Memoirs

The rain has arrived..

2009-02-14T19:05:00.001-08:00

Minty Mornings

2009-02-11T22:16:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful morning with the scent of mint in the air. The tiny green leaves stretched and peeked from behind the bricks only to be kissed by the sun. Tea cups were waiting anxiously on the kitchen table.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

2008-12-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas tree is now standing next to the window. When we are not looking, it peeks from behind the shutters and looks outside. Sometimes, I catch it swaying lightly to a silent hymn. When we turn off the lights, I glimpse beautiful things: fireworks, winks, silver berries, red kisses, sparkling circles, and green mistletoe. I pointed my camera at its magical branches and took some frames:

When a woman loses a tool bag in space

2008-11-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Many of us probably watched the video of the female astronaut who lost a tool bag in space:

Now here are some priceless comments on the video:

-So now what! Shall we all on earth start wearing a security helmet? Shishhh!

-*on earth somebody gets hit in the head* OW! WHAT THE HELL?!?!

-Houston :: send up another Shuttle with a tool bag ... ASAP.

-"umm. mission control, tell Arizona to lookout"

-Stupid #@%&*, she should be restricted to making astronaut sandwiches and cleaning the inside.

-Looks like it was done on purpose...
->unlike your birth which was a total accident.
->Or your existence which is a useless one.

-Women, know your limits...

-I'm just glad she wasn't drivin

-This is why you don't put a woman to do a man's job. Shouldn't she be doing the dishes inside the space station or cleaning the male astronaut's laundry? What the hell is she doing out there.

-Get back in the kitchen dummy.

-Dang...MacGyver could figure out how to get it back!!! haha...o well no use cryin over spilt milk :)

-Hey, I just got hit by a wrench that fell from the sky! Can I sue NASA for this or can I just sue the astronaut that lost her stupid tool bag????

-What a charming mistake she made. Brings me back believe in womankind space traveling. A small mistake for Mrs. Stefanyshyn-Piper, but a great for mankind. I really appreciate this, I love and admire her. Too lot of space events are perfect, masculine, patriotic or only a very tragedy. She brought fun in space, and that`s what counts the lot.

-For everything else MASTER CARD!! XD

-When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, when I see shit like this I don't have any regrets I didn't.

-I was just sitting there , The Hatch just Blew . Nope , I didn't touch anything . It Just Blew.

-"Lipstick no, compact no. What's with these wrenches? This isn't my bag!"

-did they check lost and found ?? maybe someone handed it in

-Women..*sigh*..

-Luckily she doesn't work in nuclear industry.

Opening - Atlantis Style

2008-11-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

Just watch:

Source: Neatorama.

Expensive Accidents in History

2008-11-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

An interesting list of the top 10 most expensive accidents in history is featured in Wrecked Exotics. Here is # 10 and #7:

#10 Titanic:

The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today's dollars).

#7 B-2 Bomber Crash:

Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we're only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

The Roof at Night

2008-11-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was standing outside where the moon bathed everything in its glow. I looked at the sky line and saw shadows racing on the walls.

Conversations III : In the Spirit of Voting

2008-10-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

We were watching the last debate between Obama and McCain...

Brother(10 years old): Eh..I am voting for Obama for sure.

Me: Interesting thought. May I ask why?

Brother: I don't like McCain. McCain will ban abortion which is silly of course.

Me: who told you that?

Brother(In a worldly tone) : Why, everyone is talking about it.

Me: Umm, do you know what the word "abortion" means?

Brother(huffing): Are you mocking me? of course I know what "abortion" means.

Me: What does it mean?

Brother: Women's right to vote. The nerve of McCain!

The Big Picture

2008-10-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Awesome photo blog with unique and fantastic high-resolution photos that cover different topics ranging from sports to astronomy. It became an addiction for me.

To check The Big Picture, click here.

At the Greek

2008-09-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

We went to The Greek restaurant on Ventura Harbor yesterday. The food was great and the view was very nice. The view of the marina at night was very romantic with street lights casting shadows on the walk side.

The Moral of the Story is...

2008-09-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

A wealthy old Gentleman decides to go on a hunting safari in Africa, taking his faithful, elderly German Shepherd along for the trip. One day the old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old German Shepherd thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, 'Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder, if there are any more around here?'

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. 'Whew!' says the leopard, 'That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!'

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the old German Shepherd sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old German Shepherd sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says...
'Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!'

Source: Unknown. I received this as an email from a friend. If you know the source of this, please share it with us.

Great Commercials: Part #14

2008-09-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

A funny commercial from AT&T about their rollover minutes feature. I love the father's sharp wit.

Tricks of the Mind

2008-09-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I flexed my fingers and resumed writing. The glow of the lamp softened the biting darkness. Words moved flawlessly across the page. Coldness started creeping to my right hand. I dropped my pen and massaged it with the left one. It felt as a ball of lava dropped in a sea of ice. I exhaled, closed my eyes, and rested my head back.

Ah.. the welcoming quietness.

I heard it then...a faint sound. The hair stood on the back of my neck. Sudden coldness infested my feet. I sat rigid on my chair listening. The sound was menacing in its purposefulness. Someone (or something?) was pacing in my room. The sound of feet walking on a thick carpet emanated from the floor behind my back. This being decided to pay me a visit in the middle of the night. It wafted closer, and its light breath fanned the back of my neck. Icy needles shot through my spine and my back slumped.
I sat there like an old woman not daring to breath. My toes touched the cold floor under the desk, and the contact jolted me back to my senses. I turned around ever so slowly.

Darkness started back at me, mocking me.

Living Your Fullest Potential

2008-09-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Mead from Zen Habits has written a great article about reaching your fullest potential in life.

"7 Essential for Living Your Fullest Potential" lists in a great and simple language useful ways to help you re-charge your potential to the max. Here is number 1 of the list:

1. Have an open mind. Everyone talks about how important having an open mind is. But what they don’t say is how much having an open mind can affect your potential. A lot of opportunities pass us by because we’re stuck in a limited pattern of thinking, or we’re afraid to take a risk. If there’s no actual real (or perceived) danger, take the risk. The worse that can happen is you’ll look silly. Having an open mind is the first step to reaching your potential, because it gives you the willingness to take risks. We’ll never be the best we can be by playing it safe. As the saying goes: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.”

As a musician, when I make a mistake, I’ll cringe and think I sounded terrible. After I’m done playing and ask someone if they heard my mistake they usually say “What mistake?” There’s a good chance you see yourself more critically than other people do.

This had me thinking a lot about the way I perceive things, and the way I make choices. I want to toy with new ideas, and try new things, but I stumble out of fear or hesitancy most of the time. This needs to change.

London from Sky

2008-09-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Beautiful photos of London from above at night. To see more click here.

Source: The Big Picture
Photos by Jason Hawks.

A kiss from Mommy

2008-09-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

I saw her kiss him, and I could not resist. I snapped a photo of them.

