The True Hero

28 year-old Iraqi journalist, Munthadar Al Zaidi made it to the wall of fame last week when he pulled out his shoe and hurled it at President Bush. Naturally he was restrained, and jailed immediately after.
The man turned into a hero overnight. He made the headlines in every newspaper, worldwide protests were staged for his release, and the facebook support group launched in his honour reached a membership of 50,000 within just a couple of days. Before you know it, he'll be in the running for Time Magazine's next Person of The Year!

So you hate the man. Is throwing foot apparel at the object of your hatred the way we handle social fallouts these days? So what is it then that sets us apart from animals, if we've lost all ability to think our actions through? Al Zaidi deserves to be locked up if you ask me. And I honesty cannot conceive even the slightest hint of martyrdom in an act so childish.


If anything, I believe it is President Bush whom we should be glorifying. At this point in time, I admire him than I ever will Al Zaidi.
Munthadar was lauded for his inability to keep his temper in check when Bush is the bad-guy for being the one able to control his fury.

George W. Bush gets himself out of bed every morning despite being completely aware of the fact that he is despised all over the world. He goes to work, and visits those countries where he knows he is not welcome. People have written and published books centering around his many gaffes; and yet he is not discouraged.

Now tell me; what is courage? Which of the two has more dignity?

I'm not saying that I love the man, nor am I stating that can do no wrong. As the President of a very influential superpower, he has made some pretty terrible descisions, sure. But I'm taking into account the Man, and not the President.


So to all those hero-worshipping a man with enough decorum to fill Barbie's teacup; get your priorities sorted!
For: "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)



Cheers.

The Mollycoddled Offspring

So my brother's back for hols after a 5-month stint in Malaysia. Now let me tell you, if you want to have the folks at your feet...leave home for a considerable duration of time.

We're all glad to have him back of course. Naturally his favourite meals are prepared ('Poor boy, he must miss home-cooked meals'), and he's being taken out to his favourite restaurants ('Poor boy, he must miss Crispy Chilli Chicken from China Town').

But since when is he allowed to get away with being sloppy. And since when did his sloppiness become 'cute!?' 'Haha..he's left his coffee-mug to rot in his room again!' Or 'Haha..he still leaves his clothes all over the floor!'

A friend of mine warned me of this phenomenon before the arrival of bro. She too has a brother studying abroad who comes down occasioanally for a session of pampering/smothering. 'Just wait and watch shaz,' she cautioned. 'There comes a point where they'll even do somersaults at his bidding.'

This is not jealousy talking. I'm more than happy to have the rents out of my hair for a month..ideally more. I'm just intrigued at the immense power my sibling holds at this point in time.

Wow..i think an experiment is in order. Watch this space for updates on my acrobatic parents.


Cheers.

My Way or The Highway!

"Never judge a book by it's cover!" I've been warned many a time. Literally speaking.
"Always read the review!" they advise.

So I did. I read the blurgs, and made sure that each book I bought had that 'Read This!' stamp of approval by some big-shot at The New York Times or The Daily Mail.
I applied the same for a new movie release. 5 stars out of 5 meant it fell into the 'Must-not-miss-even-if-you've-got-a-hernia' category.
So I read the book, and did not miss the film; strangely, I was almost always disappointed.

But it makes sense doesn't it..to not agree with the accolade of reviews a book/movie has to it's name. Especially when you realize that the aforementioned recommendations come not from Superman, but from just another ordinary person like yourself. Just another individual with his/her own taste in literature, and his/her own opinion on the newest box-office hit.

How on earth could I have even conceived that a stodgy old man with a penchant for satire would ever approve of a film with light humour or a book of the same? Or that a spoof enthusiast or chick-flick activist would ever consider anything but?

So from here on forth, every book I pull off the shelf I will take into consideration only what I expect of the read. And every movie I choose to catch is 'caught' based solely on what I thought of the promo. At the most I'll regard the viewpoint of someone I've found to have similar taste.
So this way I'll have none to blame but myself (although it's always nice to have someone else to accuse) for that terrible feeling of having just wasted my time on a perfectly useless novel; or of having spent Dhs30 (plus nachos) on a pointless film, when I could've just bought myself a Brownie Sundae at BR instead.

Pfft..so you're Ima Hag from the The Times! I'm Shaahima Fahim of Chronicles of a Testtube!!


Cheers.

Green Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Now that Leornado Di Caprio's doing it..we all a piece of it too.
Here's introducing the latest fad to hit the world this season: Going Green.

Honestly, it's all over the place. All of a sudden most multi-national firms are now doing everything in their power to target that eco-friendly stamp, clean-up drives have gathered momentum with noticable urgency, and everyone's planting enough trees to make up for every toothpick they've used. Our planet has been thrown into a state of panic.

For decades scientists, activists and weather-men from all over the globe have been warning their population of the looming threat of global warming; the effect we're having on the extinction of endangered species, and the rate at which our increased levels of carbon emissions is going to generate a considerable boost in sales of gas masks withing the next century.
But no! We kept on spewing out those putrid fumes, and never thought twice about whether that aerosol we sprayed was contributing to that massive hole in the outer hemisphere. And we most certainly didn't give a damn if our clothes were organic.

