classic

i can't remember the first time i heard this clip ... it's really really old ... but it's also really really funny ...

gaddafi's kids

apparently they're just as crazy as he is ...

debbie does cakes

so i found something cool ... it's this lady on flickr ... she makes cakes that look like stuff ... like megatron for example ... or scooby doo ... or even a plate of spaghetti ... imagine if her cakes tasted as good as they looked ... what if they did ...

netenyahu comes to egypt

Aboul Gheit did not offer details of Mubarak's discussion with Netanyahu at Cairo's Presidential Palace. (source)

oh i think i can guess what that discussion was like ...

netenyahu: hey thanks for building that wall husni
mubarak: you're most welcome friend
netenyahu: hey i didn't say you could talk
mubarak: i'm sorry friend
netenyahu: alright alright ... now less talking more sucking

3arab

The organizers behind acclaimed Barbadian singer Rihanna’s planned concert in Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve are denying media reports that the star has been told to trade in her trademark revealing, raunchy stage gear for a more wholesome look in her gig at the Emirates Palace Hotel in the emirate.
“The facts and figures recently reported around Rihanna’s Abu Dhabi concert are totally inaccurate,” said concert organizer Flash in a statement quoted by the United Arab Emirates-based English-language newspaper Gulf News.
The wardrobe row surfaced after the British tabloid the Daily Mirror claimed in a report over the weekend that Rihanna had been instructed to dress more conservatively for her show in Abu Dhabi and that the 21-year-old star was “tearing her hair out over what to do" about it.
The article also claimed Rihanna was being paid a whopping $500,000 for her performance, a sum for which the Daily Mirror said the star is likely to leave her latex body suits and extravagant bras in the closet.
So Rihanna’s team is now said to be working around the clock to somehow figure out a way to make Rihanna's daring stage outfits go along with the local traditions in Abu Dhabi, which prides itself as the more mature and conservative brother of neighboring, freewheeling Dubai.
But Rihanna's supposed scrambling for a more wholesome look so as to not upset her conservative fans might prove a challenge.
“She knows that she'll have to compromise her style to fit in with local traditions, but a huge part of her show is her sexy stage gear,” an unidentified source told the Daily Mirror.
Aside from maybe having to cover up in a sweater and a pair of jeans in her planned New Year's Eve gig, the British tabloid also suggested that Rihanna and her crew might also have to ring in the new year with soft drinks and juice instead of champagne, saying the singer may have to obtain a special license to store alcohol in her dressing room during the concert.
The incident is likely to mark this year's last wardrobe row in the Middle East, but it's certainly not the year's first.

story

here's a crazy thought ... how about just NOT INVITE HER ...

btw do you like the photo ... i did that myself ...

un-fucking-believable

Nearly 300 French activists camped outside their embassy in Cairo to protest against Egyptian authorities' prevention of their journey to El Arish, where they were scheduled to take part in a "freedom march" showing solidarity with Palestinians under siege in Gaza.
The protesters, who were supposed to leave for the coastal city on Sunday morning, were surprised when buses they rented for the trip didn't show up. They were later told by the bus company that authorities had banned the trip.
Consequently, the protesters blocked the road outside the French Embassy, demanding the buses, before security forces threatened them with water cannons.
The French campaigners are part of a larger group of no less than 1,300 activists traveling to Egypt from 42 countries in order to take part in the Gaza Freedom March. Egyptian authorities previously said that none of them would be allowed to carry out the march or enter the Palestinian enclave through its borders.
Authorities have similarly stopped a number of Americans from marking the first anniversary of the Gaza bombings by renting boats on the Nile River. Another commemoration of the war in Gaza was broken up by police at the Kasr El Nil Bridge near downtown Cairo.
Meanwhile, organizers of the freedom march announced that 38 participants were briefly detained by security forces at their hotel inside El Arish (30 miles away from the Gaza border) and at the city's bus station on Sunday afternoon.
source

meanwhile ....

