoting an image of Israel as a normal, typical country is equally as important as its longstanding attempts to convince the world of its moral and political legitimacy.

In 1948, when Israel was created in the aftermath of the Holocaust as a refuge for displaced Jews, it was largely viewed in a positive, compassionate light, as a haven for Jews around the world. But after a resounding victory against its Arab neighbors in the 1967 Six-Day War, the tide of public approval began to turn.

Since then, Israel has fought an increasingly uphill battle to win the American (and international) public's affection. The popular association of Israel with violence and religious fanaticism has hurt its brand and its bottom line.

These days, “people have different images of what Israel is like,” explains Sommer. “We conducted a survey on the image people have of Israelis and the results weren't too positive. Many think Israel is always at war or that its people are arrogant and not hospitable. Many Americans know Israel only from newspapers. Many think Israel is a desert, a backward country. They don't know that it has a lot of water, it's very modern, has a great nightlife, great restaurants, and cultural experiences. One of the things we'd like to change is the perception of our people and our country.”

The Israeli government is standing by this goal with a five-year budgetary commitment of US$ 12 million annually, which, for the small country, is significant. The goal is to increase tourism from the current influx of 600,000 Americans per year to one million annually by 2011. The campaign, which began three years ago with the “Who Knew” slogan and recently segued into a “Shalom” motif, anticipates an increase in tourist revenue—a significant portion of the country's income—as well as a shift in the average American’s perception of Israel.

With Israel's “Shalom” advertising campaign, the Ministry of Tourism is hopeful that Americans will begin viewing the Holy Land in a new light. The slogan promises “You'll love Israel from the first Shalom,” and the campaign includes print, television and online advertisements featuring, according to Sommer, “real Israelis who have real stories to tell.”

The print ads highlight the diversity and talents of typical Israelis, showcasing a dancer, a chef, a cowboy, an archeologist and a hi-tech businessman, each standing in front of a relevant and impressive background. More recently, the ministry has created ads with a violinist, a sailing champion and a father with two children whose own father introduced surfing to Israel in the 1960s. There are currently two commercials on television, and two more will be introduced in 2009. There are also banner ads on popular websites including Yahoo and Google.

But the Ministry of Tourism hasn't been the only government branch to attempt to spice up the typical American's image of Israel and Israelis. In 2007, the Israeli Consulate in New York launched a controversial public relations gambit with Maxim magazine that featured former Israeli soldiers in a spread that they hoped would elicit a change in the perception of Maxim's readership, specifically males ages 18–35, the group that surveys have found have the least connection to Israel. The female soldiers, including a former Miss Israel, posed in skimpy bikinis and one article of military paraphernalia. The maneuver, which succeeded in eliciting a positive response from much of the male readership, also succeeded in raising a furor among female Israeli lawmakers and others who questioned the wisdom of selling Israel in terms of beautiful women.
Until approximately three years ago, when it initiated the “Who Knew” campaign, Israel was investing significant effort and capital primarily into targeting Christian and Jewish groups, communities that were already likely to have a connection with Israel. However, that quickly changed when the Ministry of Tourism conducted a survey through Ernst & Young to gauge tourism levels.

“We found out that if we wanted to see a major breakthrough in the number of tourists in Israel, we needed to target what we call the sophisticated traveler: people who travel to Europe or the Far East and are looking for a cultural experience combined with a good time,” says Sommer. “In order to reach this audience, we decided to launch the Shalom campaign.” The campaign is advertising heavily in New York, Southern California and Southern Florida, markets where the ministry believes it can capitalize best on its investments. Thus far, according to Sommer, there has been a 20 to 25 percent increase in tourism since the program's inception.

That is not to say that Israel is ignoring its religious base. The ministry continues to court evangelical Christians and Catholics, respectively. The ministry has two separate campaigns encouraging its Christian audiences to “Visit Israel. You'll never be the same,” and is advertising heavily on Christian radio, television, Internet and in the print media. “They are motivated to come to Israel, but many don't know how easy it is to travel there,” says Sommer. “This is a major problem, so we're trying to show them how safe and easy it is.” As a result, says Sommer, there has been a steady increase in this segment of tourists.

