From here and there

Pigeons
Lately I have been obsessed by how they stand over lampposts,  they seem to have a blast! And the first thought that comes to me when I see them other than smile, how awesome would a shot be taken from above? With a wide angle.

المنظور المختلف

و تكملة على منظور الحمام المختلف للشارع، من اعلى الشبّة، وردني انتقاد لفعل شخص معين، نقلا عن انسانة، و التي قال لها زوجها هذا الانتقاد، عن صديقه!! و ساد الحوار حول خطاء "المحشوش" به،  كون ما فعله شنيع و جسيم. بالمقابل كان بنظري الفعل الاشنع و الاحق بالانتقاد هو النقل و عدم النصح! فلم يقتصر فعل ذلك الصديق على خيانة امانة صديقه و محاوراتهم الخاصة، و عدم اعطاء النصيحة و التصرف بينهما و على اقل تقدير ان ينهي صداقتهم مادام هذا القعل شنيعا! بل نقل ما ورد من "سوء" الى انسانة غير معنية بالموضوع، فمن هو الاسوأ؟ حجم ما اقترفه الصديق لا يبرر الطعن

Unity

When a person is easily distracted it indicates that he/she is not focused or directed, similarly nations. I have been noticing the various issues being debated around, mainly streaming in the fields of politics & managing the country, yet demands and flaws pile up! The public is distracted among issues raising, actions being done around them and trying to criticize flaws. Unity is the enemy of destruction, and that is why man created racism and class discrimination :} Now its your choice to fall as a victim to false "classification". Noting that there will always be an upper - class / race / ethnic group.

KEEK - هبة الكييك
التصوير خلال نص دقيقة و النشر خلال ما يقاربها ممتع! قدرة الشخص على النشر بشكل شخصي "فردي" انتقل من حرف، لصورة، لفيديو. الحكم على المحتوى اهو موضوعي، منو يحدد المحتوى؟ المستخدم، منو بعد؟ انت اللي تشوف؟! في حال لم يتوافق معاك موضوع او مشهد نقل خلال الكيك، ببساطة لا تشاهده، ولا تتابع حساب ذلك الشخص. الشهرة لا تعرف سلبي او ايجابي، فهي شهرة! و ان كنت في مجتمع يمتلك ذاكرة مداها قصير، انت بربييييييع الشهرة ببيزة

:}

Survival .. Observing tiny plants!

On a random piece of land beside concrete & scattered junk, in an environment not set up for the growth of plants, this tiny plant existed! Apparently no matter how it "might" seem like an unfriendly plant environment, plants did grow and as tiny as they are, they were pretty :} wearing the most vivid green color I have seen in a long while in Kuwait.

Leaving me with a smile and admiration of how it managed to survive with FEW resources. Rain season in our climate is a very shy visitor, especially recently. How it managed to grow, and prosper is a thing that deserves a pause (YES I know scientifically its easily explainable but lets take a deeper look :p).

Where resources are found, things prosper, as well as people, that was the echo of the tiny plant survival idea, I instantly measured it to happenings around me. In spite of the fact that this plant did not ask the land nor landowner to exist (it just did!) and it bloomed to something pleasant :} and much missed in our environment. Why not take a pause and embrace things popping up?

Therefore, not all unplanned things are scary, they can be green and pretty :} Sure they might be misplaced, you can simply provide them with a new better place. The urge to survive is worth giving a hand, a gentle word or a smile :}

Book Review: الأسود يليق بك

في معرض الكتاب الماضي صعقت بسرعة بيع الرواية! لكن لأحلام مستغانمي قاعدتها و لي مخاوفي! فبعد اعجابي ب"ذاكرة الجسد" اصابتني الروايتين التاليتين لها (عابر سرير - فوضى الحواس) بنوع من الصدمة، فذاكرة الجسد كان لها الاثر الجميل في نفسي ، ليس فقط لانها انارتني جزائريا و لكن لانها تحدثت بموضوع محضور و سائد ، ماذا لو احببت من لا يمكن ان ترتبط به؟! و عليه قبع اسم مستغانمي بذاكرتي، ولان هذه التدوينة ل الاسود يليق بك، ساتفرغ لها ..

