skip the bunnies, eid is for sheeps.

Eid Mubarak to everyone! It's Eid Al-Adha, I find myself celebrating only with friends, away from my family due to time and distance and although I spoke to my parents this morning wishing them a happy Eid, I would've liked to celebrate with them.

Some ads:

Via: http://adsoftheworld.com/forum/43273

Via: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/mcdonalds_eid_mubarak

Although relevant to Ramadan, this one is too good not to post:

Via: http://muslimtees.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/brilliant-advertisement-brilliant-message/

Some gift ideas:

Make sure to keep the evil eye away (from Etsy)

And eat the proper portions (from Etsy)

Sites to check out for some great stuff:

Hijab Man (controversial?)

Muslim Girl.net

Muslim Girl Magazine

Jetpack, or how I figured out how to get across checkpoints

Last night, a brilliant idea came to me. I merged my love of Boba Fett, human rights and innovation and created this:

"JETpack: for wherever the IDF decides to take you"
click image to view larger
Thank me when you get through Kalandia in under five.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelimage/504743509/

Conversations with my mother

"I've been published mom, in print!" I tell her, happily.
"Send me the link honey!"
"Print mom, print!" I say.
"There's no link?" She asks.
"Paper."

"Your grandfather wants me to tell you to stay away from politics. He says live life and forget about this nonsense."
"Life would cease to have meaning," I respond.

"You know your dad's second cousin's wife's dad? And your late grandfather's brother's wife?"
"Yeah what about them?" I reply.
"Well they got married. She's 68, he's 80."
"Woah," I respond.
"I know, your father and I spent the entire day laughing, I almost left work!"

"Your grandfather also told me about his new venture. Hooking up widows his age."

"I came back and the house was a mess so I spent the entire day cleaning. I mean you know how your sister is, if death came knocking on her door she wouldn't get up for him."
- her love of directly translating sayings from various languages to English.

Why one state is the only solution

Huwaida is a Palestinian-Arab, Adam is Jewish, they are married. Who said we can't get along? Their union gives everyone more hope that the one state solution is the most viable one. I never liked the two-state idea, ever, and it's great to see more discussion around one state.

Ryerson is hosting this event on Monday, November 23rd at 7pm (LIB 72 - 350 Victoria Street). It's a fundraiser for the Free Gaza Movement. Make an effort and be there, cause I will.

R4 Fashion

Waterloo University and fashion don't usually mix, but R4 Fashion, an upcoming fashion event in Toronto, is organized by Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP) at the University of Waterloo. The event is looking to bring together students, young entrepreneurs, industry leaders and fashion community members for a celebration of Canadian designers who are eco-conscious. The show will feature garments that are composed of organic and sustainable materials from some great designers. There's also a couple of awesome people on the jury (The Style Box) and guests like Evan Biddell. Get your tickets here.

Le Caire

My mother's best friend, a woman who passed at an age far too young, was Egyptian. She had a boy and a girl, which my older sister and I hung out with frequently. When my parents worked late, we'd sleep at their house. When I was five, I was playing at the park in front of the apartment complex we lived in and I heard an older Egyptian woman yell at her son. I rushed home to tell my mother that someone is yelling our language downstairs and I think they should meet. To this day, I consider her and her late husband like my grandparents in Canada.

"We are cooking some Egyptian dishes today, and Umm Ali for dessert, " she says. "I thought you said Egyptian food isn't good?" I reply. "Yes, but they have some good dishes, like zaghareed bil freekeh." "Oh yes! Remember when we ate it that time before the Fifi Abdoo play?" he jumps in reminiscing one of their many visits. "How can I forget it? The taste is still in my mouth 20 years later!" she replies. They both laugh.

As I ventured out to explore a Canadian city and province I had never visited, everything suddenly turned Egyptian. At the Forks, Egyptian 3D puzzles and Pharaoh figurines filled the shelves of toy stores, and chocolates in the shapes of Pharaohs lined the bonbonnerie. My return to the house is greeted with a call from my mother's Egyptian friend while my bookmark stops at a chapter when the main character begins her new life in Egypt.

I sit there imagining what it must've been like, how happy a time it was for them. I think to myself, it's too bad I was so young that I can't remember it. It's even worse that I don't think they'll ever feel joy about little things like that again.

From my Google Reader

I'm sorry, I have no time to write. Just this stuff.

Un tour de Manège from Les Manèges on Vimeo.

Via Fubiz

Après la Pluie ©2008Gobelins from Emmanuelle Walker on Vimeo.

Via Drawn

Via Coute que Coute

Via Designboom

Via The Coolist

Via The Independent