Archive for the 'Culture' Category

Yesterday was the opening of gallery showcasing the work of the very young Palestinian cartoonist, Mohammad Sabaaneh, at the Balad Theater. His caricatures are pretty interesting, and some were even an eye-opener for me. One of the main differences in his work from all others, was the way he attempts to capture the Palestinian street. […]



In the past few months, there has been a campaign, if not a movement, to combat speeding cars and traffic accidents. From the Hikmet-related campaigns of mid-January, to the nation-wide campaign following the Jerash-road bus crash, to the introduction of tough traffic laws and their subsequent legislative rejection a few weeks later. Lately, we’ve seen […]



A few of my delicious pickings from the past few days. Pay particular attention to the more new-media-meets-real-world articles on Facebook and Flickr. I really found those interesting. Makes the world feel a bit smaller than it is.
Staring Contest: An Italian man was given a suspended jail sentence for staring too intensely at a […]



Besides varying artwork and font selections as well as hardcover or soft cover choices, I would argue little has changed in the publishing world during the past century when it comes to books (at least presentation-wise). But now, Penguin, one of the biggest publishers in the world, has started, what we might call, a web […]



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If you haven’t read Khalaf’s primer on the issue, definitely check it out. The new Salt Document is a pretty stunning and rare act of cultural and social reform on the ground level, specifically in adherence to the new socioeconomic realities. Some of the highlights focus mainly on wedding festivities:
- A bride’s jewelry (as part […]



It’s been about 10 days or so, and HM Queen Rania’s first YouTube video has received over 1 million views and over 3,500 comments thus far. Today, she takes some time to give her early reaction to all the feedback.

[h/t: Nina]

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Here’s a selection of my delicious pickings for this week:
Hilary Death Watch Update: Hilary drops from 12% to a 9% chance of winning the Democratic nomination on Slate’s Death Watch. From Barack endorsements and superdelegates lead, Slate boils down what went wrong for Hilary this past week.
USA 2008: The Great Depression: Food stamps are the […]



It seems like a long time ago that I once wondered if HM Queen Rania was a blogger. It seems lately, she’s gone a step forward and become a Vlogger on YouTube.
Now this is pretty interesting…

I think it’s a pretty good initiative (me wishing I had thought of it first), and it’s one of […]



To break the political monotony of the last couple of posts here are a few of my delicious pickings for the last couple of days that are more entertaining than serious.
- Recycled Wonderlands: Simply put, some of the craziest architectural creations you’ll ever see.
- Muppet President: You know how they say every president is […]



“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” - The Second Law of Clarke’s Three Laws
To Arthur C. Clarke, whose words fueled my imagination growing up (especially the wanting-to-become-an-astronaut phase). May God rest your soul.

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While everyone waits with bated breath the results of today’s deadly primaries in the US, here are a few del.icio.us pickings I’ve been reading these past couple of days:
- A Rose By Any Other Name: An Iranian court has ordered a man to give his wife the 124,000 roses that he promised in her dowry, […]



There is a social trait in this country to shower people with flattery; it’s known as mujamalat. Most of it is insincere but then again, those being showered are well aware of that and participate in the masquerade. Having not grown up in Jordan, the concept of flattery for flattery’s sake is foreign to me […]



In the state of siege, time becomes space
Transfixed in its eternity
In the state of siege, space becomes time
That has missed its yesterday and its tomorrow…
The siege will last in order to convince us we must choose
an enslavement that does no harm, in fullest liberty!
- Under Siege by Mahmoud Darwish
Gaza is still under siege
Mahmoud Darwish […]



Here is a selection of my delicious picks: a few interesting articles/links from across the Net.
- Robert Fisk recalls his first meeting with assassinated Hizballah commander, Imad Mougnieh, in 1991.
- Arab information ministers have met in Cairo to endorse an Arab League charter, which allows host countries to annul or suspend the licence of any […]



I’m as cynical as the next guy when it comes to Valentines day in the Arab world, but this may be going a tad too far, no? It’s funny in a sad way.
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s religious police have banned red roses ahead of Valentine’s Day, forcing couples in the conservative Muslim nation to […]