Palordinia The Birthday Boy!
It's already been a year. Well, to be more specific 370 days, since Palordinia started. When we started this thing we had nothing in mind more than creating a portal for our thought, and yes, why not sharing it with everyone interested on the web.
We have our ideas which usually fall short of being realized due to us being preoccupied with our jobs and our daily lives. Add to that a small dose of laziness and you find yourself looking at a product of two Arab guys in their late twenties.
During this year we strived to offer you, the visitor, an interesting perspective on many subjects. We tend to lean towards politics and business, but we also have an interest in arts, culture and just about everything else. Unfortunately, we are not blessed with the necessary skills to write about everything, and that's why you find the material about arts for example next to non-existent.
Inspiration
Our little adventure came to life when we started noticing what is commonly known amongst all of you as the Blogosphere! I know I know. A little too late, but hey! why judge us :). In times where Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and Myspace invaded our homes and minds, it is very difficult to notice something less flashy but admittedly richer!
I find myself obliged to mention the first blog that we noticed. Naturally, this blog helped develop the idea in our heads, and soon it was a reality. This blog was the Roba's weird and sometimes self-centered AndFarAway! Of course, that takes nothing away from the quality of that blog, but I thought it would be a decent way of describing it. It is also important to mention her that we are thankful for a different reason. Soon you will know why.
You might think, This guy is making creating a blog look like a difficult things to do. Well, true it is done with a couple of clicks. But to decide to take the time and commit to such thing is really difficult. I am not claiming that we have been consistant all along! Just a look at the number of entries of September 2008 gives you an idea about how fluctuating things have been around here.
No Promises!
I'm not going to make any promise that I'm not sure of fulfilling. I don't think Ali "my partner in crime" is going to do so as well. We will stick around. This is something for us before anything else, and if we are blessed enough to have people coming by to read what we write and share their thoughts and ideas with us, then that would be wonderful!
We might move to the next leverl, we might not. We might change our skins, we might not. We might grow, and we might not. But we will be around :)
How big is the bubble.
As all of you know, wonderful Google has this great tool called Google Analytics. It gives you some wonderful insights about yuour blog. It allows you to know how your blog is performing, and what is it that your readers take interest in. Here, we are going to share some facts about this blog with you. So Enjoy.
Top Ten Articles "By number of Readers"
1. The Seven Arab Girls You Should Never Date.
2. Dubai & The Financial Crisis.
3. Natalie The Virgin Bunny.
4. Ten Things You Need To Know About Your Arab.
5. Stereotype Moment: Lebanese.
6. Jordan Ranks 33 on Forbes List of Best Countries for Business
7. Stereotypes Moment: Jordanians
8. This Is How The Arabs Make The World Laugh At Them. Courtesy Of Mona Al Tahawy
9. World's Friendliest Countries.
10. Kadima's Website Hacked By Gazzans. E-War
Top Ten Visitors "Countries"
1. United States Of America.
2. Jordan
3. United Arab Emirates.
4. Saudia Arabia
5. United Kingdom
6. Canada
7. Germany
8. Egypt
9. Australia
10. Lebanon
Top Ten Referring Sites
1. Jordan Blogs
2. Blogger
3. And Far Away (That's why we are grateful :) )
4. Expat Blogs
5. Facebook.
6. The Black Iris
7. Blog Catalog
8. Palestine Blogs
9. Notes From A Grumpy Old Man
10. Google
11. Hareega (Honorary Mention)
It is important to mention here that we are still waiting for Toot to take us in! We don't know what the delay is all about! :)
Some Other Fact.
59% of our visitors came from referrals. We tkake this with pride.
84 is the number of countries from which people graced us with a visit.
There you go folks. A year of Palordinia and more to come. Thanks for all of those who came and took interest in what we write, and we are looking forward to share more with you.
Regards,
Palordinia Team.
Showing posts with label Ali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ali. Show all posts
Memories
You can hear people saying sometimes, I wish there is a pill to erase bad memories, but how did you know that what happened an hour or two ago is going to be a bad memory? maybe it's a bad experience, but you can't say it's a bad memory until you remember it after a long time, and you feel really bad when you do, then you can call it a bad memory. And I think that it's hard to have a bad memory.
a couple of days ago I was looking at some old photos, some of these photos were taken in really bad times, but much to my surprise, it was the photos that I smiled the most when I looked at. I've always thought these were bad memories of bad days, but they weren't, as I said earlier these were just some bad experiences, and those bad experiences along with the good and successful ones are what made me who I am now, these are the bricks that built my personality.
