Year: 2004

Amr Diab Concert

Amr Diab Live

We just got back home after a wonderful night out.

We attended the Amr Diab concert in the Festival of Carthage.
It’s been a long time ever since I went to a concert in the great Carthage amphitheatre, maybe ever since my childhood actually. And as for my wife, this is her first time there.

It’s also the first time I attend an Amr Diab concert, my wife’s second time.
And well, to say the truth, even though I love the guy’s songs, I wasn’t expecting much because of all the bad stuff I’ve heard about him performing live. According to what everyone says, I went in expecting some great songs but a really bad live voice.

And well, fortunately, my expectations were wrong.
The guy rocked live! Yes, he truly and absolutely rocked.
He truly out-did himself and I loved the songs even more than from the album.
The selection of songs for the concert was perfect, although I wish he would have just added “Awwedoony” to the list, one of my faves.
He sang, played the piano, played the keyboards, some percussion instruments and simply was great.
The climax of the concert came when he launched into his new single “Leeli Nhari”. Everyone went mad, and it seemed everyone but my wife and I knew all the lyrics.

Amr Diab was the only Arab singer I used to listen to and buy albums for. His stuff is really good, he’s an artist, and very professional.
And today after being at a concert of his, I’m more a fan than ever before.

I really enjoyed the concert a lot. It was so much fun.

After the concert, we were starving, so we thought we’d pass by this new place called Abu El Abed, a Lebanese fast food restaurant in Les Berges du Lac. We had some shawarmas which had this special middle eastern taste to them and which were really good.

After that, it was time for us to get home, and for me to get on here to write about it all 🙂

Power Struggle in Relationships

Yesterday, while on another train of thought, this idea came to my mind, and well I thought I’d write it down.

In every relationship there is a sort of power struggle.
Whether it’s a love, work, friendship, family or any other relationship, there always is this factor of who is in the position of power and who is in the position of weakness, about who has more control over the relationship and who has the upper hand.

It’s actually rare in a relationship for the two sides to complete each other and strike a perfect balance of powers. Most of the times, one of the sides has some sort of power advantage for some reason or another tipping the balance to his side and giving him the plus.

Sometimes you might not think of it, but then something comes along that makes you see it.

Just take the time, look around you, look at the relationships you’re in professionally or personally and you’ll see that in some you are in a position of power, while in others you’re in a position of weakness, and in some few others in a position of balance.

I guess it’s just the nature of things.

But it’s very important because it determines how comfortable you are and can be in a relationship.

Nesma Abd El Aziz

Nesma Abd El Aziz

Now that’s talent!

Nesma Abd El Aziz is a great and very talented Egyptian xylophone player. She truly portrays how an often ignored musical intrument from the percussion family like the xylophone can do some truly beautiful wonders.

I first got to know her music sometime around last year when I caught the video for her first song called “Tico Tico”. It was so beautiful, cool, light, lifting and fun.
And yesterday, I came across her second video for her new song “Foga”. It’s as much fun and as great as the first one.

I think it’s great to have people like her in the Arab music scene, people who add style, class and amazing talent.

It’s good to come across someone like this in between all the rubbish there is in the music industry these days. It gives hope.

I truly enjoy her music and will be hunting her material down. And I recommend that anyone who loves music check her stuff out too. You’ll surely love it.

US troops destroy Iraq’s ancient past

Irreplaceable historical sites and religious artefacts in Iraq are being destroyed by the US-led occupation forces.

Sites including Babylon, one of the world’s most renowned archaeological treasures, are being damaged by the occupation forces, according to minister Mufid al-Jazairi.

Heavy equipment, helicopters and other machinery used by Polish-led forces based at Babylon, 100km south of Baghdad, are causing irreparable harm, he said.

He also said workers employed by US contracting firm Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had been digging and building in the area around Babylon, causing further damage.

What a shame!
These people simply have no respect or appreciation for such great world heritage!

[Source: Al Jazeera]

Arab Porn Singers

Ok, What the hell am I talking about, I hear you ask.
Well, I’m talking about this new breed of Arab singers who have shitty voices, keep moaning throughout their songs and who look like they’ve just been picked out of a porn movie.