طرت فرحا بالحصول على النسخة "المخشوشة" من معرض الكتاب، بعد ان واجهت كلمة الاحباط التي يتخوف منها كل زائر للمعرض "نفاذ الكمية!" و لكن مصادقة العاملين في المكتبات كان جدااااا مجدي :)

رواية سلسة، لا تتطلب الكثير من الوقت، بدايتها و قلبها يحملان نهايتها آمال كبيرة! فهي رواية حب مبني على الكرّ و الفرّ، حب الانتصار و التملك مقابل السذاجة و الاعتزاز بالنفس، علاقة غير متكافئة و مثيرة للإهتمام. على الرغم من ان هذه الرواية لم تنل على اعجابي بقدر كبير لكن احلام مستغانمي تمكنت من ارسال رسائل عميقة ببعض جمل هذه الرواية، مثل:

"لا حبّ يتغذى من الحرمان وحده، بل بتناوب الوصل و البعاد، كما في التنفّس، إنها حركة شهيق و زفير"

"الحب هو ذكاء المسافة، ألا تقترب كثيراً فتُلغي اللهفة، ولا تبتعد طويلاً فتُنسى"

هناك الكثير اجمل و لكن نظرا لحرمة "التخطيط / التلوين" على الكتب في قاموسي :) كان من الصعب ان انتقي اجمل تلك الجمل التي رسخت في ذاكرتي خاصة و اني انتهيت من قراءته من فتره غير وجيزة، لجمال تلك الجمل لا بالظرورة قناعتي بها..اتمنى أن أتجرأ و اخط غير الحروف المطبوعة في الكتب التي اقرأ؟ ماااادري :} بس ودي!

من النفحات الجميلة في الرواية، تلك الصبغة الجزائرية المأخوذة من حياة المواطن البسيط الذي واجه الارهاب في قلب وطنه و التي احترمها جدا من قلم مستغانمي، فالكاتب المرتبط ببيئته يعطينا منظور اخر و اجمل قد لا نوفق بمعرفته خلال حياتنا اليومية بالإضافة لترسيخ ان الابداع يأتي من اي منبع لا بالظرورة من تلك البلدان التي يزدهر بها فن الكتابة.

 

استطاعت احلام ان تؤثر بي كثيرا من خلال قصة غير مرتبطة بالإرهاب و معاناة المواطن الجزائري معه، و لكن قصة تلك الأغنية التي ابكت بطلة الرواية! و هي باللهجة "الشاوية" و التي حسب الموروث الجزائري، غنتها امرأة من منطقة "مراونة" بكت "عيّاش-يها" بعد ان اخذهم رجل طامع! لن استرسل فكلي امل ان اثير فضولكم حولها .. 

لا تخلوا الرواية من ذلك الرجل المراوغ الذي يعزف على اوتار اعجاب المرأة كما تريد المرأة! فمع احترامي للرجال لكن فقط قلم امرأة قادر على ذلك الكر و الفر و الصبر و الشجاعة للمحاولة للوصول لقلب المرأة، و ان كان هناك رجل يجيد ما حبكته من مناورات فهو نادر، اما ان وجد عاشق تلك البطلة بالواقع، فا عويذ الله من شره!

٣ من ٥ 

و تستحق القراءة :}

Gift ,, a smile

The fear of being misjudged or the thought of of someone thinking that I'm bragging, did not stop me from writing this post, at least not anymore! Once someone said to me " You are trying too hard / or much?" I forgot the last word :p it was said to me after "giving", time and simple gifts. Misjudgements and wrong views of our actions; are, inevitable! Yet the purpose behind this post is far more rewarding :} and priceless!

