March 31, 2006
So what do you know, Tina Arena, one of my favourite female artists was in Tunisia shooting the video for her new single "Je M'appelle Bagdad", which is one of my favourite songs off her new French album "Un Autre Univers", and I didn't know about it and didn't get to meet her. Now that's shitty... The video was shot in the Tunisian Desert and in the Palace of Tozeur. It was directed by Thierry Vergnes, the same guy beind the ‘Aimer jusqu'à l'impossible’ video. The story of the video follows Tina as she wanders through timeless landscapes, recalling the...
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While doing my daily round of blogs, I came across this funny article in the Jordan Times via The Black Iris. As sales of chicken shawerma dropped in the capital following the detection of avian flu in Ajloun, one Amman restaurant is serving fish shawerma to minimise lost profits. Customers said it was a good alternative. "I thought serving fish shawerma would be something rare that people would like and at the same time it would make up for the low sales of chicken shawerma," said Suleiman, who began selling his specialty two months ago. According to Janem, the maneger...
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March 30, 2006
''The war to 'democratise' Iraq was the most valuable gift the American administration has ever given the dictator regimes in the Arab world. It is a practical example of what democracy means as seen by the Americans. Arab nations see the war in Iraq as an exercise to secure oil supplies from the region and to destroy an Arab country for the best interests of Israel.'' -- Bourhan Ghalioun, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Oriental Studies at the Sorbonne University. [Via: Je Blog]...
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Posted on March 30, 2006 11:03 AM under:
Tunisia
Dubai-based operator TECOM has outbid France’s Vivendi in the final round of auctions for a 35% stake in Tunisie Telecom. According to officials, TECOM – which in February was bought by the UAE’s new second operator, du – offered US$2.24 billion, with Vivendi bidding US$2.05 billion. Government officials in Tunisia said that TECOM would be formally approved as the final winner within 72 hours, as had been stated in the details of the tender. Tunisie Telecom is the monopoly fixed-line operator in Tunisia and is estimated to control 72% of the country’s mobile market with 3.2 million subscribers at the...
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March 27, 2006
One of the things I love the most about blogs is how you get to meet so many interesting people both online and offline. Over the past 3 years that I've been blogging, I've met so many people online through them commenting on my blog or sending me an email asking me for certain information, telling me about an interesting bit of news, informing me about an exciting new project, or just expressing their appreciation for my blog or even disappreciation; yeah I actually got one hate email from this sick racist maniac Tunisian woman in the US who is...
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"People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." -- A quote from the movie V for Vendetta, by the Wachowski brothers, based on the comic....
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March 24, 2006
Posted on March 24, 2006 05:42 PM under:
Music
FremantleMedia has announced that it is launching a local version of The X Factor in the Middle East. The X Factor, XSeer Al Najah (The X Factor, The Essence of Success) will be produced by Lebanese production company Studiovision and will premiere on 26 March on music channel Rotana TV, culminating in the grand finale on 4 June. FremantleMedia regional manager, Middle East and North Africa Isabelle Garcia said, "We are really excited about bringing this format to the Middle East. Not only do we have fantastic judges with great backgrounds but also the acts coming forward are something the...
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They're high around the waist, wide around the leg and have lots of pockets for holding watches, bracelets, glasses and other knickknacks. A new line of jeans designed by a small company in northern Italy, under the name of Al Quds Jeans, caters to Muslims seeking to stay comfortable while they pray. The bagginess is to ensure the wearer avoids stiffness while bending down repeatedly during prayers. The pockets are for holding all the accessories Muslims have to take off while they worship. And the jeans have green seams — because green is the sacred color of Islam. Al Quds,...
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March 21, 2006
"Thanks to the Lobby, the United States has become the de facto enabler of Israeli expansion in the Occupied Territories, making it complicit in the crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians. This situation undercuts Washington’s efforts to promote democracy abroad and makes it look hypocritical when it presses other states to respect human rights. US efforts to limit nuclear proliferation appear equally hypocritical given its willingness to accept Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which only encourages Iran and others to seek a similar capability." -- The Israel Lobby by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt,...
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March 20, 2006
Posted on March 20, 2006 03:12 PM under:
Tunisia
Today is the 50th anniversary of Tunisia's independence from France, and quite a bit ironically, I'm actually in Paris on this important day. The first thing I would like to do is to salute everyone who played a role in liberating our country and to honor the memory of all the people who struggled for our country's independence. You are all heroes, and you'll live forever in Tunisia's history and memories, as well as in our hearts. Tunisia has come a long way from 1956 to today, and a lot has been accomplished, but of course we still have more...
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March 17, 2006
Here are a few quotes by Mahatma Gandhi, a very wise man... - An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. - What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? - You should be the change that you want to see in the world. - I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,...
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March 16, 2006
I'm starting to like Paris more and more each day as I discover new places in it and get used to moving around. I don't really feel like it's the kind of city I could live in, but still it's a really nice place to visit. It's amazing how many churches and cathedrals this city has; almost every road has a great big beautiful one sitting at its end. It's almost as if there was a law that was passed in the old ages saying: "Every street gets its own church, every boulevard its own cathedral, and if there isn't...
