EVENT: Earth Hour 2012 - "ساعة الأرض"

 شاركونا الحدث العالمي لمكافحة الإحتباس الحراري "ساعة الأرض" و ذلك بإطفائكم للإنارة و الكهرباء الغير ضرورية .

Join us tonight for the global event of Earth Hour, kindly switch off unnecessary lights and appliances as

a way to raise awareness of the effects of global warming.

ما هي ساعة الأرض؟

 "ساعة الأرض" هي حملة سنوية تشارك بها العديد من الدول في آخر سبت من شهر مارس في الساعة الثامنة و النصف . الهدف الرئيسي منها ليس توفير الطاقة بل زيادة الوعي البيئي تجاه مخاطر الإحتباس الحراري و بيان كيفية مكافحته من خلال اطفاء الإنارة و الأجهزة الكهربائية الغير ضرورية لمدة ساعة واحدة فقط ، الأمر الذي أثبت قدرة البشر على تصدي مخاطر أنبعاثات الغازات التي هي سبب رئيسي لظاهرة الإحتباس الحراري .  و الكويت من أوائل الدول التي انضمت لهذه الحملة ، فتشارك و للمرة الخامسة هذا العام بفعاليات خاصة من تنظيم الفريق الكويتي لمكافحة الإحتباس الحراري . و تقام فعاليات هذا العام في منتجع صحارى ابتداء من الساعة السادسة مساءً اليوم .

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is an annual event where hundreds of countries unite together for a stand against Global warming. Kuwait has been a proud supporter since 2008. Each year, the Kuwaiti Team for Global Warming (KTGW) is the official organizer of the event in Kuwait, would hold special activities that raise awareness on this cause. This year, they are holding the event at Sahara Resort.

لمزيد من المعلومات عن كيفية مشاركتكم بهذه المناسبة الرجاء الإطلاع على هذه المواقع المهمة: 

For more information on how you can be part of this event, check out these important links: 

• Official Earth Hour Site
• Kuwait Team for Global Warming 
• Official Site: www.kt4gw.org
• Twitter: @KT4GW
• Facebook: Group

و لا تنسوا مقالات المدونة السابقة المتعلقة بنفس الموضوع :)

And don't forget related blog posts of earlier years :)

*****

______________________________________________________
Picture Credit: KT4GW

Mom's Love

Today is Mother's Day...

To a lot of people it's a day where they would shower their moms with gifts, flowers and such. That is sweet, indeed, but what about the rest of the year? Most people won't even bother to pick up the phone to check upon their moms.

But no matter what we give, it won't ever be enough.

If we just show a little more respect, then wouldn't be that the kind of love every mother deserves?





I remember watching the same story shared on the video above on a AbdulAziz Al-Mussalam series one day; I wonder what's the origin of that story...

It's wonderful regardless.

It just shows that no matter how badly you think of your mother, and how much you can never understand her (even if you have kids of your own sometimes), you can't truly see the way she cares about you, let alone ever repay here deeds.

For all those times you've kept her awake at night just for a stupid meaningless thing (mostly, just in your own eyes), remember that you hold the greatest treasure to the road to heaven.

Don't lose the key.

*****

On a funny note...





Allah Bless All Mothers & Fathers...

I won Danderma's 20,000 Comment Giveaway!

Dear Danderma was having a special giveaway for the 20,000 comment owner...

And...

I...

WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!


I still can't believe it!


I'm not the type of person that usually wins free stuff! heehee

Let alone stuff that are worthy!


So, it feels so FUN!!


Thanks to Danderma for conducting such a beautiful giveaway! I wasn't anticipating winning. I wasn't even looking closely at the picture that well to begin with! When I realized that "I",  Just A Bunch have really won, and I wasn't hallucinating (I was really feeling tired and needed to sleep), I went back to the site (I first saw the notification post on mobile) to check what I have won! LOOOL

An Apple TV!

Then it hit me, I was like, oh, yeah, I think I have spotted some gadget thingy going on when I first saw the special post earlier today, but I didn't really focus and it's as if I never saw what the prize is!

To be frank, I still have very little knowledge about what an Apple TV is really like! LOL All I know that it's an Apple product, related to TV, and Danderma is giving away one, so it must be great!



