Categories

We Will Trancsend

I watching the clip and started to cry.  I cried because it was so touching, true and painful.  I cried because when you are so far away from all of the important women in your life you know how much they mean to you and how important their support is.  You understand that with their help, hugs and compassion, your life is a nicer place to be.  

 

You might also like

The real story behind the brownies A couple of days ago I wrote a post titled "Farewell and thank you for the brownies".  There is a story...
Because what you know about Arabs shouldn’t just come from Jack Bauer. Queen Rania of Jordan's Top Ten reasons she has started her own YouTube channel. It is so funny...
Word of the day: Abject abject (AB-jekt), adjective Allowing no hope of improvement or relief. In a state of hopelessness, destitution,...
Omar Taher’s Gar Na3em I read Omar Taher's new book Gar Na3em.  Omar is an Egyptian journalist, author, poet and screenwriter....

Does Happiness Have a Price Tag?

Benjamin Wallace, a journalist explores that question by trying out some really expensive, very sought after items and tells the story.

I agree with the conclusion that some of us perceive things that are more expensive to be better.  I try not to fall into that trap in the day to day items like Olive Oil for example but there are other items which you buy for the attached status symbol. I try to ask myself if I am one hundred percent sure I really need something and if there is an alternative which is just as good for less.  I am not cheap, I am just in charge of the household budget.  I did buy a pair of designer jeans though once right before I got married, managed to wear it for a few months, got  pregnant and still haven’t managed to get back to my skinny weight (which is not really so skinny) so that I can wear them.  Let’s just say I now own and love a regular non brand pair of jeans which look good and fit.

Attaching value to an item because of its price can be looked at in two ways, what you think of an item and what you think of people (including yourself) who own an item.  An item should be judged for its overall quality just like a person should be judged for their character not for the material items they posses and how much they cost.

We all like the finer things in life, as long as we can afford it then their is no problem.  When it comes to people though we should look at who they really are inside.

Craig Harper at Stepcase Lifehack also has an interesting summary of the talk and his own input.

You might also like

Customer Service, Assumptions and Listening I was at the co-op yesterday and saw the booth selling phone calling cards.  I keep wanting to ask about...
A message to Egyptians in Egypt from Egyptians in Egypt Please help me get this to people in Egypt. My sister and mother and the rest of my family are in...
Growing Younger and Benjamin Button A couple of weekends ago I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with my husband.  He totally...
Hypothetical Question: #2 organ transplant After my first hypothetical question, I felt that what if the situation was switched.  What if (Allah...

Unleash Your Inner Child

“Genius is
no
more than
childhood recaptured at
will, childhood
equipped now with
man’s physical means to
express itself, and with the analytical mind that enables it to bring order into the sum of experience, involuntarily amassed.”
When was the last time you skipped or hopped?  When was the last time you giggled like a 2 year old?  Jumped up and down until you felt dizzy?

This site has lots of ways to unleash your inner child.  Here are some examples:

Waskilly Wabbit
Say “aah-eeee-ahh-eee” with a deep voice, but relax your face and shake your head back and forth hard and fast so that your cheeks flap. Sounds like Elmer Fudd when he’s trying to shake off the dizzyness that comes from being hit on the head. Try this next time you get flattened by a falling anvil, see if it helps.

Dry your tongue!
Get a clean cloth or paper towel. Stick out your tongue, then dry it thoroughly with the cloth. Keep sticking it out so it will air-dry a bit more. Now challenge your friends to feel your dry tongue surface. Weird and creepy. Grab the hands of an unsuspecting passersby, and force them up against your warm dry tongue.

Zen Fluid Dynamics
Sit in a sunbeam in a dimly-lit room. Light a stick of incense, hold it vertically, then move it upwards and stop suddenly, with a jerk. A perfect smoke-ring will be launched from the burning tip. Move the incense upwards, then suddenly jerk downwards, then repeat. You can launch fast smoke-rings through the center of slow ones, create side-by side rows, etc. In a draft-free room they persist for ages, and soon the air will be full of huge grey thin circles. Contemplate the silent Chaos.

You might also like

What is your happiest childhood memory? My happiest childhood memory is running barefoot in the snow. What is yours?...
Childhood nostalgia When I was a child this song was played over and over on the Egyptian Channel 2, it was quite interesting...
Persepolis I just read Persepolis: The story of a child and The story of a return, by Marjane Satrapi the Iranian...
How well do you know your family, how to find out more? How well do you know your great grandparents,  grandparents, aunts and uncles?  Here are some questions...

Dream with me

You might also like

Dreams I've been having the strangest dreams.  Dreams of people long forgotten and things I would love to do. ...
Friday’s Five: My wishlist There are people out there with huge wishlists on Amazon (yes, you know who you are) and even though...
I Wish I Had … Sometimes I get lost in my head and dream of the things I could have.  You have to understand that I...
I need chocolate! I need chocolate, I love chocolate, I dream, I breathe chocolate. I love the dark kind with its rich...