Gazan resident Muhammad Abu Shabab appealed to the Palestinian Ministry of Health to put pressure on Israel to allow the import of Galactomin 19 infant formula for his 4-month-old nephew.
Abu Shabab said in a statement that his nephew, Yahiya Ahmad Abu Shabab, has been suffering chronic diarrhea since he was born at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and that the formula is the only thing likely to stabilize his condition.
The formula is designed for children with intolerances to lactose, galactose and glucose.
After Yahiya's birth, he was treated at a hospital in Jaffa for digestion problems and returned home with four large containers of Galactomin 19 formula. According to his uncle, the last of the boy's containers of formula will soon be empty.
There are no alternative formulas in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Shabab said he approached local authorities, NGOs, and companies but could not locate solution that his nephew could use.
source

never forgive

The kids ask me about their father all the time. I tell them that he is a martyr and has gone to heaven. They ask me how they can go to visit. Once, my daughter told me to get a ladder, take a knife and climb up and cut open the sky so I could bring their father back. Another time, my son said to go to the place under the ground where my father is buried and break it open with a hammer so you can bring him back. My eldest daughter once told me to speak to God on Jawwal [the Palestinian mobile phone company] and tell him to let us see our father. All the time they ask me why they killed their father and not somebody else. They have so many questions ... sometimes I don't have an answer.
One day, my son asked me for a shekel. I said, "OK, here is a shekel," but he said "I don't want a shekel from you, I want one from my father."

story

the decade in review

click the image to view full-size

courtesy of the nyt

song of the day

word puzzle

الأشقاء العرب

Egyptian soldiers are seen securing the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza, as Palestinians demonstrate on the Gaza side against Egypt installing a border barrier to block smuggling tunnels with Gaza, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. Egypt acknowledged last week it is installing a series of metal sheets deep along the Gaza border to block tunnels used to smuggle weapons into the Palestinian territory.
(AP Photo/Eyad Baba)

tfoo 3alaina ...

humpty dumpty was a pervert

makes you go hmmm

sometimes it's good to be sad ...

---

i get it now ... it's that i don't get it ... get it?

the bureaucratic labyrinth

so i had a car accident last week ... no it was not serious ... at all ... i just hit a guy's car from behind ... unfortunately he had a 4x4 ... it's unfortunate because that means his bumper is higher than usual ... so when i hit him ... instead of just having a small bumper to bumper ... we had a bumper to hood ... and hoods don't absorb hits as well as bumpers ... they crumple up ... but seeing as how i wasn't going fast at all ... the damage was limited to the hood ... photos here and here ... ended up replacing it ... the hood not the car ... but that's not what i want to talk about ... the guy insisted we bring the police because he wants his insurance to cover the damage to his car ... which was so minimal ... i was like fine ... so police comes ... guy asks me for my registration and insurance ... i give them to him ... he's like you don't have copies ... ummm no ... well then i'll have to take the originals you can collect them from the "muroor" on saturday ... oh yeah this was wednesday night ... i was on my way to pick up my friend ... that fucker needs to learn how to drive and get a car already ... but i digress ... so he takes the originals ... fucking great ... well i didn't go collect them on saturday ... or sunday ... i went today ... first getting to the muroor was frightening ... i'm still fresh out of an accident and feeling a bit jittery ... and goddamn the traffic on the way there ... it is in malaz ... for those who don't know it gets kind of crowded there ... but i got there safely ilhamdulila ... now i know that dealing with government is a kafkaesque experience so i know what to expect ... but it never ceases to frustrate me and make me dream of immigrating the fuck out of here ... i walk into the building ... after getting past all the street peddlers who ask you if you need help doing your insurance or renewing your registration ... i walk in and i have no clue where to go ... i walk into an office and explain to the guy my situation ... he says go upstairs ... to the "7asib il alee" ... ok ... i go upstairs ... ask some dude where is the 7asib il alee that they speak of ... he gestures to a room ... i go in and get in line ... when it's my turn the guy asks me for the license plate ... now license plates here are three letters and four numbers ... the new ones are like that anyway ... and i just got a new one ... i don't remember it ... i know my old one ... but the new one ... uhhh ... i remembered the letters ... but the numbers ... 57 ... the last two i could not remember for the life of me ... i was like FUCK ... had to go back down and out the building and walk to my car ... which was parked far away because damn the place is crowded ... got the license plate in my head ... ok walk back upstairs ... get in line again ... recite the license plate ... he gives me a piece of paper and says go to the next counter ... ok ... getting somewhere ... to the next counter ... the guy's like you need to go to maktab raqam wa7ad ... where the fuck is that ... nobody knows ... i go downstairs ... maktab 2 .. 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... up to 9 ... but where is 1 ... i asked a dude ... he's like it's upstairs ... of course ... so i go upstairs and find it ... walk in ... the guy at the counter has some paperwork apparently ... he makes me wait about ten minutes ... while he finishes his work ... never once looking at me ... finally he takes the paper from me ... he asks me did anyone get hurt ... no ... did anyone flee the scene ... no ... so why are you here ... i don't know the guy told me to come here ... no go back ... ok ... i go back ... hey man you told me go to maktab 1 and he told me to go back to you ... give me the paper ... he asks me some questions ... gives me a paper to photocopy ... of course the photocopy place is not even in the same building ... it's outside ... and it costs a riyal ... small price to pay i guess ... go down and get the copy ... come back ... hand him the copy ... he hands me my registration and insurance and tells me goodbye ... i light a cigarette as i walk back to my car ... take a long drag ... and slowly exhale ... i did it ... oh and at work today ... i made several copies of my registration and my insurance ... you know ... just in case ...

