Walk like an Egyptian

Why did I start this blog?

2010-02-02T17:42:00.003+10:00

Simply because it represents my life. Unfinished business, places that I never visited, dreams that I never worked hard enough to make them come true, postponed plans, and the lack of will power to finish what I started. (refer to "about me").

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

2009-07-26T16:04:00.003+10:00

The going is getting really tough for me, but I'm not tough enough to get going. It's all coming after me, I used to touch dirt and turn it into gold, but now I touch gold and turn it to dust. I have to take an extremely imporatant decision, a decision that will make me regret for the rest of my life if it's not right, and I don't want to make this decision in this state of continuous bad fortune.
The tough can't get going anymore....I'm getting tired.

Take Five

2009-03-16T19:22:00.001+10:00

Another one of my favourites. First time to listen to it on the guitar, thought about sharing it and give myself a break from my music.

Douglas Niedt ~ Take Five
Uploaded by quillscribe

Music I play V - Alegrías en Mi (Alborozo)

2009-03-15T11:29:00.012+10:00

Alegrías are joyful toques (Alegría means joy or gaiety), light and carefree in spirit. They can express great intensity of feeling, tinged at times with melancholy, but the mood is mostly optimistic and high-spirited.

Alegrías belong to the larger family of toques (guitar playing) called Cantiñas. They originated from the sea-port of Cádiz and probably came into being by the flamenco adaptation of the lively Jotas sung by sailors from Aragon. The melodies of the Jotas were put to the compas of soleares and used for festive dances. Unlike Soleares and Seguiriyas, which are in the Phrygian mode, Alegrías are in the major key, a difference which contributes to their happier and more tuneful aire.

Metronome setting for this Alegría is Allegro
♩= 160

Asturias Leyenda - Isaac Albeniz

2008-12-14T19:20:00.005+10:00

I used to play this one. Took me a year to master the whole piece. This video is only one third of it, but it gives another perspective to the already extremely beautiful masterpiece.
I'm practicing again to play it....hopefully next year

Asturias with flamenco
Uploaded by quillscribe

And here's the original played by the legend Andres Segovia himself

Andres Segovia - Asturias - Albeniz
Uploaded by Quarouble

Music I play IV - Verdiales

2008-12-14T14:32:00.010+10:00

Verdiales are a Flamenco music style, and song form belonging to Canté Chico (Light hearted and less serious music form).
Originating in Los Verdiales, an olive-growing area in the province of Málaga, where a kind of olive known as verdial is grown. It is a fandango that could be fitted within the category of the malagueñas sometimes known as Fandangos de Málaga.
With Moorish origins, it is a cante that can be danced to, and it clearly maintains its own folk roots.
The Compás of this Verdiales is 3/4.
Metronome setting is Allegro.
♩= 168

Flamenco glossary

2008-11-29T10:40:00.003+10:00

Just in case someone is reading the blog and is interested in knowing the meanings of words included, you can find a glossary of the most common words used in Flamenco here.

Music I play III - Sevillana

2008-11-29T09:31:00.009+10:00

Sevillanas are a lively and tuneful form of Andaluz folk music, strongly influenced by Flamenco and now a part of it. They are said to have originated two or three centuries ago from the Seguidillas manchegas of old Castile. Today a great variety of Sevillanas, to be sung, danced to and played on the guitar, have become popular throughout Andalucia, and new melodies and verses are continually being created. The strongly rhythmic compás is common to all.

The spirit or Aire of Sevillanas is usually exuberant, but some of the melodies and verses are in more serious vein. Those in Phrygian mode have a typically flamenco character. The pace is usually brisk, but may be slower and more deliberate in some of the serious coplas.

The Compás of this Sevillana is 3/4.

speed of this sevillana is Andante.

♩= 76

Music I play II - Tientos

2008-11-25T21:17:00.012+10:00

Tangos are a basic form of flamenco rhythm, probably originating from Cadiz and Sevilla. Tientos are the most solemn and profound Cante (song) and Toque (playing style) of the group and they are distinguished from the faster styles of Tangos by their characteristic Compas (metre) and by their serious themes. The word Tiento literally means a 'touch'.

This Tiento uses the flamenco scale (similar to the Phrygian mode) in the por medio position based on the key of A and a meter of 4/4.

speed of this Tiento is Andante-moderato

♩= 104

Music I play I - Primera solea

2008-11-18T05:49:00.008+10:00

The first piece in this series is called : "Primera Soleá"

Soleá, (or soleares to use the plural form) is one of the most basic forms or "palos" of Flamenco music, the exact historical origins of soleares are uncertain and controversial. Probably the most important center of its development was the Triana district of Sevilla in the early nineteenth century. The word 'Soleá' is probably a corruption of soledad which means solitude or loneliness.

Soleá is one of the flamenco palos with the highest number of traditional songs, and it is particularly appreciated by knowledgeable artists and audiences. It is very demanding for singers, as they have to strive to be creative and, at the same time, respectful of the tradition, and they have to succeed in finding a good balance between melody and rhythm, both extremely difficult. It demands great vocal faculties, and the singer should achieve a balance between passion and restraint.

This Soleá is really simple and slow, but it's the basic rhythm for all traditional soleares and even other forms of Flamenco music like the Bulerías.

The Soleá uses the flamenco scale (similar to the Phrygian mode) and a meter of 3/4 although the soleares measure is usually built up from 6 and 12 beat phrases.

speed of this solea is Andante (best speed for this solea is ranging from 88-104)

♩= 88

Composer: Traditional

Notation: Juan Martin

Guitar used: Almansa 403 Abeto.

(If you don't like my playing, just enjoy the intro)

Music I play

2008-11-17T07:16:00.004+10:00

I have decided to start a new series which I will call, "music I play". I finally found something I love and can be added to the blog. I have been playing the guitar for 15 years now, but haven't touched one in almost 5 years. I always had a guitar with me at all times, but never played it though. I always had my fingernails carefully shaped and maintained, ready to go at any time. But still I never played for ages.
My friends all think that I can play a couple of songs and know a couple of guitar tricks, nothing more. The reason for it was that I never played any popular music and I thought that flamenco especially wont be interesting for them. But from now on I will play for my self, I will be my own audience and my own judge on music I play.
I don't know how long will it take me to start getting something out of my guitar and my old stiff fingers, but I will start practicing as hard as I can and hopefully I will be able to record something decent and upload to the blog.
Just bear with me, it's been a very long time since I last played.

Viva el arte.
T.

Alone once more

2008-11-16T22:22:00.002+10:00

They're leaving me again. My parents are going home again tomorrow and leaving me to my loneliness. A part of me wants them to go to have my own space and privacy back, and another part of me doesn't want them to go because I know that I may not see them again.
Still once more they are leaving without me telling them how much I love them and how much I care for them. I do, but I never said it, I took them for granted, I thought that they are going to be there forever, but this time I could see that they are really growing older. I'm trying to tell them that I love them, but there are many things that I could have done while they were here with me.
Tomorrow I will drive them to the airport and go back to an empty house where no one's going to have lunch with me for a long time. With no one to say good bye when I go to work, and no one waiting for me when I come home.
I hate to see you go folks.

one year

2008-11-12T20:31:00.002+10:00

one year..
one year since I last wrote..
I had a reason when I started writing, I wanted to write about my home land, wanted to write about my people, but now I feel that I don't belong to them anymore, don't care for them anymore...
I watch the news with a special interest for news from home but it doesn't hurt anymore. In fact I feel shocked, amazed, and have a laugh everynow and then..Just like any foreigner does when they read the funny news that come from my homeland.
I have too much to say but I feel that it doesn't come out of an insider, from a person who's got the right to have his say, it's unfair for me to have my say about what's happening in my country, and I'll leave it at that.
I'll go find myself something else to write about or else keep silent forever.

best regards to my people that I really love and respect.

