October 31, 2003
Posted on October 31, 2003 12:11 PM under:
Tunisia
The Medina Festival began last night in Tunis. This is a festival that takes place every Ramadan here, and i think it's great. It's a very culture rich festival with artists from many countries performing. I just got the program for this year's festival, and on first look, it seems great, but nothing that's truly my style and that makes me jump off my chair and go running for a ticket. Interesting stuff though, there are concerts by: Mayada Bsiliss, Marcel Khalifa, Son Cubano and José Fernandez among others. I guess whether i go or not to any of these...
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Posted on October 31, 2003 12:07 PM under:
Tunisia
One of my favourite sites and TV shows is Lonely Planet, it just hits the right spot for me, someone who's in love with travel and discovering different new places. So every once in a while, i drop by the Lonely Planet website to check out some new places i would love to visit. Today, out of curiosity, i checked out Tunisia to see what they've written about it, here's the beautiful introduction: Tunisia's list of visitor attractions would do justice to a country twice its size. From the stone-age settlements near the oasis at Kebili to the space-age sets...
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October 30, 2003
For ages and ages and ages, there's been this one big beautiful marvellous dream all us Arabs have had in common and wished for: Arab Unity. And again and again i hear the same old talk about how we Arabs are united in language, history, religion, culture and so much more that it's only normal for us to be united. But unless we Arabs actually do something, it'll never become anything more than a dream. I think it's true that we are united by language, history, religion, culture and all those other things, but we're also divided by politics, exterior...
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After enjoying the one-man show "La Vie Normale" by Gad El Maleh, i was thirsty for more, so i went and rented a DVD of an older show he did called "Décalages". To keep it short i'll just describe it in one word: hilarious. I loved the sketches about Montreal & McDonald's the most, they were so funny. I'm hoping to see his latest movie "Chouchou" soon. Will let you know what i think of it when i do....
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So Napster 2 is finally out... Yes, So ?? What's the big deal ? I mean what made the first Napster so great and famous was the idea of downloading music for free, but now that you have to pay it's just like any other music service. They just have a better known brand, i guess. I like the idea of prepaid cards though, it's a cool step forward and should win them more downloads from teenagers who don't have credit cards and who are some of the biggest music consumers. Anyway, i think it's annoying how many pay music...
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October 29, 2003
It seems like my ColdFusion custom tag CF_Query2XML is still alive and is still of some use to some people as i just got an email from CFXtras.com informing me of a new sale. This is a custom tag i wrote in CF when ColdFusion was still in version 4.5, and XML was still the new hot kid on the block and support for it was still minimal in all the languages available at the time, and the whole idea was to make it easy to generate well-structured XML from any query. So basically using this tag, you query your...
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SYNTAX: The company i used to work for in Jordan, before taking the decision to leave and come home to Tunisia, have launched their new corporate website and dropped the word "Digital" from their name (they were previously called: SYNTAX Digital, but everyone called them SYNTAX anyways). I like this new design better than the old one, it's really true to the SYNTAX style of design and portrays them a lot better. These guys are truly the best design company in Jordan, and it makes me proud that i once worked there. To check it out click here....
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October 28, 2003
Posted on October 28, 2003 09:19 AM under:
Tunisia
Just came across an annoying banner, lol, it says: 8 days / 7 nights in Tunisia, half board in a 3 star hotel for only 149 Euros. Why the hell can't i get prices like that in my own country ? If i were to go somewhere for 8 days / 7 nights in Tunisia, it would cost me a fortune, and on top of all that i wouldn't get treated as well as tourists do, lol... Man, tourists are lucky in Tunisia, they get a beautiful country to visit at a really low price and they're pampered and treated...
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October 27, 2003
Well today is the first day of Ramadan in Tunisia, so Ramadan Mubarak to everyone :) Woke up at 4:10AM today for Suhour, and we had the Tunisian specialty "Mesfouf" (an even finer type of Couscous eaten with milk, dates, dried grapes and almond), Yummy. After that i prayed my first prayer of the day on time, yep not only have i started praying, i'm also praying on time, lol, i hope it lasts :P Then i went back to sleep only to wake up a couple of hours later, as today work-time changes too (From 8 to 3 non-stop)....
