Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
love tag
I decided that we need more community spirit around here and because Valentine's day is nearing I have this tag for you :
describe what it should be the perfect gift for Valentine's day that you want to get in three words:
example:
red , expensive , useful.
my answer : it should be
neatly wrapped , surprising , materlistic ( not just a hug that is ,lol)
I tag tooteh , Dania , Mariyah, Qabbani ,Abufares, Qwaider
P.S not having a partner for VD is not an excuse to not doing the tag ,just imagine that you have one..:D
describe what it should be the perfect gift for Valentine's day that you want to get in three words:
example:
red , expensive , useful.
my answer : it should be
neatly wrapped , surprising , materlistic ( not just a hug that is ,lol)
I tag tooteh , Dania , Mariyah, Qabbani ,Abufares, Qwaider
P.S not having a partner for VD is not an excuse to not doing the tag ,just imagine that you have one..:D
Thursday, February 05, 2009
All Art Now
there were five of us, Abeer ,Nisreen ,Tareq,Bayan and me sitting around a table in an old Damascus house which has been turned into a restaurant, it is one of the selected venues for screenings of video art works by artists from virtually every corner of the world. Abeer who is the director of AllArtNow festival for video art has arranged to meet me there when I spoke with her by phone earlier in the day ,till then I must admit I had no idea what video art was , I just have watched some videos in the opening day at cinema Al Kindi and I was intrigued to learn more about this initiative .it turned out that this is exactly what I've been looking for!
as Abeer explained video art is for anyone who have a camera, a computer and an idea that he wants to convey.
actually video art is becoming the format of choice for many artists to express their creativity and has its distinct rules and methods.
the most interesting thing for me was that it is a new kind of media through which ideas can be expressed and shared and it is perfectly compatible with the new age of information technology and social media tools .
this is the first festival of its kind in Syria and it aims at introducing this art to the public and hopefully positive reaction will lead to the continuity of this initiative .
I really encourage all of you to visit the AllArtNow website and go to one of the screening places . for my part I'll be at the British Counsel on Saturday so that I can have the chance to watch more of the videos (which are a lot!)furthermore it is increasingly important to promote and support Syrian work in this domain , Nisreen who is Abeer's sister have works featured in the festival . I hope that Syrian talent gets the right exposure at home as well as the right presentation abroad , this festival is a first step towards that end and an important opportunity for people to start learning about this form of art and start to appreciate it.
as Abeer explained video art is for anyone who have a camera, a computer and an idea that he wants to convey.
actually video art is becoming the format of choice for many artists to express their creativity and has its distinct rules and methods.
the most interesting thing for me was that it is a new kind of media through which ideas can be expressed and shared and it is perfectly compatible with the new age of information technology and social media tools .
this is the first festival of its kind in Syria and it aims at introducing this art to the public and hopefully positive reaction will lead to the continuity of this initiative .
I really encourage all of you to visit the AllArtNow website and go to one of the screening places . for my part I'll be at the British Counsel on Saturday so that I can have the chance to watch more of the videos (which are a lot!)furthermore it is increasingly important to promote and support Syrian work in this domain , Nisreen who is Abeer's sister have works featured in the festival . I hope that Syrian talent gets the right exposure at home as well as the right presentation abroad , this festival is a first step towards that end and an important opportunity for people to start learning about this form of art and start to appreciate it.
Monday, February 02, 2009
me .. a phot journalist ...NO way!
Photo journalist..it is funny how this term keeps popping up in my conversations,the obsession has something to do with my project which concentrate on using visual content for cultural promotion,a friend has pointed out that we really don't have that kind of professionals ,photo journalists in Syria are simply non existent ,but I like the thing too much ,to the point that I am using it to refer to myself ,yes ,for instance today I was in the offices of the Junior Chamber International , and I have a conversation about the activities and how to join then a project for touristic promotion called SyrianTelism came up and I told the director of the project that I want to help introducing myself as a blogger first but then when I wrote my contact information I added photo journalist ,lol , but hey I believe that is not far from the truth giving that my blog and my Flickr page can be considered to be a very good sources of photos of cultural activities I am not trying to brag here but I have to value what I do and not take my work for granted and not underestimate it,so now I feel like I have disappointed her because I promised to talk about the project but instead I wrote about this silly thing , and to be even sillier I included this description as a blogger AND photo journalist in an e-mail I wrote just now ..
nonetheless I'll writing about my contribution to the SyrianTelism project and any activities with the JCI in the future.
