Hello friends,
Last week, I watched a 2 hour documentary on Osama bin Laden presented by Christiane Amanpour on CNN, and by the end of it all, it became clear to me that the reporter Christiane Amanpour had totally absolved Osama of any wrong doing, and by tracing his footsteps from childhood has instead brought out the other men in Osama's life who created, fashioned, brainwashed and influenced him to be the man he is today. Amanpour described Osama as a shy and private boy when he was studying in school, and by following his steps into adulthood, we see how the more influential, radical Islamists had changed Osama into being the ultimate rebel. The documentary also exposed the weaknesses and failure Osama went through, especially when one of his battles in Afghanistan came to a dismal failure.
Osama is undoubtedly one of the most wanted man on this planet, and the documentary also talks about how the US has failed to catch him since the 9/11 attacks. Either Osama must be:
1. a genius evading the US military, or
2. the US are very careless, or
3. the US is deliberately not trying to catch Osama in order to bomb Afghanistan to pieces, or
4. God has a hand in this trying to safe guard Osama.
I am strongly led to believe in option 4. Why? Here's why.
In the compound I lived in Jeddah, one of our neighbors, and a man we would meet at the mosque every Friday would be Osama's brother. Not his step brother, but his own biological brother. On the surface he condemned his brother's hand in the 9/11 attacks, but underneath he described how he supports his brother in the larger battle of trying to put a stop to the attrocities the West is creating in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He related an incident to us.
His mother, Osama's mother, had a dream once where Prophet Muhammad came to her. The mother was crying heavily in her dream, and the Prophet asked her why she was so upset. She said that she was scared of the whereabouts of her son Osama, whether he was dead or alive. The Prophet told the Mother that she shouldn't worry because God is protecting Osama, and that she should be proud of him for the way he has been standing up to the oppressor.
As Osama's brother related to us this dream, he said that his Mother is not sad any longer, and instead claims as this dream to be a divine sign from God to her.
It is indeed a wonder why Osama hasn't been caught for so long.
Mansur
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Car Wash
Hey friends,
So ever since I got my car, I realized how often I needed to get it car washed because the weather here is so dusty. Every two days, I would be driving myself through the car wash, and again, it would be dusty and messy. Below my apartment building, there are two men who wash cars every night for all the tenants. One of them even approached me and asked me if I would be willing to pay him to have my car washed each night. I thought about his offer, and said no.
So, last night, at 11pm, I went down to my car with a bucket full of soap water and a wash cloth and proceeded to wash my own car. One of the guys there looked at me, well, more like started at me. He approached me "sir, why are you washing your own car. Let me wash it." To which I replied, "No thanks. I want to do my own washing." And I noticed how everyone that walked on by looked/ stared at me for washing my own car.
What's wrong if I wash my own car? So what if no one else washes their own car? Don't people wash their own cars in the West? Why can't I do the same here? Why do I have to rely on servants to get my job done here? Yes, I still haven't hired anyone to clean my own house. I do everything on my own, from doing my laundry, ironing my clothes, washing dishes, dusting, mopping, doing the bathrooms and so on. So, when I can do all that, why can't I wash my own car?
Mansur
So ever since I got my car, I realized how often I needed to get it car washed because the weather here is so dusty. Every two days, I would be driving myself through the car wash, and again, it would be dusty and messy. Below my apartment building, there are two men who wash cars every night for all the tenants. One of them even approached me and asked me if I would be willing to pay him to have my car washed each night. I thought about his offer, and said no.
So, last night, at 11pm, I went down to my car with a bucket full of soap water and a wash cloth and proceeded to wash my own car. One of the guys there looked at me, well, more like started at me. He approached me "sir, why are you washing your own car. Let me wash it." To which I replied, "No thanks. I want to do my own washing." And I noticed how everyone that walked on by looked/ stared at me for washing my own car.
What's wrong if I wash my own car? So what if no one else washes their own car? Don't people wash their own cars in the West? Why can't I do the same here? Why do I have to rely on servants to get my job done here? Yes, I still haven't hired anyone to clean my own house. I do everything on my own, from doing my laundry, ironing my clothes, washing dishes, dusting, mopping, doing the bathrooms and so on. So, when I can do all that, why can't I wash my own car?
Mansur
Monday, August 28, 2006
Rain Dance 2006
Hello friends,
This past Thursday all of us went to this thing called Rain Dance. It was organized by the same tour company that took us to Hatta the week before. None of us had ever gone to a Rain Dance before, but the tour company promised us it will be a fun filled evening in the desert where they will have rain under which we can dance. So the eight of us gathered at the meeting point. Two more people were to come but one of them had a sprained knee, so she opted out much to our disappointment.
The bus took off from Dubai at 9pm, and no sooner were we on our way when N started another documentary for my video. She introduced everyone in our group much to everyone's laughter. There were about nine more people at the back whom we didn't know. M snapped her iPod in, and we all clapped and sang to the Arabic songs!
N grabbed hold of the microphone and went to the front of the bus, where she welcomed us all on board. "In any case of turbulence, the exits are located at the back and two at the front..." she proceeded to tell everyone on the bus hand signalling like an air stewardess would. "In case of any emergency, please jump out of the nearest window!" None of us were sitting with a straight face as N made us all laugh like crazy.
She went on to give us the itenary by asking the driver. "What's for food?" she asked. The driver doesn't know. "OK, he doesn't know what's for food, but whatever it is, it's edible." More laughter erupted from the back of the bus. "There will be rain there, and G will be showing off his amazing rain dance which he has been preparing for years!" More laughter. N also gave everyone on the bus a chance for feedback. M wanted to know when N will be showing us her ballet skills. Another Filipino guy at the back wanted to know why N was so beautiful, to which N replied "plastic surgery!" It was a constant time of laughter and N was extremely funny with her antics on the microphone!
An hour later, we reached the desert camp, where we moved into the 4x4 jeeps, and we asked for the same driver Mohammad Ali, who took us to Hatta. This time Mo Al was in his hip hop gear and not the local traditional dress. With hip hop music blasting from his jeep, we made our way deeper into the desert while bashing up and down the mini dunes. Two people were not particularly fond of dune bashing, and so many screams were heard from them.
Finally we got to the camp, where we did a bunch of activities. We rode the camels. Held the falcon our hand. Touched a live snake. Tried on the Arabic clothes, where in one case, I pretended to be a terrorist terrorising M! The girls wore the guy's dress, and the guys wore the abayas! We also got henna tattoos made, and I got one made to. The lady putting the henna on me was flirting so openly with me. "Such a handsome guy deserves a big tattoo," and she went on to make the largest scorpion I had ever seen on my left arm!
Dinner was served (which is usually never great at desert safari) and after eating, the dance floor in the middle of the camp came to life. The spotlights went off, with a few disco lights on, and under a million stars visible, people danced under the rain. A few of us got up there, and soon more joined us. It was a lot of fun getting wet and dancing to Arabic, English and Punjabi music. We danced for more than 3 hours. There was also a belly dancing show which was quite amazing.
All in all, by 2am, all of us were tired, and had a long drive back home. The night was still young for those left behind at the camp where they were doing the limbo dancing. Everyone enjoyed it so much (except for the part where one local drunk guy in his shorts was harrasing the ladies with his water squirt gun!), we are looking for the next rain dance which is coming up soon in Dubai.
Mansur
PS Again, I have about 60 pictures, so email me at mansourahsan@gmail.com if you want them.
This past Thursday all of us went to this thing called Rain Dance. It was organized by the same tour company that took us to Hatta the week before. None of us had ever gone to a Rain Dance before, but the tour company promised us it will be a fun filled evening in the desert where they will have rain under which we can dance. So the eight of us gathered at the meeting point. Two more people were to come but one of them had a sprained knee, so she opted out much to our disappointment.
The bus took off from Dubai at 9pm, and no sooner were we on our way when N started another documentary for my video. She introduced everyone in our group much to everyone's laughter. There were about nine more people at the back whom we didn't know. M snapped her iPod in, and we all clapped and sang to the Arabic songs!
N grabbed hold of the microphone and went to the front of the bus, where she welcomed us all on board. "In any case of turbulence, the exits are located at the back and two at the front..." she proceeded to tell everyone on the bus hand signalling like an air stewardess would. "In case of any emergency, please jump out of the nearest window!" None of us were sitting with a straight face as N made us all laugh like crazy.
