Max Brenner Sydney
While we were in Sydney attending the graduation ceremony, we went to Max Brenner, a chocolate bar, where everything revolves around chocolate.
Choco-late is good for you 
100% pure chocolate, I was waiting for Willy Wonka to show up or to see Oompa-Loompas behind the counter
I would’ve loved to take a picture of how people lovingly hold their cups of hot chocolate with two hands and take slow sips that make you think there is some kind of elixir in it.
More chocolate
and more chocolate
and more and more chocolate…
Chocolate transcends all conflicts 
people never argue while eating chocolate, unless it is who takes the last piece :)
Video: Saudi Graduation Ceremony in Sydney
I recently had the privilege of attending the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission’s graduation ceremony which was held in Sydney for Saudi students graduating this year from universities in Australia and New Zealand.
I was also a proud attendee, since my wife Mai <3 was one of the graduates, congratulations honey
The graduation ceremony was held at the Sydney convention centre, and was attended by the Saudi Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Angari. The Saudi ambassador to Australia Hasan Nazer also attended the graduation ceremony along with Dr. Ali Albishri the head of the Culural Attache’.
It was a bit unorganized, but everyone was happy, so this compensated that, I had my camera with me and took a few shots and made this video, I had a totally different video in mind but it never happened (as usual), which explains why I only had one lens with me at the time, but all in all, and now that i think about it, I do not think I could’ve made it any better than this… Unless of course they invite me next year and I’m more prepared and know what to expect (p.s. I will work for room, board, and a little pocket money LOL)
So without further ado, here’s the video.
Canon EOS and a Manual FD Lens
A few weeks ago I bought a manual Canon 50mm f1.4 FD lens to use for making short movies using my Canon 500D. To test it, we went to the Buddha Birthday Festival, a yearly event held in Brisbane, I did not film most of the activities and events since we mainly went for the fireworks.
The result is this
Young Talent: Abdulrahman Sandugji
Big corporations control the world, they want to make money, period. People can kick scream and shout, but things do not change much, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, the only thing a regular everyday person can control is how he treats others… and that also is up for debate.
I remember many years ago, MTV had a series of anti-discrimination and anti-violence adds and campaigns, they were funded by different non profit organizations, I hope there are similar movements around the world. I see them here in Australia for example making people aware of domestic violence, and for binge drinking and other destructive behavior, and while I did see some adds promoting humans to treat each other with more dignity, I am happiest to see young individuals take matters into their own hand, and bypass everything to deliver their message across.
A few days ago I came across this video made by Abdulrahman Sandugji, an aspiring young man, and I just had to show my appreciation for what he is doing, peers can reach each other in a more meaningful ways, and in a ways which parents or schools or authority figures cannot.
Please watch this video to know what I mean.
I get excited when I see these guys not waiting for a handout or an opportunity to change the world, but actually doing what they see fit, using new media to reach out and correct the wrongs they see around them. So thank you Abdulrahman
I also saw something on TED about human slavery, I suggest you watch it if you have the time, because if you think slavery ended years ago… check again, and guess what, sexual slavery is another thing worth multi-million dollars, and it is still going on, in different forms, shapes and names.
Thank you
I started this blog (at its previous home) a little over a year ago, and I am thankful I did, as it has been a wonderful experience, I’ve learned a lot, met some wonderful people, all of which I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do, had I not started blogging.
This is not a little birthday for my blog, but a BIG THANK YOU to all of you, each and every person that reads my blog and spends time reading it, I am sometimes surprised at where people who read my posts live, all the way from Tokyo, Japan to Cochabamba, Bolivia… it is a trip for me to see your locations, and sometimes… more often than not… I cannot believe it.
The first comment I got was negative and I did reply to it negatively, but then I deleted them both. However, the latest comments I’ve been getting were all positive and overwhelming to say the least.
I was once asked why I blog, and I answered ”because I like to spread knowledge, whatever little that I know” I also elaborated on that point in a previous post by saying ”we live in an age unlike any other before, where walls of ignorance are being knocked down by knowledge… the difference this time, is that this knowledge is not controlled by Church or State or any other organization, this knowledge is straight from each and every individual who is willing to participate in this torrent of knowledge sharing through new media outlets… and that… to me… is wonderful.”
So, Thank you very much, again and again
Stuffed
I learned how to read and write in English before I knew how to read and write in Arabic, and due to that, I do not remember having any major problems either understanding or being misunderstood when communicating in English.
American slang was not much of a problem since American media with the music Read more
Busted
Since p0rn seems to be the post with the most clicks… hmm I wonder why??
Well here is a clip from yesterday’s Australian news in which an employee is looking at pictures of Miranda Kerr the Australian Victoria’s Secret model and Orlando Bloom‘s girl friend… I love the part where he looks at the camera and realizes he’s been busted. Read more
Talkin Bout Guns Like They Aint Got None
Woke up this Monday morning with a mild case of the Monday Blues, only to be pushed into what I would describe as Monday Navies since it got really dark inside… The amplification of my case was caused by not one, nor two, not even three like the old Raid commercial but four posts about guns being sold legaly in Saudi… and the number of posts are increasing.