Yesterday, I had a small conversation with the coffee guy, he's the manager of a small coffee place close to my office, along with two subordinates, they feed us with caffeine everyday. He spoke about how hard work is and how their management is not providing a replacement to the third guy (his 2nd subordinate) during the conversation where he described how bad the employees morale becomes when management does not pay attention to them, his eyes touched me deeply, they were teary. It was only work, not an issue related to his family nor his health BUT he was that passionate about his work and how he is trying to put up a fight against management to facilitate more manpower to do work better. Ironically something similar occurred to me a while ago, but its not about me nor seeing a reflection of me, it was his teary eyes vs how he served us coffee with passion, he's never satisfied if a customer doesn't smile, checks on your opinion about the coffee and changes it the moment he "feels" your not satisfied. He is a dedicated and passionate person, who should only be happy.

Everyone deserves a good happy life, yet life it self is not fair and we face bumps, what if we helped some one by putting a smile on their face? Encourage them? Give kindness not charity?!

How?

A smile, a gentle gesture, a gift..

I'm very fond of this traditional sweet called "Samsamiyah" which is basically sesame seeds and sugar syrup. When I saw it today, he came to mind, aided by the latest IKEA buy :p small gift card-boxes. Simply fold and you have a box! Very handy for anyone who enjoys gift wrapping.

I can never get enough of making small gifts, that have no occasion, they have an AMAZING positive effect on people! I don't ever expect anything in return but a smile :} best return for kindness is kindness back and a smile.

Your gifts do not have to be physical, it could be a smile, a helping hand, a paper folded like a flower?! Be creative and simple or just google some DIY anyting, the idea is to not over burden yourself and others, enjoy life, enjoy their happiness.

Question is, when was the last time you made a simple small gesture to someone? :} Do it more often, its good. Enjoy giving.

P.S.: Giving can set you loose from getting too attached to things! Rather than people.

From here and there

اسنتاجرم ،، بالكويتي

يا صور اكل ، او صورة شي استهلاكي و تشوف تحته اممممممية تعليق (بالذات على الهدوم ..) من وين؟ بجم؟؟ حتى لو كانت الصورة منقولة من عرض ازياء لماركة معروفة! يكسرون خاطري المدونين و غيرهم، اللي يحطون صور منتجات، اعتقد يتحطم الرقم القياسي للأسئلة اللي ممكن تنسأل عن منتج بس من خلال الانستاجرام، اغبطهم على صبرهم .. و اللي يعطوني الضربة القاااااااااضية، لما يكون في جيو تاق (المكان محدد فوووووق الصورة) و يسألون ، هذا وين؟

حلو تشارك الناس بمنظورك للحياة، و حلو منظورك يكون ايجابي، ان كان اللي تشوفه و تبينا نشوفه معاك اكل او فن او لبس او انشطة، بس الاجمل التنويع و الابداع :) التكنولوجيا سهلت لنا الابداع، بس شوي تحرروا من التكرار و التقليد و الدوران في محور واحد ..و اللي يسألون حاولوا تنتبهون للتفاصيل في الصورة و موقعها و اذا كان مكان عمل او محل دقوا تلفون او زوروهم ،، مو صعبه

"Be truthful, Gentle and fearless" - Ghandi

Picked it up a magnet with this quote from Violet Concept Store, from a brand called Quotable.The reason why I think quotes are charming is that in a sentence a valuable experience of a person who lived before you, is summed up!

The flow of ideas that I got from the three adjectives instantly made me smile, how to bare the three together and insert each in your character in the same time. Maintaining them at all times is the real challenge, we change and at many times life forces us to give up on our believes or we simply choose to. The real effort is to see the right track, maintain it and avoid the bad one. Life is too short to hurt others and your self.

كوفي مربع

حايشني هوس بهالخط ، يمكن لانه خط ينرسم و ما ينكتب! الاجمل بنظري الديواني و الديواني جلي تحديدا بس الكوفي المربع مريح و فيه جانب هندسي .. الخط فن ما تخيلت بحره واسع بهالشكل ، و التعليم فيه ياخذ سنين و تمرين مستمر و متوسع، لما تشوف خطاط يكتب تتوقع انه مثل ما تكتب بشكل عادي، و ما تتخيل الوقت و الجهد المبذول في تعلم كيفية وزن الحرف الواحد! فما بالك بالكلمة و الجملة ،، و الكتاب. اقدر الخطاطين جدا

 Tulip Mania

"was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed" - Via mighty Wiki

This article sums up our ability to increase or decrease the material value of something, the can be as simple as a flower or as essential as a house! 

