Fools Into Tyrants!

You’re probably reading this on the 28^th January after I have posted it around midday. What you don’t know is that I wrote this around midnight on the day before while craving for a dreamy sleep, but pushed myself into it to avoid the ideas disappearing into nothingness during my sleep. I was worried about posting it then fearing for my safety but after a brain conflict, I decided that my country, Egypt’s safety comes first. I seem to have some, somehow, found the patriot inside me.

For the past week, an extremely heated set of protests have taken over the nation, one city at a time, from the metropolitan capital, Cairo, to smaller cities like Alexandria, Port Saeed and Suez City, finally reaching boiling point today after President Morsi decided to finally bless us with one of his bizarre, irrational speeches which make no sense.

This shot was taken on the 26th January 2013

Since June, the Muslim brotherhood has taken over nearly every governmental position from the executive to the legislative to the judicial ones in Egypt, including the presidential seat. A minority have noticed how the nation was going downhill fast, yet a majority, including myself, who were too reluctant to give a damn altogether, were indifferent. Today, this issue has hit us right across the noses and it is no longer a case of who KNOWS… It’s a case of who shall take action. It is my greatest regret to know now that all along, we have been fooled and deluded into lies. The government’s claims of ‘a new regime’ turned out to be nothing more than a demonstration of the Muslim Brotherhood’s motto, the sickening, evil, Machiavellian classic, “The End justifies the means”.

Personally, the wake up call for me was noticing the common trend that the old regime and the new regime (if there’s a distinction, for that matter) used to respond to demonstrations. The police forces sabotaging demonstrations by throwing tear gas at the protestors, the death of some, speeches by the president that are so irrational to the point that you have to cry upon the realization that you are being ruled by a mere idiot, and above it all, the instilling of Curfew times in three cities which the protestors chose to ignore. Two years ago, I would’ve assumed we were going into the realms of anarchy. Now, it’s just classic Egyptian behaviour.

I wonder why is President Morsi being so similar to Mubarak? He has literally lifted lines out of Mubarak’s old speeches. Seems like they have both taken their guidelines out of The Book Of Dictatorship and Tyranny, if there is such a book. Does President Morsi want a fate similar to Mubarak’s? Does he miss his time in prison?

To conclude this, I believe that every Egyptian who still demands the primal instincts of humanity we earlier wanted in the 25^th January revolution that is Bread, Liberty, Social Equality, must head down to the streets and demonstrate. It is time that the intense fire of the revolution gets reignited. A personal message to President Morsi: Are you a fool repeating the failure story of a regime resisting the masses? Look where the last person with such a strategy has gone!

My article was basically my opinion, with little fact, If you're looking for detailed reporting, click here.

Five Songs that will make

you want to kill yourself

In fifth place, we have Rebecca Black’s Friday which somehow pushed its way into the Billboard top 50s!

In fourth place, we have the song which made me consider cutting back in eighth grade right after listening to it, The Jonas Brother's Baby Bottle Bop.

In third place, we have Hot Problems sung by Double Take who somehow convinced me that you tube should only allow adults of a certain age to upload videos on it.

I wonder how the artist/hoe behind this number confronted her parents after this was released.

Eww, that's all I can say, seriously, that's a mutation of music shaped into a video!

 Project Runway - S11E01:
There Is No I in Team

New Look to the Old Show! On Season 11 Premiere, Project Runway’s striking ingénue hostess, Heidi Klum, who doesn’t look a day older than when she started off in season 1, only taking her looks to new levels, and larger-than-life mentor, Tim Gunn introduced us to a very new pack of fabulous designers struggling on their way to fashion week, only that this time they have their work cut out for them as they have to struggle in TEAMS!

The personalities that intrigued me the most, based on their looks and the pieces that we got to see from their portfolio even before the challenge begun were Richard Halmarq from Sacramento whose dotted pants, I demand. His portfolio pieces really did seem to push the envelope further than ever. I loved Kate’s dress! If she’s the designer behind her own beautiful outfit, I am totally rooting for her. The personality that I totally fell in love with and wanted to just cheer for based on portfolio is Benjamin Mach.        Cindy seemed interesting too. Emily’s “I’m gonna win this thing so you might as well just pack your bags and go home” quote seemed to present her as the cutthroat ambitious kind who is extremely talented yet repulsively annoying. Clearly, after the first twenty minutes we could tell that she lacked time management skills, or ANY skills for that matter!

As the team twist bombshell was dropped on the designers, they seemed shocked yet optimistic. They were placed in two teams, each of eight, and the challenge involved designing New York-inspired, cohesive pieces that express the designer while cooperating with teammates. Team Keepin’ it real were given view from afar through a boat as the inspiration while, Dream Team were given the opportunity to be inspired from the top of the Atlas Skyscrapers. I believe that the team challenges twist has its pros and cons. On one side, the final work produced is more meticulous and professional but, on the other hand, some team members are just getting by using lots of help from others like in the case of Emily and Cindy.

