8 Types of BBM Attention Whores
I bet BBM users will relate to this post.
below are the types of attention whores you come across in your BBM contact list:
1- the death tracker: This type will do anything to let you pay your respect and condolences even if the deceased is not even remotely close to them, they’ll use a black image, broadcast prayers every now and then..suddenly when a day is passed everything goes back to normal as if nothing ever happened.
2- the Virus magnet: they are always complaining about a certain illness, their ultimate goal is getting an IV because only then they’ll be able to take a picture of their arm with a needle stuck in it and use it as a display picture. If you have their friends on your BBM too you’ll probably notice they have the same picture with a “GET WELL SOON BABES” message. I’ll come back to that type soon..
3- the fake sentimentalist: these are the friends of the sick person I just mentioned, they’ll bombard you with their friendship as if you have nothing else but to track their adventures, they can’t wait for their friends/family members to travel just so they can use the picture and a big “MISS YOU BABES XOXOXOX” even though she usually meet up with the person abroad once a year. They have no shame in broadcasting how much she loves them, this type prefers nicknames over using proper names such as :meme, lala, bobo, kaka..etc.
4- the intellectual: This person would send you broadcasts every single morning with decorative fonts and a different quote everyday about how beautiful the sun is and advices on being productive bla bla bla, this type of people usually are high tempered and lack basic sense of humor.
5- the human foursquare: “foursquare is an app used to check in places according to your location” those will take pictures of the food they’re eating of the car they’re driving and write where they’re at every single time, they refuse to simply link foursquare to their BBM and make their life easier because thriving for attention is worth the trouble.
6- the monk: this type believes prayers don’t exist outside the BBM stratosphere, 5 times a day with an extra topping on friday of course they’ll happily volunteer to remind you it’s prayer time and what you should and should not do.
7- the calendar: someone is getting married? send a broadcast. it’s 3 different people’s birthday today? NO PROBLEM! send 3 individual broadcasts with the same message but a different name for each, and of course they will click on ALL contacts not just common friends and family because everyone needs to know what’s the occasion today!
8- the future model: this type will probably change their display picture almost every hour, usually NOT taken with the built in camera and gone through the trouble of transferring the images to their blackberries despite the large image size just so they can share the fascinating god given beauty with us..usually a small message in the bottom of the picture like “please don’t save” or “say mashalla”
I could not think of more at the moment but 8 are enough for me to think of throwing my blackberry away.
Twitter in The Afterlife
It’s a “thing” now to spread the account of a recently deceased person and asking people to read, retweet and pray for that person. it’s a noble idea yes but it got me thinking..what if I died? Do I want people to remember me by what I previously wrote?
Honestly speaking….HELL NO!
I’m random and usually vulgar and rude, I definitely don’t want to be remembered that way..
So what’s the solution?
Should I trust someone with all my passwords to deactivate everything just to be on the safe side….any idea who that person should be?
Hamza
In case you were dead for the past 4 days, chances are that you’ve heard of Hamza kashagri the saudi poet who’s been accused of blasphemy after writing a series of tweets addressing Prophet Mohammed which he later deleted after people started the hashtag #HamzaKashgari and started attacking him, some even threatened to kill him and his family over what he wrote. On the next day Hamza wrote several apologies and stated clearly the he wasn’t an atheist but a practiced muslim and it was never his intention to insult his religion.
On Feb 8th Hamza deactivated his account and few hours later the Saudi Government issued an arrest warrant but news were already circulating that he left the country to an unknown destination and his brother tweeted that his family has no idea of his whereabouts.
on Feb 9th the Malaysian police reported that the had Hamza in custody in they were referring him to Saudi authority, at the same day the grand Saudi mufti declared Hamza to be an “infidel”, a crime which according to some should be punished by death.
Here are the tweets that started it all:
Basically Hamza is addressing the Prophet on the anniversary of his birthday telling him how he respects him yet despite the holiness granted to him by his followers, how he would shake his hand and treat him as his equal.
The part where I told the story of Hamza ended and now it’s my turn to write what I thought about all of this.
I’ve never heard of Hamza until this thing happened but his issue moved me and ever since I felt like I’m carrying a heavy weight that’s holding me and keeping me down. It sadness me to see humans thrive for blood in the name of revenge, how they allowed themselves to use the worst insults there is to slander him and his family.
