0 com

Waking Life (Movie)



It’s impossible for you to grasp Waking Life without actually watching it, but I’ll do my best to explain it. The ‘plot’ centers around lucid dreaming with the main character floating around dreamscapes having incredibly interesting conversations with strangers about a variety of topics.

Source




0 com

استدراك - أحمد مطر

تَخَلًّفتُ عَنِّي.
كثيراً كثيراً تخلّفتُ عَنّي.
تَناهي التّباعُدُ بَيني وَبَيْني
إلي حَدِّ أنيّ
أُضِيءُ طريقي لِشَمسِ اليَقينِ
بِعَتْمةِ ظَنّي!
وأُطعِمُ نارَ الحقيقةِ
ماءَ التَّمنّي!

تَخلّفْتُ عَنّي
لأَنّي تَوقّفتُ أَبني
كِياني وَكَوْني
علي كائِنٍ لَمْ يَكُنِّي!

وَإذ لاحَ أَنّي
بَنَيتُ السِّنينَ علي هَدْمِ سِنّي
تَلَفَّتُ كي أَطلُبَ العُذْرَ مِنّي
فَما لاحَ مِنّي خَيالٌ لِعَيْني!

******

سَفَعْتُ وُجوهَ الصُّخورِ
بنارِ المعاني
فَلَمْ تُعْنَ يوماً بما كُنتُ أَعْني!
وألقَيْتُ بَذْرَ التّعاطُفِ
فوقَ الهَوانِ

فَلَمْ أَجْنِ إلاّ ثِمارَ التَّجني!
وأَحنيتُ عُمْري
لِتَعديلِ سَمْتِ الغَواني
فَلَمْ أَلقَ مِنهُنَّ غَيْرَ التَّثنّي!

أَمِنْ أَجْلِ هذي الغَياهِبِ
أَحرقتُ فَنّي؟
أَمِنْ أَجْلِ هذي الخَرائِبِ
هَدَّمتُ رُكني؟

******

أَمِنْ أَجْلِ هذي الدَّوابِ
التي تَحتفي بالعَذابِ
وتبكي بُكاءَ الثّكالي لموت الذِّئابِ
غَمَسْتُ بدمعِ المواساةِ لَحني؟!
إلهي أَعِنّي.

أَعِدْني إليَّ.. لَعَلَّ التّسامي
غَداةَ التئامي
سَيغفِرُ للرُّوحِ جُرْحَ التَّدَنّي.
أَعِدْني..
لَعَلّي بنَشْري أُكفِّرُ عن كُفْرِ دَفني.
وأَلقي بذاتي
بقايا حياتي

فأدنو إلي نَسمَةٍ لم أَذُقْها
وأحنو علي بَسْمةٍ لم تَذُقْني
وَأُغْني دَمي وَحْدَهُ بالتَّغنّي.
سَأُغْني دَمي وَحْدَهُ بالتَّغنّي.

0 com

Point Blank

I miss this blog.
I'll be back soon, real soon, hopefully.

لقد ضللت الطريق في نفسي ، إلى نفسي..حتى بِتُّ لا أدري من أنا. و ما أريد أن أكون ، أو ما أريد أن تنتهي عليه حالي في هذه الدنيا.
0 com

Mornings in Jenin [Full Review]




Mornings in Jenin is a novel that will move you to tears until you find yourself hating the world, Arabs, the UN resolutions, the peace makings that never bring peace. I have never been moved this much since the time I read my favorite book. And I’ve never felt  a novel so real as this one, I wanted the characters to be real just so I could hate myself even more.
Abulhawa’s heartbreaking plot is as real as Palestine. When I told Mom that it’s fiction, she really wondered why I cried so much, not knowing that I wept for Palestine, not for the novel.

Plot and flow of events: I love the way the author made it to all three generations in the novel while war was the only constant, common, thing between the three of them (Reminds me of Radwa Ashour’s Trilogy). The flow of the chapters was almost perfect and you could actually finish the novel in no time. One of the things I really loved about it. Not many novels tug me into reading them that much.

Language and poetry: Abulhawa’s language was quite simple and appropriate, especially with adding the Arabic words to make you live the novel more.
One of the major things I liked in this novel was how she used poems of Darweesh and Gibran and how they were fit in their place just perfectly. How she also used Fayrouz’s Zahrat Al Madaaen. I used to listen to this song in the days of the Intifada, it made me reminisce many things back then.

The ending: Some people argued that the ending wasn’t reasonable. I, on the other hand, loved it, despite the fact that I was torn apart by the last words.