My Grandfather's Finger

2008-09-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

"It was a stroke of pure luck." He said.

He held his stiffly-bent index finger in front of his face and smiled.

"If it was not for that coincidence, I would not have joined the army." My grandfather chuckled.

"What happened?" I asked in anticipation.

"I was very young. A boy of no more that 10 years or so. I was playing with my mates when I lost balance and fell on my hand. I heard a muted crack, and I screamed. I broke my index finger."

"They aligned my finger with a small stick and tied them both with a piece of cloth." He paused and stroked his silver hair.

"The next day, I stood watching my friends play. I was fidgeting with my injured finger when the stick fell from its wrapping. I looked around, but I could not find it. Then the genius idea hit me." His eyes twinkled.

"I put my index finger on top of the middle finger and tied them both. I thought, 'my other finger can serve as a stick'."

He demonstrated this by crossing his index and middle finger.

"Days passed by and no one paid attention. It was time to remove the wrapping. I spread my hand, and I noticed it. My index finger healed cleanly with a permanent bent."

We both laughed.

"Forward 8 years from that day, and I am standing in the health examination room for the army's applicants. The doctor looked at my hand and grimaced. He wrote something on my slip and dropped it in the box next to him."

"We stood outside waiting for our names to be called. They were calling by first name only. I heard mine. I could not believe my ears. I was accepted after all. I took the piece of paper and went to the registration lines."

I looked at him for a moment then realization dawned on me.

"No!" I breathed.

He chuckled. "Yes, there were two people sharing the same name. I accidentally took the man's slip, and he took mine. I did not realize it till much later."

"What happened to the poor man?" I asked.

"I wish I knew." He whispered softly.

"Did they ask you to leave?" I asked, knowing the answer in advance.

"No. They realized that I can use my hand perfectly fine. It was just a matter of abnormality in its look."

Free Hugs

2008-08-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

Please, hug someone you love today.

From Free Hugs Campaign

Toby is Biting Everything

2008-08-20T21:28:00.001-07:00

Toby just can't help it. His specialty is chewing shoes and table clothes.

Chewing his favorite toy, my winter slipper

Chewing the hem of my dress

Chewing the table cloth

Chewing his teething toy

Almost chewing my sibling's hand

Morning Mummy

2008-08-08T16:00:00.001-07:00

..more like morning yummies.

Source: Craftzine

Ahmed, Say Something Funny

2008-08-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

While I was surfing through my former university's website, I found the following article that caught my attention:

CSUN Professor’s Documentary on the Life of an American Muslim Comedian to Premier at Film Festival.

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., July 21, 2008) — The idea for the film, "Ahmed, Say Something Funny," was hatched about six years ago when Cal State Northridge cinema and television arts professor Thelma Vickroy caught a performance of comedian Ahmed Ahmed at the Comedy Store in Hollywood....."I am interested in doing stories about people who are kind of on the outside but trying to make their way and be accepted," Vickroy said. "Ahmed was born in Egypt, but came here when he was only six months old and grew up in Southern California. He’s chosen one of the absolutely hardest careers you could possibly choose—to be a comedian and actor. I couldn’t resist." Vickroy spent the next five years chronicling Ahmed’s career from the stages at the Comedy Store to his international tour as part of the stand-up comedy team known as the "Axis of Evil."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Slow Motion Lightening

2008-08-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

Awesome video that I found featured in Neatorama. I could not resist but share.

Fishing Trip

2008-07-31T20:52:00.001-07:00

Pictures I took of our fishing trip in Lake Casitas.

Earthquake Fun

2008-07-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I became dizzy when my desk and monitor started shaking slightly. The shaking stopped for a breadth of a second then the dreaded tremors hit. The walls and the cubicles started swaying. I put my hand on the edge of my seat and held my breath. "Please God, don't let this one be the big one," I prayed silently. My mind went blank for a second then my thoughts went to my family at home. Gasps and exclamations rose from the cubicles surrounding me. I looked at the opposite building through the glass window from the 4th floor where I was sitting. I watched in fascination as the glass windows of the other building vibrated. It lasted about 20 seconds but it felt forever. It was a bitter reminder of the power of nature that we choose to forget.

Did anyone feel the Los Angeles earthquake when it hit on Tuesday?

Quotes that Made Us Laugh and Wince - Part#2

2008-07-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

"If I had a choice of having a woman in my arms or shooting a bad guy on a horse, I'd take the horse. It's a lot more fun" - Kevin Costner, Actor.

"Whenever I watch TV and I see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I would love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff."
- Mariah Carey, Pop Singer.

"I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were ever supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever." - Miss Alabama, in the 1994 Miss Universe contest, when asked if she would want to live forever.

"The only happy artist is a dead artist, because only then you can't change. After I die, I'll probably come back as a paintbrush." - Sylvestor Stallone, Actor.

"If only faces could talk..." - Pat Summerall, Sportscaster, during the Super Bowl.

"Minks are mean little critters. Vicous, horrible little animals who eat their own. They're not beavers. I wouldn't wear beavers. I'd rather have a mink coat made of mean little critters that are killed in a very nice way and treated nicely for their short, mean lives so that I could keep warm."- Valerie Perrine, Actress.

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body."
- Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.

"Always go to other peoples' funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours."
- Yogi Berra, Baseball player.

"Fiction writing is great, you can make up almost anything." - Ivana Trump, on finishing her first novel.

"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl."
- Joe Jacoby, NFL Football player, of the Washington Redskins.

"I have a God-given talent. I got it from my dad." - Julian Wakefield, Missouri basketball player.

Source: Amusing Facts

Quotes that Made Us Laugh and Wince - Part#1

2008-07-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

"I think that the film Clueless was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness."- Alicia Silverstone, Actress.

"Sure there have been injuries and deaths in boxing - but none of them serious."
- Alan Minter, Boxer.

"I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada." - Britney Spears, Pop Singer.

"It isn't pollution that is hurting the environment, it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." - Dan Quayle, former U.S. Vice-President.

"A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money."
- Everett Dirksen, Congressman.

"If it weren't for electricity we'd all be watching television by candlelight." - George Gobel.

"Yes, maam? Right here, this lady. No, she! Yes, right, second row. Next to the guy in the blue shirt, holding her left hand up. It's a he? Sorry about that. Gotta be careful. I'm very sorry. Go ahead! I'm, excuse me, I'm very sorry. Go, ah, I, a thousand apologies, go ahead."
- George Bush Sr., Former U.S. President, at a press conference.

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." - Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.

"China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese."
- Charles De Gaulle, former French President.

"I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."
- Greg Norman, Golfer.

"Give Bill a second term, and Al Gore and I will be turned loose to do what we really want to do." - Hillary Clinton, former first lady, at a Democratic fundraiser.

Source: Amusing Facts

Brain Quirks You Might Not Know About

2008-07-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

StepCase Lifehack provided this entertaining list of Nine Brain Quirks You Did Not Realize You Had:

1) Your short-term memory has a max capacity of seven.