Ironically people think that they’re avenging the prophet with such actions forgetting the fact that he was one of the most merciful and caring characters God ever created, never had we read a story of a man killed because he insulted Prophet Mohammed. So why now? what makes us better than him?
Did we reach a time where we’ll plan a witch hunt to catch all non-Muslims? and then what?
I’m a practiced Muslim and what I read daily from non believers never made me feel less of a Muslim, I have atheists friends who I like and admire very much and I could never imagine something like this happening to them.
Never…NEVER try to force your beliefs on someone because no good ever came out of it, do we think that by holding a sword to someone’s head that they’ll somehow repent and find salvation? HUH! of course not, least they could do is play pretend while losing what’s left of faith they have secretly.
Is that what we want, to be known as the nation that kills whoever disagrees with them?
I believe in my heart that religion is between us and God only, no man can judge whether we’ll end in heaven of hell and punish us because of our beliefs.
I just hope I don’t wake up to the day where I’m prosecuted over this post.
UPDATE: Hamza wrote a blog post last year about Prophet Mohammed but he deleted it after the incident luckily I found it in a site dedicated to his cause. click here
حوارٌ خارج الزمن ..!
مهما ابتعدت عنك أعود إليك .. و تقف في وجهي في يوم مولدك، و تمدّ يميناً كريمة .. مصافحة الندِّ للند !
و ترضى بألا أقبل يديك، و ألا أنحني لك، و أن أمدّ يداً كريمةَ أيضاً، فتبتسم و ابتسم ..
و أقول لك أني ابتعدت .. فتقول لي أنك لا تزال تحبني .. و أكثر منهم جميعاً !
ستقول لي أنني أحسنت فهمك .. و سأقول لك أنني حرصت على ذلك .. لأجلي قبل أن يكون من أجلك ..!
سيصرخ أحدهم من خلفي: إنه ليس من أتباعك .. و ستبسم بهدوء، و تقول بهدوء: مُنذ متى كنت أبحث عن الأتباع ؟
و سأقول مسرعاً: لم أكن تابعاً لأحد أصلاً .. و ستربت على كتفي و أنت تقول: أفهم ذلك .. أفهم ذلك !
سيستغربون من وقوفنا معاً، و من حديثنا الطويل معاً، و سيلمزنوني على الخصوص .. أولئك الحسَّاد !
و لكنك ستعرف ذلك في وجوههم – كأن الله يلهمك فعلاً – و ستقف فيهم خطيباً: ” يا معشر من آمن بلسانه و لم يدخل الإيمان قلبه بعد .. إن كل من عمل الصالحات أخٌ لنا، و إن كل من أحب الناس و أحب الخير للناس أحببناه .. “
و ستتمعر وجوهٌ و تسود وجوه، و ستهمس في أذني: لهذا أحبك أكثر من سواك !
و سأحاول أن أقف خطيباً في أتباعك، لكنك ستمنعني من ذلك شفقة علي: إن هذا لن يجدي يا حمزة ! لن يجدي ! إنهم لن يقبلوك هكذا .. لن ترضى عنك اليهود و لا النصارى حتى تتبع ملتهم !
- و لا المسلمين ؟
-و لا المسلمين ..
سأصافحك حين تغرب شمس يوم مولدك .. و ستشد على يدي بقوة، و أنت تقول: كُن في قومك كما كنت في قومي ..
لن أعدك، لكنني سأعدك أن تظل عندي رمزاً و قدوةَ أولى دائماً .. دائماً .. ستغرب الشمس .. ستلوح لي عند الأفق .. و سترحل ..!
Here are parts of it translated to English (he is having a one on one conversation with the Prophet):
“No matter how distant I was from you I’ll always come back..you’ll stand in front of me on your birthday, handing me a gentle handshake.
you won’t object on me not kissing your hands and not bowing for you, you’ll accept my handshake..I smile and you’ll smile back.
I tell you no matter how distant I was? and you’ll tell me that you still loved me, more than all of them.
you’ll tell me that I understood you well, and I’l tell you that I made sure of it..for my sake before yours.
someone will shout behind my back: BUT HE’S NOT YOUR FOLLOWER. and you’ll calmly smile and tell him: since when was I looking for one?
I’ll rapidly reply: I never followed anyone. then you’ll pat my back saying: I understand..I understand.
they’ll be surprised that we’re standing together for so long and our long talk, they envy me.