the vega

kudu has this new sandwich ... it's called a vega ... i tried it today ... i like the philly beef and the philly chicken sandwiches at kudu ... i usually get one or the other when i decide to eat there ... or both ... but back to the vega ... i thought i would try it ... i had to wait about 15 minutes at the drive-thru window while prayer time concluded ... man that's annoying ... but that's a different story ... they opened up and i told the guy one vega meal please ... ok 15 riyals ... pretty cheap ... i proceed to the next window ... while waiting i look at the receipt he handed me ... it says viggie sandwich ... i'm thinking did he mix up my order with a vegan sandwich or something ... i knock on his window ... i'm like did you give me the vega ... he's like yeah ... i'm like is that the same one in that poster ... i point to the promo poster on their window ... again he's like yeah ... hmmm ... ok nevermind then ... but inside my head i'm like shit i ordered a veggie sandwich didn't i ... vega vegan ... i am starting to see the connection ... i thought vega was some spanish thing ... google it and you'll find pictures of hot chicks whose last name happens to be vega ... or that dude from street fighter ... but you will not find vegetables ... oh well too late now ... i take the order and go home ... it's nasty i tell you ... it's some kind of vegetable patty covered in fried bread crumbs ... there's like corn and peas and carrots in there ... and i don't know what else ... do not be fooled by the picture ... i know it looks like a breaded chicken filet ... well it isn't ... don't get the vega ... it's awful ... just awful ...

reflections

some people watch a lot of tv ... i watch a lot of laptop ...

God bless you

A Palestinian woman cries as she holds a picture of her son who was killed during the war with Israel as she attends a demonstration held by Hamas movement, marking the one-year anniversary of Israel's offensive on Gaza, in Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009.
(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

the joy of christmas

is it just me or does he appear to hump the box at the 0:45 mark ...

gaza

this post is dedicated in memory of the war on gaza ... which marks its first anniversary tomorrow ... i don't know what i could write on the subject ... what hasn't been said already ... i could recount the figures of the war ... number of people killed ... maimed ... houses destroyed ... i could post photos of the casualties ... of white phosphorous raining from the skies ... or i could tell you an irrelevant story about where i was when the war started ...
anyway ... they say a picture is worth a thousand words ... so i leave with you an album of cartoons about gaza and the war ... i had created it on facebook last year when the war was still happening ... there is a total of 60 cartoons in the album ... click here to view it ... feel free to lift some cartoons from the album and share them on your blog ... or on facebook ... or twitter ... or whatever it is you do ... just don't let the occasion pass without remembering it somehow ...

