Yesterday as i was googling around for the names of people i know, i stumbled across the website for the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative, and to my amazement, i found a number of the short films were by people i know really well 🙂
I downloaded the films they made and i truly enjoyed them.
Here is a list of the films by the people i know, with a little review and an insight on who the person is 🙂
Books : by Ahmad Humeid
This is about Books@Caf
Well, it seems our upstairs neighbours and us are basically never gonna be friends, lol…
After the satellite dish installation a while back, and the sleepless nights we passed because of their obsession with high volume, it seems they got bored of the dish and got a helicopter pad installed in their balcony instead.
Helicopter pad ??
Well yeah that’s how it sounds like, ALL NIGHT LONG !!!!
I dunno what the hell it is: a helicopter, a bad ass AC, or some hell of an engine, i just know it’s very darn noisy, and it’s been screwing up our sleep since the weekend.
We’re thinking of writing them a letter to ask them to keep it down, but what the hell am i gonna write when i don’t even know what the hell it is that is causing the noise ?
Maybe something like: “Find another place to park your damn helicopter !” or “Don’t bring your noisy mechanical sex toys home with you !”
We went to the Kram Ramadan Fair this last saturday and at the doorway of the fair we found a familiar face to anyone who has ever visited the Kram Fair, we found Habib (i think that’s his name).
Habib is a handicapped artist & painter, who i think gives the best example of how someone can overcome their handicaps and problems and succeed no matter what.
He sits there on his wheelchair, struggling to paint with his feet, pouring all of his feelings and emotions into the canvas lying in front of him, producing visual masterpieces portraying cities, towns and places in Tunisia.
I’ve always been fascinated by him, his strong will, his charisma and his art work.
This past saturday, i decided not to just look up to him in admiration, i decided to try and help him succeed and be part of it all. So i bought one of his paintings, one portraying the beautiful city of Sidi Bou Said (I’ll try to scan it and post it here someday), and i decided to write about him here and urge other people who read this post and who are in Tunisia to go to the Kram Fair and buy another one of his paintings.
It only costs 5 Tunisian Dinars, so it’s nothing to you, but it really means the whole world to him 🙂
So please be generous and kind and make this great guy’s day 🙂
So 15,000 police are deployed in London as part of an unprecedented security operation surrounding U.S. President George W. Bush’s four-day state visit as massive protests are planned.
On 20th Nov, demonstrators even plan to topple a statue of George Bush from a pedestal in Trafalgar Square.
And we’ve all heard about how the US asked for special permission to use mini-guns against the protestors, which are guns that are fired from a tank and can kill dozens of people at a time.
But, come on, isn’t that a bit weird though ? Tanks, Guns, Blocked streets, and a massive security force ?
Aren’t the US & UK supposed to be 2 friendly allied nations who have a very special relationship ?
And aren’t they supposed to be democratic countries, meaning that whatever they do or did must have been by the approval of the people of both countries ?
So, why are the people so mad about the war ? and why are they so against Bush ?
Obviously because they were lied to, and because they were thrown into a war they didn’t want to fight.
Not only that, but these so-called leaders still go on lying to the people, putting more lives in danger, throwing more tax-payers’ money away.
Just like the UK, i think the US people should stand up too. After all, it’s mostly their money and their children who are being thrown away.
In fact, i think that everyone in the world should stand up and “Stop Bush !”.
Because this is not just a US internal affair, it’s far more dangerous.
The US is the one and only power in this world, and the choice of it’s president not only affects the US but the whole world too, and the lives of each and every one of us.
Saw 2 movies this weekend: “Magnolia” & Disney’s “Treasure Planet”.
I’ll just give a quick short review of both.
Magnolia:
I liked the style in which this movie was shot. And it seemed very interesting to me how the story proceeded and developed, and how it switched between the characters, building links between them as it went along, and i was excited waiting for some sort of climax at the end, which is something i didn’t get.
I loved the part when all the characters were singing along to the same song, it’s my favourite moment in it all.
Anyway, now that i think of it, it’s quite a good movie after all. I just wish the story was a bit stronger to back the great direction.
Treasure Planet:
Hmmm, well now i know why this didn’t do that well. It doesn’t have enough of that Disney magic that we all got used to.
The Animation is great as usual, and the blending of 2D with 3D was great, but the story as it had become and the feelings weren’t strong enough to entirely carry the movie.
Anyway, as an animation fan, i liked it anyways, but it still doesn’t rank among my faves.
I think i heard that Disney have created a “Treasure Planet” ride in DisneyWorld, now that would be great, a lot better than the movie i think.
Just found this internal memo that has been circulated at eBay a couple of days ago from F’d Company, it’s so funny.
I took the liberty of adding some replies/comments that someone working at eBay could think of, in bold.