I promise you that you’ll stay my symbol, my idol always..the sun will set and you’ll wave at me at the horizon…and leave.”
such powerful words, touching and sincere ..if you didn’t tear up reading then there’s nothing more for me to say to convince you.
Finally this is a petition addressed to amnesty to help Hamza, please find in your heart to sign.
Two Zero One Two
Happy New Year everyone..
366 days of new expectations and results how about that?
I’ll try to overcome my cynicism this time and view the bright side of the prospective of a new year, I’ve never made a list of resolutions and I don’t think I’ll ever will but I’d like to take the chance to look back to I’ve done and accomplished in 2011.
Aside from all the global events that we all know of, this year marked my graduation from engineering school and the time I started my first real job which I consider two important events.
I’ve met new friends and I hope they’re reading this post, I thank you all for being amazing it feels like we’ve known each other for years not months.
I’ve learned to accept differences, I view people in a different matter than what I used to a year ago and let me tell you..the most liberating feeling you can ever get is having a prejudice and judgment free spirit, you can choose to be whatever you want and I’d still look pass all that and be your friend (except if you’re bitchy, rude and look down to others).
I became more politically aware, and let’s be real here..who didn’t?
And last but not least..I convinced my mother to get a house cat.
Movie Review: The Help
I know this movie have been release for a while but I didn’t have the chance to watch it earlier so I did today and I LOVED IT! well I’m familiar with the story because I’ve read the book but it’s one of the few movies which was almost as good as the book.
it takes place in a southern county in the 60s where a white lady decides to write a book interviewing several colored maids encouraging them to tell their stories.
what I liked about the story is that it tackled racism and the civil rights movement without glorifying the characters, it was personal, a story of the young lady and the maids only. We’ve seen many movies about Dr. Martin Luther King JR and rosa parks but this was pure fiction so events could be bended too.
The Help was sad but heartwarming in the end, it filled you with hope and giddiness.
click here to learn more about the movie
I personally recommend that you read the book before watching the movie because it had more details and explained the characters thoroughly which helps you enjoy the movie even more and IT IS a great book.
Ever Tried Klue-ing?
One of my friend’s birthday was last week and we wanted to treat her to something different this year so we decided to book a scavenger hunt game with k-lue.
you basically custom order the hunt to your preference starting with the location to difficulty level, also you can choose to play with strangers if your number can’t fulfill the minimum requirements and you’re still interested in playing, you can also choose to place an item you got as a prize for the winning team aside from the medal you’re given from Klue.
It’s true that this game has been going on since 2009 in kuwait but we waited this long to try it, this video can explain the idea behind it in a nutshell
So everything was set on Saturday and we were ready to start the game, 5 mission, 5 clues to lead us to the final place where we can claim our winning medals. I will not get into details of each clue in case you decided to try so it must stay a surprise 
The game took us approximately 3 hours and it was a lot of fun, physical and mental challenges..daring too. AND not to mention that my team won!
sadly I was only able to take picture when we finished because we were constantly moving and thinking so didn’t think of it at that time.
All in all, I highly recommend klue-ing if you’re looking for a fun and innovative activity, plus for every two games you get a %50 discount on the third game and the fourth game is for free, that’s a good deal I believe.
follow kluekuwait on twitter for more information and occasional riddles.
Here’s to My Grandmother
just today while I was driving to work I turned to the car on my left and noticed that the old lady sitting on the book looks remarkably like my grandmother in Bahrain. I continued my drive thinking about her and how much I miss her even though I visited less than two weeks ago.
Why is my Grandmother an amazing woman? Why is she my role model?
she got married when she was 16 after my grandfather saw her chasing after one of her baby cousins and immediately fell in love with her, he made sure that she learns english and how to drive because he believed in empowering women even though it was an alien concept at that time.
He passed away leaving her widowed at the age of 32 with 5 daughters oldest of which was 17 and a house half built. She finished supervising the house, sold it and built a bigger one, raised my aunts alone and all of them finished college “three abroad”. Add to that, she was a member in Bahrain’s first women’s societies which opened bahrain’s leading nursery “alnahdha”.
19 grandchildren later.. there we are gathering around her whenever it’s possible and can’t help but admire her, she still insists on driving herself to wherever she needs and helps us instead of accepting our help being selfless as she’s been.
If I choose a person to grow up and be like I’d choose her in a heartbeat.
here’s to you Mama Batool.