google toilet

christmas resistance

Demonstrators dressed as Santa Claus wave Palestinian flags in front of Israeli soldiers during a protest against the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of al-Masara near Bethlehem December 25, 2009.
REUTERS/Ammar Awad

one year later

IKEA Lamp

nostalgic death

quote of the day

"As long as I'm in office, I will not allow anybody to start a new intifada. Never, never,"

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal
source

لا حول و لا قوة إلا بالله

how dramatic would that have been

bashar leans slightly forward ... and whispers softly into hariri's ear ...

by the way, i really did kill your father ...

dalla3ni

my nickname at work is abu john ... a guy called abdullah came up with it a long time ago ... at first it was just his thing ... but it caught on somehow ... and soon everyone around the office started calling me abu john ... well not the manager ... but pretty much everyone else ... why abu john ... well people say i look american ... the john is not pronounced jawn ... more like rhymes with lon (color) ...
back in highschool some people called me abu thabit ... that's my dad's name ... thabit ... or bu thabit ... also some people called me abu janad ... because of my last name ...
i've also been referred to as abu 7maid ... my dad tends to favor that one ...
when i was in the american schools people called me mo ... which i guess can be considered a nickname ... apparently they couldn't be bothered to say my full name ... they said it wrong anyway ... mo-haw-mid ... in fifth grade this guy called brody used to call me moho ... sometimes mojo ... and then there was a girl who used to call me momo ... but that wasn't in fifth grade ... she came along much later ...
but most people just refer to me as plain jundi ... which is not really a nickname ... it's just my last name ...
i think that about covers every nickname i've ever had ...

so anyway ... share your nicknames with us ...

=====
remember the richmeister ... couldn't find a youtube clip so this will have to do ...

quote of the day

"I feel like spraying the classroom with a submachine gun just to get some peace and quiet."

This statement appears on the blog of someone who goes to a Tel Aviv junior high everyday - but he is not a student. The author of these disturbing lines is a math teacher whose strongly worded online journal deals with many of the difficulties burdening teachers in Israeli schools, and also mirrors some of their attitudes.

story

الأشقاء العرب

Cairo on Monday rejected a request by international activisits to organise a march to the Gaza Strip via Egypt to mark one year since an Israeli attack on the enclave.
"Some international organisations have requested permission for a solidarity march -- the Gaza Freedom March -- into the Gaza Strip," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Egypt finds it difficult to cooperate with this march considering the sensitive situation in the Gaza Strip," which faces a stringent Israeli blockade, the statement said.
It warned that "any attempts to violate the law or public order by any group whether local or foreign on Egyptian soil will be dealt with in conformity with the law."
Over 1,000 international delegates from 42 countries have signed up to join the Gaza Freedom March which was due to enter Gaza via Egypt during the last week of December.
source

stealing land and organs

Israel has admitted pathologists harvested organs from dead Palestinians, and others, without the consent of their families.

story

some perspective

Just how successful was the launch of Modern Warfare 2?

The game's publisher, Activision, says more than 8 million gamers played the game in its first five days. That’s more than the number of soldiers in the world’s top-five armed forces combined.
Activision has conveniently broken down the numbers for you. According to the publisher, “Modern Warfare 2” has:

* more than twice the number of troops in NATO’s 28 member countries combined (3.9 million active troops in NATO)
* more than three times the number of troops in the world’s largest army (People’s Liberation Army of China with 2.3 million)
* more than five times the number of active duty military personnel currently serving in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force combined (1.4 million)
* more than six times the size of India’s Armed Forces (1.3 million)
* more than seven times the size of North Korea’s Korean People’s Army (1.1 million)
* And, eight times the size of personnel in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (1 million)
source

in a related story ...

music massage

in case the golden wii is too expensive ... you can get me this instead ...

