"Just whistle while you work, put on a grin and start right in to whistle loud and long"

Because I love scouring the internet for interesting/inspiring articles and things, here are a couple of clicks: 

-A Night with the Morality Police in Iran By TIME Magazine : Who thought Iran had a strict "هيئة الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن منكر" that was focused on clothing? Gives a whole new perspective to "Fashion Police" and freedom of dress/expressing oneself ; interesting, yet sad.. 

-According to Fashionising, "Boho is dead, long live Foho":  ""Foho" is about a more understated, eclectic mix, fusing classic Boho elements - Seventies silhouettes, crochet trims and trippy hippie prints - with more subtle folk pieces, such as washed-out denim and traditional embroideries. Crucially, it also throws in something modern like a great big shiny It-bag or über-cool trainers. It's cooler and far more authentic than Boho and owes more to the original folk look of the Seventies."; I feel like we're going to be using and finding this term pop up everywhere in the fashion world tres soon.. "That's so Foho" lol coined! 

-Can't stop listening to this song on youtube, its kind of witty really, a Kuwaiti Old song sung about one of Kuwait's area's "الفنطاس", which has a soft spot in my heart, by an Egyptian Singer and a full fledged Orchestra, turning it into a classical song.. 

I give you "يا ساحل الفنطاس" sung by نجاة الصغيره

-Lastly, want to know what happens to your body when you start sipping that can of coke?

Check it out here.; Scary, but a glass of diet coke with ice in this hot weather serves wonders.. 

Trying to limit my intake.. *sigh*

Over, and Out... 

-Baroque! 

PS. Snap out of it, Pronto! 

NB. Song in title is part of "Whistle while you work", a song featured in Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" 

"My brown eyed girl, You my brown eyed girl, do you remember when we used to sing? sha la la la la la la la la la la te da"

Glittery Hippie/Bohemian Hairbands around the forehead? 

Kind of cute!

Do i sense an upcoming trend? 

Maybe the "Fashionista muhajababes" will ditch the yogurt cartons that puff up their veils and go flat and glittery? 

Everything is possible. 

NB. Song in title is Van Morrison's "Brown-eyed Girl"

"Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? It's like rain on your wedding day, it's a free ride when you've already paid"

Just had "فطور" and this image i stumbleded upon, made me smile.. 

This made me remember the "Stand-point" theory i learnt in one of my odd classes in university; it went something like this, your standpoint/perspective on life or anything depends on where you stand.. 

Some stand really close to the object, and see it up close; others are a bit higher up and get a bird's eye view, some people's vision is obscured by another thing or someone standing behind them... 

Every opinion, piece of advice or perspective/take on something is dependent/partial to this theory.. 

Based on the caricature, in China miles away from America they see whatever is being broadcasted to them on TV, mostly about American Obesity and its effects; in the US they think many Chinese are starving..  

Everyone is standing at a point, and peering at something; their stand point determines what they believe, or think of something; it's like something along the lines of "one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter."

Whose words would you believe? the person standing up close, or someone with a much broader view? 

Everyone stands at a point, remembering that will make negotiations and understanding this world so much less stressful.. 

Intelligent people are the ones who try to find a common "line of fire (or in this case, view" and build on that; at least that's what cultural dialogue is all about.. 

But in other times, there are people who love obscuring other people's views, and make them see what they themselves are seeing; a la shifting perceptions...

Who thought that your "standing location" would be this important? eh?

Think about it.. 

Clicks: -Standpoint Theory

NB. Song in title is part of Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic"

PS. Thanks for the memories.

Ashley who?

Singaporean Designer Ashley Isham's London Fashion Show peices..  

It's OTT (over the top) without actually going over the top.. 

Make any sense? 

I feel like we're going to see a lot of this designer's work on our local runways, weddings that is.. 

Photo credits: 

My Fashion life 

The Fashion Spot

Clicks: London Fashion Week: Ashley Isham

The World Feels Fine.

How are you feeling? 

I feel tired yet my circadian rhythms are haywire with Ramadan.. 

What if i could ask the world that question? 

How are you feeling world?

That was a rhetorical question, don't even think of answering it..

Instead i give you my latest find, god bless the internet, the "We Feel Fine Project".. 

What if the world could answer me and tell me exactly how most of the population were feeling at this point in time? 

Thats exactly what Jonathan Harris's work on the internet/web program aims to find out..

Weird? How? 

Well, his computer program/site "scours the internet for unfiltered content, which his beautiful interface (website) then organizes to create coherence from the chaos). 

In a nutshell, its like a search engine but instead highlights all sentences/statements that have the phrase "I feel" in them, and then collects snapshots of them, or in other words how the writer is feeling, and then loads it onto the "We Feel Fine" interface and codes them by retrieving whatever information he can get about the blogger/person behind the quote; thereby organizing it into a database which can tell you how people/the average mean of the population are feeling.. 

You can search by location, gender, and age; and see how different parts of the world, or age groups are feeling right now? 

WOW? 

Thats not the only perk.. 

You can even get a feel of how the weather is in their location when that data was collected and sometimes even get pictures that were collected from the blog/web page which were used by the writers to reflect how they are feeling.. 

