The snow is on its way out so I thought I’d shift gears here on the Black Iris. Transitioning back to reality isn’t easy when snow is still the talk of the town, so here’s a selection of my delicious picks these past few days you might find interesting. Only the first two are about […]

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 […]

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 […]

It’s kind of strange how now matter what kind of bad day you’re having, Amman’s traffic will always find a way, to make it worse.
Always.

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F12%2F17%2Fa-bad-day-in-amman%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘A+Bad+Day+In+Amman’;
addthis_pub = ”;

Facebook Envy n.
The feeling you get when you come across an old friend on Facebook and realize that their life turned out way better than yours.
[via jundi]

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F12%2F11%2Ffacebook-envy%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘Facebook+Envy’;
addthis_pub = ”;

Here’s a collection of some of my delicious links I’ve been looking at these past few days:
- “Ahmadinejad” a film by Oliver Stone: Finally, a movie that will bring together America and Iran’s far right hatred of Oliver Stone.
- Young chimp beats college students: And these were Japanese college students!
- The 50 Richest Arabs: […]

I.
“What would you like?”
“Oh, no, that’s ok. I don’t drink.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t drink.”
“Why? Because of religion?”
“Pretty much.”
“I don’t understand.”
II.
“Here, have some.”
“Oh, no, that’s ok. Sa7tain. I’m fasting right now.”
“Why?”
“Um, I sometimes fast on Monday/Thursday.”
“Why? Is it a religious thing?”
“I hope so.”
I used to have these moments of dialog, these brief cultural exchanges, these […]

That which heaven has once determined,
That which God’s eternal finger
Has upon the azure tablets
Of the sky sublimely written,
Those transparent sheets of sapphire
Superscribed with golden ciphers
Ne’er deceive, and never lie;
The deceiver and the liar
Is he who to use them badly
In a wrongful sense defines them.
- SIGISMUND from Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la […]

A few of the stories I found interesting these past few days:
- UnIslamic Ringtones: A top Islamic body in Saudi Arabia has hosted a stormy debate on controversial issues, including the use of Koranic verses as mobile phone ringtones, newspapers reported Monday. “The scholars were divided on the use of verses from the Koran […]

Roundabouts, crossroads and traffic lights are the most common venues for posters and banners.

Traffic Sign reads: “Dead End”.
Stand-up posters can not exceed 1.5 meters in height, and 1 meter in width. Posters and/or banners must be placed 4.5 meters above the ground level, where there are pedestrians or cars passing beneath them.

“All Jordanians […]

Today I woke up for fajr prayer, while the world was still dark outside. With eyes more than half closed, I stumbled into the bathroom for wudu’ and with a turn of the faucet I was overcome with a nostalgic epiphany of sorts. It’s November. And I had forgotten how cold Jordan can be. For […]

It’s 2am on a Saturday and I just finished watching the documentary Jesus Camp. There’s no way I can give a review of it without being called bias, so I’m not going to even try. Suffice to say, and I say this with all honesty and seriousness, I don’t remember the last time watching anything […]

…I really am.
(most of the time)
(kinda)

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F11%2F06%2Fim-trying%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘I%26%238217%3Bm+Trying’;
addthis_pub = ”;

I find it difficult clicking with, if not communicating with, people who have not lived outside Jordan for a period of time. People who have not had the experience of living in the Western hemisphere. Actually, any hemisphere will do. I don’t know why that is, but I feel anyone who missed out on such […]

I had a pretty interesting weekend and I think it’s because for once, I felt like I accomplished a lot. Yes, this is another one of those “I, I, I” posts, which some have encouraged me to do more of. I don’t know what the appeal is really. My life is not that interesting or […]

I’ve been wondering lately which sex in Jordan uses wasta (nepotism) more. Females or males? And I’m talking about the instigators and not just the pawns. See, most would be quick to say males but if you think outside your immediate environment for a moment, I’ve observed a lot of elderly women living in towns […]