Alternatively titled: ‘The Search For Weekend Vital Signs’ and/or ‘An Ode To Fridays’
All over the world, weekends are usually divided between one day that is a go-out-and-do-weekend-stuff kind of day, and a sleep-in-and-dont-go-outside-all-day kind of day. But Fridays in Jordan can be so dead that it’s a kind of strange sensation. In fact, I kind […]

Well the first half of the summer blockbuster season is over and I thought I’d do a quick review of the major hits thus far. I’ll keep it nice and short.
Die Hard 4.0: It’s hard to say something bad about a Die Hard movie. There’s an unwritten code about this series that can only be […]

So many complaints today about the traffic and the gridlock due to a visit from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. It seems everyone was effected except me and I’m still trying to figure out how and why. I did drive around town today and it was during the gridlock hours, but I felt it was normal […]

I am looking
for the poem
that says everything…
…so I don’t have to write any more
- Tukaram

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I recently got to sit down with a few people from the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Organization (TAG) during their ongoing battle with the Amman Municipality (GAM). For those who don’t know the story it can basically be summed up into the following points: TAG purchases land just outside their HQ and on the borders of […]

A Poem For West Ammani Twenty-Something-Year-Olds….Lately
You…Yes you!
Stop fucking asking me if I’m going to the Sean Paul or Tiesto concerts.
(As if the city is abiding by an unwritten obligation that everyone must be endure electronic and Jamaican reggae for an entire night just because a big name has come to town)
I don’t like their music, […]

I don’t think there is such a thing
as an intelligent mega rich person
for who with a fine mind
can look out upon this world
and horde what can nourish a thousand souls
- Kabir

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In their first concert in an Arab country, Palestinian hip hop trio DAM, rocked Amman last night as part of the Fete De La Musique (Music Day) series of concerts that took place across the city. Popularized on the net, I thought they were worth checking out and indeed they were pretty entertaining given that […]

You know those moments when you wish that life would move just a bit faster? Or those other moments when you wish life could just slow down so you could catch up? Forget about Einstein and relativity of time, but think about those moments that are in between; when life falls through the cracks. You […]

Naseem is…sorta…kinda…just a little bit, starting to understand the addiction of Facebook.
but Naseem wishes he knew the source of its seductive powers.
Naseem also wishes he could stop referring to himself in the third person
but that seems to be the first of many signs.

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So last night, thanks to Tambi, I got to watch Michael Moore’s “Sicko”, which is just starting to make some waves. Sicko is to the American Health industry what Fahrenheit 911 was to the Bush administration. Come to think of it, Bush and his cronies still manage to make an appearance in Sicko; in fact, […]

The GAM launched the second phase of its master plan, calling it the “Corridor Intensification Strategy”. Essentially it focuses on 10 major streets in Jordan that are being targeted for development. Zahran street, running between the 1st and 8th circle, seems to be the center of attention; with the corridor between the 5th and 8th […]

A recent poll has revealed that while a high voter turnout for next month’s municipal elections, political parties will do poorly as most people are destined to vote for “independent candidates”, i.e. their relatives. And this is how you press the repeat button.
The poll, conducted by the Jordan Centre for Social Research, found that […]

It’s been a great past 5 days for me. Work has been great. Going to Dubai was pretty sweet. But I have to say that the highlight was spending Thursday night and Friday morning in Wadi Rum. It’s good to get away from all the metal and glass, air conditioned, bubble of a city […]

….it’s hot
I mean it’s really, really hot.

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You never really understand the plight of Jordan until you actually try and make a living here and experience just how quickly your monthly salary disappears.
It’s absolutely terrible. The difficulty of attempting to save anything at all. What’s worse is where it goes. I have absolutely no idea.
I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I […]