You don't know Jack

Pic from Inayanmag

The movie is based on the true story of Dr. Jack Kevorkian an 82 year old American Doctor, who after his retirement, helped people to die. What he did is to seek out hopeless cases and help them to commit suicide as an escape from agony, with the help of friends and family. His combination of drugs to end the life's of people were painless as claimed & scientifically explained. How did he decide hopeless or not? By interviewing them and eliminating depression cases or the ones who are hasty , he was looking for non-curable cases who suffer from illness that prevents them from having a normal life. His claim was that everyone should have the right to end his own life. Of course, that idea was highly criticized in the US yet the law could only hold him countable for assisting in suicide! Also a lot from a religious point of view has opposed his ideas and actions.

He did not get jailed up until "Kevorkian allowed the airing of a videotape he had made on September 17, 1998, which depicted the voluntary euthanasia of Thomas Youk, 52, who was in the final stages of ALS" [via mighty wiki].

A movie that puts suicide , sickness , religion and believes at stake! Where the only derivative for whats happening is your emotions. So, do "feelings" justify suicide? Being desperate or hopeless is ok when the enemy is illness assisted by weak medicine?  The movie made me live in conflict, feeling sorry for the sick people in it had the big chunk of my compassion, I felt for them, understood their wishes to die. Also made me feel how in different shapes desperation comes, how hope is the ultimate light we have to hang on to. Pity on self is one big soul breaker, the idea to live depending on others is devastating, the whole movie was about ending souls and starting up your thinking.

Verdict? I understand them but I am still against suicide, quitting is not the best way to end life.

Amazing performance by Pacino as usual, he made me believe that he was Kevorkian :)

5/5

ليش ما افتخر في ملتقى كويتي و افتخر؟

لكل منا سيئاته و حسناته، افراد / احداث / وقائع، الوصول للكمال في اي شيئ مستحيل ،، و يكفينا ان يغلب الزين على الشين لنقول بأن شيئ ما "زين" او العكس .. كويتي و افتخر ملتقى سنوي يستمر للعام الرابع على التوالي لم اتطرق له بالمدونة من قبل لكن دار عبر السنوات محاورات و احاديث حول ما يحويه هذا الملتقى و كنت بين مؤيد و معارض لما هو مطروح ، قررت ان اتحدث من واقع الصور لما رأيت في كويتي و افتخر

وصلنا قاعة ٨ و الحضور كثيف

هيصة و تزيين و الوان تمزج ما بين الماضي و الحاضر

كنت مستانسه على جدور الهريس المعلقين بالسقف الوانهم اتشوق

 

اول زيارة لبوث خواتي و صديقاتهم، مجموعة "اهتم و شارك" التطوعية

Care & Share - visit their FB for more info

مجموعة تطوعية غير ربحية ابتدأت مشوارها في عام ٢٠٠٧ و في صفحة الفيسبوك اعلاه معلومات وافية عنهم .. زيارتنا كانت للمساندة و التشجيع ،، و بعدها قررت افتر

و اكثر شي شدني اهو هالربعة اللي مصورينها فيصل البشر و جمال الايوبي ،، و اهم من ابرز المصورين الكويتيين و اعرف عنهم من فلكر و مشاركاتهم بالمعارض التصويرية ، الاثنين مبدعين ما شاء الله

صور بالحجم الواقعي ل٣٠ شخص! الرابط بينهم انهم كويتيين ،،، و متميزين

كل واحد من هالاشخاص رفع اسم الكويت بمحفل عالمي او مسابقة عالمية تميز و ميز معاه ديرته و اثبت ان فيها خير

كل واحد منهم رفع راسي و اسعدني بانجازه اللي ما عرفت عنه الا من هالملتقى و قلة منهم عرفت عنهم من خلال الاعلام 

كل واحد من هالاشخاص وراء ابراز صورته جهود من المنظمين لمتقى كويتي و افتخر

كل واحد منهم خلاني ابتسم و انا اقرا انجازه اللي انكتب في لوحة تحت الصور و اعتذر اني ماقدرت اصور بشكل واضح لكثرة الناس و لكني بحاول اني احط نبذة عن كل واحد منهم بعد ما تم التواصل المنظمين علشان اخذ نسخة من النبذة اللي انكتبت عن انجاز كل كويتي انحطت صورته بهالربعة ، و هم بحط الدعاية اللي تشمل هال٣٠ شخصية اول ما اطيح على اللنك مالها