Quotes:

“Strange, she thought, the things you think about in the district between life and death”

“Until there was nothing but moonlight to sweep”

“Love cannot reconcile with deception”

“Always is a good word to believe in”

“They murdered you and buried you in their headlines, Mother”

“For I’ll keep my humanity, though I did not keep my promises … and Love shall not be wrested from my veins”

Prepare a tissue while reading this novel. Or make sure there's someone's shoulder beside you.
Noor gave me hers. Thank you Noor!
0 com

آية تصبرني

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِي فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
0 com

كلمات من "رأيت رام الله"

"ماذا يظن كل شخص فى هذا العالم أن وضعه بالذات هو وضع مختلف؟ هل يريد ابن آدم أن يتميز عن سواه من بني آدم حتى فى  ."الخسران. هل هى أنانية الأنا التى لا نستطيع التخلص منها 

“كيف تنعس أمة بأكملها؟ كيف غفلنا إلى ذلك الحدّ.. إلى هذا الحدّ.. بحيث أصبح وطننا وطنهم؟” 

“الغربة كلها شبه جملة ، الغربة شبه كل شىء ” 

“الغربة كالموت, المرء يشعر دائما أن الموت هو الشيء الذي يحدث للآخرين , منذ ذلك الصيف أصبحت ذلك الغريب الذي كنت أظنه دائما سواي .” 

“من السهل طمس الحقيقة بحيلة لغوية بسيطة: ابدأ حكايتك بـ ُثانيا” 

"أسوأ ما في المدن المحتلة أن أبناءها لا يستطيعون السخرية منها. من يستطيع أن يسخر من مدينة القدس؟"

"لن يستطيع في بئره الشديد السواد الآن أن ينظر إلى اطمئنانهم ليخبرهم أن السعادة تكذب. أن الأمان يكذب. أن الوسامة تكذب. أن الحب يكذب. و أن الهواء المحيط بالفلسطيني هواءٌ مهدّد".


0 com

Flash Mob Anti-Flool

0 com

رأيت رام الله

"أين ثرثرتك الناعمة و أين عُزلتك الرائعة واستغناؤك عن العالم الخارجي ولو لدقائق. أين وهمك الذي فضَحَتْه الجريدة الملقاة على كرسيّ الخزيران الخالي على يسارك. أيّ غفرانٍ صغير تتدرب على منحِهِ اليوم؟ و أيُّ عتاب تتمنى محوَه؟ من يهدد أخطاءك الرائعة بسهَرِهِ لإفساد يقظتِكَ و سهَرِكْ؟ من يُخرِّبُ لك تفاهتَك اللطيفة بمهابة سائقه و مهابة خدَمِهِ و حُرّاسِه السعداء؟ من استورد ملعقة الشاي الصغيرة اللامعة هذه من تايوان؟ أيةُ سفنٍ عملاقة مخَرَت البحار لتحمل لك نكاشة بابور الكاز من ستوكهولم؟ كيف جَمَع باعة الزهور ملايينَهم و بنوا عماراتهم الفخمة من بيعهم لأطنان الباقات التي تحملُها الأمهات و الشقيقاتُ إلى المقابر التي لا تتخلى عن رطوبتها ، رذاذاً أو زهوراً أو دموعاً؟ تساؤلُك عن السبب في أن الصمت ، حتى الصمت على المقابر يكون مبلولاً. السياسة هي عدد فناجين القهوة على المائدة. إنها نسياناتك التي تباغتك بحضورها و ذكرياتك التي تخشى التحديق فيها ، لكنك تحدق فيها رغم ذلك. البُعد عن السياسة أيضاً سياسة. أليس كذلك؟
السياسة لا  شيء ، نعم. السياسة كل شيء ، نعم. أقصد في نفس الوقت."


2 com

I Am The Messenger Review

“My full name's Ed Kennedy. I'm nineteen. I'm an underage cab driver. I'm typical of many of the young men you see in this suburban outpost of the city -- not a whole lot of prospects or possibility. That aside, I read more books than I should, and I'm decidedly crap at sex and doing my taxes. Nice to meet you. ” 

Like The bulletin's review: "Zusak outdoes himself here".
Personally, I didn't think I would love anything for Zusak after The Book Thief. It just stood out for me like no other novel did. But I'm so delighted that he knows how readers like how much he relates to reading while writing, and to writing while reading. Like I said in the blog post about him "he sees that a person in a novel must have something for novels".
Yep. That is Zusak.

