Comments on abufares said...the world according to a tartoussi: Read

wow, what a refreshing read!you must have missed d...

2008-09-21T22:33:00.000+03:00

wow, what a refreshing read!

you must have missed dubai's feature, stupid excuse of a book that every bookshop tries to shove down your throat. i'll let you investigate it if you don't know it already. and don't get me started on metropolitan religion.

Scotland was superb!Great scenery, food, wine, whi...

2008-09-21T14:50:00.000+03:00

Scotland was superb!
Great scenery, food, wine, whiskey, MUSEUMS, and friendly people!

We are tempeted to take a Sabatical over there : )

Glad to be back though,

cariños,
w.b. yeats

@w.b. yeatsWelcome back! I hope you had a great ti...

2008-09-21T13:07:00.000+03:00

@w.b. yeats
Welcome back! I hope you had a great time in Scotland.
You're so right about ingraining the right attitudes in our children. It is, however, a major responsibility. Although I have always tried to spend as much time as possible with mine I always think that I should've done more.

Abufares, eventhough we, on the other side of the ...

2008-09-20T15:33:00.000+03:00

Abufares, eventhough we, on the other side of the Atlantic, have everything at our fingers disposition the joy of reading for ones pleasure is becoming obsolete in the younger generations.

My two daughters are considered wierd because of their passion for books. How did I accomplished this feat?

Well first, of course, is by example, since they always see me reading and enjoying it thouroughly.

Second, I started buying books for them since they were babies. We always read to them bedtime stories when they were not able to read themselves and later on when they were able: "At 8:00 PM was always bedtime, even when they were in middle school. Bed time meaning, is time to turm the TV off, go to your room and if you are not sleepy you can read"

Of course they read simple books, and went through the Harry Potter series, the Isabel Allende trilogy for teenagers, silly romance novels (well they are girls after all) Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, and such adventures, but they have also acquired a taste for Historical novels, read Shakespear and other classics and always believe that reading a good book is better than movies and TV.

So, in essence, probably your example will be the key to their understanding of this wonderful world of reading, but buy them BOOKS!!! Even if they do not read them, keep buying them!!! All kinds of books!

Love as always,
w.b. yeats

I already mailed them and they fixed the RSS. I ju...

2008-09-20T14:48:00.000+03:00

I already mailed them and they fixed the RSS. I just have not posted anything since they updated it!

@KJYes it's either a big deal for some or a peculi...

2008-09-20T12:49:00.000+03:00

@KJ
Yes it's either a big deal for some or a peculiar and strange habit for others.
Forget em and remember that:
Some of my best friends are books.
BTW your new posts are still not being published on Syplanet. I think that it's a broken link (RSS) or whatever rather than negligence or something intentional. Please check it out and do what needs to be done. Since blogspot is blocked the easiest way for many and others in Syria is to regularly check Syplanet for new entries.

Do you know it's considered a luxury if you read h...

2008-09-20T10:59:00.000+03:00

Do you know it's considered a luxury if you read here? The other day I was complaining to my colleagues that I have several books on the shelf waiting to be read but I can't really find the time (and when I do, energy to concentrate) to read them... they replied "you read books? Are you SERIOUS you have so much time on your hands man fadi ashghal... badal ma troo7 tetsalla (read: clubbing) a3ed bel beit 3am te2ra"

Thank you for expanding on that. I suspect the bac...

2008-09-17T15:52:00.000+03:00

Thank you for expanding on that. I suspect the backs of the shampoo bottles are getting rather old not to mention the extreme tedium of such magazines (white panties excepted). Perhaps you could use a "reading basket". You can go about the house collecting readable objects and put them in your basket - jam jars, CD covers, vacuum user manual, etc. Then, when nature strikes, run to the bathroom with your basket in tow. I'll add that to my image...imagined or not. :)

@MariyahYou're right! The least we can do is lead ...