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Haven't written anything in 3 days. Friday i simply had nothing to say, and Saturday & Sunday were totally exhausting, read on and you'll know why... Well, the story began on the second week of my vacation, after my wife's sister went back home to Jordan. My wife and I started looking for a new appartment that is nice, in a safe good place, a bit smaller than the one we were in, and most importantly cheaper ;) And well after living the life of a real estate agent for over a week we found an appartment and made the...
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October 23, 2003
A tongue-in-cheek website says it gives people the chance to "marry" their pets. To check out the site click here. It's a make-fun website and it's quite funny actually when you take it lightly, but it kind of makes me think about the future, which then gets me worried. Let me explain. At first people totally rejected and opposed homosexuality, but then as time passed by it became a normal thing to be gay, and gay people are even proud of it (never understood what there is to be proud of), and now country after country is granting gay people...
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October 22, 2003
Posted on October 22, 2003 03:34 PM under:
Cinema
The Palestinian movie "Divine Intervention" by Elia Sulayman has qualified for consideration for nomination for next year?s best foreign film Oscar. The film, which took the jury prize at Cannes in 2002, tells the politically explosive story of life under Israeli occupation, told in vignettes of reality and fantasy. This is the first time a Palestinian movie has qualified, and it was accepted despite some earlier speculation that the Academy would not take the submission on the grounds that "Palestine is not a country". I haven't seen this movie yet, although friends of mine who saw it strongly recommended it....
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Just came across this image campaign while surfing the DaimlerChrysler website, and i think it's magnificent. It promotes the concept of hydrogen driven cars and how they will eliminate all pollutants and evil-smelling exhaust gases. It's great to see that some people are actually thinking about the world and the environment, unlike others who only care for war and chaos. Read more about this campaign here....
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The holy month of Ramadhan is on the doorstep, just a few days till it starts, with all it's beauty and it's unique atmosphere, bringing along with it the prayers and fasting, as well as the traditional sweets (Zlabia, Mkhariq, Maqroudh), the long dinner tables, the new TV series, and lots more. What's so incredible though is how what once was a month of worship, prayer and fasting has now become (for a big number of people) the month of concerts, tv series and feasts with a secondary focus on the worship side of it. When i think of it,...
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October 21, 2003
Posted on October 21, 2003 06:11 PM under:
Cinema
So Scary Movie 3 is coming out soon, that should be cool... I love movies that spoof other movies, they're so much fun, and you also feel how much of a movie addict you are when you know each and every movie they're spoofing, lol... Although i can imagine how dull they must be to people who didn't see any of the movies. I expect this one will be even better than the previous ones because it has a cool cast which also includes Charlie Sheen & Leslie Nielsen. It's a shame that the Wayan bros aren't in this one...
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October 20, 2003
Posted on October 20, 2003 09:16 AM under:
Cinema
I really don't get it why some Jews are so mad about Mel Gibson's new movie "The Passion" (now called: The Passion Of Christ). They say the movie suggests Jews were responsible for Christ's death. so ? where's the wrong in that ? it's totally true... It's even written in the bible, which was used as a reference while making the movie. In fact, not only were Jews behind the death of Jesus, they were also behind the deaths of a number of their other prophets. I think it's totally hypocritical of them to criticize this movie. Why is it...
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October 19, 2003
Well, after months of collecting dust, mud, dirt and whatever a car can collect, our car's original colour became somehow unknown. I remember choosing the colour "Red Lucifer" when ordering it last year, but the colour it has had recently is not even close, lol. Anyway, i finally took it to a car wash today and got it all cleaned up and shiny, and now she looks as good as new :) Thankfully, it's rain curse was even broken. Before today, whenever i washed the car or even thought of washing it, the weather would change and it would rain...
