Bus 189 from Brent Cross towards Oxford Circus, London.

April 11th 2009, 3:30 a.m.

Sitting with my wife at the bus upper deck, front left seats. A while after Carlton Vale station, a British-accent old long-white-haired man sat behind me, and started murmuring with words. At the first while, my wife whispered at me that the man sitting behind us is "talking to himself". Actually after some time, both of us noticed that he was speaking to us:

What are you Muslim scam bags doing in this Christian country?
Beggars…free food…free accommodation…
Beggars….shit…scam bags…
You're fucking dead nigger…
You're fucking dead…
Islam is the world's scam…
Church Street beggars…
Coming from your country to sit in front of me…
Muslim scam bags…fucking beggars….
Go back to your fucking country…

Quietly, we descended to the lower deck, and reported the incident to the driver. While the driver was asking me about where the man was sitting, I saw the old man leaving the bus, anxiously…

The reason why I'm sharing this story with the public is to address the danger of having such dangerous –minded people wandering in the streets, and not to leave the incident unreported. The old man seemed to be homeless; wearing dirty jeans, with long untidy hair, drunk, and carrying a hand bag. He might have been a madman, or suffering from a psychological disorder, however, he threatened me personally. At least, those people should be policed…

A.
12.04.2009

أخيراً وجدت ما يدفعنى للكتابه مجدداً... إنه هذا الفيلم الرائع لوودى الآن (فيكى.كريستينا.برشلونه) ... إذا لم تكن شاهدت الفيلم فأحذر هذا المقال ربما يفسد قليلاً من متعه المشاهده ... لذا توجه هنـــــــا لتحميل الفيلم من ملف توررنت و من هنـــــــا للحصول على الترجمه و تعالى مره أخرى

الفيلم يحكى قصه فتاتين أمريكيتان (فيكى و كريستينا) يذهبان لقضاء العطله فى برشلونه ... يتسمان بذات المزاج فى تناول معظم امور الحياه ما عدا تصورهم عن الحب فحين تسعى (فيكى) للإستقرار تتجه (كريستينا) للمغامرة و هو ما يظهر فى رد فعلهم أمام الفنان الاسبانى (خوان أنطونبو) و الذى قام بدوره الممثل الاسبانى (جافير بارديم) الذى يتوجه و بشجاعه منقطعه النظير ليدعوهم للذهاب معه فى رحله لمدينه أوفيدو حيث يستمتعون بمشاهده بعض الاعمال النحتيه لفنان صديقه و يمارسون ثلاثتهم الحب سويا!!!... و من هنا تتصاعد الاحداث بين الشخصيات فتقوم علاقات غير متوقعه و علاقات ثلاثيه يذوب فيها تعريف الحب و الجنس و الفن و الجمال سويا لينتج هذا الفيلم الرائع.

أجد صعوبه فى وقف الاسترسال عن قصه الفيلم و لكن بجانب السيناريو الرائه لوودى الآن و الذى رشح عليه لعدد من الجوائز و فاز بأحسن روح فيلم ( و لا أعلم عن هذه الجائزه و لكنها تبدو كبيره) و لكن الرائع بحق هو اداء بينوليب كروز و الذى فازت عليه بجوائز عديده لأحسن ممثله مساعده و التى جاء دورها مليئاً بالحيويه و التألق و الاثارة عن حق مجسده دور الفنانه و الملهمه فمن أول الفيلم و انت تسمع فى الحوار عن ماريا مراراً و تكراراً و لكن لن تراها إلا عند منتصف الفيلم و هو ما اعطى لدخولها إثارة غير عاديه و قد برعت للغايه فى التمثيل مازجه ما بين الانجليزيه و الاسبانيه.

من الطريف ايضا ان نذكر ان الفيلم تلقى تمويل من مدينه برشلونه لتصويره قدرة مليون يورو بعد منافسه شديده ما بين مدينه برشلونه و مدينه كتالونيا لتصوير الفيلم بداخلهم و حقا يستحق الفيلم ما هو اكثر فالرغبه الجارفه للذهاب الى هناك بعد مشاهده الفيلم شديده للغايه لدرجه أننى واثق ان عائدات السياحه الناتجه عن الفيلم وحده كفيله بأن ترجع للمدينه ما دفعته مرات و مرات.

يا ربى لكم هو بسيط هذا الفيلم ، ليس كأمثال أفلامنا التى لابد أن تقول و بعلو صوتها انا أريد أن أقول موعظه، إن وودى الآن إستطاع بمهارة و بفيلم بسيط و بدون تعقيد أن يجعلنى كمشاهد أستمتع بالفيلم و أجلس بعده أدخن سيجارة و أتأمل فيما حواه الفيلم من معانى

و الأن أترككم مع التريلر

و اليكم بعض الروابط

تحميل الفيلم من مواقع تورنت

تحميل الترجمه الى العربيه

الموقع الرئيسى للفيلم

صفحه المحبين على كتاب الوش

تحميل الموسيقى التصويريه

Star Wars: An Islamic perspective



The way "jedis" are taught to respect a greater power, fight for the defense of the
innocent and bring peace and justice to their society, is also what Islam teaches
all Muslims to strive for.



