A day in Bahrain Part 2: Art attack

sketchbookmagazine.com

If you're here because you thought the beloved 90s kid's show somehow had a reprisal in Bahrain, then you're sorely mistaken and I apologize for the click bait. If you're here because you read A day in Bahrain Part 1, then great and thanks for being a faithful reader.

A day in Bahrain Part 1: Burial mounds and the female figure

BBC

Good afternoon beautiful people!

Where did you all go for Eid break? I stayed in Saudi like all the cool kids, but I was able to go to Bahrain for some site seeing. Site seeing in Bahrain?! Yes, it is possible.

All or nothing: When a free cooking class demands perfection

thediabeticscornerbooth.com

I hope everyone's Eid went well! I took a little break so that's why you haven't heard from me in a while. You'll be seeing an upcoming post on my adventures! But before we get into that, let's take a completely unabashed look at food shall we? Or is everyone completely sick of food at this point? Probably. Anyways. Poor timing, but read on anyways if you thought Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" was funny.

Blogger can't finish chocolate lava cookie, questions womanhood

After having a deeply fried dinner of wontons and assorted seafood bits (barf), my tender fingered male friend and I decided to try out a chocolate restaurant experience? extravaganza? in the city of Khobar.

How I learned to appreciate the humble mug

If you read "A guide to Al-Khobar part 3" then great. If not, then go read it.

Want to know how a 3D printer works? Then look no further!

Makerbot 3D printer

Recently there's been hype about 3D printers and it's ranged from the good to the bad. They'll either be the technology that saves us all from ourselves, allowing us to go to the local 3D printer for what we need, or they'll be the death of us, what with hooligans producing guns at home.

Iranian police continue to be fun-hating old farts

                                          YouTube

Just watch this video of young Iranian men and women cheering on their national football team in the World Cup and tell me you agree that the guy with the knee length pants and calf straps(?) looks like a pirate before you read the depressing news report attached to it.

A guide to Al-Khobar Part 3: Combining coffee and art

acoustic-tealounge.com

I haven't written a non-Internet related piece in a while, so last night I tried out a place my friend recommended. It was good to get off my butt and explore!

How one Moroccan woman made it in Hollywood

Variety

I was scrolling through Buzzfeed as one does, and I came across an article listing Nicki Minaj's top music videos. Coming in at number one was her song "Super Bass" and I was surprised to see that not only was it directed by a woman, but by a woman from the Middle East.

On dancing and dressing in Saudi Arabia

Arab News

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I for one did. I went out dancing with my friends in Bahrain, even ended up in a place called Blaq Velvet. (Yes, you read that right.) I couldn't get over the spelling of black for the longest time. I just kept on repeatedly asking, where are we again? Blackwa what? That and the middle aged, tattooed British men with Hawaiian shirts on the dance floor just made the night.

Thursday night social: What I'm listening to tonight

                                          YouTube

Here's a post to get your weekend going. (The weekends over in Saudi Arabia are on Fridays and Saturdays and not on Saturdays and Sundays.)

Next time you complain about the weather, look at these photos

The Guardian

A few days ago, the citizens of Tehran experienced being engulfed in a freakishly large and brown, sometimes orange, sandstorm. Over here in Saudi Arabia we (I guess I should clarify that by saying the white people I’m surrounded by) call a sandstorm a shamal (شمال), which I learned way too late in the game means "north" in Arabic and not sandstorm. I guess that’s because they're winds that come from regions located to the north of Saudi?

A dumb reason for divorce in Saudi and the Egyptian Jon Stewart

Arab News

Sorry sorry sorry for not posting in a few days! I have a few ideas so let's see if we can fit these all in one post or if I have to spread them out.

Coca-Cola cares about migrant workers, they really do

                                          YouTube

This video has been making the rounds among Filipino Facebook users recently and as you know, there are a lot of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that work in the Gulf. Most of their occupations are in the service industry as waiters and domestic help, but many also work as engineers, nurses, and IT professionals.

A guide to the city of Al-Khobar Part 2

amaniism.com

As promised, I said that I would provide a review for the LOUD Art Exhibition. Hosted at Desert Designs from May 29 to June 7, this is the art event's third year.

Watch these Saudi comedians make fun of students living abroad

Wow wow wee wa. I met so many people today and I learned so much! Everything that I want to type out will probably have to go into more than one blog post. That's OK though, that’ll keep you, dear reader, coming back for more. :)

A guide to the city of Al-Khobar Part 1

pinoy-ofw.com

Last night I met up with my newest friend Afnan, whom I met at the Cultural Night. Now I have a total of three friends here! Yessssss.

How to win and lose at an international film festival

flipkey.com

Congratulations to director Nuri Bilge Ceylan! His film Winter Sleep just won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The Turkish filmmaker's work is about an Anatolian hotel owner and his relationships with those around him.

What radio show to listen to in Saudi Arabia

megaclubmusic.com

I honestly think that I'm the only one of my friends left that listens to the radio in the car. The compound has its own station 91.4 Studio 1 FM, and its Top 40 show is The World Chart Show. TWCS compiles a list of the top songs from around the world. Kinda cool that it's not just American music, although it basically means you get more from the UK.