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October 18, 2003
Just came across this piece about a Tunisian fashion designer called Hedi Slimane who just moved to work at Dior, and who could do for menswear what Yves Saint Laurent did for women 40 years ago. With a Tunisian father, Italian mother, and Brazilian grandmother, Hedi Slimane embodies the new global fashion. To read the article/interview: click here....
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Well as some of you must have noticed (from the pic on the left), i have started a photolog in which i will be posting pictures i take of places i go, things i see, stuff that's going ...etc. I thought it would be a cool way to share what i'm seeing and where i'm going, and also an opportunity for foreigners to see different places and views in Tunisia, and last but not least, offer Tunisians abroad a constant window into Tunisia, their homeland, and somehow make them feel a bit closer :) The photolog is at: http://subzeroblue.textamerica.com Check...
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October 16, 2003
I was just surfing the English Al Jazeera website when i came across this special report "Iraq Under Occupation". The following is the introduction of the report, which i really liked, and you can read the rest here. US and British occupation of Iraq is regarded as the re-emergence of the old colonialist practices of the western empires in some quarters. The real ambitions underlying the brutal onslaught are still highly questionable - and then there are the blatant lies over weapons of mass destruction originally used to justify the war. There were no great victory marches by the occupiers,...
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Posted on October 16, 2003 11:09 AM under:
Tunisia
I just read a post on AquaCool about the environment, and how we should try and take more care of it and all. And well i totally agree with that, BUT there's one little problem: the people themselves... Tunisia is one of the countries that has really given so much importance to nature and the environment, and the government has been trying to get all sorts of programs going for ages, from recycling to creating more green areas to educating people to raising awareness of environment problems ...etc, and initiative after initiative have passed with only minor success, and that's...
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October 15, 2003
There's a big misconception when it comes to the position of women in Islam, and how this religion portrays women and their role in society. Foreign media is full of wrong information suggesting that the woman has no rights or dignity in Islam, and I just wanted to post something about it to try and set the record straight. I'm a muslim by inheritance actually, no sheikh or anything, and I don't even practice my religion fully, like most people in this money-crazed world, but I’ve read the Quran and I have studied the religion, and I know what the...
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Yep, China goes to space, not all of it of course, just one man. There's not enough space in the earth's orbit to take the whole Chinese population along. So, China joins the space nations, becoming only the 3rd country to put a man into space. The Shenzhou V spacecraft was successfully launched today with China's first astronaut Yang Liwei aboard. He will orbit the earth 14 times and then land somewhere in Inner Mongolia. Before take-off the astronaut was quoted saying he would gain honor for the People's Liberation Army and for the Chinese nation and that he would...
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October 14, 2003
Posted on October 14, 2003 05:44 PM under:
Cinema
It appears that MGM favor Steve Martin for the role of Inspector Clouseau in a remake of the 1964 movie "Pink Panther". In the original, Peter Sellers was the star French detective, and man was he awesome ! I totally loved the movie and the sequels that followed. Peter Sellers was a comedy genius, and just seeing his face makes you laugh your butt off. I quite like Steve Martin too and i think he could do a good job in the role, if he takes it that is, but in my opinion i don't think he'd be able to...
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Just watched the one-man-show stand-up comedy "La Vie Normale" by Gad El Maleh yesterday night, and it was hilarous. I really enjoyed it a lot. Gad is a Jewish Morrocan French guy, and in his sketches he makes fun of everything around us, touching everyday issues from our lives and passing some really nice messages. I'll be on the lookout for any other stuff by him, i really liked his style. Talking of one-man-shows and stand-up comedies, i truly wish Lamine El-Nahdi and Raouf Ben Yaghlane do some shows in Ramadan this year too. My wife and I went to...
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So, the new version of Oracle Database is ready, and guess what, they're calling it Oracle 10g. Now, after Oracle 7, we got Oracle 8i and then Oracle 9i, and we figured out the "i" was for internet, and that they were marketing their database as the best database for the internet and e-business, but now the "i" is gone, and we have a "g", so what does that stand for ? Well, it actually stands for "Grid", and it mirrors the direction in which Oracle are taking their flagship database product, Grid Computing. Oracle are selling this database as...