By Irfan Rydhan, June 17, 2005










Luke bin Anakin?
As most "Star Wars" fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which
are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil.
As a Muslim, I always thought of the "Jedi" as what a true follower of Islam should
be like. Never mind the fact Jedi masters with their North African style cloaks and
scruffy beards look like Sufi Sheikhs, but they way they are taught to respect a
greater power, fight for the defense of the innocent and honor a code of morals and
ethics in order to bring about peace and justice to their society, is basically what
Islam teaches all Muslims to strive for. So what really is the connection between
these similar Islamic principles and the fictional "Jedi Order" of the Star Wars
saga?I decided to look into this question more deeply. What I came across from my
research off the internet and talking to other Muslim "Star Wars" fans was not only
surprising, but also a bit scary. For example it was reported in a National
Australian magazine that more than 70,000 Australians identified their religion as
Jedi, Jedi-Knight, or Jedi-related in the country's 2001 national census! Don't
these people realize that the "Jedi" are make-believe? There may be some truth in
fiction, but instead of looking for the truth, people get caught up with the
fiction. In this paper I hope to reveal where some of the truth of the "Jedi" and
"Star Wars" comes from: Islam.Back when "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" first came
out, "The Muslim Magazine" had some interesting pieces on the connections between
Islam and the content of the Star Wars films. One was an interview with Dhul-Nun
Owen who talks about how George Lucas had contacted members of the "Habibiyyah Sufi
Order" in Berkeley, CA in order to do research for "Star Wars." There was also a
piece by Mahmoud Shelton about how Sufi ideas of spiritual chivalry ("futuwwat")
have parallels in the Jedi teachings.Surfing the internet, I came across an
interesting article entitled "Eternal Jihad: The Way of the Mystic-Warrior" from a
Sufi website:"We are at the core a Movement of Jeddi; masters of Futuwwat ("the Way
of the mystic-warrior"). We encourage adherents to train both physically AND
spiritually, for their own personal edification and to enhance their knowledge and
abilities in the STRUGGLE. The Real does not lie alone in contemplation, prayer and
meditation; nor does it lie alone in action and revolution. Both of these are
notions of "one or the other" and Allah is not "one or the other." "Allah" literally
means "the One[ness] which manifests from Nothing." As we have stressed before, this
"Nothing" is not the "lack" of all, but rather, it is Nothing in the sense of
Totality of Being, which is symbolized by the numeral zero � this number itself
originated with Sufis. Allah is neither the positive alone, nor the negative. Allah
is the perfect balance between the two. The direct center of two polarities is
always zero, Pure Nothing, from which the Totality, the Tawhid (Unity), the Oneness
of ALL becomes manifest. For it is out of zero that all subsequent positive and
negative numbers reel. That is Allah."Notice the Arabic term "al-Jeddi" (master of
the mystic-warrior way) along with another Islamic term not mentioned, "Palawan"
(similar to Lucas' "Padwan" for Jedi apprentice) which were actual titles used by
Muslim Knights!The Force"The Force" is the common thread between all six movies and
is defined as an energy field, which binds all living things together (i.e. Allah,
God, a Supreme Being or Power that most religion's adherents worship, follow and/or
yearn to become a part of). According to Star Wars mythology, the Jedi "are a noble
order of protectors unified by their belief and observance of the Force." The "Jedi"
study and train under the apprentice-master relationship similar to how many
religious students study under a priest or religious scholar until they have learned
enough to teach and train the next generation of students.From a Muslim perspective,
the similarities between the Jedi and the Islamic traditions of instruction are
strikingly similar. For example a Muslim scholar usually trains under a Sheikh for a
number of years before they are given the right or permission ("Ijazah" in Arabic)
to teach others about Islam. "In Islamic Sufism Sheikhs will have "silsilas" that
list the chain of teachers going back to the Prophet Muhammad (S). A "silisia"
indicates a Sheikh's lineage of mystical learning from which he draws his spiritual
authority."Similarly in the "Jedi" tradition of Star Wars, each "Padwan"
(apprentice) is taught the same tradition and skills their Jedi masters were taught
by their previous masters. "Star Wars" fans know the lineage of Jedi instruction
starting from "Yoda" to "Count Dooku" to "Qui-Gon Jinn" to "Obi Wan Kenobi" to
"Anankin Skywalker."In the first Star Wars movie, "Episode IV: A New Hope," Luke
Skywalker, like his father, Anakin, live in the desert (The desert planet of
"Tatooine" was actually filmed near the real desert town of "Tataouine" in Tunisia).
From among this remote desert area with no roots of a civilized urban society, a
"Chosen One" (i.e. a Prophet) arises who brings a hope of peace and justice to their
society. Anakin is the "chosen one" in the latest Star Wars films, and Luke can be
considered the "chosen one" from the original Star Wars trilogy.Similarly, the
Prophet of Islam, lived in the desert where there was no true rule of law or justice
and people followed the tribal system of blood vengeance. Prophet Muhammad (S)
brought Islam to the Arabs, which completely changed their way of thinking and the
way they lived their lives. Instead of living for the present and for themselves, as
Muslims they live for the hereafter and are taught to take care of the poor,
orphans, those less fortunate than themselves and to fight for social justice and
well being for the whole community.Thus the Jedi too is taught to be selfless and
not selfish like the "Sith" (An ancient order of Force-practitioners devoted to the
dark side and determined to destroy the Jedi). Just as "Yoda" taught young "padwans"
not to give into fear and be tempted by the "Dark Side" (i.e. temptations of the