I don't know but I think that if there is someone to deserve this title I will be the most qualified to ..
don't ya think :)
nonetheless I'll writing about my contribution to the SyrianTelism project and any activities with the JCI in the future.
I don't know but I think that if there is someone to deserve this title I will be the most qualified to ..
don't ya think :)
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Syrian press online
to find a relevant article while searching online for information about what's going on in our country ,for me at least is a rare and sweet occurrence ,
if I say there are tons (not tens) of online publication you will probably think I am exaggerating , but to find quality content that is RELEVANT is quite difficult ,I will not lie to say that I have not thought of writing articles/pieces and submit them to the array of sites there are ,even more I thought of submitting my photos along side , but I have been reluctant ,I think there is a certain style that you must have to be accepted and I don't think I will limit my self by a set of rules . that being said maybe if I give it a try I will discover another truth ,so I will write something in the area of reporting a cultural activity that I will be attending next month ,I will write about it in my blog though but as usual in an amateurish fashion ,but I will try to grasp whatever it maybe that I think will get editors to approve my writing (not necessarily approve of it) and who knows perhaps you will be finding me in more places than one:
I liked also this article from the now famous publication that was helpful to me.
if I say there are tons (not tens) of online publication you will probably think I am exaggerating , but to find quality content that is RELEVANT is quite difficult ,I will not lie to say that I have not thought of writing articles/pieces and submit them to the array of sites there are ,even more I thought of submitting my photos along side , but I have been reluctant ,I think there is a certain style that you must have to be accepted and I don't think I will limit my self by a set of rules . that being said maybe if I give it a try I will discover another truth ,so I will write something in the area of reporting a cultural activity that I will be attending next month ,I will write about it in my blog though but as usual in an amateurish fashion ,but I will try to grasp whatever it maybe that I think will get editors to approve my writing (not necessarily approve of it) and who knows perhaps you will be finding me in more places than one:
I liked also this article from the now famous publication that was helpful to me.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
a small paragraph
I find it strange how sometimes you forget about something so quickly even when you were so accustomed and familiar with it for a long time ;nevertheless as soon as you turn to something else and engage yourself in it you forget about the previous matter ,I think this is how our brains are wired , we have to focus on one thing at a time ,still the important issues can not be put in a less position and be forgotten ,I think we escape from our responsibilities and try to occupy ourselves with something else,something new ,any thing that will make us fell that we are doing/achieving/ acting .but for a brief time because the core issues will not let you ignore them for so long ,they will demand your attention and you have to deal with them sooner than later.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Update on my life
First of all I noticed that I can not start writing a post unless I disconnect my line and I have to stop reading the posts on whatever blogs I have visited ,c'mon it is a lot of work coming up with ideas to match others !
Rim AlBanna concert really , honestly was the most concert I enjoyed to this day ,it was great ,and I have just uploaded the photos to Flickr ,go check'em
On Sunday I had many places to visit in eastern & western Mezzah with my friend ,he
called me and we met ,we spend the whole afternoon , going from place to place,here are the places we went to :
Eastern Mezzah :
We were heading initially for the NISAD the Netherlands Institute for Academic Studies ,but when we reached the Mezzah autostrad my eye caught a glimpse of a familiar building. It hosted the office for patents, that where you go when you want to register something to reserve your right .the reason why I went there and my take on the process will be discussed in another post.
Off we went to the eastern part of Mezzah and now it was my friend's turn to notice something, it was the Syrian International Academy ,he wanted to do a course for directing so he wanted to ask about that . I thought the place was nice ,my question for the girl that gave us the information was about the Syrian Public Relation Association ,(which had its offices in the same building) my next step is surely in that direction.
Then we reached our destination ,but with much trouble because we didn't know the address exactly and people we asked were of no help, in fact we asked a person who was sitting right before the building which hosted the Institute and he had no idea and if it weren't for my friend's piercing sight(he just had that laser thingi operation ) we would have never found it ,the same thing happened when we proceeded to go to the Australian Embassy which turned out to be non existent in Syria! so there you go ppl ,we don't have an Australian Embassy ; I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news ,but ther is nothing we can do :D
although we passed along several other Embassies ,and no ,we were not just two guys going from door to door begging for visas, that just not who we are ,LOL.
