Monday, March 29, 2010

What’s Happening to us? 3 Posts in 1



What in the world is going on with our people? Everyone is going completely crazy, they’re out of their minds to the extent that makes you want to stay at home and not deal with anyone! The government (hello Mr. Government) should start the whole people on some sort of medication or I don’t know maybe start handing out Valium to people as soon as they turn 18.

People are shoving each other, staring at each other, stepping on each other’s feet, name-calling, hurting, stealing from and killing each other, every-frickin’-day! Every-frickin’-where; on the streets, at home, at work, in the supermarket, at the doctor’s office, you name it.

***********

You go out, hoping, wishing, expecting, dreaming to have a nice evening, drivers are going nuts, you’re going 80km/h and the guy behind you is honking his horn non-stop and flashing his lights cause he wants you to drive faster, the other lanes are totally empty but no, God forbid he switches lanes, you’re the one who has to either move your car’s fat ass from the street (unless you drive a hatchback in that case it’s flat ass) or drive faster than the speed of light in a street that has pedestrians coming out of the bushes and walking around vertically, horizontally and diagonally (and maybe sometimes in circles if they’re selling strawberries that are dyed red so they look better, but that’s another subject). One day I was about to go on a main street when this car came out of, well the horizon! And to give the driver the benefit of the doubt, maybe he doesn’t have a foot to step on the brakes, or maybe his car doesn’t have brakes in it (some cars don’t have brakes, yep, they have horns instead) so he kept going trillion km/h, and almost hit me, ok I do admit that I should’ve had my binoculars with me to see him coming from far, far away but anyway after that gentleman passed, he pulled over to the side and waited for me inside the car, so when my car was right beside his, he stuck his head out the window and spit on me! And oh what a view it was. But I’m happy to announce that the projectile didn’t have the necessary initial velocity to hit me :)

***********

On a completely different but equally frustrating subject, I bet you’ve all heard about that poor university student that was found murdered after having been missing for two weeks, as if that’s not enough trauma for his parents, while they were at the cemetery saying the last goodbye to their son, someone broke into their house and stole the father’s only source of income, his goats! The thieves took advantage of the fact that the family is out, burying their kid, to get in and steal what they wanted, I mean, how on earth could they have the heart to do that? This family’s story had been in the news for how long and it’s definitely known to everyone in the area and out of it, and for someone to be so stone-hearted and be able to do that is just beyond me.

***********

On a third completely different but also equally frustrating subject, the other day I was at the service center of the Engineers Association, it’s a very nice center with numbered counters, each for a certain purpose, and a really polite employee at each, and when you arrive you need to take a number and wait for your turn in a waiting area with chairs and all, not something you’d see in any service sector organization here in Jordan, anyways, I was waiting for my turn, and this guy came and took a number but kept wandering around bitching that one of the counters did not have an employee on it, so he kept yelling and complaining, saying that he’d been there for half an hour (more like half a minute but I had just got there so I wouldn’t know for sure) and no one came to help him, and a very nice gentleman came out of his office in the back and told him to calm down and that they will call someone right away and asked him very politely to sit down, so he came and sat down and while he was still talking, what was he saying? “jaybeenelna wa7deh 7amel bel shahr el tase3 mga3deehna 3al counter” (he was complaining that one woman at the counters is 9 months pregnant!) although I think she’s no more that 5-6 months but that’s not our subject, what the hell is wrong with being pregnant? Isn’t it enough that she might be very tired right now but is still doing her job perfectly? For the record, that pregnant woman helped me more than I could have asked for and was very nice, not something I’m used to when doing paperwork.

Seriously, people have got to chill down! Isn’t there something wrong in the fact that we get so excited and happy when someone is doing what they should do? That we’re shocked when someone is being nice but are seeing it very normal when they’re being obnoxious?

Have a lovely morning.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Thank You Almondjoycie!

I just received the nicest gift from fellow blogger Almondjoycie; three amazing limericks that were custom wrote for me :) yay! 
And I thought my name didn't rhyme with anything!

All three of them are here.

Thank you Almondjoycie!




Saturday, March 27, 2010

What Are We Idiots?