Things/Projects/Ideas such as these make me think, how the hell did they even come up with such an idea in the first place? I would have never even got the slightest urge to look up and reference how the world is feeling, but i must admit this is genius, eye-opening and insightful plus quirky nonetheless.. 

Jonathan Harris's work is on my stalk-list, he really does "celebrate the world's diversity even as it illustrates the universal concerns of its occupants, (and) show off a world that resonates with shared emotions, concerns, problems, triumphs and troubles."

For more info about this amazing project, just watch the following video from TED

and here are some clicks:     -We feel fine project

                                                  -Jonathan Harris Bio

Ps. I feel like I just passed "Go" and did not get my $200.

Sheikh of London Fashion Week?

Qasimi.. 

No, not the ruling family of Sharjah... 

But Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, son of the Emir of Sharjah, and his business partner Eliot J Frieze- designers of the Qasimi Fashion Line which debuted at London Fashion Week.. 

It's supposed to be "Military meets the Orient" -From MyFashionLife

They don't follow trends, nor do they cater for people who follow trends, instead they cater for people who want luxury and "longevity"; in other words clothes that don't go out of fashion in a season or two.. 

Interesting! I hope they can survive the so called "credit-crunch" that everyone is fearing, especially fashion those days.. (**in a nutshell, money has more value to it now, and not everyone is going to be able to afford luxury yet alone a DH73,000 silk and vicuna kimono lined with orylag; in the middle east yes sure, but I'm not sure of other parts of the world at this moment)

Plus the showcase/clothes look professional/good, not a bunch of "ستراس" -ed out shiny-shiny designer knock offs we've been used to from some of the Gulf's so called designers.. 

Oh and they got raving reviews apparently.

Lots of Luck to them!

photo credits.. Myfashionlife 

For more information, here are some interesting clicks about them:

-The Sheikh's new clothes

 -London Fashion Week:Qasimi

"قرقيعان وقرقيعان بيت اصغير وارميضان"

بعد الإطلاع على أشكال القرقيعان التي وصلتنا، ماكو على"milko toffee" بو بقره..

لا للتقليد a la toffee بو اضخله..

ملكواا وبس والباقي خسسس!

Excuse moi, was boycotting sugar but couldn't help myself when it came to the toffee caramels; YUM!

Ps. Hope you got a piece of my sunshine..
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Zain Kuwait

The Girl Effect

No, its not a song or part of a song.. It's a new worldwide movement that seeks to empower and improve living conditions of girls in the developing world.. 

The Girl Effect according to the foundation's website is a noun that stands for the "Powerful social and economic change brought about when girl's have the opportunity to participate in their society."

I really do believe in this cause, and its not just because I belong to the "fairer sex."

الأم مدرسةً إذا أعـددتهـا أعددت شعباً طيب الأعـراق

"Behind every successful man, lies a woman"; be it a mother, a sister, or a wife.. 

"The Girl Effect" shows us how investments in women in countries across the developing world improves the economic growth and the health and well-being of their communities.. 

Here are a couple of facts that caught my eye from the campaign: 

-When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children (United Nations Population Fund, State of World Population 1990)

-When a women  and girl's earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40% for a man (Phil Borges,with foreword by Madeleine Albright, Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World [NewYork:Rizzoli,2007],13.) 

-Out of the world's 130 million out-of-school- youth, 70% are girls. (Human rights watch, "Promises broken:An assessment of Children's rights on the 10th anniversary of convention of the rights of the Child." 

Check out this inspiring and philanthropic foundation here. 

Remember, it all starts with a girl. 

"You make me feel so young, You make me feel like spring has sprung; and every time I see you grin, I'm such a happy individual"

I've never been a fan of "Chiclets" to tell you the truth; Babol bubble gum was the first thing i picked out when we used to raid the local "بقاله" after school.. 

I remember hiding the stash of chocolates,gum, and sweets in my school uniform blazer's inner pocket, it was this zipped up internal pocket the wearer only knew about hidden on the opposite side of a big school emblem inside the jacket; my mother thought we had a small appetite, aleast thats what she used as an answer to us not eating.. 

Eventually, we were caught in action and refrained from stashing those treats till after lunch in fears of the "pat down" our blazers would get as soon as we walked through the door; instead we ate them in the Car on the way home.. 

*Sigh* to go back to those days, when the mere sight of the local "بقاله" made me feel giddy, now i go ga-ga when i hit the shops.. 

Same concept, different age group..  ah, the power of "Retail Therapy" and umm a sugar rush..?

************************************************************************************

Oh, and i was meaning to get to those:-

Cutest "Chiclets" inspired accessories designed by Rana Salam, an Arabic Designer.. 

 

"We all chewed them in our youth and now you can have a permanent memory. Brooches to wear close to your heart in large or mini sizes hand-painted and fired into the resin; a classic of Rana Salam signature. Chiclets not included."

"We all chewed them in our youth & now you can have a permanent memory of days long gone. Resin cuffs adorned with childhood favorites; mini gandour & chiclets. A classic of Rana Salam's designs. Chiclets not included. "

To put it like "Elle" (**not the magazine), "CUTE!" 

