I will…
- Finish writing the book I never started
- Read more
- Plot
- Conspire
- Return to my fighting weight
- Grow a beard
- Head in a different direction
- Finish my masters degree
- Buy a pickup truck
- Seek the opposite of solitude
- Learn another language
- Learn to cuss in another language
- Travel
- Find it
- Keep it
- Keep appointments
- […]

…heartless people…
AMMAN - The authorities said they will intensify measures to prevent retailers from stockpiling oil derivatives as several distributors of fuel and gas were reportedly arrested and referred to court Saturday…Officials said the new measures are meant to curb a trend among some petrol station owners and gas cylinder distributors to turn back customers […]

The Kite Runner | “There is a way to be good again.” For the first time, in a long time, I can safely say that the book was in fact, better than the movie. This is not to say the movie was terrible; it was actually pretty good. However, the fault lies in the storytelling. […]

Oh, come all ye faithful. Breaking the relative peace:

“Palestinian policemen try to control a fight that erupted between Greek Orthodox deacons and Armenian priests during the annual cleaning of the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Seven people were injured.” [source]
Meanwhile, larger beasts still linger:

“On the eve of Monday’s […]

Energy, or lack thereof, was a big issue in 2007. Prices have gone higher than ever before, affecting everything from heating to being able to afford bread. So to commemorate both the New Year and the wonderful announcement of the lifting of oil subsidies in 2008, coupled with the expected new price for a natural […]

There is an absurd law - the Citizenship law - in Jordan that women who marry foreigners cannot pass the Jordanian citizenship on to their children. Most reside in Jordan, these are Jordanian women, with, for all intents and purposes, Jordanian kids who were born on this soil and have probably lived here their entire […]

A special commission will be in charge of monitoring and setting prices of fuel derivatives on monthly basis after oil subsidies are lifted next year, officials said…The government plans to lift oil subsidies totally in 2008. The exact date of the measure has not yet been decided, but the 2008 state budget allocates no funds […]

I just finished watching The Bucket List, a Rob Reiner film featuring the brilliant veteran actors Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Both play characters with cancer, who have a few months to live. So the idea of the “bucket list” comes about: a list of the things they’d want to do before they ‘kick the […]

A bowl full of awesomeness.

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Since this is an odd holiday season, I thought I’d put together a bunch of reviews for movies I’ve seen lately, to help anyone wanting to pick something good to watch. The following can be found at Hammoudeh’s in the balad (or abdoun), with excellent quality. Luckily, they are all good movies, hence the high […]

Say - John Mayer | Must I wait for Mayer to finally release another song before I can hear good music again? “Say” was written as a single for the upcoming Rob Reiner picture “The Bucket List”, where two old men from different backgrounds come together to complete a things-to-do-before-i-die kind of list. The official […]

We’ve been playing Christmas carols for background music in the office lately. Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. I kind of miss the festivities back in Toronto. Ah well. Merry Christmas.

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This time last year was quite memorable when it came to the holiday season. A merging of Eid Al-Adha, Christmas and New Years gave way to the longest recorded holiday in recent Jordanian history. This was remedied by the King scrapping two unnecessary holidays and the government presetting the holidays ahead of time. So this […]

gray Amman weather
paperwork
(escape)
see an old friend
see an old teacher
(reminisce on the passage of time)
good music
good books
family
sunset
by the sea

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Tomorrow is Eid Al-Adha so I wanted to wish all the readers of the Black Iris a Eid mubarak and to those fasting today, may Allah swt accept it. I hope everyone has a lovely time with family and friends over the long holiday, and don’t stay up too late tonight if you plan on […]

And this is how the story ends…
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has pardoned the teenage victim of a gang rape who was sentenced to 200 lashes and jailed for six months in a case that caused an international outcry.
If confirmed, the pardon would represent a rare occasion where a Saudi ruler has publicly challenged the […]