devil or "Shaytaan" in Arabic), Muslims are taught not to be attached to the "Dunya"
(life in this world) nor to fall prey to the diseases of the heart (jealousy, envy,
fear, hatred, etc.) as they lead to evil and sin.The Green OneThere is an
interesting connection between the Jedi master "Yoda" (a short, green skinned
creature first seen in "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back") and Islamic traditions.
"Al-Khidr" means "the Green One" in Arabic. Qur'�nic commentators say that al-Khidr
is one of the prophets; others refer to him simply as an angel who functions as a
guide to those who seek God. And there are yet others who argue for his being a
perfect wali meaning the one whom God has taken as a friend.So in other words "Yoda"
(which means "Wise One" in Hebrew) is like an angel or spiritual mentor who guides
the young Jedi in the ways of the force and to be strong enough to resist the
temptations and evil inclinations of the Sith and other Dark Forces.In "Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi", the Emperor tries to influence Luke Skywalker to give into his
feelings of Anger and Hatred (As we all know Luke's father Anakin, did fall prey to
the Emperor's whispers and joined the Dark Side). Because the Jedi (as Muslim
warriors) are taught that one's intentions in battle must be pure and that it's
wrong to kill out of anger, even when is outwardly justified.'Ali (RA) the nephew of
the Prophet Muhammad (S), was faced with this situation at the Battle of the Ditch,
the noble Imam 'Ali had knocked an enemy soldier to the ground and was raising his
sword to kill him, when the unbeliever spat in the his face. Imam 'Ali at once stood
still and refrained from killing his enemy. Hardly able to believe his own eyes, the
unbeliever asked: "Why have you spared me, O gracious one?"To this, the noble 'Ali
replied: "Your property and your life have become sacrosanct to me. I am not
authorized to slay you. I can receive permission to kill only in holy combat, in
fighting commanded by Allah. Just a few moments ago, I had overcome you in battle,
knocked you to the ground and was on the point of slaying you. But when you spat in
my face, my selfish anger was aroused against you. If I had killed you, I would have
slain you not for Allah's sake but for my own selfish reason; they would then have
called me not a champion warrior, but a murderer. When you spat in my face, my
selfish passion threatened to overwhelm me, so instead of striking you with the
sword for my own sake I struck my passion for the sake of Allah, Exalted is He.
There you have the reason for your escape." The unbeliever was of course in awe by
Ali's noble character, and immediately accepted Islam and became
Muslim.Muh-Jedi-DeenThe Jedi could be considered "Holy Warriors" (or "Muhajideen" in
Arabic) as they fight for truth, justice and peace. They meditate (i.e. "Dhikr" �
remembrance of Allah) as much as they can, to become "one with the force", even in
the midst of battle. Just as in "Episode I: The Phantom Menace", the Jedi master,
Qui-Gon Jinn (The term "Jinn" in Islam is one of the forces of the "unseen") begins
to meditate in the middle of his battle with "Darth Maul", while he waits for a
force field to go down.Islamic History is filled with stories of Muslim Warriors who
also stop in the heat of the moment of battle to give their prayers to Allah.
Hussein (RA) the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (S) stopped to do his Asr (mid-day
prayers) at Karbala. There is even an account of 'Ali (RA), known as the "Sword of
Light" (light-saber?), who completed his "Salat" (Arabic for prayers) while he had
an arrow stuck in his leg or foot!The lack of fear for death exhibited by Jedi
Knights Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Luke Skywalker (particularly in Episode
VI: "Return of the Jedi") resembles the Muslim warrior's creed that states that the
Muslim loves death more than the un-believer loves life.There is another saying in
Islam, which is "Life in this world is Paradise for the Un-believer and a Prison for
the Believer." Some reasoning behind this saying is that if one puts all their faith
in this world (the "Dunya"), then it is very easy to fall off the straight path and
be tempted by Satan (i.e. fall prey to the "Dark Side").This is shown very clearly
in "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," which is all about the Chosen One's (Anakin)
fall into the dark side. Lucas, himself stated in an interview that the he chose the
final battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan to be on a planet with flowing molten lava
and fire, which represents the fires of Hell. The ultimate showdown between good and
evil.Anakin falls victim to the dark side because he loves power and the Dunya (as
he wanted to have the power to live forever and save his loved ones from death �
i.e. his wife from dying during childbirth). He has excessive anger and arrogance
(as he felt he was the most powerful Jedi and no other Jedi was better or stronger
than him) and distrust for those who are his righteous guides (as he felt Obi-Wan
was jealous of him and thought the Jedi Council was against him, which lead him to
follow other sinister forces for guidance). Lastly he had hatred in his heart (he
admitted to hating the "sand people")! Everything that Islam teaches the Muslim to
avoid!The Sand PeopleThe "sand people" or the "Tusken Raiders" could be considered a
metaphor of the Arabs and other people of the Middle East, since they live similarly
to nomadic Arabs in the desert. In "Episode II: Attack of the Clones", the Tusken
Raiders kidnap and torture Anakin's mother, Shimi, which eventually leads to her
death. Anakin then proceeds to kill all the "sand people" in vengeance, and as he
told "Padme," that he "killed all of them [sand people], including the women and
children." But this did not relieve him of his anger and hatred.I believe Lucas was
trying to make a point about the continuous spewing of hate and evil against the
Arab and Muslim people, specifically after September 11 th. Even though the
countries of Iraq and Afghanistan were bombed and destroyed relentlessly (it hasn't
stopped yet), as punishment for the attacks of September 11 th (without any proof or
legitimate legalities of course), many Americans still have a lot of hatred against