She went on to give us the itenary by asking the driver. "What's for food?" she asked. The driver doesn't know. "OK, he doesn't know what's for food, but whatever it is, it's edible." More laughter erupted from the back of the bus. "There will be rain there, and G will be showing off his amazing rain dance which he has been preparing for years!" More laughter. N also gave everyone on the bus a chance for feedback. M wanted to know when N will be showing us her ballet skills. Another Filipino guy at the back wanted to know why N was so beautiful, to which N replied "plastic surgery!" It was a constant time of laughter and N was extremely funny with her antics on the microphone!
An hour later, we reached the desert camp, where we moved into the 4x4 jeeps, and we asked for the same driver Mohammad Ali, who took us to Hatta. This time Mo Al was in his hip hop gear and not the local traditional dress. With hip hop music blasting from his jeep, we made our way deeper into the desert while bashing up and down the mini dunes. Two people were not particularly fond of dune bashing, and so many screams were heard from them.
Finally we got to the camp, where we did a bunch of activities. We rode the camels. Held the falcon our hand. Touched a live snake. Tried on the Arabic clothes, where in one case, I pretended to be a terrorist terrorising M! The girls wore the guy's dress, and the guys wore the abayas! We also got henna tattoos made, and I got one made to. The lady putting the henna on me was flirting so openly with me. "Such a handsome guy deserves a big tattoo," and she went on to make the largest scorpion I had ever seen on my left arm!
Dinner was served (which is usually never great at desert safari) and after eating, the dance floor in the middle of the camp came to life. The spotlights went off, with a few disco lights on, and under a million stars visible, people danced under the rain. A few of us got up there, and soon more joined us. It was a lot of fun getting wet and dancing to Arabic, English and Punjabi music. We danced for more than 3 hours. There was also a belly dancing show which was quite amazing.
All in all, by 2am, all of us were tired, and had a long drive back home. The night was still young for those left behind at the camp where they were doing the limbo dancing. Everyone enjoyed it so much (except for the part where one local drunk guy in his shorts was harrasing the ladies with his water squirt gun!), we are looking for the next rain dance which is coming up soon in Dubai.
Mansur
PS Again, I have about 60 pictures, so email me at mansourahsan@gmail.com if you want them.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Movie:: Click
Hey people,
Last week I saw this movie called Click, which has Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, ChristopherWalken, David Hasselhoff and Sean Astin. The movie must be good, I thought with a cast like that. Well, yes, it was a good movie and I enjoyed it, despite it sharing a Bruce Almighty-ish theme.
Adam Sandler is an over-worked architect (!) who has no time for his wife and two kids. He hasn't complete the treehouse he started for the kids, and now he doesn't have time to go camping with them. Even at the family barbecue he is on the phone with his boss, who offers him a lucrative deal to get him promoted in the company. Stressed out and tired from his family, he heads to Bed Bath and Beyond, where he sees a small door with the signboard saying Beyond. In goes our man, to meet with Walken, who gives Sandler a universal remote.
With this remote, Sandler can control the people and situation around him by pausin, rewinding, forwarding, muting and pausing them. He mutes his barking dog, fast forwards his wife's constant nagging, rewinds to his past to remember something for the present, and slo mo the sexy stuff. Everything seems to be going well, till the moment where the remote feeds into its memory the most repeated action by Sandler, and auitomatically fast forwards his life.
Sandler finds himself growing older and older, to the point where he sees his little kids all grown up and his wife leaving him for another man. Sandler becomes old enough to suffer medical complications and before we know it he is at the end of his life. At the cost of forwarding through his life, he realizes that he has missed out on quality time with his family, and wishes he could go back and spend more time with theminstead of making it big in his career.
Being a Sandler movie, this movie is not without the typical Sandler gags of farting and kicking in the groin parts, but surprisingly enough, barring those scenes, Sandler is actually playing an endearing man with emotions. One of my favorite scenes is when he rewinds to the part in his life where he ignores his ailing dad and tells him to leave. It was an emotional scene to see him rewind that part, and tell his dad, who is in a paused moment, that he loves him.
One other scene which got me thinking was when Sandler realizes that he can view any part of his life, and that reminded me of the Book that God keeps on our life. On Judgment Day, everything that we have done in our lives will be exposed, and as the Quran says, every little good and bad thing you have done, it will come out in the open. When seeing Sandler go through his past life, I realized there were some parts of my life that I would like to keep hidden and not re-visit, but wil have to one day.
Don't read too much into the movie- just enjoy it for what it is: a comedy about spending more time with your family because "family comes first!"
Mansur
Last week I saw this movie called Click, which has Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, ChristopherWalken, David Hasselhoff and Sean Astin. The movie must be good, I thought with a cast like that. Well, yes, it was a good movie and I enjoyed it, despite it sharing a Bruce Almighty-ish theme.
Adam Sandler is an over-worked architect (!) who has no time for his wife and two kids. He hasn't complete the treehouse he started for the kids, and now he doesn't have time to go camping with them. Even at the family barbecue he is on the phone with his boss, who offers him a lucrative deal to get him promoted in the company. Stressed out and tired from his family, he heads to Bed Bath and Beyond, where he sees a small door with the signboard saying Beyond. In goes our man, to meet with Walken, who gives Sandler a universal remote.
With this remote, Sandler can control the people and situation around him by pausin, rewinding, forwarding, muting and pausing them. He mutes his barking dog, fast forwards his wife's constant nagging, rewinds to his past to remember something for the present, and slo mo the sexy stuff. Everything seems to be going well, till the moment where the remote feeds into its memory the most repeated action by Sandler, and auitomatically fast forwards his life.
Sandler finds himself growing older and older, to the point where he sees his little kids all grown up and his wife leaving him for another man. Sandler becomes old enough to suffer medical complications and before we know it he is at the end of his life. At the cost of forwarding through his life, he realizes that he has missed out on quality time with his family, and wishes he could go back and spend more time with theminstead of making it big in his career.
Being a Sandler movie, this movie is not without the typical Sandler gags of farting and kicking in the groin parts, but surprisingly enough, barring those scenes, Sandler is actually playing an endearing man with emotions. One of my favorite scenes is when he rewinds to the part in his life where he ignores his ailing dad and tells him to leave. It was an emotional scene to see him rewind that part, and tell his dad, who is in a paused moment, that he loves him.
One other scene which got me thinking was when Sandler realizes that he can view any part of his life, and that reminded me of the Book that God keeps on our life. On Judgment Day, everything that we have done in our lives will be exposed, and as the Quran says, every little good and bad thing you have done, it will come out in the open. When seeing Sandler go through his past life, I realized there were some parts of my life that I would like to keep hidden and not re-visit, but wil have to one day.
Don't read too much into the movie- just enjoy it for what it is: a comedy about spending more time with your family because "family comes first!"
Mansur
Tagged by Nash!
Hello people,
Nash tagged me with the following questions, so here goes. Pretty interesting questions.
1. Are you happy with your blog, the template and what you write?
Yes, I am very happy with my blog. It's been just two years, and the more I write on it, the more I feel my blog is evolving into what I want it to be. I am not happy with the templates situation though. As you may have noticed, I change my template more times than a peacock has its feathers! What I write on my blog is really different than what I had anticipated I would write, but I am happy with it.
2. Does your immediate family know about your blog?
Yes they all know. My dad is not very net savvy, and so he has seen it only once. My mom has seen it from time to time, and my siblings see it when I want to share an experience with them.
3. Are you embarassed to tell a friend about your blog? or do you consider it something personal?
No, I am notembarrased. My blog is who I am. If someone doesn't like it, they can leave. I did consider it a personal thing initially, and after realizing that people from all over the world are reading it, I am more conscious of how personal I should get on my blog.
4. Did blogs brought a postive impact on your thoughts? If the answer is yes, give examples.
Yeah. By interacting with other bloggers out there, and getting feedback from others on carious articles brought about healthy debates and discussions. Some of my favorites ones have been free will vs predestination, burj al arab being a cross, freedom of religion among others. It has also helped me see what other people think of the way I think.
5. Do you only visit blogs that visit you or do you explore other blog?
Yeah, I do check out other blogs from time to time, and the ones I like, I add them on my Reading List. However, there are some people who start off their blog and then stop it.
6. What the does visitor count mean to you? and do you think its important to put it?
Initially, when I put the visitor count, I measured the success of my blog based on the statistics. When the numbers would fall below my expectations, I would think my blog is failing. It took a while for me to get over that visitor stats. Now, I don't really concern myself with the statistics. I do think that if you want to put something like that, it should only be used for informational purposes, and not used as a basis to judhe how successful you are with your blog.
7. Do you try to picture your friends in blogs?
All the time. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one out there putting my picturtes up there. Sometimes I have a certain picture of people in my head and I like to keep it that way.
