Danish National Day! And Ali Maher’s passing.

Hello Skinlovers!

Yesterday was the Danish National Day, and as a Jor-Danish Chrislim it was my duty  to attend it, at the lovely house of our Consul and his charming wife.
It was a lovely get together (not so many Danes, but still members of the CD “Corps Diplomatique” were there as well as the Danish Ambassador).
Of course being whom I am I couldn’t resist the chance of getting a sharp dig at the Danish government for closing down the embassy in Jordan and here is how the conversation went:

The Ambassador Rolf was asked why did you close the embassy in Jordan, to which he replied budget cuts and it was a new embassy.
Me: Really! So the Beirut one which was burnt and shit loads of money spent on rebuilding it in an unstable country made more sense. I understand the Syrian one as being the eldest and located in a prime real estate zone and really beautiful, but Beirut was as new as ours, and so the Danish government in all its wisdom decided that that would be an ideal one to keep. Knowing full-well that Lebanon is a powder keg waiting to explode. You cannot convince me that it wasn’t because of the night life. I suspect that is one of hte main reasons.
Ambassador Rolf (who has a sense of humour by the way, did not take it the wrong way at all, I like him): Well, maybe but the main reason was that Lebanon was better business-wise as they have a lot of commerce with Denmark.
Me: See! Now that is an explanation I can work with instead of the weak one of “Budget Cut-Backs!” this is more logical now.

Speaking of which the Ambassador is a real nice guy, very polite nice and down to earth. Not stuck up like some of the other dignitaries you find around, O and let me mention the Dutch one he and his wife Vicki are amazing, also very very friendly.

Anyway on to something more sombre and maudlin…

Last Monday we lost a national treasure, our dear “Sheikh of Amman” Ali Fawaz Maher passed away from a sudden heart attack stroke, thank heavens it was fast (2 minute says his sister), he was a source of fun, inspiration, and he never hesitated to help anyone who asked.
Ali was the counter balance in the salons of art, he was the yin to the dukes Mamdouh Bisharrat’s Yang. They both endorsed and promoted art but each did it in his own specially unique way. Now we lost the balance and it will be impossible to fill the vacuum his passing left behind.

Some words I wrote on his passing:

“Ali Maher May you be at rest now.

My heart is heavy. And am saddened by the news of Ali Maher’s passing. R.I.P. 

One of the nicest inspiring helpful people I had the honour of knowing.
May the Goddess of Mansaf have you safely in her arms for eternity.
Gone but will absolutely NEVER be forgotten.”

And:

No one you love ever truly dies.
They live on in the memories in the children they left behind.
You left an indelible image in our minds.
You filled up our hearts..
Your essence is etched on our souls.
You made us laugh.
You inspired us.
You taught so many generations.
You are the symbol of what goodness and a joyful spirit was supposed to be.
I was honoured to call you friend, and I shall always be a witness to your magnificence.
We can only aspire in some small way to carry the torch,
and keep your teachings alive.
Bon-Viveur Extraordinary, one can in all honesty say about you:
“He live life to the fullest enjoying and savouring every bit and morsel that came his way”…

SO many of you are his spiritual children.

Ali’s and my family go way back, his father was named after my great grandfather a story Ali never got tired of telling people, of course we are the Sheikhs of the North and he was the Sheikh of Amman, he chuckled every time he said it. so unlike most I never called him “Baba” because we called each other “Garaba” (Relative/Kin), we sat several times and laughed about the world and how it was unfair, and it was bitter-sweet, but would we change it no way we both agreed. 

So Enough of this maudlin sombre sad talk, I shall say this as something brought home to me more so now than ever:
Live your life. Enjoy it. Savour it. Do not care what others say or think about you (they do not know you and do not care a bit about you when you go home and close the doors), you have to live for yourself and no one else… Learn this: LIFE IS TOO SHORT!

Random thoughts on mortality and frailty… 2013

Hello Skinlovers,

Back again with another little snippet of thoughts….

Here we go.

Random thought on human frailty on a Wednesday morning ( I posted this as a facebook status now I shall do so here with a further elaboration on the theme):

You strive to be perfect (there is no such thing).
Of course it is ridiculous to think that you or any one on this earth is perfect, perfection is a work of fiction created and invented by people so you can truly feel miserable about your own existence. So do not even try to be perfect. Instead try to be the best human being that YOU can be…

You try not to lie (well, are white lie really lies are manners any less so?) 
Well, I go out for the premise that we are all born honest and then we are taught to lie by society, because that is what manners are most of the time, a white lie sugar-coating a reality that could be grim and forces you into an unnatural behaviour. If some one looks ugly in a dress I will tell them and if their make-up is wrong I will tell them too.

You want to please every one (and wind up pleasing none).
Seriously the biggest trap you can ever walk into, is the trap of peoplepleasing. Please yourself first, a little selfishness is healthy, being self-absorbed is NOT.

You want to go (yet you stay). 
You know the situation is bad for you, even unhealthy and yet you stay. Familial obligations, children, “LOVE” (my foot). All these things are worthless if you do not have freedom to roam.