2008-09-17T12:43:00.000+03:00

@Mariyah
You're right! The least we can do is lead by example.
Just to set matters straight as far as my bathroom habits are concerned :-)
I don't buy any of these magazines!!! Somehow they find their way into our home (I'm not pointing fingers but there are 3 ladies in the house). According to them they are members of a large matrimonial familial society where they individually buy trashy magazines and exchange the ensuing wide selection.
Now here's my part in this "no doubt" fascinating story. I enter the bathroom and I immediately grab anything with letters and words on it. A shampoo bottle, the back of a box of paper tissues or the tiny writing that come with a medication and explains in details the usual side effects headache, nausea, hyper-sensitivity to light,...etc. When I'm out of all the above, I reluctantly reach to Zahret Al-Khalij, Sayidati, Al-Shabaka, Al-Maw3ed and if I'm really desperate I might sink as low as taking a look at Al-Jaras. Eventually after I read all the adds and if a fresh supply of magazines doesn't arrive on time, I ...read... editorials, scandals, who is at war with whom. For instance did you know that Haifa and Alissa are not on speaking terms since they appeared on some occasion wearing the same red dress while Nancy is in love with a dentist and Dana is happy that the teenage boys in a party and some dirty old men (my age probably)saw her sexy white panties. (I was happy too because there was a picture of her showing her sexy white panties.
When my colon can't take it anymore, I read the dream interpretation and the "you are all going to hell" sections.

Now you have the indelible image:-)

@Abu Kareem"Hyper Religious" is the term which elu...

2008-09-17T12:09:00.000+03:00

@Abu Kareem
"Hyper Religious" is the term which eluded me during the writing of this post. Thank you.
Unreading (how about this term) in the Arab World is a very serious issue. We have no casual readers, that is a very few are hungry and dedicated readers while the mass majority doesn't read at all. In the West many people read during traveling and commuting only or when on vacation for instance. They are everywhere in airports, train and bus terminals, ...etc. This large group is absolutely missing here. As thus we have the Hyper Readers and the Non Readers. Since most Arabic publications are restricted to religious topics, cookbooks, What to Do on Wedding Night and dream interpretation books, many "exclusively Arabic Language" readers are of the very same Hyper religious group you've mentioned.
Breaking the circle could be only achieved through the acquisition and the proper mastery of a second language (French or English). Belonging to this group, (such as you and me) pauses another dilemma. The frustration of the average second language reader pushes him into denial. That is he/she doesn't want to be another swimmer in the swamp and eventually pulls himself/herself to an aloof status in an isolated bubble.
We are in dire need for intellectuals who didn't make that final decision to abandon ship. Then we need them to start writing in Arabic. There are already a rare few of these good ones and I hope that their efforts gather momentum and eventually turn into a wave of change.
A formidable task to say the least...

Abu Fares, I don't know where to even begin with d...

2008-09-17T02:31:00.000+03:00

Abu Fares, I don't know where to even begin with describing my frustrations on this issue. I see the same disinterest in the eyes of my nieces and nephews. Leading by example, I guess, is all we can do.
Excellent post. Oh, and by the way, our familiarity level just skyrocketed with your description of your bathroom habits. Thank you for that indelible image! ;)

Abu Fares,If reading trashy Arabic magazines makes...

2008-09-17T01:13:00.000+03:00

Abu Fares,

If reading trashy Arabic magazines makes your bowels move, reading this post is cathartic for my soul. It is because I feel EXACTLY as you do especially with regards to the inane garbage spewed by those narrow minded, mentally-stunted, "hyper religious" idiots.

@shannonwhenever you show up on this blog you brin...

2008-09-16T18:45:00.000+03:00

@shannon
whenever you show up on this blog you bring along a sense of optimism. Your father knows best. You're in for a super treat in Cosmos. It's one of those rare life-changing books, at least as attitudes toward the "unknown" are concerned.
I think that our Muslim culture is going through the dark ages phase at the moment. While many consider the trend a revival of Islamic principles and practices I plainly think otherwise. As I grew up in the late 60's we enjoyed a much more open atmosphere and acceptance.
I hope it's just a phase. I really do.