Check them out at Dia Diwan.

For more on Rana Salam, you can check out her website here.

NB. Song in title is part of Frank Sinatra's song "You make me feel so young"..

"Masquerade, paper faces on parade, masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you!"

Who says you can't keep the sunlight with you throughout the day? 

Pop this jar on your window sill, and let it catch the sun's rays, it'll trap them in and glow all night.. (**by using some LED's and solar panels inside that is)

So cool, now you can keep a souvenir from every morning! 

I love it! 

I wish they'd invent something similar, perhaps put in all your happy feelings inside and then open it up when you're down? hmmmm.... 

Click here to check it out

NB. Song in title is part of "Masquerade", the Phantom of the Opera's soundtrack.

"Wow, wow, wow! This is so vintage!"

Don't you just love airheads? They make my life go round..

I'm planning on converting to air-head-ism; so much lighter on the shoulders

Wasn't a Fireej Fan, more of a "بوقتاده بونبيل".. But ever since that episode with "Jameela, but my friends call me Jam", I've been hooked!

To cartoons sans politics, complaints and drama and just to serve hilarious laughs like they are supposed to,

xx
Baroque

تم الإرسال من جهاز BlackBerry® اللاسلكي المقدم من زين كويت.Been sent from BlackBerry smartphone provided by Zain Kuwait

"I won't dance, don't ask me, I won't dance Madame with you.. My heart won't let my feet do things that they should do"

Been doing quite a bit of "blog-soul-searching", those past days..

Am so blank on things to post, which made me think... what is my blog all about in the first place?

I make it a strict policy of mine not to go into my personal life, for several reasons and so as to not encourage people coming here to pry and try to catch a glimpse of the real me, even though i think this blog is as real as i get.. did i loose you there? i know i lost myself.. 

I've been accused by some that i write everything in my blog, to that accusation i am confused, since i do not remember writing anything personal; the most i have written was about my infatuation with lattes, partial vacation adventures and the endless quotes/theories i concoct every once in a while .. if that's within my so called "personal sphere" of life, i do not get what is public and what should be kept behind wraps.. 

If i have anything personal to say, i'd rather tell my best friend and not the internet.. 

On another note, blogs those days aren't merely "web logs" (**which was shortened to the present word we use "blogs", or in other words web journals/diaries), they are not as general as they were, some are niche blogs that focus on fashion, others focus on interior design, some are windows into people's lives however embellished or fictional they may be, others are a collection of short stories,  and quite a few which i detest to be honest and avoid at all cost are a bunch of ramblings that aim to make people laugh or entertained but which hold no value on their own... 

My blog, well, to some it might be a stuck up twenty something philosopher wannabe, or just mindless ramblings and vague notions; others i hear love to actually "read" it.. 

To me, its as i said before in a previous post, a "canvas" in which i can spill paint, draw, blot or even cut and paste/collage things on.. some of it might be nonsensical, others might be a series of opposing notions or ideas, quite a few can be random tidbits, but almost all of it is abridged.. 

To some people who have approached me and asked why i love keeping my blog vague i say, why should i give you the full picture? 

I'll give you a line and you can build up on that.. something like food for thought.. 

I love food for thought, why should i write something complete and all encompassing? what's the fun in that? why give you all the facts at one blow? 

I'd rather make you think.. 

and for all those trying to put my puzzle-like blog together to form a picture, i say no, you'll never be able to do that.. my puzzle is missing parts on purpose, why make it so mainstream as to have it be "complete" at the end? 

I'm not looking for people to comment- i don't count the comments.. 

I'm not looking for links back here- that doesn't interest me, but is flattering nonetheless.. 

I don't write about people i know or my life- i keep that for my diary.. 

I don't let off steam here- i'd call up my best friend for that or hit the treadmill.. 

I don't know what i write about, i just know it may appear so random, but makes so much sense to me.. 

I know a lot of you know who i am, i've told half of you myself.. others seem to know me from my writing, which bedazzles me to tell you the truth.. 

For those who don't know me, my name is Baroque and i love stringing words together into sentences.. 

Enough said.. 

PS. Phew.. 

NB. Title of post is part of the Frank Sinatra song "I won't Dance" 

"You're the Swimming Pool on an August day, and You're the perfect thing to say"

The epitome of happiness in my opinion can be summed up in the following quote from a famous poem "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake:

"To see a world in a grain of sand, 

and a heaven in a wild flower, 

hold infinity in the palm of your hand, 

and eternity in an hour" 

I mean come on, if you could do all that, you're bound to be ever-happy and all smiles..? right? makes sense..  i guess it's to do with the whole "don't sweat the small stuff and look at the bigger picture" notion backwards, as in enjoy the small things in life and count your blessings.. at least thats how i see it.. 

Very Ramadan-esque thoughts i guess..

Wishing that you all reach the acme of joy and happiness, 

-Baroque

PS. I'm all for standing at different points when seeing/pondering something; but your view was definitely obscured.. 

NB. Title is part of Micheal Buble's song "Everything"