anyone that even looks like an Arab or Middle Eastern. Many innocent people,
specifically women and children, have been harassed, attacked and sometimes even
killed, because of this hate.This wasn't the only example of Lucas getting
political, since after Episode III debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, many
Europeans were saying that Anakin represents Bush and his Neo-Con cohorts currently
in power. One couldn't help but notice the very overt examples in the last and final
installment of the "Star Wars" series.An example that sticks in my mind is when the
Emperor was taking control of the Senate. Senate Palpatine (aka the Emperor) was
calling for war against the "separatists" (i.e. read as "insurgents", "terrorists",
etc.) and the Jedi, all the while the whole Senate erupted in agreement. Padme (aka
Queen Amadala) then says "..So this is how Liberty ends, with thunderous
applause"!Of course the most obvious example was when Anakin tells Obi-Wan before
their final duel, "Either you're with me, or against me", which is basically
straight out of Bush's mouth when he said "Either you're with us [i.e. America], or
you're with the terrorists" immediately after the attacks of September 11 th.Which
reminds me of a very funny take on the whole Bush Inspired U.S. "War on Terror"
transposed into "Star Wars" mythology I came across on the web. Here is an
excerpt:It's believed that Skywalker [Luke] was specifically trained by infamous
terrorist O bin Wankanobi. Wankanobi, occasionally called "Ben" and easily
recognized by his bearded visage and long, flowing robes, achieved near-martyr
status among the Rebels after his death last year during a spy mission. His more
fervent followers believe that Wankanobi lives on within them today, some even
claiming to hear his voice during times of duress.The attack on the Death Star came
shortly after the Empire's destruction of Alderstaan, a planet whose government was
known to harbor terrorists. Responding to criticism over the total annihilation of
the planet, [Darth] Vader stated, "There is no middle ground in the War on Terror.
Those who harbor terrorists are terrorists themselves. Alderaan was issued ample
warning. The fight for continuing Freedom is often burdened by terrible cost."In
other words, the Emperor, Darth Vader and the Empire are equivalent to Bush and
Company and Luke Skywalker, the Jedis and the Rebel Alliance are referred to as
"terrorists" (or "separatists", "insurgents", etc.).The Jedi ArtsOne of the most
popular aspects of the "Star Wars" films are the exciting light-saber duels and
swordsmanship (Lucas is an admitted fan of old Samurai films) and martial arts style
fighting (which of course originates from the East). As a former student of "Eskrima
Serrada" (Stick and Blade fighting developed by Muslims of the Philippines) myself,
I see a lot of similarities in the fast-moving and short-range fighting I studied
for about a year and a half, and the "invented" art of the Jedi masters.When Anakin
fights Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) at the beginning of the last "Star Wars" film,
at end of the fight, Anakin applies a disarm and cut that is a technique from
Eskrima to Count Dooku's arm. Going back into history, the technical differences
between the Japanese/Chinese arts and the Muslim arts of Southeast Asia regions of
Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia: The Muslim arts of "Pentjak Silat" and Eskrima
are based on paying attention to the Limb of the attacker and not an immediate
strike to the attacker's head or torso.Ray Park, who plays "Darth Maul" in "Episode
I: The Phantom Menace", studied Kung Fu (very similar to the empty hand techniques
of Serrada) and Wushu and frequently traveled to Malaysia (a Muslim country) to
refine and develop his skills.The spiritual basis of the Muslim arts of Southeast
Asia is very immense. This is the local Sufi expression of Islam, through martial
arts practice, rather than through poetry or music as otherwise done in India and
Turkey, etc. Traditional Indonesian/Malay folklore attributes initial design of
these arts to Muslim saints in the region of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
in the 7th Century. The Silat system is attributed to nine main Wali or saints, also
called the Wali Songo in Indonesian language.Here another example of the Sufi and
Jedi connection. As Jedis study the force and train in the "Jedi Arts" under the
apprentice-master relationship, so do the Sufis."What I term the more Sufi exercises
include breathing exercises, means of meditative contemplation, and physical
exercises. This last activity is practiced within the Qadiri-Rifai Sufi order
through the Indonesian martial art of Pencak Silat Gerakan Suci. Here is a prime
example of the Order's growth. Extending beyond its originally Turkish character,
the Order has adopted a Muslim practice from a far corner of the Islamic world."From
my brief amount of research and study into the "Star Wars" saga, I found many
examples connecting the ideals and principles of Islam to that of the fictional Jedi
Order. Some of the similarities were clearly visible (as with the relations between
the Jedi master, apprentice and the Force to that of the Sufi Sheikhs, students and
worshipping of Allah), while others were a bit more hidden and surprising finds
(such as the term "Jeddi" and "Palawan" for Muslim knights and the story of
"al-Khidr" � the green spiritual guru which has an uncanny resemblance to the Jedi
Spiritual master "Yoda")!Even though Lucas himself is not a follower of any specific
religion, he has used elements of Islam (as well as other world religions) to convey
the universal understandings of good and evil. Combining that common thread of
humanity with a futuristic space-age setting and exciting martial arts
swordsmanship, came a creation that has inspired many, no matter their race,
religion or culture. There is something about the "Star Wars" saga that everyone can
relate to and enjoy. And I hope that those people who are searching for a "truth"
within the mythology of "Star Wars", will look a little deeper behind the fiction
and find Al-Islam: A true way of life which emphasizes peace, justice and
brotherhood for all humanity.

