time is tissue

So time has been compared to lots of things.. In the West, 'time is money', in the East, 'time is a sword, if you don't cut it, it will cut you'.. time is a healer, time is a traitor, time flies, time of your life, summer time, as time goes by, time to say goodbye.. Between the proverbs and the songs, the new thing now is "time is tissue" attributed to a poisonous snakes expert in the movie "Snakes on a Plane" we went to see yesterday. It was cool, although as Ali says, I was closing my eyes and clinging hard to his arm almost half the time.. :) Well, there were very bad scenes. Needless to say of course, if you are snakesphobic (there must be a better word) watching this movie can actually bring about your death. I just like the idea of the movie, I've watched a lot of 'disasters on planes' movies but snakes.. that's a first. I don't care about how many ridiculously unbelievable scenes which can never happen on a real plane were there, and I don't care how this movie is no different than any movie with a group of people that depends on several stereotypical characters (in this case, a collection of a flirty, a serious and a gay flight attendants, a snobbish buisnessman, a black celebrity singer, oh.. and of course a tough FBI agent who finally saves the day), I enjoyed the rush of adrenalin every time a snake jumps to attack.

So, remember.. time is tissue, whatever that means.. :)

Mai

and another thing or two about america

Yesterday, actually Monday, I was reading this article in The Times about joke-telling. Then there was this survey and it turns out that "the WORLD's funniest joke"starts with: "two hunters from New Jersey were walking in the woods.." Ah.. for the love of God..

And then yesterday, by which I mean Tuesday, President Bush came out on us with another one of his carefully chosen pithy words. This time he described the war between Israel and Lebanon as "a war between freedom and terror".. Can someone please shut him up..

Mai

peace, propaganda & the promised land

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics. I think this is very good.. (and for linguists, you'll see a familiar face) Mai

3 months, 3 weeks, 3 questions

It's my third month anniversary today..it's strange how time flies when one is happy. Let me first warn you that I am quite emotional today, there's a lot on my mind. I've been thinking about the last 3 months of my life and how quickly they flew and how I feel so lucky that I have Ali by my side. I've been thinking about the last 3 weeks of my life and how sick I was (and still am) and how it feels like I've been sick for ages and how this sickness brought me and Ali closer to each other. I've been also thinking about my uncle, who passed away 2 days ago, and my memories of him when me and my bro were kids and how life can be so good to some people and not so good to others. I've been thinking about the latest events and how it is so unfair to see Lebanese women and children running for their lives and at the same time it seems unfair to see thousands of people fearing getting on a plane again. I've been thinking about all this, and in the end I was asking myself: Can happiness be a life-long feeling or is this too much to ask for? Can we always be optimistic about the future or we are bound to feel sometimes that it's a mad mad world we're living in? And, do we shape our own lives or does life shape us?

Happy anniversary my hubby..

Mai