Were you born to resist, or be abused?

Driving seems to bring out the worst in people, they behave like animals that merely function out of their most primitive instinct; Aggression.

It's surprisingly lucid how much negative energy oozes out as we - human beings – carry out daily functions like conversing or problem resolution. The other day at fetar time; I encountered one of those people you cannot fairly describe, but I'll go with semi-educated, pseudo-professional, early 40s gentle man; who shut off his car engine and walked away as he blocked the street with his car, the reason for his "in his mind justified" furry was that he refused to go back on reverse and expected me and another car behind me to do the same instead.

The ACT of shutting off the car's engine and walking away conveys ultimate selfishness and stubbornness that demolish any approach of logic or reason. As a reflex, I was going to respond to his crap by equivalent crap (i.e. leaving my car too in the middle of the street), but I had company who didn't need to experience this.

Driving in Egypt is like surviving in a vicious jungle, Dominant species (lions) get to do what they want without ethical restrains while submissive species (sheep) choose to play it safe, be victimized and endure the frustration. There is no such thing as dual-species that can go both ways; inevitably, one attitude will conquer the other and you are labeled; Predator or prey.

Lions Theory: Follow the modern version of the Darwinism theory; Survival for the most obnoxious. Bring it own punk.

Sheep Theory: Follow the passive adage," When the wind blows, Duck".

It's catastrophic that theories like these are initiated and applied on such normal daily activities like driving.

The History Of Relegion

The Ramadan Festival:The Alacrity

Ramadan has arrived; our annually psychological trip we love to endure; our salvation from the mountains of sins; our transcendence to a new dimension of serenity and peace with the creator; yearning to rinsing out the demons and entering elucidation.

Or it's another great month for shisha and hanging out till dawn!

Regardless of your perception of Ramadan, Everybody loves to enjoy and experience "the experience" rather than benefit from it, Pray, fast, or party, Unwind, go monk, or celebrate; your practice should always be as fruitful as possible.

The emotional circus comes once a year. Go see and enjoy the show, do you really want to ask yourself "it would have been" or "if only I"?

Happy Ramadan to you all, whatever that means!

I was tricked by a salesman

Last weekend, I went to Carrefour to review the latest prices of electric appliances, I passed by the booth of Showtime - a cable company- where I stopped for just a minute to ask about their sports package price "they exclusively broadcast the English Premier League (EPL) which happens to be; my addiction".

20 minutes later, I ended up signing a one year contract via visa.

The Salesman was incredibly persuasive; hammering me with every sales strategy he ever learned, covering up every angle, luring me into his company's services. He successfully transmitted the conviction that I cannot live without the EPL.

I'm – or I like to think that I'm – a very stubborn person who isn't easily convinced, even with a tightly sealed argument. I occasionally mock common people who fall for every marketing trick out there. My theory is that the decision of purchasing a product/service should be the product of necessity and priority. My theory crashed infront of the super salesman whom I enjoyed conversing with despite the fact; he tricked me.

Under normal circumstances, I would have subscribed months ago and that would have been my own decision, but I'm in a new social status that is financially demanding, not to mention, nerve wrecking. I'm setting up my new apartment which will engulf whatever money I have now and own later. Paying money for cable is absolutely neither a necessity nor a priority considering "the status" I'm in, in comparison that money would have gone for the kitchen/bathroom tiles instead.

I even dislike salesman, because of their obvious intentions and wicked means, hell I even don't like people much, I've very picky on whom to know and not know, speak to or avoid, become friends with or alienate. Before I left I told him, – not in these words but something similar – "I don't know whether to hug you or punch you". He smiled to me and intelligently replied, "I guess if Arsenal won the league, you'd owe me a hug". WTF? how did he know I'm a gunners fan? He must have noticed me checking out their fixtures during our conversation!

I was tricked, but it's all good. This is a funny phrase I never thought I'd type.

دمر يدمر تدميرا

اكل العيش مر, بالذات لو انت متعود تاكل باتون ساليه

متعملش دكر في منظومه فاشله , وكل واحد يشوف مصلحته علشان عم عشم مات . بالعربي كده تهروشلي حاهروشلك و اقدم السبت علشان ** ام الحد

انا و انت "امعه" – شده علي الميم – بس و حياتك مش بمزاجنا

Top 5: Underrated Actors

Outstanding actors who deserve more critical and commercial acclaim than they already have, brilliant performances without appropriate rewards (which I believe are never the standard).