Gypo reporting live from Egypt-I

2007-12-16T22:01:00.000+10:00

I just returned home from a long and tiring flight. At last I'm back to Egypt, all I need for now is just a couple of hours sleep and then I'll start my first report.
For now enjoy this song which I always loved, but didn't know that it will mean so much for me one day.
Take me back to cairo.

Alger, Alger, rohty khsara

2007-12-14T07:32:00.000+10:00

It's been two years since I left Algiers, where I lived some of the best days of my life. It was a beautiful country, with a booming economy. People are really friendly, polite, and they really love their country and work for it's best,.....

But some other people had another opinion.....

11/12/07

A terrorist attack in Algiers, Algeria on the UN office

left behind more than 60 dead, and around 180 wounded and still searching for 12 missing people under the rubble.....

Why would anyone kill his own people and destroy his own country, by his own hands....

Somewhere over the rainbow

2007-09-30T15:55:00.000+10:00

El youtube da gamed awy....

It's got literally everything that you can imagine. The story started when I was reading Nourita's blog and I found a post about Louis Armstrong's Wonderful world, and suddenly I remembered that I have another version of it mixed together with somewhere over the rainbow which is another of the best songs ever. I wanted to see if that song was on youtube just to send the link to Nourita, and it was there already. I actually searched without much hope to find it but it came up with no problems on top of the list.

Here it is, enjoy this song and the wonderful clip while I go back to youtube and search for my name, maybe I find a clip for myself that I know nothing about.....

A true story from the book of life

2007-09-26T06:55:00.000+10:00

My dear friend Mohaly posted this article yesterday about a guy who always referred to himself as the poor people's representative and Mohaly as the rich man’s representative, and my interpretation for the guy’s problem was that he suffered from an inferiority complex.
I know that most probably that guy doesn’t read my blog, but I know that Mohaly does, so this one’s for you Mohaly.
This is a real story about a common person who belonged to the same social level as the guy who bothered Mohaly, and even worse. There’s no exaggeration and no imagination in this story, every single word is real.
“In the same building where I lived in Egypt, there was a poor lady who used to be the door keepers wife before he died and left her two children, a girl and an infant boy. She used to work as a house cleaner for the other residents and do shopping for them in order to feed her kids. The owner of the building allowed her to keep living in the laundry room (the roof room) even after we had a new door keeper.
Our main character is the older girl; her story begins after she left school. She joined a 2 year institution (Telecommunication technologies institution, aka Ma3had laselky), and after two years she came out to the real world with nothing but a pretty face. Her dream was to work as an air stewardess, and her mother asked my father to try and find her a job with Egypt air. My father knew KLM’s regional manager who was a relative of ours and asked him if he can help that poor girl and the man said that he couldn’t make any recommendations for her because of his position and reputation but he promised that at least he could get her an interview. She went to the interview and she failed. The interviewers told her that she was too fat, had no languages and no computer skills; simply she was good for nothing that they can offer.
She didn’t break down and she decided to carry on with her life. She worked as a shop assistant and applied for English and computer courses. After a couple of years she left the shop and worked as a typist and then we heard that she was taking French and Italian courses afterwards (and she was on diet ever since that interview).
One day her mother came knocking on our door to tell us that she got a job as an air stewardess for domestic flights with Egypt air, my mom congratulated her for she at last got what she wanted. The girl spent all her money on further education, and her family. They started to look different and the girl became really beautiful. After a while she started getting marriage proposals. Most of the families offered to receive the guest at their homes because they all loved the girl but she refused and insisted on receiving the guest in their single laundry room on the roof, and all the men left and never returned.
She worked long enough to have enough money to rent a place of her own, and she took her mother and left. I started to work away from Egypt and I totally forgot about her until one time when I was returning home from Algeria when I met her at the airport, she was talking over the phone in perfect English (actually she had an accent, but not a very bad one) interrupted by whole verses of French, she didn’t look much different than before other than losing weight and looking like movie stars, I just noticed that she was wearing KLM’s uniform.”

Can sports be dangerous?

2007-09-24T01:16:00.000+10:00

This video was sent to me by email. Really funny

Spring in my backyard

2007-09-23T19:44:00.000+10:00

Today I mowed the backyard after a rainy month, it was sunny and warm and I really enjoyed doing it with only my shorts on, bare chested like a five years old playing in the sun. Every now and then when my body got too hot I switched the sprinkler on and enjoyed the water on my hot skin. After I finished cutting the grass I started observing the flowers in my backyard and the parrots flying joyfully through the trees while I was enjoying the smell of freshly cut grass and the smells of Jasmine and wild flowers. I spent the whole afternoon in the backyard taking these photos.

IQ test

2007-09-06T17:05:00.001+10:00

Your IQ Is 140

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Genius

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I found this webpage and took the test. I don't know why my logical intelligence came out below average, but give it a try and tell me what you've got.(click on the blue text to get there).

Amana ya ba7r

2007-07-27T10:55:00.000+10:00

I always loved Mohamed Mounir's songs especially the lyrics which were always too simple but deeply expressing the human emotions.
This song didn't mean much to me when I lived in Egypt, but became a favourite since the first day I arrived in Australia, and every single time I listen to it, it breaks my heart.
It's one of his old songs from the album,'Meshwar'.
It goes like this:

Amana ya ba7r testelem el amana
A7babna ya ba7r fe 3younak amana

Amana ya mog boos khashab el marakeb
Amana ya mog tabtab 3ala elly rakeb
Amana ya hawa tekteb 3ala el shera3
el lo2a akid men ba3d el wada3

Amana ya ba7r testelem el amana
A7babna ya ba7r fe 3younak amana

Amana ya sama, 7asby 3ala el a7bab
E7mihom ya sama dol fel bo7oor aghrab
Amana ya hawa tekteb 3ala el shera3
el lo2a akid men ba3d el wada3

Amana ya ba7r testelem el amana
A7babna ya ba7r fe 3younak amana

Amana ya teir wassalhom bel salama
Amana ya ba7r ragga3hom bel salama
Amana ya hawa tekteb 3ala el shera3
El lo2a akid men ba3d el wada3

Amana ya ba7r.......

Shanab el Nag3awy

2007-07-23T06:48:00.000+10:00

I heard the last bit of it on the radio at the six news, but then when I was in the office I found the article in the breaking news section.
I know that it's a matter of pride among upper Egyptians, and wars between families can start because of this, but I never thought that it'd make it to the Australian radio, and the news websites!!!
here's the whole story:

WHEN an elder was kidnapped in a clan dispute in conservative southern Egypt, the Al-Arab family's worst fears were soon realised - they received a package containing his moustache, local media reported.The man himself was returned uninjured, but the use of the new shaving tactic sent shockwaves through the town of Mahrusa, near Luxor 650 kilometres south of Cairo, where a man's honour is measured by the size of his moustache, the Al-Gomhuria daily said. The conflict that started with a coffee shop brawl swiftly spiralled out of control, with the Al-Arab carrying out a humiliating reprisal shave on a leading member of the Fallaheen family, followed by all-out battles with sticks and clubs. Police and community leaders then intervened, restoring a relative calm to the town, the paper said, with those worst hit by the conflict set to remain indoors for the coming weeks pending the regrowth of their manliness.

