Reflection/photography: Once upon a time

Lost, yes lost, is perhaps the word that would describe my past temperament in life; I wasn’t sure to what extent my abilities in various outlets would lead me. I wanted to do many things simultaneously instead of focusing my energy towards one creative array.

However, what I never realized was that my various hobbies and dreams do point to a specific commonality and that is my deep and undying love for storytelling.

Ever since I can remember, I always loved telling stories, perhaps enjoyed the indulgence of the attentive listeners as I weaved up a short fiction story or spoke of my journeys around the world (perhaps this is the reason I talk far more than I should :p) and I always wanted to keep my stories s alive, hence I began putting them down on paper while at the same time I would take every chance my family gave me to use their camera hoping to keep evidence of my story.

Yet when it comes to photography, I cannot explain to you the sense of serenity I feel when I hold that camera and I click away.

Through the lens, I watch as a story is being unravelled before my eyes, a story that needs to be heard. My dream of being a photojournalist is something I would love to pursue in the future, I believe that there are many interesting stories around the world that needs to be heard, but for now I understand that my dreams may have to wait, yet I do not let that put me down and I continue to enjoy my love of storytelling.

Here is my recent shot with some family friends, these kids (and kids in generally )are more enjoyable to take photos with than adults because they never put up a wall, but rather never shy away from raw emotions. I hope you enjoy this story :)

Review: The SandFish by Maha Gargash

Its been a while since I found myself lost in between the lines of a bounded novel because for the last four months all my eyes have been subjected to were various academic journals (Harvard, Stanford, Emory, you name them I read them!).

and so for my first journey it takes me back home to the United Arab Emirates during the 1950’s where a woman named Noora tries to find herself in the midst of troubling times in the UAE in the novel called the Sand fish by Maha Gargash.

Noora , a hot headed and stubborn young Emarati woman, wasn’t like any other woman who grew up in the hard isolated town in the mountain areas of the United Arab Emirates with very little to look forward to, as content as she was with her life her brother made sure he will help build her a better future.

As she was wedded to a wealthy man, she soon begins to transcend from being the teenager into womanhood learning the lessons of what marriage had to give her, yet Noora has always found herself fighting the urge to show her true colours as she dips her leg into deep waters that could lead to very dangerous consequences.

The story had its moments, at start I felt the writing could have been better sought out (being one of the first novels presented from the UAE) , I understood that it tried to portray the colloquial mindset of the UAE, it still felt it was not meshed well between the English and “arabic” (comparing to how Hosseini manages to mesh the colloquial afghan to both his novels)

And being a cynic, I have a very biased opinion of books where the main woman character is this will strong-minded woman! Its just the same sob story when it comes to reading any other stories and I always seek some novelty when the novelist creates a character (similar to how almost all characters in books love to read, or want to be writers) however Noora did grow on me and I did find her character evolvement quite interesting (from strong willed towards being a quiet woman)

However the book ending is what left me unimpressed, however I understand she wanted to let us paint our own ending for the Characters, I always seek to see what the writers wants us to see.

Yet overall, I highly applaud her for her effort of producing such a piece of work and I hope she can help provide the motivation and inspiration of many more other arab writers (and perhaps she has opened a door for other UAE authors)

For those interested in purchasing the book here is on this link:amazon

Music: 2010 Beats

Everyone knows me as the big rocker in town, but I do enjoy a lot of my sudden swings to trance/house a but stay true to my roots of Alternative Rock always :p

Anyways! here are the songs that I have been listening to since the start of 2010!

Missing you - David Guetta
Buy MP3: Missing You (Featuring Novel) [Explicit]

David Guetta never seems to fail to pump me up and with Missing you ft novel it reaches another level of taking you at another level!

The song is one of the most unique songs on his latest album One love (which is one of the best albums of 2009 I might add). For some reason it reminds me of a blend of some Chocolate Puma (I guess it has to do with Vocals) but I know many would argue this point with me!

anyways heres a link to enjoy the song :D

Speaking A Dead Language By Joy Williams
Buy MP3: Speaking a Dead Language

I always appreciate the Female/ singer/songwriter genre, although the songs arent usually on constant replay in my I-tunes, but there is always one or two songs that really pop out and there is no surprise that this song was featured on Greys Anatomy (where i find most of my music this genre). the beauty of her voice is why I added it to the top six.

Fader By The Temper Traps
Buy MP3:Fader

The New upcoming band from Australia bring such a new flavor to the Alternative rock genre which really was in dire need to revive the genre! Their whole album is filled with songs that were just all well worth listening to, but I think Fader is one of those songs that transcends all genres and have an appeal to other genre lovers which is why I put it up on my top six!!