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March 15, 2006
Men must make sure they gain consent before having sex to avoid being sent to jail, the British government is saying in a new hard-hitting advertising campaign. The £400,000 campaign comes amid low conviction rates for rape cases in England and Wales. Changes to the law are also being considered. Using provocative imagery and down-to-earth language, the ads will warn that consent is active, not passive, and that unless women actively say "yes" to sex, men must assume the answer is "no". So all you British men, at those mad hot moments, no matter what that woman you're with is...
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You're walking down a street in your favourite part of town, whistling or humming a cool tune, trying to enjoy the nice weather and the really good mood you're in. But wait, it's not working; there's something annoying you, distracting you, bugging you... Something is not the same about this street, it's no longer what it used to be, it has somehow lost its charm; what is it? It's those huge billboards, those ugly posters stuck everywhere, those flashing fluorescent lights, those ads all around you that have transformed your nice street into a brainwash walk-through. No wonder you're distracted,...
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March 14, 2006
After Google Earth and then Google Moon, now we've also got Google Mars. Google Mars allows users to view the surface of the Red Planet either by a colour-coded altitude map, black and white photographs, or an infra-red map. The maps used on Google Mars were made from images captured by Nasa probes Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor, both currently orbiting the planet. The service was launched to mark the 151st anniversary of the birth of Percival Lowell, an astronomer who mapped and studied Mars in the 19th century. Up next in the news: Martians sue Google over Mars...
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Don't they have Burger King in France?! Shit, they don't have Burger King in France! It turns out there was, but this Belgian group Quick, yeah it turned out to be from Belgium, bought the whole French chain of Burger Kings some years ago. I had dinner at a Quick last night, and it was nothing close to the Burger King experience or taste. What a shame! Went to the nearby Virgin Megastore last night; it's pretty unorganized compared to the ones in London. I browsed through some DVDs but got fed up of it because whenever I thought of...
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March 13, 2006
So, here I am in Paris... Yes, you read it right, I'm in Paris, France; The city of lights, romance, fashion and whatever else they came up with... But wait a second, the last time I wrote I was mumbling about how the world has more billionaires now and us getting peanuts, now all of a sudden, I'm in Paris??! How did that happen? Well, let me do a quick rewind then fast forward through the weekend. Saturday was my birthday, yeah no big post about that this year, phone line is screwed at home, so no connection, so of...
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March 10, 2006
As some of us have barely been breaking even since last year, 102 more people around the world have become billionaires. And I'm not one of them, yet! Microsoft founder Bill Gates is still perched atop the Forbes list with a net worth of 50 billion dollars. That's up three and a-half billion or so from last year. He's been the world's richest person for the past 12 years. Forbes says there are now 793 billionaires, thanks in part to emerging stock markets overseas, including Russia, India and Brazil. The Czech Republic has its first billionaire ever. China now has...
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Confirming what I read on GigaOM a couple of days ago, it has been officially announced that Google has now bought Upstartle, the company behind the cool online word processor Writely, taking the search giant even deeper into Microsoft's turf. Writely is a web based, ajax enhanced application that lets users compose documents directly on the Web, collaborate on them with others and share them either privately or publicly. So with Google acquiring them, Google is going into direct competition with Microsoft Office Word, making it unnecessary to have an installed Word processor. I've used Writely before, and in fact...
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March 09, 2006
Posted on March 9, 2006 08:20 PM under:
Link Dump
Photo-Realistic Make your digital images more convincing and lifelike with just a handful of gradients and custom shadows using Macromedia Fireworks. (tags: tutorial photography photos realistic digital macromedia fireworks) The Logos of Web 2.0 The striking commonalities in a compilation of nearly 400 Web 2.0 logos. (tags: fonts web2.0 logo web compilation) DeskTask A piece of free software that connects to Microsoft Outlook and displays your calendar and task items on the desktop. (tags: tools freeware Tasks Outlook software) Overtime and Startups Thoughts and rules about using overtime in startups. (tags: startup overtime development developers) Ultra-Mobile PC Microsoft's Origami...
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Posted on March 9, 2006 07:29 PM under:
Memories
Having two names was never an easy thing for me, even though I don't think it's that complicated or weird. Plus it's a very normal and common thing in Tunisia. I actually see it as one name: "Mohamed Marwen" as a whole entity. Although I did amuse myself sometimes by thinking that "Mohamed" is the good side of me, while "Marwen" is the dark one. Anyway, it seems that some people just need to have one name or else they get a system failure error somewhere in their mental address book. So, as a child growing up in Zimbabwe, all...
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For those of you who are not in IT and haven't had their brain cells fried up beyond repair with hours of code writing and debugging, it seems there's a way to get smarter, and in only 7 days too. Doing 'brain exercises' such as watching Countdown, playing Sudoku or taking a shower with your eyes closed can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC programme this week. (...) The programme found that a combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind...