Egypt:Go Only If You Have No Other Place To Go

2007-07-09T16:55:00.000+10:00

These are not my words, this is the opinion of many people who've been in Egypt and wrote their honest reviews on various travel review websites. Although most of the reviews were nice and recommending Egypt for other travellers, but the number of people who had troubles in Egypt is alarming, and if the authorities in Egypt need to keep tourism as one of the few sources of income, they must start solving these problems with a serious approach.
The main complaints can be summarized as follows:

Rubbish and shocking amounts of dirt and smell
beggars
traffic and driving habits
People are nosy and annoying
Tips
Food and water(it made me sick although I had been away for one year before I came back to Egypt)
Abused by Taxi drivers
Impossible to visit if you're disabled
Black people were made fun of and called Negros!!!(We're not white after all)
Service was never good even in 5 star hotels

This is what was wrote in The Sunday Herald Sun and was published in the travel section in Australia's news network about Egypt.

CROSSING Cairo's busy main roads gives new meaning to the term "walk like an Egyptian".
It is less a belly dance than a dance with death.
People take no notice of traffic lights.
Getting from our hotel overlooking the Nile to Cairo's Talaat Harb Square involved taking our lives into our hands.
We followed advice to attach ourselves to a local, some of whom hold their hands up like policemen to stop the cars, which surprisingly obey. No sign of road rage here.
The first time I tried it I gave up and hailed a taxi. The one Cairo driver who did not speak English stopped passing pedestrians, one of whom spoke French but not English, to ask them to translate.
He dropped us about a kilometre away after a hilarious ride in which we pretended to use seat belts as police drove past. The driver blew me a kiss as we leaped out, about 12 lanes of traffic closer to our destination than before we hailed him.
At least he did not propose to me – possibly because of the language barrier. But he charged about $10 for the trip, about three times the usual price.
So we began our walking tour. As we turned one corner, a man rushed up behind us.
"If you turn left at the next corner you'll be in the right area. Where are you from?" he said in a friendly manner.
"Oh Australia. Come into my house, please. My wife is from Perth. Please accept some Egyptian hospitality. What would you like to drink?"
We were then ushered into a room upstairs where we were shown a range of home-made oils (from flowers from his father's farm in the country) and small decorative bottles. And $40 later we left with our parcels. I hope the rose oil really is good for insomnia.
Egypt and scams have become synonymous. Visitors need to be wary.
The Egyptian Government and tourism authorities take this seriously and there are large fines and sometimes jail sentences for offenders.
But that did not stop a tourism policeman at a temple on the Nile asking for "baksheesh" – a tip – after he took a photo of my son and me.
Baksheesh, which in Arabic can mean alms, also calls for a wary approach.
On our Nile cruise we were told to put a tip in an envelope and leave it with reception at trip's end. Of course, that did not stop the housekeeper, who folded our towels to make wonderful animals, from expecting another handout.
At an alabaster factory on the West Bank, young, handsome staff pressed alabaster good luck scarab beetles into our hands and we paid outrageous prices for pottery "exactly" like that found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
Amani Talaat Kamel, our guide in Cairo, said tips should be given only to people who serve you.
"It is bad for Egypt's reputation, but some people make their living out of it," she said. "In the 1970s and '80s, some even made fortunes out of it. Some guests encourage them, so they will keep doing it."
She said scammers usually asked tourists if they had a guide before they quote inflated prices for souvenirs.
"We tell shopkeepers that if they leave the guests alone, they will probably spend more," Kamel said.
Watch shopkeepers and money-changers carefully. Count your changed money before you leave and use reputable changers – there are banks in the bigger hotels.
Before a short horse and carriage ride through the medieval town of Esna on the Nile, our driver asked for five Egyptian pounds (about $1). But at the end we were told: "No, five Euros."
It is best to use a guide to negotiate the payment for camel riding at the pyramids, where drivers are known to charge exorbitant prices.
But genuine tipping usually brings polite gratitude. One tourist went horse riding through the pyramids and was so happy with his experience he gave the horseman a large tip.
The horseman asked him not to tell his boss, then gave some money back, admitting he had not taken the tourist to one of the places promised.

If you think that they wrote this because they hate Egypt, Arabs and Muslims as people in Cairo prefer to say when being criticized, please refer to the travel reviews about Saudi Arabia and Iran, they found something nice and decent to write about two of the most non touristic countries in the world, not to mention Dubai and Tunisia.

And then read the reviews of individuals who visited Egypt and wrote about their experience afterwards. I chose this one, but you can read the rest if you have the time.

I spent a year in the Sinai (Egypt) and made numerous trips to Cairo. While being able to say that you have seen the Pyramids in person ~ always give you something to talk about; it truly is not worth the trip, unless you have nowhere else to go.A visit there is good for maybe 3 days. But one must be very aware of the economic situation there to understand what is going on when your American or western butt gets off the plane. The economy there is pathetic. Life for the typical Sediki on the street is one of survival. They see Americans ~ then it's payday. This is not to suggest that folks there are not good people ~ because as a whole Egyptians and Arabs in general are a warm gracious people. But when it comes to feeding yourself and/or your family ~ you do what you have to do.With that said, be prepared to tip, tip, tip, and tip large as this is many of those folks sole means of support. They are understandably pushy about it for reason listed above. Now for the place. Yes it's nice to see the Pyramids and also to say that you have seen the Nile (just don't step toe in it). The place is terribly crowded and travel by taxi is a nerve-wreaking experience. Good luck finding side-mirrors on the cars. There are frequent bumping and grinding on the streets. I suggest a mild sedative to travel in this place. Hell, even better just get plastered so you won't know if your time comes. Sediki is in a hurry to see Allah ~ but I wasn't necessarily in a hurry to see my maker (think I'd go to the bad place anyway).The place is filthy. I had never seen such filth since being in NYC and Philly. Don't eat ANYTHING that you don't prepare yourself. I know there are dishes that might be a delicacy; but beware. I can't spell qalimara (squid) ~ it was delicious; but boy did I pay for it and pay for it and pay for it. I lost 15 lbs.....that's the upside. I ate this at the International-something hotel right off the river in the nice part of Cairo. Still became sick as a dog. Do yourself a favor, bring peanut butter, jelly and bread. Or go on a diet.Don't go in the summer. The heat and believe it or not humidity is oppressive. The winter months are awesome. Overall, I would say not to go there; unless you are a world traveler and have seen everything else. Buy postcards of the pyramids. Otherwise, it's nothing but a huge, filthy, crowded mess of humanity. As for me, on a vacation I avoid humanity as much as possible.I hesitantly recommend this place.

Again this is only one of the few people who didn't like it, but Egypt must take all these complaints seriously and try to solve the problems before all hope was lost.

The secret geometry of numbers

2007-07-06T17:23:00.000+10:00

I was always fascinated by numbers, I always loved mathematics, all the formulas and geometrical theories, but my greatest fascination ever was dates and time. I always looked up special dates and wrote down a reminder for my self to remember these dates and see if something different happens on these dates.
I remember one special day which was Thursday 5th of may 2005. Thursday in Arabic is "El khamis" which is a derivative from the number 5 and means the fifth day, so the date was fifth day of the week 5/5/2005, and at exactly at 5:00 pm the plane I was on, was touching the Egyptian land coming back from a Algeria, and on the same day after 3 hours exactly at 8 pm or 20:00 (which is the summation of all fives of the day) my brother was proposing to his now wife.
Tomorrow is Saturday 07/07/2007, I wonder if something different will happen to me tomorrow at seven!!

El Shanka7oury:"Ashraf Marwan was not murdered"

2007-07-06T17:14:00.000+10:00

Five days ago, I was reading the morning news as usual, and as always I start with my favourite paper, the Taftazany state owned news paper, "El Shanka7oury" when I came across this head line stating that Scotland yard told El shanka7oury exclusively that Ashraf Marwan was not killed (That's it cut and dried), no suspicions of him being murdered and there was no further investigations to be held by Scotland yard, and the rest of the article was only talking about Jimmy, how sympathetic he was, and the way he held Mona Abdel Nasser in his arms in great sorrow and affection for the loss of the whole nation,....(end of the funny article).