Irfan Rydhan is an architectural designer (and Star Wars fan). He lives in San Jose,
California.

We all know I'm a big fan of technologies and gadgets... so when I read last week in the New York Times that one of the more innovative genetic mapping companies (23andme) had reduced the price of its Genetic Mapping service (which many companies sell for up to $2-3,000) from $999 to only a few hundred dollars, I decided it was an amazing amount of information and education to be able to get access to for that amount, so I took the plunge and signed up.

A day later, FedEx delivered a Spit Kit to my house, which requires about 10 minutes of spitting into and mixing together with a solution, and your DNA sample is ready to send back! And off it went to Los Angeles, California to a laboratory today. Funny enough, the FedEx Pak they provide specifically says "do not send liquids" on it :)

So in 6-8 weeks, I'll know where my ancestors are from, whether I'm genetically lactose intolerant, whether or not I love broccoli because I can't taste the bitterness in it, and whether or not I'm a bit more likely than average to get certain diseases or be susceptible to certain conditions in my lifetime, along with dozens of other interesting facts. For less than the price of a university course in genetics, I can view and learn much of the world's most up-to-date knowledge on the relationships between genes and personal/medical conditions personalized to my specific genetic data. How cool is that?

You can make a case against "messing with your life" this way (I had an interesting discussion about this with someone just the other night), but I think that given the great power we have as humans to be intelligent and understand life in a way that no other species can, we then have a responsibility to use it to maximize the potential of our lives. Right? I guess it's also just a bit of an extra motivation knowing that you're slightly more at risk than average to do something about it! (from 1-2 times more or less likely than the generally population, in most cases)

I'll check back in with the results in a few months!

طول عمرى بركب القطار من القاهرة الى الأسكندريه و بالعكس و طول عمرى بدفع إجبارياً تبرع قيمته تتراوح ما بين الجنيه و الأثنين جنيه مره باسم الكسوة الشتويه ... مرة باسم معونه الشتاء ... الهلال الاحمر ... الصليب الاحمر ... نجمه داود الحمرا .... أى حاجه حمرا و السلام ... و طول عمرى و انا كارة فكرة إن انا بدفع تبرع غصب عنى ... لإنه شئ مش معقول .. لو هو تبرع يبقى بمزاجى مش كل مرة أجى أركب ياخدو منى و غصب عنى قيمه التبرع ... كانوا سموها ضريبه و خلصنا

أفتكر أن مرة أعترضت ... و مرضيش الموظف على الشباك انه يدينى تذكرة إلا لما ادفع التبرع .. و سلمت أمرى الى الله و قبلت الموضوع على مضض على أنه أحد أشكال القهر اللى كلنا متعودين عليها ... و قولت فى نفسى أهو قهر هيروح لحد محتاجه .. أحسن برضه من التبرع الاجبارى اللى بدفعه لكشك السجائر غصب عنى كل مرة أجى أشترى علبه سجاير... انا و الراجل عارفين إنها بأربعه جنيه و ربع و هو بياخد منه لنفسه كده أربعه و نصف ... أو النص اللى بيضاف اوتوماتيك على كروت الشحن أى كان فئتها ... حتى لو الشركه قالت أن الكروت بتتباع بالسعر المكتوب عليها.

أنهارده بقى حصلت فى حياتى نقله نوعيه ... كنت رايح القاهرة و رحت أحجز قطر الصبح ... كان معايا فوبو صاحبى ( فاكرينه اللى كان فى بوست الهرم المقلوب ... معلش مكتبتش عنّه كتير اصله كان مسافر الامارات و لسه راجع و كنا بنفتكر أيام الشتا الحزينه ) المهم انا و فوبو رحنا نحجز القطار و انا سالت واحد من اللى واقفين ... هى بكام التذكرة أسبانى درجه تانيه مكيف ... قاللى 29 جنيه ... يعنى قول 30 بالتبرع .... انا قولت .. أااه التبرع الاجبارى أياه ... و رحت فاتح فى قضيه الجبر و الاختيار و الحق و الحريه فى التبرع و خلافه ... فوبو بكل بساطه .. قاللى ماتطلب أنك تاخد الجنيه و ده حقك .. عادى يعنى ... انا فى سرى قولت تلاقيه لسه مرجعش كلّه من الامارات ... أديت للموظف 30 جنيه و قولتله انا عايز الجنيه الباقى ... قام باصصلى و ضاحك و اداهوللى .. كده بكل بساطه ... ياسلام ... أيه الحلاوه دى