You know when you’re watching a show like Oprah or the Tyra Banks Show for example, and they get to the part where they’re surprising one of their viewers at home? I hate that part, I cannot stand it! (actually I hate all parts and I stopped watching these shows a long time ago but anyway)

So the viewer, and let’s call her Habla is supposedly sitting at home (wearing her best outfit and having a really great-hair day) clueless that the presenter, and let’s call her Showprah, is gonna show up at her door and surprise her, but the point is, how the hell did the cameraman with his stuff get inside the house and capture that moment when Habla is casually unknowingly walking towards the door to open it? Is he invisible? Or is she that stupid that she lets anyone in and figures out what they want later? (Like this unsuspecting couple right here, even the "Oh my God!" Is fake)

They're showing you the inside of the house for God's sake! Now they should either stop doing that, and just tell us that their fans were surprised and all, or shoot the outside of the place and then after they're all shocked and in tears, they can start shooting inside! At least then, I wouldn’t feel like I need to beat the crap out of everyone who believes it that much. 

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Strict Teachers Required!

So the other day I was checking my Facebook and looking after my crops and produce as usual, when I noticed this ad on the side of the browser:



For non-Arabic speaking readers, this roughly translates to
Strict Arab Teachers
if you are a strict teacher, hurry and sign up for your name to be included in the Strict Arab Teachers Guide, and start receiving applications for education of students who are in need of strict teachers”.
(Excuse my bad translation here but this is the only way I could put it).

Does that seem regular to you? Cause it seemed kind of fishy to me! Anyway, I clicked the link to see what it's all about, apparently there's this group, I'll let you read:

(Click on the picture to enlarge it)

Notice that you can’t directly join the group unless you submit a request to do so.

Also, for those of you who will ask why my Facebook is in Italian, I happen to like it that way, and I did it because I need to brush up on my Italian every now and then, and no it’s not falsafeh, (Ayah I’m speaking to you here).

Here's the link to the Facebook group to read the complete info, and this is a link to the site, on which you will find this picture:



Read on here for more creepiness.

Now I don’t know about you, but those pictures made me really uncomfortable, and other than being intimidating, they sort of seem like they belong in “one of those sites” you know? Ones with perverse fantasies and whatnot.

Bottom line, and in case you don't speak Arabic or haven’t visited the site, apparently this is like a guide which gives parents access to the services of "strict" teachers\nannies! And they are recruiting, or whatever it is that they do, right now.

Now what do they mean by "strict"?

معلمات صارمات لتربية وتعليم ابنائهم باستخدام الاسلوب العقلي والعقاب البدني المدروس وحسب الاساليب التربوية القديمة المثبت نجاحها علميا وعمليا في تربية الاجيال السابقه بما يسمى العقاب المدرسي (الـفـلـكـه) ولكن شريطة عدم الضرب المبرح واستخدام العقاب كوسيلة تربوية فقط، وهو ما نضمنه لجميع اولياء الامور من خلال تعهد شخصي يلتزم به ولي امر الطالب والمعلمه التي يختارونها من خلال دليل معلماتنا المعتمدات من قبلنا

الأسلوب المتبع لدينا
وهو الأسلوب التقليدي القديم الحديث والذي مازال يثبت نجاحاته ألا وهو بما يسمى " الفلقه" ضرب المؤخرة

المعلمة التي تعاقب بهذا الأسلوب تقوم بالاستحواذ الكامل على تفكير طلابها حتى أثناء نومها في بيتها يبقى الطالب متذكرا ما طلبت منه معلمته خوفا من إغضابها ويقوم باتباع أوامرها كما طلبت منه ذلك دون تردد أو تواطىْ حتى لو طلبت منه النوم واقفا.. سيقوم بذلك تلبية لرغبة معلمته والاستماع لأوامرها. وهنا يأتي دور المعلمة بتحويل هذا الخوف لرغبه لإعادة التربية وتصحيح السلوك الهمجي لهكذا نوع من الطلاب

Teachers who will physically punish your kids, hold on, BY SPANKING them! According to them, this is the only effective way for parents to discipline their children, but they're guaranteeing that they will not be causing any harm or injuries to children!

They’re also saying that a teacher or a nanny that uses spanking for disciplining kids will take over their thoughts and will make them obey her even when she’s “sleeping at home” and spoiled brats will avoid embarrassment by doing what the teacher says they have to do!

So how does this thing work?

If you are a teacher, you send them your CV, and they take a look and see if you’re qualified enough to spank kids (you might wanna send them pictures of butts you previously spanked attached with your CV), then they list you in their guide, and parents looking for people like you, you freak, will contact them and ask for your, ahem, services. Also, this is limited to some Arab countries like Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, and prices are US$20 per 90 minutes!