Ed Kennedy's just another miserable guy, a cabdriver who's been desperately in love with his best friend for years. And he reads books. The plot of this novel may not impress many people. It's the narration that counts. The twist that counts. The writing style.
Ed receives messages on playing cards. That is the part that I really wanted to understand. I don't understand cards probably at all. I don't get what the hearts or queen of spades mean (which I suggest you look up while reading, if you're interested). I admired how his whole life was related to each part of it like a big puzzle or a circle that is connected somehow. Everything is well planned.

The most important part about I am The Messenger is that how it triggers the humane part in us. How it makes us think that the world is full of signs for those who want to help others. One way or the other, you can always find people around you doing things with a screaming voice from the inside, for people to help them. Or going through hard times and wanting to be noticed, unnoticeably. This novel is about being the messenger and the message at the same time.
I have no doubt that this will be the second life-changing novel for me, after, of course, The Book Thief.
It just made me want to help everyone around me and let myself be the message as well. It made me want to embrace humanity, no matter how much I hate it lately. We're all fighting battles alone. It is true.

Zusak's humor made me literally laugh out loud I thought my family would think I went insane. From chapter I, I knew I'd like the novel only because of the laughter it brought to my heart. While reading, allow yourself to indulge with laughter, from the inside, because if books wouldn't do that to you, I don't know which would!

I don't need to talk about Zusak's language nor style of writing. He's just too good for words.
The ending, however, perplexed me a little bit. I guess the author always leaves his readers with questions unanswered. Sometimes it's negative, other times it's positive.

Finally, I loved, loved how he even related places to books and writers. Probably the thing that impressed me the most.

I mentioned most of the quotes already, but here are they again:

“It's not a big thing, but I guess it's true--big things are often just small things that are noticed.” 

“Believe it or not--it takes a lot of love to hate you like this.” 

“I think she ate a salad and some soup.
And loneliness.
She ate that, too. ” 

“It's impeccable how brutal the truth can be at times. You can only admire it. Usually, we walk around constantly believing ourselves. "I'm okay," we say. "I'm alright." But sometimes the truth arrives on you, and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer - it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.” 

“I realize that nothing belongs to her anymore and she belongs to everything.” 

“If I ever leave this place-
I'll make sure I'm better HERE first.” 

"We sit on the front steps which are half in shadows, half in the sun. As it happens, I sit in the darkness and Tommy sits in the light. Quite symbolic, really.
I'd wanted to stay on that porch with him until the sun shone bright on both of us, but I didn't. I stood and walked down the steps. I'd rather chase the sun than wait for it"




0 com

أقوال الثورة.. الله يرحمها

"احنا اتورطنا عاطفياً مع الثورة دي"

"إنتخبت = إنت + خبت"

"عجبا لمن يثور لأجل شخص تم استبعاده ولا يثور من أجل وطن تم استعباده"

"فى السينما يموت الإنسان ثم تراه فى الفيلم التالى .. وكذلك فى الوزارات"

"مبارك استشهد في محاكمته ببيت شعر والعادلي استشهد بايه قرانية والشهداء استشهدوا بالرصاص "

"يا مستني المجلس يتأدب يا مستني هيفاء تتحجب"

"لكننى صعلوك عابر سبيل ، ابن الحارة المصرية ، ليس لى صاحب ، لذلك كما ظهرت فجأة سوف أختفى فجأة ، فحاول تفتكرني" -جلال عامر

"بعد كل قيصر يموت قيصر جديد… فلا تخدعك الأسماء وتصدق أن «فرس النبى» مؤمن وأن «عباد الشمس» كافر"

"لو عرف الفقراء ما يدور في عقول الطبقة الوسطى والرأسماليين، وثقفوا نفسهم جيدا.. لقاموا بسلخهم أحياءً"

"أتمنّى كتب التاريخ متكتبش على الحقبة اللي جاية "وظلّوا يتصارعوا على الخمر والبيكيني بينما مات الشعب في طوابير العيش"

"طوبى لكل المسجونين باطل في زمن بيخدعنا وبيماطل"

"مبروك على الاخوان البرلمان مبروك على الشهداء الجنة مبروك على الجيش الحكم مبروك على مبارك البراءة و مبروك على الشعب الخازوق"

"الديموقراطيه هى حكم الشعب بالشعب للشعب في الشعب ع الشعب… وأنا وأنت"

"يتراجع دور الوطن فى الخارج عندما يتراجع دور المواطن فى الداخل، فالمال فى الغربة وطن والفقر فى الوطن غربة"