أكتشفت أن انا بقالى أكتر من عشر سنين مضايق من حاجه تافهه و من حقى أن انا أطالب بيها و معملتش كده و لما طالبت بحقى ... أخدته ... الموضوع مفهوش كميا ... انا أخدت حقى لما طالبت بيه

خرجت و الجنيه الفضه اللى فى جيبى عامللى حاله إنتعاش ... حاله من الحريه و الانتصار ... وقفت تاكسى ( انا برضه من الحاجات اللى بتخنقنى هى المساومه مع التاكسيات على الأجرة نتيجه طبيعيه لأنقراض العداد) سالت السواق من الاول ... كام ... قاللى سبعه جنيه ... ركبت على طول من غير فصال

أصل الطبيعى لما تيجى تركب تاكسى من عند محطه القطار لازم التاكسى يبتدى معاك برقم مقفول كده ... زى عشره جنيه ... خمستاشر جنيه ... فتبتدى تساوم و توصلها لغايه سبعه أو تمانيه ,, بس الراجل ده جاب من الاخر و قال السعر اللى تحس أنه محسوب بالتنتوفه ... يعنى مثلا لو كان قال حداشر جنيه و نص ... مكنتش اتكلمت برضه

ركبت التاكسى انا و فوبو ... و اتكلمنا فى السكه عن الجنيه اللى أسترديته و عن الحق فى حريه التبرع ... و وصلنا الراجل و أخد أجرته و فوقيها نفس الجنيه التبرع اللى كان ممكن يروح بالعافيه لحته تانيه حمرا ... و روحت و انا فى مزبرنشق سعيد

لو عندك قدرات شريره ... تامريه عملاقه .... بتمارس أحلام اليقظه .... متصور إن اليهود/ الاقباط/ إيران / الخليج / امريكا / الغجر / النازيين الجدد / سواقين المشاريع .... هم السبب فى اللى بيحصل فى العالم من كوارث و دايماً عندك التبرير الممنطقى للى بيحصل

إذن ... أنت مدعو لكشف الغيوم حول مؤامرة حريق مجلس الشعب الاخيره

فى سابقه فريده من نوعها اعلنت مدونه لنتعد الطبيعى لجائزه قدرها كارت شحن خمسين جنيه حته واحده الى صاحب لأحسن مؤامرة تفسر ما الذى حدث فى الحريق الاخير

للتفاصيل برجاء قراءه إعلان المسابقه ... أخر ميعاد للتقديم هو 10 رمضان ... ياترى هو ده له دعوه بنصر أكتوبر و لا شكل اللى كاتب البلوج ده مسيحى و بيستهزء بالأديان ... أو يهودى بيقول أنهم إنتصروا الكلاب فى الحرب

المهم إن المسابقه موجوده و اللى عايز يقدم يبعت على التعليقات فى المدونه

"مرسى الزناتى إنهزم يا رجاله" هى العباره اللى جت على دماغى لتلخص حال الادب المصرى من وجهه نظرى.

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توطئه

البطل فى الادب الامريكى هو السوبرهيرو ... شخص لوحده قادر على التغيير و تحدى قوى الطبيعه حتى الخالق... فى الأدب اللاتينى البطل بيتغلب على مصاعب الحياه باللجوء الى الواقعيه السحريه اللى ممكن تعطى للحياه طعم ما.... البطل فى الادب الاوروبى فيلسوف يميل لتحليل الاشياء و التفكير العميق ... أما البطل العربى- المصرى للأسف بطل مهزوم ... الحياه طحناه و لا يستطيع مقاومه التيار و حتى لو حاول... عاده ما تنتهى القطعه الادبيه بمأساه مفجعه تذكرة و تذكر القراء أنه لا خاب من مشى داخل الحائط.

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تساؤل

ياترى ... هل الادب إنعكاس لظروف المجتمع إنعكاس أعمى و لا الأدب محرك للتغيير فى المجتمع !!!؟

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رأى

لو لاحظت معايا كده الادب المصرى هتلاقى إن كان عندنا أبطال فاتحين فى عز الانهزام العسكرى و الاحتلال الانجليزى زى حمزه عند يوسف إدريس و غيرة كثيرين و ...لكن و من 52 جالنا بطل يعوض كل الخيالات اللى كانت عندنا قبل الثورة (جمال عبد الناصر) كان عنده مشروع سواء إتفقت مع أساليبه و سياساته أو إختلفت ... بس كان عنده مشروع و كاريزما ... بس المشروع مكملش و البطل إنهزم ... و إنهزم البطل فى الروايه المصريه من ساعتها ... من أبطال خيرى شلبى لبهاء طاهر و نجيب محفوظ و صنع الله إبراهيم وصولاً لأبطال علاء الاسوانى و مكاوى سعيد.

