Planet.Syriamirror.net - Speaker's Corner

99 Names of God

Mon, 3 Apr 2006 23:55:24 +0300

My friend Fouad drew this and sent it to me.

Arabs Boycott Danish Products

Fri, 3 Feb 2006 19:53:23 +0200

Insanely Funny Cat Video

Thu, 2 Feb 2006 19:56:22 +0200

I almost fell of my chair laughing at this hilarious cat video. You can watch it by going to:

Speaker's Corner

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:34:10 +0200

Join the Crowd

Back in Damascus:) (Edited)

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:49:21 +0200

I've been really busy lately with work and famiy affairs...which explains the lack of updates on my blog...Now that things have calmed down I hope I can go back to updating my blog on regular bases...I thank all of you who keep coming back and those who wrote me sweet notes and messages asking about me :)

I wrote the post below at the begining of January but never got to publish it so here it is:

I admit I've been neglecting my blog...Although I've been back in Damascus for over 3 weeks now, I've been too busy and lazy to post anything.
Family and friends keep asking me wheather I've noticed anything different in Damascus...Not much has changed in the city since my return but here's what I noticed on the Damascus scene:

Syrian flags are everywhere.

Interesting Blog Terms

Tue, 6 Dec 2005 09:55:19 +0200

Blogorrhea
(BLOG diaRRHEA) Typically refers to meaningless ranting and raving on a blog.

Blog hopping
Blog hopping is to follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips to various articles, sites, discussion forums and more.
One can blog hop through the links provided in a blog and follow them, to the next blog and so on.

Blognosing
Sucking up to people with the hopes of getting linked in their blog. From "brown-nosing."

Vlog
(Video bLOG) A Weblog (blog) that provides a video journal on a subject rather than text entries. A link to a video on a regular text blog is not a vlog. Vlogs are short video entries that take the place of text and are typically listed in chronological order like a text blog. Also called a "vog" or "vog blog."

Bleg
A Bleg is a colloquial term for a blog entry consisting of a request to the readers, such as for information or contributions. The name is derived from the words "" and "Beg".

Edublog
An edublog is a blog used for educational purposes. The act of edublogging is blogging within a learning environment or for educational purposes.
The above terms are from Answers.com

Bloggerji (M)- Bloggerjieh / Bloggeraieh (F) (In Arabic) (Many thanks to GraYFoX for reminding me)

Damascus, Now and Then

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:32:18 +0200

My friend send me these photos by email. This is Abu Rummaneh street in Damascus, the first photo was taken in 1940 and the second was taken in 2000.

*Abu Rummaneh is an upper-class neighbourhood in Damascus.

The 7even Tag

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 21:21:17 +0200

Several friends tagged me on this so here we go:

Se7en things I want/like to do:

From Houston, TX...

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:17:46 +0200

Ah… I’m finally on vacation! I’ve been here for 1 week and am having a good time with my family here. I must say Houston isn’t a picturesque city but good company, shopping malls and fine restaurants make up for it’s lack of nice scenery( well at least it does for me!)

Having a sweet tooth I naturally headed to a candy store as soon as I could and what better place to go other than Dylan’s Candy Bar! The store is located in the Galleria Mall (the 4th largest mall in the U.S) and I happened to read recently that it’s owned by Dylan Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s daughter. There are 2 other branches in Orlando and on Long Island.

Although you can find most of the types of candy they have at any regular supermarket, it’s the way they display and present the candy that makes it look like something out of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Here are some photos I took (unfortunately I couldn’t take any inside the store):

Digg in!

Technorati Tags: , Candy, Dylan Lauren, Houston, Texas, Candy Bar

Guys' Rules

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 20:05:23 +0200

A friend of mine sent me this. However these rules do not express my views on the issue ;)

The Guys' Rules:

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally, the guys' side of the story.We always hear the rules from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side.These are our rules! Please note...these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down.You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do notwork! Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.
1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us toact like soap opera guys.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done.Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, forexample, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing'swrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer youdon't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this.Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know menreally don't mind that? It's like camping.