"n February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman" - Same article 

Continuing I read this article also which revolved around all the ideas on how we have the power to increase or decrease the value of something, the main question was WHY?! The how is simple, get the why to motivate the demand and if demand is gathered with scarcity it is much better! What made sense to Dutch people at that time doesn't now to them, similarly to what makes sense to us now. The solution? Lower the demand with change of mentality = the "WHY?!" , or , abundance!

الكويت اكثر من وطن - Meet Kuwait in the Avenues

"For the first time in the Middle East The Avenues mall will host in mid November and for a period of 17 days a 300 year narrative of Kuwait's history presented through the latest picture recognition technology."

"في منتصف شهر نوفمبر القادم سوف يستضيف مجمع الافنيوز لمدة ١٧ يوم مشروع وطني رائد والأول من نوعه في الشرق الاوسط هو عبارة عن سرد ٣٠٠ سنة من تاريخ دولة الكويت بإستخدام الهواتف الذكية."

Passed by the Avenues and saw a large installation of Kuwait map on the floor along with a wall filled with pictures going back to history from 1600 to the present day. Illustrating important historical events and facts about Kuwait. Its a unique VERY hip project, because you have to download an application called "Treek" which is Kuwaiti for "Hand lamp" :} you use it to scan this icon on the pictures / map

Here is how it looks like when the application detects the image, you get a play button & you can enjoy the video :}

 The videos are in both Arabic and English, very short and in sometimes funny! You'll be surprised, check out the videos

 

I loved how people are looking around on the floor, some are using the application others their own memory to locate the areas on the map and many were looking for their houses :p

Its a huge effort that is worth visiting and appreciating :} check out out people, it will last for 17 days

ملخص عن المشروع بالعربي

Project rundown in English

Instagram Hashtag.. Ceiling_Obsession

I'm fond of looking up, I make sure that I take a good look at the sky before I start my day, any building I enter the first thing that catches my eye is its ceiling .. The other day in Instagram one user directed me to include a picture of mine in #Ceiling_Obsession .. What an amazing world was over there! One of the best things the internet provided is the possibility & ease to find people with common interests regardless of anything else attached to them, other than the "interest" it self :} If you're in Instagram check out the hashtag

From here & there

Sunsets are charming, especially this time of the year, to prove it see the flipped up picture below :D its even charming upside down!

اقل من ١٠٠ كيلو متر بالساعة

كان عذاب محدق في شوارع الكويت اني اقيّد بعدم تجاوز سرعة ١٠٠ كم/س! طبعا الكل يطوفني حتى راعي البرّد لكن الاكثر ايلاما لي كانت الشاحنات، لي طافتني شاحنة و اهي متعدية سرعة ال١٠٠ لا و تناشبني على الحارة الوسطية تحوشني ميني "غبنه"!! و يطق لي هرن بعد؟ زين ما بجيت .. بس اللي تعلمته احترام قوانين الوقت و المسافة :) زاد تقديري لمقولة "الدنيا ماراح تطير" صح علشان اوصل بوقت معين المفروض افكر بقيد سرعة السيارة و اعطيها وقت فوق وقت المشوار المعتاد ، و الاهم، ان غالبية اللي يسوقون بشوارع الكويت طايرين على غييييييييير سنع! صدقوني كلنا بنوصل :) 

و يمكن الموقف الوحيد اللي طيّب خاطري ، واحدة تعدتني و اهي شاااااخطة، و لما وصلت للمخرج اللي ابيه اكتشفت اني يمها! كان ودي اقول لها هااا اشوف الروس تساوت ;>

Dar Alathar kicked off the 18th cultural season, I was so happy to receive their e-mail. True I could not attend ANY event last week, but will do as of next, hopefully :}