و هذيلا ٧ منهم على سبيل المثال

لوحة الاسماء من بعيد اللي و انا اقراها احس بوناسه ما اقدر انقلها، افتخرت بكل واحد فيهم .. و اهم شي حركة نابوليون بونابارت توني استوعب لماحطيت البوست

و هالنجدية بوسط المعرض مثل غيرها من الاشياء التراثية اللي كانت و بعضها لازال ،، لمسات في الديكور حديثة و ملفتة للنظر

كملت ووصلت لبوث نجود بودي رحمة الله عليها، مصممة الازياء الكويتية اللي توفت بعد صراع مع مرض السرطان ،، و هالكب كيك اللي يبيعونه يروح ريعه بالكامل لبيت عبد الله المخصص للاطفال مرضى السرطان ،، اكو "كب كيك" لهدف خيري مو بس للربح

البلوزة اللي صممتها المرحومة للأسرى الكويتيين

عطرها ،، شهادة لها ،، و اسمها في كتاب عالمي ،، كويتية و ليش ما افتخر فيها؟

جانب من تصاميمها و اعمالها الفنية ،، كويتية و يحق لي افتخر فيها ،، راحت من هالدنيا بعد ما خلت لها بصمة

بصراحة مادري شنو هالبوث لكن عجبني فنهم في رسم الكلمات و للاسف ماكان احد موجود حزة ما مريت ولا جان سألتهم شنو قصتهم ،، لكن سعيدة اني خذيت صورة علشان اقول اكو فنانين في كويتي و افتخر ،، ليش ما افتخر فيهم؟

مشروع "ري يوز" اللي صار له معرض من فتره و كان عبارة عن عدة منتوجات من مواد تم استخدامها ،، ليش ما افتخر بالكويتي اللي يحفزنا على اعادة التصنيع و الاستهلاك؟ و ليش ما استانس بمشاركة غير الكويتيين في هالمشروع؟ مثل بيانكا صاحبة مطعم ايرلي بيرد؟

و يم هالمشروع كان بوث بيت عبد الله ،، و بوث الأمل المختص بانشطة المعاقين ،، و بوث مسوينه بنات بفكرة بسيطة و بيعلنون عنها بالتفصيل بعدين و الفكره عبارة عن لوحة بيضاء تبصم و توقع فيها اذا بيوم من الايم ضاق خلقك! ،، و بوث لتلفزيون نايس كويتي اللي ابدع في اليوتيوب و جمع لنا جواهر من ارشيف الكويت الاعلامي ،، ليش ما افتخر فيهم؟ ،، و بوث الفنان اللي يسوي من الصلصال على شكل وجوه الناس اللي يمرونه؟ وولده سوا لخواتي انجري بيرد صغير؟؟ و بوث للمركز العلمي و بوث للنادي العلمي و شنو ما افتخر فيه بين هالمشروعات؟ و غيرهم كثيييييييير بس ما سمحت لي الزحمة ولا الوقت اني اصورهم

نعم فيه ازياء  و ديكور و تصوير و كب كيك و كاكاو و حلو و قهوة و عصاير و كورن دوج و بافلو وينجز و سوشي و كل ما لذ و طاب ،، مشروعات تجارية مختلفة منها اللي مبتكر شي جديد و منها اللي يقلد .. و ليش ما افتخر فيهم؟

بعد ما كان شيئ شبه مستحيل ان الكويتية او الكويتي يوقف و يبيع شغل ايده اليوم بكل فخر يوقف و انتفت فكرة ان اللي يبيع شغلة محتاج ماديا و ابرك له يجابل مكتب و ياخذ معاش اخر الشهر او يشتغل عند اهله، ما نفتخر بالكويتي اللي تغير فكره و بدا يعتمد على نفسه؟

و هالمشاريع التجارية ما ازدهرت الا بطلب من السوق المحلي، احنا نستهلك شغلهم ، ولا جان ما تموا ، فلا ننتقد شي احنا كشعب قاعد نغذيه بثقافتنا الاستهلاكية ، و لمن يحمل فكرة ان هالبيع من مجهود عاملين لصاحب المشروع اقول كل مشروع يبلش بشخص لابد انه يستعين بغيره علشان يستمر و يكمل. خير و بركة بدينا بهالمشاريع الدور الحين على اللي يبي انشطة علمية و فنية و ثقافية و مبتكرة انها تزيذ انه يبادر و يشترك بكويتي و افتخر و غيره من الوسائل اللي ممكن يتواصل مع الجمهور فيها علشان ينشر فكرته و فنه بدال ما انتحلطم، خل انجرب اننا نفعل، مثل ما سووا المجموعات الخيرية والمشاريع الفنية و العلمية

