Tennis Ball Fuzz and Movie Review

I've been going with my family to play tennis in one of the courts in a nearby district. It feels great to finally be able to get a real taste of what it's like to be on court, having real tennis sensations. (Those who know me will also know that I am a fan of the sport.)
Anyway, so we were playing yesterday, and I have to tell you, the court is pretty much neglected. It's in better shape than many others that I've been to, but still, it could be much much better. (I keep going off track!)
Right, so we were playing, then along comes the "Hariss" or the ground-keeper (?!) and says that women aren't allowed on the court.
Yes, he said that.
My uncle, who'd come along to play, went up to him and asked him why women aren't allowed, who came up with such a rule, to go tell on us if he was serious, and that we weren't moving!
We didn't leave, rest assured. But I was pissed off at what had happened. I even missed a couple of balls because of it. What has become of us, of this country, of our mentalities?

On a lighter note, here's another movie review for you:

Nuovomondo. An Italian film, worthy in my opinion to be called art. It tells the story of an extremely poor Sicilian family which sets to migrate to the New World at the beginning of the 20th century. The story is imaginatively directed, superbly acted out. The characters who in reality are illiterate, simple and poor, are in fact deep, mysterious and sublime. The movie has a mystical quality, sometimes sureal and fantastical. The music is very fitting, adding great deapth to the film. A great one. If you don't mind following subtitles, I definately recommend it. (I personally found the Italian dialogue quite captivating.)

The trailer:


Speech translated:

"We're here to ask you something...Should we part to America, or should we stay here? Give us a sign...a sign."

From the creator of Respiro

Emanuele Crailese's new film Nuovomondo

Review: P.S. I Love You

3 things I learnt watching P.S. I Love You:

1- Gerard Butler is HOT.

2- Hilary Swank is NOT.

3- The book is better than the movie.

P.S. -Question: Is there a fixed number of times a person can fall in love in a specific period of time? Cuz this is overwhelming...

A Short Film: La Tartine

Here's a great short film. Enjoy, and comment:

Director: Guillaume Colomb / France / 2004
A habitual morning, breakfast is being prepared. But this morning, the honey got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Review: The Dark Knight

Why so serious?

Update

So, I went to see The Dark Knight yesterday. Obviously. The movie was really really good. I mean I'm not so into the whole action, comic super-hero type of stuff...but this was great. I might actually go and buy me some Batman comics soon. Anyway. Most importantly, I was taken by storm with late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. It was out of this world. This just proves what a highly talented actor Ledger was. An amazing yet early end to a great career. This is why I found that I had to just post a picture. Very little words. As close as I can get to the sublimity of Heath's performance. Call it a tribute if you like...*sigh* RIP

Bale did good too. People were complaining about his lisp, and his gruff Batman suit voice. I liked it. Overall it was a great movie. But Joker "stole" it for me. I think i'm in love!

Book Review: Girls of Riyadh

I have just finished reading Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa AlSanea. So here's a review as promised :)

This book was first written by this 26 year old Saudi Arabian woman two years ago in Arabic. It was a big hit as far as I know. (It was all over Virgin at the time!) It hadn't appealed to me back then. I'll have to admit that I thought it would be a lame excuse of a novel, probably about chat addicted Saudi youth in search of love on the world wide web.

Stereotypical. Yes, I know.

It was only when I happened to come across this book translated into English (not in Kuwait!) that I thought, "Hmm. I might actually give this a try." The facts that it was published by Penguin, it had an eye-catching cover, and that it had raving reviews by Time, The Associated Press, Glamour, The Seattle Times and more probably helped push me towards the cash counter with the novel in hand.

The novel tells the love stories of 4 Saudi girlfriends in the form of e-mails. The aim of these e-mails is to expose the "secret" and "scandalous" lives of young Saudi's who try to find love in an environment that closes in on their freedom's.

I think the book was an "OK" attempt at what it ventured to achieve. The narrative form was a little too simple, the plot-line a little predictable. I personally found the tone of thenarrator a little annoying at times. Although in the end you find that the novel doesn't really solve any of the problems it has uncovered,onemust give the author some credit for at least posing some important questions concerning the society she writes about. Though it might be a tip-toe of a step that AlSanea has taken towards change with this novel, it is a step nonetheless. Pick it up if you want a light read, only if you have nothing better to do. I'd give it a five on a scale of one to ten.

The Sound of Music

So in case you haven't already heard, my iPod Nano went bust! I took it to the iPod guru at Digits in Marina Mall and he said the motherboard was infested with H2O molecules...Basically, getting myself a new iTouch would be a better choice than getting the old one fixed. Now it's only a matter of whether I should get the 16GB or the 32GB one...We'll see.

In preparation for this new purchase of mine, I thought I should make some sort of interactive post. All you have to do is list 3 must-have songs that you think I should have on my new iPod. How about it? 3 songs you think would add something to my music collection...Just for the record, I listen to all sorts of music, from all different genres, cultures and types. So surprise me! And sure enough, as soon as I get hold of the songs I'll be giving you feedback on what I think of the songs you chose for me.

Now I'm all excited so get typing. ;D

YSL: A Tribute to a Design Icon

Yves Saint Laurent

1936-2008

Creator of the modern woman's wardrobe. Introduced luxe pret-a-porter, androgynous tailoring and multi-cultural influences, changing the silhouettes of the past century. He will forever be fashion's King of Paris.

