Baroque on the Oscars..

I'm not much of an Oscars fan; nor am I much of any of the Hollywood Awards Shows for that matter.. 

To be frank, half the awards that were given were bestowed upon movies i didn't even watch nor hear about; i was kinda pissed "Atonement" or "Enchanted"did not win any awards..(**okay now i realize that "Enchanted" was kinda stupid to even be included in the Oscars Nominees, since its kind of amateur if you ask me..) and really really surprised to hear that "Juno" won best screenplay or whatever.. (** i think the movie sucks, the story is stupid, and the actress is just a pain in the butt, i think she tries too hard to be sarcastic, brass, and witty at the same time.. i find myself wanting to choke myself whenever she opens her mouth to speak..)  

The Key thing i adore about the Oscars and other Hollywood Awards is seeing the celebrities prancing in those amazing dresses on the Red Carpet.. 

This year's Oscar dresses were kind of low key, when one compares them to the former years, but nonetheless here is a sample of my best Oscar picks:-

 

Marion Cotillard in a Jean Paul Gaultier Gown.. 

Reminds me of my infatuation with mermaids when i was young, i love the color, the cut and the fish scale like effect.. The necklace, however, seems a bit out of place, it clashes the whole pattern.. 

Anne Hatheway in Marchesa.. 

Amazing Dress, amazing color, amazing cut, amazing flower motif on the shoulder; have a feeling will see alot of this dress in local weddings; hell, even i want one! in one word.. AMAZING!

Katherine Heigel in Escada.. 

Yup, "الآحمر ما يقرز" 

Off the shoulder is definitely this year's fad.. 

Keisha Whitaker in an unknown creation.. 

i love the embellishments on this floaty kind of demure gown; really makes it pop.. 

  

Penelope Cruz in Chanel Couture..

I love the style of this dress, its very delicate yet a bit edgy.. 

The color makes the feather lining (**if those are feathers) really pop, and the ruffles/tufts catch the light, making it shine.. also the cinching at the waist makes it very lady like.. madree, i love it!

Hillary Swank in Versace

again, off the shoulder.. 

love the crochet like sheer/solid pattern on the skirt, and the embellishments on the shoulder.. 

عاشت لنا الكويت

..ياحلوها في حرها وزحمتها وهيلقها

I wouldn't want it in anyway but that.. 

..كل عام وآنتم والكويت بآلف خير

God Bless this country! 

And to add yet another extra dose of cliche to this post, i leave you with my favorite Patriotic Songs.. (**why does one always get goosebumps when hearing those?)) 

..اي والله آرواحنا سورها

Note this was sung in 1986, foreshadowing-anyone? 

"These are our songs, Oh how lovely songs they are" (**totally agree with this song, i believe patriotic songs are a must, if only to remind you..)

One of the most recent, newer ones.. (**yes, i do think they are just as good as the old ones, if not a carbon copy, we are getting there.. listen to the last bit, you'd think you were transported back in time to the older versions, talk about retro)

For all the Other Arabs out there (**yes we have a song for you too, don't u just think we rock?)

PS. "لو ما الكويت ما وصلتي لندن"

quoted by my mother when we were complaining about going back to Kuwait after a long vacation.. (**can be applied in every context possible, food for thought..)

Kudos to Al-Watan TV!

"Taw il Layl", the daily talk show that is aired at 10:30 pm (** i could be wrong, check this) on AL Watan TV is becoming a national wonder here in Kuwait.. 

The Abdul Jaleel Guy on it really wowed everyone on today's show.. 

He reminded us of the hardships our nation has faced.. 

The failed attempt to bomb the late Emir Sheikh Jaber's entourage and the scars he bore as he gave a press conference, the Jabriya Airplane Hijjack, the throwing of the bodies off the plane, the Gulf War, the meeting in Jeddah when all of Kuwait stood by the Emir and Crown Prince once again to show their loyalty as the country was wiped off the map, the Late Emir Sheikh Jaber-allah yir7ima's- UN sob-ful speech which got him a standing ovation as the whole world stood by us, a once affluent free country thrown into bondage on a moonless night..

Kuwait was freed.. 

We came back lived in peace and prosperity.. 

Got to see Saddam finally kicked to the curb, felt safer, lost our beloved Emir, and now battling a war of loyalties.. 

Mum cried, the rest were teary-eyed, as Abdul Jaleel continued to ask, "Where do your loyalties stand?" 

Kuwait.. The land whose soil we were born on, raised in and will die on.. Not Hezb Allah, not Iran, not any terrorist allegiance.. If there's once cause you should support, let it be your country; other countries have their citizens, Kuwait only has you..   

Don't let the comfortable lives we are living confuse/alter your perceptions, keep on remembering all we've been through together as a nation.. 

Well done Abdul Jaleel, you made us all remember in a time when everyone has tried so hard to forget.. 

Dance with me, make me sway..