Technorati Tags: , Guy's Rules, Guy Jokes

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:46:47 +0200

Warning! This post is all about Harry Potter, so if you aren’t a fan, skip this post and skim through my other posts or have a look at my photoblog to the right :)

I’ve finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince some time ago. Like all Harry potter fans I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and was ecstatic when I did as the book wasn’t available in Syria.

The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series was as enchanting as the previous five books. J.K Rowling’s creative use of imagery and descriptions made me feel like I was actually there with Harry and the other characters.

The book was much darker than the previous ones and we got an idea of the things that made Lord Voldemort what he is. We also witnessed the emotional growth of Harry and his friends as they face different life challenges in their sixth year at Hogwart, some of which were extremely entertaining (Such as the Ron-Lavender fling and Harry’s jealousy of Dean Thomas, Ginny’s boyfriend).

Although the book was a bit slow at the beginning the events soon escalated till the action ended with a bang with the death of Albus Dumbledore (I still cry my eyes out whenever I read that part) And this brings us to the question, did Snape really kill Dumbledore with cold blood? I think not. Snape was probably acting upon the instructions of Dumbledore and must have made him an unbreakable vow to do it. And this raises another question, is Dumbledore really dead? Some like to believe that he isn’t but I think that he did pass away as he was seen snoozing in his portrait at his office along with all of Hogwarts deceased headmasters.

The book ends with us readers pondering and thinking who might R.A.B be. Regulus Black, Sirius brother seems like a likely candidate, but I wouldn’t think J.K would give it to us so easily. I guess we just have to wait for Book 7 to find that out.

From an artistic point of view, the book like all the others featured a beautiful cover and illustrations by the talented Marie GrandPre.

Overall the book was a great read and I highly recommend it.

In case you haven’t read the book yet, here’s the plot summary, but I warn you it’s a major spoiler so if you want to read the book, do not read the following.

Plot Summary from Wikipedia

Voldemort and his allies begin to act openly, causing widespread chaos and paranoia in Britain. Rufus Scrimgeour has replaced Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic after a public outcry following Fudge's mishandling of the early stages of Voldemort's attack on the wizarding world.

Severus Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow to Draco Malfoy's mother Narcissa that he will protect Draco and aid him in his first, unspecified, mission as a Death Eater.

Security measures have been increased at Hogwarts. Snape is given his coveted Defence Against the Dark Arts post while Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter persuade Horace Slughorn to return from retirement to replace Snape as Potions teacher. Slughorn lends Harry an old textbook marked as the property of the "Half-Blood Prince". Its handwritten notes help Harry to outdo even Hermione in Potions.

Using his Pensieve, Dumbledore shows Harry a number of memories throwing light on Voldemort's past. Dumbledore theorises that Voldemort has split his own soul into seven parts, storing six of the pieces in Horcruxes: magical objects which grant immortality as long as they exist. While two of Voldemort's Horcruxes have already been destroyed (Tom Riddle's diary by Harry[HP2] and Marvolo Gaunt's ring by Dumbledore), Dumbledore believes that there are four more that must be destroyed. He and Harry set off to retrieve one (Salazar Slytherin's locket), but Dumbledore is heavily weakened by drinking the potion guarding it.

The two return to find the Dark Mark over Hogwarts and Death Eaters attacking students and staff. As they investigate, they are surprised by Draco. Dumbledore paralyse Harry, who is invisibly cloaked. Harry witnesses all the events that follow but remains invisible to all the protagonists. Draco reveals that he let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts via a magical cabinet. Other Death Eaters soon arrive and urge Draco to fulfil his mission, but he hesitates. Snape arrives and kills Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra, fulfilling his vow to Draco's mother. Harry pursues Snape, who identifies himself as the Half-Blood Prince before fleeing Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall becomes the interim headmistress of Hogwarts, but she and the other teachers fear that the school may have to be closed down. Harry discovers that the locket he and Dumbledore recovered is a fake. The actual locket was taken by a mysterious "R.A.B.". After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry decides not to return to school so that he can devote his time to destroying the remaining Horcruxes and defeating Voldemort.

Technorati Tags: , Harry Potter, Book6, Halfblood Prince, JK Rowling, HP, Potter Mania, Books, Potter, R.A.B, Reviews