8. Do you see a real benefit from blogging?
Writing has always been therapeutic to me. I maintain a written journal as well, and that's where I write my more personal thoughts. However, blogging is a lot of fun, it's therapeutic to me, it helps me connects with others out there to share and discuss ideas.
9. Do you think that the blogging society is an isolated society or it reflects whats happening around us?
Bloggers are a rising phenomenon. It was a little scoiety initially, but now it's growing to be a large one.
10. Are you bothered with criticisim? or you feel its healthy?
I am ok with both positive and negative criticism as long as its not targeted personally at me. In 2005, there were some people out there who were targetting me personally and not my articles, and that did upset me. Criticism is healthy as long as the person itself is not criicised.
11. Are you scared of Political Blogs?
No, I am not scared. Everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech, and they can talk about what ever they want to. Yes, the only danger is that such blogs may contribute to the brainwashing of young impressionableminds to subscribe to their political ideas and beliefs.
12. Were you shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
Yeah, I was shocked, but then this is the Middle East, where freedom of speech is restricted. Even my mom warns me not to write provocative articles regarding Saudi Arabia.
13. Did you think of what will happen to this blog when you die?
I know for sure, I will be compiling a book called Life of Mansur, comprised of all my articles and the comments that go along with it. Maybe in 10 years time, I can look at this book and remind myself of what my life was like.
14. Whats the song you would like to link it to this blog?
It would have to be a happy song, maybe Shiny Happy People by REM.
15. Who would you like to pass it to?
To everyone in my Reading List (that includes the defunct and temporarily cancelled bloggers!)
Mansur
Nash tagged me with the following questions, so here goes. Pretty interesting questions.
1. Are you happy with your blog, the template and what you write?
Yes, I am very happy with my blog. It's been just two years, and the more I write on it, the more I feel my blog is evolving into what I want it to be. I am not happy with the templates situation though. As you may have noticed, I change my template more times than a peacock has its feathers! What I write on my blog is really different than what I had anticipated I would write, but I am happy with it.
2. Does your immediate family know about your blog?
Yes they all know. My dad is not very net savvy, and so he has seen it only once. My mom has seen it from time to time, and my siblings see it when I want to share an experience with them.
3. Are you embarassed to tell a friend about your blog? or do you consider it something personal?
No, I am notembarrased. My blog is who I am. If someone doesn't like it, they can leave. I did consider it a personal thing initially, and after realizing that people from all over the world are reading it, I am more conscious of how personal I should get on my blog.
4. Did blogs brought a postive impact on your thoughts? If the answer is yes, give examples.
Yeah. By interacting with other bloggers out there, and getting feedback from others on carious articles brought about healthy debates and discussions. Some of my favorites ones have been free will vs predestination, burj al arab being a cross, freedom of religion among others. It has also helped me see what other people think of the way I think.
5. Do you only visit blogs that visit you or do you explore other blog?
Yeah, I do check out other blogs from time to time, and the ones I like, I add them on my Reading List. However, there are some people who start off their blog and then stop it.
6. What the does visitor count mean to you? and do you think its important to put it?
Initially, when I put the visitor count, I measured the success of my blog based on the statistics. When the numbers would fall below my expectations, I would think my blog is failing. It took a while for me to get over that visitor stats. Now, I don't really concern myself with the statistics. I do think that if you want to put something like that, it should only be used for informational purposes, and not used as a basis to judhe how successful you are with your blog.
7. Do you try to picture your friends in blogs?
All the time. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one out there putting my picturtes up there. Sometimes I have a certain picture of people in my head and I like to keep it that way.
8. Do you see a real benefit from blogging?
Writing has always been therapeutic to me. I maintain a written journal as well, and that's where I write my more personal thoughts. However, blogging is a lot of fun, it's therapeutic to me, it helps me connects with others out there to share and discuss ideas.
9. Do you think that the blogging society is an isolated society or it reflects whats happening around us?
Bloggers are a rising phenomenon. It was a little scoiety initially, but now it's growing to be a large one.
10. Are you bothered with criticisim? or you feel its healthy?
I am ok with both positive and negative criticism as long as its not targeted personally at me. In 2005, there were some people out there who were targetting me personally and not my articles, and that did upset me. Criticism is healthy as long as the person itself is not criicised.
11. Are you scared of Political Blogs?
No, I am not scared. Everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech, and they can talk about what ever they want to. Yes, the only danger is that such blogs may contribute to the brainwashing of young impressionableminds to subscribe to their political ideas and beliefs.
12. Were you shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
Yeah, I was shocked, but then this is the Middle East, where freedom of speech is restricted. Even my mom warns me not to write provocative articles regarding Saudi Arabia.
13. Did you think of what will happen to this blog when you die?
I know for sure, I will be compiling a book called Life of Mansur, comprised of all my articles and the comments that go along with it. Maybe in 10 years time, I can look at this book and remind myself of what my life was like.
14. Whats the song you would like to link it to this blog?
It would have to be a happy song, maybe Shiny Happy People by REM.
15. Who would you like to pass it to?
To everyone in my Reading List (that includes the defunct and temporarily cancelled bloggers!)
Mansur
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Hatta 2006
Hey friends,
About two weeks ago, a bunch of us went to Hatta, which is about 2 hours away from Dubai. The adventure started right from Arabian Ranches where we all gathered to get into the 4x4 off roader. There were eight of, and so four of us had to sit squashed in the middle row. Even before we hit the roads, we HAD to stop over at Costa coffee to get our replenishments.
Our driver, Mohammad Ali, no, not the boxer, but a local guy with Pakistani background took off from Arabian Ranches. Mina snapped her iPod in and with Arabic music on full blast we made our way to Hatta, which is towards the Oman side. En route, we stopped to take some pictures with the camels, and it was surely disappointing to see such scrawny and skeletal camels.
I took out my video camera and Nissa began her documentary. "Welcome on board. We are on our way to Hatta and as you can see..." and so her documentary began, which was nothing short of rib cracking jokes and laughter. I had to see the video about 10 times and still I cannot get over how funny it is.
Part of the way towards Hatta is off the beaten path, and with all eight of us in the car, the road that laid ahead of us looked more like a roller coaster track, and with each up and down, there were screams and more screams coming from the back. Finally we reached the magnificnet Hatta pools.
Hatta pools was really beautiful. Amidst the high fjords, there was water down below, and it led us into winding paths deeper into the fjords. Some places were deep to walk, others were shallow, but to be nestled between high rocks on each side as we walked in cool, clean sea water just made it an awesome moment. Nissa, Renata and I went all the way to end of the pool, where we could see water coming out from inbetween the rocks, creating little water falls, flowing into the pools.
Nissa picked up my camera and we made a short dramatic movie entitled The Rescue. Mina is found drowning in the Hatta pools, while the rest of our gang is screaming their heads off. "Bachaoooo..." screams Mina. In I come, the ultimate lifeguard: "Mein aaraha hooon!" and save Mina from drowning. But the plot doesn't end: Gibson, the evil one, Mini-Me, enters and I and him have a dishum-dishum fight, saving Mina all over again! Nissa informs us that "for the record, all this was not pre-planned, but that we witnessed a live event on camera!"
It was getting warmer in the water and we headed out of the pools to go to Hatta Fort Hotel, a five star hotel for lunch. There, we were treated to the most amazing buffet I have had in a long time, and before we knew it, Nissa got up and started dancing in there as the two-people band continued to sing up-beat, lively songs. Our table went berserk when La Bamba came on, and we realized how silly we were being dancing in a calm, idyllic restaurant where the the other guests were enjoying watching us.
It was one of the best trips I have made and I am glad I caught it all on camera. Yes, life is short, and so we had no hang ups about being a little silly and enjoying ourself to the max.
Coming up next! Read all about it! Our New Adventure- Rain Dance: Disco in the Desert under a million stars and rain!
Mansur
PS If you want pictures of this trip, please email me at mansourahsan@gmail.com. I could put them up here, but then I don't want some people to see them as they are too provocative and sensous, especially the pool ones...lool..no, for the sake of privacy, some of my friends have asked me not put the pictures up and to share with only whom I must.
About two weeks ago, a bunch of us went to Hatta, which is about 2 hours away from Dubai. The adventure started right from Arabian Ranches where we all gathered to get into the 4x4 off roader. There were eight of, and so four of us had to sit squashed in the middle row. Even before we hit the roads, we HAD to stop over at Costa coffee to get our replenishments.
Our driver, Mohammad Ali, no, not the boxer, but a local guy with Pakistani background took off from Arabian Ranches. Mina snapped her iPod in and with Arabic music on full blast we made our way to Hatta, which is towards the Oman side. En route, we stopped to take some pictures with the camels, and it was surely disappointing to see such scrawny and skeletal camels.