In our quest I stumbled on the sign for the FARDOS project ,the same building my friend told me hosted the offices for the Syria Trust for Development, so I entered and saw the project manager who was very kind ,but she had an appointment so I left my number to follow up of the project I am planning to do with the Trust.
Western Mezaah :
Nothing much here really ,we grapped something to eat and then saw the sign of the UNDP ,so we paid them a visit( in case you are wondering , we wanted to know how to apply for a job there) and then we went to the place I wanted to go to for so long which is Ayyam Gallery ,and yes ,you guessed it , we got lost again ,but I had their landline number so I could get the directions ,the Director who gave me the directions was there and we had a chat about the gallery and the big name it is becoming ,she told she has just come back form an exhibition in Florida and told me about the next exhibition they are having which will open this Saturday .
If I got one thing out of this ,is that people in Damascus must familiarize themselves more with whats in their neighbourhoods :)
Now ,something for the mind
The idea of networking is the center of my thinking lately, I believe one's capability of networking rely not only on the people he meets or know but rather how to connect them to information they need and have mutual activities planned and EXECUTED and I stress the word execute ,having the same interest with people is surely important to get to know him/her/them ,but what you do after wards is what matters ,that depends on your knowledge and having the right ideas to keep the relationship going ,and I tell you it is very rewarding keeping in touch with people from all walks of live .
End of story:P
Rim AlBanna concert really , honestly was the most concert I enjoyed to this day ,it was great ,and I have just uploaded the photos to Flickr ,go check'em
On Sunday I had many places to visit in eastern & western Mezzah with my friend ,he
called me and we met ,we spend the whole afternoon , going from place to place,here are the places we went to :
Eastern Mezzah :
We were heading initially for the NISAD the Netherlands Institute for Academic Studies ,but when we reached the Mezzah autostrad my eye caught a glimpse of a familiar building. It hosted the office for patents, that where you go when you want to register something to reserve your right .the reason why I went there and my take on the process will be discussed in another post.
Off we went to the eastern part of Mezzah and now it was my friend's turn to notice something, it was the Syrian International Academy ,he wanted to do a course for directing so he wanted to ask about that . I thought the place was nice ,my question for the girl that gave us the information was about the Syrian Public Relation Association ,(which had its offices in the same building) my next step is surely in that direction.
Then we reached our destination ,but with much trouble because we didn't know the address exactly and people we asked were of no help, in fact we asked a person who was sitting right before the building which hosted the Institute and he had no idea and if it weren't for my friend's piercing sight(he just had that laser thingi operation ) we would have never found it ,the same thing happened when we proceeded to go to the Australian Embassy which turned out to be non existent in Syria! so there you go ppl ,we don't have an Australian Embassy ; I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news ,but ther is nothing we can do :D
although we passed along several other Embassies ,and no ,we were not just two guys going from door to door begging for visas, that just not who we are ,LOL.
In our quest I stumbled on the sign for the FARDOS project ,the same building my friend told me hosted the offices for the Syria Trust for Development, so I entered and saw the project manager who was very kind ,but she had an appointment so I left my number to follow up of the project I am planning to do with the Trust.
Western Mezaah :
Nothing much here really ,we grapped something to eat and then saw the sign of the UNDP ,so we paid them a visit( in case you are wondering , we wanted to know how to apply for a job there) and then we went to the place I wanted to go to for so long which is Ayyam Gallery ,and yes ,you guessed it , we got lost again ,but I had their landline number so I could get the directions ,the Director who gave me the directions was there and we had a chat about the gallery and the big name it is becoming ,she told she has just come back form an exhibition in Florida and told me about the next exhibition they are having which will open this Saturday .
If I got one thing out of this ,is that people in Damascus must familiarize themselves more with whats in their neighbourhoods :)
Now ,something for the mind
The idea of networking is the center of my thinking lately, I believe one's capability of networking rely not only on the people he meets or know but rather how to connect them to information they need and have mutual activities planned and EXECUTED and I stress the word execute ,having the same interest with people is surely important to get to know him/her/them ,but what you do after wards is what matters ,that depends on your knowledge and having the right ideas to keep the relationship going ,and I tell you it is very rewarding keeping in touch with people from all walks of live .