5- Gabriel Byrne
The Usual Suspects, Stigmata

4- Christian Bale
The Mechanist , American Psycho, Empire Of The Sun

3- Gary Oldman
Leon, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Beat the Devil

2- William Dafoe
Platoon, Animal Factory, Shadow Of The Vampire

1- Tim Roth
Vincent and Theo, The Legend Of 1900, Hoodlum

The Panic, The Vomit - 2

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it's gives you something to do while inevitably gets you no where"

I wish these kinds of revelations soothe me, but alas.

The Panic, The Vomit

I suffer from moderate to severe anxiety and I’m only 25 years old “currently on calmpam”, I’m so frustrated that I’ve reached such a degraded psychological state at such age, but everything around me seems to stress me up. I came to a conclusion that I might be running low on faith, I constantly need reassurance that everything will turn out to be ok.

I’m neither miserable nor frightened, I just can’t stop thinking about the next moment to come. My over-thinking virtue/curse has turned me into a paranoid android, calculating the perfect ways of crossing the bridge located miles away while falling down the pits two steps ahead.

"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly

Kicking and squealing gucci little piggy "

Radiohead - Paranoid Android

OK Computer (1997)

Darling won't you ease my worried mind

Mark and Eric, Class & Genious

Top 5: Things I want to do for a living (Dream jobs)

Things I want to do if qualifications, time, history, place and salary were no object.

5 - Journalist for Rolling stone magazine (1967 – 1977) or (1988-1994)
1969-1975 : get to meet Jimmy Hendrix, Robert Plant, John Lord, Ozzy Osborne, Roger Waters, Alan Parson, Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Jim Morison, Rush, Freddie Mercury and John Lennon.

1988-1994: get to meet Kurt Cobain, Axel Rose, Eddie Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Motley Crue, Soundgarden and Billy Idol.

And off course get tons of free records.

4 - Lead Guitarist
In bands like The Jon Finn group, Fourplay, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and Dave Matthews’s Band

3 - Interior Designer
I’ve a thing for colors, contrasts and space occupation.

2 - Studio Sound Engineer (1970 - )
The science of sounds and the miracles of making unique tunes are controlled by the man behind the knobs the buttons.

1 - Lecturor at Stanford University



This post is inspired by the movie (High Fidelity), Starred and written by John Cusak.

I was "happy" beating Shao khan

"It's the price you pay for the life you choose"
I read this off a facebook profile of a dear friend of mine, it's not the cliché quote that grabbed my attention but rather my current status with this particular "friend".

Yes we grew apart due to life's spinning carousel, (N) indeed is one of a kind, she's very bright, successful, very cheerful and super social and she's ecstatic even if it's only Labor Day. But deep down inside she's depressed, I'm not surprised that anyone is depressed these days because it seems to be the standard/default setup of an individual's psyche, but someone who sees life as a big pink flower swaying on a rainbow with cinnamon scents allover the place *mental picture*, I can't figure out why? Again, I'm not occupied by the whys and hows but if someone like (N) is depressed/unsatisfied/unhappy, what does that make me? Suicidal??

Now back to the quote, I can relate how (N) aced in many fields and failed in others "ex: emotionally", in general people fail as much as they succeed, but (N) chose a path and that "this" path lead to consequences that some of them had to stomach. (N) is like me, she over thinks things which ultimately guides your brain towards depression and borderline psychosis. All these analysis made me rethink my status since (N) and I have a lot in common. Am I happy?

Happy... mmm... I think I was happy when I was a kid, that's the last time I recall I was genuinely happy, it's the most precious feeling in the world, Am I happy? …Mmm... eh... no, I'm not... well, it's best put in the following phrase:

"Sometimes I'm unhappy because I'm dissatisfied, other times I'm dissatisfied because I'm unhappy"

Does that make any sense? I read once that dissatisfaction is what makes someone a success, and happiness is a euphoric neurotransmitter that hinders the mind from rationalization. I wish I was back being a kid again when all the worries in the world were unified in beating Shao khan in Mortal Combat in SuperNentendo.

My Tarot Card

You are The Hermit

Prudence, Caution, Deliberation.

The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The illumination is from within, and retirement from participation in current events.

The Hermit is a card of introspection, analysis and, well, virginity. You do not desire to socialize; the card indicates, instead, a desire for peace and solitude. You prefer to take the time to think, organize, ruminate, take stock. There may be feelings of frustration and discontent but these feelings eventually lead to enlightenment, illumination, clarity.

The Hermit represents a wise, inspirational person, friend, teacher, therapist. This a person who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious and confusing.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I took a personality test years ago , and i came out "You Are A Mentor" ... this tarot card comes in parallel , now I come to the realization that these internet tests aren't Gibberish afterall !