The whole thing is way too creepy, and I’m kinda curious to know what happens after someone registers with them, or at least contacts them.

Tell me if you find this normal

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Do You Remember This Book?

If you grew in an Arab country in the 1990’s you must remember this book



It was HUGE back then, our Wikipedia at that time, I remember taking every piece of info I needed for school from it, and we had the cover laminated so it won’t get dirty, hell I want to go find it.

Don’t tell me you don’t remember it.

Monday, March 22, 2010

I Need My Brain Formatted



Facebook, Blogger, Wordpress, Twitter, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, MSN, Google, Wikipedia, Flickr, Windows Outlook, Internet Explorer, Chrome, FireFox, E-mail, Tweet, post, comment, tag, app., inbox, outbox, spam, junk, sent, deleted, login, sign in, refresh, reload, send\receive, forward, reply, bookmarks, favourites, new window, new tab, nudge, Online, Busy, Idle, Away, Offline, exit, logout, sign out, close page, close window, Shut Down...


How many days can you live without your computer?

The Ugly Duckling Goes Floral

The Blog of the Ugly Duckling decided to get a makeover :) so in celebration of the spring season, he decided to go floral. Hope you like it! Say na3eeman :)

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Please Don't... Part II

I would like to know who started this fad of exaggerated makeup! What the hell people? This is UGLY, it’s UGGGGLY, it’s hideous, it’s unattractive, it’s scary, it’s not pretty, it doesn’t make you look any better, it looks like paint, ugly paint.


The false lashes look like as if an insect with a hundred legs crawled up your face and settled there, and oh God when the white glue is showing, it’s like that insect laid eggs there.


What's the difference?


The lipstick looks like it’s about to drip, it’s like some sort of paste, or it’s so glossy that it looks sticky and wet. And whats worse is that the lipliner pencil is used on the face instead of the lips (the whole thing should tossed out if you want my opinion).


You also don’t have to use the whole bottle of foundation, or powder, you look like a sponge cake.




I’d like to know that if we ever say hello and kiss on the cheek (even if it’s in the air) that your makeup won’t come off or get smudged, I would also like to not be able to smell your makeup! Yes I can smell it, I’m sure that’s not your perfume, and it’s not your shampoo either, nope, that’s the smell of your cakey foundation, 1 kilogram of pure face paste painted with a brush.

Also, I don’t want strands of my hair glued to your lips if the wind blows (or not), I don’t care if your lip gloss tastes like zucchini or strawberry.

And please, puh-leaaaase, don’t ever, ever, ever cover acne with layers and layers of makeup, without it, it’s just a zit, and when you layer it on, it becomes like another small face is growing out of yours.

And what is up with the concealer that’s 5 shades lighter? That just makes you look like you were out in the sun all day long and got your cheeks sun burnt.


And the rainbow eye shadow?


You need to learn from the pros






I'd like to hear what the guys have to say about it. Maybe if we have enough votes we could get the governments to ban this :S

Thursday, March 18, 2010

MBA? Make That MKA.


The Jordan University for Imaginary Studies is pleased to announce the launching of a new program, starting in the fall 2010 semester, the program is titled “Master’s degree of Kissing Ass (MKA)”.

The launching of the course came as a result of the university’s high interest in the needs and expectations of graduate students around Jordan.



Course description: this course covers the fundamentals of ass-kissing and aims at providing students with the required skills and knowledge to help them achieve something in their lives and become valuable employees in their organizations, in addition to training them to become successors of their current seniors.


(I can’t believe I found this picture, it’s like it was drawn especially for my post.)

The program comprises the following courses:

1. Ass-kissing 101: covers the basics of ass-kissing: greeting the boss at morning and afternoon, staying at boss’s office even when there’s nothing to do there, complimenting boss and attaching oneself to boss’s behind.


2. Ass-kissing for female bosses: covers the fundamentals of sucking up to your female boss, including complimenting her on her looks as well as her unprecedented skills compared to other working women.

3. Ass-kissing for older bosses: this course teaches students how to make a huge deal out of their boss’s 20 years of experience and how it is so weird and unfair that he’s not the CEO\ General Manager\ Minister\ Head of whatever place they work at.

4. Ass-kissing for younger bosses: aims to familiarize students with the basics of kissing their younger boss’s ass, including explaining how the company\institution needs young minds with fresh ideas and talented people (like boss) in management.