I wasn't convinced that Scotland yard can release that shanka7oury statement in such a short time and was almost certain that it only came from the original shanka7oury source, "El shanka7oury".

I started searching for all news sources over the internet and found no reference to this statement whatsoever on CNN, BBC, Herald Tribune, And even Ha'artez, and Maariv, simply nothing except this weird article in El Shanka7oury.

And since the news paper is state owned, hence it's the voice of the government which is the voice of the gifted, blessed president for life. And since the blessed president speaks too much and says anything but the truth all the time, therefore I never believe anything I read in this newspaper. I tried to read the article in El shanka7oury weekly, or El shanka7oury hebdo but found no reference to this statement(as the state knows that people who read in English or in french belong to a different class and wont be happy with such a statement, so the paper kept on the safe side and only tried to decieve the simple locals).

Kan yama kan fee belad el taftazan

2007-07-01T22:07:00.000+10:00

Once upon a time in a country called Taftazan (you wont find it on any map), lived a man whose name was Ashraf Marwan. This man played a very dangerous game with the Taftazany Suicidal Intelligence "TSI", the neighbouring country of Saklaman claimed that he was it's own agent, or at best a double agent. Although nobody knows the truth, the fact that Ashraf Marwan lived as a celebrity star is undeniable. He was very well known to the common people back home in Taftazan although nobody knew what he was doing, hos life was a mystery and he died leaving behind an unsolved riddle.
It is obvious that he didn't commit suicide, and that the TSI has killed him for many reasons. In Taftazan Everything is just traditional, and the most preferable way for execution by the TSI is making it look like a suicide by throwing the victim from the balcony, and most probably this is the only execution style they teach at the Taftazany suicidal schools.
Second, he started writing his diaries which is a very big mistake, he should have learned from other Taftazany citizens living in London who started writing their diaries and committed suicide by throwing themselves from the balconies, remember So3ad? So3ad 7osny, once she started writing down her diaries, she dropped the pen and ran to the nearest balcony to throw herself down to the street.(I wont say that someone was angry at her back home in Taftazan), or El Leithy Nasef, and Ali Shafik and other Taftazany people lived in London and faced the same destiny that all Taftazanies face in London, suicide from the Balcony.
My advice to all Taftazany people,
1)never write any sort of diaries or leave any reminders(blogging is as dangerous).
2)Never go to London and if you have to, make sure you live in a town house, just in case you decide to throw yourself from the balcony.
3) Never visit any friends or accept any invitations from people living downtown, if they live in an upper floor or if they have balconies, because once you're there your desire to throw yourself from the balcony will control you.
And for the TSI, it's becoming too old and really traditional to get rid of people by throwing them from balconies. You've been watching a lot of Taftazany movies. Think about something new, like drowning or may be electricity, be creative.

My first day in my 30's

2007-07-01T16:27:00.000+10:00

Today I start a new phase in my life, I'm 30 now. During the past few days, I didn't have much sleep and actually took a couple of days off because I was really worried about becoming 30. I wanted to enjoy my last days as 20 something before this day comes.
I started going out to visit all the pubs I knew in Brisbane, partying all night long as I did a long time ago, but today I figured out that I didn't need all this, as it turned out to be a normal birthday. I woke up today and looked in the mirror to see the same old guy I used to see for ages. I didn't look older, I didn't look different and definitely didn't look desperate. In fact I saw the same flame of hope in my eyes, the same happiness to wake up everyday and discover what fate has got for me everyday, I can't wait till Monday to go back to work and start another day at work.
Did I look older this morning? If I compare the image to any of my old photos, I'd say yes but deep inside I still feel as young as the 18 years old me. I'm 30 now but my mind has changed accordingly, I'm still looking for the future, still got unfinished business on earth that I still need to work hard to accomplish. In fact being 30 motivated me to give more as I realized now that life is really too short.
It seems like yesterday when I was 10 and imagining my self as 20 years old guy, imagining how will I look like, what will I be doing, where I'm gonna be at that time. Now 20 is history, but I still wait for tomorrow like the 10 years old that I used to be.
I'd like to thank every one who called me, SMS'd, e-mailed, or wrote on my wall on face book, most of them are 30 or older, and I still know that nothing has changed about them now that they're 30.
A special thanks for my friend Mohaly who always keeps my mind busy trying to comment on his cheeky posts.(I checked your blog first before I wrote this, thank you for the post).
Another special thanks to my old friend Fubar(the original Egyptian), I almost lost hope that anyone other than me, you, and Mohaly will ever read the blog.
See you all guys next X-mas.

Why I don't eat Asian food

2007-06-23T13:25:00.000+10:00

This is an article from the Qatari newspaper, Al-Sharq.

FOUR Asians who murdered another Asian and then ate his body were caught when one of their victim's finger was found in the stomach of one during treatment for acute food poisoning.
The Qatari newspaper said the four men had to seek emergency hospital treatment after eating part of the corpse, various bits of which, including a finger, showed up on hospital X-rays.
The paper did not give the men's nationalities.
It said their victim was also of Asian origin, and that the affair, unprecedented in Qatar, was now in the hands of prosecutors.
The link is a .pdf file, you'll find the original article at the bottom left corner of the first page.

How much will you pay for a phone number?

2007-06-22T07:50:00.000+10:00

Yo check this out. I'm a cool Arab, I've got a Mercedes with an emblem the size of a 17" rim wheel, I listen to Tupac, I don't understand a word but I can shake my ass to the beat, I have every single porn movie ever made, and I've got the coolest phone number 6666666, I bought it for 10 million ryal. Call me on this number BH.

Men are more likely to look at faces

2007-06-21T10:59:00.000+10:00

This is an article I found on the Internet about a study that proves that men look at the faces first when viewing nude pictures while women go straight to the rude bits.
meen ba2a elly 3eneh zaygha?

Emory study on sexy pictures finds men more likely to look at faces:
Contrary to popular opinion, men are more likely to look at a female's face before other areas when looking at pictures of naked women, according to a study by Emory University researchers.
And women will gaze at pictures of heterosexual sex longer than men, the study found.
Both findings, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, shed light on sexual attitudes that really aren't all that mysterious when considered in a scientific light, Emory psychologist Kim Wallen said.
Wallen and his former graduate student, Heather Rupp, showed still photos of couples having sex to 30 women and 15 men between the ages of 23 and 28. Each was rigged up with a high-tech eye-tracking device to measure where his or her gaze went first, and how long it stayed there.
Men went straight to the face and lingered awhile, but most of the women were more interested in the sexual activity. How much so depended on whether they were taking hormone-filled birth control pills.
Those who were, Wallen said, were interested in the overall view of the photos and "background" items like jewelry, but women not on the pill were more interested in areas normally covered by clothing.
"Eye-tracking data suggested that what women paid most attention to was dependent on their hormonal state," said Rupp, now at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.
Wallen and Rupp said their study suggests that men's increased attention to faces may be related to higher activation in the amygdala, a portion of the brain that processes emotional information and excitement.
Women can tell by looking at naked men whether they are aroused, Wallen said, but female bodies don't reveal much.
"It's cryptic, but facial expression is one way of showing an indication of interest in and enjoyment of sex," Wallen said.