End of story:P
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Reem ,or Rim
many names are easy to write in English which is a good thing ,however even those will have variations, take for example my name :yaser , many will write it : yasser with double 's' , which is maybe more accurate,
anyway
I'll choose Reem to refer to Palestinian singer Reem Al Banna who is coming to sing in Damascus as the very last activity of DCAC 2008 .
that after a failed attempt in 2008 ,I believe this time the general secretarit of DCAC is trying to make a statement ,that of solidarity with the Palestinian people, moreover I think that the royalities of this concert must go to the peole of Gaza.
my encounter with Reem has been indirect,it was through a song called Sarah, that was performed by Syrian band Anas&Friends in a concert some time ago and then I learned that the song actually was hers and so I had an interest to know more about this singer hopefully I'll be in the concert on Thursday.
you can check DCAC website for info
here is the video of the song
anyway
I'll choose Reem to refer to Palestinian singer Reem Al Banna who is coming to sing in Damascus as the very last activity of DCAC 2008 .
that after a failed attempt in 2008 ,I believe this time the general secretarit of DCAC is trying to make a statement ,that of solidarity with the Palestinian people, moreover I think that the royalities of this concert must go to the peole of Gaza.
my encounter with Reem has been indirect,it was through a song called Sarah, that was performed by Syrian band Anas&Friends in a concert some time ago and then I learned that the song actually was hers and so I had an interest to know more about this singer hopefully I'll be in the concert on Thursday.
you can check DCAC website for info
here is the video of the song
Sunday, December 21, 2008
you can't have too many realizations
-I realized that the Budget for the year 2009 was passed without any discussion.
-I realized that although oil prices have fallen sharply, we still have to pay an increased price for transportation.
-I realized that Damascus Capital of Arab culture 2008 will draw to an end and local cultural activity will probably grind to a halt.
-I realized that you cannot have fun in this country, even if you tried to .
-I realized that Micheal Kilo and other intellectuals will not be freed any time soon.
-I realized that this post is somewhat political..
The list stops here, more realizations to come in the future …maybe.
-I realized that although oil prices have fallen sharply, we still have to pay an increased price for transportation.
-I realized that Damascus Capital of Arab culture 2008 will draw to an end and local cultural activity will probably grind to a halt.
-I realized that you cannot have fun in this country, even if you tried to .
-I realized that Micheal Kilo and other intellectuals will not be freed any time soon.
-I realized that this post is somewhat political..
The list stops here, more realizations to come in the future …maybe.
Friday, December 19, 2008
the truth about the Golan ,again
I was going to write a follow up on the subject of blogging for the Golan week when I stumbled on this post(Arabic) ,one part has caught my attention ,and a question is being raised :Should Syria focus first on the plight of the Palestinian people and help resolve the central conflict by creating a Palestinian state instead of focusing on regaining the Golan as a central cause ?
I think this is a valid question.
We can agree that the Golan is used as a cover up to maintain the rule's(I use "rule" instead of "regime") grip on the country ,the question is: Has it been used also to intentionally ignore the Palestinian issue and somehow divert our energy that otherwise would be channelled to help our Palestinian brethren to have their independence from occupation .
Can we pursue both endeavours? ,if so how?
Well I think it is not only possible ,it is necessary .
You see the Golan is very important issue from a Syrian nationalistic point of reference ,equally, the Palestinian cause is central to Arab nationalism ,and both should be taken into account.
After all ,if we want to be consistent with our political past we can not accept just a bilateral settlement .
We have to have a comprehensive solution ,and here is the good news ,this realization is our best bargaining card. The role Syria can play in the region if portrayed in a positive light will be our strongest negotiation point to pressure the parties to talk to us.
We should not underestimate our role in the region ,we can undertake initiatives and get people to talk/reconcile in the Palestinian territories better than any other Arab state ,or any other(Iran?); thus maintaining our strength and presence in the region as a major player that should be reckoned with .
If I were part of the negotiation delegation this is the most important aspect I would raise to get recognition and to have leverage to have concessions and ultimately free the Golan.
