singletons half hearted chuckle

was IMing with an English friend about the miseries of valentines day when she sent me this rather amusing link
and people think the English are such prudes !

on my book wishlist

check out this preview of Norman mailers latest book
the book is an exploration of Adolf Hitlers childhood narrated by a devil in the guise of an ss man called dieter .
man if i could write like that i would curl up in a corner somewhere and die a satisfied woman
hohum ...

a line im dying to put into one of my stories

its crude , its a little crass and so not like my usual writing style
i guess that why Im slightly obsessed with it

"life is a whore you want to fuck badly and she won't let you "

im being possessed by some awful character that is screaming to be written
ideas please !

some interesting installations

These pieces by two artists walter martin and paloma munoz .
I espeacially like the human candles . wouldn't it be rather strange if we aged like candles instead of your body starting to weaken , your flesh wrinkling and sagging
you melted gradually , everyday you'd wake up and see how much of you had melted away
till theres not enough wax to sustain the wick , the flame sputters and poof you're gone

man i weird myself out sometimes

it just doesn't cease

another terrible story
police rape
so much for el shorta f khedmat al sha3b .
what really pisses me off is why no-one went in to help the poor girl , naturally because they were afraid of the police . who the hell is supposed to protect us ?

life for sale ....... literally

It's a crazy ass world .
check this dude out
its an amusing idea though ... don't think there would be too many takers if i were to auction my life.
wonder whats the return policy on lives?

a new matriarchy

I read about this a while ago , though I honestly can't remember where
the washington post has a good if old article about it
umoja womans village

stories like this give me hope , that long ingrained cultural misogyny doesnt have to fuck up your life .you may not be able to conquer it , to eradicate it but with bravery you can create a life for yourself , a full happy life and help other women too. I think its a wonderful model to help women in general espeacially women who have been abused by men and are in desperate need of somewhere to live .

a most interesting eid incident (late post)

as you can imagine eid is the most demoralizing time of year for a lonely vegeterian
and this one was no exception , i woke up early to study and consequently spent most of the morning trying to block out the frantic bleating of frightened sheep . anyhow the butcher comes up with our meat neatly organized into the one kilo bags + 0ur own portion which also contains various parts of sheeps innards , my grandma starts inspecting the contents of this bag of delights

Grandma : that thief he took the makhasy !

me : (puzzled by this intrigueing organ) whats the makhasy grandma ?

grandma : ummmm I don't know the word in english , ask your father

dad : its the testicles

me : whhhhhhaaaat ! surely you dont eat it

dad: i certainly dont!

grandma : its delicious . your great uncle S always makes sure that the butcher gives him the makhasy . he cries if he doesnt get it

yes apparently i have relatives who delight in the consumption of sheep testicles . an ingredient probably used by the witches in macbeth for auguring and cursing
it is a terrible thing to contemplate and i was too afraid to ask if they consider it as an aphrodisiac of some sort .
I also realised my arabic vocabulary is lacking in rather key anatomical terms which is an even worse thing to contemplate .
at any rate I don't think i can look at great uncle S again without sniggering

the hebe returneth

hullo me lovelies
why is it i feel so strangely obliged to apologize to all and sundry for not blogging in so long
its most peculiar but I do in all probability some clever philosophy student will write a terribly unreadable treatise on it someday "moral obligation and cyber space " or something of the sort
with an infinitely less comprehensible title
life has been quite dull for the past few months . just studying law , pigging out or sleeping
the regular apres exam routine .
however i will return to regular blogging now that I have become a lady of lesuire ( to a limited extent since im helping my mother run her shop )
Its a new year and a fully intend to become a better version of myself and hopefully this blog will also emerge from the crysallis if i may presume to use such an awful metaphor
a belated happy new year to everyone !

we now interupt your regular blog for some advertising on my mothers behalf

yes i know i know i havent blogged in yonks but im now currently in pre exam hibernation and i kinda doubted anyone would find my study schedule particularly enthralling .
anyhows after an ardous time which consisted of a lot of nail biting on my part , a lot of whines from my father about our ensuing bankruptcy and my mother screaming endlessly at incomptent workers for months on end ........................
za hebe mama is opening a shop !!!!!
yes indeedy on the 22nd of december she is opening her utterly fabulous though somewhat tiny boutique "beads and threads "which sells lots of lovely handmade stuff all designed by my genius mother (with occassional assistance from yours truly) scarves , veils , shawls , bags , cushions tablecloths , wall hangings etc etc . its espeacially useful if you are a blushing bride and need stuff for your love nest or are picking up something up for someones wedding list
we are also going to provide a rather nifty service .which is customizing clothing , bags ,jeans (anything made of fabric really) with beading or embroidery . also my mum works mostly with charities so youll also be giving impoverished but very talented needlewomen a livelihood st

come check us out !

beads and threads 10 el messaha square , omarayet el masreyen , dokki
infront of safir hotel

our stuff is 100% handmade 100% egyptian 100% original

how i feel right now

I've posed for pictures with Ivory Soap.
I've petted stray dogs and shied clear of dope.
My smile is brilliant, my glance is tender.
But I'm noted most for my unspoiled gender.
I've been made Miss Rangle, though I've never touch beer.
And I'm the person to whom they say: 'You're sweet, my dear'.
The only etchings I've seen have been behind glass.
And the closest I've been to a bar - was at ballet class.
Prim and proper.
The girl who's never been kissed.
Well, I'm tired of being pure, and not chaste.
Like something that seeks its level
I wanna go to the devil
I wanna be evil
I wanna spit tacks
I wanna be evil
And cheat at Jacks
I wanna be wicked
I wanna tell lies.
I wanna be mean And throw mud pies
.I want to wake up in the morning with that 'Dark Brown' taste.
I wanna see some dissipation in my face.
I wanna be evil.I wanna be mad.
But more that thatI wanna be bad

