Saturday, January 30, 2010

Tribute to Gandhi!


When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator ~ Gandhi

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” -  Gandhi

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Gandhi

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well. Gandhi

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Gandhi

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.Gandhi

Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.Gandhi

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.Gandhi

In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. Gandhi

One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds.Gandhi

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.Gandhi

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.Gandhi

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.Gandhi

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.Gandhi

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.Gandhi, 1931



On January 30th, 1948, he was walking slowly from his home to attend a prayer meeting when a thirty-nine years old Hindu called Nathuram Godse who mistakenly thought Gandhi was harming the Hindus by being friendly to Muslims shot the Great Soul after respectfully bowing to him. A few minutes later a man came out to the waiting crowd and announced that the little old man who sacrificed with all he had for his country, who reshaped the lives of many, who changed the path of the world, who inspired -and still will inspire- mankind till the end of the world was dead.

Monday, January 18, 2010

I can't sleep ... Thinking AVATAR!


I had to leave my room, my desk and my PC to do this. I made me a huge mug of Nescafe, some (Boksomat) and took my pen and papers outside of my room, put my legs on the window to enjoy the sun, and had the fun of watching our nice street before being occupied by the students of the High Institute of Social Services. And finally, my mp3 was playing the Soundtrack!

Three days before watching AVATAR for the first time –yes, I watched it more than once-, I was thinking about James Cameron. I didn’t know back then he’s the director, and I had this thought; “What can he possible do after Titanic?” I was wondering how some people know success only once in their life but they know it really well, that’s it’s hard to do it again. After all, what can he possible do after Titanic?

But obviously I was wrong. And I watched AVATAR to make sure of that!

In short, this movie is all what cinema as in art is about for me. This is what I call motion picture. And this is exactly why I am crazy about this art.

Let’s take it bit by bit, ok?

The Story:

Yes, I’m not going to start with the 3D mega technology big words. Cause this movie is about the story mainly. James Cameron –who is the writer by the way- gave us a story that included all the details and symbols that Mr. Cameron has been trying (and for me succeeding) to highlight since Titanic.

. We as humans do not own the world

. We are just a part of it.

. A lot of other creatures do exist and they share this world with us.

. And yes, there’s an upper power above all this. Who created all this, and created all of us!

The “energy” dialogue; all this talking which was about energy being stored in each and every living creature bonded by earth via this amazing synaptic network.

The beauty that was in every scene in all kind vs. the pure ugliness in anything related to human! Look how ugly all these aircrafts, machines, weapons and even robots. Couldn’t the movie makers get us the most impressive robots? Of course they could, but it was intended. Because no matter how hard we try to deny it, there’s nothing pretty or nice about this. Putting it into comparison with the beautiful colorful inspirational paradise was to the point. I never wanted to the cameras to get out this place. I wanted the entire movie to be there. This beauty that was available for us human to enjoy. But because some of us are so greedy and stupid, they thought they own it, and they have the right to get any use out of it, in whatever way even if it means killing anything we put our hands on. They had to destroy cultures & beliefs, they had to mock their sacred values and underestimate their power. And that because of course, they were not like them!

Politics:

I don’t think its coincidence but I still believe some Americans are not yet over what happened with the Indians. There was this “guilty” vibe that I got through watching the movie. The fact that that land was built on the blood of its original people and the wreckage of a culture that was once there!

In the movie there’s an amazing quote;

“If you have something they want, they make you their enemy, so that it’s OK for them to fight you and take it!”

Yea, it’s that simple and that brutal. So if we really believe that, we can kiss peace goodbye. They will not” let us be” in our own land peacefully, unless we are ready to defend it if needed!

Unity! “Toruk Macta”! Call me whatever you want. Pick the word that you wish from your twisted already set political dictionary, but unless a nation unites, real peace will never be tasted. And it doesn’t have to be right beneath your feet to be your land. Toruk just had to call the other tribes, and they all responded. They fought, and some of them even died. None of them said it wasn’t their land to defend cause they knew sooner or later it would be.

All what was needed … Toruk!

No chief said he was the master of all. No one fight for the “title” and the “glory”. Because for them, it was not a battle for a medallion, it was a matter of “honor”!

If only there was a real Toruk!

Feminism:

Hehehe! Have you noticed that women were as responsible, as powerful and as deceitful as men? They fought together side by side.

Even women were the “real” spiritual leader for they were the ones who were able to understand the language Eywa, their great “mother”.

