Category: Here & There

I just came accross this great on-line exhibition,“The poster art of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

I think it’s really worth checking out.

[via: Sabbah, Rafah Pundits]

Update: Technical problems seem to be solved. You can vote now.

So, the voting for the Best Arab Blogs Awards 2004 opened yesterday.

Subzero Blue is nominated in a number of categories, but will only win if you guys want it to and vote for it.

Here are the categories Subzero Blue is nominated in:

– 2004 Best Arab Blog (English) Vote here
– 2004 Best Tunisian Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Blog Design Vote here
– 2004 Best Everyday Life Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Humour Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Personal Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Photography Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Politics Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Technology Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Music Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Essayist Blog Vote here
– 2004 Best Culture Blog Vote here

Thank you 🙂

“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.”
— David McCullough

and…

“If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.”
— Anna Quindlen

but keep in mind…

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
— Bill Cosby

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.

He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?”
The students’ answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.
It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
“If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.”
“What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again.”
We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.
Pick it up again later when you have rested…
Rest and relax.
Life is short, enjoy it!!

[Via: David Nino]

The second season of the Arab version of Star Academy starts today on LBC at 18:30 GMT.

16 contestants have been selected from all over the Arab world, including one Tunisian girl, Amani Souissi.

I didn’t watch LBC’s Star Academy last year, and only saw a “Best Of” episode after it all ended. But I heard a lot about it, too much in fact.

Everyone was mad about it, and it was a big success for LBC.
People from all around the Arab world, from all ages were pinned to their TV sets watching the contestants’ every move, choosing their favourite, talking endlessly about them, and wasting their money voting for them.
And the people who weren’t interested in the show were interested in the Lebanese presenter Hilda Khalifa 😛

In short, the Arab world was hit by Star Academy Mania and they loved every bit of it.
Now, it’s about to happen all over again.

But would it be appropriate for people to spend so much money now to vote for some talentless nobodies when that money could help so many people in countries that were hit by the disastrous tsunami, providing clean water, food, shelter and so much more?!

Haitham Sabbah and Mahmood Al Yousif have launched the Best Arab Blogs Awards, a.k.a BABA’s 😉

Nominations go on till January 15th, and then the voting begins and stays open till the end of the month.

My blog is nominated in a number of categories, so when voting opens, you know which blog to vote for 😉

If you have a blog you would like to nominate for these awards, just pass by the BABA 2004 site.

This past weekend while zapping through satellite channels, we found an ad on Dubai TV about a new TV channel called One TV. The ad was really cool that it got me doing a channel search right away.

So, it turns out, starting from December 24th, Dubai’s once boring CH33 was shut down and replaced by this new channel bearing a new name, a new look and a new line-up of the best in American and British programming.

Branded “One TV”, the station is aimed at modern Arabs who enjoy western-style programming, as well as English speaking expatriates.

Blockbuster movies dominate prime time with television’s most popular series, sitcoms, reality shows and kid’s programs rounding up the rest of the grid to offer a unique variety of choices for all tastes and ages.

We’re already hooked on this channel and it’s great programming. I’m truly enjoying the movies and the sitcoms. They’ve already pushed back my bedtime an hour or so already.

Something else worth mentioning is that the movies are censored, so no nudity or sex on the screen. I think even french kisses are cut out. And even though it’s a bit annoying, especially when you’ve already seen the movie before, I think they totally have the right to do this so that it can be a true Arabic family entertainment channel.

For more information on the channel and it’s programming, visit their really cool website: One TV.

“The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.”
Ben Stein

And…

“It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
J. K. Rowling

But…

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”
Robert Fritz

William Dalrymple, historian and writer, wrote an article called “The Truth About Muslims” in which he takes on a number of books by Bernard Lewis, Richard Fletcher and Nabil Matar and gives some fascinating information about the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims through the centuries as well as the Islamic influence on the development of Western civilization.

“To the persecuted Monophysite Christians of Syria and Egypt, Muslims could be presented as deliverers. The same could be said of the persecuted Jews…. Released from the bondage of Constantinopolitan persecution they flourished as never before, generating in the process a rich spiritual literature in hymns, prayers, sermons and devotional work.”

Richard Fletcher, The Cross and the Crescent

Read The Truth About Muslims.

With so much to do
In so little time,
I begin to wonder
Whether I should start to climb
To the place I want to be,
Or just sit and stare
Up there silently,
Without getting anywhere.

Days pass by like minutes
As my restless state grows,
Where will I be tomorrow?
No one really knows.

(Taken from Tahir Rashid‘s new poem “Helpless”.)

[More: Tahir Rashid Poetry]