So I got myself a net. www.abufares.net is the new domain of my blog. No longer do I have to sneak behind proxies to reply to comments. But more significantly, readers in Syria who wish to honor me by visiting my blog do not need to go out of their way to do so anymore.
Although having my own unique URL is more prestigious I can’t promise any improvement in quality. I will continue to write about Tartous and beautiful women. Every once in a while I will post a recipe that is arguably threatening to national security. I will elaborate in tedious details about the bounties of Syria and praise Arak and our delight of being alive, despite all.
I will fiercely defend my homeland against domestic and foreign foes while insisting that our public toilets stink and are a shame to modern and ancient civilizations. I will lament the fallen trees, the lost traditions and our battered personal liberties. I will continue my private vendetta against social and theological tyranny and hearten the younger generation not to succumb to fear or guilt.
I am neither an intellectual emissary nor a street visionary. I am a common man from Tartous who found a way to break his silence.
53 comments:
Keep it real man...if I was a girl I'd sleep with you.
I enjoy reading you
good luck
Alf Mabrook
I want first to correct you regarding those dishes you present. Every time you present a dish, you actually save our national treasure. It is you not those who hold the guns.
In the blog sphere for the last two years, you stand out as an example for how to have a voice and how to send it out. It is that combination of unique personal and national entwine. At least you have the gut to call the idiot an idiot in his face. I might be exaggerating but it is nice to recall this quote for Robert Kennedy:
“Each time a man stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Congrats abufares.
Long Live Abu Fares! dot net!
@wassim
how come girls don't write similar stuff to me.
they either call me Ammo or show me their respect, bla bla bla...
unfortunately, the only blatant offer i have received so far is from a GUY???!!!
Thank you Anonymous for reading me. The joy is all mine.
@Arima
3a2bal Ma Nifrah Biki (not in the Egyptian meaning since I've learned that it connotes a negative intention. I mean Nifrah With You:-)
@saint
Thank you Saint for your continuous and unbending support. I feel privileged to know that my words are echoing correctly all the way across the ocean.
Come again...
@KJ
Ya3eesh, Ya3eesh, Ya3eesh!
Now I've got domain name envy!!
Always a pleasure to read you, Abu Fares (definitely not Ammo but I do respect you), whatever the topic! You're my first stop whenever I have the urge to read. I actually use your Sisters and Brothers in Arms links to move on to the next blogs (lazy bum that I am, I suck at adding links to my favorites). I'm your blog parasite :))
@lujayn
Not a Ammo but respect again...
My eternal dilemma ;-)
Now where on earth did you get that notion that respect precludes naughty offers? ;)
@lujayn
You made my day with your last comment. However, I feel very much cheated. You mean to tell me that I should've kept my foot on the gas pedal when all these women eventually told me that they respect me. Damn, every time I heard that phrase I used to slam on the brakes!
What do you know...
You cant be subtle with a man; you kind of have to put it like Wassim for men to understand, eh? :))
But now that you know, revel in the respect showered on you!
Abufares, mabruk, there are very few people in Syria that I can talk about thing that I love, like fishing , hunting, food, and life, passing by Abufares every moring is just like visiting a friend every morning and haveing AHWE, with him, this was and still is very usual in Syria, somthing that you can not find in the west, no one have time,
lê
Abufares KEEP GOING
@lê
Lak Ahlan Bi Abu Halab Al Habib
I too enjoy your company and would love to get the chance to meet you one day.
When you hook your next fish, have a cold beer for me.
ALF MABROUK dear friend .. that's fantastic - you bet I'll be there!!
I am thinking of changing a few (significant) things as well ... too many things happened lately.
Glad to see that you'll be gracing the internet with your presence for a while yet!
I don't know as I'm very well placed to comment on many Syrian issues. But as for Syrian public toilets... I'm yet to find any public toilets really worthy of praise anywhere in the world. I've been in some mind-bogglingly filthy ones in London, Athens, Tokyo, Naples, Sydney, etc, etc... Please do keep standing up for liberty, but really, Syrian toilets just aren't that bad in the scheme of things ;-)
Oh, and your reply to Rime made me laugh a lot. I'm actually quite taken by 'Arrivaling' too!
Hi Karin
Looking forward hearing about your changes ;-)
thanks dear friend!
@Sean
public toilets... what a subject! the first to bring them back to attention was KJ in one of his latest posts. but i assume sean that you haven't had the misfortune of using a public toilet, in a gas station in syria, yet.
we'll talk about it then, if you still have anything to say :-)
Beautiful post, alf mabrouk :)
Mabrouk!
you did not answear all my Q at Flickr ;- photos or dont you want anyone to know the name of your lovely beaches :-)
i think i have to change my blog to because i cant post anything from were i live, i have to go to an internet cafe everytime i want to write.
This is a really beautiful post. I admire your tenacity in maintaining your ability to freely express yourself, as well as your willingness to share the culture you live in with others. This type of outreach is the very thing that allows different cultures to touch and understand one another during a political culture (here in America, too) that attempts to foster intolerance and lack of understanding that regardless of where we come from, we are all still human.
My hat is off to you.
If you promise you won't write in detail about public toilets, I promise not to respect you.
Wonderful to have you on cyberspace for good!
@yaman
thank you for your visit. i always look forward reading your excellent posts.
@momto5
I replied to your inquiries on flickr and told you about the beaches and other questions.
Ciao
@Allie
Thank you for your comment. Not only for the great words of encouragement but for letting me discover your deliciously yummy blog.