It’s incredible, whatever Arabic music channel you switch to, there’s some new singer’s video and the song sucks, their voice sucks even more, the music is ripped off and they’re totally offbeat.
But wait, they weren’t really counting on all the previous ingredients to lure you, they were counting on the semi-naked woman/women singing, dancing, moaning and groaning to do that.

Then there are the guys who have a bunch of girls strip dancing in the background while they sing about something totally irrelevant.

Where has all this come from?
Why has the woman body become so cheap?
I can’t believe it.

I know this is yet another attempt to immitate the west. But believe me sometimes I feel they’ve even outdone them.
I mean western videos do have a lot of sex, nudity and all, but not to the extent where you feel that the scene was just cut out of a B-rated porn movie.

This really has to stop. It truly should be unacceptable for stuff like this to be on our TV screens.

Anybody but Bush or Kerry

Ahmed Amr has this to say on the upcoming elections and the Muslim American votes:

“…why bother kicking Bush and his neocons out of office only to see them replaced by Kerry and his neo-branded neocons. Why should any American put up with the disgraceful sight of Kerry licking Ariel Sharon’s boots?

[…]

Over night, in the wake of the terror attacks of 9/11, I saw my status as an American reduced from first class citizenship to a second-class national of suspect origins…

[…]

Ask yourself a few simple questions. Does your government consider you less of an American than you were four years ago? Did you personally do anything to deserve a demotion to second class citizenship? Did the Democrats stand up for you when your civil rights were assaulted? Did Kerry or Edwards utter a word in your defense?

[…]

So, this November, vote your dreams, not your fears. Vote for the land you want your children to inherit and against political parties that cast you aside. Vote for Ralph Nader…”

Ahmed Amr

[Full Article: Anybody but Bush or Kerry]

The Case Against George W. Bush

“Does anyone really favor an administration that so shamelessly lies? One that so tenaciously clings to secrecy, not to protect the American people, but to protect itself? That so willfully misrepresents its true aims and so knowingly misleads the people from whom it derives its power? I simply cannot think so. And to come to the same conclusion does not make you guilty of swallowing some liberal critique of the Bush presidency, because that’s not what this is. This is the critique of a person who thinks that lying at the top levels of his government is abhorrent. Call it the honest guy’s critique of George W. Bush.

The most egregious examples OF distortion and misdirection – which the administration even now cannot bring itself to repudiate – involve our putative “War on Terror” and our subsequent foray into Iraq.

During his campaign for the presidency, Mr. Bush pledged a more “humble” foreign policy. “I would take the use of force very seriously,” he said. “I would be guarded in my approach.” Other countries would resent us “if we’re an arrogant nation.” He sniffed at the notion of “nation building.” “Our military is meant to fight and win wars. . . . And when it gets overextended, morale drops.” International cooperation and consensus building would be the cornerstone of a Bush administration’s approach to the larger world. Given candidate Bush’s remarks, it was hard to imagine him, as president, flipping a stiff middle finger at the world and charging off adventuring in the Middle East.”

Ron Reagan

This is just a small excerpt. You really should read the rest of the article: The Case Against George W. Bush

[Via Dianne]

Amman Soon

We just got home from downtown Tunis where we went to the Royal Jordanian airlines office.
And well finally, we got our tickets to Amman / Jordan.
The nice woman there even gave us a student discount 🙂

We’ll be leaving on August 29th.

It’s already been two years since I last visited Amman, in fact it’s also been two years since I last travelled to anywhere.

I was planning to go to Jordan last year, but I had to cancel because of my work, and my wife visited her parents alone 🙁

Anyway 2 years is a long time for a travel freak like me to not go anywhere. I love travelling and I love being in and out of airports and planes. Something I can’t say about my wife 😛 No matter how much she’s travelled, she’s always afraid of flying. I’ll never forget what she put me through during the 9 hour flight from Amman to Bangkok 2 years ago, lol.

Back to Jordan, It’ll be great to see all the family and friends. I’ve also heard that Amman has changed a lot in the 2 years I haven’t visited. And I can’t wait to get there to see it, check out all the new places and see what happened to all the places I used to go to.

Anyway, other than Jordan we’re hoping to get a chance to jump over to Lebanon and maybe Syria on the way for a few days.

Hopefully, the next days leading to the 29th of August will pass quickly and we’ll be on the plane in no time.