نعم الصورة ليست كاملة فهناك من لم يبتكر و لم يبدع و لم يصمم بيده ، لكنهم بمنظوري قلّة و الدليل الامثلة التي طرحت و صورت من الكثرة التي لم اشملها و اعتذر اني ما شملت كل هالمجهودات الجميلة اللي خلتني افتخر بكل كويتي ساهم فيها

اللي يبي الفن و الاعمال الخيرية و التجارية المبتكرة و يبي يفتخر بالكويتيين يقدر و في ملتقى كويتي و افتخر تقصير لكثير من المسافات بهالمجال و اللي يبي يشوف كب كيك و بس هم يقدر 

:)

شنو تبي تشوف و بشنو تبي تفتخر؟ روح لهم و شجعهم و انشر ثقافتهم .. اذا مو هالسنة السنة الجاية

The Sunset Limited

Pic from That was junk

The sunset limited is a TV movie, based on a play written by Cormac McCarthy. The movie is quite simple and the idea behind it is defiantly NOT limited. Its about two men, one saved the other from jumping in front of a train "The Sunset Limited" in NY - USA, both stand on opposite believes, one is religious "Black - Samuel L. Jackson" and the other is an atheist "White - Tommy Lee Jones", in a 90 minute dialogue set in a single place, Samuel's living room, the most remarkable conversation takes place. The movie is not for action seekers nor the ones who want a normal thought-less and more story oriented movie, its for who wants to see both views. It is a serious intellectual movie that tackles an issue man has struggled with from ages, the two characters sum up a realistic example of two modern views. Very worth seeing however if you are not into such "literal - mental" debates, do not watch it.

Both actors were amazing, they showed each view in a touching way, you can feel the agony and happiness of each, the believe and disbelieve. The movie does not answer questions, it merely displays two views, leaves blank areas to be filled by the viewer. The only unfair drawback on it for me, is the simplicity of one's education and literal ability VS the strength of the other. All in all it was enjoyable and planted a lot of questions and answers about both.

5/5

What is it?

Can you guess?

Deadline March 9th, 11.30 AM :}
OR till someone gets it!

*Update* Quiz solved

Annnnnnd the Anonymous reader got it right, it is a ceiling (= سقف) picture below of the wooden squares :> 

Unthinkable

Poster from Insidepulse

Samuel L. Jackson was amazing! That being said now to the story. Unthinkable is a movie about "Steven Arthur Younger" an American who calls him self as Yousuf after converting to Islam played by Michael Sheen, shoots a video declaring that he put 3 nuclear bombs in unknown places in the US and had set them to detonate in a few days "I think 4?". All American forces join to find him, and bring the FBI agent "Helen Brody" Carrie-Anne Moss and "H" Samuel L. Jackson. 

Helen is an honest and very fair person, hard worker and goes by the book! H is a mysterious crazy man, empowered by the government to crack up the criminal Steven aka Yousuf to find the 3 bombs. I won't say more so I wouldn't spoil the movie, but the plot goes from torturing Steven in unthinkable ways, to seeing unthinkable reactions from people around. The movie away from the actual interesting story, it unfolds a lot about how far national security can push people to do to other people, how believing in something can make you strong, and how lying can effect morality, being lied to can push you to extreme limits! It might be annoying to some, but it was very interesting to me, on a human behavioral level. Watch the trailer.

4.5/5

January 30 of 2011

I was going on with life, decided to meet a friend in Marina Crescent, she liked one coffee house I liked an other, we decided to sit with the one that has the best view and my coffee won :p When all of a sudden I saw those three

I spotted three cute Starling birds, Zarazeer "as called in Kuwaiti" , stumbled upon this really cute one :} and zoomed on

There is this national connection with the Starling, the color is so merged with our environment, its size makes it even more adorable. I liked this cute bird, although it might be far and fly away in life, I might not even get the chance to have it, it was a joy to see it in its natural environment, with its friends, happy :)

و رب صدفة خير من الف ميعاد، صدفة ملئتني بالأفكار و الابتسامة

The Speaker's Progress - دار الفلك

The moment I received the invitation from Dar Alathar Alislamiyah and Saw Sulaiman Albassam's name I smiled with joy! I have seen previously two plays for him, Kalila Wa Dimna & Richard iii, both were amazing, I have done previous reviews in English then in Arabic however this one needs to be in both, post is not a translation from one language to another and the English part will be somewhat a short version of the idea.