Daniel By Bat For Lashes
Buy MP3:Daniel

Bat for lashes is another song featured on the Greys Anatomy series which is a beautiful alternative haunting song (I like to think of her as a Rock La roux) , I think I appreciate her more for her creativity in her music, videos and even style (perhaps she reminds me far to much of myself ! XD) but these eccentric beats get you hooked from the very start of the song!

Night of the hunter By 30 seconds to Mars
Buy MP3:Night Of The Hunter

people would think I am a bit biased for putting up 30 seconds to mars up here because of my infatuation for Jared Letto (which is perhaps partially true :p) but! this is one of those songs that managed to really something new, as a huge 30 seconds to mars fan this song is very different to the "typical" 30 seconds to rock yet it still poses its "alternative rock" genre! by far this is another all time best albums of 2009!

Careful by Paramore
Buy MP3:Careful

As a huge Paramore fan, let me first say that I was quite disappointed by their latest album which i felt very much that each song was very repetitive and sounded similar to the next, yet the first song on the album was by far the only song that stood out in my opinion, which is a good track (yet not better than the their older songs) yet i still like listening to it!

Reflection: The Future is bright

I have hidden myself from the world, tucked inside my borrow I call my room, so I can work on producing the last given essay that marks the end of the very first semester at St. Andrews.

For a whole week, I was in the complex world of publishing, as tedious my work was, I must admit, the publishing world is much more interesting than I had expected.

Before coming to st andrews, I was unsure of my choice of publishing, given how this part of the world is lacking the right structure that will provide me some sort of income, yet my disposition comes from my naivety in the subject.

These buildings are just part of the mirage, yet once you enter deep into the desert youll find that oasis!

Throughout my research I found the UAE is trying to mould into a much more culture oriented economy, yet the oasis needs to grow, to some extent my belief was true, but things are changing here in the publishing world which is quite exciting!

So to all enthusiast Authors in the UAE I say Keep writing because the future is bright!

and for now, I shall put down my pens and highlighters and begin to enjoy the very limited time I have for R and R, I cant believe how much I have longed to pick up a book that did not require me to sit and analyze.

Holiday, here I come!

Reflection:We are Fighters

January 4^th marks a date that will always remain a historic moment in the history of the UAE.

Last night, I was caught between the midst’s of a crowd that came to watch one of the most spectacular moments in history, the

opening of the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa.

It was 8PM as the White Mercedes G55 with the familiar licenses plate number one arrives at the scene. Everyone recognizes that car and the crowd begins to get excited! Everyone was watching the screens and awaiting the most beloved man in Dubai.

As we caught the first glimpse of the Vice President getting out of his car, the UAE national, Arabs, Indians, Asians, Europeans and the rest of the multicultural groups present in this crowd began to cheer.

I have always found Sheikh Mohammed to be an inspirational leader and thought that this feeling was perhaps a shared belief amongst us UAE nationals, but looking at the crowd of faces as they watched our vice president make the stage, I could see the proud faces of the residents of Dubai, I forget that this place is home to many other eclectic groups.

As the ribbons were cut, marking the opening of the Burj, Sheikh Mohammed announced, “The highest point should be associated with the biggest name, I present to you Burj Khalifa.” Everyone was shocked, yet we all understood the solidarity of our sheikh. His emotional attachment and his sense of uniting the emirates (something his late father preached) comes before anything. It is the proof that we shall always stick with our brothers through thick and thin.

In my opinion, ever since the late President passed away and the economic boom in Dubai, this intense rivalry and hatred between the people of Abu Dhabi and Dubai grew parallel. I do not understand it largely because at the end of the day we are all one country and I think this was not a proud moment in the history of Dubai but the UAE.

Now lies burj Khalifa, on Sheikh Zayed Road, a monument that will not only be seen at any point in Dubai but can be glimpsed from outer space, this is truly a proud moment for us all.

As I watched us and our ruler celebrate a moment in our history together, it is something that perhaps no CNN , no BBC nor Business week could ever manage to write down in words or explain, you had to be there to understand it and this was the same feelings amongst the face of crowds of the people present. I saw it in my mother’s eye who stood by me on my right and the Englishman who stood on my left, we all felt it, this intense emotional attachment to Dubai.

What no news agency realizes (due to their cynicism) is that Burj Khalifa has a deeper and symbolic meaning to the residents and UAE nationals. It symbolizes that we can always aim high, that despite everything, despite the debt and despite the recession, we carry on because this is who we are, we are fighters and this is the true symbol of Burj Khalifa! not a world record breaking building, but a symbol of who Sheikh Mohammed is and who we are!