Not that people didn’t have guns in the first place. Firearms are not sold in Saudi, not even pellet guns where sold until a few years ago, but those with keen observation skills like SGIME noticed the sale of holsters and all that that goes with it.
Many of the people I’ve known in Saudi own a firearm, except for a few like me, but I’ve considered it many times. I am against guns and violence.
I recommend watching Bowling for Columbine.
It used to be, someone wants a gun, someone somewhere knows somebody that can get the gun for you for 10 times it’s price, you go and get a license for it from whatever government agency does it, they ask you where you got it and you say I inherited it, even if it were brand spanking new, and they register it under your name… Or so I’ve heard.
I have not seen guns being sold here in Australia at K-Mart as I’ve seen in the USA, but the latest reports say 365 guns go missing every year in Australia which end up in black markets.
The selling of firearms or the lack of, has been and will always be a matter of debate… Do we sell it so everyone has it or has access to it? Or should we ban it so only the outlaws will? I am sure they are doing this to cut down on illigal smuggling of firearms in the country… And maybe for a little bit of this.
But what intensified my Monday blues is, most of the posts and the comments had this feeling of “the end is near” and we are all going to go postal on each other… Guns were already there as I said, we didn’t do it then, we won’t do it now… I hope…
Ashraf said in twitter, and I translate it (without permission) “Cinema NO, Elections NO, Women driving NO, not closing during prayers NO, coed universities NO, then they go and allow selling guns”
But I see no changes.
*Picture from the Houston gun show at the George R. Brown Convention Ccenter
Geoffrey
When I created this blog, it was so I can talk about music, movies, art, computers, gadgets, and some comedy… But somehow this blog took on a life of its own.
I have not set rules as to what I will and will not touch, and I will keep it flowing freely, afterall, it is a personal blog.
So in talking about music, I would like to write about an aboriginal musician with a voice that takes me to another world. Music has this hold over people, it talks to us at a primitive level, no little child can resist a rhythm unless something was not right… And it is at tha level that music is able to touch us, even when we do not understand the words.
I came across Geoffrey a little over a year ago, I am always on the lookout for new music, and my iPod is full, which means I have to delete songs anytime I need to add new tracks. I think it was during the time SBS had a show called the First Australians, which was a great show.
Indigenous people in Australia, America, Africa were treated badly, and genocides were carried out against them, those practices were carried out to a certain extent in the middle east (by Saddam against Kurds, and by Israel against Palestinians) China against Tibet, the list goes on and on, and segregation was and still is carried out. I have no doubt in my mind that had oil been discovered before the area was stable enough, we… “the indigenous people of the area” would’ve probably been living in designated areas not much different than the reservations in America for Native Americans. Many of the older generation in Aramco remember the whites only drinking water, and the old shacks that the local workers lived in, which were somewhat similar to those in India and South Africa… Back to music.
Geoffrey was blind since birth, and he plays the guitar in a similar way to Seal and Babyface, right-handed guitar played upside down. His voice is so sweet, and the music is easy listening. He sings in the language of Yolngu, and his lyrics are mostly about creation as understood by Aboriginals.
It is fascinating to me how aboriginals explained the world around them, and reading some of the lyrics is very eye opening, since I knew nothing about the nations that once roamed these lands.
I do believe that music is a bridge between people, between the here and now, and that which once was, and that which one day will be, and I am disappointed at the efforts of many countries, including my own, that have not tried to preserve the old for the next generations.
Enjoy Djarimirri, and the translation here
It Ain't Over Till It's Over
History repeats it’s self, over and over and over.
A couple of weeks ago I’ve read of Christans blocking American military training in Australia. I thank them for that… as I also believe that hate should be eliminated.
“The military are doing invasion training. They have built a model city inside the base with a mosque in the middle, which the Australians are defending against the Americans,” That what they said.
Apearently the American and Australain military are playing cops and robbers but the setting is what caught my attention, they have a small city with a mosque, not “a place of worship”, but a mosque… it’s not enough that a test of ordinary video game players have a tendency to shoot “Muslim” looking people more than others, why not train the military to actually do that?
I am sure we’ve heard what they say about Islam being the fastest growing religion in the world (actualy many religions claim that) but I do not think the mosque was built to accomodate the needs of Muslims in the army.
America has pulled out of Iraq, but I don’t think it’s over, they will come back, the area is sizzling, as it always is and always was, but now there is this, and there might be some after shocks of the Iranian election and Ahmadi Najad not being liked by his own people or by America… which kinda sounds like Kermit (not the frog, but Kermit Roosevelt Jr.) all over again, and the Israeli soldiers getting some more hate in them agains Arabs by having booklets handed out to them telling them that the Vatican is training hizbollah how to kill Jews… All signs point to something nasty about to happen, these are the times I hope I’m wrong, I really hope I am wrong.
