Friday, May 19, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Now:
School notice:Please send 10 jds with your child for the Kg2 graduation party movie.
Please specify wether you need a: -Video tape
or-DVD
or-CD
Then:
School notice:Please send 10 jds with your son/daughter for the Tawjihi graduation party movie.
Please specify wether you need a:-VHS tape
or-Betamax tape
That was soooo long ago!
Monday, May 15, 2006
My friend Yakuza,from the previous post,is experimenting with blogging,I am posting another of his articles.
There you go:
Educate: (Verb) To give intellectual and moral training.
Education: (Noun) 1. Systematic training and instruction. 2. Knowledge and abilities, as well as character development acquired through such training.
(Source: Oxford Dictionary of current English – Oxford University Press)
None of us can help but compare. It is in our human nature to compare things, and always look towards what is better and how things could be if…
One of the aspects I really look at today is our education. How it was when I was at school, and how it is nowadays.
Truth be spoken, education in this country has taken a huge leap between the time I was at school and today which was over 13 years ago. The educational system has dramatically experienced an increase in the quality of education. It can easily be seen through the curricula, the facilities, and the educational team between teachers and administrators.
I have to truly envy children of today for the educational opportunities that they have at their hands. 10 years ago, computers barely existed, while now, computer education has become a requirement equivalent to math and language. The access to all kinds of information has also grown exponentially and will continue to do so as long as people are alive.
Yet, I sometimes look at some of the other aspects that were adopted by our educational systems. The major issue that I would really like to emphasize is the lack of respect that children of today have for their teachers, administrators, and their institutions.
In my days (which do not seem too long ago) teachers were regarded with an esteem that surpassed any other job due to the role that they have taken onto themselves. Now it is just another job, and a teacher has become no more than an information provider rather than an educator. At the time, God forbid, a student should answer a teacher back, let alone disobey, or any other form of insubordination. A good beating was very natural at that time which I do not entirely agree with, and this is something that diminished a long time ago.
Nevertheless, I have to admit that this particular part of the educational process that I have had, made me, and I can speak for a lot of people of my age, a more disciplined person. This kind of discipline has made a lot of difference on our behavior, albeit at school or outside it. This also continued to affect our behavior to be more disciplined throughout our life, professionally or at home.
Questions:
What happened to our educational system?
Did the role of the institutions, teachers, and administrators change?
Is discipline part of the curriculum?
Is behavioral education at its simplest form in manners and etiquette part of the same curriculum?
Or is the role of education just to prepare the students with the information that they would need (sciences, math, geography, languages)?
Or did we as people neglect and misplace our emphasis as to what should be taught at schools, hoping that the rest will come by itself?
Do we as people of today give to these institutions the proper respect and credit that they deserve?All these questions, I guess, will eventually pour into one simple, yet very specific question: Will my children and yours, despite having been given the necessary technical information on a professional or academic level, have the proper upbringing that will translate in the future into better people who are still technically able?
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Sushi for beginners by Marian Keyes,and Banat Al Riyadh,by Raja' Al Sane3.
The fact that I've been reading these two books at the same time forces me to think of the similarities between them.While this might not be a fair comparison,for a number of reasons.