Nassim Taleb, can we really forecast numbers?

Another great pop!cast from Pop!Tech. Nassim Taleb explains how random numbers might be just as good as forecast numbers.

You might also like

Hidden Blessings Another interesting post by RJay about hidden blessings After a month of the Great Egyptian Revolution...
Outliers; a Book Review Malcolm Gladwell is the author of Blink and The Tipping Point, which I read a while back and enjoyed....
A Positive Status Message on Face Book It's a wonderful thing that you have donated your Face Book status message.  Really it shows that you...
Updates, I think I gave myself a very long vacation.  Well I did blog in the middle and came up with a few posts...

Telling Stories – Tracy Chapman

Lyrics

I am a Tracy Chapman fan. For so many reasons I guess but this song reminds me of Winter, of our first car “The Uno” and of friends. So here’s one of my favorite songs of all time. To winter, to friends and to the freedom of owning a car and having a driving license. May all of those return for so many years to come.

You might also like

A Little Less Conversation Chikapappi tagged me (*waves at Chika and does a little chicken dance*) , and boy is this a long one...
Top 10 Reasons I Love Winter After reading Roba's post on why she hates winter, I just had to do this.  I love winter.  Here is...
Updates, I think I gave myself a very long vacation.  Well I did blog in the middle and came up with a few posts...
Amr Diab’s new album Most of my friends always find my "thing" for Amr Diab music quite weird, because it totally doesn't...

Little Mosque on the Prairie

Little Mosque on the Prairie DVD cover

Little Mosque on the Prairie DVD cover

I was in Canada in January 07 and they were promoting Little Mosque on the Prairie, but I never managed to catch any of the shows. I have already seen Seasons 1 and 2 and Season 3 has just started last month. I remember reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was little and thought the show’s title was funny. I was also very intrigued to see how they would deal with the whole Muslim thing. I found Canada to be Muslim friendly or perhaps the area I was in was more used to dealing with lots of immigrants and perhaps converts. The show is funny and quite down to earth without being offensive manages to poke fun at everyone.

If you are interested you can find the episodes here.

You might also like

Before I die I want … (part two) I've been thinking about the things I want to do or see before I die ever since I posted about it (yes...
Control a Kid Remote Control I saw this and actually thought that we had crossed the bounds of technology and did the impossible of...
Manga Me! Hehehe everyone is making their manga alter ego, me tooooooooooooo.  Well and because I thought it would...
From my inbox: Ele ba3 el tram. Seriously one of the funniest con jobs in Egypt.  The article is dated 3-1-1948.  A young man sold...

What would we do without the internet?

You might also like

Hypothetical Question: Stranded on a Desert Island If you were stranded on a desert island and had internet access but could only log on to one website...
Friday’s Five: Five things I love: My family The internet Chocolate Coffee Bags ...
Women, Ads and Stereotypes When will advertising people get that not all women fall the same segment.  I get annoyed when I see...
Friday’s Five: Useful Apps for your Phone I absolutely love adding and removing software on my phone.  Discovering little gems that can make my...

Salam ya balady – Rage3leek mafihash kalam

we koli sho2 we a7lam.
This is exactly how I feel. Yes I know Egypt is a mess but if we are not going to fix it then who is? If we have given up then who will help this phoenix rise up from its ashes?
The song is amazing, and this specific YouTube version is of Alex, which makes it even meaningful to me.

You might also like

Raising little Egyptians The older generation would never had imagined that they raised the generation that would start the spark...
Farewell and thank you for the brownies I enjoyed an 18 day vacation in Alexandria and came back home yesterday.  I had these dreams, hopes...
A message to Egyptians in Egypt from Egyptians in Egypt Please help me get this to people in Egypt. My sister and mother and the rest of my family are in...
The New Jessyz-Webster Dictionary I've decided to come up with my new slang Egyptian Arabic dictionary. Ta7aleb: something that turned...

Web 2.0 demystified in under 5 minutes

A while back I tried explaining web 2.0 to someone and found it very difficult.  Dr Michael Wesch, a professor in Kansas State University does it perfectly and in under 5 minutes too.

You might also like

Sense of Direction I have always had a good sense for directions.  I love taking a random turn and getting to where I was...
Customer Service, Assumptions and Listening I was at the co-op yesterday and saw the booth selling phone calling cards.  I keep wanting to ask about...
Blogging terminology explained I was aimlessly blog hopping when I came across Memories Documented, a very interesting blog with a wide...
Manhood And A Little Bit Of Psychology I was listening to one of  my favorite podcasts, The Psych Files which I had forgotten about for a couple...