It's pretty pathetic that all we needed to jump-start our contribution to the planet was a documentary from a Presidential-hopeful, and another from an Oscar-nominated celebrity. Just like we needed Madonna to get us thinking about adopting abandoned children, and the likes of Angelina Jolie to highlight the plight of those living in under-developed nations.

I suppose I shouldn't complain. Who cares about the means as long as we achieve the goal right?

What worries me though, is the likelihood that like every other celebrity-endorsed fad, this other one wil bite the dust as well.


Cheers.

Creativity at it's Best

So with the Dubai Mall having just opened it's doors to the public, and what with the Burj Dubai reaching new heights (sorry..couldn't help) with every passing day, EMAAR decided to launch yet another pretty thing in it's name.

A fountain. A super-sized dancing water-work gala, with music, lights and just about everything that makes you want to go 'Ooooh!'. And in order to rouse up some publicity (like they need it),they devised a competition. Dhs100,00 to the one who could come up with an innovative, yet apt name for this aqua-marvel.

So over the course of 2 months, more than 4,000 entries were sent in; not just from the UAE, and not just from the gulf; but from across the globe. Contributors from over a 100 different nationalities were said to have attempted their claim to fame.

And now the judges have decided. Hearty congratulations to the winner of this challenge; you deserve every dirham for the sleepless nights you must have sacrificed to win this trophy. And the judges! Kudos in accomplishing what must have been a Herculean undertaking.

The fountain at the base of what is to be the tallest building in the world now has a title worthy of it's glory:


'Dubai Fountain'


Cheers

Veni, Vidi, Visa..I came, I saw, I shopped!

I don't think there's anything (or man) in this world that can pry away a woman on a shopping spree. Not even Colin Firth. A shirt-less Colin Firth holding out his wallet though..mayybe.

Nothing comes even close to the comfort of purchases weighing down on our arms, the triumph of scavenging that 'last piece' from the bargain rack, and of course the heady rush resulting from spotting that magical 4-letter word: SALE.

'Tanzeelat' is easily my favourite word in the arabic dictionary. And the term 'shoe' has a calming effect on my nerves that not even a bubble bath can achieve.

But you can't blame us women for this particular 'weakness' that we possess. It's in our blood!

A while ago, a friend of mine (let's call her Barbie shall we?) and I decided to lighten our wallets for the wholesome pupose of a wardrobe update. She met up with me at our mall of choice with her 5-year old cousin (let's call her Kelly) in tow. 'Just until her folks come by,' she reassured me.

Now whe Barbie and I go shopping, we're the considerate sort. We make it a point to visit every retailer (for everyone deserves a chance), and to try on as many outfits as the trial-room-lady will allow (to make sure we have no regrets later, ofcourse).

This arrangement didn't suit Kelly all that well however. She did try to be patient (the poor thing), but by the time we had arrived at the 3rd try-on at our 7th stop-over, her impatience had become very vocal.

When  her parents finally did show, she ran towards them like a marooned man to a ship. Barbie and I were relieved too; now we could return to our business without the nagging guilt or constant promising to drop-in at the toy store.

But believe it or not..just 10 mins since we went out individual ways, Barbie got a call from Kelly's parents asking us to come back and collect her again. Turns out she actually enjoyed our company and wanted us to take her back! We were quite surprised, but welcomed back our little protege' and proceeded with our spree..making it a point to pay a visit (as promised) to the Sweet Shoppe first.

So you see, it really is in our genes. All women are born with this innate desire to buy pretty things, and with the ability to quash our conscience when it comes to debating a purchase. It's a sickness we know, and I extend my heartfelt apologies to all our brothers/boyfriends/fathers and other men in our lives.

But it really is beyond our control.

Cheers. 

Moan, Groan, Go Away...

It's been a month now since i've officially joined the workforce, and i'm a tad sceptic. Why? Because everything's perfect..that's why.

The people are fun, my boss is great and I love what I do. Everyone wishes you a 'Good Morning' like they actually mean it, and they even wipe the sink for the next person once they're done washing their hands! Oh..and every Thursday is free lunch day.

So where do all those horror stories come in? You know..where your supervisor is a nightmare, the merciless office politics, and the fact that you have to drag yourself out of bed every morning?

So yeah..thanks to you lousy bunch of groaners, I can't love my job without the slightest uncertainty. I keep waiting for the axe to fall n' that bubble to burst. Thanks to you..i'm waiting for my boss to peel of his 'happy mask' and reveal his horns. I'm waiting for my colleagues to stop whistling while they work (yea, they whistle while they work), and for the office help to stop bringing me my daily cuppa with a smile.  

The thing about pessimism is that it's contagious. Contagious to the extent that it seeps into your sub-conscious and scares all those happy, satisfisfied thoughts right out of your cranium.

Quite the bummer really..coz' there actually are jolly people out there. If only you'd let them.

Cheers.