 Here is the big screen, and Sulaiman Albassam doing his part of the act in the play, playing him self in 2015 where he's in a time where all art forms have been banned by religious dictate. He gets his hands over old recorded art-related material, a concert, an interview and a play, originally done in the 1960's an Arabic adaptation from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The Director, holds a gathering, a private gathering that the authorities wouldn't mind, since its a private one! With individual invitations to people :} giving a BIG hint on the latest gatherings fuss in Kuwait.

In that gathering, where he, us the audience & a group of volunteers who will perform the play again, in a trial to show a piece of art from a past time. Through the act he sends a lot of messages, against extremest who try to bind anyone with rules related to religion or what they prescribe as a religion-related rules. A hidden theater in a time of oppression, a spot of enlightenment when darkness is enforced.

بما اني ارى بان الممثلين قلب الحدث ستكون لهم البداية

كارول عبود : ثريا / حنضلة

فهد المحسن : طقطقة / نوخذة

فيصل العميري : الشيخ / فيلوتي

فايز قزق : الملا صالح / الشيخ مطلق

نصار نصار : سيلكس / فواز

أمل عمران : فوز 

نوار يوسف : نشامي
سليمان البسام : نفسه 

كتب على بطاقات الدخول "دعوة خاصة" و تحت هاتين الكلمتين سطر فارغ، قبل بدء العرض حرص المنضمون على تزويدنا بأقلام لتعبئة اسمائنا في هذا السطر ،، لم نفهم لماذا

استهل المخرج المسرحية باعلامنا بالحقبة التي يحاكيها، و هي المستقبل من الآن، في زمن منع فيه الفن و المسرح، و سادت فيه قوانين تدّعي و يدعي من يتمسك بها بان لها صلة بالاسلام و الدين، و لانه اصبح متفرغا كونه مخرج مسرحي لا يمارس عمله، فوجد وقتا للبحث، و من حسن حظه قد وصلت ليديه تسجيلات مهمة ، لحفلة غنائية، مقابلة و مسرحية، كلها تعود لفترة ال١٩٦٠ ميلادية، و هي الفترة التي ازدهر بها الفن

و بعد المقدمة اعلاه نوه، بان البطاقات التي نحملها هي دعوات خاصة، و الاجتماع الذي نحن به هو اجتماع خاص، لذا لا يستدعي القانون اي اذن لتواجدنا في هذا المكان و ذيل هذه المعلومة بصيانة الدستور للفرد حرية الرأي و البحث العلمي، و ما سيحصل هو من باب البحث و التفحص بحدث كان.... و عليه ذكرني كثيرا بالإشكاليات المفتعلة بخصوص تجمعات الافراد مؤخرا (ابتداء من ٨ ديسمبر و تباعا) ،،، و بدء العرض

عرف المتطوعون بانفسهم ،، الصورة الاخيرة اعلاه ، و هم في ملابس موحدة اللون مع معاطف المختبرات و بدون لمسات لونية او اي حس من ذوق المرتدي لها،، و بباعٍ محدد بمسطرة بين الذكور و الإناث، انطلق العرض داخل العرض! بمساعدة من خبير اجنبي مع الاستعانه بما تم الحصول عليه من تسجيل للمسرحية في شريط قد تلفت او اتلفت اجزاء كثيرة منه ، فتم عرض البعض ، ايماء البعض و تمثيل البعض الاكثر

لكي لا انقل حرفيا ما حصل في المسرحية ساحاول ان اسلط الضوء على حبكة المسرحية الستينية التي تم اعادة تمثيلها و تبهيرها ، و تلك التي كتب شيكسبير و المسماة بالليلة الثانية عشر. تدور احداث القصة حول مربع حُب! اخ "فواز" و اخت "فوزية" تفرقهم الضروف و الاخت لا تعلم مصيره و هناك شك بموته، تصل لبلاد اسمها "اليال" و تسمع بقصة شيخ تلك الدولة الذي افتتن ب "ثريا" والتي قررت الحداد على اخيها ٤٠ يوم في ٤٠ يوم! و عليكم الحساااب