I took out my video camera and Nissa began her documentary. "Welcome on board. We are on our way to Hatta and as you can see..." and so her documentary began, which was nothing short of rib cracking jokes and laughter. I had to see the video about 10 times and still I cannot get over how funny it is.
Part of the way towards Hatta is off the beaten path, and with all eight of us in the car, the road that laid ahead of us looked more like a roller coaster track, and with each up and down, there were screams and more screams coming from the back. Finally we reached the magnificnet Hatta pools.
Hatta pools was really beautiful. Amidst the high fjords, there was water down below, and it led us into winding paths deeper into the fjords. Some places were deep to walk, others were shallow, but to be nestled between high rocks on each side as we walked in cool, clean sea water just made it an awesome moment. Nissa, Renata and I went all the way to end of the pool, where we could see water coming out from inbetween the rocks, creating little water falls, flowing into the pools.
Nissa picked up my camera and we made a short dramatic movie entitled The Rescue. Mina is found drowning in the Hatta pools, while the rest of our gang is screaming their heads off. "Bachaoooo..." screams Mina. In I come, the ultimate lifeguard: "Mein aaraha hooon!" and save Mina from drowning. But the plot doesn't end: Gibson, the evil one, Mini-Me, enters and I and him have a dishum-dishum fight, saving Mina all over again! Nissa informs us that "for the record, all this was not pre-planned, but that we witnessed a live event on camera!"
It was getting warmer in the water and we headed out of the pools to go to Hatta Fort Hotel, a five star hotel for lunch. There, we were treated to the most amazing buffet I have had in a long time, and before we knew it, Nissa got up and started dancing in there as the two-people band continued to sing up-beat, lively songs. Our table went berserk when La Bamba came on, and we realized how silly we were being dancing in a calm, idyllic restaurant where the the other guests were enjoying watching us.
It was one of the best trips I have made and I am glad I caught it all on camera. Yes, life is short, and so we had no hang ups about being a little silly and enjoying ourself to the max.
Coming up next! Read all about it! Our New Adventure- Rain Dance: Disco in the Desert under a million stars and rain!
Mansur
PS If you want pictures of this trip, please email me at mansourahsan@gmail.com. I could put them up here, but then I don't want some people to see them as they are too provocative and sensous, especially the pool ones...lool..no, for the sake of privacy, some of my friends have asked me not put the pictures up and to share with only whom I must.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Madina
Hello friends,
I just got these pictures online. I still maintain today that being in Madina made me be at peace. I can never find another place in this world where I can be at peace mentally, emotionally and spiritually. There is just something about the city of Madina that makes me feel like as if I belong there.
Mansur
I just got these pictures online. I still maintain today that being in Madina made me be at peace. I can never find another place in this world where I can be at peace mentally, emotionally and spiritually. There is just something about the city of Madina that makes me feel like as if I belong there.
Mansur
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Two Years for Life of Mansur
Hey friends,
Exactly two years ago, as I was sitting on my computer in Jeddah, something prompted me to start a blog. It was initially called Mansur's Musings. It was the first time I was doing something like that: putting myself on the world wide web. I emailed everyone on my hotmail mailing list about my blog, but only a couple of them took any interest. So, after a while as I became used to my blogging, I changed the title of my blog to Life of Mansur, because my writings started to become more about my life rather than just random news from me.
I cannot believe I have made it through these last two years. There have been so many ups and down, met some nice and not so nice bloggers, but most of all, it has been a huge learning experience for me. As I look back on my articles, I have seen how much I have grown as a person. There were times when I was about to close down my blog, but now looking back on it, I am glad I have kept my blog up and running.
So, I hope I can continue to blog for as long as I live because I certainly love it!
Mansur
Abuse in KSA
Hey friends,
Some positive developments regarding the cases of sexual and physical abuse of children in Saudi Arabia. These cases are being reported and the children being treated. Maids/ servants/ cooks/ drivers are primarily the main abusers in a family, which is why I have swore to never have a maid/ nanny being left alone with my kids.
Mansur
Some positive developments regarding the cases of sexual and physical abuse of children in Saudi Arabia. These cases are being reported and the children being treated. Maids/ servants/ cooks/ drivers are primarily the main abusers in a family, which is why I have swore to never have a maid/ nanny being left alone with my kids.
Mansur
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Lost 2
Hello friends,
Hands up if you haven't seen or heard about the TV show Lost?
I just finished watching the Season 2 of Lost on dvd and I am in love with this show more than ever. When I got the DVD box set, I was so excited I felt like watching it all in one go. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LOST SEASON 2, THEN YOU BETTER STOP READING NOW!
One of the more fun thing that happened in Lost 2 is how different people had met different people and they are connected. John is shown inspecting a house in flashback, and the house turns out to be Nadia's, Sayid's lover. Jin is courting a Korean guy and at the hotel where she meets him, the doorman is Jin, her future husband. Sawyer dines in a cafe, where the waitress turns out to be Kate's mother. Jack is exercising in a stadium, where he bumps into Desmond, who eventually ends up being the one in Hatch pushing the button.
Lost 2 goes on to explain what the "hatch" is, and who the guy is. The huge tension is that there is a button that needs to be pushed every 108 minutes, by feeding in a series of numbers, to save the world. Locke and Jack take over the initial responsibility to push the button.
We also follow the stories of Ana Lucia and her group of survivors, who were in the tail section of the plane. While they come across as a mean bunch of people, they are just as scared and lost as the survivors from the front section of the plane.
Clair revives her memory, and leads Kate and Libby to another secret hatch, where Claire remembers how she was kidnapped and treated with vaccine by doctors. Kate discovers a box with fake beard, prosthetics and theatre glue. More questions than answers!
John and Mr. Eko discover another hatch, which turns out to be an observation deck, with cameras showing what's happening in the hatch where the button has to be pushed.
The major development occurs when Michael is kidnapped by the Others, and he finally meets Walt for a while, who only mutters to his dad, "you are not who you say you are." Michael is asked to bring four of his friends to the Others, and Michael does just that, and betrays his four friends. This poses a dilemma for the viewers: did Michael really betray his friends, or did he do what any father would do for his son?
The Others claim they are "good people." Still trying to figure that out.
A sailboat comes ashore, with Desmond on it.
Sayid, Jin and Sun take the boat to the other side of the Island, where they see a statue of just a foot, with one toe and three fingers. What is a statue doing here? They also see a stone formation on top of the hill, the Black Rock.
New characters come in, especially Mr. Eko, who brings in a lot of religious symbology: building a church, carving scriptures on his staff, interpreting Charlie's dream, Baptizing Claire and her baby, and dealing with the Virgin Mary statues.
However, the most dramatic and most thrilling thing happens when John is determined to not push the button. That finally happens, with something weird happening on the Island, and the timer showing red hieroglyphics.
In Brazil, where it is snowing heavily, two people/scientists see a red light flashing, and inform Penny about it.
Oh, and that LOOK between Jack and Kate changed the whole meaning of the show.
That's it! Now I am ever so determined to be the first to see Lost 3. I want to know what happens to Jack, Kate and Sawyer as they are held captive by the Others, and I want to know all the answers to everything that's been happening on the Island.
I can go on and on and on about the so many connections and my theories on it, but I prefer to just sit back and take in whatever comes next, because Lost 2 is bigger and better than Lost 1 and I am hoping Lost 3 will be mind-blowingly spectacular.
Oh, by the way, the whole underlying theme of Lost is that "everything happens for a reason," something I firmly believe in, and it's interesting to see how different people on the Island react to the fate/ science debate.
Mansur
Hands up if you haven't seen or heard about the TV show Lost?
I just finished watching the Season 2 of Lost on dvd and I am in love with this show more than ever. When I got the DVD box set, I was so excited I felt like watching it all in one go. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LOST SEASON 2, THEN YOU BETTER STOP READING NOW!
One of the more fun thing that happened in Lost 2 is how different people had met different people and they are connected. John is shown inspecting a house in flashback, and the house turns out to be Nadia's, Sayid's lover. Jin is courting a Korean guy and at the hotel where she meets him, the doorman is Jin, her future husband. Sawyer dines in a cafe, where the waitress turns out to be Kate's mother. Jack is exercising in a stadium, where he bumps into Desmond, who eventually ends up being the one in Hatch pushing the button.
Lost 2 goes on to explain what the "hatch" is, and who the guy is. The huge tension is that there is a button that needs to be pushed every 108 minutes, by feeding in a series of numbers, to save the world. Locke and Jack take over the initial responsibility to push the button.
