The View from the Mecca Clock Tower
I was thinking ever since I saw pictures of the Mecca clock tower, that the view from up there would make for a great pictrue, especially a great night photograph, and oh how I would like to do a time-lapse video from that view.
Then my friend the Fashionisto :) Adnan Manjal posted this picture on twitter. His friend took it, and I would like to thank them both.
Torture of a Sri Lankan maid by nails in Saudi Arabia
“A Saudi employer and his wife, who are accused of torturing a Sri Lankan housemaid by hammering nails into her body, have been arrested in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, officials at the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry said Monday.” CNN
I’ve tried to reserve judgement on the couple, not that abuse of workers does not happen in Saudi (or in many parts in the world) but the story was just too much to really take in, that is human violence, that is premeditated, and if the case was true, the couple need to be tortured first, with some medieval torture instruments before anything else. However, in reality, they must be not right in the head, and I hope they do not have children because I would not want them as my parents.
I remember I once had a sewing needle get into my back during gym class at eighth grade while doing sit-ups in the soccer field, it hurt, bad, I had to go to the hospital and get surgery to get it out less than 24 hours after it got in, because it had swollen and I could not walk straight because of it, so what that woman suffered was nothing short of hell.
I also have to wonder if the couple had some kind of medical book, or if they thought they were performing acupuncture on the poor lady, inserting all those needles without accidentally killing a person does not happen by chance, and not getting infected must have been some clean surgical grade material they were using… I am just asking these questions out loud.
If it is true as I said, then somebody needs to do a psychological evaluation on the couple, if not, then that poor woman suffered by whoever inserted those things in her.
It makes you wonder how bad humans could be to each other, I know of an experiment (made into a movie called Das Experiment) and I know kids drive other kids to suicide by bullying and now cyber-bullying… I just wish this was all not true… but that is all a fact of life.
On a lighter side of things, my parents had employed many domestic helpers over the years, some still call my parents every now and then to say hello, one even named her daughter after my mom, so I personally know it is not all bad, since many of the families I know have had drivers and maids for so many years.
I pray Lahadapurage Daneris Ariyawathie gets well soon, and I hope she gets justice.
The Mecca Clock
Finally, a picture that puts it all in perspective.
Photo from the Boston.com Big Picture (here)
I Thought all Muslims are Extremist
“Rev. Bob: I used to be afraid of Muslims, I thought all Muslims are extremist”
A candid interview with Prince Turki (Turqi) Al-Faisal, which turned into Prince Turki turning the tables and interviewing the interviewer Reverend Bob, holding the camera and all 
I thought it was nice as an easy going interview which is about Christianity and Islam and a person’s relationship with God.
Now if we can all just have this type of dialogue with each other without being too one sided in our opinions, the world would be a whole lot nicer.
Aliens in Saudi Arabia
Aliens, seem to like the desert, either it is Area 51 in Nevada or around Roswell New Mexico, so why not Riyadh Saudi Arabia?
Video by Ala’a Mctoom
Dalma wins bronze
I found this interesting “Though this is the first time a Saudi woman athlete officially represented the Kingdom at an international competition, several women riders had been competing overseas since 2004 under the sponsorship of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company.
Leading women riders who have carried the colors of Kingdom Holding Company include Alia Al-Huwaete, Nourah Al-Yousif, and Latifah Al-Shaikh, who all competed in several show jumping and endurance competitions in the Gulf.” (ArabNews)
Makes you wonder what the press really sheds light on, not to mention they said Dalma was 16 in initial reports and they got her name wrong.
Congrats to her on the bronze medal.
Paragliding in Abha – Saudi Arabia
Saw this on SUSRIStube.
I am not sure what the conditions of entry were for these guys, but it seemed like an interesting video to share here. The two paragliders are Andre Bernhard & Adi Ibanez, and they seem to have had a good time. (video)
I would’ve liked them to use a lens that wasn’t too wide which makes everything look almost like it was shot with a fisheye lens, and I wish the camera did not shake as much as it did.
Ramadan – Big Family Breakfast
This is an advertisement for a Kuwaiti telecom company, I saw this on lastoadri‘s blog, and like her, it reminded me of big family gatherings in Ramadan, even though she is from Egypt, I am from Saudi, and the commercial is from Kuwait, it just shows the many similarities between families in Ramadan in different regions, I am sure it is similar in other countries also.
Saudi’s First Female Athlete in the Olympics
According to Aleqtesadeyah Saudi is sending the first female athlete to the youth olympics in Singapore (source)
Her name is Delma (or Dilma) Muhsin and she is 16 years old.
Thanks to Saudiwoman for sharing on twitter (source)
I hope she does well, and comes back with the gold.
Another source, this time in English, thanks to HishMaj, it turns out her name is pronounced Dalma Mohsin.
Update: her name is Dalma Rushdi Malhas (source) and here are two more pictures of her in action.
Same Tash – Different Year
Seventeen years/seasons of Tash ma Tash, same tash, different year.
The show began as I heard once in a radio interview with one of the actors with little to nothing, he said they had to fund it from their pockets, I respect that, and I liked some of the shows as did the majority of Saudis, no other Saudi show has been going on for seventeen years, congrats to them, and I hope they keep up the good work.
However, I have to criticize the show for not improving beyond a certain level in those seventeen years, yes, they do deliver the message they want to deliver in each episode, ask any director and they would tell you the story and the message are the most important things that should come across, everything else is just aesthetics, and I agree, but not if you are going on strong for seventeen years and have people waiting for you year after year.
My modest attempts at movie making and that of the Saudi filmmakers group on vimeo have taught me a lot about the equipment out there, and to see students come up with better looking videos than a show which has been going on for seventeen years and is sponsored by many large companies who compete for commercial slots during the show’s airing… Makes me wonder to say the least at Tash’s own message.
The message in my opinion is they are holding up a mirror (a funny mirror) so society can see many of its wrongs and hopefully improve on them, not that I am sure any real difference is happening due to the show. So here I am holding up a mirror so the show can see itself, video wise, they need to get with the newer technology.
On twitter, Aysha Alkusayer (@ayshak) said “I am thinking, the most logical explanation for #6ash not hiring a consultant to review their scripts is that there’s none!” being a script writer herself, I think she knows what she’s talking about.
They only air a little more than 20 episodes each year, and they take almost a whole year to make them, I do not think they are rushed, I also think they should not still be made with this low quality after seventeen years.
But maybe that’s just me
