Month: March 2008

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction

I just heard about the newly created “International Prize for Arabic Fiction,” which this year went to Egyptian author Baha Taher for his book ‘Sunset Oasis’, a book that explores one man’s existential crisis.

The winning book will get published throughout the Arab world, and translated outside of it, thus helping the author gain a wider readership. The cash awards included; which are: $10,000 for shortlisted authors, $50,000 for the winner; should also give a good boost to authors in the Arab worldm a region where it is nearly impossible to live off of writing up to now.

The list of finalists included:

– June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy (Lebanon)
– The Land of Purgatory by Elias Farkouh (Jordan)
– In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa (Syria)
– Walking in the Dust by May Menassa (Lebanon)
– Swan Song by Mekkaoui Said (Egypt)
– Sunset Oasis by Baha Taher (Egypt)

I think it’s a great idea, certainly more than welcome, and hopefully it will play its important role and breathe life into the Arab book world, encouraging more authors and publishers to write and publish.

It’s a shame that there are no authors from the Arab Maghreb on the list of finalists, more should be done from both sides, the organizers and Maghreb publishing houses/authors, to ensure they are included in the future.

I haven’t read any of the books on the finalists list, but one sure thing is that I’ll be looking for them in the Tunis Book Fair that isn’t too far away now.

[Source: Bloomberg]
[Via: Laila Lalami, Mental Mayhem]

My Wimpy Memories

WimpyMark just posted about his bad experience with Wimpy yesterday, which reminded me of my own experience with the same fast food chain.

Let me start from the very beginning, somewhere around 20 years ago or even more, back when I was a little kid in Zimbabwe, we used to have this routine as a family, where we’d go to the movies and then on our way out have a nice meal at the next door Wimpy.
It was so delicious, their burgers were some of the best you could find, juicy fresh and simply awesome, the taste stayed with me for years.

Then we came back to Tunisia, and as there are no international food chains here, there was no Wimpy, well no official one, there’s this small rip-off of a fast food place in La Goulette that has a Wimpy logo on it, but well that doesn’t count.

Years later, in 1996, when I moved to Jordan to study university, I was greeted with a couple of Wimpy restaurants, one near the northern gate of the University of Jordan, and one in downtown Amman.

The childhood memories came rushing back through my head and taste buds, and I told my dear friend and room-mate at the time about it and how we had to go eat at Wimpy asap.

Unfortunately, that was one of the biggest food-related disappointments in my life, they totally sucked, it was nothing like the Wimpy I remembered, the burgers were tasteless, and when we ordered chicken it wasn’t well cooked, pretty much raw, and when we told them that they said the chicken was especially made using their secret formula and cooking method, to which I could only answer that I didn’t care what they called it, in the end the chicken was raw and inedible.

I never went back, and the two spots I knew of in Amman shut down a short time after that.

After a little search online, it seems the chain isn’t doing much better elsewhere. It’s really a shame. Wimpy will always hold a nice spot in my old childhood memories, but it obviously ends there.

Samsung G800 Photo Phone In Tunisia

Samsung G800Tunisia is one of the countries with the highest mobile penetration in the region at 78% in 2007 and expected to reach as high as 108% by 2010.

But not only do most Tunisians have mobile phones, they also have the mobile phone craze, following every new model, keeping up with all the new features and little cool additions.

Obviously, one of the areas, most mobile phone makers are making strides in and focusing on, are the photo capabilities of their mobile phones, or should we call them photo phones now.

One such case is the Samsung G800 which was recently released in Tunisia, and which focuses on its strong point as a photo phone. This phone comes with a 5 Mega pixel camera, a 1/3.2-inch CMOS-matrix with x3 optical zoom, a Xenon flash, facial recognition, wide dynamic range technology and the possibilities to take different formats of photos.

The phone also supports video recording and montage and comes with blog capabilities that will enable direct video blogging.

The TFT display utilized by the G800 comes with the resolution of 240×320-pixels, measures 2.4 inches from corner to corner, and shows up to 262 K colors.

Another important feature in new mobile phones and that exists on this phone as well is an audio player that supports the most common formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC, MP3 and WMA. Files can be uploaded onto the handset both directly over Bluetooth and through the synch application or Windows Media Player.
Another related feature is the integrated FM radio tuner.

The phone is a slider, with the dimensions 103x51x17mm, and weighing around 134 grams.