Humans have three forms of memory: sensory, long-term and short-term. Long-term memory is like hard-drive space, while short-term memory works like a very small RAM. This short-term memory can hold only about five to nine (average is seven) items at a time.
Remembering information longer than this requires you to either compress it down into seven units or store it in long-term memory. Most phone numbers are only seven digits.

4) You have two nervous systems.

One set controls excitation and the other controls inhibition. If you hold out your hand, you might notice minor tremors. This is caused by slight, random differences in the amount each of the two systems are firing.

7) You can perceive depth with one eye.

It’s a myth that depth perception is entirely the result of having two eyes. Binocular vision does assist in making a three-dimensional picture. However, most of your ability to perceive depth comes from inside your brain. It has been wired to look at angles and proportions to judge distance.

If you required two eyes to perceive depth then most optical illusions wouldn’t work and it would be incredibly difficult to gather information from flat photographs. Not to mention a lot more one-eyed pirates walking overboard.

The Newest Addition to Our Family

2008-07-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

...is our puppy, Tobey. He is a 2-months old white Pomeranian. He is very adorable.

Being Quiet

2008-07-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Do I feel it, this quiet pulsing under my skin? Yes, I can sense the strong trickle of blood warm and steady in my veins when I put the tip of my fingers lightly against each other. Yes, I feel like a stretched web where my heart beats teetering every cord.

I laugh inwardly when they unceremoniously comment that I am demure, quiet, or shy. I instantly become a pond, and I swallow their words like pebbles momentarily breaking my surface. I let them squint at my watery exterior and think that the bottom is dark and empty. They won't see the core sighing with life between my chest and back. When I move my head sideways, I can hear the rush of ocean in my ear, but they can't. They are unaware that gilded images play on my irises under my closed eyelids every night.

When did being quiet become a shame?

The Wax Lamp

2008-07-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

The beautiful IKARUS wax lamp by Aylin Kayser and Christian Metzner is one of the DMY Berlin Youngersters Jury Selection.

Source: MoCo Loco

Capturing Photos of Tania

2008-06-30T10:54:00.001-07:00

My gorgeous cousin allowed me to experiment with my new camera and snap some photos of her. We took photos in front of the house in the afternoon.

Aaaand we are baking here...

2008-06-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yep, it is unbelievably hot in LA. The weather has been crazy for the past three days with record-breaking temperatures. You know the feeling when you open an oven door to check on a cake you're baking? That's exactly what you feel when you exit any air-conditioned building to go outside. Scorching wave of heat will slam into your face and body making you wince. The sole of your shoes will start sizziling, and your clothes will stick to your body. Hello, summer! I hope this is not an earthquake weather.

A Day in My Garden

2008-06-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

Human Egg Captured on Camera - Warning: Might be "Ewwy" for Some People

2008-06-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely amazing. A human egg captured by accident when Dr. Donnez was preparing to carry out a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman. It surely gives me a rare glance at one of the stunning functions of the female body.

Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman's body.

New Scientist

Source: Neatorama.

The Mirror: A Review

2008-06-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Only coincidence led me to read The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. I randomly picked the book from the library, and it proved to be very good. The story is about a mirror that changes the lives of two women on the eve of their wedding day. When their eyes meet in the mirror in one fateful moment, a grandmother and her granddaughter switch bodies and time periods to start a journey that will change their lives forever. A terrifying truth reveals itself - what was done will never be undone, and it takes the reader on a test of faith and hope for two; a woman too modern and opinionated for her time and a woman too timid for her time.

The novel explores ideas of destiny, morals, faith, and survival. The story may revolve around a paranormal idea, but it has solid events and characters with real depth and emotion. Definitely worth checking.

Unlikely Surrogate Mother

2008-06-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

A very unique video taken from the "Eye of the Leopard" documentary. It shows a leopard attacking a baboon mother while it's giving birth. After killing the mother, the leopard finds a baby baboon attached to its mother's body. The most surprising thing happens next.

Wedding's First Dance: Evoultion of Dance

2008-06-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

A very creative and sweet video of Brian and Katie dancing their first wedding dance - evolution style! On their YouTube page, they posted the video and said:

This is the first dance we did at our wedding July 28, 2007. We don't have a copy of the music, list of songs, we just created our own version of the very popular evolution of dance, borrowing some of his ideas and mixing in a few of our own...thanks for watching!

Hello

2008-06-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

My co-worker is hilarious. One of the things that cracks me up is the way he says hello when he walks into the office. I thought it was something that he made up until I watched this video. I sat there and laughed hysterically for five minutes straight. Now I know where he got his hello from. By the way, my co-worker is not Indian.

The Window Frame

2008-06-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

I knew that you could not sleep at night. The whispering voice of Fairouz would filter through the door of your room after midnight.

One night, Fairouz's angelic voice beckoned me from the fitful grips of sleep. My throat felt dry, and I craved an icy cup of water. I swung my little feet to the side of bed and stepped on the cold tiles of the floor. I walked barefoot to the door and stopped. The kitchen was veiled in the dark. The hallway lamp cast shadows on the walls, and the trip from here to there suddenly seemed impossible. My eyes darted to the door of your room that stood next to the kitchen. A soft light adorned its rims. The world behind that door was my wonderland. My feet hesitated for a second before I ran to it. I placed my palm on its handle and pushed it lightly. It opened, and I was engulfed in light.

A becoming smell of Turkish coffee filled your room. You were sitting by the window with the side of your face resting on the palm of your hand. You closed your eyes and moved your head to the song coming from the small radio. The moon light washing the rose tree behind the window accentuated your profile.

"Why are you awake, tita?" You said.

"I am thirsty," I whispered.

You smiled and poured me a glass from the silver jar next to your bed. My hand shook, and drops of icy water slithered down my throat while I drank.

You took my face in your hands and sang endearments to me. You stroked my long hair and kissed the top of my head.

You held me in your arms, and your robe smelled of lavender and face powder. A cool breeze tickled the roses outside, and we both inhaled the sweet smell.

Sane People are Everywhere

2008-06-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

God, I felt exhausted. I worked too much the past two weeks, and I had to deal with some stressful issues that won't be over for at least days to come. I felt emotionally drained and tired when I reached home after work. I only had a moment to sit at the edge of my bed when my sister walked into my room and asked if I am ready to go out. I grimaced because I remembered that I promised to hang out with her that evening. I looked at her and wanted to tell her to leave me alone, but the expectant look on her face stopped me from doing that. I reluctantly put on my shoes and headed outside with her.

We went to Coffee Beans and chose two seats next to the window. I only had one sip of my coffee when a disheveled man pulled up a chair and sat on the patio outside - right across from us . He sat so close that if it weren't for the glass, you would think him sitting at our table. I could not pay close attention to what my sister was saying because the man kept fidgeting with his seat and table. Suddenly, he tapped his finger on the glass. We turned our heads, and he smiled and waved his hand.