""سنظل نضحك مع اشخاص غرباء، و نبكي عليهم و هم شهداء... لكننا سنظل
سنظل لا نملك سوي اجسادنا لنحتمي من طلقات الرصاص... لكننا سنظل
سنظل نلهم العالم، بالرغم من عدم قدرتنا علي الهام انفسنا... و لكننا سنظل
سنظل نصنع تاريخا، بالرغم من اننا نقاتل من أجل المستقبل... لكننا سنظل
سنظل نحمي أشخاصا لا نعرف اسماؤهم، و لن نسأل... لكننا سنظل"

الله يرحمك يا ثورة...والله أعطيتينا أملاً ثم سحبته منّا كما تُسحب الروح من الجسد ..
1 com

The Day I Fell For Zusak

I just found myself in Markus Zusak. No kidding.
Zusak got to me with words. He speaks almost everything I want to write, or not write. He speaks silence that I wanted to utter so long ago. He knows the exact words to tear at my heart, to touch my depth.

The Book Thief got to me more than any other book I ever read did. It actually made me read more and appreciate books and words more. It also made me always remember that silence is a great companion when words are devoid of meaning.


I still haven't finished I am The Messenger. I'm loving it so far. Zusak always knows how to relate the protagonist to books and reading. He must connect the two together, perhaps because he sees that a person in a novel must have something for novels. Maybe.

I love you, Zusak!


“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.”
The Book Thief

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”
The Book Thief

“Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it.”

“Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.”
The Book Thief

“Even death has a heart.”
The Book Thief

“I want words at my funeral. But I guess that means you need life in your life.”
The Book Thief

“I think she ate a salad and some soup.
And loneliness.
She ate that, too. ”
I am the Messenger

“Believe it or not--it takes a lot of love to hate you like this.”
I am the Messenger

“It's not a big thing, but I guess it's true--big things are often just small things that are noticed.”
I am the Messenger

“My arms are killing me.
I didn't know words could be so heavy.”
I am the Messenger

“No, I'm not a saint, Sophie. I'm just another stupid human.”
I am the Messenger

“She soon says, "You're my best friend, Ed."
You can kill a man with those words.
No gun.
No bullets.
Just words and a girl.”
I am the Messenger

“Only in today's sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books.”
I am the Messenger

“I realize that nothing belongs to her anymore and she belongs to everything.”
I am the Messenger





0 com

talisman-Suheir Hammad


it is written
the act of writing is
holy words are
sacred and your breath
brings out the
god in them
i write these words
quickly repeat them
softly to myself
this talisman for you
fold this prayer
around your neck fortify
your back with these
whispers
may you walk ever
loved and in love
know the sun
for warmth the moon
for direction
may these words always
remind you your breath
is sacred words
bring out the god
in you

5 com

أنا مش كافر ..

Enough Said.
Thank you, Muhammad El-Labban
0 com

The Janitor

"Fox News: Rich people paying rich people to tell middle class people to blame poor people"

He told me that, even though the political situation doesn't seem promising, and every time the clouds make way for the sun, some enormous power fights back and things go three steps backwards instead of just one; he told me he's optimistic. And I needed a reminder. Because, because sooner or later, we shall be free, sooner or later it will not be just a dream nor a too-close-to-happen thing. It will be. We just need more than the shadow of dreams, maybe the darker the shadow, the closer to reality even if it's just a shadow. We shall take six steps forward.

But then I was taking a nap, and I heard some noise outside. Me, thinking it's just our janitor having the daily fight with his wife, I went into deep sleep again. Things eventually calmed down and I continued my day with my cup of tea and a novel to read.
But right at that moment when you start to really enjoy your time indulging yourself in a phone call with a friend, the voices went loud again and my concentration was barely on the surface. To make sure, I peeked. Things were not okay.
Our janitor isn't aggressive, on the contrary, I think he's a fairly calm person. I don't have neither negative nor positive feelings for him, I only know he's poor enough to raise 5 or 6 kids. And he, like every one of his class, takes money from people like us.

We blame poor people because we're not living the life we want. We, we're the selfish sick who want peace by fighting against the victim rather than the enemy. We're the ones who claim insecurity by calling the police so that we can get rid of the janitor and his poor family.

Together. With the police. They drove off. And happily, we pretended we lived in peace.