P.s : My fiancee took this test and she came out "You Are The Fool" , how ironic is that !

Random Events

I don't know what to make out of these situations , but it kinda lingered with me for a while


*****


Nada: I have an interview at ( ), a respectable private sector company, what are your thoughts on that manner?
Boss: I can’t tell you NOT to take the interview, this would be a good experience for you, but don’t accept any offers before you consult me , and I won’t let you go that easily ..
Me: Boss, what do you think? Now is the time to apply for other jobs, what shall I do ?
Boss: Apply son, God Bless you


*****


Inside the exam hall
Me: Excuse me, We are in an ongoing exam, can you please lower your voice and stop giggling
Anonymous: What your problem, Pal?
Me: My problem is that you think that you are in your living room , and I’m not your pal


*****


Driving in the steet:
Me: Ya basha , this is a One way, One lane street and you’re blocking it
Asshole driving on the opposite side: So?


*****


Dr. Mostafa: Where are you Mo’men? I’ve been trying to reach you for quiet some time now
Me: Sorry Doctor, I have exams these days and I’m pre-occupied
Dr. Mostafa: *To2*


*****


Outside my Home:
حمدوون : صباح الخير يا دكتورنا يا عسل
مؤمن: صباح الخير يا حمدوون
حمدوون: و النبي يا دكتور ملاقتليش الدوا المقوي ده ..
مؤمن: دوا ايه يا حمدوون , منا لسه مدييك فيتامينات
حمدوون: اصل الواحد بقي علطول همدان و مبقاش علي المستوي المطلوب ..
مؤمن: و ايه هوا بقي المستوي المطلوب؟
حمدوون: الاداء المشرف صباحا و مساءا
مؤمن: !!!! ... حاضر يا حمدوون , ربنا يسهل

حمدوون عنده 47 سنه و بيشتغل من 9 الصبح ل9 بليل , و عنده 3 عيال (الي شفتهم)


****


Outside an Oral Exam room:
(We were 4 men , 23 women)
Colleague: I need to go first, my husband is waiting for me downstairs
Me: I’ve been standing here for half an hour , and I have other engagements too
Colleague: but I’m a married woman
Me: …..
Colleague: the entry order should be , married women with kids , married women without kids , engaged women , single women then YOU “as in males”
Me: rabena yesahel = “in your dreams where you can make up your own rules, pitty bag”


****


In a Café:
Me: Why can’t you commit yourself to anything the way you commit yourself to gym and weight lifting?
Friend: cuz I want to look good naked


****


Driving down the steet:
Haytham: Man, I wish this freakin country pay more money to fix theses god damn streets.
Me: I don’t need the government to pay for paved streets, fancy projects in the north coast or football events hosting, I want my country paying more to improve health services and education, if we still have hope for a better tomorrow…


****


Watching a movie on MBC 2 with my mother:
Mum: what does the word “cleavage” mean?
Me: huh?
Mum: I didn’t catch it in the subtitles , but I heard it right , what does it mean?
Me: The movie is 2 hours long with lots of conversation and you pick “Cleavage” to ask me about it’s meaning??!!

N.B: My Mother knows all the English bad language form the movies , now she’s learning more “anatomical” expressions

Yippie Ki-Yay Mother F*GunShot*

Bruce Willis "John McClane" died hard for the 4th time, and it's spectacular!!

I'm not big on action movies but when it comes to Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis, I get adrenaline rush out of their movies, beside being good actors... their movies rises up to their caliber. But make no mistake, Die hard is a Stereotype/Typical/over-employed/standard action movie with the following ingredients:

Body Count: I lost track after 12...
Vehicles destroyed: hundreds of cars, a truck, 18-wheeler truck, a chopper, an F35 air jet
Buildings destroyed: various, Freeway bridge, electric power plant
Explosions: Check
Convenient solutions: Check
Martial Arts: Check
Foreign enemies: Check
Ear-pounding shooting scenes: Check
One man Show Hero: Check
Cliché line before he kills the villain: Check 'see post title'
Save the daughter: Check
Police/FBI arrives after show is over: Check
Hero saves the day with only scratches & bruises: Check

All in all, this was A LOT OF FUN, a wonderful sequel, and a better summer blockbuster than most others that have come out in the past 5 years.

A "Jerk"

This conversation took place after a previous encounter with the “Jerk”. when I met this “Jerk” for the first time in my life, he made fun of me and joked around without even knowing me, as a gentleman I didn't repond to his crap then, anyways here’s what happened when he ran into us, Islam and I were standing after an exam.

Conversation start

Jerk: How are you guys?