و قرر الحاكم بان يكافئ من يغني له اغنية حب تلين قلب ثريا و يغريها بالزواج منه، بمقدار ٤٠يوم من العائدات النفطية... سمعت الاخت فوزية و قررت ان تصبح رجل و سمت نفسها بإسم "فوز" التي و بعد وجودها بالقصر لفترة وجيزة يرسلها الشيخ لثريا، و بعد كيلها لكلام الغزل لتلك الثريا تقع ثريا صعبة المنال، في غرام الغلام المرسل لها ،، فواز

و فوز "فوزية" تحب الشيخ ،،، والشيخ يحب "ثريا" ،، و ثريا تحب "فوز" المعتقد بانه ذكر و استمرت بحبه بعد ان علمت انه انثى ،، لماذا مربع حب؟ لانه لم يكن مثلثا يتصارع فيه اثان على حب واحد، بل هم ٣ يتصارعون على ٣ قصص حب مختلفة، و تربعت العلاقة بحب "الملا" لثريا ،، و هو شخصية المتدين و القريب من ثريا، تحديدا من العاملين لدى والدها و بالتبعية لديها بعد وفاة والدها

و يتدخل في تعميق الفرقات و التعقيد لهذه المعادلة ،، خال ثريا - ابن عم الشيخ - ابن اخ "ابن عم الشيخ" و نشامي

خلال الاحداث يمطرنا البسام برسائل ثقافية عن اهمية الفن و جماله، و قبح الرقابة التي تحول الانسان لكتلة تحركها الشهوات و اللذات بدلا من ان يكون بكل بساطة ،، انسان! يرحل بنا ما بين النص المسرحي الشكسبيري لذلك المعاد تمثيله في الستينات مرورا برقابة العصر المستقبل الذي يحاكيه في عمله، نقدا لتلك الحقب و سخرية من العقول التي تحد لإنسانيتنا ظوابط و مرورا بصمتنا

لا يخلوا العمل من الطرافة التي تدمج ما بين العامية و الفصحى من حيث اللغة، و زلات الممثلين العفوية بشكل متعمد، و تجسيد حب الناس للفرح و الفن بشتى لغاته و اشكاله، و الأهم حب الإبتسامة و الحرية، و نظرية المؤامرة! فالبنشرجي يعتقد بان المخرج متآمر ضده

دار الفلك، صرخة ايقاض، لنرى بشاعة الامور لو غلب التطرف على الإعتدال، و ان التقدم ثمرة لا تأتي بالكبت و القمع ،، ابداع في النص و الادوات المستخدمة فكالعادة سليمان البسام ينحت لوحة في المسرح و ادواته، لا فقط بالنص و الممثلين و المساعدين تقنيا. الشكر الجزيل لكل من عمل في هذه المسرحية و كل من فكر بإستضافتها في دار الآثار الإسلامية و كل العاملين في سبب

يعطيكم العافية

That Alsalasel in Avenues mall - مكتبة ذات السلاسل في مجمع الافنيوز

That Alsalasel bookstore is now open in the Avenues mall, about time a book store is opened there! What we need now is an ALL entertainment/media store like virgin. It was not good nor bad! Didn't stand up to my expectations nor let me down that bad, considering they just opened that is :} Hope for more books to come and fill the empty shelves.

As for the variety, not so good, especially in the English section, I got only Arabic books for Dr. Mostafa Mahmoud, may his soul rest in peace.

ذات السلاسل ، اضافة جميلة لمجمع الافنيوز، الذي يفتقر لمكتبة حقيقية و محل للوسائل الترفيهية بمستوى "فيرجن" ، لم تكن جيدة او سيئة، لكني تأملت المزيد من التنوع بالكتب و ربما حين تمتلئ الرفوف الخالية بالكتب ستصبح المكتبة اثرى؟

عموما حصيلتي في ذلك اليوم ٥ كتب للدكتور مصطفى محمود رحمه الله و هم

الله

السؤال الحائر

يوميات نص الليل 

حكاية مسافر

القرآن محاولة لفهم عصري

الدكتور مصطفى محمود، بدت علاقتي معاه مع افتتان والدي ببرنامج العلم و الإيمان و ذلك لحبه الشديد للمعلومات التي يقدمها الدكتور مصطفى رحمة الله عليه في هذا البرنامج. بالبداية لم اعرف من هذا الرجل و لكنه كان يقول كلام مفيد و يرينا صور ممتعة من شتى المخلوقات في العالم