"Oookay...we got a friendly fellow here." I said.

We resumed our conversations. The man stood up and started swaying and dancing like he was in a trance or something.

"I think he is drunk." My sister said.

He tapped his fingers on the glass again and waved happily.

My blood pressure started to rise. He ignored my sister completely and gave me his undivided attention.

He crouched on the ground right next to me, stuck his face against the glass, and winked. He waved his arms, shook his head, mouthed unintelligible words, and batted his eyelashes.

Eh..why can't I enjoy a cup of coffee for god's sake?

My sister choked on her coffee trying not to laugh.

Me:"What's funny?"

Sister: "He likes you!"

I tried to ignore him as best as I could, but he kept tapping on the glass to make me look his way.

That's it! I could not take it anymore. When he was least expecting it, I suddenly stood up pushing my chair back noisily. He jumped and started running like the devils where chasing him.

Reading Time

2008-06-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

I could not help but take a photo of my little brother while he was reading.

Me: How cute you are!

Brother: Go away..

Me: What is your little book about?

Brother (offended): little?... LITTLE?...come here... (he flipped a page and read) "Snake left the room and found Jim on his face lying on the ground."....you call this little?

After recovering from a fit of laughter, I snapped another picture of him. He became grumpy.

The Rules of Converse

2008-06-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

A co-worker: Lulu, I've never heard you cuss the whole time I have worked with you. I found this really admirable.

Me: Oh, don't be. I curse, blaspheme, and swear all the time, but it all happens inside my head. I just don't like to air my dirty laundry.

Must See for all Parents

2008-06-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

An great video about teaching your baby how to survive in water.

For more information, check this site here.

Palacio de Cristal

2008-05-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

The main park of Madrid, Spain, the Jardines del Buen Retiro or Parque del Buen Retiro (literally "Gardens" or "Park of the Pleasant Retreat"), or simply El Retiro, the Lungs of Madrid is a large and popular 1.4 km² (350 acres) park at the edge of the city center, very close to the Puerta de Alcalá and not far from the Museo del Prado. A magnificent park, filled with beautiful sculpture and monuments, galleries, a peaceful lake and host to a variety of events, it is rightfully one of Madrid's premier attractions. The park is entirely surrounded by the present-day city.

Wikipedia

What I love most about the park is the Palacio de Cristal. It's a glass pavilion modeled in 1887 after the famous Crystal Palace in London, and designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, the same person who designed the nearby Palacio de Velázquez.

Ramon Duran posted two beautiful photos of the Palacio de Cristalon on his Flickr account:

Barrosopal also posted two beautiful photos of the Palacio de Cristalon on his Flickr account:

You can click on each photo to go to its original page on Flickr.

Bored? Let's Jump!

2008-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

(Caves of Swallows) / Mexico - The largest cave shaft in the world:

(Majlis Al Jinn) / Oman - Eighth largest cave chamber in the world:

Favorite Photographers: Part#6

2008-05-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Colors, colors, and colors is what I can say about Axel's photos. Axel is from Germany, and he has a wonderful Flickr profile that has many beautiful shots. Here are some:

Please click on each photo to go to its original page.

Floating Volcanic Stones

2008-05-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Fredrick and his crew discovered something really interesting: a sea of stones.

You can check the rest of the photos here.

Wedding Interrupted

2008-05-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

A unique slide show in the New York Times about the moments that followed China's earthquake when it interrupted a wedding ceremony. You can see the slide show here.

The Great Indoors

2008-05-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

I can't breathe.
I hate my room now. I hate every indoor.
I want to tear down all the walls and run.
I want to plunge into a cold pond. I want to feel the chilled water engulf me and shock me. I want to inhale the frost, feel my lungs turn to glass, and see my breaths in blue puffs.
I want to stand under the sun and feel it burn my skin, my nails, and my hair.
I want to look up and cup its glowing disk between the palms of my hands.
I want my heart to melt into a pool at my feet.
I want to feel the wind crash into my body and break my bones.
I want to walk barefoot on grass. I want to wiggle my toes in the dirt and feel the dry twigs prickle my skin.
I want to dance a Sufi dance. I want to close my eyes, throw my arms in the air, swirl around, and lose myself in the sensation of spinning.
I want to sleep under a huge oak tree. I want to sleep to the sound of its humming branches. I want to wake up to the light washing its leaves.
I want to eat wild berries, and feel its juices drip on my fingers.
I want to go bungee jumping. I want to feel the rush of leaping to the void.
I want to hold a lantern and walk through a forest at night.
I want to sit near the top of a pyramid and sip a cup of green tea.
I want to stroll in crowded streets. I want to laugh with strangers.
I want to stop being afraid.
I want to get away from the indoors.

Great Commercials: Part#13

2008-05-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

A light commercial from SunChips. Did I mention that SunChips is one my favorite chips?

You can see the rest of their beautiful commercials here and here.

Blu

2008-05-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Awesome video from Blu blog. It is a short film about moving graffiti on public walls.

Mamas and Babies

2008-05-15T14:16:00.001-07:00

Julie from the Pet Blog posted a very cute post featuring pictures of animal mothers and their babies. Ah...gorgeous little things. Here are some of the pictures:

Underwater Graves

2008-05-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

A great article in the guardian.co.uk features The Neptune Memorial Reef as a uniques resting spot for people who loved the sea. It is also a heaven for divers:

About 14 metres beneath the ocean's surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches.

The watery grave can host the remains of people who want to be buried underwater:

The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mould, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.

Matthew Hoelscher (tiswango) has a great collection of photos for The Neptune Memorial Reef. You can check his whole collection on Flickr here .

How We Said Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

She proudly showed me how to operate the new washing machine she bought. My mother and I stood between piles of white and colored dirty laundry in the tiny laundry room and scrutinized the operating manual sheet. My mother passed her hand on the gleaming silver panel of the drier and sighed contently. "Isn't it she a beauty?" she exclaimed happily. "Er..yeah..very," I complied.

My sister passed the door and shot me her you-better-be-ready look. I nodded discreetly over my mother's head. My youngest brother stuck his head in the door and smiled sheepishly. He took one look at my face and sobered immediately. When my mother turned her back at him, he winked at me and disappeared again. He followed my sister again as she walked in to the laundry room holding a small jewelry box.

"Happy Mother's Day !" We all sang in one voice.

Mother: Aww...

She opened the box and gazed at the ring we bought her.

Mother: It's beautiful. I love it.

My brother, feeling the attention steering away from him, pushed a red envelope into her hands.

Brother: Mama..Mama..I made this at school for you.

My mother gave me and my sister her amused please-cheer-for-your-brother look.

The three of us, crammed in the small space, expressed ecstatic admiration for his cute little card.

World WideTelescope

2008-05-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

The World Wide Telescope by Microsoft Research is a great application that presents space in a whole new light. You can download the Beta version here.