5. Tattletaling 101: covers the fundamentals of the art of tattletaling; course chapters include material such as tattling on juniors, tattling on employees of the same level, as well as the art of getting people fired\punished\scolded .. etc.

6. Learning who to CC: this course teaches students who they should CC in their outgoing emails either as a way of making the CCed person feel important or as a way of subtly letting the boss know the other person hasn’t done what they were asked to do yet.

Registration for the course begins Thursday, March 18, 2010. Course fees are 50% of the raise you will be getting on your salary in addition to 20% Rosoom da3m lel jame3aat al wahmeyyeh.

Students are advised to wear some sort of protection on their noses since it will get brown with time, as well as loose fitting pants to ensure comfort when practicing “hazz al danab”.


Who wants in?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Thank God for: The Mute Button…


Probably the best thing since potatoes, this is the most important button on any remote control unit (or computer).

Sometimes when I’m watching TV, when the commercials come on the sound gets really loud, so the best thing to do then is pressing the mute button. And speaking of commercials, I can’t figure out how they suddenly became so annoying that I can’t even stand them. In the past (here we go with the nostalgia again) we used to be so happy when they came on, and in the days before satellite dishes came to Jordan, I never used the mute button, it was one of those dangerous buttons on the remote that we’d be scared of pressing (like the teletext one which freaked the heck out of us when we accidentally pressed it) heck we used to look forward to the ads on TV, now they’re just lame, annoying, noisy and plain pathetic!

Also, while we’re on the mute button subject, long live pacifiers! They’re like a mute button for babies, I don’t care if they supposedly cause the baby to have crooked teeth in the future, they’re just pure bliss, and I wish parents would start using them for 4-5 year-old children.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Defending Islam? It's Better Off Without It!


You’ve all heard of this Facebook page that was created by someone claiming to be God (wal 3eyathu bellah) well I don’t think he believes he is in fact God, the guy’s just mocking Muslims mostly, and every other non-Muslim who believes in God.

The thing is, everyone is starting those groups that are trying to spread the word, and underline “spread the word”, about it, to get people to report the page as inappropriate and have it deactivated by Facebook, Farah talked about it here, and I have to say I agree with her that this type of people should be ignored rather than publicized, but what irritates me most is the so-called Muslims who actually join the groups or become fans of the page in order to get to comment on its posts. I checked out the page, what this guy writes is absolutely appalling, but it didn’t upset me as much as what people who are supposed to be defending their religion wrote; comments on the posts including the dirtiest most disgusting words, cursing the guy (and the female members of his family I’m sorry to say) as a way of standing up to him!!!

I cannot understand how saying that you want to (let’s put it this way:) perform sexual acts on the guy’s mother is your way of expressing anger towards the guy! Or defending Islam and letting him know that you don’t accept it when he insults God.

I will tell you this: if this is your way of sticking up to your religion and defending it, then Islam is better off without your help, your shallowness is what's destroying us.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Happy Driving to All of You!

What’s with girls crossing the streets? Is there like a speed limit (of one step per five minutes) for female pedestrians?


Every time I’m driving, and especially when I’m in a hurry, there has to be a very very very slow girl (or most of the time two girls) crossing the street like she’s walking on eggshells.

The other day on my way to work, I had to take a right turn and when I did there was one of those (as I call them) “the whole world is against me” type of woman, and I wish I could say she was crossing the street but she wasn’t, because she was walking in a parallel line with cars! I’m telling ya the woman had her own lane in the middle of the street, and when you’re driving on the main road and all the cars behind you are waiting for you to take the damn turn the last thing you need is someone walking slowly right at the spot you’re turning from. So I honked the horn very gently and in a very subtle way and what do I get? You’ve guessed it: the death stare. So I was like “ya sabbaa7 ya 3aleem”, la2 w ya rait et7arrakat! It was something like this:


Anyway this is not just about girls, guys also have their things when crossing the street, you know when you’re driving, and you see that this guy just saw you so he didn’t cross, but when you’re just next to him he starts to? It’s like he’s throwing himself at your car! I have no clue why they do that but it freaks the hell out of me!

And speaking of those, watch out from those people who intentionally throw themselves at the car as a way to get money from you, there’s more of them these days. A couple of months ago I was also driving in Wadi Saqra Street (from the Hada’eq side) and it was almost empty aside from a few cars when suddenly these two boys jump out from between the bushes to cross the frickin' street and one of the them was wearing roller blades so he almost fell in front of the car!!! I have to say I spent the night searching for my heart which fell between the pedals and finally picked it up and put it back inside of me.




