writing.com

Admittedly, I have been busy with this Writing.com thing, it is just amazing and so addicting, I thought my writing was good but boy, they have all kinds of writers there.

Try it, signup and I will get points for referring you http://www2.Writing.Com/main/view_item/user_id/raraa?rfrid=raraa

Anyway, I wrote a new piece about the life of chartered pilots, I think it is publish worthy, I also think that I managed to do well writing in first person. I may sound conceited but I got much better at writing. Don't judge me by my blog; it is after all written in complete spontaneity's.

Check my stuff at http://www.writing.com/authors/raraa until I get done with my site.

Nothing new to update about although I'm thinking about a lot of stuff.

Movie Quotes

What is the first movie quote that comes to mind?

I asked that to a lot of people and realized this, you can guess the answer if you know the age of the person. If the person is in his late teens or early twenties, then it is something said by Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks or Al Pacino.

If it is an older generation then James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Woody Allen and the Marx brothers are the people who said them.

Mike Myers and Clint Eastwood said something occasionally that was memorable. I'm going to list the top 15 the way I see it, I included commonly used phrases coined by such movies:

1. I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse Marlon Brando


2. Keep you friends close, but your enemies closer Al Pacino


3. You can't handle the truth Jack Nicholson


4. Say hello to my little friend Al Pacino


5. I feel the need – the need for speed Tom Cruise


6. Hasta la vista, baby Arnold Schwarzenegger


7. Hello Gorgeous Barbra Streisand


8. The stuff that dreams are made of Humphrey Bogart


9. Houston, we have a problem Tom Hanks


10. Yeah, baby Mike Myers


11. Come out, come out, wherever you are Robert De Niro


12. Go Ahead, Make My Day Clint Eastwood


13. Snap out of it Cher


14. Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Micheal Douglas


15. I want the fairy tale Julia Roberts

Peace, Out

Some lingo fun

This top-3 site in the PC-Magazine top-100 is actually quite fun, here are some definitions I consent to:

OhNo-second: The fraction of time (slightly longer than a nanosecond) that it takes to recognize you've just goofed. The perfect example is that moment of horror when your eye spots the key in the ignition as the car door is being slammed shut.

PEBCAK: An acronym used by techies to describe a "problem" when the user is in the room. "Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard."

Cyberslackers: Employees who use the company Internet connection during work hours to surf the Net, shop, play games, check stock prices, etc. Are you one? Here's the test: If you're sitting at your desk and reading this . . .

Atkinsed: To lose weight using the Atkins Diet. “I have recently Atkinsed myself down to a size 12.” Also: A marketing ploy to take advantage of the Atkins Diet craze. “Burger King has Atkinsed its menu.” Pssst! They’ll now sell you the burger without the bun.

deja moo: The nagging feeling that you've heard this bull before.

DINOs: Democrats in Name Only. Despite their party affiliation, they sound and act like Republicans. Their counterparts across the aisle: RINOs (Republicans in Name Only).

Groundhog Day: When a company's management ignores obvious problems allowing them to resurface on a daily basis. Named for the Bill Murray movie of the same name.

Go check it out at http://www.buzzwhack.com also check out http://americanrhetoric.com it's interesting.

Random thoughts

Friends, old ones, just keep coming back to me all the time. I like it; I enjoy hearing how everyone progresses differently. Especially intellectually, Jawad, one of my closest friends back in high school, turned out to be more penetrable than I would have imagined. Mais, probably the only person I asked to read this blog, is intellectually superior, although takes actions of pre-historical man as a measure of human nature, I don't know if I agree but I like her method of reaching conclusions.

That got me thinking about myself, at the risk of sounding self-centered I wondered how much I evolved, see I always had mature ideas but none that I was able to envisage on my own. I had Haitham, my brother, to tell me what's right and what's true, yet I always knew there was something about hi knowledge that seemed to good to be true.

His main sources were, after a long period of examination, they were media outlets. While I wouldn't go as far as deem all of them false or counterfeit, I would still say they always tend to have a bias. Who doesn't? well, it's the degree of bias that troubles me, media is by definition looking to attract the receiver, they want to make profit.

If this wasn't for free courtesy of our big bros at google, then I would definitely be doing the same thing. I wrote for publications who asked me to ease down the tempo a bit, I did because they need the advertisers just as much as I needed the cash. That is not a lot, I could have lived without that money, but still I did take it to improve.

Now that I can speak my mind, this world isn't a great place, some parts are but in the general sense it isn't. If a 20 year-old female wrote me saying that American are the best educated in the world, that she thinks they have the highest incomes, and that they are the most respected in the world judging by the migration stats, then sorry, but truth is a bit farther away at least.