Finally, a great scalp and head massager designed for home use. The OSIM® uCrown is inspired by traditional head and scalp massage—and enhanced with a combination of patented air pressure technology, vibration massage, magnetic therapy, gentle heat and soothing music. A choice of programs target key acupressure points for the desired effect. Ergonomic design is close and comfortable for any size head. Adjustable fit. Includes auto-timer that lets you set your massage session at 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Portable and cordless. Uses 4 AA batteries (not included).
A comprehensive massage experience.
Patented air pressure technology, vibration massage, magnetic therapy, gentle heat and soothing music combine to deliver a tension-relieving, circulation-boosting treat to your head and scalp. The unique “human touch” acupressure massage is designed to simulate the hands of a professional massage therapist.
Add a soothing soundtrack.
To further support relaxation and an overall “feel-good” experience, add a soothing soundtrack with music from three categories: Wellbeing, Ambiance and Nature. Includes built-in speakers, earphones and remote control.

the golden wii

in case you were wondering what to get me for christmas ...

The Nintendo Wii SUPREME Officially the most unique and expensive in the world. Six months of precise workmanship went into creating the ultimate gaming station which boasts over 2,500 grams of solid 22ct gold. The front buttons are home to 78 x 0.25 ct Flawless diamonds which total 19.5 ct. Available as a limited edition of only 3 to be made.
Price - £299,995.00

they also make golden ipods ... diamond blackberrys ... no kidding ...

how am i doing?

i concur

according to a recent study ... shania twain is perfect ... apparently it's all about ratios ... lengths and widths and what not ...

fyi

if you're wondering where the post about moving disappeared to ... keep wondering ... no i deleted it ... the reason is obvious ... i am not moving after all ... what a relief i guess ...

photoshop advertising

an interesting article about how advertisers tend to retouch their models in ads targeting women ... so don't believe everything you see ...

سبحان الله

This image provided by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Tuesday Dec. 15, 2009 shows hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds. The festive portrait is the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus.
(AP Photo/NASA)

zombieland

from its name you would assume it's a horror movie ... well it's not ... it's actually a comedy ... and a damn good one ... they had too much fun making this movie ... there are zombies yes ... but not in a scary way ... i mean make no mistake about it they want to eat your brains ... and they are constantly being killed by the cast ... whether it's with a baseball bat ... or gardening clippers ... or a shotgun blast ... or even a banjo ... but it's not a horror movie ... really enjoyed it ... and i've had a thing for emma stone ever since i first saw her in superbad ... so having her in there was an added bonus ... 9/10 ...

palestinian fashion

i thought male models were supposed to have good bodies ...
and what the hell is that thing on his head ...

innocence

going green

i'm all for saving the earth ... but come on ...

seems a bit extreme

This drawing, released by Chester Johnson, of Taunton, shows a sketch of Jesus on the cross created by his son as part of school work, in Taunton, Mass. on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. The 8-year-old boy was sent home from school and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation after he was asked to make a Christmas drawing and came up with what appeared to be a stick figure of Jesus on a cross, the child's father said Tuesday.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

you can look but don't touch

The sexual harassment of women in the streets, schools and work places of the Arab world is driving them to cover up and confine themselves to their homes, said activists at the first-ever regional conference addressing the once taboo topic.
Activists from 17 countries across the region met in Cairo for a two-day conference ending Monday and concluded that harassment was unchecked across the region because laws don't punish it, women don't report it and the authorities ignore it.
story

i wonder if sexual harassment panda was present at the conference ...

facebook : rated pg13

i'm not sharing this for the article ... i don't care about that ... i just thought the photo was amusing ...

the arab version of james bond

Kheir at his best was among the greatest Arab intelligence officers of his generation. He ran a series of masterful penetration operations against Palestinian extremist groups and, later, al-Qaeda. "He set the standard for how we do it," said one former CIA officer who worked closely with him.
read his story

merry christmas from palestine

wordle

this is my wordle ... make your own here and share the link with us in your reply ...

mumblings

i love you more than rappers love scarface ...

الأشقاء العرب

A picture taken from the Palestinian side of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah shows heavy machinery at work on the Egyptian side of the border. Egyptian authorities are installing underground metal sheets along the border area of Rafah in a bid to stem smuggling into Gaza.
(AFP/File/Said Khatib)

باقون على العهد

Palestinian Hamas supporters attend a rally to mark the 22nd anniversary of the group's founding in Gaza City, Monday, Dec. 14, 2009.
(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

new look

he did it again ... i don't know is this like the third or fourth time i change the template ... well i didn't want to but i was bored and not being able to post big youtube videos was bugging me ... the space in the previous template was too small ... now i can post big ones like the below ... what a dunk ... anyway ... i also removed a lot of the clutter ... most of those little badges and the tag cloud and that long list of websites as well ... don't worry you'll get used to it ...