علمت بانه يكتب ولكن لم يثر اهتمامي موضوعه، لا اعلم لمذا.. و بعد وفاته تأثرت بموته و كتبت مقال مختصر، و ها انا اليوم و بعد ما يتجاوز السنة من تاريخها ،، ابحث بين ثنايا كتبه عن لمحات من تجربته، فهو رجل وصل لدرجة كبيرة من العلم و تنقل ما بين الايمان و الالحاد ليعود مجددا للايمان بوجود الله و الاسلام

FREE KUWAIT

Went to the Avenues mall to day to see the FREE KUWAIT expo, check out the following flyer

Pic from yfrog - via @Alshaihana

The expo ended Sunday, but what happened there froze me, seeing the pictures of Kuwaitis rioting and communicating with and in front of the whole world to FREE Kuwait, was overwhelming. I had to be really strong and hold up my tears, the picture of a Kuwaiti killed by Iraqi solders took me back 20 years. I can't get over it. It hurts.

Yet, the fact that I was looking at those pictures in a mall, 20 years back, with Kuwait being so beautiful, of all the flaws around (politically, socially ,,, etc.) I still see Kuwait as the most amazing country. I love Kuwait, and it shall remain FREE at all times :}

A play by Albassam: The Speakers Progress - دار الفلك

Starting today Feb20th Sulaiman Albassam's latest play will be hosted by Dar Alathar Alislamiyah

It will be on for 3 days :} for more information contact the number above & Almaidan Cultural Center :] sorry for the late post. I love Albassam's work, if you are interested in mind blowing, cross cultural theater, ATTEND :)

Pecha Kucha Night #7 - The event review

Arrived before 7.30pm luckily friends took an awesome spot, right in the middle of the screen, they oddly started late :// hmm but as per the people who attended the last one *which I didnt :<* they started 30 minutes after the scheduled time,

Here is the lovely Dr.Assel Alragam's head *if you can see it interrupting the screen*, she was welcoming us to the event, of course you can't see her :p I deliberately used the low ISO thingie to only focus on the screen & the people faces picture copy right or authorization thingie,, you know? well lets get down to business! Tidbits from the presentations:

Najiba Maarafi
A photographer, presentation was about various pictures she took, they were mostly about and from all around Kuwait, I liked some of the pictures but the presenter did not present them well! there was no link between the pictures and no proper introduction of each, she could have done better, but I also bare in mind that it could be her first time on stage.

Haider Al- Mosawi
He presented interesting material about the customer service/experience what should business owners do, and to be honest to consumers to attract more, he gave tips like : let go of misleading ADs - get away from suing customers who write negatively about you "like Mark's Benihana issue". All in all I liked the presentation, the presenter was a bit slow at sometimes :p but the flow of information was not effected.

Mohammad Al-Dhubaib
The co-owner of MELENZANÈ! The presenter was a bit shaky & got lost in the choice of language, ended up speaking in Arabic which was really fine if he kept it but he tried to be fair with the audience I guess :} the pictures of food were amazing us & the people around us were overwhelmed with them :p the story of how they started this business is cool, two young Kuwaiti guys who had passion for food, Italian and Sicilian to be more exact, learned it there & brought it here to Kuwait, the presenter did not speak all about the experience in detail, but was very nice to see a Kuwaiti chef talk about his passion.

Ola Al-Refai
She spoke about the western misconceptions about Islam, I don't want to be hard on her BUT the presentation material is great & very rich, a very crucial issue to be honest, but she was reading from a paper which really did not attract me very much to the presentation, with a steady tone, it felt very systematic, I hoped for more enthusiasm :}

Dr. Abdulazeez Aldoweisan
This presentation was by far the worse in terms of the template and it was made in a very traditional way that bored me in the beginning, NONETHELESS! The issue he spoke about is not a joke & really broke my heart, a very crucial and vital issue to be aware of and about, that's why I will elaborate on this one....

The Kuwait Child’s Rights Society (KCRS) was founded not very long ago, I for one did not think we had child abuse, but Dr. Aldoweisan's proved me VERY wrong, he spoke about scary statistics and given many proofs of child abuse cases & how many were NOT reported, for various reasons. The story that really tore my heart and he ended his presentation with is about a 16 year old boy who was abused by a family member and when he tried to tell his mother she hit him, his father wasn't of help either, at school the complain ended in giving him suspension, in the end he hung him self on his house's front door, after two years of suffering, he left his family a note telling them that he wants them to remember him & what they did whenever they entered the house. I couldn't write full details of the story it is really painful, in the end I am very happy the society is formed, every one can volunteer and help. I thank Dr. Aldoweisan very much for enlightening us and letting every one know about this noble society. It touched me very much, and totally forgot my critical picky nature about how the presentation/presenter should be, the subject is very crucial and if I find more information about it I will defiantly spread it.

