Read A Book And Stop Watching Tom and Jerry

The verdict has been out for eons people... Tom and Jerry is NOT a kids cartoon! It is too violent, too mischievous, and too downright pointless--hey, it's not even politically correct!!

You would not let your kids watch "South Park", so why let them watch Tom and Jerry?

What I can't understand though is the Egyptian obsession with Tom and Jerry. It's like a cult 'round here. People tell me :"C'mon we all grew up with that stuff!!" No we didn't, not all of us anyway. Some people were watching the cuter, but much less entertaining I admit, Mickey Mouse.

And then again, why do we have to watch anything at all? Whatever happened to the idea of snuggling up cozily with a good book? Nobody seems to do that anymore...

I wanted to start a book club--I was sneered at whenever I suggested the idea to people I know. "We just don't have the time for that sort of thing." They'd argue; but these same busy bees follow religiously at least THREE different TV shows.

I do read for my own pleasure, of course. But I miss discussing books, and analyzing poems.
 The way you revel in the subtleties and finess of a book you are reading with a willing companion is a pleasure I have been denied for so many years now. The moment I stepped into Med school actually. The literary artsy types are not exactly a dime a dozen over there. Sure there are some--but I was part of the elite" awal el dofa" gang --ie.top of the class. So mark-hogging was all we cared about; not exactly the setting for discussing our literary inclinations!
I wonder if there could be an "online book club" of some sort-- I'll look into that. *making a mental note*


This was meant to be a post about not watching violent cartoons, like Tom and Jerry, and maybe instilling the love of reading in your children; but we got a little side-tracked...yeah just a little *wink*

The Cairo House

I reviewed The Cairo House on Blogcritics and the review is featured on Seattlepi

I have always been intrigued by autobiographies and memoirs in our culture. How many women can actually retell their lives in all honesty and truth without having Fatwas issued against or without getting disowned by their family?
For the already controversial, a bellydancer with a sex tape or an actress who lured a famous politician, I suppose it is easier. But for the rest of us, the ones who appear so harmless and innocent to all those around us, it is a different matter.

The fictional autobiography is nice; many things can be left unsaid. Yet still, there is a liberating power in saying everything like it truly was. I feel like it is a first-rate cathartic experience.

But then again, who am I to know. I have never written a memoir-- at least not yet!

My Girl From Face book: Meg Ryan From Egypt

We spend a lot of time looking for inspiration, for some hope, for some potential reason to keep us smiling and looking forward for the future.
Well, I found mine today.
A delightful, sweet, optimistic, passionate person contacted me through Face book, and we shared dreams about a public library in Sheikh Zayed.
A place where kids can read and adults can borrow books. "The Shop Around The Corner, you know, like in Meg Ryan's you've got mail." She said to me; honestly, how sweet is that !
I loved her community spirit, her will, and her oozing enthusiasm.
Such a dreamer she is! And I'm just mad about dreamers.
I don't come across many nowadays,  ever since I grew up and became an adult. When I was 18, life seemed like a perpetual series of hopes and dreams, to me and everyone around me.
I thought that this spirit was lost in time… so glad I found another dreamerJJ