Screw this.
1 com

Some Things That Meant The World To Me [Full Review]


Some Things That Meant The World To Me is one of the weirdest novels I'd read and will ever read. I think. The plot is focused on Rhonda, a guy who suffers from depersonalization, which I found out to be some sort of a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Rhonda's past, full of abuse, sexual abuse, living with an abusive boyfriend of his Mom, and his alcoholic mother, seemed to haunt him all the way through the novel. Trying to find out the truth, he dug everywhere and could actually drive you a bit crazy with him.
The novel was a bit disturbing with all the self-loving, the sex life and the brutal beating. I could not bear to allow my imagination to swim that far, since I'm not a fan of such novels, though I don't mind them in movies. I guess this novel would make a good movie, too.

I liked the chapters' titles, some of them were catchy enough to get me into further reading. Especially with one entitled "Some Things That Meant The World To Me" and another one further entitled "Some Things That Bent The World For Me".

However, Mohr's prose is admirable. Not the style that would wow me, but it was actually pretty damn good. Fresh and sometimes music to the ears. I really liked it. I would buy another novel for him, only if it is not going to be that disturbing again.
His way of shifting between past, present and future did not confuse me like other novels. In fact it was very clear and subtle. I loved that.
Overall, I think Mohr's style is very interesting and inspiring!

There's something, though, that I still don't understand and still am trying to figure out. The Roschach tattoo Rhonda had, which is the one on the cover. I'm still trying to understand, from the point of view of someone who suffers depersonalization, what it meant.
Not to mention, it's one of the things that I really liked about the novel. Psychology always adds positivity to the novel for me.

Lastly, Quotes:

"Pigeons? They're so ugly"
"That's what I like about them"
"Their ugliness?"
"The fact that they can't hide it. The rest of us spend their whole lives trying to trick each other"

"I've been there"
"Where?"
"That place where life seems easy on everyone, except you"

"You won't know until you get older, baby, but it's awful to falter at something you used to be great at"

"Please, let him hurt me"
0 com

Nineteen Eighty-Four [Full Review]


This novel is one of the novels that make you stare at its last line and just, think. How on earth am I going to write a review about this? How am I going to pen the right words to describe a masterpiece when masterpieces cannot be put in words?
1984 is by far atop the list of the most depressing novels of all-time. Do not read this novel if you are confused or mentally unprepared for a true and honest mind-fuck. You have to be prepared that you will suffer along with the protagonist, basically because you are technically living in that world Orwell described.

Orwell's style didn't strike me as much as his ideas did. The things he came up with could only come from the mind of someone who knew exactly how this world is ruled and how it will always be ruled.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”

It's a political dictionary, especially when it comes to Part II. The explanation of the slogan of Big Brother was what struck me the most as genius. Especially with the 'War is peace' slogan.
The words of Newspeak; doublethink, crimethink, and all the words Orwell came up with actually made so much sense and do fit in this world.

The power of stupidity in a mass could never be underestimated, the power of Big Brother to do anything to you in order to make you obey, to make you a faithful citizen (or comrade, as they said it) is just about too close to be brought to real life.
This novel made me thing of prisons, real prisons, and how prisoners are treated there, could what was described in the novel ever be close to reality? I wouldn't say no because that would be sinking in denial. Yet saying yes is a complete calamity.

Don't read this novel if you're not ready to be depressed, and sometimes insane even for a speck of a second. Don't. Just don't. However, make sure you read it, because sooner or later you will realize it is not unreal words you're reading.
You're reading us. You're reading the present.

Quotes:

"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows."

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”

"If there is hope, it lies in the proles"

"We shall meet again in the place where there is no darkness"

"To die hating them, that was freedom".


0 com

Of Mice and Men [Full Review]


Of mice and men is like half a novel half a play. It was very simple and very fast-paced which made there no place for boredom.

Plot:
I love the bond of friendship that tied the two, George and Lennie, together, it was a friendship you barely see in real life and sometimes even hard to see in novels. It was something. Something big. And the trust Lennie had in George was so admirable, even if he wasn't a sane man.
I pretty much noticed the friendship bond more than slavery by capitalism in the novel. I think Steinbeck gave more attention to friendship than labor, and to human emotions and faithfulness than anything else.

Language:
Not a fan of the slang language used in the novel. I honestly, as a reader, read novels as a way of enhancing my language (at least one of the things that made me an avid reader), thus the language Steinbeck used wasn't admirable and some lines were actually a bit hard for me to understand because of the slang.
Steinbeck's style didn't sound unique to me to be honest, perhaps because the novel, for the most part, was full of dialogues and so the writing style didn't shine that much. I shall try something else for the author though.

Quotes:

"Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other."


"A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."


"They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head. They’re all the time talkin’ about it, but it’s jus’ in their head."