Sealed Under Glass

2008-05-10T11:19:00.001-07:00

My work mines the debris of memory through the creation of intricate worlds sculpted in 1:43 scale and smaller. Often sealed under glass, the works depict the remnants of things past—whether major, transformational experiences, or the quieter moments that resonate loudly throughout a life. In much the way the mind recalls events through the fog of time, the works distort reality through a warped and dreamlike lens.

Thomas Doyle: Statement

Amazing work by Thomas Doyle. I love the creativity and detail of his miniatures.

You can see more of his work here.

The Dilemma of Buying My First DSLR

2008-05-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

With all the brands available in the market right now, choosing my first DSLR camera can be a bit challenging. I finally decided to move from the point-and-shoot territory to the DSLR territory. As a result, I started researching on the types of camera out there and reading a lot of reviews online. I really liked what I read about the Canon Rebel XTi camera. I also stumbled on an interesting article that reveals the truth about the mega pixel myth.

Any tips or advice, my friends?

Bend it like Beckham

2008-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Comet, a goldfish, can really bend it like Beckham.

Great Commercials: Part#12

2008-05-01T15:20:00.001-07:00

Creative commercial from Qwest.

Life-Like Creations

2008-05-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

What you see is not real. These are life-like sculptures of people amazingly crafted by Ron Muek.

Please click on each image to go to its original page. You can see a wonderful gallery by the Washington Post featuring Ron Mueck here.

100 Best First Lines From Novels

2008-04-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Also by American Book Review. Here are some:

1. Call me Ishmael. ~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)

2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. ~ Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. ~ Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)

10. I am an invisible man. ~ Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

15. The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. ~Samuel Beckett, Murphy (1938)

18. This is the saddest story I have ever heard. ~ Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier (1915)

24. It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. ~ Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)

28. Mother died today. ~ Albert Camus, The Stranger (1942; trans. Stuart Gilbert)

32. Where now? Who now? When now? ~ Samuel Beckett, The Unnamable (1953; trans. Patrick Bowles)

37. Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. ~ Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (1925)

47. There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. ~ C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)

59. It was love at first sight. ~ Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (1961)

64. In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)

78. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. ~ L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between (1953)

88. Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've come to learn, is women. ~ Charles Johnson, Middle Passage (1990)

The whole list is here.

Stupidest Things I've Said: Part#2

2008-04-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Two shops next to each other. One sells meat, and the other sells coffee. I am walking toward them while chatting with my friend.

I enter a shop without looking at the sign:

Me: "Hi, can I have a pound of Turkish coffee, please?"

The Butcher (freezes while wielding a big knife and attempting to hack a chunk of meat) : ...

Staying Awake

2008-04-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Twilight...the hours before daybreak are always haunting.

The stillness of the air lulls me into that suspended state between sleep and awakening. My body rests while my mind flutters like a baby sensing the moment of birth closing by. I gaze at the sky, and my cousin's face comes vividly to me. I smile inwardly. I remember her animated voice, and I replay the conversations we had at this hour of dusk years ago over and over.

We were two small girls wrapped up in blankets on the roof of her family's house. The house, situated on a small hill in the city of Hoson, was surrounded by fields of olive, grape, and apple trees. We would spend the night eating green almonds, peaches, labneh sandwiches, and drinking tongue-burning tea.

We would gaze at the night sky and wait breathlessly to catch a falling star. The cold would sting our faces, but we would continue talking about our dreams, our hopes, and our little adventures. The moon would rise high, the trees would bathe in a soft glow, the earth would sigh, the lights of streets would turn off one by one, and we would be awake still.

The first rays of light would caress our faces and warm us through and through. We would go downstairs then and crash on our beds and sleep peacefully.

I heard her voice again yesterday. I was sitting at my desk in LA, and she was sitting on her couch in Duabi. I looked at the clock on the wall. "What time is it in Dubai now?" I asked. I heard her smile through thousands of miles and wires. "It is 4 AM in the morning," she replied.

Photo by catmadongam.

Um..Evolution Theories?

2008-04-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

A little girl asked her mother: How did the human race appear?

The mother answered: God made Adam and Eve, they had children, and so was all mankind made.

Two days later, she asked her father the same question. The father answered:
Many years ago, there were monkeys from which the human race has developed.

The confused girl returned to her mother and said: Mom, how is it possible that you told me that the human race was created by God, and Papa says that they were developed from monkeys?

The mother answered: Well dear, it is very simple. I told you about the origin of my side of the family while your father told you about the origin of his side...

For Noodle Lovers

2008-04-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Shinyokohama Raamen Museum is a paradise for noodle lovers, but not just because of the informative exhibits of the history of instant ramen noodles; the centerpiece here is the basement, which contains a recreation of 1950s-era Tokyo done in incredible detail, complete with operating branches of 10 famous ramen joints.

Wikipedia

To read more about it, check this interesting article here.

Photo source: Flickr. Please click on each photo to go to its original page.

100 Best Last Lines From Novels

2008-04-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

American Book Review listed the 100 best last lines from novels. Here are some:

6. “Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” –Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926)

10. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision. –Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927)

14. Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity! –Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener (1853)

27. Is it possible for anyone in Germany, nowadays, to raise his right hand, for whatever the reason, and not be flooded by the memory of a dream to end all dreams? –Walter Abish, How German Is It? (1980)

37. P.S. Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise.–Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America (1967)

41. I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath, and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. –Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (1847)

63. The key to the treasure is the treasure. –John Barth, “Dunyazadiad” from Chimera (1972)

71. So that, in the end, there was no end. –Patrick White, The Tree of Man (1955)

77. “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.” –Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind (1936)

100. “GOOD GRIEF—IT’S DADDY!” –Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, Candy (1958)

View on Top of Mount Everest

2008-04-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

You want to see what the person who stands on the summit of Mount Everest sees? Check this 360 degree breathtaking view here.

Photo taken by féileacán.

Stupidest Things I've Said - Part #1

2008-04-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

This conversation really took place when I was 18:

Me: "I saw a cool car today."
Brother (15 at the time):"Really? What model?"
Me: "I am not sure. I think it's a Toyota Ferrari"
Brother: ...

Why Parents Get Drunk Sometimes

2008-04-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day and was not yet in the office. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.

' Hello ? '

'Is your daddy home?' he asked.

' Yes ,' whispered the small voice.

'May I talk with him?'

The child whispered, ' No .'

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, 'Is your Mommy there?'

'Yes'

'May I talk with her?'

Again the small voice whispered, ' No .'

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is anybody else there?'

' Yes ,' whispered the child, ' a policeman '.

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with the policeman?'

' No, he's busy ', whispered the child.

'Busy doing what?'

' Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ,' came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, 'What is that noise?'

' A helicopter ' answered the whispering voice.

'What is going on there?' demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered, 'The search team just landed a helicopter .'

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, 'What are they searching for?'

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle...

' Me .'

Things People Actually Said in Court

2008-04-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

Read what some lawyers or witnesses actually said in court - excerpts from "Disorder in Court" book.