Paloma Garcia "I hope I spelled the name correctly"
From Elevation burger - where ingredients matter, the picture says it all, looks yummy! The restaurant will be open in the Avenues phase 2, what makes it special is that they are an organic beef burger restaurant and even their fries are cooked with olive oil and freshly made, personally I will give it a try someday :}

Bader Al-Bassam
A funny photographer, who won over the low resolution and bad lighting with his sense of humor :} I loved the picture above I hoped I could snap it before the 20 seconds ended, I chose it instead of the 1st slide because it caught my attention! His photography was really amazing, he likes to picture body parts and some of the pictures were really amazing, also he focused on the black & white balance, though most of his pictures lacked colors YET he managed to bring them to life. Bravo on his photography and how he made us laugh along at the low resolution of the display, a good presenter who really made the best of the difficulties that faced him.

Njwa & Nada Maarafi
Two sisters who documented the Hajj journey, the idea is wonderful, the execution and presentation not so good unfortunatly, they could have done it better in terms of information flow and presentation material :/ I don't have much to add, but to really hope they improve their work because the idea is really nice, showing what Hajj is to the whole world from a person's prospective is a good idea.

Monira Al Qadiri
A very funny and impressive artist, she is funny in a very odd quiet way, calm and gets to you with her actions or art. A Kuwaiti girl with an interesting life, she was born in Senegal and lived in Japan for a long while (I think 10 years or so) and studied art there, continued to get her PHD, really wish her all the best. Her work varies between, Animation, Short movies, photography, painting, and all you can think of in art! What's really impressive about her work is that she merges middle east with far east, you can see the obvious Japanese effect YET also see the Arabic hint. Really loved her work and her as a person, was easy going and very bubbly although she wanted to be serious :p but as her work, she brought a smile even when serious.

Dr. William Schuilenberg
From Soor Center, I'm trying to gather up what he said but the only thing I could mark up is a mini trial to do a live experiment with the crowd to explain a psychological case that can happen to anyone. Regardless of the presentation I thought that he could have made material to really illustrate his work, and making the audience participate in his presentation was a very nice touch but not well used!

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa
His presentation was very nice and well prepared for, a lot of great ideas displayed. He started it off with illustrating the relation between art and religion, starting from the pharaonic period till the current time, how religions used language and art in them along the years of human existence. He is the creator of the Islamic superheroes comic the 99, really liked the whole story about why and how he created it :} a very creative man with an idea to bridge the gap between the east and west, to be more specific the Islamic civilization and the western world, and how Islam can tolerate the Animation and creativity, how animation and art can serve Islam in a good positive way and also create Islamic-influenced icons for the kids. Really enjoyed it and was a good ending for a lovely evening

PHEWWWWWWW post done! been on it since 9pm!

Antony Peebles in Kuwait

Last Monday the 14th of February, Dar Alathar Alislamiyyah had their musical night, where the performer was Mr. Antony Peebles a British pianist who won a lot of awards beginning with the BBC Piano Competition in 1971, and many awards followed. What I loved about his performance is the story behind every piece he played :} so it was a show crossing between the amazing piano sound and story telling. I enjoyed the very quiet evening

Now the info this concert urged me to dig :}

The schedule included songs for:

-Schubert
-Liszt
-Elgar
-Ravel
-Grieg

Of course I googled them all the web should help you if you are interested, however what caught my attention in particular is Schubert's Sonata in B minor. Now to begin with, what is a Sonata? I wondered because I liked the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, which a friend told me about a while ago, and thought the term Sonata was a name :p so I got a chance to educate my self through the introduction of Mr Antony in the concert and found a lot online, the bottom line is that the Sonata is:

A composition for one or more solo instruments, one of which is usually a keyboard instrument, usually consisting of three or four independent movements varying in key, mood, and tempo. via

So basically, structure wise Sonata's are simmilar, yet they vary greatly by sound, well this is a brief about my finding, if any professional musician out there who reached this line & thinks am way off line or need some correction :> be my quest

Happy Shani day ;}

Happy Shani day :P

PechaKucha Night #7

PKN #7 is on this Wednesday the 16th of February at GUST university in West Mishref @ 7:30pm. A lovely cultural event, if you are interested to know more, check their website. I'm excited already :D

Speakers include:
Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa
Haider Al- Mosawi
Dr. William Schuilenberg
Monira Al Qadiri
Mohammad Al-Dhubaib
Ola Al-Refai
Najwa Maarafi
Najiba Maarafi
Bader Al-Bassam

The power of twitter!