Overall, it sounds like a pretty nice offering from Samsung that could come in very handy for people who want a good phone and a good camera rolled into one; especially enticing for photo and video bloggers.

Twenty Nine

Today is March 11th again; Twenty nine years ago, on this very day, in a time close to this one, in a little clinic in downtown Tunis: I was born into this world.

Only one year away from Thirty now; an age a lot of people see as a milestone in their lives.

Anyway what does Twenty Nine mean to me?
Well, not much, but if it does mean anything to me, it’s in a context in which I look at the years of my life and what I’ve been able to accomplish in them.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with where I am in life right now, and what I’ve been able to do in these twenty nine years, but I still feel I could have done more, that there were more things I could have squeezed in to them, more chances I could have taken, and that it’s about time I go ahead and start taking some chances and jumping on new opportunities so that I don’t have to think the same thing in my next birthdays.

Like everyone in this world, I’m not very good at resolutions and hanging on to them, but what I would like to see myself doing in this next year is: organize my time better, do more of the things I’m passionate about, finally bring some of my ideas and projects to life, and prepare myself for some eventual major changes in my life.

What are my plans for today? The usual, spending it with my wife, son, parents and sister at our place. That’s pretty much more than enough for me.

Oh, and here’s a link to my wishlist, just in case; *hint hint*

Vatican Lists 7 New Modern Day Sins

The Catholic Church has come out with a list of seven new modern day sins – 1,500 years after announcing the original Seven Deadly Sins.

The new sins outlined in the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, include:

1. Genetic modification
2. Human experimentations
3. Polluting the environment
4. Social injustice
5. Causing poverty
6. Financial gluttony
7. Taking drugs

According to the Catholic Church, a person who commits a mortal sin risks burning in hell unless it’s absolved through confession and penitence.

[Source: wbztv.com]

The World’s Top 20 Richest People

After 13 years on top of the list of the world’s richest people, Forbes says that Bill Gates has slipped down in the list. The honor now belongs to Warren Buffett.

The list of the top 20 richest people in the world goes as follows now:

1. Warren Buffett
2. Carlos Slim Helu
3. William Gates III
4. Lakshmi Mittal
5. Mukesh Ambani
6. Anil Ambani
7. Ingvar Kamprad
8. KP Singh
9. Oleg Deripaska
10. Karl Albrecht 		11. Li Ka-shing
12. Sheldon Adelson
13. Bernard Arnault
14. Lawrence Ellison
15. Roman Abramovich
16. Theo Albrecht
17. Liliane Bettencourt
18. Alexei Mordashov
19. Prince Alwaleed
20. Mikhail Fridman

For the complete list and details about each person: The World’s Billionaires (Forbes).

Harvard Gives Muslim Women Gym Hours

Interesting bit of news from Harvard…

In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex. The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.[…] 

No men are allowed in the gym between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women.

The special hours allow the Muslim women, who adhere to traditional dress codes by covering their hair and most of their skin while in public, to dress more appropriately for exercising, said Susan Marine, director of the women’s center.

[Source: Yahoo News]

I understand how some people might find it a bit inconvenient at first, but I think it’s an interesting and good move towards mutual respect and trying to find a compromise so that everyone can use the campus facilities comfortably.

Paris Book Fair Controversy

Came across this bit of news on BBC News today.

A book fair in Paris has become the subject of controversy with several Muslim countries announcing boycotts because the guest of honour is Israel.

Saudi Arabia has become the latest to withdraw, following Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.

The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) has also urged its 50 members to pull out from the fair, which starts on 14 March.

[…]

The organisers of the book fair have said their aim is to honour literature and promote dialogue between cultures.

… the Paris book fair is honouring 39 writers from Israel including well-known figures like David Grossman and Amos Oz.

What do you think?

Personally, I think boundaries and conflicts don’t apply to literature or art in general, they transcend origin, nationality, race, conflicts and everything to another level where we connect and appreciate each other and our works on the human level.

Still, I understand how it is viewed in another way especially when the organizers themselves add the origin factor into it all, and that the origin is Israel, in a time such as this, with tensions and problems at their highest, and peace at its farthest.

If it were up to me, I think it’s a time to be present rather than a time to boycott; in every situation: you can’t present your side of the story and defend it if you’re not there in the first place.
The problem is that we Muslims and Arabs are passive in the exact times we should be more present and proactive.