Featured by Scribd.

Q: What is your date of birth?

A: July fifteen.

Q: What year?

A: Every year.

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Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?

A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.

Q: How long has he lived with you?

A: Forty-five years.

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Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?

A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"

Q: And why did that upset you?

A: My name is Susan.

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Q: And where was the location of the accident?

A: Approximately milepost 499.

Q: And where is milepost 499?

A: Probably between milepost 498 and 500.

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Q: Sir, what is your IQ?

A: Well, I can see pretty well, I think.

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Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?

A: After the accident?

Q: Before the accident.

A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.

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Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about
it until the next morning?

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Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?

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Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

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Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?

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Q: Did he kill you?

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Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?

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Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?

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Q: How many times have you committed suicide?

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Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

A: Yes.

Q: And what were you doing at that time?

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Q: She had three children, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How many were boys?

A: None.

Q: Were there any girls?

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Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?

A: Yes.

Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?

--------------------------------------------------

Q: Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?

A: I went to Europe, Sir.

Q: And you took your new wife?

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Q: How was your first marriage terminated?

A: By death.

Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

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Q: Can you describe the individual?

A: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Q: Was this a male, or a female?

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Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?

A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

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Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?

A: Oral.

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Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?

A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

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Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

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Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for blood pressure?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for breathing?

A: No.

Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began
the autopsy?

A: No.

Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?

A: It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

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What Would Tyler Durden Do?

2008-04-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

"What Would Tyler Durden Do" is a blog focused on bringing you the latest gossip and news about rich and famous celebrities. And then making fun of them. Why? Because f#%@ them, that's why.

WWTDD

If you really want to roll on the floor laughing, pay What Would Tyler Durden Do? a visit. The way the author makes fun of celebs is just hilarious. His comments are smart and drop-dead funny. My favorite parts are the "[someone] has still got it" and "I think I am in love" entries where he posts ugly/weird pictures of celebrities and rants about how beautiful and gorgeous they are. Warning: The blog may contain offensive pictures and language.

Great Commercials: Part#11

2008-04-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

A Honda commercial. One word: amazing.

Mazz - Life Through Jordanian Eyes

2008-04-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is Mazz (Mazen Al-Ali), a talented Jordanian photographer. I stumbled upon his work on Flickr sometime ago, and I really liked what I saw. In his profile, Mazz says:

I'm me. lost in a sea of wondrous light and I take every chance I get to make some magic happen.

You can check his blog, Sanity Measures, here. Please click on each of the following photos if you want to go to its original page.

I am the Earth and the Earth is Me

2008-04-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

Watching this video is a great way of celebrating Earth Day today.

Earth, we miss you.

Paris, Je T'aime

2008-04-18T11:31:00.001-07:00

Paris...Je T'aime Paris...

You have to see this movie if you believe in love. 18 stories of people falling in love under the Parisian skies. The movie is exciting, weird, funny, sad, and uplifting...sigh...I need to find me a soul mate...

Here is the trailer:

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits : Review

2008-04-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

The novel, written by Laila Lalami, is a bittersweet tale of survival. I had the pleasure of reading the book this week, and it made me love and hate life at the same time. It is the story of four Moroccans who attempt to enter Spain illegally by embarking on a dangerous boat trip. We accompany them through their hellish endeavor just to see how their life changes after that. For some of them, achieving a goal comes with a hefty price: a strip of identity and beliefs, or loss of family and love. They have spent their lives pursuing a dream just to discover that it's a harsh reality. Hope can really be dangerous sometimes.

I recommend this book if you are in for something different, and I am definitely keeping my eyes open for what Lalami has in store for us in the future.

The Lion who Lived Among Humans

2008-04-17T16:04:00.001-07:00

Incredible story from the Daily Mail about Christian, the Lion:

The furniture shop was on the King's Road in London. It sold tables, wardrobes, chairs and desks - but anybody peering through its plate-glass window on a Sunday might have noticed something rather more unusual. Amid all the pine and oak, stretched out languidly on a bench, there was a lion. And it wasn't stuffed.

For a year, the Big Cat was part of it all, cruising the streets in the back of a Bentley, popping in for lunch at Casserole, a local restaurant, even posing for a Biba fashion advert.

He eventually grew too big to be kept as a pet and was taken to Kenya, where he was rehabilitated into the wild by the 'Lion Man', George Adamson.

When his two owners visited him years later to say goodbye:

Christian stared at us in a very intense way," says Rendall. "I knew his expressions and I could see he was interested. We called him and he stood up and started to walk towards us very slowly.

"Then, as if he had become convinced it was us, he ran towards us, threw himself on to us, knocked us over, knocked George over and hugged us, like he used to, with his paws on our shoulders.

Check this amazing video of the reunion:

Flickr Magic Moments V

2008-04-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

This moment is captured by TakeMyWorldApart. It is part of her beautiful Texture/Vintage Collection on Flickr. You can click on the photo to go to its original page.

Sun, Moon, Statues, and Clouds

2008-04-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

When we look through Steiner62's eyes, we see gorgeous things. We see ethereal clouds, breathtaking sunsets, haunting moons, and beautiful statues. Steiner62's account on Flickr is full of promise and is definitely worth a visit.

You can click on each photo to go to its original page.

Feeling Reckless? Devil's Pool is this Way..

2008-04-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

I might consider doing this if I have wings to fly with...um...in case I fall off the cliff, that is. No.. no need to rub your eyes. What you are seeing is true. These people are splashing in a small pool that hangs on the cliff of the Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Now watch this awesome video:

Immersive Videos

2008-04-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

Forget the 360 degree view of photos! Behold the 360 degree view of videos from Immersive Videos.
Here is a sample. Move you mouse over the video when it starts to see different views:

He is Letting Go of Arabic

2008-04-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

It finally hit me, and it is a strange feeling. My baby brother is losing his mother tongue. He was 4 years old when we moved to the US. Since then, his Arabic vocabulary has dwindled alarmingly until it reached rock bottom. I have noticed recently that he does not use a single word of Arabic when he converses. I am happy that he got to learn a new language and become proficient in it, but it feels like he lost something in return.
All of us, his siblings, speak Arabic fluently except for him. He does not know how to read or write it, and I am afraid that it will set a barrier between us.
Forgive us, brother, for not trying harder to teach you. I don't know if you will ever need to speak Arabic if you live here all your life, but I'd like to think that someday you will. I know that I am being selfish for asking you to master two language under such difficult circumstances... hey, I don't even speak English as good as you do, but I am afraid that one day you will confront us and ask "Why?".

I wonder, is it too late?

How an Eagle Captures his Food

2008-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

Amazing video of a golden eagle capturing its prey. What do you think? I am assuming it's real.

The Beautiful Verzasca

2008-04-07T11:08:00.001-07:00

I was amazed by the photos I've seen of Verzasca while reading about free diving. This hidden valley in Switzerland is a piece of paradise on earth, and it is definitely going to be on my must-see-places-before-I-die list.