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October 13, 2003
A flash-mob is to target David Blaine, an american illusionist who planned to spend 44 days and nights suspended in a clear plastic box with nothing but water to sustain him, tonight as he enters his final week in at Tower Bridge. The organisers of the Flashblaine event (as they called it, and which is due to run for just three minutes) say they hope it will be the biggest flash-mob in the world. They want people to sound their mobile phone ringtones together at exactly 7:44pm and then chant "what goes up, must come down" at Blaine, then laugh...
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Today i re-found this website i stumbled upon a year or so ago, which is a quite interesting online business, it's a startup that sells real estate on the moon. Actually, the website offers land on Mars & Venus too, as well as an option to have your name added to their registry which they claim will be sent and hosted on the moon this year. Want more ? well you can actually even get a Lunar Passport, and become a true alien after buying some real estate through them. I think it's a cool and fun idea, even though...
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Posted on October 13, 2003 01:01 PM under:
Tunisia
For the last couple of days, there's been a problem with dial-up internet access in Tunisia, rendering home users and small businesses unable to access a big number of websites. There still is no known reason of why this has happened and when the problem will be solved. It's still at the stage of blame throwing between the ISPs and the ATI. It's so weird how the internet has become so important to us and our everyday lives, one problem comes up, and we feel like we're crippled. Oh and when it happens to an internet junkie lke me, oh...
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October 12, 2003
Posted on October 12, 2003 02:12 PM under:
Cinema
I just finished re-watching this old animated movie I recorded off Zimbabwe TV when I was a kid, it?s called "Hugo The Hippo" and I used to love it. So yesterday when we were visiting my parents, I picked up this video tape and a number of others I remember loving in my childhood, and brought them with me, so my wife and I could watch them together. This animated movie of course is nowhere close to today's animated features in terms of quality and all, but the story is beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing. After all these years,...
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Yesterday, we went out with some friends of ours, and we chose to go to the Ennahli Park. It was our first time there, and it's quite a nice place. It's situated in a nice green hilly area in the beginning of the Bizerte highway, with places for people to sit, have picnics, or just have something to drink/eat in this nice little café it has. And kids would love it too as it has places for them to play and some cute animals. There's a beautiful small lake or big pond or whatever there too, and well we guys...
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October 10, 2003
I know this must have been blogged like crazy everywhere, and that there's no one on earth who doesn't know this already, but i thought i'd just piss you off and tell you again anyway :P Because of a lawsuit Microsoft lost, there will be some changes in the next version of IE. In the future version of Internet Explorer, currently due out early next year, the browser will prompt visitors to confirm that they want to execute each active content item on a page (Flash, ActiveX, ...etc. anything using the object/embed tags) which is a big pain in the...
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October 09, 2003
PETA (People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have won permission from Disney to adapt a film poster for Finding Nemo to help promote vegetarianism to youngsters. The slogan "Fish are friends not food !" is being used everywhere, even on Finding Nemo pyjamas. Well, i truly wish them good luck in this campaign, but i can't help it, i'd rather eat a fish than talk to it :P Anyway, for more info about the campaign, go here....
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October 08, 2003
Just got home from SIB2003, a computer fair held these days in Charguia. It's always fun to go to such things, even if you come out with your hands empty, which you never do, you at least have to come out with a bunch of cards and flyers that end up on the back seat of your car or somewhere else for an eternity until someone throws them out. There are computers, mobile phones, printers, scanners, small gadgets, plotters, software, pocket pcs, in short everything and anything, and that's cool. I don't know if the prices are good or not...
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Posted on October 8, 2003 10:24 AM under:
Cinema
Moviemaker Quentin Tarantino says he wants to make a James Bond film (Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel) and believes he could "do it the right way". As someone who actually really likes Tarantino's movies, ideas and directing style, i think he could pull off a very interesting and exciting Bond movie and something very different from what we got used to from the Bond franchise up to now, but it remains to be seen if the series producers would like to see a change in formula, and if the fans can take it. I'm one of the Bond...