A couple of things before I go:

1. Happy women’s day to all the ladies out there, please walk faster.

2. Before you starting reading too much into it, the woman in the picture is wearing a Hijab only because the one in the story did, and I’m NOT saying Muslim women stare at you when you honk your horn. And they definitely won’t kill you if you do either.

3. Volkswagen are NOT paying me to use their car interior in the picture where my heart is next to the gas pedal, my obsessive compulsiveness is the reason for it, because I do drive a Volkswagen and I want everything to be like it is in real life. (for the record, it is the BEST car I’ve ever driven and I love it and you should go buy one).

4. My heart is ok now al hamdolellah.

Jordanian Car Chase

I talked about Jordanian TV series before here, and in the comments, Ola mentioned the show they aired in Ramadan last year "Nesf Al-Qamar", well unfortunately I didn't get to watch it all, but I did see some episodes for the sake of making comments like the ones you read in the post :) plus I needed the laugh to digest what I ate on al Iftaar, anyways, this is a car chase scene that I also talked about here, only this time it's Jordanian, oh the amount of pride I'm feeling right now, enjoy.


Sunday, March 7, 2010

Your Ultimate Guide to: Posting a Photo Album on Facebook

Alright, so you’re a girl, and you’re going to post your pictures on Facebook, what you need to know is that you can’t just take a picture wherever you are and however you look and just post it, you need to pose for photos in certain ways, that is if you wanna be like the rest of Facebook community girls, and now I’m going to teach you how :)

1. If you recently graduated from university, you have to (and by have to I mean that you’ll never find that 3arees if you don’t) post your yearbook photo, with the graduation robe, and make sure the lining of the sleeves is included in the photo, you want the 3arees to know which faculty you graduated from don’t you?



2. Now, go get some black eyeliner, smudge black eye-shadow on your lids, done? Get that camera and take a picture of your eyes, make sure you neatly plucked your eyebrows though, they're a necessary element in the picture.



3. Akeed you have a favorite big teddy bear sitting on your bed right? Go sit behind it, cuddle it, say cheese (or not) ok.



4. Now let’s pretend there’s absolutely no one there to take your picture, again, get the camera, stand in front of a mirror, NO smiling, now try to look like the whole world is against you, there you go.




5. You have got to have a photo of you putting your hand on your cheek, it’s the default.




6. You also need to take your own picture from up above, looking up, because we’d really like to know how people who are one meter taller than you see you.


7. You’ll need your best friend for this one; now both of you pucker up, smokin’ hot.


8. Now you finally blow-dried your hair, we need to immortalize the moment, play with your hair and mess it up while your photo is being taken. Shattoora.



9. So you finally got a car (or a driving license), the photo of you driving the car is the only way to let people know, you know.



10. Finally, the next time you go out, remember to have your picture taken while you’re grabbing any metal object, preferably a pole, don’t forget to do the victory sign with your fingers and move your hip backwards for a “provocative” look.



For the record, as much as I wanted to post some real pictures from our Arab Facebookers to show the real thing, el mawdou3 momken yseer 3aleh takh w hek ashya2, so I got these from those famous photo sites, 3ashan ma 7ada yeeji y2olli “where did you get my picture you perv?” and for the record also, you have no idea how hard it is to find pictures of fully dressed girls on the internet :( it seems that the word “girl” is replacing “naked girl”, le ghayaat al ekhtesar only.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Famous Baby


Do you remember this kid? He used to be everywhere when I was little! He reminds me so much of my late grandmother's house because this picture was on her wall for as long as I can remember. And we always wanted to know why he's crying. Is it by a famous artist or something?

It reminded me of this episode of Friends (the relevant part starts at 1:50)

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Venting Some Steam


This goes to every patronizing A-hole who thinks they’re better than waiters, busboys, delivery guys, valets, cleaning ladies, janitors, mail men, maids and any other person who earns a living working their butts off to help us.

To the guy who yelled at the valet outside a restaurant because he wasn’t paying attention.

To Jerk who called the restaurant to bitch about the delivery boy because he was late due to a mistake made by the girl who took the order, and almost got the guy let go.

To the people who through the tips at waiters like they’re slaves.

To every piece of crap who thinks he’s better than them because his shoes and watch cost more than those people’s homes.

