July 14, 2006
Protected: I Want To Write About This Human Tragedy The Israelis Are Making In Lebanon
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July 13, 2006
July 12, 2006
Protected: It Seems Zinedine Zidane Is Not The Only One Who Can’t Control His Temper
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Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Remember when you were young,
You shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there’s a look in your eyes,
Like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Nobody knows where you are,
How near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
– Pink Floyd, Shine On You Crazy Diamond
How I wish, how I wish you were here….
Syd Barrett, the madcap laugher (1946-2006)
July 11, 2006
Protected: What Is It About Islam That makes So Many Of Us Want to Micro-Manage Each Other’s Lives
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July 10, 2006
Protected: In Islam, Our Laws Should Protect The Weakest Among Us. So Why Don’t They Understand This In Saudi Arabia?
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July 9, 2006
Protected: Whenever I need a good laugh, I look to the Bush Administration!
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Aljazy bint Abdulaziz Al-Thani, Rest Peacefully Dear One
Today I received the sad news that one of my former students passed away suddenly while on vacation in Thailand. Aljazy bint Abdulaziz Al-Thani arrived at VCUQ the year before I did. She was one of the first group of students to walk through the doors of the brand new American university that had opened in 1998 to provide education in the field of design for young women. I remember being impressed that the Qatari Emir’s family gave their full support to this then-experimental dream of educating Qatari women to enter the work force and insha’Allah lead more fulfilling lives. After all, this was the daughter of one of his brothers — the first of many such young women that I have had the pleasure of teaching over the year.
AlJazy had not completed her art history in her freshman year, so when I came to the university the 2nd year I knew at some point she would be my student. After all, I was the only art historian for the next 5 years and all students were required to take my course. When several years passed without AlJazey taking art history I began to wonder about her. I had seen her work in graphic design and I knew she was talented, but I also noted that she struggled with her English skills and that’s enough to scare the hell out of most of the young women when it comes to taking my class. You see, I am well known as a very demanding teacher who requires a lot of reading and writing — and I don’t lower my standards because English is a second language to my students. In fact, perhaps because of that my students here in Doha can hold their own against their counterparts in the US.
Anyway, AlJazy did seem to be nervous when she finally got around to taking art history with me her senior year. But she didn’t need to be because what I discovered was that she was a committed student, who applied herself diligently to her assignments and although her grammar needed some brushing up from time to time, her ability to grasp the subject was solid. I found her to be a motivated and mature student — far more mature than the others — and that seemed to propel her into the successful completion of the course. Over the semester, we got to talking and I found out that she had actually been fostering some children since she was about 15, bringing them to come live in her home with her and taking all the responsibility a mother takes. She had help with nannies and maids, especially necessary seeing that she was in school herself, but she definitely was the “mom”. I remember how she talked about all the Blessings she had in her own life (not bragging or being indelicate by referring to her family’s fabulous wealth) and that it was her duty as a Muslim to help others. This was a few years after I had become a Muslim and I can even recall thinking that day that THIS philosophy was what drew me to Islam.
After AlJazy graduated she got married and again passed through my life. She came to my office to deliver her wedding invitation which was done up in the most fabulous style of such things here in the Gulf. Jazy delivered a box about the size of a small hatbox. After I unwrapped it I discovered a lovely Lalique cut-crystal bowl filled with the most scrumptious truffles fresh from Paris that day, along with the beautiful invitation hand-lettered in lovely calligraphy. I remember laughing and thinking that finally this woman was going to do up something in real “Gulf Style” and take advantage of some of those “Blessings” she had been born with. Unfortunately, I had to travel and was unable to attend the actual wedding but I heard that it was amazing and that Jazy looked lovely and very, very happy, Maash’Allah.
I hadn’t heard anything about Aljazy for the last year until I received an email notification of her death today. Apparently she was vacationing in Thailand when she passed away very suddenly. It made me so sad to think of such a sweet young woman leaving this earth so soon, but then I thought of the life she lived and that comforted me. I suspect that Allah has many more Blessings in store for Jazy in Paradise, insha’Allah. I went to the hutch where I keep her bowl and admired its beauty once again — just like I am reminded to admire Aljazy’s beauty.
Aljazy bint Abdulaziz Al-Thani:
O thou soul, in complete rest and satisfaction!
Come back to thy Lord, well pleased, and well pleasing unto Him!
Enter thou, then, among my Devotees!
Yea, enter thou My Heaven!
– Surah 89 (Al-Fajr)
July 4, 2006
July 2, 2006
I May Be A Brilliant Loser But Did You Also Know I Am A
Modern, Cool Nerd
78 % Nerd, 65% Geek, 30% Dork
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
I scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning me the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.
Nerds didn’t use to be cool, but in the 90’s that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn’t quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and “geek is chic.” The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!