Love & marriage

2007-06-21T10:12:00.000+10:00

When I was younger I always observed married couples and wondered how people can be blind when it comes to marriage. I often saw good looking girls married to ugly, fat guys(usually with horn rimmed glasses and bald heads) or handsome guys walking proudly down the street with very ugly girls. It irritated me until I finally found my own theory for the marriage mystery.
First, I had to classify people into two categories:
1- The cool guys and girls.
2- The nerd guys and girls.
The Story starts here,(School years):
The cool guys hang out with cool girls, have fun, party every night, very social and everybody loves them. Simply the popular school stars.
The nerds, living in the shadows of the hall ways of the school barely noticed, will try to approach the nerd girls. Nerd girls, always dreaming of the cool guys turn them down, guys walk away broken hearted. Nerd guys and girl never have a relationship and they start to focus on something else, usually their lessons.
And After many years (The happy ending):
They all grow up and start thinking about settling down. Everyone starts looking for a partner, but the choice is different this time.
1)Cool guys:knowing that they're not that cool anymore, they didn't care much about their education(but could still get a decent job), and they don't trust cool girls for marriage. They start looking for nerd girls. After all this is marriage, it doesn't have to be cool.
2)Cool girls:Had much fun when they were younger, but it's time now to go on, to look for the future. They're smart enough to know what's best for them, of course it's a nerd with a promising career and future. Guys with good jobs are guys with good money.
3)Nerd guys:They've been working hard enough for the whole of their lives, and this is what they deserve. A girl to compensate for all the years they spent building up their future.
4)Nerd girls: At last they can now show the world their partners with pride that of all girls, the nerd could catch the heart of this playboy.

Sabah el kheir ya Masr (IV)

2007-06-20T06:33:00.000+10:00

This photo seems to be following me everywhere I go.
The first time I've seen that photo was during a safety management induction I had to go through when I first arrived in Australia. The instructor was talking about fatal incidents and unsafe procedures when that picture popped up on the screen. Everybody started laughing except for me because I had that deep feeling that this one was taken in Egypt, and I was waiting for the guy to say it, but fortunately he didn't. Then I started receiving this photo frequently in my email. I still don't know for sure if this photo was taken in Egypt but I still get that same feeling every time I see it.Don't blame the guys, it's"akl el 3eish", blame the authorities, which until this moment don't have a common safety procedures to ensure the safety of the labourer.It's simple, if I'm an employer and I'm not forced to insure people working for me, don't have to provide adequate tools(by law), in an over populated country, and one of my employees who earns a couple of hundred pounds a month refuses to do a job, I'll just kick him out and employ 10 instead of him and getting paid half of what he does. That's why people don't complain, there's nothing to back them up, and no unions to complain to. El nas dy ghalaba mesh 3adeemy el e7sas.

Can I take a picture with the elephant?

2007-06-19T17:23:00.000+10:00

Egyptian english again. Watch this video, it's hilarious.

Sick phrases from the Egyptian movies

2007-06-06T15:20:00.000+10:00

Here's a list of phrases, scenes, and actions repeated on almost all Egyptian movie.
1)E7na 3amalna elly 3alena wel ba2y 3ala rabbena
2)We ba3den ma3ak ya sy baba?(from Yasmine)
3)Sallem nafsak el beit kollo mo7asar
4)Sallem nafsak ladrab fel malyan
5)Sallem nafsak ya 7assan, 7otto fel takhsheeba ya 3askary(it's only in the Egyptian movies that the officers know the criminal's name and forget their soldiers' name)
6) Etnein 3aseer(always the orange drink, sometimes the waiter doesn't wait for the order and brings the orange drink straight away. Why don't they ask for tea or coffee? at least no further questions would be asked. But for juice, the next question would've been which juice do you want? but it's only in Egyptian movies that juice only means one thing, the orange drink).
7) Etnein ghada(same as 6, the restaurant has only one item on the menu).
8) A7maaaaaad,........Monaaaaaaa
9) wara el 3arabeyya elly henak dy yasta
10) action: same screaming tyres sound on all pursuits(and in all pursuits, the speed doesn't exceed 40 km/h)
11) Starting up a car's engine, always the same sound(three ignition strokes and a high rev) for all cars no matter if it was a seat or a Volvo.
12) before they come to a stop all cars produce the same sound (one high rev) that every body has heard a thousand times.
13) When people get shot, they don't bleed.
14) If they bleed, they bleed red ink(Mercurochrome)
15) Bullets go through shirts without tearing them.
16) A son will shake hands with his mother
17) spoiled kids always go to the same night club(anybody knows where is this night club?)
18) Actors will have to hold cigarette packs and drinks awkwardly so that the brand doesn't show.
19) Nadia el Gendy will only act in action movies, where her dresses are torn into pieces revealing her legs first, and then her bra. When she gets home exhausted from the pursuit, she always takes a shower then makes love to her husband(or the murderer who saw her showering and wanted to sleep with her before he kills her).
20) all car horns have the same sound, and all door bells are Canary birds.
21) nobody will ever know your voice over the phone if you put your handkerchief over the speaker.
22) Fa3el el kheir was always a gang member that even actors should've known after years of receiving calls from fa3el el kheir that they shouldn't believe him.

23) The role played by Farid Shawky is always determined by the shape of his eye brows. If he raises one brow higher than the other, he's the bad guy. If he raises both, then he's an innocent being wrongfully accused of a murder. If he doesn't raise any then he's the lawyer or the prosecuting attorney.

24) Movie people only went to casino el warda el beida

25) You know if a person is dead by lifting their arm up and drop it. If it drops to his side then he's dead(If he was sleeping his arm will stay sticking up in the air).

26) Doc: Ezzay batalna ennaharda?

patient: el fadl yerga3 le rabbena we leek ya doctor.

The Egyptian Flag

2007-06-06T09:06:00.000+10:00

Egyptian flag(1984 - present)

Colour symbolism:
The red color refers to the period before 1952 Revolution which brought a group of army officers to power after deposing King Farouk, then King of Egypt. This was a period characterized by the struggle against the British occupation of the country. The white symbolizes the advent of the 1952 Revolution which ended the monarchy without bloodshed. The color black symbolizes the end of the oppression of the people of Egypt at the hands of the Monarchy and British colonialism.
The Emblem:
The symbol placed in the middle of the Egyptian flag is the eagle of Salah el din(Salah al-Din Yusuf) (1138-1193) who was the first Ayubid Sultan. He ruled over Egypt, Hejaz, Syria and Mesopotamia. He captured Jerusalem to the Latins in 1187 and signed with them a peace treaty in 1192.The use of the Salah el din eagle on Arab flags is modern, however.
Some flags seen in Cairo has the shield on the emblem as gold, white, gold; or red, white, black; or light gold hatching, white, dark gold hatching; or white, white, white with two gold vertical lines to divide the three parts.
The inscription on the ribbon is Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiya (Arab Republic of Egypt).
Even thou both the inscription of the former coat of arms Al-Jumhuriya (Al-Arabiya Al-Misriya) and Jumhuriyat Misr Al-Arabiya are translated to the same "Arab Republic of Egypt", there is a big internal political difference between the two. In the first (old) way - the Republic is first Arabic and then Egyptian, in the newer version it is first Egyptian and then Arabic.

Terminology & Etiquette in Egyptian Flag display:
- Hoist - the act or function of raising the Egyptian flag, as on a rope
- Half Staff or Half Mast - the Egyptian flag is hoisted to half of the potential height of the flag pole to denote grief and mourning, performed by first raising the Egyptian flag to the top, then lowering the Egyptian Flag halfway
- Distress - denoted by flying the Egyptian flag upside-down
- Manner of hoisting - The Egyptian flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously
- No disrespect should be shown to the Egyptian flag
- The Egyptian flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit the Flag to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way
- The Egyptian flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing on the flag of any nature
- The Egyptian flag should be hoisted first and lowered last(on Egyptian land)
- International Flag relating to Egyptian Flag usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace
Penal Provisions for Contempt of the Flag:
Abusing the flag in any way is a criminal offense and is punishable under law as it implies contempt of the power of the state. Penal provisions also govern abuse of foreign flags or national emblems of other countries.