THANKS DANDERMA!

:D


*****


Would you like to win something cool too? Well, why not hop over to Danderma's, be a dedicated reader, and stay tuned for future wonderful posts by the lovely Danderma? Who knows, maybe YOU will be the next winner of a cooler giveaway one day! :D




* Credits: Screen captures: Danderma (All Rights Reserved)
_____________________________________________

Links:

• Danderma
• Apple.com

EVENT: 3D Projection Mapping: Wattana We Adore it عرض ثلاثي الأبعاد: وطنا إحنا عشقنا

  بمناسبة الاحتفالات الوطنية سوف يقام عرض فيديو ثلاثي الأبعاد خاص بتاريخ الكويت

 الليلة الساعة ٧ و ٩ و ذلك بالريجنسي

!!لا يطوفكم

Don't miss out on Wattana's special 3D video mapping event tonight! 

!!جيكوا عالبروفات 

Check out the teaser!!!

!حدي متشوقة! راح يكون في ألعاب نارية بعد!! وناسة

Really looking forward to it! There shall be fireworks too!!

منو بيروح؟؟؟ 

Who's going??? ;D

___________________________________________________________

Links:

• Watanna: Event Page on Facebook

Happy National Spirit Continues + Special Thanks

Happy Liberation Day! 

Hope everyone is having fun celebrating! 

How's everyone celebrating the national holidays? :D Where did you do yesterday? What are your plans for today? I wished to attend the Maseera yesterday, but due the rainy weather it was canceled, so we stayed indoors. Saturday is our weekly family gathering, so for sweet time we made sure to celebrate with special patriotic delights!

For those of you who follow me on twitter, you might have read that I've been craving some Chocolateness!! Yep, those super delicious pieces of love! So, I HAAAAAD to have some for today! I just loooove those yummy little monsters! In celebration of the country's beloved festivities, Chocolateness is having a wonderful offer, for any 10 K.D transaction, you get half a dozen FREE! Isn't that awesome, or isn't that awesome? ;Pp Perfect for gatherings indeed!!

Mmmmm... Mmmm.... Mmmmmm!!!!! Aren't your mouths watering just by looking at the picture? 

*heart-drop*

Besides those killer monsters, we also had two cakes, one from Mr Baker (الخباز) and another from Cake'n'Bake. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Baker's (since I've had enough of it each and every week for yeeeeeaaaars), so I was eager to try the Cake'n'nBake's for a change, (especially since it was decorated with the flag baring the symbols our beloved countries, God bless 'em ^_^). It was good. But I'm not a cake lover to begin with, so I cannot really judge.

Even though I didn't go out (as I wished), I still enjoyed the day. I was too busy snapping pictures and sharing my humble writings around. My previous post received great feedback, thanks to Allah, which highly encourages me to keep practicing and write more in Arabic. But the most AWESOME moment of the day definitely has to be the special surprise I received from my all-time favorite magazine, Bazaar! I was completely taken aback by their little bomb-drop! hee hee They featured my special national celebration post on The Bazaar Daily!!! ;D I was super ecstatic; I literally started screaming of joy!! So, again, thanks to the wonderful team of Bazaar, you guys ROCK!

And thanks to all of you my beloved silent readers, and those of you who share their thoughts with me either here or elsewhere; you help a great deal in making an aspiring writer step even faster on the ladder of her dreams! God bless you all!

So what are your plans for the today? Going out? At the chalet or desert (or Dubai)? Staying indoors watching TV coverage? Whatever your plans are, be safe and sound, and remember that the true celebration of love for our country lies in the true service for it through out the whole year and not just on its national days.


Peace & Love!

***

I'm sure lots of you have watched this amazing skydive video already, but have you read Khaleejesque's special article about the guy behind the jump? ;)



His name is Mohammad Al-Refaie and you can learn more about him and his love for skydiving on the special article on Khaleejesque: [click here]


That is just AWESOME! Wouldn't wanna try it for real, though! Ha!

Would you??

***

P.S: What do you think of my photography? 