I would like to notify you regarding the new quality measures that will take place. As you are aware, eBay strives to be the best in our business, and to ensure that our members receive the best possible customer service when contacting us.
Starting in October, monitoring software will be installed on all company computers. This is not an effort to “spy” on your activities (of course not), but rather to allow our quality department to take screen shots of your computer (oh, i see ! but hey, what’s the difference ?), to allow them to better coach you regarding policy and procedures. (You mean, to better know how to screw me !)
Please keep in mind, all AOL Instant messager messages will be recorded, and all incoming and outgoing emails will also be affected. (Nope, that’s got nothing to do with spying at all)
With this said, here are some guidelines that I would like you to follow:
1. No pornography sites should be accessed unless it is part of your job
Part of their job ?? Are you telling me some people at eBay surf porn sites as part of their job ? Damn i wanna work at eBay, lol…
2. No personal emails should be sent or received using company equipment
But i’m friends with everyone here 🙁
3. AOL Instant Messengers should be used for work related purposes only.
Well, nicefatteddy76 uses ebay every once in a while, so it’s kind of work related 😉
4. While working during business hours, no access to unrelated Internet sites is allowed under any circumstances.
Does this include the porn sites mentioned above or not ?
Please remember that every action performed on your company computer will be recorded. Please act accordingly.
Hmmm, can i install Spybot or some other anti-spyware program ?
If you are caught viewing Internet sites that are not work related, you may suffer disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Even if it’s your personal blog Mr. Manager, i’m a big fan of it.
If you have questions regarding this new policy, please contact your supervisor, or lead.
He’s too busy deleting his xxx hidden folders 😛
[name removed]
eBay Manager
This is a very interesting article i found on Jakob Nielsen’s (The God of web usability) website useit.com.
It’s about the 10 most violated homepage design guidelines, which are the following ordered by compliance rate (number one is the guideline that the fewest sites follow):
1. Emphasize what your site offers that’s of value to users and how your services differ from those of key competitors
2. Use a liquid layout that lets users adjust the homepage size
3. Use color to distinguish visited and unvisited links
4. Use graphics to show real content, not just to decorate your homepage
5. Include a tag line that explicitly summarizes what the site or company does
6. Make it easy to access anything recently featured on your homepage
7. Include a short site description in the window title
8. Don’t use a heading to label the search area; instead use a “Search” button to the right of the box
9. With stock quotes, give the percentage of change, not just the points gained or lost
10. Don’t include an active link to the homepage on the homepage
It’s totally true, a big number of the websites i’ve seen on the web violate these rules.
And the only rule i can understand people breaking is the homepage size one, because it’s easier for designers to work on a known and fixed space, as it becomes more like print for them, and they can produce better eye candy.
To read the full thing and the details of each and every guideline click here.
I just came across this Jung-Myers-Briggs test, and after taking it, i was classified as INTJ (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging).
Here is a description of the INTJ profile:
To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of “definiteness”, of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise — and INTJs can have several — they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don’t know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion “Does it work?” to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the “Systems Builders” of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be “slacking,” including superiors, will lose their respect — and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs “do” tends to be what they “know”. Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ’s Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. 🙂 This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete’, paralleling that of many Fs — only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to “work at” a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.
I can only agree with most of this, especially the good stuff 😉
And i think the profile really touches a number of important points of my personality.
Anyway, if anyone who personally knows me reads this, please comment and tell me what you think, and what you think applies to me and what doesn’t.
To take the test yourself click here.
[via Hou-Hou Blog]
Or maybe written in French, it’s Mosa
I’ve come to believe that Happiness and Misery in life are a product of the human brain and it’s conception of reality.
It’s all in the way you look at the things around you and how you think of them.
This is not the half-empty or half-full glass idea i’m talking about, that’s more about optimism than happiness, it’s about how you interpret your life and your position in it.
People tend to get carried away by their needs and by their goals, forgetting about the things they’ve already reached and realized, not taking the time to enjoy them or be happy about their successes.
The everlasting need and thirst for more downsizes our successes and makes us feel like we’re still far away from where we want to be.
But if we just took the time and stopped every once in a while, looked around us and savoured the taste of the successes we reached, the little things in life that we have, the beauty of the smallest and simplest things surrounding us, and even the tiny steps that we’ve taken we’d truly feel a lot better about ourselves and our lives. And then we’d look at our other goals as ones that are reachable and doable, and as a life that extends ahead of us full of promise.
It’s great to have a great ambition and to always look into the future, but we shouldn’t get too obsessed with the future and too engulfed in our goals that we forget to live our present and enjoy it.
Keep your eyes on the future, but keep your feet on the ground and enjoy the present for what it’s worth.