History:
Muhammad Ali Dynasty (1805-1922)
To signify his autonomy from the Ottoman porte, and his own grandiose ambitions of challenging the Sultan for control of the Ottoman Empire itself, Muhammed Ali introduced a flag highly reminiscent of the Ottoman flag, with three white crescents and three stars on a red field. It has been suggested that this was to symbolize the victory of his armies in 3 continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), or his own sovereignty over Egypt, Nubia, and Sudan.
After theUrabi revolt in 1882, British forces occupied the country, igniting ever greater nationalist resentment. This reached a peak in the Revolution of 1919, when both the red Muhammad Ali flag, and a special green banner bearing a crescent and cross (to show that both Muslims and Christians supported the nationalist movement against British occupation) were seen in the streets.
Kingdom of Egypt (1922-1952)
The first official national flag of modern Egypt was adopted by a Royal Decree in 1923, after Britain formally recognized Egyptian independence in 1922. It consisted of a white crescent with three white stars on a green background.
The three stars supposedly represented either the three parts comprising the Kingdom (Egypt, Nubia and Sudan), or the three religious communities of Egypt: Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Republic of Egypt (1952-1958)
Following the 1952 Revolution, the republic initially kept the green flag with the crescent and three stars of the kingdom but later replaced it with a red-white-black horizontal tricolour like today, but with a different style of eagle emblem in the white stripe, bearing a shield of the crescent and stars. It has since seen only changes to the central emblem: under the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), the white stripe contained two green stars; in 1972-1984, a Golden Hawk of Quraish; and since 1984, the Eagle of Saladin with a superimposed shield, and a scroll bearing the country's name in Arabic.
Egypt as United Arab Republic (1958-1972)
In 1958, a Presidential Decree established a new flag for the United Arab Republic which comprised a merger of Syria and Egypt.
Egypt continued to use this flag until January 1, 1972, although the short-lived union saw its dissolution in 1961.
Republic of Egypt (1972-1984)
In 1972, when Egypt joined the Federation of Arab Republics, the Law was amended to change the flag. The stars were removed from the flag and replaced by a golden hawk (the "Hawk of Qureish"), holding a scroll with the Arabic name of the Federation.
The change in 1984, in addition to restoring the Eagle of Saladin, restored the top red stripe to the same red used in the United Arab Republic flag. The flag of 1972 had lightened the red color slightly.

Other Flags:
Army flag

Navy

Air Force

Sabah el kheir ya Masr (III)

2007-06-03T16:53:00.000+10:00

Eh elly 7asel fel balad?

el nas khalas ma3andahash ayy tamyeez?

I have a few comments on the photo:

Where is the decency or even the common sense in what he's doing? the guy is literally on a public road.
When will there be any restriction about the usage of fresh water resources? not only this but also the disposal of rubbish, dead animals,human and industrial wastes into fresh water canals.
Even the donkey knows better than humans and would never tread into that water.
What is that structure built inside the water? where's the irrigation ministry standing from all that misuse for the only source for fresh water that Egypt depends upon?
And last, aaaaah ya balad men gher rayyes, haty el 3esh wel 7alawa ya fatty

ps: Ma3lesh ya Mohaly, I already had it ready before I slept last night.

Egyptian Flag

2007-06-01T23:02:00.000+10:00

I'll have to write this in arabic.
3ashan rabbena amar bel satr. refer to the previous post, we karen el protocol dah ma3a el 3alam el masry fo2 ayy geha 7okoomeyya aww madrasa. Begad 3alam a7kar we af2ar el belad fel denya materdash te3alla2o, 3alam adeem, me2atta3, bahtan khales, hazeel wa mo7tader eza gaz al kawl.
El 3alam el masry mesh haykoon a7san men el dawla nafsaha, bal howa daleel 3ala 7al el dawla allazy yad3o lel ratha2. dablan zay 3azeemet we eradet el nas. kal7an zay woshoosh el nas el ta3bana. me2atta3 lel tazkeer befa2r el nas.
Ana akheeran fehemt ma3na el alwan elly 3al 3alam el masry:
a7mar: dam el nas el ghalaba elly beyroo7 hadar fel 7awades, wel mostashfayat, we men el mobeedat el mosartena, wel 3eesh elly ma3mool men el am7 el molawwath, we men el 3elag elly beye2tel el nas, wel 3abbarat, wel otorat.......
Abyad:
oloob el nas el do3afa, we 3o2olhom kaman....
eswed:
lon el 7ader, el 3eesha welly 3ayshenha, wel mosta2bal elly ashad sawadan men al 7ader al aswad.
el sa2r:
menawwar zay el shams, el sa2r elly barek fo2 nafasna men zaman, e7na nekbar we nsheekh wenmoot we howwa zayy el sa2r, zay tamatheel el fara3na. fee a7san 7al. sa2r a3ed fo2 nafasna, yeteer 3ashan yestad el nas we yakolhom. kollo karama we 3ezza, bass bey3eesh 3ala dam el bany admeen. tab3an maho sa2r ba2a.
Wel sa2r dah mawke3o fel 3alam fel 7etta el beida, la2enno howwa elly faddaha benafso 3ashan ye3raf ye3eesh fel nadafa we ye3raf yesaytar 3al nas. we ba3den howwa la yantamy lel mante2a el soda. el sawad el a3zam, la2 dakoll 7ayato beida, 3eesha beida we mosta2bal abyad, we balad beida khales, maho shattab 3ally feeha.
Ana 3andy soora lel 3alam el masry, wa7ed 7attaha fee website we faker en heyya funny. ana lamma shoftaha ma2dertesh atakhayyal en dah 3alam balady, we ma2darsh kaman a7ottaha hena. 3omooman ana delwa2ty 3alam balady ba2a azra2.

aah ya balad men gher rayyes.

The Australian flag

2007-06-01T10:11:00.000+10:00

Design of the flag:
The Australian flag is composed of three parts:
The Union Jack (British flag) in the top left corner,
The 'Star of Federation' in the bottom left corner, and
The Southern Cross, taking up the right half of the flag. The Union Jack shows that the first colonisation by Europeans was by Britain. In case you didn't know, Australia started as a penal colony. The Star of Federation is a seven pointed star. They came to the number seven, by giving each state (six in all) a point on the star, and having one more point for Australia's territories (of which there are several). There are two mainland territories, and several overseas, including two in Antarctica. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.

History of the flag:

Following Federation as a new nation (the Commonwealth of Australia) on 1st January, 1901 the Commonwealth Government announced a Federal Flag design competition on 29th April, 1901. The review of Review for Australiasia, a Melbourne journal, had initiated an Australian flag competition in 1900, a unique event at the time. It was agreed that the entries received by this journal would be accepted in the Government’s competition. The contest attracted 32,823 entries from men, women and children. An expert panel of judges assessed the entries using guidelines which included history, heraldry, distinctiveness, utility and cost of manufacture, On 3rd September, 1901, a public ceremony was held at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, where Lady Hopetoun, wife of the Governor-General, opened a display of the entries in the competition. The Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Edmund Barton, announced that five entrants, who had submitted similar designs, were to share the honour of being declared the designers of Australia’s own flag. They were: Ivor Evans, a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne; Leslie John Hawkins, a teenager apprenticed to a Sydney optician; Egbert John Nuttall, a Melbourne architect; Annie Dorrington, an artist from Perth; and William Stevens, a ship’s officer from Auckland, New Zealand. The Commonwealth Government and the Review of Reviews for Australasia provided £75 each and the Havelock Tobacco Company added £50 to this making a total of £200 prize money, a considerable amount at the time. The five winners received £40 each.