Me: Hi , ya beta3 Amricaaa “he’s currently on a PhD program in Purdue university in the states , I think that gave him some God-complex or something cause surly he’s on a power drive"

"I meant no disrepect, I though this line would break the tension between us, but .. "

Jerk: “talking to Islam”, you know what we don’t see in America? “Like you where born and raised there asshole” , people in the streets driving Korean cars, wearing sunglasses and stripes shirt , with a Bluetooth headset to take all the many calls they can have , and not forgetting off course to wear there 20 L.E worth of hair gel.

“Obviously, he was making a reference to me "

Me: Mmm, I bet in America, they grew on beards, preach their heart out and talk like 7 years Old...

“BULLS Eye”

Jerk: Oh Sorry, I was not talking about you

Me: Me either

Jerk: Now excuse me, I’m talking to Islam

Me: and I’m talking to YOU

"Awkward silence"

Me: Anyways I have to go, Nice to meet you... I’ll call you Islam

Conversation end

Is it just me or are people becoming more jerks and insecure? And I’m running into many assholes these days and I don’t know why, Are they assholes by nature or do I need to change my perspective on things? Regarding “the Jerk”, maybe he’ll finish his PhD and become a great dinosaur and teach here and there, but he’ll always lack self-esteem and respect, some things are earned and not acquired.

Clever Terrorism

I saw Rosie O’Donnell talk about this on the view, (I’m not a chick but I like her wackiness), anyways she mentioned that 40,000+ civilians had died from post 9/11 related issues; cancer and lung diseases were the main etiologies. The casualties from the direct hit by the planes were around the figure 2500 – 3000. Now more than 5 years later people are still dying and suffering from the consequences of the attack.

I don’t think that was intentional on the part of Ben Laden, He’s not that smart and I won’t give him much credit. But isn’t this a New Era of Terrorism, the kind that is indirect, unforeseen and unidentified. It all rang bells in my head when I was eating an apricot, it’s funny that I vividly recall that apricots did not taste like that 10 years ago, people were not so frequently sick around me and most people were not suffering from chronic/episodic headaches .

What if a secret organization (or a foe country) is secretly poisoning our soils, providing us or supervising the provision of carcinogenic chemicals and pesticides, Killing our marine life and coral populations, aidsing our youth with their promiscuous whores , the list goes on and on ..

Bottom line, I’m shocked of how weak, clueless, and unprepared we are; as a nation.

How do we deal with a coup d'état by an elected government?

As always, a sharp analysis of the situation in our part of the world, delivered in very sarcastic prose .. Cannot get myself to actually ask you to "enjoy", but what else are we supposed to do? This was emailed by my good friend K

How troublesome the Muslims of the Middle East are. First, we demand that the Palestinians embrace democracy and then they elect the wrong party -Hamas - and then Hamas wins a mini-civil war and presides over the Gaza Strip. And we Westerners still want to negotiate with the discredited President, Mahmoud Abbas.

Today "Palestine" - and let's keep those quotation marks in place - has two prime ministers. Welcome to the MiddleEast. Who can we negotiate with? To whom do we talk? Well of course, we should have talked to Hamas months ago. But we didn't like the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people. They were supposed to havevoted for Fatah and its corrupt leadership. But they voted for Hamas,which declines to recognise Israel or abide by the totally discredited Oslo agreement.No one asked - on our side - which particular Israel Hamas was supposed to recognise. The Israel of 1948? The Israel of the post-1967 borders? TheIsrael which builds - and goes on building - vast settlements for Jews and Jews only on Arab land, gobbling up even more of the 22 per cent of"Palestine" still left to negotiate over ?

And so today, we are supposed to talk to our faithful policeman, Mr Abbas,the "moderate" (as the BBC, CNN and Fox News refer to him) Palestinian leader, a man who wrote a 600-page book about Oslo without once mentioningthe word "occupation", who always referred to Israeli "redeployment"rather than "withdrawal", a "leader" we can trust because he wears a tieand goes to the White House and says all the right things. ThePalestinians didn't vote for Hamas because they wanted an Islamic republic- which is how Hamas's bloody victory will be represented - but because they were tired of the corruption of Mr Abbas's Fatah and the rotten nature of the "Palestinian Authority". I recall years ago being summoned to the home of a PA official whose walls had just been punctured by an Israeli tank shell. All true. But what struck me were the gold-plated taps in his bathroom. Those taps - or variations of them - were what cost Fatah its election. Palestinians wanted an end to corruption - the cancer of the Arab world - and so they voted for Hamas and thus we, the all-wise, all-good West, decided to sanction them and starve them and bully them for exercising their freevote. Maybe we should offer "Palestine" EU membership if it would begracious enough to vote for the right people?