I think this is a valid question.
We can agree that the Golan is used as a cover up to maintain the rule's(I use "rule" instead of "regime") grip on the country ,the question is: Has it been used also to intentionally ignore the Palestinian issue and somehow divert our energy that otherwise would be channelled to help our Palestinian brethren to have their independence from occupation .
Can we pursue both endeavours? ,if so how?
Well I think it is not only possible ,it is necessary .
You see the Golan is very important issue from a Syrian nationalistic point of reference ,equally, the Palestinian cause is central to Arab nationalism ,and both should be taken into account.
After all ,if we want to be consistent with our political past we can not accept just a bilateral settlement .
We have to have a comprehensive solution ,and here is the good news ,this realization is our best bargaining card. The role Syria can play in the region if portrayed in a positive light will be our strongest negotiation point to pressure the parties to talk to us.
We should not underestimate our role in the region ,we can undertake initiatives and get people to talk/reconcile in the Palestinian territories better than any other Arab state ,or any other(Iran?); thus maintaining our strength and presence in the region as a major player that should be reckoned with .
If I were part of the negotiation delegation this is the most important aspect I would raise to get recognition and to have leverage to have concessions and ultimately free the Golan.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
ok ,so I am still enjoying my free blogging experience ,it is nice when you can press "Next Blog" and surf away to the vast blogs that are out there ,I really missed that experience ,actually that brings me to the fact that the Syrian internet users has became so accustomed to censorship that no one now try to speak out or object to the rampant banning of websites anymore.
because I am a result oriented person I often consider activism as something too difficult and time consuming , maybe overthinking the issues is what dampen my enthusiasm .
a strong commitment to a cause is the key ,but I would replace strong by CLEAR ,I think you ought to know why you are advocating a certain cause ,what it means for you and most importantly do you have the tools necessary to reach to people and motivate them to rally behind a certain issue.
I don't want to go on a rant here ,I just became more appreciating of freedom of expression ,I think this basic human right should not be ignored anymore in our society . the Syrian blogsphere can and should be an example of this to every body else .
because I am a result oriented person I often consider activism as something too difficult and time consuming , maybe overthinking the issues is what dampen my enthusiasm .
a strong commitment to a cause is the key ,but I would replace strong by CLEAR ,I think you ought to know why you are advocating a certain cause ,what it means for you and most importantly do you have the tools necessary to reach to people and motivate them to rally behind a certain issue.
I don't want to go on a rant here ,I just became more appreciating of freedom of expression ,I think this basic human right should not be ignored anymore in our society . the Syrian blogsphere can and should be an example of this to every body else .
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Something weird just happened
I swear to God I was just going to publish a post I wrote about what I called my inevitable move to Wordpress,to escape the F*cking censorship. When all of a sudden my connection broke ,it turned out that my account was over ,and because I was offline for quite a long time I didn't have any other card except one that was given for me for free at the Shaam expo but the card was not valid because it has been over a month ,and because I don't have any money right now,I decided to use some card of a new ISP that I saw in the media world exhibition some time ago ,my page was my blog and so the refresh button was pressed to refresh my blog(normally I don't even bother to check if my blog will open because I have lost all hope of auithorities unblocking Blogspot) and for my fantastic surprise the blog opened ,damn I am writing this with tears in my eyes!
Actually when I saw that ISP I was annoyed at finding yet another ISP ,as we have now like over ten of them ,and I'll be very unkind and will not tell you about it ,just to stay anonymous so the authorities will not discover about me and my self-indulgent blogging experience,hehehe.
The most thing I am glad about is that I will stay a self-proclaimed- English-writing-democracy-loving-masses-avoiding-elitest !
NO. anyone want to know about this ISP ,just e-mail me and I will disclose the secret,now excuse me as I have some unresolved issues on Facebook I need to take care of !
Actually when I saw that ISP I was annoyed at finding yet another ISP ,as we have now like over ten of them ,and I'll be very unkind and will not tell you about it ,just to stay anonymous so the authorities will not discover about me and my self-indulgent blogging experience,hehehe.
The most thing I am glad about is that I will stay a self-proclaimed- English-writing-democracy-loving-masses-avoiding-elitest !