We've always thought that school times are the worst, we've always prayed to god days and nights for these days to be over, at prom night, we were the happiest people on earth and we thought that the worst is over, and now the easy life will begin.
After going to university, we found out that it's not as easy as we thought, in fact, it was harder than school time, you are older now, people will expect more from you, and not just that, it's actually the first step towards the real life, so it had to be in the right direction. But how would you know the right direction? you never know, you just speculate. So here we are again praying to god for these days to end, we wanted to start working, because we thought it's going to be easier.
With high hopes we finish collage, we celebrate it and put ourselves to sleep, dreaming about the brighter tomorrow, but guess what? it's real life now, you can't pray for it to end too, because it will mean the end of your life. It's hard, hard work, fake smiles and friendships, full of backstabbing and double crossings, we curse it everyday, and yet after sometime, you look at those days, the days you spent at your old job, and smile, and think it wasn't that bad.
And i say it now, it's not that bad, no matter how hard it is, it is still not that bad. Now just to be clear here, I was not talking about school or university days as whole, I was just talking about the bad days, and so is life after college.
Something that is worth mentioning by the way, I am really surprised with how much I wrote about this, when I started I didn't even have anything to write, but as soon as I started, I didn't stop to think of the next word at all. And I'm not really sure about what's going on here, because i'm not usually romantic like this :-s
Something tells me that I'll come back to this post few days later, and realize that it was something Forrest Gump had probably said while sitting on that bench talking to the old lady and waiting for that bus! yea.. that bus, the one that was supposed to take him to the place he wanted to be the most.
a couple of days ago I was looking at some old photos, some of these photos were taken in really bad times, but much to my surprise, it was the photos that I smiled the most when I looked at. I've always thought these were bad memories of bad days, but they weren't, as I said earlier these were just some bad experiences, and those bad experiences along with the good and successful ones are what made me who I am now, these are the bricks that built my personality.
We've always thought that school times are the worst, we've always prayed to god days and nights for these days to be over, at prom night, we were the happiest people on earth and we thought that the worst is over, and now the easy life will begin.
After going to university, we found out that it's not as easy as we thought, in fact, it was harder than school time, you are older now, people will expect more from you, and not just that, it's actually the first step towards the real life, so it had to be in the right direction. But how would you know the right direction? you never know, you just speculate. So here we are again praying to god for these days to end, we wanted to start working, because we thought it's going to be easier.
With high hopes we finish collage, we celebrate it and put ourselves to sleep, dreaming about the brighter tomorrow, but guess what? it's real life now, you can't pray for it to end too, because it will mean the end of your life. It's hard, hard work, fake smiles and friendships, full of backstabbing and double crossings, we curse it everyday, and yet after sometime, you look at those days, the days you spent at your old job, and smile, and think it wasn't that bad.
And i say it now, it's not that bad, no matter how hard it is, it is still not that bad. Now just to be clear here, I was not talking about school or university days as whole, I was just talking about the bad days, and so is life after college.
Something that is worth mentioning by the way, I am really surprised with how much I wrote about this, when I started I didn't even have anything to write, but as soon as I started, I didn't stop to think of the next word at all. And I'm not really sure about what's going on here, because i'm not usually romantic like this :-s
Something tells me that I'll come back to this post few days later, and realize that it was something Forrest Gump had probably said while sitting on that bench talking to the old lady and waiting for that bus! yea.. that bus, the one that was supposed to take him to the place he wanted to be the most.
Beautiful Morning
Today I woke up early in the morning at around 8, had my coffee, smoked a couple of cigarettes before I dare to open the window blinds and look outside, as it’s usually dusty here, I thought it would be another lousy weekend, but to my surprise, the weather was great, sky was clear, no dust in the air, and it’s not so hot.
What a beautiful morning, after a stressful week at work, I must go out and have breakfast somewhere “on the beach”, since I live on one of the smallest islands in the world, you would think that is actually what I should be doing everyday.
Moving on, I jumped in the car and drove all the way to my friend without even calling him, because I know he would be sitting in the same sh…place to have his morning sheesha, it’s a great morning, which is something that doesn’t happen a lot in Bahrain, and all he want’s to do is to sit and have sheesha and post some videos on FaceBook.