To me, I felt like the weakest part of the episode was Tim’s critique as he uttered no more than a couple of sentences leaving all the critiquing for fellow designers. All along, I wanted to say, “YOU’RE THE PROFESSIONAL, TIM, NOT THEM”! The models for this season seem hotter than EVER!

Even before the start of the show, my excitement was spiked as I saw CFDA award winning designer Zac Posen and my favorite designer from all seasons, Christian Siriano on the judging Panel!

To me, Team Keepin’ It Real showed consistency and cooperation. Nearly everything seemed cohesive and collaborated on by several hands. Daniel, Joseph and Stanley’s pieces were beautiful. They really did get what the challenge was all about. Unfortunately, though, there weren’t that many WOW factors and Patricia’s piece seemed a bit crafty yet intricate, which seemed to interest the judges!

On the other hand, the Dream team failed at producing a COLLECTION. Each person made their own piece and none of them seemed to grasp the challenge’s idea. Many including, Emily, Cindy and Tu, to name a few, practically contributed to the intensification of my headache, originally caused by my hangover, with their hideous garments. Regardless of that, some individual designers like Michelle and Benjamin produced pieces that looked so editorial and intricate.*

The Judging Panel

By the end of the judges’ chat, I was confident that Zac Posen is a great replacement for Kors and he really does know what he is doing. Benjamin, by far is my favorite designer! I am glad with winning and outing choices because, to be very honest, they are very just and right. There was no doubt about the outing, Emily definitely deserved this one, and while I wish Joseph won, Daniel also deserved it. The sneak peeks from the upcoming episodes had me craving for Thursday to come so I can watch episode 2 already! See ya next week, fashionistas!

*My reviews aren’t based on the judges’. In fact, I tend to disagree with the judges a LOT.

I always wanted to report live news from the world’s hottest grounds, yet, I obviously can’t just go around earth to report stuff for my blog. I have been looking forward to the day I will have an internationally renowned event to cover which is in my vicinity just for the sake of the experience. Tomorrow was that day for me, which is why my intention was to cut my vacation to Alexandria short to come back to Cairo for the second anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution coverage. I could not, for a reason which I will address in a later post. For tomorrow, I am taking a break and the day after, I will commence the earlier, promised weekly post that will cover season eleven of Project Runway! Here are the season’s cast for an introduction!

And the Season 11 designers are:

Amanda Valentine, 31 - Hometown: Nashville, TN; Resides in Lincoln, NE

Benjamin Mach, 35 - Hometown: Sydney, Australia; Resides in London, England

Cindy Marlatt, 59 - Hometown: Kent, WA; Resides in Kent, WA

Daniel Esquivel, 48 - Hometown: Dallas, TX; Resides in Austin, TX

Emily Pollard, 24 - Hometown: Richfield, OH; Resides in Falls Church, VA

James Martinez, 29 - Hometown: Dallas, TX; Resides in Fort Worth, TX

Joseph Aaron Segal, 30 - Hometown: Framingham, MA; Resides in Providence, RI

Kate Pankoke, 23 - Hometown: Eau Claire, WI & Parkland, FL; Resides in Chicago, IL

Layana Aguilar, 28 - Hometown: Valadares, Brazil; Resides in New York, NY

Matthew Arthur, 30 - Hometown: Hammond, LA; Resides in New Orleans, LA

Michelle Lesniak Franklin, 34 - Hometown: Portland, OR; Resides in Portland, OR

Patricia Michaels, 46 - Hometown: Taos, NM; Resides in Taos, NM

Richard Hallmarq, 39 - Hometown: Saramento, CA; Resides in Sacramento, CA

Samantha Black, 28 - Hometown: Bronx, NY; Resides in Fairfield, CT

Stanley Hudson, 45 - Hometown: Lynwood, CA; Resides in West Hollywood, CA

Tu Suthiwat Nakchat, 26 - Hometown: Chacheangsao, Thailand; Resides in Springfield, VA 

Struck By Lightning:

A Good Start

I was surprised when, Struck by Lightning, the movie I have been eagerly awaiting for nearly a year now, received mixed critiques, simply because I had faith that Glee Actor and Singer, Chris Colfer, who released his first book, The Land of Stories, would not write, produce, and act in a movie that I would identify as ‘mediocre’. Well, let’s just say that Colfer proved me right. I was simply struck by lightning upon watching it!

Imagine popping up your popcorn and starting to watch the movie when your jaws drop to the floor as you realize that the movie is basically your life story? That the movie’s protagonist is nothing more than a replica of yourself? This is what I experienced watching this ingenious film.