NO. anyone want to know about this ISP ,just e-mail me and I will disclose the secret,now excuse me as I have some unresolved issues on Facebook I need to take care of !
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The truth about the Golan
As it has been been a fairly long time since I posted something ,I found the Blog about the Golan week to be a good chance for me to get back to the Syrian blogsphere.
The Golan is the central part of the Syrian Agenda since it was occupied in 1967 .
Although it is crucial to know the modern history of the Golan and the major events that happened that led to the current situation ,however without having a serious debate amongst us ,the Syrian people ,we cannot truly rally behind this cause. Knowledge is power and we need to be united and have a clear vision of what it means to get the Golan back, I will try to stay out of the politics of it ,but I will state my core believe which is that peace is the only way to get the Golan back ,for those who are interested of knowing more about the subject the Wikipedia article is always a good start.
however maybe I will be writing more about the Golan in the coming days ,it is the Golan Week right ,so I will be having several days to think of a second post.
the key to understanding the Golan issue is to appreciate its geopolitical significance and the core issues that surround the negotiations with the other side ,I know that very small number of Syrians outside the official negotiation delegation actually know the actual story of the points of negotiation and the political history of the Golan , I know I didn't know the facts till I recently had a renewed interest in the issue ,and the peace process,it is hard to approach this issue from a pure objective outlook ,and that is not what needed anyway ,what's needed is that we know the facts ,to take a back step from rhetoric and see what's really at stake and know that we all are in this quest for liberating the Golan TOGETHER.we all should contribute and that was my humble contribution.
The Golan is the central part of the Syrian Agenda since it was occupied in 1967 .
Although it is crucial to know the modern history of the Golan and the major events that happened that led to the current situation ,however without having a serious debate amongst us ,the Syrian people ,we cannot truly rally behind this cause. Knowledge is power and we need to be united and have a clear vision of what it means to get the Golan back, I will try to stay out of the politics of it ,but I will state my core believe which is that peace is the only way to get the Golan back ,for those who are interested of knowing more about the subject the Wikipedia article is always a good start.
however maybe I will be writing more about the Golan in the coming days ,it is the Golan Week right ,so I will be having several days to think of a second post.
the key to understanding the Golan issue is to appreciate its geopolitical significance and the core issues that surround the negotiations with the other side ,I know that very small number of Syrians outside the official negotiation delegation actually know the actual story of the points of negotiation and the political history of the Golan , I know I didn't know the facts till I recently had a renewed interest in the issue ,and the peace process,it is hard to approach this issue from a pure objective outlook ,and that is not what needed anyway ,what's needed is that we know the facts ,to take a back step from rhetoric and see what's really at stake and know that we all are in this quest for liberating the Golan TOGETHER.we all should contribute and that was my humble contribution.
tommorrow is today
so I will be true to my promise to talk about my visit to the Shaam expo 2008 but after this time has passed , I will just point out to the website esyria.sy which is supposed to provide content for Syrian users online .
I am working right now on a project called : Visual Enhancement. I am hoping that it will get the approval for adoption from the Syria Trust for Development.
it deals with providing visual content to accompany the various cultural activities that are taking place ,and I will not add anymore .hopefully you will be hearing more in the coming days as I am /back!
have a good day y'all
I am working right now on a project called : Visual Enhancement. I am hoping that it will get the approval for adoption from the Syria Trust for Development.
it deals with providing visual content to accompany the various cultural activities that are taking place ,and I will not add anymore .hopefully you will be hearing more in the coming days as I am /back!
have a good day y'all
Friday, November 14, 2008
Shaam expo 2008
the value of time is certainly a relative thing ,that is not to say that there are things that are more ,umm ..productive to do than others ,having a spare time is something that I really have come to appreciate ,so much so that attach so much significance to accomplishing the duties I have to earn some extra time , this introduction about time was inspired by my decision today to go to Shaam Expo 2008 (which was not actually in my "calendar" initially ) as I woke up today with a completely different plan.