Anyway, we had breakfast and did some boring stuff, then I drove him home, and was going home too, but then I decided not to was this beautiful gift, so what to do? Of course hit the beach! But then again I hit another wall; I live on an ISLAND where there is no public beach, not even one.
I really wanted to seize the moment, I really wanted to enjoy this lovely day, so, I went to one of the clubs that enjoys having a “beach” and was ready to pay $60 to enjoy a 20 meters beach, and I’m not kidding here, it’s really just 20 meter, and guess what, they didn’t let me in because weekends are just for members!
So I went home mad, frustrated, and here I am lying on my couch, writing this boring story, and asking myself after each word I write, why the hell am I writing this?
The Triangle of Evil
Hamas prevents pilgrims from passing to Egypt on their way to Saudi Arabia to do the hajj.
Why would the “Islamic” party do that?
They say because the pilgrims have got their papers illegally approved. How did they know that it’s illegal? Because it was approved by the government in Ram Allah.
I’ve never been a fan of politics, or the politicians, especially the “Islamic” ones. I think it’s obvious why.
Poor Gaza falls in the center of the Triangle of Evil, Hamas, what so called the Palestinian government, and the Israeli killing machine.
In this occasion I would like to applaud Hamas and Ram Allah government, well done guys, you have managed to show the world the real meaning of hypocrisy, you have managed to show the world that Palestinians are idiots and don’t deserve to have an independent country, although they are actually smart and they do deserve the country, but the truth won’t be revealed until they come to their senses and sack you all, Hamas and the PLO.
I know this article is a little harsh, but we’ve had enough of this bullshit, and it must end, or maybe it’s just me! I don’t know.
Why would the “Islamic” party do that?
They say because the pilgrims have got their papers illegally approved. How did they know that it’s illegal? Because it was approved by the government in Ram Allah.
I’ve never been a fan of politics, or the politicians, especially the “Islamic” ones. I think it’s obvious why.
Poor Gaza falls in the center of the Triangle of Evil, Hamas, what so called the Palestinian government, and the Israeli killing machine.
In this occasion I would like to applaud Hamas and Ram Allah government, well done guys, you have managed to show the world the real meaning of hypocrisy, you have managed to show the world that Palestinians are idiots and don’t deserve to have an independent country, although they are actually smart and they do deserve the country, but the truth won’t be revealed until they come to their senses and sack you all, Hamas and the PLO.
I know this article is a little harsh, but we’ve had enough of this bullshit, and it must end, or maybe it’s just me! I don’t know.
Too Many Questions
Before I start my TOO MANY QUESTIONS I want to say what pushed me to write such an article.
A court order stopped the trading in the Kuwait stock Exchange, this headline has really pulled on my nerves, it was worse than a slap in the face.
Now the questions,
Who went to court and raised a case to stop the trading? Who is the judge who gave the order? What is his expertise and what does he know about the financial markets? What was this order meant to give to the stock market? What will happen when they resume the trading? Or will they keep it halted forever?
That was about Kuwait; now let’s look at the big picture,
Where are the Arab governments’ spokesmen who were shouting out loud that the global financial crisis will not affect us? In fact, where are those who had the guts to say that it’s going to be beneficial for us? ( I remember I wrote about this and said that I agree with them only if they did the right thing, but obviously they are doing the exact opposite).
And speaking of the liquidity crisis, is it possible that the gulf states have a liquidity crisis? And what about the companies? How about buying your 10% treasury stocks? Don’t you think this will give investors more confidence in your stock? Or don’t you think it's worth buying?
There is only one thing I want to say;
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, STAY AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN.
A court order stopped the trading in the Kuwait stock Exchange, this headline has really pulled on my nerves, it was worse than a slap in the face.
Now the questions,
Who went to court and raised a case to stop the trading? Who is the judge who gave the order? What is his expertise and what does he know about the financial markets? What was this order meant to give to the stock market? What will happen when they resume the trading? Or will they keep it halted forever?
That was about Kuwait; now let’s look at the big picture,
Where are the Arab governments’ spokesmen who were shouting out loud that the global financial crisis will not affect us? In fact, where are those who had the guts to say that it’s going to be beneficial for us? ( I remember I wrote about this and said that I agree with them only if they did the right thing, but obviously they are doing the exact opposite).
And speaking of the liquidity crisis, is it possible that the gulf states have a liquidity crisis? And what about the companies? How about buying your 10% treasury stocks? Don’t you think this will give investors more confidence in your stock? Or don’t you think it's worth buying?