و يتجدد اللقاء مع نقاط! انا جدا سعيدة بموضوع هالسنة و بكرس له بوست كااااااامل بس بما اني كسولة تدوينيا قلت احط اللنك من الحين للي يبي يسجل

Keep calm .. Kuwait .. iWish

Pic source

The story of Keep calm & carry on... I think a similar campaign is much needed in Kuwait #iThink

Entrepreneurship: Vision, Value & Passion

Monday was a mind turning day to me, I used to think that all those management / Self-Improvement related courses, books, lecturers are a waste of time! Actually my real mind change started back in 2009 when I attended a course by an amazing figure Mr. Khalfan Aleisery from Oman, which I will post about in details later inshallah.

I was invited to attend “Entrepreneurship: Vision, Value & Passion" - More info in FB - by Ahmad Al-Mutawa. A young Kuwaiti who manages companies that provide all sort of consultancies, this one was organized by Mubaader. The seminar started with a push of motivation and enthusiasm to awaken the “Entrepreneur” within,,,, yes I did feel a bit lost in the beginning :p and that nothing he said was out of the blue, then as the seminar progressed, I got influenced, positively. What this seminar gave was; very useful tools, ideas and information on how to start your own business, in a time that small to medium businesses are in constant growth.

Success stories were discussed as well as difficulties, when to start and how to take each step, how to be innovative, do something new, be unique and how to practically establish a business (formal government-related procedures, negotiating, branding and even pricing,, etc.). The person behind the business took a lot of focus, he paid attention to the ideas of the attendees, a thing I liked, even the ones on paper!

I left wanting to own a business, someday :} and with a new mindset! A more appreciative attitude to such management-related information, that give us useful tools which ironically slip away out of your mind at the time of need, no matter how trivial they sound.

Even if those courses content to you might be a cliché, repetitive, found online or in books, the person saying it makes a huge difference in comprehending and applying those principals, and what they aim to change in you, Al-Mutawa was good, I can see him 5 years from now being a really good speaker and motivator.

In many times all we need is motivation, words of encouragement, a push forward and a few simple tools to EXECUTE and do something we want.

8 years

Yesterday , Sunday 29th of July, my blog has been around for 8 years.

I admit over the years I had my peak and low moments of blogging, yet it has been around, always there for me, my dear blog. Its one of the very rare things I kept close, till now there is a weird thing that attracts me to it.

Anyhow, this post is dedicated to my dear blog, my quiet tiny space online, every "bit" of you is loved :} Keep on Chill'n

Fluffy clouds factory

I want to live there! Yes I'm serious :} One day I will own a company to produce fluffy clouds .. Or start on making animated movies :> My heart melted away when I saw the short animated movie "Cloudy", must see.


Cloudy from FriendsWithYou on Vimeo.
We are so excited to present the short film "Cloudy", an art piece with the purpose to transcend its viewers to a relaxed and joyous state. It will be premiering on i am OTHER via Pharrell Williams’ brand new cultural movement, an entertainment based portal online. Read on to be transported to the clouds!

This short is an exploration into the Clouds. The idea of clouds singing and performing their duties in a joyful manner show us that everything in our world has a role and a purpose.
A sweet visual soundscape that takes the viewer through a personal journey into the sky. Sing, dance and relax as you follow a sweet cast of clouds and raindrops through an entrancing adventure you'll wish to take over and over again.
Cloudy is made by FriendsWithYou

"We are so excited to present the short film "Cloudy", an art piece with the purpose to transcend its viewers to a relaxed and joyous state. It will be premiering on i am OTHER via Pharrell Williams’ brand new cultural movement, an entertainment based portal online. Read on to be transported to the clouds!

This short is an exploration into the Clouds. The idea of clouds singing and performing their duties in a joyful manner show us that everything in our world has a role and a purpose.
A sweet visual soundscape that takes the viewer through a personal journey into the sky. Sing, dance and relax as you follow a sweet cast of clouds and raindrops through an entrancing adventure you'll wish to take over and over again."