We also follow the stories of Ana Lucia and her group of survivors, who were in the tail section of the plane. While they come across as a mean bunch of people, they are just as scared and lost as the survivors from the front section of the plane.
Clair revives her memory, and leads Kate and Libby to another secret hatch, where Claire remembers how she was kidnapped and treated with vaccine by doctors. Kate discovers a box with fake beard, prosthetics and theatre glue. More questions than answers!
John and Mr. Eko discover another hatch, which turns out to be an observation deck, with cameras showing what's happening in the hatch where the button has to be pushed.
The major development occurs when Michael is kidnapped by the Others, and he finally meets Walt for a while, who only mutters to his dad, "you are not who you say you are." Michael is asked to bring four of his friends to the Others, and Michael does just that, and betrays his four friends. This poses a dilemma for the viewers: did Michael really betray his friends, or did he do what any father would do for his son?
The Others claim they are "good people." Still trying to figure that out.
A sailboat comes ashore, with Desmond on it.
Sayid, Jin and Sun take the boat to the other side of the Island, where they see a statue of just a foot, with one toe and three fingers. What is a statue doing here? They also see a stone formation on top of the hill, the Black Rock.
New characters come in, especially Mr. Eko, who brings in a lot of religious symbology: building a church, carving scriptures on his staff, interpreting Charlie's dream, Baptizing Claire and her baby, and dealing with the Virgin Mary statues.
However, the most dramatic and most thrilling thing happens when John is determined to not push the button. That finally happens, with something weird happening on the Island, and the timer showing red hieroglyphics.
In Brazil, where it is snowing heavily, two people/scientists see a red light flashing, and inform Penny about it.
Oh, and that LOOK between Jack and Kate changed the whole meaning of the show.
That's it! Now I am ever so determined to be the first to see Lost 3. I want to know what happens to Jack, Kate and Sawyer as they are held captive by the Others, and I want to know all the answers to everything that's been happening on the Island.
I can go on and on and on about the so many connections and my theories on it, but I prefer to just sit back and take in whatever comes next, because Lost 2 is bigger and better than Lost 1 and I am hoping Lost 3 will be mind-blowingly spectacular.
Oh, by the way, the whole underlying theme of Lost is that "everything happens for a reason," something I firmly believe in, and it's interesting to see how different people on the Island react to the fate/ science debate.
Mansur
Friday, August 18, 2006
Yet Another Gay Wedding
Hey friends,
Since the last post was on failed marriages dealt with in a movie, imagine my shock when I read in Khaleej Times of another "gay wedding" in Saudi Arabia (Khaleej Times did not post this news online, it's only in print edition) If you remember, I posted about a gay wedding in Saudi Arabia last year. What is this coming to?
Mansur
Since the last post was on failed marriages dealt with in a movie, imagine my shock when I read in Khaleej Times of another "gay wedding" in Saudi Arabia (Khaleej Times did not post this news online, it's only in print edition) If you remember, I posted about a gay wedding in Saudi Arabia last year. What is this coming to?
Mansur
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Movie:: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Hey friends,
When it comes to Indian movies, I only watch Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan movies in the theatres, because these actors guarantee a good movie. Other Indian movies, I will avoid at cinema and wait for DVD. One such movie I watched in the theatre recently was Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna-- Never Say Goodbye.
The maker of this film was troubled by the rising number ofa failed marriages and according to him, there are three kinds of marriages: 1. where the guy and girl love each other and marry (which the director agrees with); 2. where marriages are arranged, some which work well others which fail (something he doesn't understand till today); 3. and finally, a marriage where people marry for money, family, name, or parental pressure, and it is with this kind of marriage does the movie ask the question: what if you married someone, and find out your soulmate is someone else? What do you do?
Dev (SRK) is married to Rhea (Preity Zinta). Maya (Rani) marries Rishi (Abhishek) and she marries him bceause his family took her under their shelter and looked after her when her parents were killed. Just before Maya marries, she meets Dev, and realizes how well she connected with him. Dev asks Maya why she is marrying, and she stumbles upon that question. Why exactly is she marrying Rishi? Is it love? It is because she feels obligated to his family?
4 years later, Maya and Dev bump into each other, and while they remember their first encounter, they are married people now, not to each other but to their spouses. However, Maya's relationship with her husband isnt peachy where he wants sex with her all the time. Dev's marriage is on the rocks, as his over-ambitious wife is the bread winner of the house since Dev has a permanent leg injury rendering him ineffective as an athlete. Their marriages are failed marriages. Hence Maya and Dev become good friends, with the sole purpose of helping each other with their marriages, and in the process realize how much they are actually meant for each other. Their intial friendship turns into a blooming love affair, with extremely disastrous consequences for their respective spouses and marriages. Hence the tagline: a love that broke all relationships.
Dev's wife leaves him. Maya's husband asks her to leave. So the two friends turned lovers leave their marriages, all the while telling each other that they are still with their spouses. Will Dev and Maya ever find out they are single? Will they ever get together? Or will their respective marriages be saved? Will Rhea forgive Dev and take him back, or will she marry her boss? Will Rishi take back his wife, or completely cut her out? The story reaches climax when another 3 years pass with Dev and Maya realizing the truth about each other.
No doubt this movie is an amalgamation of several movies (think Silsilay, Brief Encounter and Closer) but it's an interesting, and a uniquely different one, for an Indian movie. For the first time, the movie keeps it real and no candyfloss romance or running around the trees kind of thing. There are two lessons to be taken out of this movie: 1. marriage should be based on love only and 2. you should not wait to tell anyone you love them, if you want to say it, say it now because no perfect time will come ever for you to say that.
My favorite scene in the movie clearly is when the two couples are having dinner, and Dev confesses ever so seriously to his wife that he is in love with another woman, and everyone is shocked, only for him to say he is joking. So much tension in that scene.
On the technical side, the acting is superb (Amitabh was being over), but Rani stole the show from everyone! She is an awesome actress. The songs were memorable; my favorite one being Mitwa, which I found out later was sung by a Pakistani singer of the Fuzon band. The scenes dealing with the relationships were exectued well. My only concern was the tasteless comedy at some points, but it made sense to have that comedy considering the serious nature of the movie.
All in all, a good night out, and a well made movie.
**** out of *****
Mansur
When it comes to Indian movies, I only watch Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan movies in the theatres, because these actors guarantee a good movie. Other Indian movies, I will avoid at cinema and wait for DVD. One such movie I watched in the theatre recently was Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna-- Never Say Goodbye.
The maker of this film was troubled by the rising number ofa failed marriages and according to him, there are three kinds of marriages: 1. where the guy and girl love each other and marry (which the director agrees with); 2. where marriages are arranged, some which work well others which fail (something he doesn't understand till today); 3. and finally, a marriage where people marry for money, family, name, or parental pressure, and it is with this kind of marriage does the movie ask the question: what if you married someone, and find out your soulmate is someone else? What do you do?
Dev (SRK) is married to Rhea (Preity Zinta). Maya (Rani) marries Rishi (Abhishek) and she marries him bceause his family took her under their shelter and looked after her when her parents were killed. Just before Maya marries, she meets Dev, and realizes how well she connected with him. Dev asks Maya why she is marrying, and she stumbles upon that question. Why exactly is she marrying Rishi? Is it love? It is because she feels obligated to his family?
4 years later, Maya and Dev bump into each other, and while they remember their first encounter, they are married people now, not to each other but to their spouses. However, Maya's relationship with her husband isnt peachy where he wants sex with her all the time. Dev's marriage is on the rocks, as his over-ambitious wife is the bread winner of the house since Dev has a permanent leg injury rendering him ineffective as an athlete. Their marriages are failed marriages. Hence Maya and Dev become good friends, with the sole purpose of helping each other with their marriages, and in the process realize how much they are actually meant for each other. Their intial friendship turns into a blooming love affair, with extremely disastrous consequences for their respective spouses and marriages. Hence the tagline: a love that broke all relationships.
Dev's wife leaves him. Maya's husband asks her to leave. So the two friends turned lovers leave their marriages, all the while telling each other that they are still with their spouses. Will Dev and Maya ever find out they are single? Will they ever get together? Or will their respective marriages be saved? Will Rhea forgive Dev and take him back, or will she marry her boss? Will Rishi take back his wife, or completely cut her out? The story reaches climax when another 3 years pass with Dev and Maya realizing the truth about each other.