Verzasca Valley is a long narrow valley located in Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. This valley offers a wild and fascinating landscape, with the Alps on one side and a lake on the other. The river has an emerald green color, and thanks to its good visibility, it is famous as a river diving destination.

Wikipedia

The photos were taken by Tom Volger. You can check the rest of these wonderful photos from Volger's Flickr account here.

Inside the Space Station

2008-04-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

A great documentary from Discovery Channel about the lives of astronauts in the International Space Station and some of NASA's projects to improve space discovery mission . I really enjoyed watching it. You can watch Part#1 here.

Dollar Store Scarlett O'Hara Dress

2008-04-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Craftzine blog posted a cute story inspired by Gone with the Wind movie about Scarlett O'Hara's famous dress:

Craftster user Grenouille78 created a replica of Scarlett O'Hara's famous green-and-white picnic dress from Gone With the Wind using just $10 worth of materials from the dollar store. Talk about making something out of nothing!

The original dress:

My Idea of Happiness

2008-04-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is my idea of happiness...the moments.

A beautiful photo titled "Smiles = Award = Happiness" and captured by Divs Sejpal from Flickr.

Sejpal wrote:

19th National Photo Contest was held by Photo Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Theme was ‘HAPPINESS’. Out of approx. 485 participants and their nearly 2100 entries, three winners and five consolation prizes are awarded on 24th April, 2007. Pleasure to declare that i stood fourth and it won me a consolation prize.

You can click on the photo to go to its original page.

Happy Birthday, Mama

2008-04-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

You are my proof of life.
You are my luminous lighthouse that ushers me forward through never-ending journeys of trials.
You are my chilled fountain of love where I stop to rest my exhausted soul.
You say that I remind you of existence, but you define all existence to me.
I would never trade the moments we've spent together. I keep you close and etched in every frame of my mind.

I adore you the way you are: When you ask God to bless dough while your delicate hands knead the mixture, when you sing old songs while you brush my hair, when you murmur endearments to my youngest brother over your cup of afternoon coffee, when you light a candle in the church, when you gather me close to your heart and allow me to listen dreamily to its steady beating, when you pat the side of my face, when you laugh over my silly endeavors, and when you strike a funny pose to make my days lighter.

I have been harsh or unforgiving at times, but I know you see beyond the thorns in my heart. I am still a child that stumbles, but I do love you, and I hope I will become a fraction of what you are.

Happy Birthday ya Mama.

Load of Cute Baby Wild Animals

2008-04-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

1) The Cute Knut: The polar cub of Berlin's zoo:

2) Tiger cub:

3) Baby Seal:

4) Baby chimpanzee:

How to Tell Your Friend That His Cat is Dead

2008-04-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Priceless tips from Scribd:

Let me start by saying, I own a cat, love my pet, and wouldn't ever do anything to hurt it. With that said, my friend was watching a mutual friend's cat while he was on vacation. Before he left, he warned that the cat was old (21 years old), and not doing so hot. He suspected that he was ready to die. Sure enough, the cat died on the last day of vacation. My friend, the sitter, asked me how he should tell him. I gave him these options to break the news:

1) "I've got good news, and I've got bad news. Bad news is, your cat's dead. The good news is, I saved a lot on my car insurance."

2) "Hey, you're out of milk, the chips are stale, your cat is dead, and the light bulb in the bathroom needs to be changed."

3) (When they walk into the apartment) *sniff* *sniff* "You smell dead cat?"

4) Leave a suicide note next to the cat with a finished bag of catnip mentioning how boring the sitter was.

5) "Are you still interested in those taxidermy classes?"

6) Get rid of the cat, draw a chalk out line, put up police tape all over the place, and act stupid.

7) "Will everyone with a live cat please step forward.....not so fast buddy."

8) "You have a couple of messages: your mom called, she wants you to call her back; your landlord said the rent is late; your cat said 'bye'."

9) (When he picks him up from the airport)...
Sitter: Let's play a game....dead or human?
Owner: Huh? Ok.
Sitter: You?
Owner: Human.
Sitter: Me ?
Owner: Human
Sitter: Your cat?
Owner: Huh ?!?!?

10) Owner: Thanks for watching the place. Where are my keys?
Sitter: Oh, they're under your dead cat.

La Doncella

2008-03-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

The mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum in Salta, Argentina. She was about 15 years old when she and her two children died as human sacrifices to Gods by the Incas more than 500 years ago on the top of the Llullaillaco volcano.

MSNBC - Science

The Customer is Not Always Right

2008-03-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hilarious real stories from people working in retail stores, tech support, and customer service. Brought to you by Not Always Right blog:

Incident#1:

Customer: “Hi, I’d like a Playboy for my son.”

Me: “…excuse me?”

Customer: “You know, a Playboy to play with.”

Me: *trying very hard not to laugh* “You mean a Gameboy?”

Customer: “Yeah that!”

Customer: *realizes what she said* “Oh!”

*****

Incident#2:

(We’re selling tons of over-the-counter, store-brand medications at buy one, get one free. I ring up a lady who has two bottles of cough syrup with her. She keeps a stern eye on the cash register monitor as I check them through.)

Lady: “That’s not right.”

Me: “What isn’t?”

Lady: “The coupon says buy one at $6.99, get the other one free.”

Me: “Precisely. You’re getting both of these for $6.99.”

Lady: “But one’s ringing up as $3.50 and the other at $3.49.”

Me: “That’s correct. The register divides these differences automatically.”

Lady, growing fidgety: “But that’s not what the COUPON says.”

Me: *after a pause* “Well, $3.50 plus $3.49 is $6.99.”

Lady: “So this is how you scam customers!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m pretty certain that we here at [drugstore chain] do not scam our customers when even basic math can rule out any differences.”

Lady: “I only want one. Put this other one back, I don’t want it. I’m not paying an extra $3.49 for this. The ad said buy one, get one free, and I’m not getting that one for free.”

Me: *head-desk*

*****

Incident#3:

(I was in our technology support office when a housekeeping staff person, Donna, stopped by. There was no preamble to the dialog below.)

Donna: “Dr. Franklin gets e-mail in his office.”

Me: *nods*

Donna: “Alicia says she can check her e-mail in the office.”

Me: *nods*

Donna: “I like e-mail.”

Me: “Nice.”

Donna: “Nice?”

Me: “Not nice?”

Donna: “I like e-mail.”

Me: “I like e-mail, too.”

Donna: “You don’t have it?”

Me: “I do.”

Donna: “I like e-mail.”

Me: *biting lower lip, uncertain what to say or do*

Donna: “I like e-mail.”

Me: *glancing at the clock on the wall*

Donna: “I like to have e-mail.”

Me: “I like having e-mail, too, and I check it all the time.”

Donna: “Can I have it? I like to have e-mail.”

*****

Incident#4:

Customer: “I’ll have a margarita please.”

(I get a margarita and serve it to the woman.)