All over the Middle East, it is the same. We support Hamid Karzai inAfghanistan, even though he keeps warlords and drug barons in hisgovernment (and, by the way, we really are sorry about all those innocent Afghan civilians we are killing in our "war on terror" in the waste lands of Helmand province).

We love Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, whose torturers have not yet finished with the Muslim Brotherhood politicians recently arrested outside Cairo, whose presidency received the warm support of Mrs - yes Mrs - George W Bush -and whose succession will almost certainly pass to his son, Gamal.

We adore Muammar Gaddafi, the crazed dictator of Libya whose werewolves have murdered his opponents abroad, whose plot to murder King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia preceded Tony Blair's recent visit to Tripoli - Colonel Gaddafi, it should be remembered, was called a "statesman" by Jack Strawfor abandoning his non-existent nuclear ambitions - and whose "democracy"is perfectly acceptable to us because he is on our side in the "war on terror".

Yes, and we love King Abdullah's unconstitutional monarchy in Jordan, and all the princes and emirs of the Gulf, especially those who are paid such vast bribes by our arms companies that even Scotland Yard has to close down its investigations on the orders of our prime minister - and yes, I can indeed see why he doesn't like The Independent's coverage of what hequaintly calls "the Middle East". If only the Arabs - and the Iranians -would support our kings and shahs and princes whose sons and daughters areeducated at Oxford and Harvard, how much easier the "Middle East" would beto control.For that is what it is about - control - and that is why we hold out, and withdraw, favours from their leaders.

Now Gaza belongs to Hamas, what will our own elected leaders do? Will our pontificators in the EU, the UN,Washington and Moscow now have to talk to these wretched, ungrateful people (fear not, for they will not be able to shake hands) or will they have to acknowledge the West Bank version of Palestine (Abbas, the safepair of hands) while ignoring the elected, militarily successful Hamas inGaza?It's easy, of course, to call down a curse on both their houses. But that's what we say about the whole Middle East. If only Bashar al-Assad wasn't President of Syria (heaven knows what the alternative would be) or if the cracked President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad wasn't in control of Iran (even if he doesn't actually know one end of a nuclear missile from theother). If only Lebanon was a home-grown democracy like our own little back-lawncountries - Belgium, for example, or Luxembourg. But no, those pesky Middle Easterners vote for the wrong people, support the wrong people, love the wrong people, don't behave like us civilised Westerners. So what will we do? Support the reoccupation of Gaza perhaps? Certainly we will not criticise Israel. And we shall go on giving our affection to the kings and princes and unlovely presidents of the Middle East until the whole place blows up in our faces and then we shall say - as we are already saying of the Iraqis - that they don't deserve our sacrifice and our love.

How do we deal with a coup d'état by an elected government?
by Robert Fisk
The Independent
June 16, 2007

******************************

Enjoy Unbrainwasher bahareez interpretation
انطلاقا من تقديم روح النص علي جسده، وترسيخا لنظرية الترجمة البهاريزية أقدم للقارئ العربي أحدث مقالات روبرت فيسك عن الحال في فلسطين بعدما استولت حماس علي غزة، بينما بقيت حركة فتح في الضفة الغربية .....

when the egyptian rabbit gets fed up

meshmesh is an egyptian rabbit prisoned in the battery. one day he decided to take revenge

Cheer brilliant

Small things, Part 3

• The smell of scented sticks “Bokhoor” on a Friday morning
• Change money “Fakah” I find in my pockets
• My Lego collection
• Playing once with a 1969 Gibson les Paul back in 1999
• Stationary and office supplies
• Clouds formation in the winter
• The satisfaction I get after a car wash
• Calendars
• People who act rather than talk
• Eating chocolates with black Nescafe
• My grandmother’s hands and how her skin felt like paper
• Tree in front of my house; turning green to Red to purple in One month

مش كفايه الاهلي يشيل اربعه .. لازم الواحد يقرا الخره ده تاني يوم في الجرايد

كانت لفتة إنسانية وأبوية بمعني الكلمة

فعندما‏,‏ جلس الرئيس مبارك في المكان المخصص لسيادته في المقصورة الرئيسية‏,‏ تنبه بعدها بلحظات بوجود حفيده محمد بعيدا عنه فأجلسه علي الفور إلي جواره علي كرسي صغير بجوار الجد مبارك

المواطن والإنسان والأب أيضا‏.‏

الأهرام 25 أبريل 2007

ص.3