No doubt this movie is an amalgamation of several movies (think Silsilay, Brief Encounter and Closer) but it's an interesting, and a uniquely different one, for an Indian movie. For the first time, the movie keeps it real and no candyfloss romance or running around the trees kind of thing. There are two lessons to be taken out of this movie: 1. marriage should be based on love only and 2. you should not wait to tell anyone you love them, if you want to say it, say it now because no perfect time will come ever for you to say that.
My favorite scene in the movie clearly is when the two couples are having dinner, and Dev confesses ever so seriously to his wife that he is in love with another woman, and everyone is shocked, only for him to say he is joking. So much tension in that scene.
On the technical side, the acting is superb (Amitabh was being over), but Rani stole the show from everyone! She is an awesome actress. The songs were memorable; my favorite one being Mitwa, which I found out later was sung by a Pakistani singer of the Fuzon band. The scenes dealing with the relationships were exectued well. My only concern was the tasteless comedy at some points, but it made sense to have that comedy considering the serious nature of the movie.
All in all, a good night out, and a well made movie.
**** out of *****
Mansur
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Aug 14th Celebrations
Hey friends,
So I was not allowed to bowl in my national dress when we go to the bowling center, but, the ladies were allowed to do so. Gender discrimination, but thankfully, I had an extra set of clothes in my car, and I changed, and we all bowled. I came in 2nd with a score of 110, while the winner got 114. Dinner was at Kabab Rolls, a Pakistani restaurant, where N was able to convince the owners to play her Pakistani CD. So, we all ate Kabab rolls, heard Pakistani music and drank Pakolas! I also made a long video of every one there, asking them why Aug 14th was special to them, and I got some really amazing answers, as well as some really unexpected answers.
Mansur
So I was not allowed to bowl in my national dress when we go to the bowling center, but, the ladies were allowed to do so. Gender discrimination, but thankfully, I had an extra set of clothes in my car, and I changed, and we all bowled. I came in 2nd with a score of 110, while the winner got 114. Dinner was at Kabab Rolls, a Pakistani restaurant, where N was able to convince the owners to play her Pakistani CD. So, we all ate Kabab rolls, heard Pakistani music and drank Pakolas! I also made a long video of every one there, asking them why Aug 14th was special to them, and I got some really amazing answers, as well as some really unexpected answers.
Mansur
Tagged by Tears and Rain
Hey friends,
Phaedrus over at Tears and Rain tagged me. So here goes:
1) if you could have dinner with any three people (except Mohammed, Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr, Ghandi) then who would they be? (don't say Mother Teresa either)
Let's see, well, for one it would be a certain friend who I lost 9 years ago. Two, my best friend in Riyadh, and thirdly, Princess Diana, to ask her how she managed to get so perfect at being a humanitarian (the fact that I have met her once only made me want to spend more time talking with her!)
1a) what would you eat?
Something like a juicy steak, be it chicken or beef, served with mashed potatoes, with gravy sauce, and then top it off with cheesecake for dessert.
1b) what restaurant would it be?
Well, it would be some place causal like Chilis, or something like it.
2) if you could force everyone in the world to read one book (except for the Quran or the Bible) what would it be?
Well, The Ice Candy Man, just so they can see what my country had to go through and can be more appreciative of how Pakistan was born.
3) is there a tv show you'd cancel dinner with your best friend for if you knew that a new episode was going to be airing once only? what is it?
Clearly that has to be Lost! I am on season 2 now, with the last five remaining episodes left!
4) if someone told you that you could only have one hobby/favorite pass time for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Playing the guitar definitely.
5) which song is on the soundtrack of your life?
Turn Back the Clock by Johnny Hates Jazz and/or
Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt
6) How old were you when you had your first crush? who was it?
I was a mere a teenager, I think, when I realized how much I liked a certain girl, and for the sake of privacy, I won't name the girl's name. You can just keep on guessing...!
7) if you could read the thoughts of any one person, who would it be?
Let's see, my dad. Sometimes he doesn't say things out to me, and I wish I knew what he were thinking about me.
8) if you could block your thoughts from only one person, who would it be?
My boss! LOOL!
9) if you could choose between life on earth forever or going to heaven, which would you choose?
Heaven. The earth is too messed up for me.
10) when you die, what will your contribution to the world be?
My loyalty to my friends, my helping them out and the charity.
I know my answers seem really boring, and dull, but I am being honest.
Mansur
Phaedrus over at Tears and Rain tagged me. So here goes:
1) if you could have dinner with any three people (except Mohammed, Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr, Ghandi) then who would they be? (don't say Mother Teresa either)
Let's see, well, for one it would be a certain friend who I lost 9 years ago. Two, my best friend in Riyadh, and thirdly, Princess Diana, to ask her how she managed to get so perfect at being a humanitarian (the fact that I have met her once only made me want to spend more time talking with her!)
1a) what would you eat?
Something like a juicy steak, be it chicken or beef, served with mashed potatoes, with gravy sauce, and then top it off with cheesecake for dessert.
1b) what restaurant would it be?
Well, it would be some place causal like Chilis, or something like it.
2) if you could force everyone in the world to read one book (except for the Quran or the Bible) what would it be?
Well, The Ice Candy Man, just so they can see what my country had to go through and can be more appreciative of how Pakistan was born.
3) is there a tv show you'd cancel dinner with your best friend for if you knew that a new episode was going to be airing once only? what is it?
Clearly that has to be Lost! I am on season 2 now, with the last five remaining episodes left!
4) if someone told you that you could only have one hobby/favorite pass time for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Playing the guitar definitely.
5) which song is on the soundtrack of your life?
Turn Back the Clock by Johnny Hates Jazz and/or
Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt
6) How old were you when you had your first crush? who was it?
I was a mere a teenager, I think, when I realized how much I liked a certain girl, and for the sake of privacy, I won't name the girl's name. You can just keep on guessing...!
7) if you could read the thoughts of any one person, who would it be?
Let's see, my dad. Sometimes he doesn't say things out to me, and I wish I knew what he were thinking about me.
8) if you could block your thoughts from only one person, who would it be?
My boss! LOOL!
9) if you could choose between life on earth forever or going to heaven, which would you choose?
Heaven. The earth is too messed up for me.
10) when you die, what will your contribution to the world be?
My loyalty to my friends, my helping them out and the charity.
I know my answers seem really boring, and dull, but I am being honest.
Mansur
Monday, August 14, 2006
Independence Day Pakistan
Hello friends,
Today is a very special day to me. It is Pakistan's independence day and Pakistan has turned 59 years old this year. It was back in 1947 when the Muslims majority in then India demanded a separate homeland and under the strong and bold leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan was granted its independence on 14th August 1947.
But this independence came at a cost. Millions of lives were lost as the Muslims crossed over the border into Pakistan from India, and the Hindus crossed over to India from Pakistan. Among those who left all theirbelongings in India, were my grandparents, who came to Lahore, Pakistan from Pathankot, India. My dad was a mere 1 year old at the time. It was no doubt a harrowing and struggling experience as my grandparents made the exodus from India to Pakistan, with many many sad stories as they would lose their friends, some who were butchered for being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.
This mass displacement of people from both countrie is known to be the largest displacement of people in history, and even today, every time I ask my grandmother about her experience, she tells me with so much details I get goosebumps. She weeps every time she shares her experience with me, but she makessure to tell me everything, because in her words, the "freedom they got is priceless."
And that is what the independence of Pakistan boils down to: freedom. Jinnah said,
"You are free to go to your temples;
you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan.
You may belong to any caste or creed, that has nothing to do with business of the state."
It is this freedom that sometimes the younger generation forgets. Even I forget at times how many people have had to sacrifice their lives so we all could in freedom in Pakistan, which is why I always ask my grandmother to share her experiences. This year, I have decided to fast on this day, because I want to remember all the people who suffered with the earthquake that devastated their lives last year in October. How quickly I had forgotten them, despite my spending Eid with them last year. I am praying and fasting for those very people on this day, as well as for the betterment of my country Pakistan.
To all thePakistanis reading this, may this year independence day be as meaningful to you as it was to those who sacrificed their lives so we could live in a country called Pakistan. Cherish this gift of freedom. Celebrate this freedom. Have an awesome day!
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes on freedom of Pakistan.
"Junoon se aur ishq se,
MIlti ha azadi.
Qurbaani ki bahon mein,
Milti hai azadi."
--- Junoon
"With Passion and Love,
We get Freedom.
In the arms of Sacrifice,
We get Freedom."
Mansur
PS. If anyone is interested in more about the Independence of Pakistan, you can watch the movie Jinnah, or read The Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa which is set during the Partition.
Today is a very special day to me. It is Pakistan's independence day and Pakistan has turned 59 years old this year. It was back in 1947 when the Muslims majority in then India demanded a separate homeland and under the strong and bold leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan was granted its independence on 14th August 1947.