Customer: “Excuse me, miss? Can I please have another margarita? This one doesn’t have enough quatilia in it.”

Me: “Ma’am, your drink is strong, I can guarantee it.”

Customer: “How do you know there is enough quatilia in this?”

Me: “Because you said “quatilia.”

Customer: “Yeah, and?”

Me: “It’s called ‘tequila.’”

(Customer face turns a nice shade of crimson.)

*****

Incident#5:

Customer: “I’d like to buy the Internet, please.”

Sales: “The whole thing?”

*****

Incident#6:

(Customer brings a mediocre role playing game for the Nintendo DS up to the counter.)

Customer: “Hey, would this game be good for an eight year old?”

Me: “Well, does he like RPGs?”

Customer: “Oh, I don’t let him watch anything rated R.”

Me: “Oh…I mean, does he like role playing games?”

Customer: “Whats that? That like one of them Mario games?”

Me: “No, it’s one where you follow a story line and usually has a lot of reading, like Final Fantasy. Has he ever played anything like that before?”

Customer: “Oh, he don’t read books. And I don’t like that it’s rated R and PG.”

Le Cupcake

2008-03-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Amazing cupcakes made by the extremely-talented Kylie Lambert. Lambert is Australian and has a cupcake business. Her designs and creations are just...heavenly. They are too pretty to be eaten for sure!

To see more designs, please visit Lambert's blog Le Cupcake or her Flickr account.

Underwater Photography

2008-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Fantastic renaissance-like underwater photos from the talented Jolene Monheim (joojo). This great series is featured in her website and her flickr account. Here are some of the photos. You can click on each photo to go to its original page.

Flickr Magic Moments IV

2008-03-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

A gorgeous photo taken by Martin Roe (martinproe) on Flickr. I just love the lights in this photo, and the girls look like real fairies.

Describing the photo in his Flickr account, Martin writes:
"Taken at a local fairy day celebration, we'd just had a downpour and the light was beautiful, "

You can click on the photo to go its flickr original page. You can also check Martin's website "Lenzflair" here.

Old Photos From Palestine

2008-03-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Old Picture of the Day is a great blog that features great collection of old photos from the Middle East and other areas of the world. Here are some old photos from Palestine (comments on the photos are quoted from the blog) :

This photograph was taken in 1940, and shows a woman in Bethlehem.

An old potter working a pot on his wheel. The photograph was taken in Jerusalem in 1934.

The Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem. The picture was taken in 1940 in Jerusalem.

A group of fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was taken by the American Colony in Jerusalem near the turn of the century.

The photograph was taken on Christmas Day, near Bethlehem, in the early 1900's.

What would happen if you had one more day?

2008-03-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

I felt emotional watching yesterday's episode of Sire Wenfatahit with Zaven on Future TV. The "What would happen if you had one more day?" episode paid tribute to three young men who left life early due to the ignorant mistakes of others. The episode featured the parents of Hikmat Kaddoora from Jordan, whose death raised controversy when it happened in Jordan two months ago, and the parents of Michael Malak and Hadi Jubran from Lebanon. It was heart-wrenching to listen to the parents recount the death of their beloved sons with a look of despair and profound loss.

When will people learn that speed kills?
Is it really worth the tears in the eyes of mothers and the pained expressions on the faces of fathers?
Is it really worth it to rob the life from a youth and crush the heart of his mother and father?

May God protect everyone on these treacherous roads. May God touch the heart of every person behind the wheel to slow down and think before he/she brings grief to the life of any family out there.

You can watch the episode here.

Great Commercials: Part#10

2008-03-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

An inspirational commercial from Nike featuring Neil Armstrong.

My Laser Eye Surgery

2008-03-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

It was quite an experience. One day, a nerve in my head ticked. I became sick of the nerdy look of my eye glasses, and I got fed up with the itchy sensation of wearing contact lenses. I could not take it anymore. I decided to have laser eye surgery.

After researching different doctors, I went to see the one with the best reputation and experience. After goggling at my eyes through different tools and machines, the doctor smiled and announced that I was a perfect candidate for the surgery. He explained to me how the surgery was going to be and answered all my questions.

He told me that he was going to use a laser beam to create a very thin flap in my cornea. After that, he was going to fold that flap back like the page of a book and another laser beam will enter my eye to correct my vision. I became a little bit nervous trying to picture a laser beam puncturing my eyes. I have to give the doctor credit though. I fired at him all sort of questions ranging from "What happens if I become blind?" to "What will happen if an earthquake hits while you are doing the surgery?" The corner of his right eye twitched, but he graciously answered all my questions.

My hand hovered over the signing papers specially after I read the page listing the risks involved. "Is it worth it?" I asked myself then I remembered how my eye glasses get foggy every time I drink tea, and I decided it was definitely worth it.

I had nightmares about all the worst possible scenarios the night before the surgery.

When I walked to the surgery center, I broke into a sweat. The nurse took one look at me and laughed. "You are not the first one who gets nervous," she said. She gave me a pill that made me relax. She wiped my face with disinfectants, placed a cap on my hair, and put numbing drops in my eyes. The doctor came in and greeted me. They both took me to a room and laid me down on a bed beneath a machine. "We are going to create the flap now," the doctor said. I gulped when he produced a weird-looking tweezers. He used them to pull my eye lids open and asked me to look at a telescope-like tube. "Don't move," he said. A smaller tube inside of the outer tube started moving toward my eye.

The tube came in contact with the surface of my eye and started pushing further. "Shit!" I thought. Before my eye ruptured, the tube stopped suddenly and started buzzing. I felt something scan my eye in a circular way. "Done!" the doctor said enthusiastically. He repeated the same thing to my left eye. He took my hand and guided me like a simpleton to the next room. The nurse laid me under another sophisticated-looking machine.

The doctor pulled my eye lids open again. He used surgical tools and started poking at my right eye. He asked me to look at a flickering red light in the tube facing me. The machine peeped and, to my amazement, I saw a red laser beam hit my eye. It felt like dripping water into my eyes. It did not hurt at all, but it was the strangest sensation ever. They did the same thing to my other eye and covered them both with plastic shields.

"Tada!...it's over...good job," the doctor said and patted my shoulder. He sent me home to rest.

Thank God, I was able to see after removing my eye shields. I still see halos around lights specially at night, but that is perfectly normal as I've been told.

Ahhh...isn't it amazing what medicine can do with technology these days?

Flickr Magic Moments III

2008-03-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

A magnificent photo captured by LalliSig. He called it "It´s Written In The Stars." LalliSig writes:

I got real lucky with the borealis with this one, stumbled upon this farm just as the borealis lit up and couldn´t resist taking a picture. Think this is my favorite photo in February along with "The Pedestrian" I swear, no photo manipulation here, all I did was some curves adjustments and then sharpened after resizing. I almost think there are too many stars in this one but not like I was going to edit them out,hehe. Can anyone spot the three shooting stars?

You can click on the photo to go to its Flickr page.