Set in the small town of Clovis in California, this movie tells the story of Carson Philip, a teenager, who is ahead of the curve, confronted by a small town world where he simply feels out-of-place as he tries to take his journalistic genius to a place where he would fit in, a place where he can invest his talents into a career, in his case, Northwestern University. The climax is reached when Carson blackmails nearly everyone in the whole school into contributing to a literary magazine he starts to better his chances at being admitted.

Carson’s snide comments, intimidating personality along with the conflicting personalities that surround him like his best friend, Melanie portrayed by Rebel Wilson, his drunk mother played by Allison Janney, and his sick grandma portrayed by Polly Bergen make the movie an enjoyable experience that will most likely make you laugh. Everyone’s acting is just superb, especially Sarah Hyland. Chris Colfer proves he is not just playing himself as Kurt Hummel on Glee.

I was intrigued by the fact that most of the professional critics found the movie two dimensional with absolutely nothing but stereotypes. Well, simply put, that’s what high schools ARE like and this movie was just decent and honest enough to portray the truth unchanged. The movie is not the most commercial one, since it will only WOW a tiny niche who will understand and embrace Carson’s complex identity, a kind of identity that only a similar person can get.

Bravo to Chris Colfer and I wish him better luck on his next film! I eagerly await it!

Media in the time of the Brotherhood 

Egypt has always been known to be an extremely democratic country, at least in relativity to its neighbors. Unfortunately, this has been changing!

Over the past year, The Muslim Brotherhood’s members have nearly taken over all executive, legislative and judicial positions in Egypt. Whether you are a supporter of their core beliefs, views and tactics, it remains a fact that this phenomenon has not been a very successful one seeing the protests that seem to be happening everywhere lately in Egypt. To avoiding getting off point, I would like to address the one aspect that seems to have drastically deteriorated most since the commencement of their time in power… Media.

Although corrupt and fraudulent, the old regime had sponsored media in Egypt greatly as freedom of speech was rarely ever prevented. On the other hand, Dr. Hesham Kandil’s government have gradually and slowly taken steps to aim at extending dictatorship further with the sick excuse that desperate times call for desperate measures. A particularly inappropriate stance was the shutting down of Dream TV Channel which is the first private television channel in Egypt and is a leading news provider. Such an act has never been taken during the dark era of the old regime.

While it is agreeable that pornography is a highly un-recommended substance to view, I find the order issued by ex Secretary General of state, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud regarding the blocking of pornography websites nationwide also inappropriate as it does not eliminate the lack of awareness about the dangers of substance involved but only builds up a feeling of deprivation and leads to perversion (Saudi Arabia is a life example).

The story doesn’t end here. It seems like the government has taken the liberty to start implementing bans on the importing of books of a certain criteria into Egypt. An example is the Fifty Shades Trilogy written by EL James. While the book involves an unconventional story that fails to abide with Egyptian Culture and tradition, I find the import ban outrageously wrong as it is never wrong to be aware of the world’s happenings not necessarily meaning that the reader would immediately to choose to adopt this lifestyle.

I would like to point out that even if you agree to the blocking of T.V. Channels, Novels and websites of a certain caliber, they shall eventually abuse such rights to block all material that fails to contribute to their agenda. If that is what you want, go ahead and be ignorant. It’s a matter of choice.

Fifty Shades Of Grey:

Novel or fan fiction?

Contrary to the beliefs and claims of many, The New York Times’ #1 bestselling novel, Fifty Shades Of Grey by E.L. James isn’t really ‘A one of a kind’ or a novel with a genre of its own. In fact, erotic novels have been in the market for years, if not decades. What is new, however, is that a novel from said genre has climbed The New York Times’ bestseller list, so high, so fast!

E.L. James

Set in Seattle, Fifty Shades Of Grey, tells the story of Anastasia Steele, a young woman in her college senior year who is yet a virgin, and her confrontation with striking, alluring, business tycoon, Christian Grey who turns out to have a dark, kinky secret. Personally, I read it and found it amusing, yet undeniably artistically devoid with highly sexual proses that are only used for commercialization. How is that different from prostitution?!

 The novel was originally a fan fiction for Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling classic, Twilight. Is the writing style worthy of its position on the bestseller list? Definitely not! Why is it there then? Commercialization… which brings us back to square one, which is the most prominent and dominating factor when it comes to the publishing world? Business or Art? In a utopian world, over the rainbow, it’s the latter. Unfortunately, however, as the Russian quote says, ‘When money speaks, the truth is silent’ and so this painfully intimidating novel will stay on the racks for a little longer, thanks to teenage girls, while the one place it actually deserves to be is fanfiction.net.