What is up with the weather? 

It's like the weather is having a party, peering out of my window today it looked like the palm trees/and whatever petty vegetation that was visible seemed to be dancing,  swaying from side to side like they were doing a collaborative ethnic dance or something.. i might have seen an odd bush doing the "badawee" (**the bedouin kuwaiti dance that involves swinging your hair around)..  

Yes, i have a big imagination.. Yes, its good fun imagining things at time.. ;p 

A message yesterday made my day, my all time favorite "forward text messager" (**Hi, N) sent me the following.. 

"آكدت الآرصاد الجويه بآن طقس الغبار الذي يسود البلاد حاليا هو بالآصل ثلج بس قاعد يستهبل"

so typical of kuwaiti weather, i love the kuwaiti sense of humor.. (**thought i might as well be patriotic since its our national day weekend, Q8 Rocks!.. and thats the end of that thought)

PS. It was a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a café au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write. -Ernest Hemingway (**I'd love to have one of those)

Banksy! Yo0-Ho0!

Being an Avid Art Fan, an also very picky one it seems, i cannot seem to get enough of Banksy.. 

Yes! just got to know this eccentric fellow, an anonymous graffiti artist, dubbed Banksy, that has been keeping the world on its feet with his graffiti masterpieces popping up every once in a while in major cities around the world.. No one has done anything like Banksy up to date, and no one seems to know what this pseudonym (**fake name) stands for, in other words he's anonymous.. 

He is supposedly responsible for many things, including sarcastic graffiti in London Zoo that included a message from the so called captive penguins to the people watching "We're sick of fish", and printing of fake British Pound notes that had the late Princess Diana's face instead of the Queens that were scattered at the crowds in one of the annual Nottinghill Carnival and which now are being auctioned off for big bucks.. 

For more information about him, click here. (**very interesting, i'm like his number one fan now) Ironically, his master pieces sell, some are auctioned off and have a popular crowd, and yet he does not come out of his anonymity.. 

Here are some examples of some of his latest magnum opuses.. (** i find them out of this world, just wish we'd have something similar over here to jazz up our miserable and boring streets and not just the run of the mill graffiti/vandalism that involves putting up your email/number and spelling the f-word, no need to spell it out, we already know it.. spare us and be artistic for a change!)

 

PS. "Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures" -Henry Ward Beecher 

More Banksy Links..  

Banksy in LA

Official Banksy Website (it seems) 

Collection of Banksy Graffiti Art all around London

WHAT-SHAY!

If there's one word i can use to describe Kuwait, it's "ACTION!" (**to be pronounced Ak-SHin, not the normal way lol), seriously... 

So that terrorist "moqneeya" is murdered, more like blown up to shreds one day, like 2 days ago, (**and you say karma doesn't come back to bite you in the ass, poor guy he's turned into a proverb, gal3ita! he deserved it big time); 

Just incase you, Dear Readers and OCD sufferers alike (**Hiii!),  are not in Kuwait, or are in our beloved country but have been living in a bubble for the past 3 days (**like i do at times, its so relaxing and serene, try it), you'd have known that he was one of the terrorists that were organizing and acting in the terrorist attack on Kuwait that involved the hijacking of the Kuwait Airways Jabriya Plane and killing of 2 Kuwaiti Passengers who were on it, and allegedly the head planner of the failed attack on the late Emir Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad's entourage (**ya3ni mawkib) 

Yes, he's evil, no good person would do that, right? 

Well, not according to Adnan Abdul-Samad, a kuwaiti member of parliament who believe it or not is banned from entering Saudi Arabia because he was part of a 33 Kuwaiti Terrorist gang who planned to bomb the Holy Kaa'aba in Makkah (**YES, YES, YES, terrorist in parliament Wowwwwweeee, yig6a3 hal democracy terrorists kinda helping run the country, how cool? only in kuwait.. note the sarcasm) 

Well, stupid MP Adnan-fing-AbdulSamad, got let out on bail because of a wasta, and the rest got hung in KSA.. and Now, this dude is suddenly preaching that this Moqniya terrorist is not a terrorist but a Martyr (**shaheed), how ironic? no? (**it's true that birds of a feather flock together, why is everyone in shock? key phrase, "both are terrorists.) Case closed).. They organized a funeral procession for this terrorist, whose hands are soiled with the blood of innocent people, with a blown up poster of him, speeches and even tears.. (**whatever!)

Adnan-ding-AbdulSamad and his counterparts, no idea what their names are, not even interested, are scum.. how the hell did kuwaitis even vote for those terrorists? 

This ladies and gentlemen is the bad face of democracy..

Sure.. Terrorists and renegades such as this so called "MP" who have no loyalty to Kuwait nor the Kuwaiti people have the Kuwaiti citizenship and full rights, and some people who have pledged their lives to the well being of this country are still being labeled "Bidooon" (**have no citizenship).. 