Sommer acknowledges that the Middle East can be a volatile area but maintains that change is in the air. “There's never been a dull moment in this region for 2,000 years, but fortunately, things have changed in the last few years. For example, although Bethlehem is in the Palestinian Authority’s territories, we’re working together to make sure there is easy access from Jerusalem. We are moving in the right direction.”

”Changing our image takes more than US$ 12 million a year,” admits Sommer, “but we're doing it gradually.”

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it. Adolf Hitler




I believe Hamas and that’s for sure, to be the most brilliant creatures alive - sorry I wont be refering to them as humans, as unfortunately humans got brains that sometimes function -. Sure I don’t give a damn about Israel though I do admire how they manage their business and get what they want very easily no matter what the entire world might say or oppose. They are brilliant advocates actually they are devils advocate, and all their actions are always justified from their own point of view of which the world will soon gradually comprehend and stop condemning and questioning. For sure they should thank Hamas’s "leaders" for their continuous threats to Israel, a matter that serves as nothing but another set of justifications to more and more killing and slaughtering of Palestinian children.

Imagine what this child would grow up to be if not killed now, what a Palestinian toddler or kid of 5 or 8 years old could be in just few years, just another Nazi, so thanks to Israel for foreseeing these kids ugly future and saving the world from another agony caused by another Hitler. And God forbid if not killed then better be crippled for the rest of his life, being an orphan is not enough, better make sure this kid will be capable of doing nothing, however he still got mind, spirit and soul of which he might use, so NO --- taking his life will be much safer, so Israel better never ceasefire and keep on throwing these rockets till they make sure there will be no single soul alive to grow up and revenge one day. And sure Hamas leaders must keep on threatening Israel or else how on earth will Israel justify it to the world. No one would know better what these Palestinian kids would grow up to be than Israel, they live their own ugliness which was according to them an outcome of world's cruelty and they know how bad it is, so they are now doing the world this favor by not allowing such ugliness to exist any more but in them, and that would be by killing it before it even emerge. Lets kill their children and blame their leaders, the world will silently condemn and no one would ever dare to stop us. Palestinian leaders will keep on screaming in exile safely away from our bombardment, yes kill more, kill all the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and you will be doing the world a favor. Israel believes in Hitler's saying "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future" thats why they are killing any future Palestian could ever have, thats why they will own the future and keep ruling the world.

I stopped watching news for years now; actually I can proudly say for over 5 years, no TV or newspapers, so my acknowledgment of what's currently going on comes only from word of mouth and me being forced to listen. I stopped for different reasons, I am among those who can do nothing about it, I am among those who were exposed continuously to what the media kept on airing and to whom the agony, killing and dead people pictures is nothing but pictures, an Oscar winning movie with amazing special effects that looks so real. I came to realize that I am not affected anymore by such photos, to me its chewing gum to the eyes and that’s simply because I was over exposed to the extent that I believe in it being fake. Now I am working on reducing such effect caused by media on me and that would be by not being exposed to it at all. I guess for humans to believe in each other agony they will have to live it. Who am I and how am I to know how they suffer through pictures, how am I to know what it feels like to be 5 years old playing infront of your house with my peers to suddenly lose conscious and wake up to find myself hit by a very advanced rocket and being the luckiest to wake up as an orphan with no limbs and all my friends killed and in pieces to the extent that I am not even able to recognize and identify any, to wake up to find my childhood and future stolen, all my dreams gone for something my mind didn’t grow up enough to comprehend.


YOU – Palestinian kid - you are not allowed to live your life and enjoy your childhood, you are not even allowed to grow up to be a man as both your leader and your enemy agreed on you being deprived such right as maybe one day you will grow up to what they fear most, and the whole world will still stand still watching them slaughtering you but they condemn and will continue crying silently till every memory if you will not even exist. Kid, you have no right to be born at the first place for that you will be deprived living before you even know how to or why.

I believe there is nothing more to say, we have been saying, crying, compromising, screaming, writing, and condemning for decades, I guess words are bored of us, there are no more synonymous to our words not even our feelings, we used them all. Silence might now bring us peace, I will let my silence be my most profound statement, my only expression of scorn.

Back to numbness