There a four kind of men (actually people):

1. A man who knows and knows he knows.


2. A man who knows and doesn’t know he knows.


3. A man who doesn't know and knows he doesn't know.


4. A man who doesn't know but thinks he knows.

In that order I think it's fair to say I moved up from number 4 to anywhere in the region of 3 and 2. I don't what I know but I know I should look for it. I got rid of the notion that books have answers, they merely have hints, and it's all in your head.

Still, I live life to the fullest, and all of you should do the same. I tried everything at least once and I'm still around to talk about it.

All the way left-wing

I am in the Left-Wing, regardless how you feel about God or how you think I feel about Islam. I still am a socialist, it's not a religion and not a life-style.
I said that to more than a million people in the past week after I wrote: "Lefty or Righty Bush?".

I talked about how Leftist teaching starts from the day you enter schools in the US and doesn't quit. So how come we get all those rightists in the centre of the political arena? Where do they get their votes from? I guess it's hard being secular in a country founded on freedom of relegion and when their ancestors fled to the other side of the Atlantic to run away from persecution and relegious nutshells.

I guess I like secularism now more than ever, Islam being so feared and all. I also like how france is modeled, their economic system and their moral standards. If I knew french I would have moved there, they have a large Arabic community if I care and the do have the Airbus company.

Peace, Out

We won, ypee :(

So we did win the Super Cup, but was it really that good? I mean you have to give credit for Djibril Cisse for his amazing equalizer and the goal that set us up to win in Extra Time. He also was responsible for aiding in Luis Garcia's ET goal. We won, but still I thought we were easily going to get that win, Cisse did manage to score within three minutes of being put there.

The coach did not have Gerrard play because he didn’t pass a fitness, Cisse, Sinama and Sissoko were not starters and Moores didn't get us Michael Owen, so Who was it that was supposed to score? I guess I am being anti-racist again, but seriously the three black players were our card to win.

Obviously not Garcia and Morientes, they just kept me stating the obvious: "If only it was Owen". They were slow and very bad on finishing; they topped it up by passing back numerously because they couldn't go forward. Still, Congrats.

Rafael Benitez, the club's Manager, was taking a lot of chances and was trying to prove something, only I couldn't figure it out.

Win the SUPER CUP

Why we are going to bring the UEFA Super Cup home.

Ok, so we did loose against CSKA Sofia 1-0 but still I knew we would make it to the group's stage. We were set in against Chelsea after we lost our country protection for finishing in fifth, but for the life of me I can't remember when Chelsea lost their country protection. Hey, we beat them in the semi-final of the Champions' League; we might as well beat them in the group stages.

The other two teams are Anderlecht and Real Betis. I think we will make it up another stage, but then it will be hard, not saying that it's easy right now.

Ok, so let me correct my previous post, in 2001, a very memorable year, we won five trophies; I don't even know what to call that. I'll call it a pentio. Of course the Super Cup we are playing for today could have been ours two more times, but we let it go because we were too busy. Seriously checkout http://www.uefa.com/competitions/SuperCup/history/index.html

Check the Records:
On the Domestic:
League Champions: 18 times (RECORD)
1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90

Charity Shield Winners: 14 Times (2nd Best Record)
1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2001

League Cup Winners: 7 times (RECORD)
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003

F.A. Cup Winners: 6 times (5th Best Record)
1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001

On the Continental:
UEFA Champions League 5 Times (3rd Best Record):
1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005

UEFA Cup 3 times (RECORD):
1973, 1976, 2001

UEFA Super Cup 2 times (2nd Best Record):
1977, 2001

We will win today, especially since the manager put on rests a few players in the CSKA Sofia match (that's why we lost!!!) and saved them for today. How many goals will we score is the question. ;)

Break a leg, LIVERPOOL

You'll Never Walk Alone

Well just wanna wish Liverpool FC good luck on this season; I know we won the Champions League last season but still it's scary we don't get a seat at the 32. The world cup does the same thing, but hey we can easily make to the 32. Hoping Owen comes back and hoping Moores would dig deep enough in his pocket to pay up for the kopite hero.

We won the first match of the premiership against Sunderland 1-0. The first two matches of the EUFA Champions League knockout stage against TNS twice 3-0, the next ones we won 3-1 and 2-0 against FBK Kaunas and for the third knockout stage CSKA Sofia 3-1. The next one is tomorrow at Anfield against Sofia.

We are too early in the season to have any losses, and we only tied once in the Barclays Championship against Middlesbrough. We are on a good run for a treble if Owen comes back.
Liverpool FC 101:

• Anfield: The field we play at, our stadium, and so will be called our new 60,000 seat stadium planned to be built.


