Uncategorized

Little Red Riding Hood: 25 years later

Little Red Riding hoodLittle Red Riding Hood
She has to cross the woods (now turned into massive jungles and roamed by all kinds of creatures) , she does it at least once a week to see grandma. She might carry food or not, but she goes mainly to help her mom and put grandma to bed.

She arrives, plants a kiss on grandma's cheek as she's watching Television. Opens the fridge and gets her a cup of yogurt and another of rice pudding. As granny is having her light dinner, she prepares the bed, the nappies to change, switches the charged phone headset with the one used all day and sometimes gets a fresh glass of water on the bedside table.

When grandma is done with her little food, she wants to go to bed immediately to get her grandchild home as soon as possible. She fulfills grandma's wish, gets her the night's medicines and helps her up, gently holding her from under her arm as she leans on her walking aid. Then she slowly walks behind her praying that grandma wouldn't fall on the way to the bedroom because that would be a disaster she wouldn't know how to handle! She changes her, tucks her in, plugs the TV, switches on the night light and turns off the other lights then kisses grandma goodnight and locks the door. She counts the times she span the key, assures herself verbally that she locked the door and remembers she didn't turn the gas on so no need to go back in and double check.

The way back home takes 5 minutes but she has to cross a dark area. She secures her earphones, always grateful to the sound of Axl screaming in her ears and blocking the noise of the outside world away. That song she's been playing on repeat-one for weeks now seems to be her hideaway from insanity.

Photo credit: WPA poster by Kenneth Whitley, 1939.

A fragment of time

.. and as we sat in the dark projection hall watching the movie, I found myself not just watching the movie. I was watching him watch the movie. I was watching the screenlight draw the outlines of his face. I was watching that sparkle in his eyes. I was watching him become a child again, watching him being unwatched by anyone but me and realizing that I was in love with him.

-- excerpt from Chapter 30

Untitled-1

takeef

 

زجاجات مياة داخل جهاز التكييف -مكتب في وزارة الصحة

 

anbouba

 

أنبوبة بوتاجاز خلف الباب - نفس المكتب في وزارة الصحة

 

talaba

 

ملصق لطلبة الإخوان - شئون الطلبة - كلية الصيدلة - جامعة القاهرة

 

ma7moul

 

إكرف البنت تحبك - حب البنت تكرفك - كشك في الدقي

 

Renga baby

بياع رنجة ليلة العيد - الظاهر

heeg

ترجمة علامة زجاجة اسكوتش قديمة جداً و غالباً ما تحتوي الآن على منظف .. بدون تعليق

About

shamoussaI'm 28, I'm Egyptian.

This space is about me, what I like, my photography and designs, some stories.. a bit of everything I do and some of what I am..

I hope you have a pleasant experience browsing and let me hear from you, tell me what you think about my work.

 

The magic of Christmas day..

xmas tree1
Deck the halls with boughts of holly
It's the season to be jolly
And be thankful for all that we have
All the lights and decorations
Put up in anticipation
Of the joyful celebration
That's on its way
(We're) counting the days
'Til it's time for Christmas day
Oh and God bless us everyone
The good and the bad
The happy; the sad
Oh and God bless us everyone
Here's to family and friends
It's good to be here again
On the streets there's children laughing
People smile as they are passing
Christmas time is here, our waiting is done
Wishing it could last forever
Not just twelve days in December
Through the year let's try to remember
That special way
That everyone feels
It's the magic of Christmas day
Oh and God bless us everyone
The good and the bad
The happy; the sad
Oh and God bless us everyone
Here's to family and friends
It's good to be here again
So fill your heart with love and joy
And through the eyes of girls and boys
Share their wonder, live through their joy
It's easy to do, just open your heart
The spirit will come to you
Oh and God bless us everyone
The good and the bad
The happy; the sad
Oh and God bless us everyone
Here's to family and friends
It's good to be here again
(Celine Dion, These are special times)
xmas angel

Hymn to Isis

Because I am the first and the last
I am the venerated and the scorned
I am the whore and the saint
I am the wife and the virgin
I am the mother and the daughter
I am the arms of my mother
I am the sterile one, and my children are many
I am the well-wed and the spinster
I am the one who gave the light and the one who never gave birth
I am the wife and the husband
And it was my man who bore me in his belly
I am the mother of my father
I am the sister of my husband
And he is my rejected son
Respect me always
Because I am the scandalous and the discreet.

The hymn to Isis discovered in Nag Hammadi, scholars claim was written between the 3rd and 4th centuries of our age

Source: Warrior of the Light Online by Paulo Coelho Edition 56
I do prefer the Spanish version though!