You reminded me I always wanted to read Cosmos. My...

2008-09-16T16:53:00.000+03:00

You reminded me I always wanted to read Cosmos. My father has always had it on his book shelf. I have hope that even if your children are influenced by the "swamp," they are still (if silently) being influenced by you. If you don't have the answer on how to drain this swamp, perhaps they will. Apparently, I'm feeling optimistic today! As always, great post.

@peter shea, m.a.Thank you for your comment and co...

2008-09-16T12:38:00.000+03:00

@peter shea, m.a.
Thank you for your comment and contribution.
I have not read any of David Foster Wallace work but reading through the link you've provided made me very curious.
He certainly is next of my book shopping list.

@SaintIn their obstinacy to defend their rancid in...

2008-09-16T12:36:00.000+03:00

@Saint
In their obstinacy to defend their rancid intellectual turf, narrow-minded guardians of bygone enlightenment resist all attempts of renewal and correction. Among their arsenal of destructive weaponry is their refusal of "foreign" influence, good or bad, benevolent or malevolent, fruitful or barren...
Did you notice that I am writing the same way they speak:-)

@DJThe pure joy of reading is so under-rated in ou...

2008-09-16T12:03:00.000+03:00

@DJ
The pure joy of reading is so under-rated in our present culture. Children learn only on that "reading" means obsolete and boring school textbooks or somber and portent religious tomes. Subconsciously they grow up avoiding reading and considering it more of a punishment. Those few who have an internal burning flame are more likely to be sucked into orthodox religiosity for lack of an intellectual alternative.
The majority find solace and entertainment in the brainless array of colorful gossip and fashion magazines filled with pictures of passionate, sexy and trendy idols.

A superb, heartfelt piece of writing. I was distre...

2008-09-16T06:37:00.000+03:00

A superb, heartfelt piece of writing.
I was distressed by the recent death of David Foster Wallace, one of the world's most gifted writers in fiction and non-fiction. Your post reminded me exuberant and lacerating voices are still out there.

I was fascinated by Carl Sagan almost the same way...

2008-09-16T00:09:00.000+03:00

I was fascinated by Carl Sagan almost the same way, heard his interviews on NPR and watched his videos on public TV while he was trying to make people believe that of course there is life out there we should look for, before I come to idealize him the same way.

I feel your pain, I was recently following up with the LHC in Europe and enthralled by the courage and dare of the scientists. Following on the news back at my birth place where I spent big chunk for my life, I noticed and admired the reporting in Arabic on this event. The site administrator left separate section outside the news page for this important event. Went to the link and found the first comment requesting from commentators to be serious and to bring only what could be for the benefit of the serious readers. I, right away, wrote the links to the organization website, the results website and the clear description on NPR science Friday website, as well known to be the best program presenting latest science information in the US. I also added the link to young scientists who put together a small rap video describing everything about this historic test.

But I never expected that the baboons have a rule that no English written links are allowed on the pages of the State which had chosen for them to stay in the dark in the name of protecting their minds from poising influences coming from the west. Their manta: Thanks for the internet but no thanks for your information or your links. And then right away flashed in my mind the picture of that hunter looking into the eye of the dinosaur in the Jurassic park movie when he said: “smart girl”; before he was eaten by that girl.

READ, READ, READ. Indeed, the single most importan...

2008-09-15T22:44:00.000+03:00

READ, READ, READ. Indeed, the single most important thing almost every teen of these days is missing out on is reading. We didn't have access to NY Times bestselling novels at my days, but we had subscreptions to Al Arabi magazine and membership cards to the National Library. Student won't read these days unless it's study related. It's a sad tragedy indeed.

But that's we've diagnosed and talked about the illness, what can we suggest as a remedy Abu Fares?