@R
ah, the mysterious lady turned out to be you (which made your comment all the more exciting and naughtily promising). I would shut my mouth for good if ...
but that's another story :-)
speechless, breathless.
THANKS! i will write down all of it.
sorry that i dont comment your posts at your blog its because i have forgot to write english but i understand what you write :-)
and i cant write arabic only talk.
Well that is odd, I have no idea how I ended up as merely "r"! Too bad the url killed the mystery! :)
Living on the other side of the Atlantic, it is sometimes hard to perceive so much control on freedom of speech is still going on. I'm glad you have found your way around it, and have the "cojones" to keep voicing your sentiments (excuse my french) ; )
I guess I can say I respected you very much way back... Hum...
I respect you, like you and think you are a great man NOW TOO.
Take care, your friend
w.b. yetas
The imbeciles!! They can't control the world of the free word. I can even think freedom,if they don't want me to speak of freedom.
@Jimmy
The biggest reward of the comment section is that it gives one the chance to learn about the blogs of others.
Yours is a delight to read and to visit again and again.
Thank you for the discovery.
@MomTo5
You're always welcome. I perfectly understand your English. It's much better than my Swedish:-)
@R
By killing the mystery, you created the fantasy...
@w.b. yeats
Our mutual respect was and still is very much different. It's that mixture of mature and sedated "friendship" and the once "wild" beyond.
@az3ar's fan
I wrote toward the end: "...and hearten the younger generation not to succumb to fear or guilt."
Fear, per say, is an understandable emotion. There are things out there, despite our best efforts, which can scare us. However, guilt is a despicable, overpowering and uncalled for emotion especially when brought about by some supposedly "supernatural" power.
A young man/woman can run away from their fear, but from their guilt... certainly never.
mabrook mu3alim, YOU ARE THE BEST!
I was kinda thrilled when I saw an Abu Fares entry on the CS website a while ago. (is it yours?) I don't know... I am not buying all this "i am not into politics" talk. No one can be sccuessful with women without being good at politics.
I am not sure I like Wassim's pick-up line, however, if you were a woman I'd certainly love to sleep with you!
@DJ
It seems that as I get older I'm attracting the wrong crowd to sleep with me. Well more precisely the wrong gender.
I'll pass on this one DJ but if you really feel kinky may be I can introduce you to someone... hAhAhAhA (wicked laugh) :-))))
"pass on"? lol! that's like the word they used in the Trix card game (you know it?)... it's called 'da' (or dakk) in aleppo , in Damascus they call it 'na'ef'.
So in short you are either "da'e'" or "mna'ef"!
on a bit more serious note: I'd say you are definitely attracting the right crowd. But it so happens that those who are bold enough to voice their malicious admiration are the wrong ones!
@DJ
Exactly. I passed as in Trix and Poker
If what you're saying in your more serious note is true then I must find a way to reap the dormant potential :-)
LOL Abu Fares
I am not a girl
I am WOMAN hear me roar
I am so happy for every moment of every post of yours.
Viva La AbuFares.
@kaya
I make you LOL
I make you a roaring woman
I make you happy
This should amount to something if we ever meet ;-)
Abu Fares, for the benefit of the web-design illiterate folks like me, I’d like to ask you how did you manage to move your blog to the new domain complete with archives, comments and everything else?
Heck, even your blog address on my google reader has switched to the new one automatically. Now if you can pull off such deft moves in computers, you surely are skillful with women!
@DJ
Let me tell you a little secret Apprentice DJ.
Move like water... that is follow the way of least resistance, with women and with computers (among others).
My lesson today is about computers.
1- Go to your blogger dashboard
2- Click on Settings
3- Click on Publishing
4- In advanced settings indicate that you want your own domain
5- Follow the steps to purchase (through Blogger your new domain name, ...etc.)
6- Pay what they ask you to pay.
7- Blogger will do the everything for you.
Now, I'm going to be a nice guy and help you out further in your pursuit of happiness. Follow the exact steps with women.
1- Look into the woman's dashboard, I mean eyes (don't get nasty yet, you thought dashboard is 25 cm below).
2- Ask her if she can help you out because you're lost (never lose eye contact).
3- Tell her you're looking for a good bookstore.
4- Express your interest in wanting to better understand women (memorize beforehand a few important female authors' names).
5- Follow her lead by nodding and looking lost and mesmerized in the depth of her eyes.
6- PAY whatever it takes to keep her (i.e lunch, dinner, movies, appropriate gifts, ...etc.)
7- She will do the everything for you AND I mean EVERYTHING.
Err, thank you Mentor Abu Fares. Very helpful indeed!
Last time I saw an attractive chick smiling at me, I mustered my courage and walked up to her and said: “why don’t we go to my place and do the things I am going to tell everyone we did anyway??!”
Next thing I knew the remnant of her Gen Tonic was all over my poor linen shirt (already soggy with sweat).
Mabrook on your domain. But I remember George Ajjan saying GoDaddy domains were blocked in Syria - BY America! http://www.ajjan.com/2007/05/reasoning-with-democracy-obstruction.html
@sasa
thank you.
It takes 2 to play a stupid game of ping-pong. We block some, they block the rest. Luckily for me it seems that i've somehow slipped through:-)
Honey
Its gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to get a REAL woman.
But a good meal, cooked by you and some music should get that ball rolling just fine.
But KAYA
DJ wasn't asking about a REAL woman.
You know what I mean...
Astaghfirallah.
He needs to invest in a pump I think.
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