Defunct

Hey everyone!
It's been so long. I had to leave to Dubai very abruptly a week ago and I didn't have internet access so I couldn't blog. But I'm back now, so you'll have to put up with me again :P

Dubai was great fun despite the humidity...I love that place! I'll post some photos as soon as they're uploaded on my laptop, which is somewhere in Ibn Khaldoon street being fixed :(

My laptop isn't the only thing that has gone bust recently. My iPod Nano isn't functioning anymore either. It won't charge, and the buttons press funny...I'm upset...but is this a sign that I should get an iTouch?

I've been very hot tempered lately...I don't know what's going on, and it's upseting me and those around me...let's hope this bout of anger subsudes soon. One good thing that has come out of this though is that I've been spending more time alone, which has led to an urge to tidy, clean-out and redecorate my bedroom. Let's hope this urge stays put until the whole room has gotten the face-lift.

I have a load of new movies and books handy, so watch out for some reviews soon.

Sorry again for the long gap. Hopefully it'll introduce a new breath of life to the blog. :)

More Untitled Stuff

These are two shorter (but in my opinion much better) pieces I wrote during my stay in Jordan. Enjoy.



A crowd. A surge of people. A flood of souls unknown to each other. Amidst all these people, all feel alone. Each rushes to their own destination, their own dark corner in life. They all look ahead, as if there was nobody there but them. They are emotionless. Oblivious to the commotion outside of their empty bubbles. Those who do realise there are others around are shy, embarrassed somehow by a quickly disappearing chain that links us all together. And they pretend they cannot see.
But I feel desperate to reach out. To call out. To share something, anything, with someone. I long to have a connection, a bond with one person, outof all these people, just one. A nod would at the least be acceptable, a knowing glimpse would be more than I expected, a smile sheer ecstacy.
In this crowd I am alone. I scream for company, but no one listens.

***

I sit alone, tired from the previous night's tedious yet pleasing endevours. Drowned in drowsiness, I sit lazily, passively taking in my surroundings, letting my mind wander to dreams of yesterday and fantasies of the future. This lonliness, though relaxing, I hate. I rest my head on my hand and I close my eyes, enveloping myself in darkness. I see you walk through the door, that all knowing smile of yours spread widely across your face. You come to where I am sitting, and you take my hand, issing it lightly while you take you seat next to me. You sigh, and I know what you are going to say because I am sorry too. Sorry we couldn't make much out of this. You look up at me again after your moment of deep thought, and you get up and leave. Then I open my eyes and I look out the window at the setting sun.

Please read the previous post and comment too. All sorts of criticism is

"Goodbye. Have fun tomorrow." It's surprisingly funny how four words, a smile, and a handshake can make you feel.

Untitled

Once we come in we are rushedly introduced. Due to the awkwardness of the moment no one really remembers who you are. We sit and try to appear as polite as possible. Not that I'm not polite for real or anything. Just extra polite to give a good impression. After a short while, in an attempt to start a conversation, we start making small talk which leads nowhere. It is only after some food is served that the solid barriers raised by formalities begin to become lean and less rigid. As the food next has to be digested, and the blood in ones body rushes to the aid of the stomach, it leaves the mind unsupported, unattended which leads to us making fools out of ourselves. It seems that to have good sense of humour is the easiest way to get something going. You say the lamest things, you force a smile which is willing to show itself just to keep things going now that people have started to chat. You are never yourself. They are never themselves. Sadly, you only realise that when you lie in your bed, later that night, unable to focus on the bad book you are currently reading. If you're lucky, you might realise it as you shake hands, saying your thank-yous, come-agains, and your goodbyes, most probably never to meet each other again and you think, "I wanted to get to know you better. I wanted you to get to know me better." Without the formalities, without the unnecessary jokes, without the extravagant masks. Did you know that I can write, and that I love tennis and philosophy? Can you play the piano? Do you know first aid? Have you traveled the world? I wanted to get to know you better, and I wanted you to know who I really am.


I wrote this while I was half asleep. But I chose to post it (as it was first written, without any patching-up or editing). So forgive the oh-so-unprofessional shabbyness.

Souvenir

Feeling post-vacation depression. And I haven't even left yet.

I saw a baby's t-shirt in a store that said: "I'm shy, come talk to me." I wish they sold those in a bigger size.

My cousin is now happily married. I wish him and his wife all the best in life. Congratulations to them.

Travel (or at least this particular trip) has been inspirational. I wrote a few pieces while I was here. I'll put them in a separate post. Meanwhile here are a few pictures as previously promised.

P.S. Unfortunately, the Jordan Festival starts the day after we leave. Mika is coming :(

Wish You Were Here

Hello everyone!

I was so busy over the past few days, I didn't have time to blog and tell you that I'd be traveling to Jordan for 5 days with the family. So anyway, I'm here now, in the land of the Dead Sea :)

I've been here before, but I hadn't stayed long enough to visit all the cool tourist attractions. This time though...I shall hopefully make it to Petra and the Dead Sea...and if my conscience keeps nagging me, I shall hopefully post pictures and keep you updated.

And as agonizing as huge family group vacations are (trust me I've tried and suffered) it's still really fun to have everyone around. So far the bus trips have proven to be quite an amusing event, although the bus driver might disagree. Let's hope this happy-go-lucky atmosphere carries on till we reach Kuwait.

Oh yes, and my dad had to stay at the hotel because of post-flight headaches and dizzyness :( I really felt bad about leaving him behind on our first day. I hope he feels better in the morning.

Stay tuned for more juice on the trip.

P.S. Freddie Mercury look-alikes have been popping up quite frequently these days...to my delight of course! ;)