• Kop: another term for Anfield


• Kopite: A fan of Liverpool FC


• Liverpool FC: Liverpool Football Club, they play what is in British English Football or what many parts of the world just call soccer. More than 100 years, no English club can match the Liverpool FC roll of honour; League Champions 18 times, FA Cup winners 6 times, League Cup winners 6 times, European Cup winners 5 times and UEFA Cup winners 3 times. That's a total of 38 amazing achievements, not to mention the club double in 1986 with FA cup and League. And don't forget the cup treble –triple- in 2001, we are talking three cups in one season, FA cup, Worthington cup and the UEFA cup!!!Never happened in History, will happen –hopefully- again this season, with Owen again on the squad.


• Liverpudlian: A fan of Liverpool.


• Moores: Liverpool Chairman


• You'll Never Walk Alone: Theme Song and Motto Of Liverpool FC

More lessons to come
Best of luck Liverpool

Amman, too packed!?

Amman, my lovely city, it's a place I seriously can't live without. Thing is people from outside only experience it in summers. They don't get the full deal, definitely tricked out of most of its charm.

To understand a place, any place, get the groove of the cabbies; those drivers usually have a lot to tell about the place. See on a day like today, my girlfriend couldn't pick me up with her car so we had to grab a cab. In summers, not so much fun…

We did go to far end of Swefieh and had a couple of slices at Sicily's Pizza. Great place but a bit of a headache to reach, the cabbie told me that he refuses to go to the market area in Swefieh; he said he denied a passenger before me.

The reason is: Amman is getting too packed this summer. Amman is a city that extends horizontally, and except for a few hotels and office buildings in Jabal Amman, you don't need large roads, small buildings around 3-6 floors are the general theme. You can't expect the government to build a five lane street which only going to be used by two hundred families. But when that road leads to a shopping area, you better bet you will be stuck on it when the tourists come.

This summer was a curse and a blessing, a curse in the sense that it's just too packed to go anywhere, a blessing in the sense that the economy is flourishing. I would love for the summer season to go, but I can't wait for it to leave since I haven't had a decent seat in a place, nor a decent drive in our mountainous baby, Amman.

Airplane accidents

Heard about the airplane accidents going on left and right? Scary? Not to me, see I believe in numbers. The odds on you dying in an airplane are too low, I think that statistic went something like: The odds of you dying in your car are two hundred times higher than in an aircraft.

Think about it, 96% of those in aircraft accidents actually survived, Who do you know that has had an aircraft accident? Odds are no one, but the media focuses on the fatal accident more than the surviving accidents. My deepest sincere condolences to anyone who lost anyone in an aircraft accident. But still, I won't loose sleep over it. I would loose sleep over cab drivers though ;) .

I wouldn't say I'm not at all worried, but I still think it was all preventable, 85% of airplane accidents are avoidable, under superior maintenance, attentive piloting and proper adherence to procedures in general, none of the troubles of last week would have happened.

Peace, Out.

Baby Malak

I got a new niece this week, Malak, on my girlfriend's birthday, the 17th, which seemed to be a cute coincidence. Then I got thinking about baby names, though a commitment-phobic I seem to dwell on the idea of naming my children, I guess it's a control fantasy, where you get to control something about someone, for pretty much the rest of their life. I went as my habit and read up on it, judging by the number of sites offering ideas and advice; parents think too much about it.

I mean the list of advice goes on to suggest everything from not giving in to family pressure to choosing a name suitable with your last name. This is where I can relate: Radi Radi was not very well thought about, I had quite a few conversations about it that I could have lived without.

What I really think matters the most is the stereotyping. I knew way too many gorgeous May s and quite a few mixed-blood Nadia s that I just assume so when I hear the name.

I didn't know a Nadia in my life that was not an interracial product. I can count up to 7 of these instances out of the top of my head. It just seems to suit many races very well. But seriously when you hear the name mo3ath, you presume he comes from a religious Muslim background, just as Barbie is associated with beautiful blondes and Myron with Nerds in the west.

The next most important thing is to not use names that sound like common names, you can't call a girl Zeena and not expect her teachers to call her Zaina. Don't call them Malek and they won't be mistaken for Maleek or Malik. Malak, my niece, is going to be called Malaak in school but at least if she reads this when she grows up she will know I have some insight.

Total of Nephews: 1
Total of Nieces: 5

Whats with internet cafes

I have a certain obsession with checking my mail. Although I don't seem to send friends any emails, I seem to keep getting stuff all the time. Part of the obsession is to check my mail from internet cafes whenever I run into one. It just seems crazy but I keep doing it. This is when I get my most writing urges. Anything I wrote and got published is almost always written in an internet cafe. Even my blog and my site I only seem to update them here. Yes, I am right now in one just off the airport.

Why headwind

Headwind is just a weird concept in flying, you need a good amount of it for a nice takeoff but then enroute it will just hold you there, it will slow you down or just annoy the crap out of you, after that you just wish for some of it on your landing to make it smooth. That's the exact deal with life, when you have something you get rid of it, and once you lose it you you just keep praying to get it back. Who said pilots can't be philosophers?