_______________________________________________________

Links:

• كل عام و أنت بخير يا وطن النهار
• Chocolateness
• The Bazaar Daily
• Bazaar Magazine
• Khaleejesque
• Alrefaie's Youtube Channel 

كل عام و أنت بخير يا وطن النهار

عاشت لنا الكويت .. الكويت

و عاشوا أهلها

و اللي يحب الكويت .. الكويت

يضحي لأجلها

***

أنا كويتي أنا

أنا قول و فعل

وعزومي قوية

***

ياحماة العرين

لقنوا المعتدين

درسنا باليمين

ضربة لن تلين

***

عيدي يا كويت يا أحلى بلد

أنا لج رديت بروح و جسد

***

وطني

وطن النهار

أنت النهار

يا وطني

***

تلك مجموعة بسيطة من الأغاني الوطنية التي تربيت عليها ، كلما تبادرت إلي مسمعي مقاطع منها (لاسيما "أنا كويتي أنا" و "وطن النهار") تختلج مشاعري و تتبعثر أحاسيسي معلنة مراسم إحتفال بتراقص ذكريات متناقضة ... فأجدني تارة أبتسم أو أضحك ، و تارة أتنهد أو تدمع عيني (و قد أبكي) ...

ف"عاشت لنا الكويت" كانت من الأغاني الأكثر ترديداً في صغري ، كذلك "أنا كويتي أنا" و "حماة العرين" اللتان تثيران فيَّ الحماس فأجدني ، في خيالي ، أقف كالمجندين أحيي العلم و قلبي يقفز فرحاً ، تماماً كما كنت أفعل في طفولتي ... (إلا أني كنت أقوم بالغناء و التحية فعلياً حينها) . أما "عيدي يا كويت" فدائماً تذكرني بالأعياد و بهجتها . 

لكن "وطن النهار" لها مكانة خاصة في قلبي ، فهي تتربع على عرش كل الأغاني الوطنية التي أحبها ، لوقعها المجلجل على نفسي ... فقد نحتت آثاراً أبدية ، اختلطت بمشاعر طفلة في حالة عدم استيعاب كلي ، ثم انتقلت إلى غور شجون قلب شابة مبعثرة روحها ... فكانت دائماً تنادي أعماق روحي سالبة تلك الدموع المختزلة التي عادة لا أحس بوجودها ...

قبل عدة أيام كنت في السيارة أستمع للمارينا أف أم ، أترقب برنامج "الديوانية" الذي عادة ما يسهم في رسم البسمة على محياي مشكلاً عامل نجاح في تسهيل عملية السياقة في ذلك الوقت العصيب من الظهيرة ، فتفاجأت بأغنيتي المفضلة تصدح ...  كالعادة ، امتزجت مشاعر الفرح و الألم و تراقصت في داخلي ...

لكن ، و لأول مرة ، كلمات الأغنية كان لها صدى جديد:

... ياللي انولد من جديد ... غصب على الآلام ، ترجع وطن من جديد

أحسست و كأن هذه الكلمات تحاكيني بالذات ... فإني أمر بمرحلة حساسة في حياتي الخاصة حالياً ، فكانت تلك الكلمات بمثابة قلب حنون يواسي و صوت عقل حكيم يناشد و يشد من ازري مذكراً بأن "مع العسر يسراً" ... فعلاً ، إن مع العسر دوماً يسراً ... فلا بد من أن تشرق الشمس بعد العاصفة و لا بد للظلام أن ينجلي و للضباب أن ينقشع . فمهما تكالبت علينا هموم الدنيا و تشابكت ، لابد أن نستذكر القوة الكامنة بداخلنا ، و لا نترك لشبح الخوف و القلق مجال ليترعرع في أنفسنا ، فلابد أن نتحلى بالإيمان دائماً و نستمر في المقاومة و الدفاع ، حتى "نولد من جديد" .

تماماً كما ولدت الكويت من جديد مرات عديدة ، فاليوم و غداً تستذكر بلادي يومين من أروع الأيام في تاريخها ، فبعد إحدى و خمسون سنة على إستقلالها و بعد إحدى و عشرون سنة من التحرير لا يجب أن أستسلم لألم بعض الذكريات الحزينة ، بل يجب علي أن أديم الابتسامة على محياي و أرفع رأسي عالياً ، فلو لا لطف العلي القدير لربما ما كان حالنا كما هو الآن ، ننعم بأمن و أمان قد نحسد عليه كثيراً ، فيجب علينا جميعاً أن نديم السجود لله شاكرين و نرفع أيادينا للكريم راجين منه أن يديم علينا نعمة الأمن و الاستقرار و أن يمن على جيراننا و إخواننا المسلمين بالمثل ، آمين ...