Why Por Qué y Para Qué?? Part 2 ليه و علشان إيه .. ليه؟؟ الجزء الثاني

The Eternal search for the meaning

I was shocked 2 weeks ago when I accidentally found the first article I wrote for a local school paper.. it was about "Who am I??" you know as a person and those questions arising when you want to know yourself better. It was written like 10 years ago, I was 16 and in the last year at school. I found myself asking in the beginning of the second page why and what for am I like that??
What?? The same question.. why and what for?? I asked it 10 years ago, I asked it again last year and I still haven't found an answer today
I've known days when this was my one and only question, it was about life itself, why and what for do we live?? What am I doing with my life? Why am I doing that to my life?? Why and What for is life doing that to me? At a moment there was no meaning, sometimes there's still no meaning..
May be was I meant to search till the end of my days for the meaning of my life ..
Regret.. that's what terrifies me the most, discovering too late, taking the wrong steps.. I hate regretting something, I try in every way before giving up to avoid asking the question "What if??". Suddenly the "Why and what for?" seems a lot more indulgent when you compare it with the "what if"
"Why" searches for the reason which should not always be a reason behind something that occurred in the past , it could be the reason why something will take place and "What for" tries to find the big meaning, the goal, the desired ending. Why and What for (Por qué y Para qué?) are not as desperate as they sound, they seem actually to investigate (where did I get this word from, I'm beginning to sound just like my boss!) for the future. Wow! I guess I just realized that the question of my life carries a lot of hope and optimism.. come on, it's not like the "What if??" which implies regret (may be it would imply alternatives too if asked in the future?? Or in a scientific research Dr. R)
When I discovered that I've been asking the same question for almost 10 years now, I thought "Ouch! I seem not to have grown up!"
Then I said to myself.. naaah, you are growing, because every "por qué" is different than the following, every "para qué" is unique.
I'll keep asking and asking and living and searching..
Searching for the meaning and living it to its fullest..

ترجمة "شبه" حرفية .. بس مش ضحك على الدقون
البحث الأبدي عن المعنى

صدمت منذ أسبوعين عندما اكتشفت أول مقال كتبته لصحيفة مدرسية محلية، كان المقال عنوان "من أنا؟" و كان يطرح العديد من الأسئلة حول إكتشاف الذات و العديد من التساؤلات التي تخطر على البال عندما يحاول الإنسان أن يعرف نفسه بشكل أفضل. كتب هذا المقال منذ 10 سنوات، كنت في السادسة عشرة و في آخر سنة في المدرسة. ما صدمني هو أنني وجدت نفسي أسأل في بداية الصفحة الثانية "أنا كده ليه و علشان إيه؟" يا نهار أسود!! برضه نفس السؤال و يلف الزمن و يدور و يوم ما تطلعلي مدونة أسميها على سؤالي المفضل…
سألت نفسي في العام الماضي "ليه و علشان إيه؟" عندما عرفت أياماً خالية من المعنى، كان هذا هو سؤالي الوحيد فيها؟ ليه و علشان إيه إحنا عايشين؟؟ إيه إللي انا بأعمله في حياتي؟؟ ليه بأعمل كده في حياتي؟؟ ليه الدنيا بتعمل فيا كده؟؟ مهما كثرت الأسئلة كانت تلف و تدور حول ليه و علشان إيه؟؟ هذا البحث عن المعنى .. أحياناً لم أكن أجد هذا المعنى و في بعض الأيام لا أزال لا أجده!
ربما كتب عليَّ البحث عن معنى حياتي حتى آخر يوم فيها..
الندم.. هذا هو ما يرعبني.. أن أكتشف المعنى متأخراً.. أن أكون قد إتخذت القرارات الخاطئة..
أنا أكره الندم و لهذا أحاول كثيراً - قبل الإستسلام - لأتفادى أن أسأل نفسي "ماذا لو؟"
فجأة تبدو لي "ليه و علشان إيه؟" أهوَن كثيراً طبعاً بعد مقارنتها بـ "ماذا لو؟"
"ليه": تبحث عن السبب و الذي لا يشترط أن يكون وراء ما حدث في الماضي و إنما ما قد أخطط للمستقبل، و "علشان إيه" تبحث خلف المعنى الكبير، الهدف، النهاية المرجوة، "ليه و علشان إيه؟" ليست من اليأس الذي تبدو عليه، فهي على ما يبدو تنقب و تكتشف للمستقبل.
فجأة يبدو لي أن السؤال الذي أسأله طوال حياتي (يعني مش قوي، هما 10 سنين) يحمل الكثير من الأمل و التفاؤل! فهو ليس هذه ال"ماذا لو؟" التي تحمل في طياتها (حلوة طياتها دي) الندم (إلا طبعاً إذا سؤلت للمستقبل أو للبحث العلمي يا دوك راء)
عندما إكتشفت أنني أسأل نفس السؤال منذ 10 سنوات فكرت أنني ربما لم أكبر بعد (أنمو يعني كده و أعقل) فكيف لم أجد الإجابة حتى الآن..
ثم أجبت نفسي لااااااا، فكل "ليه" كانت مختلفة عمن سبقتها و كل "علشان إيه" كانت متفردة أيضاً
لذلك فإنني سأظل أسأل و أسأل و أعيش وأبحث
أبحث عن المعنى و أعيشه بكل ملئه

Life paused..

I thought the pause will be shorter.. However due to technical problems, my blogging pause is still on :(
Hope to be back very soon, with lots of photos and sketches for you..
Happy Blog surfing and enjoy your day :)

A thought..

It has just occured to me that..
"The world is a very big place"

Feeling stupid…

Foshfoshy

So.. I left home to work today, wearing black and expecting to find the streets so dark since everyone is motashe7 bel sawad.. At first, no one, I said to myself wait till we approach Tahrir, I'll notice the black clothing better, then we got to Tahrir square and.. nothing.. On the way back home.. still no one..
I actually noticed today that Egyptians were very brightly dressed, i never noticed that we are such colorful people until today and I can definetely assure you that Fuschia and Turquoise are in fashion!
I don't mind.. I don't want to interfere with what people do, I just felt like when going with your friends to a party and agreeing together we'll wear jeans and you get there to find everyone so dressed up and you're the only one in jeans!! well.. no one was in black.. However, I did discover I look a lot slimmer in black! I hope the next 7edad will not be in the swim suits!