Month: September 2006

Trying To Make Everyone Happy…

“Trying to make everyone happy makes no one happy”

I’m not sure who originally said that, but I couldn’t agree with it more.

If you spend your life trying to please and make everyone around you happy, you’ll end up leading a miserable life, plus no one will be happy because it’s impossible to make everyone happy.

But why do we sometimes go down that path and attempt to make everyone around us happy?
Is it fueled by insecurity, an intense spiritual passion or compassion?
Is it because we believe we’ll only be happy if everyone around us is?
Is it this certain need we have to feel that we are a source of happiness for those around us?
Is it because we don’t want anyone to be angry at us or dislike us?
Is it because we care so much?

Whatever the reason is, it’s unrealistic and will only backfire on us; we’ll end up over-thinking every single thing, having to act and be unnatural, putting ourselves in sticky situations, stressing ourselves out…etc.
And what’s for sure is that we’ll never be happy because instead of focusing on what we can do to make our lives better and be happier, we’re focusing on a bigger impossible job of making other people happy.

In the end of the day, every one of us leads one life, and that is already too short to spend ignoring ourselves and trying to make others happy instead.

Of course focusing on ourselves and putting our happiness as our first priority doesn’t mean we should be selfish and mean, in fact whenever we can make someone happy we should, but we just shouldn’t put it before our own happiness.

Well, that’s what I think…

Microsoft & Peter Jackson in Xbox Deal

I read about this a couple of days ago and have been wanting to write about it ever since.

Microsoft has sealed a deal with director Peter Jackson, of “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong” fame, that calls for him to create two new interactive entertainment series for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.

Jackson will be working with longtime collaborator and screenwriter Fran Walsh and Microsoft Game Studios to develop these series.

The first series will be a collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next chapter in the “Halo” universe (Halo 3). The second series will be an entirely original property aimed at bringing new audiences into gaming. In addition, Microsoft Game Studios will partner with Jackson and Walsh to establish Wingnut Interactive, a studio focused on developing interactive entertainment.

This is really good and exciting news; I think Peter Jackson will bring fresh blood, ideas and visions to the gaming industry, which should result in some really cool projects.

As he also said, video games on today’s gaming consoles are but another medium where storytellers can bring their stories to life, and games are becoming more and more like movies everyday, in fact they are more or less interactive movies.

I think we’ll see more and more movie directors coming into the gaming market and leveraging the abilities of game consoles to tell more stories.

I personally can’t wait to see the results of Peter Jackson’s collaboration with Microsoft. If he brings even a bit of his cinema making wizardry to the Xbox, it should be worth seeing and playing.

[More: CRM News, Playfuls]

Six Word Story

Just came across this on Flickr:

Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer, personally felt to be his best prose ever, was “For sale: baby shoes, never used.” Some people say it was to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors.

The flickr group asks people to post photos with a Six Word Story in the title section of the photo, with those few words telling the whole tale, and the picture being its visual interpretation.

First of all, I’m still amazed at how much Hemingway was able to tell using just six words, simply brilliant.
Secondly, I think this is a really cool idea. I’ll be going through some of my photos and thinking of some story I could tell in a few words and a photo.

If you come up with anything, even without a photo, please do share in the comments.

[Via: Caterina]

Tunisia, Most Competitive Arab & African Economy

Tunisia has the most competitive Arab and African economy according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, published by the World Economic Forum.

The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with leading research institutes and business organizations.

The report, which polled 11 thousand business leaders, enjoys high credibility in international business mediums and among decision-makers in the finance business.

Internationally, Tunisia ranked number 30 out of 125 countries, climbing seven positions compared to last year

Order A Fatwa

Need a custom-made fatwa (religious decree) to fit your needs?
Apparently you can get that in India for the great price of $22 per fatwa.
This month being Ramadan and all, I bet you could get a special offer if you order a bunch, sort of like a “buy 2 get 1 for free” or something.

Among the fatwas bought were decrees saying Muslims may not use credit cards or double beds. One cleric issued a fatwa in support of watching TV; another wrote one against.

So let your imagination run wild and order the fatwa you want as long as the offer lasts. I doubt these clerics will even have a problem issuing fatwas that directly contradict with the teachings of the Koran.

What a scandal!!

[Source: TIME]
[Via: Moorish Girl]

Earth Hottest in Thousands of Years

The world’s temperature has increased to levels not seen in at least 12,000 years, U.S. climate scientists report in today’s issue of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.” Rapid warming has occurred in the past 30 years, the researchers said, and there is little doubt that human activities are the primary factor.

Study coauthor James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies said the new findings imply that the world is “getting close to dangerous levels” of manmade greenhouse gases.

The study concludes the Earth is now reaching and passing through the warmest levels in the current interglacial period, which has lasted nearly 12,000 years. This warming is also forcing a migration of plant and animal species toward the poles, the researchers said.

“But if further global warming reaches 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know.” Hansen said.

European scientists recently reported dramatic openings over large areas of the Arctic’s perennial sea ice pack in August and a study released last week found Greenland’s ice sheet is melting far faster than scientists had previously thought.

Two other studies published this month by NASA scientists indicate that Arctic sea ice is melting at extraordinary rates.

Furthermore, British scientists reported this month that ice core records from Antarctica show the current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide – the leading greenhouse gas – are higher now than at any time in the past 800,000 years and increasing at an unprecedented rate.

[Source: Environment News Service]

Study: Muslims, Arabs saw pay drop after 9/11

Post-9/11 anti-Islamic and anti-Middle Eastern sentiment hasn’t just taken an emotional toll on Muslim and Arab men living in the United States. It has also put a dent in their checkbooks, a study indicates.

Arab and Muslim men saw their wages and weekly earnings drop by 10 percent after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the research reveals.

The largest decreases, according to the data collected from over 4,000 men between 1997 and 2005, occurred in locations that reported higher rates of ethnic and religious-based hate crimes.

Part of the reason pay fell is that these men, mostly from predominantly Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, found fewer opportunities and had to find work in different industries that paid less than the jobs they used to be employed in after 9/11, said the study’s co-author, Robert Kaestner, a University of Illinois at Chicago economics professor.

In addition, Kaestner said, most Muslim and Arab men, possibly wary of the reception they might receive in another state, curbed their travel within the country after 9/11, which may have kept them from seeking better jobs.

[Source: Chicago Sun-Times]
[Via: The Emirates Economist]

Another Year, Another Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan starts tomorrow in Tunisia. It already started today in Saudi Arabia and a number of other Arab countries.
So as usual, we’ve started another Ramadan with the whole crescent appearing/disappearing act.

Ramadan Mubarak to everyone.
May it be a happy and blessed month for you all.

This Ramadan is even more special for us this year because it’s our first as a small family with the addition of Adam. It might not really change much in reality, but it just feels great.

Ramadan is a great time of year, and a great chance for people to get closer to God and to each other. So I hope you all get the chance to make the best out of it.
Let this not be just another Ramadan wasted on excess food and endless lists of useless series.

Shakira Live In Tunisia

ShakiraColumbian pop star Shakira will be performing live in Tunisia soon; most probably this November 2006 at the Menzah stadium, where others like Michael Jackson, Sting and Mariah Carey performed before her.
(Or at least that’s what WebManagerCenter are reporting, based on information from a trusted source.)

Personally, I think this should be a more successful and fun concert than both of Mariah’s concerts put together, which more or less were a flop from what I’ve heard.

If this turns out to be true and I’m in the mood at the time, I think I just might go; Shakira’s got a couple of songs I really like, and I haven’t been to a live concert for a while, so maybe…

[Via: Chouchitou]
[Source: WebManagerCenter]