ALL I CAN SAY IS "WHAT-SHAY" (**literal fusing of the english word whatever and its kuwaiti counterpart ayshay).. 

PS. Lets see what happens to those guys, i'll keep you updated.. (**thats if i ever find out, i kinda space out when it comes to local affairs, hence the lack of political posts, its the big things that make an impact on me that get published on this blog..) 

Reading is the new tan.

I'm a sucker for informative online articles, be they psychological, financial, celebrity, or fashion, whatever... 

I find that "the more i read, the more i know" and "the more i know, the more i feel interesting", in the sense that i can incorporate what i've read in my life, in most of my conversations with friends, and sometimes in this blog.. 

Life is a "learning experience", how true..

I feel like i've become a sudden "Education" promoter.. whatever.. 

The "butter" is that i try to read at least 3 interesting articles every day (** i use del.icio.us, to store my bookmarked articles, so helpful, you have to check it out if you don't know about it already) and here are some of the articles i found interesting today (** might incorporate this into my blog ) 

•  Sweet and Low/ other sugar substitutes will not only damage your brain, but believe it or not, can actually make you fat.. blekh, why make them in the first place then?! 

• I've always wondered what those first row spectators in fashion shows scribble in their notepads, i mean why do they actually take notepads with them in the first place? now, i know.. 

PS. "From every book invisible threads reach out to other books; and as the mind comes to use and control those threads the whole panorama of the world's life, past and present, becomes constantly more varied and interesting, while at the same time the mind's own powers of reflection and judgment are exercised and strengthened." -Helen E. Haines

"Q8, Please Pay Off my Visa card" said the spoiled Kuwaiti..

Seems like every one is turning into a political activist these days; as some people struggle and protest against evil, injustice for the common good, defend their views of anti-segregation, others are "once again"  considering parading in front of Parliament to get the Government to drop their loans. 

Oh man, how many times do we have to reopen the shitty "loan" files? 

Come on, just declare it a red taped zone, and stop already! 

Instead of bringing up this issue again,  which has incidentally made us the laughing stock of every nation in the world, lets focus on other issues such as segregation, which does not make the slightest sense to me nor to anyone at this point.. why on earth would we segregate genders? i just know i've graduated from a co-education school, and now am planted in a neutral university that can't decide if it wants to be all girls or all boys, i don't blame the university's confusion; its the parliament thats so messed up.. next thing, they'll do is segregate homes, have my dad and brother on one side of the living room and us females on the other.. blekh,  and they say we're not going backwards..

But later on the whole segregation issue it's still heating up, i'll post something on it when the issue actually simmer and starts to boil..

Lets focus on the so called "loans issue", they want to re-examine again and again and again, they make it seem like its one of those unsolved cases, where there is bound to be something that might unravel the truth or something.. 

No worries, Dear Nation, i will solve the problem below, but first lets consider the following, shall we? 

Why on Earth would citizens of one of the richest countries in the world beg to have their loans dropped?

Take note that the government provides all. Everyone is entitled to a job in the public sector; well, its not a job per say, more like an excuse for them to linger around and socialize, all whilst being handsomely paid.  Even if you aren’t able to obtain a job, they pay you a salary to keep you company as you wait for that “dream job”. Talk about redefining “unemployment.”

Why are those citizens who come from an oil rich country, who has a GDP per capita of $20,300, even have loans?  Aren’t they already getting everything for free when it comes to the services sector such as health, and education?

Every area is packed with a free clinic to treat minor injuries. Hospitals are all open to the public if any thing should go wrong or if that odd futile employee should want to take sick leave off that “laborious” public sector job.

So, if they aren’t spending their money on health, nor education, which are one of the most expensive services to obtain in other nations, where are they spending their money? 

Believe it or not, people in other countries actually set aside a fortune to insure that their children get an education, whilst others insure their health; in Kuwait this is unthinkable.  

Real estate? Impossible, since Kuwait already gives out loans for newly weds to aid them with the whole “home” issue; some people even get free homes. 

Electricity, Petrol and Running Water? No way, for Kuwait is the only country in the world where petrol is actually cheaper than bottled drinking water. As for electricity, running water and telephone bills, let’s just say some people don’t even acknowledge those as expenditures when calculating their monthly budget; they are that negligible.

After all those freebies they get, what a nerve they have to even ask such a request? Makes you think, where the hell they spend their money? 

There you have it.. The answer is NO, NADA, ZILCH, UH'UH.. 

Dear parading "drop the loans" nincompoops, please stop loitering on this issue.. 

Want your loans dropped? sell that flashy car.. stop buying designer clothes.. and umm, start working for a change.. maybe then you'll get those installments paid off.. 

"The Pen is So0 Much More Powerful than the Sword"

"Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens' books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to...all living beings on this planet. " -Bruce Williamson,It's Never Too Late To Have A Happy Childhood, 1987

PS. i think i've found my new life philosophy..