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October 07, 2003
Posted on October 7, 2003 11:27 PM under:
Cinema
After resisting watching it for a long time because of a prejudgment that it would suck, I finally saw Daredevil, and well I was proved wrong. But how would I know ? I just tried to imagine Ben Affleck playing the role of a blind superhero, and it just didn’t click for me, lol… Anyway, it was a cool movie, a lot better than “The Hulk”, and close to “Spider-Man”. As with every superhero movie, the best part is the discovery phase, in which the hero starts getting in touch with his newly found super powers, and what’s cool about...
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A new report by Perseus has some interesting blogosphere statistics: - Number of blogs online: 4.12 Million - Abandoned blogs (updated less than once every two months): 66% - Blogs updated once a day: 1.2% - Active blogs (as defined as those which are updated more than once every two months) are updated on average every 14 days. - 1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days. - Blogs are currently the province of the young, with 92.4% of blogs created by people under the age of 30. For more click here....
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October 06, 2003
This is a funny post i read on another blog (Raining Pleasure): George W Bush goes to a primary school to talk about the war. After his talk he offers question time. One little boy puts up his hand and the President asks him his name. "Billy!" "And what is your question, Billy?" "I have three questions: Why did the USA invade Iraq without the support of the UN? Why are you President when Al Gore got more votes? And whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden?" Just then the bell rings for recess. Bush informs the kiddies that they will...
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People have really gone crazy these days. Just saw this on the CNN website about a guy living in Harlem who was keeping a huge Tiger and Gator as pets in his appartment. The tiger bit his arm and leg, and he lied to the police saying it was a dog bite. This is totally mad... Check it out here...
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The vacation is over, and i have to face the painful reality that those 2 weeks of rest and beautiful laziness are over and gone, and that i have to go back to work if i plan to survive. So, here i am back at the office, after having to wake up early again, getting back into the mood for work, and hoping some exciting projects come my way to make it more enjoyable....
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October 05, 2003
Well, it's been a rumour that has gone on and off for ages, and just recently i re-heard it from someone who barely has anything to do with IT, and everytime it turns out to be a load of crap. But i was just thinking, what if Microsoft really does acquire Macromedia ? What would happen to all the goodies we got used to from Macromedia ? Here is what i think would happen to the various Macromedia products: - ColdFusion: This would be discontinued of course, the best they could do for it is to make a CF.NET language...
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October 04, 2003
Posted on October 4, 2003 10:47 PM under:
Cinema
I saw "Bend it like Beckham" yesterday evening, and i have to say it was quite better than i expected. It's a light and fun movie to watch about an English Indian girl who wants to play football like David Beckham, and who faces strong opposition from her parents for it. The situations at home with her mom and dad are the ones i liked best, they're really true to the spirit all parents share, especially when they're defending their culture and their traditions. Click here for more info about the movie...
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Just read about this Iranian girl who is travelling around the world by bike to promote friendship and peace. A solitary journey around the world that started on April 2003 via 10 countries: Starting with Italy, France, England, The United States, Japan , New Zealand, China, India, Oman, Saudi Arabia and ending in Iran. She states her main goals as: 1- Gathering support and raising funds for orphaned children and the needy. 2- Communicating with the women, girls and youth in the countries to be visited and bringing their message to the women, girls and youth in Iran. 3- Observing...
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October 03, 2003
I bought “The Middle East” magazine a couple of days ago for the first time, and I have to say I’m quite impressed. The content is rich and it provides some very good insight into current Middle Eastern / World events. Anyway, I read an article in it about Bridges TV, a project by some American Muslims to create a Muslim TV network in the US that airs programs which are fit for Muslim viewing. I think this is a great idea, not only because it’ll provide American Muslims with a TV network that they can feel comfortable watching and...
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Posted on October 3, 2003 04:53 PM u