Pic from businesspundit.com

Twitter did not only steal me from my blog, but from my family and the TV! I'm there and thinking of linking it to my blog on the side bar at least :}

It became the source of up-to-date information, and its availability on the mobile at all times, made it even more likable! You can send a message to the world at ANYTIME while being ANYWHERE, skipping the blog editing time/content search, with a limit of 140 characters you HAVE to get your point through, brainstorming your ideas into a line or two is amazing. I have learned a lot from it. Yes it might occasional turn into a debate/chat, but this is part of the internet interaction, similar to having comments and replying to those comments might go back & forth. However it wins with the time factor, if two users are there and tweet the communication is more efficient.

Unlike the TV where you have to be present in front of it, or a newspaper you have to go through all of it, or a debate with the family which has to be present in the same place at once, Twitter raised the communication ease bar! Communication is simpler, and due to the fact that it is Micro-blogging, I immediately fell in love with it! There is a HUGE love affair between me & blogging.

You simply follow the ones who interest you, and the ones who don't :} the ones who agree with you and the ones who don't. I think that to be fair and just, to form a fair opinion, follow both sides of the discussion, weather you like them or not, keep an open mind & chill :} "I tweeted that :p it was the seed of this post!"

Analyzing people, or now as they say tweeps, through who you follow is very UNFAIR, because you might follow people you might not agree with, but are very interesting & have something to say, not approving ones opinion does not lower the importance of what they have to say & VS, liking someone or agreeing with them does not mean they will ALWAYS think/say what you approve of! Therefore, the solution is to be open minded, take things as simple as they are and open up to the world ... TWEET :}

Moving to the title, not only Twitter but also the social media as a whole, the huge Facebook that is rowing by the day! and now Twitter, are playing a HUGE role in communication, the recent Egypt 25th of January revolution proved it on real ground. Speaking of which Wael Ghonim is on twitter, a person worth reading for.

p.s.: I missed writing

Kuwaiti Photograpgers

I love how widely is photography spreading in Kuwait, we have a lot of great talents! Flickr has so many impressive photo streams, amazing is an underestimate. From Z District I got to know about a cool photography blog! called Negativeffect, a very cool one! Maybe in the up coming days I will randomly shed light on some on the photo streams in Flickr :}

B-Day dinner @ MELENZANÈ

Melenzane was the place to go, when we decided to celebrate our friend's B-day :D the Vespa was waiting on the door, an odd decoration touch for an unusual place, Melenzane all in all is very different when it comes to interior design the whole place is flipped upside down from the inside

Now this Special thanks board really attracted me, I love personal touches!

This is from Melenzane to all the people who participated in the making of the place :} a very gently and nice gesture from the owners

Now the FOOD

I loved this drink called ruby red or red ruby! am bad with names :p yummy red thingie!

For appetizers and salad we took:
Rocca Bed
Ammaru
Fritta mozarilla

All were yummy! Ammaru is highly recommended for shrimp lovers, we all liked the starters
 
Now for the MAINS

Pasta alla norma
Pelemaro risotto

I'm not into aubergine "and I dare to come to, Melenzane = aubergine in Italian :p" BUT this alla norma changed my mind! really nice, The risotto is very nice also, not too creamy nor too dry! both dishes won!

Also we ordered for the main

Vitelo Rosmarino
Gambroni

Now the Rosmarino was much liked by our friend :} but my favorite fried shrimp in Kuwait is Gambroni! I was really glad one of the gals ordered it because I totally forgot about it, and I really think its the best around, it became the appetizer I always order when I go to Melenzane. Again all dishes were winners

The Surprise cake!

A big RED VELVET made specially for the birthday :} you can pre-order it, on a normal basis its a single person desert dish that P0ach wrote about a while ago, and he is DAMN right, it is a YUMMY cake, even took the place of the November Bakery's red velvet to me, it was the 1st now its the 2nd :p Because their red velvet has the right amount of the cheese flavor and cake! not too sweet nor too cheesy, especially that the top layer/ covering is cake not frosting so it made all the difference

and that's how the 25th of December of 2010 was celebrated :> Kudos to the place owners & workers, a good restaurant to visit