Dunk of the Day

quote of the day

"The peace process in the Middle East is not like IKEA furniture," one Israeli official said, "It takes more than a screw and a hammer, it takes a true understanding of the constraints and sensitivities of both sides, and in that Sweden failed miserably."

It hasn't been a great year for Israeli-Swedish relations. First there was the controversy over an article which accused Israel of stealing Palestinian organs. Then this week, Sweden issued a proposal calling for the EU to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

source

what a real man looks like

A member of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, is seen during a demonstration in the Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

bad cookie monster

did cookie monster or didn't he touch tyra banks ass ... a rep for the show says no ...
"He did not touch [Tyra Banks] behind. It just the angle of the photo."

source

pop the president

Authorities in Texas arrested a man who they say had 200 ecstasy pills in the shape and likeness of President Obama in his possession.
story

mumblings

if i had a nickel for every time i won 1,200,000 pounds ... i would have 1,200,000 pounds ...

the human body

have you ever sneezed while peeing ... it hurts ... i'm just saying ...

respect

how cool is this guy

let's go to prison

this movie was recommended to me by prudence ... it is a comedy ... felt like i needed something light after boys don't cry ... and while it is a movie about prison it's not as dark as you might expect ... it is a comedy after all ... the blonde dude in the photo plays a guy who is always getting into trouble and ending up in prison ... and it is will arnett's dad who is the judge that is always sentencing him ... so he vows to get revenge on the judge once he gets out ... but the judge dies before he can take revenge ... so he decides to take revenge on his son instead ... how does he do that ... by getting him in trouble and getting him sent to jail ... but not only that ... he then gets himself sent to jail as well and becomes cellmates with arnett ... hilarity ensues ... good comedy for whoever is looking for one ... 8/10 ... ending is kind of lame but it doesn't matter ...

reflections

you can treat someone like absolute shit ... worse than shit ... and they will be angry ... stop seeing you ... stop talking to you ... block you on msn ... delete your number ... but they will never remove you from their facebook ...

virtual suicide

whoever thought of this is genius ... i loved the idea ... i'm not gonna do it ... but i loved the idea ...

the arab version of the kennedys

Samir Rifai, a former minister of Jordan’s Royal Court, was appointed prime minister by King Abdullah. Rifai is the son of Zeid Rifai, a former prime minister and currently senate president. His grandfather, Samir Rifai, is also a former prime minister.

hamra sweet hamra

everyone who has ever lived in beirut and especially hamra will love this facebook group ...
it is a street photography project called لكم حمراؤكم و لي حمرائي ...
check out their photo albums ... it brings back so many memories for me ...

boys don't cry

this is the first movie i watch since coming back to riyadh ... i have heard so much about it over the years and i finally watched it ... hilary swank plays a transexual ... that is she is a female who wants to be a male ... sort of a sexual identity crisis thing ... but she hasn't had any surgery ... she is very much a female ... she just acts and dresses like a male ... and hopes nobody finds out her secret ... she lives in nebraska where this kind of behavior just doesn't fly ... she leaves her hometown and moves to another midwestern town and starts hanging out with a group of hicks who take her in ... the group has two guys ... one of them is peter sarsgaard ... and it also has some girls ... and she ends up falling for one of those women and they have a relationship ... but it's only a matter of time before her cover is blown and well ... just watch the movie ... to describe this movie as harrowing ... intense ... disturbing ... all these terms are accurate ... i think the most disturbing thing about it is that it's based on a true story ...

now i have always heard that it's supposed to make you cry ... i personally did not cry ... that's not to say that i never cried over a movie ... just that this one failed in making me do so ... anyway hilary swank is an amazing actress ... she looks like an anorexic matt damon in this movie ... not surprisingly she won an oscar for her role ... so if you have not seen it and you have the stomach for it ... i recommend that you do ... 8.5/10 ...