العامل المشترك فى كل الابطال إنهم دول بيعانوا و بينسحقوا تحت عجلات المجتمع اللى مش مستعد يتجاوب معاهم ... و مع إستمرار اللون ده من الأدب المهزوم فى مصر ... مبقيناش بنحترم أى لون تانى من الادب و نعتبرة تهريج أو نكته هزليه نقراه بس فى إطار التعرف على الثقافات الأخرى ...مثلاً خد عندك نبيل فاروق اللى تؤكد الأرقام إنه من أكثر الكتّاب إنتشاراً فى أوساط الشباب و المراهقين فى فترة عدت و له إعتراف شعبى من الشباب بجوده اللى بيكتبه رغم إن ابطاله من النوع المنتصر ( أدهم و نور و فارس ) و لكن لم يعترف به الأدب المصرى (على مستوى النقاد) إلا مؤخراً جداً و بعد ما أبتدى يكتب فى الدستور و إنتشارة يقل ... من الاخر الادب المصرى مقدرش يحتفى بانواع أخرى من الادب المحرض على البطوله و الاقدام .

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مثال

رواية الخيميائى لباولو كويللو لاقت إعجاب عالمى فى كل حته فى أوروبا علشان الفلسفه اللى فيها و فى أمريكا علشان فيها بطل منتصر و فى أمريكا اللاتينيه علشان الواقعية السحريه اللى فيها و لكن عندنا الناس كرهتها ... كتير قالوا عنها إنها سطحيه و عامله زى كتب إبراهيم الفقى و ديل كارينجى ... الناس محبتهاش فى مصر علشان ملقيتش نفسها فيها... ملقيتش حد بيشيل زلط !!!

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تساؤل تانى

التساؤل اللى عندى علشان مطولش عليكم ... ياترى البطل المصرى إنهزم الاول و لا أبطالنا فى البلد اللى إنهزموا الاول و لا المجتمع كلُه هو اللى إنهزم؟

و ياترى لو إن كتابنا المصريين... رجعوا الامل و نصروا البطل المجتمع هينتصر و هيظهر عندنا أبطال و الا اساسا محدش هيحترم اللى مكتوب و الا كل اللى انا بقوله ده مجرد هجص ملوش دعوه !!!!!؟

I headed off in the morning to the Australian Science and Math School, hosted at Flinders University. The school is only a few years old, and is built with an open concept -- no classrooms, but instead a number of large spaces with desks and chairs that reconfigured in many different ways to foster teamwork and collaboration. We had a large group - about 50 teachers and school leaders, and had a really interesting day -- when I showed the "Are you listening?" video, a whole bunch of students gathered upstairs in the area overlooking where I was speaking to watch - I think they were really curious that so many teachers were learning about their way of using technology!

After a fantastic dinner by the water with a group of curriculum developers, I headed to sleep -- because I had to catch a 6:40am flight to Canberra!

I made it to the nation's capital early in the morning, and it was freezing! 0 degrees but it warmed up as the sun rose... I had a few hours to fit the gym and have lunch before heading to Canberra University -- the group in Canberra decided to have an evening workshop (4-9pm) with dinner. Although everyone had a full day of work before showing up, we still had a lot of active participation, and after wrapping up at 9 and getting back to the hotel around 10, it was time for sleep for another 6:45am flight back to Sydney for the last workshop of the trip!

Arriving in Sydney in the morning, with my 32kg on-the-dot bag faithfully appearing on the carousel, I headed off to Parramatta right on time, and arrived 3 minutes before the workshop was to begin! We had the biggest crowd of any session -- around 60 people, and so a lot of the interactive sections took a lot longer than usual, but they had great ideas and a large group of schools approached me after and wants to deeply engage their entire district with TIGed, which is exciting! After wrapping up and chatting with a bunch of the attendees, I was off to one of my favourite hotels in the world -- the Westin Sydney, to relax, enjoy their great gym, and have dinner with Jenny, who had the whole series of workshops organized, to debrief on the experience (yum, Tasmanian lamb!). After that, I met up with Jarra and Nick, and headed to Micky's for dessert (Banana Pancakes and Ice Cream!) to catch up and for me to celebrate the completion of 10 sessions in 11 days in 5 cities!

I'm writing this now on the flight to Vancouver -- I managed to get right to sleep after lunch on the 10am flight, which will hopefully mean I can work through the North American day and head to sleep at a proper time tonight. Saturday, we head to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress to meet TIG members from all over the world. I've also agreed to head to Brisbane on the 19th to speak at the Queenland Government's e-learning summit, and after that, I'll be ready to just settle down at home and enjoy the rest of the summer in Toronto :)

Now that I've been away a full week, I forced myself to carve out some time to reflect on the intensity of the time so far before kicking off the second stretch.

As always, our summers at TakingITGlobal are quite busy -- generally for the education "industry", most conferences are held during the summer when teachers have school holidays. This summer, as a follow-up to my keynote at last October's ACEL (Australian Counsel of Educational Leaders) conference (which was apparently quite good even though I was quite sick at the time), I was invited to be a "Traveling Scholar" for ACEL, presenting 5 full-day workshops on TakingITGlobal to school leaders and teachers across Australia. In addition, I started off the trip by keynoting a leadership conference at Melbourne Grammar School, and today keynoted the International Middle Years conference in Adelaide... so I've made quite good use of two weeks!

