(more…)

I burnt an egg, attempting to boil it!

I was glued to the TV for what seemed like an interval where time as well as natural logic were suspended; mesmerized by a Japanese television show (named Sushi-TV!) where people competed to put out candles with the sweat off their faces — They were of course sweating cause they had their faces inches away from burning candles!

Projection of Egypt’s population over the next 20 years. Numbers from CIA factbook.

How come the act of feeling something is considered more physical than sensing it, yet sensations are perceived to be more tangible than feelings?

… to 4 years in prison for mocking religion — one year for each major religion; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Egyptian Presidency.

(news from Sharkawy (arabic))

Pictures are usually worth more than a thousand words, each!, but let me parse these two for you to make the extra point that the emotion you get from them is not accidental, but rather planned.

On the left is an under-construction photo of the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment:

The development consists of a large podium topped by seven towers of various heights… The podium includes commercial retail center; restaurants and food courts; prayer areas for 3,8000 [sic.] people and a public plaza which will accommodate a future convention center. It’s topped with a four-level car park… The tallest tower with over 100 floors - a 2,000-room, 5-star hotel - is located on the southern side facing the Haram … The tower is designed to be the visual focal center of this mixed-used development and is flanked by the remaining six, lower residential towers … The tower features plaza levels accommodating the reception lobby and information desks, lounges, restaurants, cafeterias, and a ballroom designed for a large, high-end international conference center … The hotel’s typical stories are divided into two sections: residential section at the upper part of the tower and the hotel section at the lower part of the tower. Four Royal floors, VIP Penthouse and a three storey “Astronomy Centre” are located on top of the residential portion of the hotel tower…

and the farce goes on and on; boil more of your blood here.

Compare this to something like the picture on the right; an aerial photo, facing south, of the Parliament hill in Ottawa, Canada. According to the City of Ottawa - Official Plan:

1.4.3 Policies
d. Primacy of Parliament Hill: City Council recognizes the symbolic primacy and visual integrity of Parliament Hill and supports its preservation and enhancement. In this regard, City Council shall protect the visual integrity and symbolic primacy of the Parliament Buildings and other national symbols, and shall ensure the preservation of the scale of Parliament Square by promoting an appropriate building profile on the south side of Wellington Street.

I am sure my Introduction to Architecture professor would be proud that I remembered something from his course. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t mention this to him in a million years, cause I know the mere sight of it would break his heart.

God bless you, Prof. G. H.; May you never come across this atrocity.

(I honestly forget where I first saw this; I will post a link if I remember.)

Thank goodness for the nytimes wedding section. They have come up with a list of questions that couples should ask each other before marriage. Questions, which -apparently- people seldom have the presence of mind to ask, like: “4) Have we fully disclosed our health histories, both physical and mental?” “7) Will there be a television in the bedroom?” and “10) Do we like and respect each other’s friends?”

Now all you have to do is print out the article, and take it with you on dates. Maybe ask your date to take the time while you’re in the restroom to fill out the answers.

The article neglected, though, to provide model answers. I mean, how else are we going to know who to select for further interviews dates? — I should ask them about that in the comments section.

It’s snowing outside my window,

… and the weather network has no clue.

My right eye has been twitching for the past three weeks… I’m not talking inconspicuous flutter; I’m talking the kind of twitch that gets mistaken for a wink. Which -by the way- is not always as funny as it’s portrayed in comedy sketches on TV. Two weeks after I developed the twitch, and it started to get really annoying, I decided to look it up on the internets. Turns out no one really knows what causes these anomalous nerve spasms. However, it’s been linked to stress, lack of sleep or too much caffeine. Friggin Duh! It’s also been linked to staring too much at computer screens. Naturally, after reading that, I promptly turned off my computer. Too bad they didn’t mention that piece of information at the end of the article though, cause I really wanted to know what happens next. Thankfully, a friend suggested a solution –to look peripherally at the computer screen– or else I wouldn’t have been able to go on with my life.

It is much better now; but at its peak this miniscule beat was so annoying, I think the term twitch should be used to symbolize extremely annoying non-entities. It’s so fitting and it’s gender neutral: ” _____ is a tw(at/b)itch,” get it? huh, get it? it’s twat/bitch… ok, ok, you get it, I know, I’m such a twitch!