As for romance, I’ll only state a quote;

“But I've already chosen. But this woman must also choose me.”

Colors:

Oh my god! Could any motion picture be more colorful? Lots and lots of purple –for me J- , yellow, orange, red, white, blue, and any color that a human eye can actually see was there. Even the characters themselves were colorful, bright, and they were full of “vitality” which was coming out of the energy inside them.

As for humans, they were ugly dull grayish brownish- blocked beings. Machines were pale and plane.

Sets:

I can go here forever! All I can say is what I was thinking while watching;

“If all this beauty can be made by man, how beautiful is heaven?”

· Beas that fly with spiral wings when you touch them.

· Plants that emit bright lights when get near them.

· Grass that glow when you step on.

· Flowers in each and every color that play games with you when you interact with

· Water in all colors and shapes. Waterfalls, mountains, and trees.

· The seeds of Eywa!

Heaven oh heaven!

Flying:

For those who don’t know me, flying is one big dream of mine, literally! When they both flew, I was about to fly off my chair! I kept going and moving with them. I here remember when Rose’s face glowed saying “I’m flying”! Looks like James Cameron shares my own dream of flying. OK Mr. Cameron, in case you needed a real stunt for a flying scene in the future, I’d be glad to do it!

This –flying- is one of the ultimate human dreams that is still beyond reality, once again, our reality as humans, which appears to be a fact that the movie maker insists on reminding us of because we tend to forget a lot.

Music:

Again James Horner! The sensational music was all I needed to call all that with one word … Magic!

Actors and Characters:

I was surprised by Giovanni Ribisi who was the first time to see like that. Bravo!

I hated Stephen Lang’s gut with every cell of my body. Chapeau!

My heart ached when Neytiri cried her dead father.

And I really cried when Tsu’tey died, and when Moat asked Jack Sally to help them.

Love Scene:

That 1 minute scene was a complete turn on! For those who think love scenes have to be passionate, I think you can easily watch pure passion from the heart. And guess what? No nudity and no “disgusting” details that devote anything from human emotion. And for those who need to know why I hate most of the love scenes (if love is the right word) in most of the movies, remember this scene!

Spiritual:

This amazing piece of art is all about the real value and size of us humans in this world that we sometimes unfortunately resist.

Allow me to remind you of a scene from titanic. Remember the scene at the beginning of the movie when the machines were starting to work? Remember how amazing this scene was? Right after it, Jack & his friend were watching two tiny fishes hopping above water … and they were ahead of Titanic!

Again, in AVATAR, nature was trying to teach us what our swollen egos refuse to admit and deal with. We are nothing but a part of a huge world that has been going on around us and will keep on doing this with or without us. And the fact that we have the privilege of enjoying this whole wide beautiful world cannot by any means be a reason for us not to be decent enough to respect it. “Gatna seteen neela! “

How the characters used to bond with the different creatures in the movie through their hair was so sensational in a way that only people who had the chance once in their lives to connect with creatures other than people can understand.

They scenes of the prayers were heart breaking and inspirational at the same time. Not to mention the fact of the prayer that was heard, and how, and when!

“See the world we come from: there's no green there. They've killed their mother, and they're going to do the same thing here.”

This movie is about hope, honor, integrity, love and purity of the heart. In this movie a man on a wheel chair flew over mountains and kissed the sky, only when he was ready to die to defend what he had!

It’s all about that deep belief in our internal power, in the right of each one of us to have pride in his history, and to defend his land. It’s about the duty that lies upon all of us towards our small worlds to protect and respect. But only when we are really ready to be “humans enough” to deserve it!


Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Husband(s) and Wife: Nadine Al Bedair Writes About Polgamy’s Double Standard

Allow me to choose four, five or even nine men, just as my wildest imagination shall chose.

I’ll pick them with different shapes and sizes, one of them will be dark and the other will be blonde. Tall or maybe short, they are to be Chosen from different denominations, religions, races and nations. And I promise you there will be harmony.

Create a brand new positive law for me, or may be a divine one. Make me a new law under the umbrella of the fatwa and fantasies, those which you unanimously agree on suddenly and without any advance notice.


Those were Saudi journalist Nadine Al Bedair’s words in her article for the Egyptian independent daily newspaper Al Masry Al Youm in her article “Me and my four husbands” on December 11th. She spoke hypothetically about how she would pick them, and she gave examples of how diverse her choices would be. Al Arabiya pointed out that she used all the justifications that men usually use ... more