The other man (2008)

Been a while since I enjoyed a drama, Liam was the reason I did not change the channel I admit, I'm biased to Liam Nesso.

Movie is about a "happily" married couple, after the wife's death "Laura Linney", the husband "Liam", discovers that she had another man in her life "Antonio Banderas"! Trouble comes in when the husband decides to know that other man closely and e-mail him from his dead wife's account, he gets so close to him and becomes his opponent in a chess game,,, ironic

A bit depressing and sad drama, yet sheds the light on an area in life, not many tackle nor discuss. Does digging the past bring out anything? Or change the way life is? Is killing the other man, a cure to all what he knew? Can one forgive such a thing, out of love? Does the point of view of the other (traitor) make a difference? Is there a justification for a double life? Why would anyone want to be the hidden part of someone's life?

I'll end it with a line from the mighty wiki post about the movie (link above):

“forgiveness and love need to replace hate”

#Kethra Venice Biennale and Kuwait

I have been following @Kuwaitpavilion on Instagram for a while & CANT want to know what is #Kethra is all about! follow them and see how wonderful their world is :} Did I ever say how much I love architecture? well it mostly shows on Instagram & Twitter

Kuwait will participate in Venice Biennale! To know more stay tuned, 2 more days left & we shall all know! Where when is as per the picture below from their Instagram account! More info in twitter @_Kuwaitpavilion 

 

Will attend inshallah and see what's Kethra is all about, after all what can I ask for more than this:

Kuwait will be represented

Architecture

Creativity

In one place! {:

كثرة، مشاركة الكويت في بينالي البندقية هالسنه ، الروابط لحساباتهم في تويتر و انستاجرام فوق ، و يوم الاثنين بنعرف شنو قصة كثرة

جدااااااااااا متشوقه!

From here & there

Twitter & Instagram are really stealing me from the blog world, easy on the go publishing is so alluring! Especially that you don't have to consume a lot of time editing or thinking much, Instagram, take a picture (which is a thing I do by the minute :p) post it, add a tiny caption or a few hashtags OR don't! As simple as that.

يوم السبت هذا في سبمبوت موضوع جدا شيق! جسيم هيجز، و بيتكلم فيه الدكتور علي حسين عبدالله لنك التويت لمزيد من المعلومات :)

Latest discovery & addiction is "Dhafer Youssef" first introduction was through a dear dear cousin of mine and I heard his Quartet - Les Ondes Orientales that moved me from being amazed by the harmony of the Oud sound with the Piano to the intervention of other instruments, topping it off with his weirdly manipulated voice to a speed up in the rhythm then a slow smooth closure, very close to how it all begun! Please "listen" to it and not just hear it :} 

من جماليات الصيف بالكويت، غير انتشار التكييف (عسى الله يرحمك و يغفر لك يا من اخترعته لنا) اللي تحس بفقدانه لي رحت دولة ما تعترف بالتكييف بكل مكان نظرا لان جوها بارد ،، عموووما! قلة الحركة المرورية حزة الدوامات ، جدا مستمتعه بروحتي و ردتي من الدوام ، لكن اللي يثير فضولي، شنو قصة الساعة ٧ بالليل؟ اكو دقمة يضغطونها و فجأة تنترس الشوارع سيارات؟

Sadu and me , a story I wish to elaborate on but its not the time to do so yet, so stay tuned. In the time being give Sadu House a visit its a GREAT establishment in Kuwait, a lovely old house that has historical architecture from our culture all over it, the Sadu weaving materials & story exhibited and every Monday they have the Chai Aldhaha event where you can stop by have some tea & explore the place, more information in their twitter account.

Moleskine love

Almost done with my red one which i held for a loooong while since 2009! Mainly because of digital note writing means, available in my handheld / computer / tablet you name it.

Going to the Venice one (or as it says Venezia,, trying to be a bit Italian r here) is very exciting, I'm thrilled to use it, has a map (for my trip there one day!), pen holder & its lined!! A huge mercy for who wants to read my handwriting.

Yes in talking about a small note book. Now back to the post.