و كل عام وأنت بخير يا وطن النهار ، يا أرض المحبة و السلام ...

***

هذا مقطع بسييييط جداً من الاغنية أثناء استماعي إليها في السيارة ، عذراً لقصره الشديد فلم يتبادر لذهني تصويره إلا مع قرب نهايتها... أعجبتني مشاهدة الأعلام ترفرف و كأنها تستمع معي و تستمتع ...

***

كالعادة ، يتحفنا Google بابداع جديد :)

***

وطني الكويت سلمت للمجد

و على جبينك طالع السعد

Literature World Celebrates Charles Dickens 200th Birthday: My Personal Thoughts

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the most celebrated writers in the world, Charles Dickens. As an English Language and Literature student, I have the privilege to indulge in learning more about such authors whose works have surpassed generation upon generation only to become an essential part of any English literature student or fan's journey of learning and enlightenment.

Whenever I read such wonderful creations by authors such as Dickens, I cannot help but feel the "awes" and "wows!" escaping my thoughts. I guess, anyone who enjoys writing knows what I'm talking about. I often wonder if those authors knew the amount of impact their creations would have on the literary world while they were creating them; would they have produced them differently? What if the Brontë sisters knew how truly passionate readers can get over their beloved novels (I just adore Wuthering Heights), or if Dicken's Oliver Twist would be played in thousands of theaters around the world, or if Shakespeare knew he'd be the iconic symbol of the English literature?

I can only imagine!

I wonder if any of today's writers would be as symbolic as Shakespeare in the far future. I wonder if Arab writers would leave an infinite impact. I wonder if Kuwaitis would leave such a historic trail.

I wonder if I will ever leave this world with a timeless classic that would be taught to generations to come.

I wonder...

*****

So, it fascinates me when I see other countries proudly and continuously acknowledging and celebrating their writers, even if centuries go by since the day they were born! (Check out Dickens2012.org and be inspired!)


And as usual, Google celebrates with a special Dickens doodle! (Read more about this on Los Angeles Times)

Will Kuwait celebrate me 200 years from now? ;D

We will never know... 

(but if there's anyone from the future, they can answer me! ;P) 

*****

So, what's your favorite Charles Dickens novel? 


Share your thoughts! :)


___________________________________________________
Links:

• Dickens2012.org
• Los Angeles Times
• Literature11.pbworks.com (Picture credits)

I Finally Met the KHALEEJesque Team!

Last night I posted about KHALEEJesque's first print issue launch. Here are my thoughts about the experience! :)

Photo Credit: KHALEEJesque

I'm blessed to have my hands on the first print issue of KHALEEJesque! I was really excited to finally meet the wonderful people behind this lovely e-zine! I'm always on the look out for such interesting and enthusiastic magazines to read (and also hopefully be part of the their wonderful teams). So, when I learned that KHALEEJesque, one of top favorite e-zines were launching their first print issue, I was thrilled, and made sure I never miss it.

When I arrived at the launch installation located at the atrium at 360° mall), I took my time to carefully indulge in what I'm looking at! There were several gorgeous ladies which I gathered had to be part of the KHALEEJesque team (and they were!). I made sure I let one of them kindly help me with my meet-the-team discovery and give me my goody bag, which looked so beautiful! I was then delighted to meet Fouz Al-Sabah, creative director and co-founder of KHALEEJesque, whom I enjoyed chitchatting with and who was more than welcome to answer all my questions.

Ghadeer Al-Otaibi and Fouz Al-Sabah

There is a fun photo-booth for readers to take memorable photos with their beloved KHALEEJesque copies! I highly enjoyed the idea! I've always wished we'd have similar photo-booths in Kuwait! The company is called "BonkerBox" and they specialize in transforming an ordinary photo shoot to a crazy out of this world! I so would love to rent the box for our parties! You can too! Check their FB page for more details. 