ATTENTION PHARRELL: Tehran's chief of police is not "Happy"

                                          YouTube

My mom just sent this video to me on Whatsapp, after getting it from our family friend that lives in Bahrain. It's the music video inspired by the award winning song "Happy" set in different countries around the world that we’ve been seeing around the interwebs lately. To be honest, I'm kind of bored already with these takes on Pharell Williams's hit.

Heavy table refuses to be used as a prop in political discourse

                                          YouTube

As one TV talk show host in Jordan learned, it pays to have a sturdy and well built table.

This is why social media isn't the downfall of humanity

Inquisitr

A man in Saudi Arabia, paralyzed and in hospital from a car accident, recently tweeted for someone to please visit him. What happened next is a story that just warms your cold, dead heart.


Inquisitr

Ibrahim was left bedridden after a collision on the road over half a year ago resulted in paralysis and the need for a surgery that he could not afford. Sadly he was also left alone as his family had stopped visiting him for months. And so Ibrahim turned to using the power of social media. He tweeted for someone to visit him at the King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh and within a day, it became the most retweeted message in the country's Twitter history. A user created the hashtag #VisitIbrahim and that was retweeted over 200,000 times. That’s not too surprising as Saudi Arabia is one of the 23 countries with more than 800,000 active Twitter users. Saudi has more than 32 % active Twitter users. According to the BBC, it’s so popular because Saudis can express themselves more freely than in person, unless the tweets question the royal family or Islam. But I digress. The most important thing out of this whole situation is that people came to visit Ibrahim in his hospital room. And even more important than that, a visitor brought pizza!!

                                Inquisitr

In fact, so many people came to visit that the hospital had to put a temporary ban on the number of visitors. Hundreds of people across the kingdom came to visit and even donated money to pay for his much needed surgery. It is hoped that Ibrahim will be flying to Germany soon for the medical attention he needs. Congrats and good luck Ibrahim!

Did you see this hashtag trending on Twitter? Did you retweet it? Let me know in the comments section below!


Inquisitr 

How patriotic are you? Let me show you!

imgur

Nationalism is in the air. What with Narendra Modi winning Indian elections to be its next prime minister and everything happening in the Ukraine, you can't turn on the news without hearing about it.

How to get free perfume in Saudi Arabia

Last week my mom's friend was invited to a cultural night and I tagged along. It was hosted by Saudi women at a family compound downtown.

Here's some Saudi artwork that I like

                                          Arab News

This image appeared in the Arts and Culture section in the Arab News. Can you believe it? The article covered the artwork by Saudi artist Qaswra Hafez. I actually have it ripped out and taped to my bedroom wall. It depicts a person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and a shomagh without the agal.

Dear George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin

 

       Yahoo!

You know you've made it in life when people you've never met pen open letters to you and publish them on the Internet.

What Saudi can learn from India about driving safely

Wikimedia

It's pretty well known that Saudi Arabia has a driving problem. Without even touching on the issue of women, men behind the wheel in Saudi either don't know how to drive properly and/or don't care to drive properly because they know that no repercussions will ensue.

Watch a couple of Emirati brothers travel the world

Peetaplanet

Mohamed and Peyman Al Awadhi both host and produce Peeta Planet, a TV-web show where they travel the world and you, dear audience member, interact with them through social media. You tell them where to eat, where to go, and what to do.

Join the mile high club with Etihad Airways

Forbes

I was going to post this yesterday but I didn't get around to it! So Etihad Airways just recently debuted its newest cabin, called The Residence, and it is probably the size of about 235347 economy seats.

Love will always find you

                                          YouTube

I heard about YouTuber and online comedian Thabit Al Mawaly from a friend of a friend about half a year ago. I finally had a chance to look at the videos he uploads to his YouTube channel and I’ve included the one I like best above. I don't want to give away the plot as it’s a fairly short video and even though you pretty much know what's coming from the beginning, it's still funny.

A (sort of) ComicCon in Bahrain

Over the weekend I attended ComiX, a comic convention hosted in Bahrain. While it was 1/16th the size of Dubai's recent Comic Con, I still felt like the noob of noobs. Here are some photos of me not fitting in with nerds.

How one reporter stood up for what he believed in

                                          YouTube

On Sunday the non profit press monitoring and analysis organization Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted a clip from an Egyptian news program Al-Hayat TV. During the broadcast the TV host, Moataz Al-Demerdash, stops a guest during an interview when he disagreed with what the latter said.

Watch these ads and learn to live a healthy life

YouTube

In another nod to OSN, I love what they've been doing recently for increasing the public's awareness on health issues. I mean it's not all altruistic as it's part of their corporate social responsibility campaign "Live More," but they point to real problems that face the Middle East.

Hurry up and watch our reality show on making it in New York City

                                          YouTube

In my household we watch OSN and they've been showing trailers for this new reality show called #Yalla NY. (Is the hashtag still used when you're not tweeting?)

If DJ Snake and Lil Jon made a music video in Iran

2pause.com

If you haven't seen DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What?" music video, you are are missing out. It'll have you saying either What! or Yeah! in the titular Lil Jon fashion.

Why I started writing stuff on the Internet

Cardiff University

Welcome to my blog!                                                                                                           !أهلاً و سهلاً