Sketching was the biggest benefit of having a paper note all the time, now that I'm working on a Fashion design project I have been literally eating the pages off of it. And no digital drawing apps are not my thing, even with the pen thingie.

Using hand & pen still has an amazing charm. I often get drifted while writing to focus on the reactions, hand & body movement, capture of the brain storm moments on paper, I find all of that very fascinating :)

The idea of uniting man with the simple man-made tools to 'express & do' what we want is everywhere and is a great pride bearer to nations, question that attacks me all the time when I drift with this idea:

What did we give to Humanity?
What did we give to earth/ our country?


P.S.: Venice note was a wonderful gift from a lovely person, I shall take the note as an invitation to see Venice, before I'm done with it.

Posting on the go!

Installed blogger app, testing it with this post :) lets see if this will make me stop making excuses for not posting more often!

Added a picture of #WISRN to confirm twitter's influence ;p

شكراً كاريبو - Thank you Caribou

It all started with what Caribou had on their paper cup, I love them, filled with funny inspirational scribbles!

I posted the picture above in a tweet @ 11.12PM , I had 6 thank you's to learn in order for me to complete the 10, by 12.48 I did! with the help of 4 tweeps
@ammar200x
@DaNa_AlMutairi
@Nunu_San
@hameedosh

:D annnnd by 1.12PM two more tweeps
@donveto
@blasha

Added 5 more! So I ended up knowing how to say "Thank you" in 15 languages! :> #iHappy

I didn't include the Indian "Shukria - شكريا" because its like the Arabic one and very common to me :p but just to brag about it, I practically know how to say thank you in 16 languages :}

شكراً

شكريا

Thank you

Merci

Gratias

Grazie

Danke

تشكرات

Gracias

Arigatou

Sheshe

Spaseeba

Tack

Salamat

Keetos

Obrigado

 

goes to Caribou, tweeps mentioned above and twitter!

Where have I been?!

In the era of Twitter and Instagram, the tools to publish on the go, blogging seems is a bit time consuming, but has a greater joy to me :} This post will sum up most of the highlights in the past two weeks....

A banner @ The Sultan Center, if your into Jazz, check out the Gulf Jazz festival, coming up next week!

Reuse 5.0 is on now till 22nd of April, check out en.v website & follow them on twitter @env_initiative for more information, I will go in a few days inshallah & might post about it. I still have last year's pictures that I blame a lot my self for not sharing them! I need to find a solution for the boredom in blogging pictures, due to the long process I take in resizing them & adding the blog URL stamp.

Final note, go to reuse, support "REUSEing" :}

"REUSE is an annual exposition that serves as an opportunity for non-profit organizations, companies, professionals and aspiring creative talents to showcase their accomplishments in the fields of social responsibility and sustainability via a range of artistic mediums and interactive activities for the general public." via FB event page

احب الطيور و بالذات الزرازيير ،، هالزرزور كان مونسني كل صبح في كورس جدا ممل و موضوعه جدا جميل! مشكلة المحاضر ان اسلوبه هادي و على وتيرة وحدة و الموضوع جدا ممتع و يحتاج شخص عملي و متحرك اكثر، ذكرني باهم دروس حياتي ان المادة العلمية تعتمد على المرسل بقدر اعتمادها على المتلقي.

و على مدى ٤ ايام و انا اصوّر هالزرزور (او زرازير مادري لو تغير ، كلهم يتشابهون) و اخيرا باحد الايام عبرني و طالعني! من وناستي بنظرته سيدا انستاجرااااام :> 

ممتع انك تلقى اشياء بسيطة حولك تونسك ، عندكم شي يونسكم بالطبيعة او الناس اللي حولكم مثل وناستي بشوفة للزرزور؟ اذا لأجربوا تلقون لكم شي / شخص / مكان

Was an amazing NIGHT organized by DAI in collaboration with the USA Embassy in Kuwait , I have never heard Coco York before , what a strong beautiful voice she has mashallah! Mike del Ferro was on the Piano, his reactions while playing killed me, he was funny, however, when you listen to him play, you go to another world see this video for them in "My funny valentine"

Now the CHERRY on top, or shall I say cherries started off with ... Salman AlAmmari , a very famous Kuwaiti singer of old Kuwaiti songs. A huge shift in the mood, Mike tried to go along with some piano tunes but I am biased to "AlSout" art, to get a feel listen to this songs in youtube, this is one of my favorites by him called "إذا المرء - ّIf a person" based on a lovely old Arabic poem by AlShafe'i.