1 com

I care not to freakin' care!

I don't care if you're from the Muslim Brotherhood party. I don't care if you're salafi. I don't care if you're christian.
I don't care if you're a liberal or a secular or a revolutionary socialist.
I don't care if you're a communist or a capitalist or a Marxist.
I don't care if you're a leftist or a rightist or a no wing at all.
I don't care if you hate my religion or my beliefs. And I don't even care about what you believe in, it's your life, your beginning and your ending, I have no interference whatsoever in any of that.
I won't bother looking at your cap or your veil or your beard. I wouldn't really care if you wore a necklace with the word Allah engraved on it or a cross or an image of Jesus.
I don't care. I really don't. And I refuse to give you the chance to label me either.
I only care that you're a part of humanity and you care to not care about labeling.
I only care that without names, we'd all know a better meaning of life.
I care for you not to care, so please stop labeling me, I swear I'm only human, nothing else. Nothing.
2 com

Quotes

-"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." — Theodore Roosevelt


-‎"He awoke each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be, as simple as it sounded and as impossible as it actually was, happy. And during the course of each day his heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. By early afternoon he was overcome by the feeling that nothing was right, or nothing was right for him, and by the desire to be alone. By evening he was fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of his grief, alone in his aimless guilt, alone even in his loneliness. I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself. Or fool himself. Or convince others—the only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you are sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because his life had unlimited potential for happiness, insofar as it was an empty white room. He would fall asleep with his heart at the foot of his bed, like some domesticated animal that was no part of him at all. And each morning he would wake with it again in the cupboard of his rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by the midafternoon he was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. I am not sad." —"Everything is illuminated" (novel).

0 com

A picture is worth so much..




0 com

خوفنا

نحن شعب إعتاد الكلام و النباح دون أن يُسمع لنا صوت ، و حتى من سمعنا فقد ادعى الصمم و عدم الكلام. حريتنا ليست كالأمور المُسلّم بها ، بل كالأمور التي يطبخها الرؤساء في شكل قذر يعتبرونه الديمقراطية.

"أعطني إعلاماً بلا ضمير ، أُعطيك شعباً بلا وعي" هكذا قالها وزير إعلام هتلر. فبالفعل نحن شعبٌ بلا وعي نلوم جهلنا على إعلام متخلف ساذج يرى أن كثرة الكذب تجعل الناس يصدقونه أكثر. و تنجح النظرية.

ولكن مع ثورتنا فقد أذهلْنا العالم بصراخنا و عويلنا حتى أننا ندفع ثمن سكوتنا لسنوات و سنوات ، ندفع الثمن شهداء أبطال يستحقون الحياة بينما نستحق نحن الموت في صمت. شهداء أصغرهم يموت مخنوقاً بسبب أيادٍ قذرة أو غاز لم تحتمله صحته المسكينة. ولكننا لن نتحرر جميعنا حتى نحرر ما يستعبدنا من الداخل.

إن لم تسأل نفسك أسئلة مثل "لماذا؟" و "كيف" و "ما مدى صحة هذا؟" كلما سمعت خبراً ما ، فأقسم لك أن نسبة تحررك هي 0%. إن لم تسأل نفسك لماذا يموت الناس في سوريا بهذه الوحشية و لماذا يستحق شعب بطل أن يُهان و يُذل هذه المذلة و يرى ما لم يره شعب في هذا العالم على مدار العقدين الماضيين ، فإن ضميرك لايزال ميتاً ، و إن وداعك لأحد قريب منك سيأتي لا محال و ستعلم حين إذٍ معنى أن تفقد عزيز ظلماً و بلا داع.

حرر عقلك الذي تشوبه الفرحة بالجهل ، قبل أن يدركك الحزن على فراق أحبابك.

ثورات الربيع العربي مستمرة. يسقط بشار الأسد. يسقط حكم العسكر. يسقط حسنة مبارك و العادلي. يسقط النظام الإستبدادي السعودي. تسقط روسيا و الصين. تسقط الأمم المتحدة. القوة في يد الشعوب.

ألا إن نصر الله قريب.