I'll write a more detailed account tomorrow about my visit to the Exhibition which really was rewarding ,and I am planning to go for another visit in the coming days..
the photo uploader has some problems ,to see photos of the day go here
I'll write a more detailed account tomorrow about my visit to the Exhibition which really was rewarding ,and I am planning to go for another visit in the coming days..
the photo uploader has some problems ,to see photos of the day go here
Friday, November 07, 2008
The Story of Ghassan and Alexandra
for all of you who havn't yet read this story I highly recommend that you do ,just go to Mariyah's blog and catch up with it:),it is really a beautiful story and a very well written.I really think that if anything such writtings should be published and I encourage you Mariyah to compile some of your writings to be published as some bloggers had done in the past.
I am actually waiting to see if I am one of the top ten on my graduation class to receive a scholarship to Germany ,and I feel that I can relate to this story already ...
I am actually waiting to see if I am one of the top ten on my graduation class to receive a scholarship to Germany ,and I feel that I can relate to this story already ...
all the luck to Ghassan and Alexandra..:)
Thursday, November 06, 2008
donate PLEASE
if I were asked to point to one thing that bothers me about my character I will say that I over think every thing ,even the simplest things in the simplest sittings ,I can manage to find something that apparently makes the lives of those around me hard, I have opinions about how everything should operate and be managed from the big questions of the public administration and civil society to the least significant thing( what people should watch on T.V).
it is nothing that I want to change but it really get me in many situations that causes headache at the least .the challenge is to be vocal ,voicing my views
while seeming in accord with the rest ..
so I have to donate blood to obtain a paper for my college, I had a negative experience of blood donation before; were I fainted and got dizzy . so I have been dreading the whole thing, it was a very long time ,strangely I have some vision of the interior of the building but I totally forgot how to get there and had to ask for direction from family and the drivers.
the weather was nice and my plan was to get there ,ask the people in charge to absolve me based on my health condition and keep going to maybe explore the area a little better(I have developed this interest in getting to know the different parts of Damascus more intimately )when I arrived I had another thing coming , the interior has this daunting feeling just like the vision I had of it. I then discovered that my task will be a little harder ,I didn't get a positive response from the "doctor" ,so I turned to the officer who was just that , a person with military uniform (Al3aqeed)sitting there chatting with two ladies in military uniform ,he wasn't very kind and didn't bother to listen to what I said. and after wasting close to half an hour I decided to let them take a sample from my blood to analyze it ,and it turned out that I am fit to donate blood (well , I have been feeding myself well lately),furthermore my blood type is AB- which is rare and so no way any person I saw agreed to let me go without donating, I sat there thinking ;for God's sake it is called DONATING which implies that you do it voluntarily , and why every one in charge wearing military uniforms ,this is the most CIVIL institution that there can be, I knew that those people don't really care for me because I was certain I will faint as I had nothing to eat that morning ,I thought ;can I sue those people if something happened to me ,silly I know ..
I kept on thinking till it was the end of the work day around 1:30 ,I was very close to forging some signatures and cheating my way out of there,but in the last minute I decided to come another day after having a good breakfast and I promised myself to eat a lot of sweets:)
it is nothing that I want to change but it really get me in many situations that causes headache at the least .the challenge is to be vocal ,voicing my views
while seeming in accord with the rest ..
so I have to donate blood to obtain a paper for my college, I had a negative experience of blood donation before; were I fainted and got dizzy . so I have been dreading the whole thing, it was a very long time ,strangely I have some vision of the interior of the building but I totally forgot how to get there and had to ask for direction from family and the drivers.
the weather was nice and my plan was to get there ,ask the people in charge to absolve me based on my health condition and keep going to maybe explore the area a little better(I have developed this interest in getting to know the different parts of Damascus more intimately )when I arrived I had another thing coming , the interior has this daunting feeling just like the vision I had of it. I then discovered that my task will be a little harder ,I didn't get a positive response from the "doctor" ,so I turned to the officer who was just that , a person with military uniform (Al3aqeed)sitting there chatting with two ladies in military uniform ,he wasn't very kind and didn't bother to listen to what I said. and after wasting close to half an hour I decided to let them take a sample from my blood to analyze it ,and it turned out that I am fit to donate blood (well , I have been feeding myself well lately),furthermore my blood type is AB- which is rare and so no way any person I saw agreed to let me go without donating, I sat there thinking ;for God's sake it is called DONATING which implies that you do it voluntarily , and why every one in charge wearing military uniforms ,this is the most CIVIL institution that there can be, I knew that those people don't really care for me because I was certain I will faint as I had nothing to eat that morning ,I thought ;can I sue those people if something happened to me ,silly I know ..