و عقب العماري دشت بنية "نسيت اسمها، يمكن بشاير؟" كانت تسمع يوكو تغني اليوم اللي قبل حفلتها في مركز الامريكاني ، فقالت لها تعالي غني! و رافقتها عازفة جاز سويدية :) ونسونا و بعدين شاب نسيت هم اسمه للاسف، و غنا لنا، بس بالنسبة لي فاصل العماري كان جميل. انا جديدة على فن الصوت و قام يطربني حديثا من سنتين تقريبا، العماري يعجبني و صلاح حمد خليفة بس اللي فعلا صوته عجبني سلطان مفتاح، و اهو اللي حببني في حسنها شل روحي

 

A really nice event, fototalks it was a 2 day event, included a general presentations, discussions and workshops. I mostly liked the live photographer's challenge where they gave 2 photographers 15 minutes to take a picture and edit "if needed" for a certain object, none knew what before the competition started :}

I'm looking forward for next year's fototalks , I think it was a great event, lacked publicity especially on twitter, I wished if it had a designated hashtag where participants shared their view of the event. All in all it was a great 1st time {:

Last but not least, attended this cine-concert for 4 cellos by "the musinema cello quartet" more info in Kuwait-music. In short its 4 cello performers who put a sound track for a silent movie, the performance was somewhat boring to me BUT when they made extra sounds "vocals" that added effects to the music, I took a pause and started to see the big picture! At the beginning of the performance  I either focused on the musicians or the movie, then kept watching the movie and forgot they were there, although I have a very wide view of the stage, here it hit me, the importance of sounds (music / voices) in a movie, how they are the hidden solders that might make a great performance, story and direction fail or succeed :}

Then it became more interesting, as I focused on the big picture, where really important factors of success are hidden and how you have to look very carefully into details to appreciate every bit was put in ANY effort. It was a nice experience.

Random thoughts on picks

Pick your fights

In life time is limited, life it self is limited by time, time has the upper hand, if we don't pick our fights well, we can become very good time waters. Main things to consider before entering a fight:

Can I see my aim out of it's circle, is it avoidable?
Is it repeated?
Value of the outcome, is it really worth it?

A dear friend used to ask me after every discussion "So who won? you or me?" my answer then, now, and forever will remain, BOTH! A fight is not a win-lose issue only, this is the proposal made by the general mentality people have, but a win-win situation is always a gain :}

If your side doesn't make it, find out why it didn't and that's your gain, even if some might consider you a "loser" you actually won!

If your side makes it, you gained someone else that considers your way/idea/mentality (will use idea for ease onwards) is right! BUT if you didn't get any gaps on your side, be very aware, nothing is perfect, perfection to us human beings is subjective.

I consider exposing your idea to different mentalities is a gain in all forms (typical: winning/losing), if its not right and didn't spread you should know why, and improve it. If you find gaps about it or in it, try closing them and look to your idea from that prospective "the gap finding one".

Don't repeat your fights, don't go through fights with the same mentalities they have with the same mentality you have! Do it smarter or simply don't. Finally do not focus on hearing "YES YOU WON" rather than winning on actual grounds :} Winning people's respect and tolerance is also important.

Pick your view

Instagram the latest addiction of mine, is a perfect example of how people "see" things, out of the least noticeable angles comes beauty. All over the accounts in that application you see how people interact with photography! By documentation, advertisement, spreading of Art or ideas, you name it.. In a way, more than writing in twitter or a blog, instgram or image publishing all in all, shows you really how people see life. So you can see beauty in almost everything, lower the bad or ugly and increase the pretty and good :}