I wanna be evil And trump an ace.
Just to see my partner's face.
I wanna be nastyI wanna be cruel
I wanna be daringI wanna shoot pool
And in the theaterI want to change my seat
Just so I can step on everybody's feet
I wanna be evilI wanna hurt flies
I wanna sing songs like the guy who cry-ey-ey-ey-eysI wanna be horrid
I wanna drink booze

And whatever I've got, I am eager to lose.
I wanna be evil
Little evil me
Just as mean and evil
As I can be

eartha kitt

the oscar

Today is 106th anniversary of Oscar Wildes death.
if if were to be a little excessive i might say that Oscar wilde is the central god in my personal literary pantheon .
Its often been said that in being a writer one tends to write about life rather than live it ,but for oscar wilde this was not the case . art touched every facet of his life . he lived as he saw fit moulding his exsistence to suit his desires rather than succumbing to convention
i rever him for his wit , i admire him for his wisdom and i pity him because love was his downfall love and the cruelty of mediocre men .


i long to live as bravely as he did , disdaining the stupidties of society with a grace and charm that made society adore him

may he never be forgotten

Merci M. Gauguin

"take it to your hearts and nail something indecent to your door .from that moment onwards you need have nothing more to do with decent people,those most unbearable creatures in gods whole wide world "
Paul Gauguin Avant et apres

a shura council of muslim women

this is very interesting news
http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2006/11/muslim_women_le.php
I'm very curious to see whether this council will change anything in our societies, not just general misogny but Muslim womens perceptions of themeselves .
come to think of it wouldnt life be so very very different if all muslim clerics were women ......

just my mind boggling fantasy of the day

new James Bond movie - a review

firstly,
oooooh , ahhhhhhh wowzers yum yum droooool ursula andress eat your heart out
(shamless and pointless ogling now over with)

Well I must say this is probably one of the best Bond movies I have seen in a while ( though the soundtrack sucks on an infinite number of levels)
some like my beloved maman might disagree violently with me for one or more of the following reasons
1) daniel craig looks like a thug (wot!)
2)there are only two bond girls and one dies waaay too soon (fathers complaint)
3) where are the gadgets ? where the hell is Q
4) he's suposed to be in a suit all the time
5) he's supposed to come out of all his fights unscathed not looking like something that just came out of the butchers

well i think that the above reasons are exactly why I liked this film . bond movies were starting to become terribly formulaic , it was about time for a return to reality (just a wee bit)
and the original books.
you see along with a rather insane prediliction for shoes i have i nherited from my father a love for the original james bond novels (we have all of them incidentally) and finally i have seen a film that has the feel of the novels . And a James Bond that is uncanilly like the one of the novels (except for the blond hair)
so thumbs up !

turned 18 yesterday

whoop de doodle yay!
will drink
will drive
(not simultaneously)
will vote at nearest opportunity (dont mean shit in this country right now but will do it for kicksof the civic duty sort)
will consort with young nubile men in a thoroughly debauched fashion (if you have an exeptionally well formed gluteus maximus and are of the male sex you have been warned,i am on the prowl )
will get a tattoo (rite of passage sort of thing)
will get back my copy of lady chatterlys lover from my father
will...........

any more suggestions for what i ought to do ?

writers dilemna

what does one do when a character pops into your head with such ferocity she seems like a real person . she absloutely marvellous a brilliant philosophically hedonistic (but practically an ascetic) gauloise smoking translator (working on an arabic translation of the marquis de sade)
i have no story to put her in and its driving me crazy
writers block sucks

the stand

its seems a wee bit late to post about the stand . but the apatmentsLAN coordinator is an utter ass . O, if you ever find this blog just wanna let you know YOU ARE AN ASS and stop hitting on my sister you creep SHE AINT INTERESTED!!!!

but I digress,

anyway , this was the first demonstaration i have ever participated in (and this was only because I snuck out of the house under false pretences ) I was as is my scaredy cat wont extremely nervous before going so i read surat el nissa , sang ave maria
and prayed to every female deity that popped into my head (im not one to take chances as you can tell) i got there and stood for a bit slightly flabbergasted (espeacially at the seemingly endless row of amn dawla)then a friend came along with a sign and people started showing up
what a mixed crowd ! everyone from kifaya activists to foreign AUC students and lucky old moi got to meet mona el tahawy . she is so unbelievably nice !
again i digress

i have only one complaint , i didnt like the political turn the demonstration took , i thought we should have concentrated on the issue at hand that being the eid molestations and the social indifference to sexual harassment in our streets . otherwise it was well organized , the turnout was good and there was a lot of journalists prowlingabout . Ionly hope the message gets to people . Also i got home in one piece and did not have to use either my pepper spray or my telescope baton which was a relief .

i would like to thank nerro for getting it all together and everyone else who was involved in organizing it ! you guys rock

saddam is gone

i read somewhere " a nation deserves its leaders"
and with saddam about to be bumped off, i wonder did the iraqi people deserve this man ?

slightly odd midnight thoughts

why is it that a mans sexual desire considered totally natural and its repression nearly impossible ( hence the lack of condemnation from society when it comes to sexual harrassment)
and yet a womans is odd ,and "wrong"
asides from societal expectations blah blah blah .
wheres the logic ?
I mean the woman is the one with clitoris (la hayaa fel ilm ya gamaa !) which is the only part of the human body which serves no biological purpose beyond pleasure ....
why is there no male psychological illness on par with nymphomania? (if there is, excuse my ignorance)
its all rather fishy is you ask me