The general feel was filled with proud accomplishment! The team showed such class and prestige the magazine shows, so I wasn't really mistaken, I WAS meeting the real team! ;P 

People gathering around! :)

*****

Alright! On to the goody bag! 

I really loved the colors and design of the bag. The black, white and red are always a great combination! Wished if there was a green too and we would've have the colors of the Khaleeji spirit, but I know that these are the colors of the magazine's logo ;)

Besides the copy of KHALEEJesque, here's what I found inside:

A beautiful 2012 planner, some chocolates, and a cookie. I really fell in love with the planner; it caught my attention instantly. It has some beautiful quotes spread around the months and even a poem in the first few pages! How cool is that? :D

Here's the surprise cookie I got. From the feel of the yellow bag, I felt like there was a cookie inside. I was half correct about my guesses and assumptions. There was a cookie alright, but I was kinda disappointed when I saw the orange-colored sugar coated cookie; I was expecting a chocolate chip cookie ;P I wonder if all the bags have this orange cookie. Don't think so, I'm sure there might be a mixture and it's my luck to have this orange one...  

Anyways! I can't wait to fully read the whole issue! Last night I flipped through most of it with a continuos smile on my face! I'm really proud of the whole KHALEEJesque team for this wonderful establishment! The first issue is specialized in everything culture-related; really is worth getting as it's timeless and will be a lovely addition to anyone's shelf ;)

*****

So, hurry up, and get your free copies, people! You still can pass by today at 360° mall; the team will be happy to see you!

And happy KHALEESesquing! ;P

Photo Credit: KHALEEJesque

____________________________________________________________

Links:

• Khaleejesque
• BonkerBox

Kuwaiti Flash Mob! (Continuously UPDATED)

So, how are you doing post-election day? ;)

Shocked? Surprised? Frustrated? Numb? Pessimistic?

Well, I'm still keeping it positive! :D

And I know I'm not the only one; Zain and Cinemagic are keeping it positive too!







AMAZING!

If your spirits weren't lifted; then you might not have any!

I never thought I'd watch a flash mob video that actually happened in Kuwait! We so need more of these!!
I got tears in my eyes! The patriotic songs used are my top faves! Especially "Ana Kuwaiti"! Oh my God, I used to sing this one repeatedly during the times of the liberation! :'D

3ad I was planning to go the Avenues today but I couldn't! Wish I made it, maybe I would've seen this!!! Flash mobs aren't supposed to be announced, so nobody would notify me! Hopefully one day I'll witness something like this!

Shout out to all those souls who keep spreading positivity around! You guys rock! Kuwait has faith in those who have faith in it!

NEVER lose hope!



Updates:

I shall be adding more videos as I discover them ;)


Reactions were hailing all over the place since the videos went viral! A simple search with the words "flash mob Kuwait" over Twitter would get you hundreds of tweets praising this new national celebration! Bloggosphere could not miss this too; here some links:

• Dustyco
• Frankom
• P0ach
• Omarker 
• Blogyac 
• Q8path 

Check out The Avenues twitter page for a lovely set of pictures of the flash!


*Special Thanks to Bloggylife for sharing the first video!
_________________________________________________________

Links:

• Zain
• Cinemagic
• The Avenues

"Alarm" - How LAZY are You??!

How lazy can one be? If You think you're lazy, think twice, you might not be as lazy as you think you are! Or, you might be just so, or even more!!

"Alarm" is the second short animated movie, by Moo-hyun Jang, a director of independent Animation team MESAI. It's a REALLY an AWESOME movie! Will get you cracking up, aaahhh-ing, & feeling frustrated all at once! You will feel the agony of waking up in the morning by the most hated device ever (in my opinion): the Alarm.

I HATE ALARMS!! I rarely use them anymore, (extreme measures only!), & watching this guy really brought back all the agonizing noise alarms make!

(Spoiler Alert!)

Hahaha! My absolute hilarious part is when he quickly shuts all three alarms & jumps back to bed, (that killed me!! XD!). I also loved the the milk scene! Omg! XD!

(youtube link).

_____________________________________

For more info & Downloads, go to http://www.mesai.co.kr/ or check out their youtube page TEAMMESAI