Hey friends,
here are my two favorite people in the world: Adeen and Zaeem (my niece and nephew!)
Mansur
To Realize…
Hey friends,
I am sure some of you may have received this in a forward email, but I just thought, with so little time on my own hands (thanks to a 8-8 job) I am realizing how precious time really is, and that we should make full use of it. I have a screen saver on my work computer that says Carpe Diem— Seize the Day! (from The Dead Poets’ Society)
To Realize….
To realize
The value of a sister
Ask someone
Who doesn’t have one.
To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.
To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.
To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.
To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize
The value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realize
The value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.
To realize the value of a friend:
Lose one.
Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.
—
Mansur
American Idol 2006 :: Finale
Hello friends,
American Idol season 5 is finally over. I just finished watching the repeat of the show, and I am covered with goosebumps as I saw all the top 12 finalists come on stage and sing amazing songs.
I followed American Idol for the first time last year in 2005 and it was a lot of fun, especially as I following the show with my very good friend in Riyadh! The finale last year literally gave me goosebumps as I heard Carrie Underwood sing Angels Brought Me Here. So, I was equally as excited as her when American Idol was showing this year!
Katherine McPhee and Taylor Hicks were two favorites right from the beginning. There were couple of shocks elimination too, namely Chris Daughtry, that too on my birthday!
American Idol is one of the best reality show out there, but the nicest thing about is that its a clean, fun show to watch. There is no backstabbing, gossiping, romance like you see in all the other shows. You don’t see the singers on Idol behind the scenes, except when they are practicing their music. Each week, we would see the people sing, and the following day see who America voted out. Each passing week saw an increase of voters. For the finale, 63.3 million people voted, and that’s more than any American president ever received, which goes to show how popular the show is.
I had such an amazing time watching the two hour finale, and I think my friend who shared the journey with me over the last so many weeks, will testify to the fact how emotional the show is, with moments making you laugh out loud and moments that gets right to your heartstrings (Elliott and his mom being one!)
I am sad American Idol has ended, now I will have to wait for another year. To those who think this show is just another talent show, think again, because every single winner, including the runner up, have sold more than 3 million copies, with Kelly Clarkson (winner season 1) racking up two Grammys this year.
So friends, this year, the winner is Taylor Hicks, who has performed consistently over the season, and I will be the first one out there to buy his album. Having said that, I am also a huge fan of the runner up, Katherine McPhee, and I will buy her album too!
(L-R: Katherine, Carrie (season 4 winner), Taylor-winner 2006)Mansur
The Da Vinci Code: Blockbuster!
Hey friends,
The verdict is finally out. The Da Vinci Code made $224m in its opening weekend. Although the figures were lower than expected in the US, the worldwide release of this movie made The Da Vinci Code only the second movie in the world with the highest figures upon release (Stars Wars Episode 3 is in first place!) One thing the director has been stressing over and over is that this movie is a piece of fiction, and is not based on theology. Even in the book, the author mentions that this book is a piece of fiction. Keeping that in mind, I think this movie will be a fun and exciting movie to watch, despite bad reviews, because this kind of movie is supposed to be a fun, summer blockbuster kind of movie and not a lesson in theology!
Mansur
The Da Vinci Code excitement
Hey friends,
The one thing I am most excited about is the release of the movie The Da Vinci Code. The movie was screened at the Cannes film festival where it received from lukewarm to not too good reviews. Critics claim it’s more of a summer blockbuster than theology-based movie it really should be. I for one, have read the book and absolutely loved it. Here’s my book review of it.
Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, and I am so excited to see his new movie. I am prepared for this movie to not live up to my expectations, but it’s been directed by Ron Howard, who has chosen to treat this movie as a summer blockbuster, a captivating intense, mystery detective thriller movie. I always loved the Indiana Jones series because of the adventure/ mystery element of it.
I am just really waiting in anticipation for the movie to be released.
Right now, there is a huge debate going on whether the movie should be released here in the UAE or not. The censor board has agreed to release the movie, with one scene chopped off. I still don’t understand what the deal is with the censor board. If the book, both the regular and illustrated ones, are available here, why are you delaying the release of the movie. It’s like what they did with Syriana. They allowed the filmmakers to shoot parts of the movie in Dubai, and then when it came for the movie to be released, they delayed it by so much that people eventually ended up watching it on pirated DVD, thereby hurting the movie sales when it was eventually released a little too late.
Anyways, it’s coming out here on May 31st, and I am going to make sure to catch the first day show. Will let you all know how it is.
Mansur