movies i saw during the holiday

i saw three silly comedies during the holiday ... i picked them on purpose because i wanted to save the better ones for when i get back to riyadh ... these were just something i watched to kill some time ... i apologize in advance for the quality of the movies i am about to review ... i promise that the upcoming ones will be better ... anyway here we go ...


the house bunny ... anna faris plays a playboy bunny who is kicked out of the mansion for being too old ... or at least that's what she is led to believe ... anyway ... all on her own now she goes and joins a sorority ... the sorority she joins is composed of frumpy socially awkward girls ... and she transforms them into hot popular girls ... it is a pretty silly premise but not so silly that you cannot finish the movie and would turn it off ... it's not that unbearable ... especially given all the eye candy ... it has its funny moments as well ... as long as you realize that this is not a movie to be taken seriously and is only meant to be watched for fun then you will probably enjoy it ... 5/10 ...

fanboys ... this was the funniest of the three ... there is this group of kids who are star wars freaks ... and one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness ... he doesn't have much time left ... and there is a star wars movie coming out very soon ... will he live to see it ... or won't he ... so the group decides to drive across the country to george lucas's mansion and break in so they can watch the movie ... it's very funny even though i know nothing about star wars and i didn't get any of the star wars reference jokes ... 7.5/10 ...

the comebacks ... it is a spoof of sports movies ... and as we all know ... spoof movie = lameness ... sure they have a laugh out loud moment here and there ... but for every one of those there are like ten jokes that just make you want to roll your eyes at how corny they are ... so yeah not much to tell ... just another typical spoof movie ... definitely the worst out of the three ... 1/10 ...

burka barbie

One of the world's most famous children's toys, Barbie, has been given a makeover - wearing a burkha.
Wearing the traditional Islamic dress, the iconic doll is going undercover for a charity auction in connection with Sotheby's for Save The Children.
More than 500 Barbies went on show yesterday at the Salone dei Cinquecento, in Florence, Italy.

story

the juice

these guys make the best juice ... and the best yogurt ... but back to the juice ... they have these new flavors ... well i don't know how new they are but i saw them for the first time the other day at carrefour ... mixed juice flavors ... i know they've had kiwi lime forever ... which is delicious ... but now they have orange peach and also mango strawberry ... the stuff is just nectar of the gods ... try it ...

isn't she lovely

Malika Menard takes part in the swimsuit segment of the Miss France 2010 pageant in Nice, southeastern France, December 5, 2009. Menard won the competition, which saw 55 participants competing for the title on Saturday.
REUTERS/Eric Gaillard (FRANCE ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY)

Pageant cliche #445: "I'm crying but I'm not really crying because it took like 3 hours to get my makeup right, but I'll act like I'm brushing invisible tears away just to let you all know how emotional this moment is for me."

had to blog this

randoms

i downloaded almost 200 gb worth of stuff during the nine days i spent at home during the eid break ... well it was just under 190 gb ... the bulk of it was series ... but also some movies ... and some music ... God bless that connection ...

my dad passed a kidney stone while i was there ... he was crippled with pain for two days ... he was throwing up and stuff ... it was awful ... when he finally did pass it ... it was so tiny ... i mean it was the size of an ant's head ... humans think they're so mighty but something so tiny can do that to them ... at least you could see a kidney stone ... you can't see viruses and look at what they can do ... the most amazing part was how the excruciating pain completely disappeared once he had passed the stone ...

i flew to dammam but i took a cab back to riyadh ... one of those cabs you share with three other people ... one guy in the passenger seat and three guys in the back ... they are faster than the bus though somewhat riskier ... anyway ... the driver was an old saudi man ... not less than fifty ... so anyway he was playing fairuz the entire way ... and a lovely selection too ... that's the second time this happens ... when i first came to riyadh the taxi i took from the airport also played fairuz ... now these are hardcore saudis ... bedouins ... but they appreciate fairuz ... something about that voice appeals to all arabs ...