The Australian National Flag was flown for the first time in September 1901 at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne, which was then the seat of the federal government.
It was announced in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 8 of 1903 that King Edward VII approved designs for the flag of Australia, known as the Commonwealth blue ensign, and for the flag of the merchant navy, known as the Commonwealth red ensign. The stars of the Southern Cross were simplified to four seven-pointed stars and one five pointed star. (The 1901 design depicted the stars with a differing number of points to signify their brightness.) In 1908 a seventh point was added to the Commonwealth star to represent the Australian territories.
Confusion developed surrounding the use of the two Australian flags. The blue ensign was intended for official and naval purposes only and the red ensign was to be used by the merchant fleet. However, the general public also began using the red ensign on land. In 1941, Prime Minister the Rt Hon Robert Menzies issued a press statement recommending the flying of the blue ensign as a national emblem. The Flags Act 1953 ended confusion about which ensign to use.

The Flags Act 1953 proclaimed the Australian blue ensign as the Australian National Flag and the Australian red ensign as the flag for merchant ships registered in Australia.

Other flags used in Australia:

Queen Elizabeth II's Personal Standard in Australia

There is an E flag for Australia. It is made of the shield of Australia (6 quarters, 1 for each state) surrounded by an ermine border, the whole thing overlaid with a gold seven-pointed star, a blue disk, a gold circle of roses (I think they're roses), and a crowned E.
This is the personal standard of the current Queen of Australia, used only within Australia, and only when she's personally present. The Queen of the UK leaves her personal standard behind - no England, Scotland or Ireland appear on the Australian E flag.
Because there is no constitutional position for any other members of the (UK) royal family in Australia, they have no personal standards for use here.

Australian civil air ensign

Royal Australian Navy RAN
Royal Australian Air Force Flag
Army flag

Protocol for flying the flag:

Flying the flag
- The flag should be raised briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
- The flag should be raised no earlier than first light and lowered no later than dusk.
- When the flag is raised or lowered, or when it is carried in a parade or review, everyone present should be silent and face the flag. People in uniform should salute.
- The flag should always be flown freely and as close as possible to the top of the flagpole with the rope tightly secured.
- Unless all flags are raised and lowered simultaneously, the Australian National Flag should be raised first and lowered last.
- When the Australian National Flag is flown with flags of other nations, all flags should be the same size and flown on flagpoles of the same height
- When flying with only one other national flag, the Australian National Flag should fly on the left of a person facing the flags.
- Two flags should not be flown from the same flagpole.
- The flag may be flown at night only when it is illuminated.
- The flag should never be flown if it is damaged, faded or dilapidated. When the material of a flag deteriorates it should be destroyed privately and in a dignified way. i.e it may be cut into small unrecognisable pieces then disposed of with the normal rubbish collection.
- The flag should not be flown upside down, even as a signal of distress.
- The flag should not fall or lie on the ground or be used as a cover (although it can be used to cover a coffin at a funeral).

Flying flags at half-mast
- Flags are flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning.
- The half-mast position will depend on the size of the flag and the length of the flagpole. The flag must be lowered to a position recognisably half-mast to avoid the appearance of a flag which has accidentally fallen away from the top of the flagpole. An acceptable position would be when the top of the flag is a third of the distance down from the top of the flagpole.
- There are times when direction will be given by the Australian Government for all flags to be flown at half-mast.

- Flags in any locality can be flown at half-mast on the death of a local citizen or on the day, or part of the day, of their funeral.
- When lowering the flag from a half-mast position it should be briefly raised to the peak and then lowered ceremoniously.
- The flag should never be flown at half-mast at night even if it is illuminated.
- When flying the Australian National Flag with other flags, all flags in the set should be flown at half-mast. The Australian National Flag should be raised first and lowered last.

Funerals
- The flag can be used to cover the coffin of any Australian citizen at their funeral.
- The upper left quarter or canton should be draped over the ‘left shoulder’ of the coffin to represent the heart.
- The flag should be removed before the coffin is lowered into the ground or after the service at a crematorium.

Sabah el kheir ya Masr (II)

2007-06-01T01:00:00.000+10:00

I wonder if edaret el takafol el egtema3y recieved any blind students at all.

Ser Schweppes

2007-05-31T06:40:00.000+10:00

I found this link on my old friend Fubar's blog. Do you remember the old schweppes ads?

Sarab men al fatafeet ... Fokleila fo2 fokleila !! Ser Schweppes , you have to be at least 30 or above to remember these ads on Egyptian TV , starring the serious drama actor Hassan Abdeen.

click to view videos

Passport to visit the world

2007-05-30T19:07:00.000+10:00

Is that a passport to leave hell and go visit the world?
I just remembered a verse in a song that said,"el dakhel 3andena maf2ood wel khareg men hena mawlood"

Egyptian English (Egyptian B te2eela)

2007-05-30T17:53:00.000+10:00

I was always amazed how Egyptians are so innovative in everything including languages. The problem is that Egyptians can pronounce both B's but always in the wrong place(ie, p like poy and b like beoble) and some people just can't so they invented the heavy b and the light b.
I always had problems with this, as I was never taught the difference in school.
When I was working in Algeria, I had a call from one of our accountants who asked me to give him the name of the bank he was going to. It was bnp paribas!!, I told him the name and he wanted to write it down, and so I had to spell the name for him. I tried the b heavy and light but it was me who got confused so he asked me to tell him the position of the..........3asaya!!!!.
He actually asked me, el b omm 3asaya fo2 walla 3asaya ta7t, I started giving him the 3asaya positions for the whole name and at the end he just said"dah eh el esm el menayyel dah? yetnete2 ezzay dah?.
Second thing that amazed me was the F&V. People think that Egyptians can't pronounce the V. Well actually they can, only in three words that don't contain any V's; ViVa(FIFA), caVeteria, and maVia, everything else is pronounced in F.
Third, Egyptians are very bad in English grammar for a main reason which is that they think in their own language, Arabic which is totally different than English. I actually heard someone saying,"I'm gonna drink a cigarette", which is just a translation of his thoughts into English.
Fourth, the first thing I was told in school was to listen, listen to the teacher, listen to the news, listen to the actors in movies, and actually that was the best way that worked for everyone and is always recommended to anyone who tries to learn English.