0 com

Random Facts and Info

  1. Google Is Richer Than the 28 Poorest Countries Combined
  2. "The Manifesto of the Communist Party" Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels was one of the books that screwed up the world for having inspired the most brutal regimes in human history.
  3. "Wiki" in Wikipedia is the Hawaiian word for "fast"
  4. In the early days of film making, people who worked on the sets were called movies. The films were called motion pictures.
  5. Why is there water everywhere but not much to drink?
  6. 13% of people are left-handed, up from 11% a few decades ago. The story that right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people is a myth.
  7. Ernest Vincent Wright’s 1939 novel Gadsby has 50,110 words, none of which contains the letter e.
  8. When anaesthetic was used for the first time in childbirth in 1847, the mother was so amazed and relieved at how painless the birth was that she named her child Anaesthesia.
  9. The famous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, in which seven Chicago gangsters were gunned down on February 14, 1929, was one of the bloodiest in mob history
  10. In 1859 a solar storm hit the earth (the largest in recorded history). It was caused by massive sunspots and solar flares. It was so intense that auroras were seen around the earth (even in the caribbean) and the ones over the Rocky Mountains were so bright that gold miners thought it was morning. It knocked out the telegraph systems of Europe and North America.
0 com

Questions That Might Kill You

It's been over a year, since the Arab uprising started. There are still questions unanswered, there are questions that we might never actually find answers for. But we're still looking. And like we've always been told: It's not the answer that makes you smart but the question.
I'm not sure this post will make things look better nor will make me, personally, feel better. But the questions are a must and are glued in my mind. I'll first start with the 5 whys that will lead to this post

  1. Why are there still people who believe that revolutionaries are a threat to the society? Because a happy slave doesn't know he's enslaved.
  2. Why are there still slaves? Because the State Tv is still broadcasting the same old shit.
  3. Why is the State Tv still broadcasting lies? Back to question one + Because it's easy to manipulate developing countries.
  4. Why is it easy to manipulate these countries? Because their dictators are born and raised by the filthy minds of the sick world rulers, who are nothing but slaves of money. Which leads us to a point where we can say that we're all slaves, but to the wrong object/person.
  5. Why are dictators raised by world rulers? Because as human beings, we need guidelines before we grow rich/successful. And to be that there must be a rule model. And role models never die. Which means evil will always exist as an element of life just like its opposite.
Now:

  • Why do idiots/slaves/dictators never know they're that idiot/enslaved/stupid?
  • Does the verb "dictate" have anything to do with the noun "dictator"?
  • Why does the poor have to be handcuffed in jail while dictators walk like they're going on a field trip?
  • Does Mubarak move in a helicopter because he's a pilot? If yes, then I wanna be a parachute woman!
  • What's the point behind never having enough?
  • Why haven't we attempted occupying Maspero until now? (State tv owned building)
  • Why hasn't the economy recovered since the revolution but the couple of days when the internet connection and phone connections were blocked, the economy was perfect?
  • Does the manipulated know he's being manipulated? If so, then does the manipulator also knows when he's manipulated? (Colorblind theory, I guess never)
  • What's with procrastination? No no, I mean the filthy kind of procrastination. I guess governments too suffer from it, not just the average citizen.
  • Why does the coward judge without being in the scene? Other than being a coward I mean.
  • Why do we read the same questions but never the same answers?
  • Where has "moderate" gone?
  • Why do words never end, yet silence is stronger?
  • Based on the previous question: If writers write because they want us to know we're stronger than that, why wouldn't writers not write?
  • And, if silence works with everything, wouldn't the world be a beautiful place if everyone just shut up?
Cuase I'll do.
0 com

The Five [Egyptian] Stages of Grief

If you're familiar with psychology studies, those words are not new to you.
Briefly, Kubler-Ross model, or better known as the five stages of grief, is basically a model of coping with death, from the denial stage to the acceptance stage.
The five stages are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. And to be quite frank here, this model is applicable in our everyday life, though on different levels and scales.

For the past few days I have been meaning to dedicate this blog to some politics, basically to vent some thoughts and reflections and to apply what I know in psychology on the Egyptian society and what we have become in those past few months, or maybe the whole year since the overthrown dictator.
So, let's try to apply this model on the developments of the revolution and the consequences and so on. Let's take for example the ongoing and the never-ending, in my personal view, clashes that happened in the 25th of Feb, 9th of March, 8th of April, 15th of May, 28th of June, 23rd of July, 1st and 3rd of August, 9th of September, 5th and 9th of October, 19th of November and last but probably not least the 16th of December.