i arrived in riyadh around 10:30 pm last night ... i dropped my stuff off at the apartment and quickly left to the barber to get a shave ... need to look presentable at work the next day ... anyway i always go to the same barbershop ... it's called il rukn il maghribi ... i think that's what it's called ... something il maghribi anyway ... on account of all the barbers who work there are ... yeah you guessed it ... moroccans ... so there is this big fat guy who always comes in ... he is jordanian ... or maybe palestinian ... they call him abu sub7i ... they being the barbers who work there ... he is very popular with them for some reason ... as soon as he comes in they will all start saying abu sub7i ... hala abu sub7i ... abu sub7i this abu sub7i that ... anyway they are always joking back and forth ... and abu sub7i always responds in a funny way ... i often find myself laughing out loud even though i'm not part of the conversation ... but you can't help hearing it since they are shouting back and forth across the room ... so yesterday's gem from abu sub7i was ... 7u6 9arma b7algak w i5ras ... he said that to one of the barbers ... and of course they all started cracking up ... including me ... also my barber taught me a moroccan insult ... i will share it with you ... zamir ... 3ala wazen fa3il ... it means m5annath ...

thanks to facebook i learned that my boss from the previous company i worked at is currently working in riyadh ... with a different company ... we spoke briefly and should be meeting soon ... i'm going to see if he can hook me up with a job at his company ...

it's raining in riyadh these days ... but nothing too serious ... and it's kind of cold ... none of that in dammam ...

saw this on yahoo ... Tupac's song "Changes" is one of 9 entries on the MySpace page for Pope Benedict XVI's album "Alma Mater: Music From The Vatican." ... i wonder if the pope ever saw this album cover by tupac ... blasphemous ...

my mom will not stop with the engagement questions ... though i didn't humor her at all ... at all ... i'd rather be castrated ...

the nets finally won a game ... mabrook ... 1-18 now ... thank God i'm not a nets fan ...

i had some work to do today ... but i didn't do any ... it's my first day back after the vacation ... i figured showing up was enough ...

leave you with a song from one of my favorite bands ... maybe my favorite band period ...

BAS

riyadh

i know i give this city a hard time but damn i missed it ... feels good to be back ... i'm almost looking forward to going back to work tomorrow ... almost ...

fail

congratulations to the new jersey nets who have set a new record for the worst start in nba history ...
their record currently stands at 0-18 ...

God Bless Scottish Women

A woman is seen handing out Palestinian flags ahead of the Europa League group C soccer match between Celtic and Hapoel Tel-Aviv at Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday Dec. 2, 2009.
(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

the circle of life

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush in Baghdad last year had a taste of his own medicine Tuesday when he nearly got beaned by a shoe thrower at a news conference in Paris.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi ducked and the shoe hit the wall behind him.
Al-Zeidi's brother, Maitham, chased the attacker in the audience and — what else? — pelted him with a shoe as he left the room.

video

quote of the day

“Don’t matter where you at or what you doing, be the best at it, I’m the best McDonalds eater today”

NFL star Chad Ochocinco
source

a picture is worth a thousand words

(AFP/Karim Jaafar)

time to go outside

remember that episode of south park ... where they really get into world of warcraft ...

MMO Champion is reporting that Taiwanese player Little Gray from the TW-Wrathbringer guild has successfully completed all of the achievements in World of Warcraft and is the first player to reach 986/986 points listed in the Armory. Technically he's still missing one achievement (called "BB King") which was added in the last patch, but it's clear that this guy has played the crap out of the game, and deserves some credit for his monumental feat of online gaming dedication. That, or he needs to get out a little more.
Over the course of "beating" the game, according to his stats in the Armory he killed 390,895 creatures, but only died 8,543 times himself. He did 7,255,538,878 points of damage, and completed 5,906 quests (for an average of 14.6 quests per day.) Socially, he's not a really cheery one though. He's given a total of just 11 hugs, and he "LOL'd" just once.

source

somehow i'm not surprised the kid is asian ... anyway congratulations little gray ... here's your trophy ...

song of the day

ain't that unusual ... by the goo goo dolls ... click here to listen ...
ahhh memories ...