This is to the girl who yelled at the cleaning lady who’s probably 30 years older than she is.

To the arrogant boss who cursed at his employees in the hallway last week.

To the woman who keeps shouting at her maid in front of everyone to get her to clean.

This goes to everyone who uses the words “do you even know who I am?”

And to everyone who brags about how much their stuff costs.

I say: first of all, if you can’t find something other than your shoes to be proud of, then maybe there no more to you than just a pair of shoes.

And second, just leave the damn price tag on it, we’ll take a look and based on that decide how we should treat you, after all isn’t that what you basically do?

Chocolate Chip Muffins With a Twist



Since I love Google-image-ing (that’s a made up word) photos of yummy stuff like I’ve done here, I was really fighting the urge to do it again, this time with a chocolate theme, but I’ve decided to be useful and share this recipe of Mocha Muffins from Joy of Baking, I’ve tried it several times, I have to say the outcome was somewhat similar to Mrs. Fields’ chocolate chip muffins (which I enjoy microwaving and eating after the chocolate chips have melted) I’m not sure about the mocha part though, the coffee flavor was not obvious in any way, but then again I’m fine with just chocolate, if you do want it to taste more like coffee however, try using stronger flavored coffee or maybe just more coffee! I don’t like to stick to the recipe and I always have something to alter, but that’s up to you guys :)

One more thing I’d like to add, if you can’t find buttermilk (I know because I’ve looked for it but haven’t found any place that sells it here in Jordan) you can substitute it like this:

For every cup of buttermilk, get one cup of milk, warm it a little but don’t let it boil, and then add just over a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, stir it, and let it sit there for about ten to fifteen minutes, then when you take out the spoon the milk should be thicker or it should have a texture similar to that of yogurt, but not creamy yogurt, more like Middle-eastern yogurt, ok you get the point.

Now the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

3/4 cup (180 ml) safflower or canola oil

1/2 cup (120 ml) strong black coffee, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups (165 grams) whole wheat flour (this will give them a unique flavor)

1/3 cup (30 grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted

1 cup (210 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup (170 grams) cappuccino, semisweet, and/or white chocolate chips


Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, coffee, and vanilla extract.

In another large bowl combine the flours, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Or to put it bedoun falsafeh: mix all the wet ingredients, then combine all the dry ingredients, and then stir everything together :)

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop (from my experience you have to fill only 2/3 of each muffin cup or just a little bit more, because their size almost doubles). Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes about 12 regular sized muffins.

Source:

Fox, Margaret S. & Bear, John B. 'Morning Food'. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley: 1990. (this is the source mentioned by the site I got the recipe from)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

One for the Celebs.

Roba's gummy bear chandelier was too bright for my eyesight, so I'm using this table lamp to ease the effects :)

You can find it here.





Cool right?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Back Then...

Do you remember the days, when people used to be equal? When the difference between the rich and the poor was no more than a piece of land, when we all ate the same bread, drank the same water, wore the same clothes and played the same games?

Back when stones were something we played with, not something people use to break the windshield of a car that they will never be able to afford, or shed the blood of a stranger in the street?



Back when finding that little plastic soldier in a bag of corn snacks would make our day? 


 

When we would wait for the weekend to come to get our “Majallet Majed” and be able to find “Fodooli” hiding between the drawings?



When games had no wires, and tree leaves and mud would make a “Bait-Byout” game so alive?

Back when the mornings of El-Eid will be filled with the smell of baked Ma3mool, and when we wouldn’t sleep the night before waiting to wear our new outfits?


Do you remember when she:


 used to present the news, instead of having to listen to these:

When commercials were catchy songs, and everyone anxiously waited for the series that came after the 8 o’clock news cast?





Back when Jordan TV and Syria TV were the only channels we watched, and Jordan TV would air children’s shows at four o’clock for a couple of hours on weekdays and at ten a.m. on Thursday and Friday?

When education was education, and teachers were role models, principals were highly respected and we would stand up when they entered the class room? When getting ready for a new semester at school meant shopping for stationary, and notebooks, pencils and erasers were something we looked forward to buying?

When university graduates knew something, and when universities were sacred places?

Do you remember when our blood had no price? And when a bleeding person didn't have to pay 15 JD to get a unit of it? It cost nothing back then, but somehow, it had more value, it was precious, it meant life, and now they're selling it.




p.s. This song reminded me of those days