But this independence came at a cost. Millions of lives were lost as the Muslims crossed over the border into Pakistan from India, and the Hindus crossed over to India from Pakistan. Among those who left all theirbelongings in India, were my grandparents, who came to Lahore, Pakistan from Pathankot, India. My dad was a mere 1 year old at the time. It was no doubt a harrowing and struggling experience as my grandparents made the exodus from India to Pakistan, with many many sad stories as they would lose their friends, some who were butchered for being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.
This mass displacement of people from both countrie is known to be the largest displacement of people in history, and even today, every time I ask my grandmother about her experience, she tells me with so much details I get goosebumps. She weeps every time she shares her experience with me, but she makessure to tell me everything, because in her words, the "freedom they got is priceless."
And that is what the independence of Pakistan boils down to: freedom. Jinnah said,
"You are free to go to your temples;
you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan.
You may belong to any caste or creed, that has nothing to do with business of the state."
It is this freedom that sometimes the younger generation forgets. Even I forget at times how many people have had to sacrifice their lives so we all could in freedom in Pakistan, which is why I always ask my grandmother to share her experiences. This year, I have decided to fast on this day, because I want to remember all the people who suffered with the earthquake that devastated their lives last year in October. How quickly I had forgotten them, despite my spending Eid with them last year. I am praying and fasting for those very people on this day, as well as for the betterment of my country Pakistan.
To all thePakistanis reading this, may this year independence day be as meaningful to you as it was to those who sacrificed their lives so we could live in a country called Pakistan. Cherish this gift of freedom. Celebrate this freedom. Have an awesome day!
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes on freedom of Pakistan.
"Junoon se aur ishq se,
MIlti ha azadi.
Qurbaani ki bahon mein,
Milti hai azadi."
--- Junoon
"With Passion and Love,
We get Freedom.
In the arms of Sacrifice,
We get Freedom."
Mansur
PS. If anyone is interested in more about the Independence of Pakistan, you can watch the movie Jinnah, or read The Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa which is set during the Partition.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Movie :: Silent Hill
Hey friends,
On Monday night, at 1210am, I went to see a movie called Silent Hill. I hadn't heard much about this movie, except that it's based on a video game a la Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and Doom. Rarely do movies based on video games do well (remember Mario Bros, what a disaster!). But, reading lukewarm reviews to this movie made me want to see it, and in short, I was genuinely surprised at how good this movie turned out to be.
Sharon, the young daughter of Rose, suffers from sleepwalking and when she is in that state, she keeps on saying Silent Hill over and over, and so Rose, determined to help her daughter get better, takes her to Silent Hill. Silent Hill, which is now a ghost town, used to be a coal-mining town which had a disaster. However, some people claim that there are still fires burning beneath that town. A cop tries to stop Rose from taking her daughter to Silent Hill, but Rose refuses and speeds up, and just before they enter the town, a small girl crosses her path, leading Rose to crash her car. When she gets up, she sees her daughter is missing, and thus begins her search for missing kid in a creepy, eerie town called Silent Hill.
If you keep in mind that this movie is based on a video game concept, I think it's one of the better movies than Doom and Resident Evil. There are times in Silent Hill, when Rose is in a school or hotel, that you can sense you are in a video game, leading Rose from room to room picking up clues and fighting off the evil monsters. Silent Hill works as a creepy horror movie too, because very little CGI is used, and mainly real people, which gives it a more scary effect (remember the faceless nurses?)
The story line may get muddled up, but the creepy atmosphere and scary monsters, and great visuals and set up make up for the story line, which tries to make take into account the different dimensions/ time/ space concept. It worked for me. It did not work for others. A friend of mine wants to kill me after I had told how much I enjoyed this movie at the theatres.
Maybe it was because I watched it at the end of a tiring day when I was begging for some entertainment and this movie more than just made up for it. Also, the actress Radha Mitchell, who was superb in Pitch Black, does a commendable job here. And THAT ending..no one could see it coming!
Mansur
On Monday night, at 1210am, I went to see a movie called Silent Hill. I hadn't heard much about this movie, except that it's based on a video game a la Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and Doom. Rarely do movies based on video games do well (remember Mario Bros, what a disaster!). But, reading lukewarm reviews to this movie made me want to see it, and in short, I was genuinely surprised at how good this movie turned out to be.
Sharon, the young daughter of Rose, suffers from sleepwalking and when she is in that state, she keeps on saying Silent Hill over and over, and so Rose, determined to help her daughter get better, takes her to Silent Hill. Silent Hill, which is now a ghost town, used to be a coal-mining town which had a disaster. However, some people claim that there are still fires burning beneath that town. A cop tries to stop Rose from taking her daughter to Silent Hill, but Rose refuses and speeds up, and just before they enter the town, a small girl crosses her path, leading Rose to crash her car. When she gets up, she sees her daughter is missing, and thus begins her search for missing kid in a creepy, eerie town called Silent Hill.
If you keep in mind that this movie is based on a video game concept, I think it's one of the better movies than Doom and Resident Evil. There are times in Silent Hill, when Rose is in a school or hotel, that you can sense you are in a video game, leading Rose from room to room picking up clues and fighting off the evil monsters. Silent Hill works as a creepy horror movie too, because very little CGI is used, and mainly real people, which gives it a more scary effect (remember the faceless nurses?)
The story line may get muddled up, but the creepy atmosphere and scary monsters, and great visuals and set up make up for the story line, which tries to make take into account the different dimensions/ time/ space concept. It worked for me. It did not work for others. A friend of mine wants to kill me after I had told how much I enjoyed this movie at the theatres.
Maybe it was because I watched it at the end of a tiring day when I was begging for some entertainment and this movie more than just made up for it. Also, the actress Radha Mitchell, who was superb in Pitch Black, does a commendable job here. And THAT ending..no one could see it coming!
Mansur
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
God in Control
Hey friends,
Just take a minute and ponder over these words.
Whatever is in Heaven and Earth
celebrates God. He is
the Powerful, the Wise!
He holds Control
over Heaven and Earth.
He grants life and brings death;
He is Capbale of everything!
He is the First and the Last,
the Outward and the Innermost.
He is Aware of everything!
He is the One Who created
Heaven and Earth in six days;
then He mounted on the Throne.
He knows what penetrates the earth
and what issues from it,
and what comes down from the sky
and what soars up into it.
He is with you (all) wherever you may be!
God is observant of anything you do.
He holds Control
over Heaven and Earth;
unto God do matters return.
He wraps night up in daytime;
and wraps daytime up in night.
He is Aware of whatever is on our minds.
---The Quran, Surah 57: The Iron
As I read daily about the devastation and destruction that's unfolding in Lebanon, especially the cruelties the children of Lebanon are suffering at the hands of Israelis, I cannot help but feel helpless, and wonder where God is in picture. Is the situation spiralling out of control? How many more sensless deaths to occur before the violence comes to a halt? I don't know the answers, but when I read a small headline in the papers that said "1000 Lebanese dead in 27 days; 1/3 are below 18," that was when my emotion couldn't handle it any more. I was forced to seek answer with God, and that was when I was directed to this verse in the Quran, and it gives me comfort in knowing that however crazy the situation might be, God is in Control. He knows what is happening and He knows best.
Mansur
Just take a minute and ponder over these words.
Whatever is in Heaven and Earth
celebrates God. He is
the Powerful, the Wise!
He holds Control
over Heaven and Earth.
He grants life and brings death;
He is Capbale of everything!
He is the First and the Last,
the Outward and the Innermost.
He is Aware of everything!
He is the One Who created
Heaven and Earth in six days;
then He mounted on the Throne.
He knows what penetrates the earth
and what issues from it,
and what comes down from the sky
and what soars up into it.
He is with you (all) wherever you may be!
God is observant of anything you do.
He holds Control
over Heaven and Earth;
unto God do matters return.
He wraps night up in daytime;
and wraps daytime up in night.
He is Aware of whatever is on our minds.
---The Quran, Surah 57: The Iron
As I read daily about the devastation and destruction that's unfolding in Lebanon, especially the cruelties the children of Lebanon are suffering at the hands of Israelis, I cannot help but feel helpless, and wonder where God is in picture. Is the situation spiralling out of control? How many more sensless deaths to occur before the violence comes to a halt? I don't know the answers, but when I read a small headline in the papers that said "1000 Lebanese dead in 27 days; 1/3 are below 18," that was when my emotion couldn't handle it any more. I was forced to seek answer with God, and that was when I was directed to this verse in the Quran, and it gives me comfort in knowing that however crazy the situation might be, God is in Control. He knows what is happening and He knows best.