To start with,the setting is awfully different.While the first takes place in Dublin,Ireland,the second takes place mostly in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.And while the first author is an experienced novelist,in her forties, with around ten books in her name,the second is just starting,in her early twenties and this is her first book ever.Both ladies have a noticeable sense of humor,and write with a degree of cynicism,that amuse you and offer you the pleasure of light reading on an easy afternoon.Both books revolve around lives of women in their own cities.The characters are in a different age group too,both authors write about their own age groups,so while the Dublin girls are in their thirties and lead professional lives,the Riyadh girls are fresh out of college and starting out in the real world.I still haven't finished reading Keyes's Sushi,but am definitely enjoying it more than the other one.Banat Al Riyadh,has an interesting concept behind it,to view the lives of these girls through emails that the auther has been sending to a lot of saudis over a period of a few months,and this is something that I thought was very innovative and can be developped into a nice art form,but that hasn't been properly done.Ohoud wondered if it's worthy enough of being called a novel,and I think it isn't.I haven't felt that I really can relate to any of the characters,or the hapenings in their lives,I kept wondering which one was this and which one was that,and wether this is the one who got married or the one who met her lover in the mall.There is no clear plot to the story and I would have definitely enjoyed reading it much more as seperate e-mails or articles in a magazine or newspaper.On the opposite,the other novel,though not really what you might call an intriguing,thought provoking read,but it is quite interesting to follow the characters around their lives.You feel how deeply you can relate to the characters,and how a small incident that might happen to one of them one morning, can take its toll on her for a few days ,without her knowing the reason she is feeling so uneasy, until she realizes it's this small incident that's been bothering her all this time.The author goes into this sort of detail that you feel you know each one of these girls and can actually predict what she's going to do next.
Another thing about Banat Al Riyadh novel,is that I read it with a lot of anticipation,expecting to know a lot more insider details about the lives of the saudi young,however,it hasn't added much to what we hear,and hasn't given me enough to believe or not to believe that this is the saudis lifestyles in this time and age.If you want controversy,you might want to read the older novel about saudi life:Princess,the True Story of Life behind Veil in Saudi Arabia,where the author Jean P. Sasson ,claims that a Saudi Princess asked her to tell her life story.That,I felt was full of controversial details whose authenticity I can't confirm.
As soon as I'm done with Sushi for Beginners,I will go back to Amin Maaloof's Samarkand,which I had started last month,and couldn't finish.That was a book that needs a little more time and concentration on historic events than those two,and time and concentration are two things that I did NOT have last month.On my priority list is also 3amarat Ya3koobian,that should also be good.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
A friend of mine wrote this article. He poses some interesting questions,I thought I'd post it in here.
Racism in Movies
Being a huge fan of movies, alongside many people in Jordan as well as the rest of the world, always gives me insight to how people around the world look at each other, away from the politics, on the most basic levels of human behavior. To my disappointment, and many others like me, the view of how people look at us Arabs, is anything but favorable.
Two days ago I went with some friends to watch a very good movie. The plot, the cast, the production, effects, and everything about the movie were great. For those who have not seen it, I would recommend it. It is called “Inside man”. It is the story of a big bank robbery and how the police handled such situation. The great twist to the story comes from the history of the New York bank, whose roots date back to WWII.
So as not to destroy the suspense, watch the movie. But there was one part of the story which really bothered me as well as most of the people who paid attention to the movie.
Take 1: (Movie: Inside Man)
As a hostage was being released (a Sikh Indian with his turban and beard which are part of their religious ritual dress codes) was immediately captured, thrown down to the floor, and the sentence “it’s a F****** Arab! He must be rigged, check him for explosives…”
Take 2: (Movie: Inside Man)
The Bank Owner / Chairman, who made his money from giving the Jews banked money to the Nazi regime during WWII, walks at the end of the story, unquestioned, and unharmed, and even beyond, protected by some of the most influential people around.
Some people are going to call this a work of fiction, but there is a great amount of reality to it. People around the world believe what they see in the movies. Too sad. We cannot deny that we as people, as educated as we can get, still believe that there is truth in movies. Everyone with a big beard, without a European look to him, will be persecuted.
Earlier last year, I also watched another movie which I believed was a great one as well. “Traffic” is a movie depicting racism in a melting pot society, and how prejudices really come out to the open when people least expect it, and how kindness manages to come through this prejudices when people are put to the test, especially in a city like Los Angles where all kinds of nationalities reside, and all ethnic backgrounds. How much hate can reside inside our hearts as people without us noticing?
These two distinct movies depict two very different sides of the spectrum, and we can site another hundred that lay in between both ends. But there will always be the question.