There is only one thing I want to say;
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, STAY AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN.
Afghanistan's Biggest Crisis
It was on the top news on the BBC Arabic TV, and it wasn’t just a headline, they published a full report and interviews on that crisis.
Before telling you what was the crisis that will destroy Afghan’s future, let’s take a brief look on Afghan’s past and present.
In 1979, the Soviet invaded Afghanistan with more than 10000 troops backed by anther 10000 from the Parcham faction. The Soviet occupation resulted in the killing of 60000 to 2 million Afghan civilians, 5 millions fled the country to it’s neighbors and other parts of the world. The Soviet troops withdrew in 1989, that’s when the civil war started.
The civil war continued until 1994, that’s when 10000 people where killed and Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, in 1996 Taliban seized Kabul and by the end of the year 2000 Taliban has controlled 95% of the country.
In 2001, the US troops invaded Afghanistan backed by the NATO forces and occupied Kabul, the occupation is still present in Afghanistan, hundreds of people die every day, and millions have been killed within 30 years.
So, from the above information, we can see that Afghanistan has been a happy country since forever, it has a strong economy and stable political environment these days and has reached the top of the world, only one problem they still can’t solve, THERE ARE NO ACTRESSES IN AFGHANISTAN.
Yes, the biggest challenge that faces Afghan’s government and social agencies is to find more actresses to work in the Afghan cinema. In one of the interviews on the BBC, a movies producer was talking about this “CRISIS” and he got so emotional, I felt that he was going to cry, the poor guy couldn’t find a woman to part in his latest movie.
I know it’s not that important subject to write about, but I just find it really frustrating how these so called artists tries to act like they are living in a deferent world, a world full of rainbows and butterflies. And please don’t get me started on the Iraqi artists.
No offence to any nationality, I think there are an uncountable number of issues we have to take care of before we start searching for actresses for the “poor” Afghan producer.
And BBC, you should know better….
Before telling you what was the crisis that will destroy Afghan’s future, let’s take a brief look on Afghan’s past and present.
In 1979, the Soviet invaded Afghanistan with more than 10000 troops backed by anther 10000 from the Parcham faction. The Soviet occupation resulted in the killing of 60000 to 2 million Afghan civilians, 5 millions fled the country to it’s neighbors and other parts of the world. The Soviet troops withdrew in 1989, that’s when the civil war started.
The civil war continued until 1994, that’s when 10000 people where killed and Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, in 1996 Taliban seized Kabul and by the end of the year 2000 Taliban has controlled 95% of the country.
In 2001, the US troops invaded Afghanistan backed by the NATO forces and occupied Kabul, the occupation is still present in Afghanistan, hundreds of people die every day, and millions have been killed within 30 years.
So, from the above information, we can see that Afghanistan has been a happy country since forever, it has a strong economy and stable political environment these days and has reached the top of the world, only one problem they still can’t solve, THERE ARE NO ACTRESSES IN AFGHANISTAN.
Yes, the biggest challenge that faces Afghan’s government and social agencies is to find more actresses to work in the Afghan cinema. In one of the interviews on the BBC, a movies producer was talking about this “CRISIS” and he got so emotional, I felt that he was going to cry, the poor guy couldn’t find a woman to part in his latest movie.
I know it’s not that important subject to write about, but I just find it really frustrating how these so called artists tries to act like they are living in a deferent world, a world full of rainbows and butterflies. And please don’t get me started on the Iraqi artists.
No offence to any nationality, I think there are an uncountable number of issues we have to take care of before we start searching for actresses for the “poor” Afghan producer.
And BBC, you should know better….
My Grandma Used To Say...
Work hard now, it will make your life easier later.
this phrase is very famous in Jordan, and I think in many other Arab countries. But what does it mean?
I’ll tell you. It means while your are in preliminary school you have to study hard to make it easier on you to work your way up through high school. But when you are in high school, you have to study hard to make your way through to university, and when you finally make it to university, you have to study hard in order to graduate with at least good grades to make it easier on you to get a job or continue your post graduate studies . Until now ít's totally true, and I agree with it 100 %.
But when you complete your study with at least BA or BSc, you need to find a job, and here comes the first shock. It’s not easy to find a good job even if your grades were high unless you are connected (talking about the Arab countries), and even if you were lucky and got that job, you will not be able to get better positions according to your knowledge even if you were super genius. But, say that you are not connected and you got lucky and got a job in a good company, how can you proceed to higher positions? Again, hard work. But even hard work will not get you to the top.