Sunday - Wednesday: Melbourne

After the trek from Toronto to Vancouver to Sydney to Melbourne, I knew the first thing I needed to do to keep my sanity was to spend a good amount of time at the fitness center at the Westin. What a great idea - it helped me refresh, have a fantastic swim in the beautiful infinity pool, and after a brief stroll that was quickly canceled when the rain started, I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.

On Monday, I woke up nice and early and arrived at the charming greened campus of Melbourne Grammar, one of Melbourne's oldest and most respected private schools. To their enormous credit, they had invited students from a broad cross-section of Melbourne to attend the conference, in addition to a grade of their students. I was brilliantly introduced by one of their capable students, and my keynote was well-received - with more questions from students than we had time for. Following the keynote, a panel including a futurist, scientist, and Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson, who cited my presentation several times as they discussed issues of leadership in the 21st century and challenged students to act on the issues they felt challenged by. In the afternoon, I ran several hours of hands-on workshops guiding a small group of students through the TIG site and beginning the Guide to Action as a tool for action planning.

Tuesday morning, I visited Kilsyth, a suburb of Melbourne, and ran a 3 hour workshop with a group of teachers across that region looking at TIG and especially with an interest in Health education... it was a good challenge because we didn't have Internet except for a very slow 2G connection, so I was able to get well prepared and experiment with some activities for the following days' sessions!

That evening, I traveled to Mooney Valley Racecourse (home of Australia's best race - the Cox plate, worth $3 million!) and presented our work at TIG to about 150 principals, who also had some great questions, and I enjoyed meeting a teacher who grew up in Mississauga and had spent his recent years enjoying and exploring Australia's wilderness.

On Wednesday, I spent from 9 AM to 3:30 PM with an enthusiastic group of teachers and principals learning about TIG, exploring global issues, and understanding how to fit our programs and ideas at TIG into the curriculum and everyday use in their classrooms. I also shared our Best Practices on Global Education resource with them... and then I was off to the airport, heading to my next destination: Tasmania!

Thursday - Saturday: Hobart, Tasmania

On Thursday, I woke up and did it all over again, in a beautiful setting amongst Lemon trees at Lateare Gardens in Hobart with a fire burning to keep us all warm and cozy from the cold outside! I think the goals of what we do at TakingITGlobal really connected closely with some people - one teacher was literally in tears sharing how wonderful she thought what we did was... it's really a special opportunity (as exhausting as it is) to be able to share our work with people that are also dedicating their lives to helping young people develop. I think sometimes we all forget the power and opportunity we have to impact the lives of others - and I feel like a few people really felt reconnected to that opportunity, which is really an amazing opportunity to be able to stimulate.

After a short 2 hour break to refresh and do some e-mail, I headed off to the Hobart Yacht club, where I addressed about 50 high school principals, who weren't able to attend the day's workshop because they were having a leadership retreat. I had to pack 90 minutes into a 30 minute before dinner speech, so I think it was overwhelming, but many of them were quite excited by what we do... and I had delicious local Salmon which was a bonus!

The next day was my main day off. I decided not to head off to my next destination right away, but to stick around in Hobart and see some of the beautiful wildlife Tasmania has to offer. So I signed up for a Tasman Island Eco Cruise - having no idea how much of an adventure it would be! After a scenic bus ride to Port Arthur, one of the main convict colonies from the 1800s, we boarded a powerful boat (675 HP) that they describe as a 4x4 of the sea. Initially the ride was quite smooth - and we discovered some caves and amazing rock formations on the coast. The "swells" were only about 1 meter, and so it was just like jumping waves on a boat at home.

However, once we got out to the Tasman Sea, things got a lot more interesting. The waves and the winds were coming strongly from an unusual direction, and 2-3 meter waves and swells gave us quite a ride! I had chosen to sit in the 4th row (moved from the 2nd) and for close to an hour, we jumped waves and it felt like we were on a roller coaster as we plunged down after riding a wave.... but I stuck with my seat - a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

We arrived at two areas with Australian and New Zealand seals, and at a cove where dolphins chased our boat around until we had to leave - amazing to lean over and watch them at the water and bow of the boat jumping up playfully! A number of albatross with their huge wingspans also provided us with an amazing show - watching them fish and gracefully glide across the sky with nothing around us but huge rock and menacing water... or what looked menacing in my book. In 1998, however, the water was so rough that in the annual Sydney-Hobart race, five boats sank and six sailors were killed.

On Saturday morning, before heading to the airport, I spent a few hours enjoying the Salamanca Market, with hundreds of stalls offering delicious local treats and art and coffee and everything needed to pass a few hours and take in the culture of a place!

Sunday - Monday: Adelaide, South Australia

Now I'm here in Adelaide, where this morning I keynoted the International Middle Years of Schooling conference, and was again introduced by a fantastic student duo! I gave out dozens of bookmarks afterwards, with many many people promising to check out the site and connect their students into TIG. I was also followed by an excellent presentation by Professor Erica, who gave a talk on creativity that linked really perfectly and built on top of many of the themes I covered.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Australian Science and Mathematics School to do another day-long workshop, and then heading to Canberra the next morning... I'll be sure to check in soon with more! And I'll be editing this entry in about 2 hours with photos once they upload.

G'day for now, Mike