What will we do, as Arabs of today and the new generation (who are away from all the politics and terrorism stories) to shed the skin that has been laid upon us, and branded us as terrorists. Every nation in the world with a history has shed the ugly skin it has gained in a dark chapter. When does this chapter of our skin end so we can redeem our reputation???
Or should we go to the source??? The world of movies, MGM, Warner Bros., Universal Studios, etc. Should we be pursuing these people as responsible for this injustice? Or can we educate them in one way or the other. What is the responsibility of our generation, to ensure that our children never experience the violence that hatred and racism can bring???
The answer as I can see it is quite simple and can be summed up in 2 words: Unity and Solidarity.
For those who believe the answer is correct, Please comment.
By: Yakuza
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Alone at the new flat.Hardly feels like home.Everything's in boxes,dust everywhere.My husband was shipping the kids to my parents,(or was it his),so that we could arrange things and clean up a bit.It felt cold and empty,inspite of all the clutter surrounding me.I looked for a radio for some company .The boxes were labelled but with stacks upon stacks of sealed boxes ,finding one was an imopssible task.The only entertainment available was the VCR,which we hooked first thing ,not to miss the mandatory daily dose of Barney and Friends.And the only video tape I had around,with songs that did not revolve around pop corn ,and mac-and-cheese ,was our wedding video.Everyone agreed back then that our DJ did a wonderful job.So there,the music roled and I went to the kitchen to start the long long process of arranging cups and saucers,plates,pots,pans,cuttlery,other silverware,(melon scoop and garlic crusher,vegetable garnishing peelers,that lovely syrian invention...zuchini hollower thingie,who uses this stuff anyways..I always buy my zuchinis hollowed,life's too short for that sort of work..)pizza maker,fondue set..you might wonder?but that's great stuff for a small party..you never realize how much stuff you have till you move.I'm not moving again!!EVER!!!
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS POST'S ABOUT.
Going back and forth to the living room,I caught glimpses of the wedding.Sometimes catching my attention that I'd leave the water tap running while I sat for a few minutes to see what's been going on.Who are these people?SERIOUSLY.Something like 600 people were there.Do you really expect me to know all of them?But this tape's been causing me long sleepless hours for a few days now.
Do you know what could happen in less than seven years?
Do you know where you might be in less than seven years?
Do you know if you will BE in less than seven years?
HE,was a very good friend of ours.Can you see him wipe off my husbands forhead with his handkerchief,and hand him a sip of his scotch while we were dancing?We don't talk to him anymore.He wasn't that genuine after all.
SHE,looked so radiant in her black dress.Beautiful and merry.Dancing with her husband.Last year she died of cancer.At the age of thirty!
THEY danced the night away,looking like love birds.I never liked her much though.Two years ago,they divorced, after twenty years of marriage.
SHE,was single.Nice,kind hearted girl.Since then,she got married.And divorced.Twice.To two different men.Now,she's happily married to the third,with two kids.
HE,was so vibrant,the soul of the party.Happy and proud.Now he's sick,but fighting like no other man would.He will be better very soon I know,if anyone can do it it's him.Peace, man!
HE,was the DJ.A few weddings later,he died in a car accident.
HE,grew up into an amazing young man.Got married and has a cute little baby.
THEY,were still dating then,we danced at their wedding 2 years ago.They were the last to visit us n the old flat,drinking and eating out of paper stuff,and the first non-family to pop in at the new one with dai3a shawerma for a lovely night after a long moving day.
SHE,graduated with honors,pursuing her Phd now.
THEY,had a baby after years of anguish waiting.The other's on the way.
AND US?here we are:the few years scheduled to be spent in Qatar were reduced to ten months.We moved three houses since then,still pursuing our careers,have two beautiful kids,or at least I'd like to think so!
Our families are both doing great.We may wish them better health,more comfort,and more ease of mind,but the Lord has been good to all of us,and for that we're thankful.
Seven years on,ten years on,fifty years on....tomorrow,or even next ten minutes,your world might spin around in a matter of seconds.
Live,and let live.And most of all Enjoy.
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