I kept on thinking till it was the end of the work day around 1:30 ,I was very close to forging some signatures and cheating my way out of there,but in the last minute I decided to come another day after having a good breakfast and I promised myself to eat a lot of sweets:)
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
the reform platform
yesterday ,I had some paperwork for my college to obtain my diploma, my itinerary changed when I decided to call the amateur radio club and then I had another unpleasant encounter with the head of the PRIVATE society that was created to take over the hobby ,anyway I proceeded to ask for an appointment with the president of the Syrian Telecommunication Establishment to protest the unfair measures of the society ,and then went to do my paper work which frankly went fairly smoothly, I went to the university Dormitory(AlSakan AlJami3i) and decided to have something to eat as I have been walking for so much time. I sat there and started to observe the people at this big cafeteria ,it was abuzz with students gathering in groups in tables ,the thought that run through my mind the whole time was REFORM , I thought to myself ,we really need reform , it was not reform of the education system or the administration in the country, it was not something specific ,but the notion of Reform in general the one that will open the door for motivated youth to be part of the decision making process in their country ,the one that will ensure freedom of expression and assembly that is so important to jumpstart civil society as a dynamic and vital actor in the advancement of society .
the word reform resonated with me that day ,I think it will resonate with so many Syrians just as the word CHANGE is resonating with the American electorate .
with so much blunders in our internal as well as international policies ,we really can not afford to waste any more time depending on the same people , the same failed system to produce any different results ,the point I am trying to make is that it is about time that we do something to ensure the participation of all the citizens in determining the direction of this country , so much potential is stifled and so much energy is wasted when we don't address the need to have a system that will accommodate the view points and contribution of every citizen not one that is controlled by a VERY small number of influential people .
I am inspired by the American election, I think I will run on a reform platform the next time there is an election in Syria.
the word reform resonated with me that day ,I think it will resonate with so many Syrians just as the word CHANGE is resonating with the American electorate .
with so much blunders in our internal as well as international policies ,we really can not afford to waste any more time depending on the same people , the same failed system to produce any different results ,the point I am trying to make is that it is about time that we do something to ensure the participation of all the citizens in determining the direction of this country , so much potential is stifled and so much energy is wasted when we don't address the need to have a system that will accommodate the view points and contribution of every citizen not one that is controlled by a VERY small number of influential people .
I am inspired by the American election, I think I will run on a reform platform the next time there is an election in Syria.
Monday, October 20, 2008
the show on wheels
usually when there is an event I want to go to ,I would have enough time on my hands , but yesterday was a little different I had an unexpected thing that came up ( related to work) so I was short on time ,however I didn't want to delay so I decided to go.
the event I am talking about is a street performance called "Sandouk al-Kar" ,it is about this guy who think that he lives in 1978 and tells a story of a lost handicraft .this is a play that is performed in the open air as part of alternative places that DCAC secretariat want to introduce to the public.it will be on show till 21th of October.
the event I am talking about is a street performance called "Sandouk al-Kar" ,it is about this guy who think that he lives in 1978 and tells a story of a lost handicraft .this is a play that is performed in the open air as part of alternative places that DCAC secretariat want to introduce to the public.it will be on show till 21th of October.
read about it in the DCAC 2008 website.
I wanted to write a whole review that discusses the concept ,the story and the chosen venue and timing , .but I couldn't bring myself to write it , I really don't feel that I have a strong opinion about the show ,maybe they couldn't leave an impression on me ,that is not to say that it is a new idea that I encourage and the acting was very good I thought ,however I couldn't relate to the story , maybe because I wasn't paying much attention ,and was busy taking photos ,maybe I was preoccupied with this thing in the morning related to work.
I wanted to write a whole review that discusses the concept ,the story and the chosen venue and timing , .but I couldn't bring myself to write it , I really don't feel that I have a strong opinion about the show ,maybe they couldn't leave an impression on me ,that is not to say that it is a new idea that I encourage and the acting was very good I thought ,however I couldn't relate to the story , maybe because I wasn't paying much attention ,and was busy taking photos ,maybe I was preoccupied with this thing in the morning related to work.
any way to see the whole photo set head to my Flickr page:)
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