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March 08, 2006
Inspired by a list compiled by Gini, one of Pixar's artists, here are the top 5 computer capabilities I wish I had in my everyday life: Undo Copy and Paste Shift-Delete Reset Auto Responder [Via: Khaled]...
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The blog has been pretty serious lately, so I thought I'd do something lighter and put up part 2 of the 10 Things You Didn't Know About Me, and make more stuff about me available for public scrutiny :P A number of people who know me think I have multiple personalities. I think that's an understatement. You know that movie hitch? I used to do a similar job with my friends, giving them directions and tips on how to win over the affection of girls they liked or had crushes on. And it worked. I curse and swear a lot,...
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March 07, 2006
Yesterday a friend and I were talking, and the conversation shifted to how it seems that we IT people start to suffer memory problems after some years in the industry. As the years goes by, the projects pile up, the problems faced and solved accumulate, our heads are less and less able to retain information and we seem to forget things faster. Not only that, but we also seem to get a focus deficiency of some sorts, because of which we sometimes just go through blank moments and lose focus on whatever it is we're listening to, watching or doing....
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Posted on March 7, 2006 10:46 AM under:
Tunisia
As a number of other Tunisian bloggers have written already, we had our eleventh Tunisian blogger meetup last Sunday. The meetup was held at Latina Cafe/Restaurant in Les Berges du Lac. Turnout was pretty good for this meetup with 18 people showing up. I'd like to thank Latina for their hospitality, for offering us free drinks and being so nice to us all. Among the bloggers present, we had two guests: Mahesh Shantaram and a Tunisian friend of his, they both study professional photography in Paris, France. It was great meeting him after the emails we exchanged before his trip...
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March 06, 2006
Posted on March 6, 2006 10:06 AM under:
Tunisia
Each year, a jury headed by a Nobel Prize winner awards five female scientists -- one from each continent -- US$100,000 for their research in what are called the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards. Habiba Bouhamed Chaabouni from Tunisia was awarded for her contribution to the analysis and prevention of hereditary disorders. Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Tunis, Habiba Bouhamed Chaabouni has devoted her medical and research career to improving conditions for children and families affected by genetic disorders in Tunisia. A pioneer in her country, she has fought for over 20 years to get medical genetics...
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Posted on March 6, 2006 09:55 AM under:
Cinema
So the Oscars are over and the winners in the main categories are: - Actor in a leading role: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) - Actor in a supporting role: George Clooney (Syriana) - Actress in a leading role: Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line) - Actress in a supporting role: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) - Animated feature film: Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Best Picture: Crash (Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman) - Directing: Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee) - Music: Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla) - Visual Effects: King Kong (Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers...
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A new political party was born Friday, March 3rd, in Tunisia. The new formation, named “the Green Party for Progress,” (the PVP) is Tunisia’s ninth legal party. Mr Mongi Khammassi, secretary general of the newly-formed party, said in a statement today his formation “will be a space open to all sincere people and patriotic Tunisians desiring to contribute to the progress of the country, within legality and respect for the tenets of the republican system.” He added, “our party will endeavour to promote environmental awareness and sensitization as to the importance of such an awareness in anchoring a pro-environment culture...
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March 03, 2006
Domino's Pizza founder, Thomas S. Monaghan, aims to create a no-sin city, by the name of Ave Maria, in the US. The pizza magnate is bankrolling the project with at least $250 million and calls it "God's will." The town of Ave Maria is being constructed around Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university to be built in the United States in about 40 years. Both are set to open next year about 25 miles east of Naples in southwestern Florida. The town and the university, developed in partnership with the Barron Collier Co., an agricultural and real estate business,...
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Open book exams just rock, don't they. I mean, maybe they should not be applied for all topics and specialties, but for IT students, I personally think most exams should be open book. On the other hand, I don't think anyone would feel comfortable having a doctor who sat through open book exams operate on them. No time to rush off and read through a bunch of huge books when you're in the middle of a serious operation and your patient is barely hanging on. Back to IT students, something that just crossed my mind is that soon they should...
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"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended." -- Nelson...
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March 02, 2006
Posted on March 2, 2006 10:04 AM under:
Tunisia
It's time for another blogger meetup, and this time it was organized by our friend Tom. The next Tunisian blogger meetup, which will be our eleventh, will be held this coming Sunday 05/03/06 at 4PM in Latina restaurant in Les Berges du Lac. And drinks are on the house, so yes, they are free ;) A big thanks to Latina for their hospitable offer :) Adib is also offering free salsa lessons to anyone interested :P We're counting on you all to come and make this an even greater success than the last meetup. Everyone is welcome, even non-bloggers who...
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March 01, 2006
I just found this really cool new online service called Nuvvo (pronounced like the French word "nouveau", meaning new). Nuvvo is a Learning Management System (LMS) powered by Savvica and designed for the individual instructor. It's the first system of its kind to offer individual teachers, professors, tutors, and trainers their own Online Learning Portal from which to run courses and teach students. "Whether you're a K-12 teacher, a corporate trainer, a university professor, or an amateur who knows baseball cards inside out, Nuvvo can help you reach students all over the world", says their website. The courses you offer...
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