Mansur
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Desert Safari!!
Hey friends,
My two favorite cousins (from my 40 or so cousins) were here to visit me in Dubai. I had the best of time with them. Shey is 13 and Momy is 11. They were here from Canada, and I was challenged to find something for them to do in Dubai that they wouldn't find back home in Canada. So the Desert Safari came to mind. I won't write out the details of the trip, which was awesome time in itself and a time when we all constantly laughed, especially when, well, just go see the pictures.
Lawrences of Arabia: To see endless dunes makes you forget you are connected to civilization. It's a moment where you can let go of your worries, and be connected to nature. Like the ocean, the desert is another of my favorite places to be in solitude at.
The walk up and down made me and Shey extremely tired and out of breath. (Just pretend to ignore that woman in the background who exposed her thong to everyone there, including a bunch of horny guys!)
Momy wasn't getting on the camel, neither were her mom and brother. I forced everyone to get on them. There were a bunch of Japanese woman who were screaming their heads off when the camel would get up and get down, which made everyone there laugh their heads off too!
Dinner consisted of naan (bread), chicken, fish, rice, salad, mutton which was cooked in the traditional arabian style.
Maria the Belly Dancer. So then the lights were shut off, and someone made the announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, will you please welcome our belly dancer, Mariaaaaa. Maria came running from some hidden booth, and then jumped up on staged, and threw off her cloak, and started shaking those hips!
Me and Maria. Maria would go around the stage and pick up a guy and asked them to dance with her. Many guys were refusing to get up, but when she came to my table and asked for me to come, my cousins and aunt were shouting for me to go, and so I was like what the heck. I got up and started dancing like her. Yeah, I shaked my hips pretty well! The kids were laughing hsyterically at me...loool...and my aunt told me that I could really dance. (I have one sleeve up because I just had the henna tattoo on my right arm; it's an eagle!)
Me in dishdasha. So before we left, we tried out the Arabic clothes. They didn't have my size, so I had to settle for the next bigger size. I loved the head cloak thing!
The Arabic family. So that's the rest of the family! LOL!
With the right group of people, you can have too much fun. My cousins and their mom are very outgoing and adventurous people, and I loved that kind of company, for you can get to enjoy to the max wherever you go!
Mansur
My two favorite cousins (from my 40 or so cousins) were here to visit me in Dubai. I had the best of time with them. Shey is 13 and Momy is 11. They were here from Canada, and I was challenged to find something for them to do in Dubai that they wouldn't find back home in Canada. So the Desert Safari came to mind. I won't write out the details of the trip, which was awesome time in itself and a time when we all constantly laughed, especially when, well, just go see the pictures.
Lawrences of Arabia: To see endless dunes makes you forget you are connected to civilization. It's a moment where you can let go of your worries, and be connected to nature. Like the ocean, the desert is another of my favorite places to be in solitude at.
The walk up and down made me and Shey extremely tired and out of breath. (Just pretend to ignore that woman in the background who exposed her thong to everyone there, including a bunch of horny guys!)
Momy wasn't getting on the camel, neither were her mom and brother. I forced everyone to get on them. There were a bunch of Japanese woman who were screaming their heads off when the camel would get up and get down, which made everyone there laugh their heads off too!
Dinner consisted of naan (bread), chicken, fish, rice, salad, mutton which was cooked in the traditional arabian style.
Maria the Belly Dancer. So then the lights were shut off, and someone made the announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, will you please welcome our belly dancer, Mariaaaaa. Maria came running from some hidden booth, and then jumped up on staged, and threw off her cloak, and started shaking those hips!
Me and Maria. Maria would go around the stage and pick up a guy and asked them to dance with her. Many guys were refusing to get up, but when she came to my table and asked for me to come, my cousins and aunt were shouting for me to go, and so I was like what the heck. I got up and started dancing like her. Yeah, I shaked my hips pretty well! The kids were laughing hsyterically at me...loool...and my aunt told me that I could really dance. (I have one sleeve up because I just had the henna tattoo on my right arm; it's an eagle!)
Me in dishdasha. So before we left, we tried out the Arabic clothes. They didn't have my size, so I had to settle for the next bigger size. I loved the head cloak thing!
The Arabic family. So that's the rest of the family! LOL!With the right group of people, you can have too much fun. My cousins and their mom are very outgoing and adventurous people, and I loved that kind of company, for you can get to enjoy to the max wherever you go!
Mansur
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Movie :: Superman Returns
Hey friends,
So when the movie starts, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, as I would wonder if I could call upon Superman to rescue me, and it felt good. The movie opens up with a shot of the stars in the sky, and you are totally engulfed in the surroundings. Then the music begins and the credits starts flying, just like it did in the original Superman movie, and I knew at once I was in for a treat.
Whether you like or hate Superman Returns all depends on what your mindset is. You may approach the movie from an emotional point of view, or from an intellectual point of view. To those of who grew up in the 80s, adulating Superman, will definitely come in from an emotional point of view, seeking to reconnect with their childhood superhero. Others will approach it from an intellectual point of view, seeking to see this movie on it's own, and it's this group which felt unsatisfied with the movie's high expectations.
Superman was alwways portrayed as an All American hero in the original movies, but in this one, being politically correct, Superman is an immigrant to the country of the US, having come in from Planet Kryptonite, and he lands in a city called Metropolis.
Director Singer, who's gay by the way, has found a new star in relatively unknown Brandon Routh, who at times looks suspiciously like a younger version of Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth, who plays Lois Lane, handles her role with much aplomb and elan, given she's only 23. Kevin Spacey relishes his role of Lex Luthor with much delight.
Superman Returns is set five years after where the second Superman movie ended, and when Superman returns to earth after having been gone for give years, he realizes how the world has moved on. The girl he loved married and had a kid. Lane also published an article on Why The World Doesn't Need Superman. Clearly, Superman struggles to find his place once again in the hearts of the world by saving them from evil doers as well as finding a place in Lois Lane's heart.
Given the length of the movie at about two and a half hours, Superman Returns was all I expected it to be, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the whole cinema, responded by loud clapping, cheering and whistling when Superman saves the crashing plan, or when he beats off the baddies!
My favorite scene in the movie is when a villain shoots Superman with his gun, and the bullet flys right into Superman's left eye, bouncing off it. Totally amazing.
I don't care what the world has to say about this movie, whether they love it or hate, but for me, I am in love with him as I was back in the 80s, and I think the world does need Superman after all!
***** out of *****
Mansur
So when the movie starts, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, as I would wonder if I could call upon Superman to rescue me, and it felt good. The movie opens up with a shot of the stars in the sky, and you are totally engulfed in the surroundings. Then the music begins and the credits starts flying, just like it did in the original Superman movie, and I knew at once I was in for a treat.
Whether you like or hate Superman Returns all depends on what your mindset is. You may approach the movie from an emotional point of view, or from an intellectual point of view. To those of who grew up in the 80s, adulating Superman, will definitely come in from an emotional point of view, seeking to reconnect with their childhood superhero. Others will approach it from an intellectual point of view, seeking to see this movie on it's own, and it's this group which felt unsatisfied with the movie's high expectations.
Superman was alwways portrayed as an All American hero in the original movies, but in this one, being politically correct, Superman is an immigrant to the country of the US, having come in from Planet Kryptonite, and he lands in a city called Metropolis.
Director Singer, who's gay by the way, has found a new star in relatively unknown Brandon Routh, who at times looks suspiciously like a younger version of Christopher Reeve. Kate Bosworth, who plays Lois Lane, handles her role with much aplomb and elan, given she's only 23. Kevin Spacey relishes his role of Lex Luthor with much delight.
Superman Returns is set five years after where the second Superman movie ended, and when Superman returns to earth after having been gone for give years, he realizes how the world has moved on. The girl he loved married and had a kid. Lane also published an article on Why The World Doesn't Need Superman. Clearly, Superman struggles to find his place once again in the hearts of the world by saving them from evil doers as well as finding a place in Lois Lane's heart.
Given the length of the movie at about two and a half hours, Superman Returns was all I expected it to be, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the whole cinema, responded by loud clapping, cheering and whistling when Superman saves the crashing plan, or when he beats off the baddies!
My favorite scene in the movie is when a villain shoots Superman with his gun, and the bullet flys right into Superman's left eye, bouncing off it. Totally amazing.
I don't care what the world has to say about this movie, whether they love it or hate, but for me, I am in love with him as I was back in the 80s, and I think the world does need Superman after all!
***** out of *****
Mansur
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