So, what's the right answer here?
I think the answer is that you have to be practical smart, and there is a big difference between practical smart and academic smart. I’ve seen a lot of academic smart people who are still struggling with low level jobs just because they are not smart (practically) enough to make their way to the next level.
So, back to our subject, you need hard work and smartness. But say you made it to the top management, is that the time they were talking about? When your life becomes easier and you get to rest? No! I don’t think so, because in order to keep your position, you need to work even harder and not be smart but genius, and work even in your sleep.
Ok, the next level, you are the owner of you own business, is that it? Is that what they were talking about? No, it’s not, because you will have to work like you’ve never worked before to keep the business going. It’s not going to be easy on you to work for someone else after you become your own boss, so you have to make it work. You have to win the battle.
Conclusion!!
You will never be able to rest and your life will never become easier, unless, you are lucky enough to be someone like Bill Gates, and retire in your early 50’s with a net worth of over than USD 45 billions.
So come to think of it, is it worth it to lose your best days in your youth trying to reach that point? I don’t think so.
And so
Live your life to the fullist, and don’t waste it perusing this illusion.
this phrase is very famous in Jordan, and I think in many other Arab countries. But what does it mean?
I’ll tell you. It means while your are in preliminary school you have to study hard to make it easier on you to work your way up through high school. But when you are in high school, you have to study hard to make your way through to university, and when you finally make it to university, you have to study hard in order to graduate with at least good grades to make it easier on you to get a job or continue your post graduate studies . Until now ít's totally true, and I agree with it 100 %.
But when you complete your study with at least BA or BSc, you need to find a job, and here comes the first shock. It’s not easy to find a good job even if your grades were high unless you are connected (talking about the Arab countries), and even if you were lucky and got that job, you will not be able to get better positions according to your knowledge even if you were super genius. But, say that you are not connected and you got lucky and got a job in a good company, how can you proceed to higher positions? Again, hard work. But even hard work will not get you to the top.
So, what's the right answer here?
I think the answer is that you have to be practical smart, and there is a big difference between practical smart and academic smart. I’ve seen a lot of academic smart people who are still struggling with low level jobs just because they are not smart (practically) enough to make their way to the next level.
So, back to our subject, you need hard work and smartness. But say you made it to the top management, is that the time they were talking about? When your life becomes easier and you get to rest? No! I don’t think so, because in order to keep your position, you need to work even harder and not be smart but genius, and work even in your sleep.
Ok, the next level, you are the owner of you own business, is that it? Is that what they were talking about? No, it’s not, because you will have to work like you’ve never worked before to keep the business going. It’s not going to be easy on you to work for someone else after you become your own boss, so you have to make it work. You have to win the battle.
Conclusion!!
You will never be able to rest and your life will never become easier, unless, you are lucky enough to be someone like Bill Gates, and retire in your early 50’s with a net worth of over than USD 45 billions.
So come to think of it, is it worth it to lose your best days in your youth trying to reach that point? I don’t think so.
And so
Live your life to the fullist, and don’t waste it perusing this illusion.
Sarah Palin vs Britney Spears
The subject here is not the American elections or politics. Personally I’m not a fan of either. But reading about Sarah Palin, the scandals around her family and how it takes all the headlines in the newspapers or even on the internet. Brought back to my mind what happened months ago when Britney Spears has gone wild, and all the talking about her being on and off, in rehab out of rehab, and how she occupied the top headlines in the major newspapers and internet news sites. The point is, after I read about all of this, the question that instantly came to my mind, was, Are we talking about the United State of America's president election, or the USA high school 
president? Or maybe life is a more complicated version of high school, I'm syre that Sarah Palin was "popular" at high school, so as Britney. To tell you the truth I'll be waiting for the day when Britney or maybe Paris Hilton end up being presidential candidate, and who knows, maybe one of them will be the Democratic candidates and the other heads the Republican, and you know what's funny about that? It's The Strongest Country In The World...
president? Or maybe life is a more complicated version of high school, I'm syre that Sarah Palin was "popular" at high school, so as Britney. To tell you the truth I'll be waiting for the day when Britney or maybe Paris Hilton end up being presidential candidate, and who knows, maybe one of them will be the Democratic candidates and the other heads the Republican, and you know what's funny about that? It's The Strongest Country In The World... What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)