Yesterday, when I was a child

2007-05-27T15:01:00.000+10:00

Do you remember the last time you've seen something new to you? something that really draws all your attention and senses? When was the last time you touched the snow? Do you remember the first time you saw it raining and stuck your hand out of the window to touch the rain? Do you remember the smell of grass after it rains? Do you remember the colour of the blue sky? Did you see shapes in the clouds?do you remember?....
A couple of weeks ago, I was going to work as usual, and as usual I took the short cut that I always use when the car started shaking and I figured out that I had a flat tyre. I was about to replace the tyre when I remembered that I left the spare tyre back in my garage. I was really pissed off and called my boss to tell him that I was going to be late for work, then called the insurance company to send me a tow truck, they told me that the truck will be there in 30 minutes. I realized that there was nothing to do until the truck shows up so I stayed in my car waiting.
After may be 5 minutes, I heard some sounds coming from outside my car, I turned the radio off and listened. There were birds outside singing, I thought that they sounded beautiful and I stepped outside my car to listen to them. It was an early autumn day (may is autumn in Australia, don't be surprised), it was a little bit cold, I felt the mist on my face for the first time in years, I enjoyed that feeling while listening to the birds, watching them fly around happily. I Started observing other sorts of life around me, trees full of green, yellow, red and blue. Flowering plants, butterflies, and insects. I could even smell the fresh wet grass and the smell of the small flowers.
I looked up to see the clear blue sky and was surprised to see the clear and smooth blue colour that can never be matched on any painting, I saw the scattered clouds and remembered that I used to see shapes in the clouds, but that was many years ago when I had nothing to worry me. It was then when I saw a goat riding a jet ski, followed by a unicorn sitting in a cloud and whale jumping out of another cloud. I didn't think that I still had this imagination I had as a child. For the first time in years I feel like being a part of my surroundings, united with nature.
The tow truck showed up but I didn't let that interrupt my joy. I gave them the address and jumped in the truck. The fact that for the first time I wasn't driving gave me the chance to enjoy more on the way home. I thought that I never had a day off for a while and called my boss to tell him that I'm not going to work on that day.
When I was home, I still didn't wanna lose that feeling, I fixed my self breakfast and a cup of coffee, went to my backyard to enjoy my breakfast in the nature.
After a while I heard some noise coming from the street, I knew it was the mail. I went out to get my mail, found out it was more bills I had to pay, jumped on the Internet to pay my bills, made a couple of phone calls, and then I remembered that I had a lot of stuff to do that I've been ignoring for a long time.....
I started drifting back to my normal world, but I promised myself that on weekends I'd have to do the same thing again.
I forgot to do it on the next weekend...
And last weekend..
But I still promise my self that I'll do it again some day.....

I killed an owl

2007-05-25T10:05:00.000+10:00

Are you superstitious? Do you change your plans or even stay at home if you see an owl, black cat, dead cat or if the mirror breaks for no reason?

I don't. I like black cats, I don't fear owls. I never believed in superstitions or in super natural powers, but something weird happened to me last night that really scared me.

Yesterday I had to stay late in the office to do some stuff. After I finished, I called an old friend from Egypt that I haven't spoken to for a while, when she answered she told me that she was busy and asked me to call after 10 minutes so that we can talk after she finishes what she was doing, but for no reason I told her that I really have to go and I couldn't wait for ten minutes.

I quickly jumped in my car and headed home. I was driving on the freeway as usual, the road was deserted as usual at that time of the day, the weather was a bit cold and I was enjoying the drive home. I looked down for a second to change the radio station when I heard a muffled thump. when I looked up again I found a big owl caught on the two way radio antenna fixed to the hood.

That owl looked as if it was hugging the thick antenna and looking at me. It wasn't moving and wouldn't even slide to either side and fall off. I was passing through a section of the road where there was no shoulder and I couldn't stop on the highway. I had to drive for five minutes to the next emergency stopping bay with that owl hugging the antenna and looking at me.

When I stopped, it fell down in front of the car. I had to check if it was dead or not. it was dead, but I had a deep fear that something was going to happen to me. I always knew that owls were a bed sign, a bad omen, but I didn't know anything about killing one, probably it was worse.

I started to drive again waiting for what was there waiting for me. I tried to keep that thought away as it was scaring me, but in less than five minutes came the answer to my fears. A three car accident on the free way. The police wasn't there so I thought that it happened less than 10 minutes before I arrived. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but I started thinking, was it merely a coincidence? What would have happened if I didn't stop for 5 minutes to check if the owl was dead? was it a life for a life? that this owl lost it's life for my life? was it an omen? did god send it to stop me for a while, that god didn't want me in that place at that time?

Honestly I don't know. All I know is that if it wasn't for that owl, maybe I would've ended up dead or in the hospital, or maybe none. I'll never know...

Looking for nostalgia in a glass of juice

2007-05-24T11:28:00.000+10:00

I found this article about life in Egypt from common people's point of view through an interview with a worker in a sugarcane juice shop and people stopping by for a glass of juice.

State of origin (game I)

2007-05-24T07:04:00.000+10:00

Rugby is the most popular sport in Australia. It's like the American football but the rules are slightly different. The main difference is that you can only pass backwards which makes it a little bit harder than American football.

Last night was the first game in the 2007 series of the state of origin which is one of Australia's premier sporting events, attracting a huge television audience and usually selling out the stadiums in which the games are played. Origin games have a reputation as the toughest, hardest-fought rugby league matches played anywhere in the world. It's a three match series between two states, New South Wales and Queensland (my state).

Queensland won the first game and the final score was 25-18.

Go Maroons go.

Murphy's laws

2007-05-23T14:18:00.000+10:00

The first time I was introduced to Murphy's laws was during my Uni. years, when a professor was drawing a diagram showing the effect of wind loads on structures, and he just produced an unrealistic wind diagram and directions. One of the students told the professor that this worst case scenario cannot exist in reality and the professor replied that according to Murphy's law, "If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.", and he showed a detailed example on a building exposed to the same wind loads, and how the wind changed direction to apply pressure on top and on the opposite side of the building.
After reading Murphy's laws, I was amazed to know that his laws were studied seriously, and that his laws are widely applied in Engineering procedure and design. I wanted to test it for myself and started noticing things that went wrong and how they went wrong.
1) For the buttered toast, I have a bad habit of eating in my lounge, I dropped the toast a few times, but one thing was in common among these incidents. The toast always fell on the buttered side(same thing for Jam, cheese, and any other spread).
2) On my daily trip to work, I take a short cut using an unpaved road where I have to cross a creek using a very narrow bridge, on more than 80% of the times I crossed that bridge, I met the only vehicle travelling in the opposite direction at that time of the day, already crossing the bridge, and I always had to pull over to one side until the other vehicle passes.
3) When I was living in Egypt, I once had to go somewhere in Zamalek, I drove the car and my brother sat in the passenger's side. We were arguing all the time as we were lost and every time I tried a turn I get lost more, until once we agreed to turn left, just a feeling that we both had that turning left was going to get us back on the right track. But then we both remembered the law that said that," if you have two choices, you'll always choose the wrong one". We chose left, but we tried to beat Murphy's laws by choosing the right option. I turned right and it took me half an hour to go back to the same point where I started from, turned left this time and I reached my destination in less than 5 minutes.
**Read the laws, they are funny but most of them are true and applicable.

Sabah el kheir ya Masr

2007-05-20T20:50:00.000+10:00

Worse than an ignorant person, is a half educated one, which is the case for most of the Egyptians.

The Pharmacist actually looked up the word MAWKEF in an Arabic/English dictionary and got this result.

After seeing this sign I had to find another situation to situate my car.!!

In search for sex: Shebine rules

2007-05-18T09:57:00.000+10:00

I was reading an article about sexual harassment in Egypt and I found a link to this interesting google tool, called google trends. It's a search tool to give you statistics about search keywords and where in the world most people were using this keyword for searching for what they were looking for.

I typed a single word,"sex", and these were the results I found.

Egypt came second after Pakistan in the top 10 countries searching for sex on the internet.

Cairo came third among the top 10 cities in the world after two cities in India.

I then tried to narrow the search more to include only cities from Egypt. I thought that Cairo was the capital and the major percentage will be from Cairo, but I was wrong.

Shibine el kom rules!!!!

My first post on this Blog

2007-05-18T09:29:00.000+10:00

I was always amazed how my blogger friends had something new to post daily, especially that posts were always interesting. I thought that I lack the creativity to keep on posting on daily basis, or even weekly until I met my new friend Mohaly who encouraged me to start my own blog (Lately he ran out of patience and started pushing me to start posting coz he wanted to remove the "under construction" sign that he put up on my blog).
I started writing down ideas for the blog and was really surprised by the number of things that I'd like to share with my friends but never had the chance to do it before.
Thanks Mohaly for the encouragement (and the push).