Let's start:
  1. Denial: At first when the Police and CSF withdrew from the streets and the army took to the streets to (protect) people, everyone was happy; and you can't really blame people because everyone thought nothing would be worse than Hosni. So when the Army first attacked protesters on the 25th of Feb, everyone denied its happening and here was the first uses of the word thugs to justify any inhumane acts.
  2. Anger: Moving to the 9th of March when the disastrous issue of the virginity tests took place and everyone was angry and furious. And later on when only one courageous lady decided to speak up and defend her rights and sue whoever gave orders and/or did this. Not to mention the ongoing detaining of civilians and throwing them in military prisons. Which never stopped to this day.
  3. Bargaining: Now let's make a deal, we'll appoint Kamal El Ganzoury as a new Prime minister so you people can go home and we'd get this whole thing over with so everyone can sleep at night- despite the innocents' questions about the blood of the martyrs and the beating of the protesters and detainees. Ganzoury is appointed, old people are satisfied because they thought like Shafeek and Sharaf, Ganzoury too should take his chances and we shall wait for him to do an action. [But nothing new ever took place]
  4. Depression: We're close; we've injected the nation with so much depression that hope is almost vanishing and everyone is starting to just whine about their personal experiences and sufferings since this revolution started, but no one is happy because at least now we have a voice. This seems to be coming to an end anyways. Let's just sit home and weep for the martyrs and the economical conditions of the country, and wait. I'm obliged to mention here that when the internet and phone services were cut off, the government made a huge move that caused it the loss of millions of dollars, if not billions. None of the ignorant ever remembers this.
  5. Acceptance: We've made it, by the end of 2011 everyone at home, specifically those who never bothered to go out and join the sit-ins in Tahrir or even the protests, everyone accepted Ganzoury, Tanwaty, the army, SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces). I mean, what can we do? It's just 6 months and we'll have our own president finally, the one that we will vote for, the one that we will choose. Yeah right, because we're dreaming. Let's just accept this and go home.

0 com

مات الجدل

أعلم أن المسألة قد ماتت في الأذهان و سقط الجدل و ماتت أساليب النقاش المقنعة ، و غرضي ليس الإقناع ولا التحايل ولكن مجرد استفسار بسيط جداً:

الكثير و الكثير من محبي الإستقرار و عبيد الديكتاتورية كانوا يطرحون نفس التساؤلات المبتذلة و التي نسمعها يومياً ، ولكن أكثر الأسئلة التي كنت أتمنى الرد عليها رداً يُخرسهم حتى تحمر وجوههم هو: هما أصلاً إيه اللي خلاهم يعتصموا و يوقفوا حال الدنيا؟


منذ قليل فقط ورد في مخيلتي هذا المشهد البسيط:

كلنا نواجه المتسولين و الشحاتين في نفس الأماكن كل يوم و كل أسبوع و يظلوا في نفس المكان لأعوام و أعوام دون أن يكلوا أو يملوا ، فيصبح وجودهم "ديفولت" في المنطقة و لا يعيرهم اهتمام المارة و ينشغل الجميع بالذهاب إلى أعمالهم كل يوم بدون أن تختلف نظرتهم لهذا الشخص أو الجماعة.

في نظري فهؤلاء حالهم شبيه إلى حدٍ كبير بالمعتصمين، فالكل يطلب شيئاً ما، والشحات مهماً كان كاذباً أو مخادعاً أو ما إلى ذلك ، فإنه إلى حدٍ ما فقير، و فقره هذا كان نتيجة لمجتمع سافر لا يبالي بالإهتمام بالفقراء، لذا فيصبح مطلب المعتصم هو نفس مطلب الفقير (على الرغم من أنه واردٌ جداً أن يكون المعتصم "ابن ناس قوي") ، و المطلب هو العدالة و العيش بكرامة.


عامةً ، ليس هذا ما أود قوله؛ إنما أود أن أشير إلى أن الفقير قد أصبح شيء مُسلم به في الشارع و لا أحد يعيره الإهتمام، بينما يُشكِّل المُعتصم أزمة مالية و إقتصادية و سياسية و خراب عجلة إنتاجية للبلاد. كيف؟ كيف و إذا كان المُعتصم هو طالب حق لا يعيره أحد الإهتمام حتى يكاد يكون كالمثل القائل "بنؤذن في مالطة"؟ كيف و قد ظل هذا المُعتصم يبيت في العراء و البرد القارس ليلاً يبحث عن سبيل للحرية من أجل الآخر النائم في العراء أيضاً ولكن دوناً عن إرادته؟

لقد أصبح المُعتصم يُشكّل خطراً للدولة بينما بات الجائع الفقير المتسول شيئاً مسلّم به في المجتمع حتى أصبح وجوده أو عدم وجوده أقل من عدد في إحصائية ليست لها أي فوائد إجتماعية.


الكثير من التساؤلات ، و الإجابة واحدة: مجتمع فاشي...