You want to live (you stagnate). 
Routine that fatal killer of relationships, work, and everything else. Do not let yourself get stuck in a rut change things around a bit, That also means don’t get too over-excited about the changing it might back-fire.

You want to love (but are frozen).
When you have been through love blender it is very hard to trust when betrayal, death or simply falling out of love are on the table. You just are numbed and that is the feeling you have to fight.

You want to give (you are drained empty).
People and society drain you, you really want to give but you have no energy it has all been sucked out because you were deadened by the the taxing demands of everything and every one.

You want to shout (yet you paint on that small smile).
You have to be quiet keep your composure especially when you want to scream at the top of your lungs.

You want to reveal (you conceal).
You want to be yourself but society’s strait-jacket has your arms tied.

And then you die….
That’s one of the few sureties in this existence, you are born and then you die. So try not to do so with too many regrets.

 
Such is life, live for yourself and no one else, because if you are going to go by what society thinks of you. You will only wind up with a million regrets and you will be miserable.
So screw society you owe it nothing, do what you want to do and just remember:
Harm no one.
Be true to yourself.

And do not live by others perception of whom you are and what you should do… Just saying.

Independence Day 67 years on! Where are we?

Woke up with these thoughts rattling around in my head like so many skeletons in peoples closets!

We live in a country that has minimum 200 days of sun and they want to build Nuclear reactors (knowing full well that the area is one of the most tectonically unstable, and that we are expecting a huge earthquake any time soon).

We have the ability to build windmills as an alternative source of power, but some how the idea is stagnating because they cannot figure out how to pay you (the one who builds and contributes extra power to the grid), instead they want to tax you for it…

When you invent something or build some thing, instead of helping you out and promoting you, they throw obstacles in your way. And when you go abroad and make it big, all of a sudden you are the national hero, who had their support from the beginning!

You pay taxes ++ and the prices are exactly the same as in Denmark… What The Falafel! At least in Denmark education and hospitals are available for all, and you do not have to demean yourself to get the help.

We have taxes on taxes and taxes with “special” taxes and yet if you ask any one from the “Tax Department” (because only an expert can deal with the problem), they are flummoxed and can not explain what said taxes are or what they are used for.

 

We have rules and regulations that make no sense (I know, I know we are not the only ones, but I am talking about our little corner of the world). People implementing them are not doing their jobs to focus on the real things.

 

And the myriad of thoughts continue on this wonderful independence day, isn’t it ironic…
Why did I even bother getting out of bed. Just Saying….

 

• And let me add to those who will surely call me “unpatriotic.
  
  I am a patriot, the ones who are “unpatriotic” are the ones who take the 10%, who are corrupt, who steal, who create dangerous projects and then abandon them, the ones who have milked this country dry, and the list goes on.
  I am a patriot because I think of these things and I dare to say them out loud, because I speak the truth I am unafraid.

Travesty of Justice (aka Return to the Salem Witch Hunts with a twist of Mc Carthyism for good measure)…

Hello Skinlovers. 

Another rant heading outwards…

This one is directed at the Police and the Judicial system…

A while back 5 students at the “Ahl el Beit” (Family of the house) University were arrested and charged with being devil-worshippers, amongst the charges were:
Desecration of the Quran by putting it in the toilet.
And a list of other charges including “Acting Strangely”, and being “Strange” (by whose definition I would like to know.

Well this travesty of justice has come to an end, they were released and found not guilty due to lack of concrete evidence (No! You don’t say, this is also the official way of covering their collective asses after a farce like this). What is even more mind-boggling it was the case was placed under the “National Security” court, seriously? What The Falafel? Are bloody kidding?

The newspapers (I will post the Arabic Alghad version article below),  and the press didn’t even question the ridiculousness of the charges.

 
What is going on in the minds of a nation when fancy dress parties turn into a riot because some small narrow minded bigoted ignorant fanatic cannot stand to see people having fun. Next students are arrested (probably beaten in an attempt to force a confession – it has happened before- probably will again), when will they ever learn?

It turns out the suspicion was cast on the students arrested because they dressed strangely and were acting strange and listening to strange music (omibadness if the arse-wipes actually followed what I listened to I would have been arrested long time ago when it comes to “strange” music I rarely can be outdone).

Travesty and a mockery of justice is what took place, I firmly believe the students now should take the government, the police, the university and anyone involved in their arrest to the world court, this is not only defamation of character this is absolutely religious persecution and the robbing of human rights, how dare the police even contemplate arresting them and keeping them in jail all that time, they need to be exonerated and compensated.
What’s more anyone and everyone involved in that trial should be demoted or lose their jobs.

It brings to mind the Salem Witch Hunts and the Mc Carthy’s communist purge. Obviously a form of fanaticism and bigotry is rampant, and no wonder we come up  in the first 5 countries for being racist, this is not just racism this is Xenophobia of the most blatant kind, where what the ignorants do not understand can be lumped under the headings of heresy and apostasy. Much like when they started burning books in the USA in the 2nd world war without understanding them, until some old lady stood up against them and took one of the books and started to read it and the shock and horror of the mob when the first words she read were: “In the beginning was the word..” yes among the books they had been burning were bibles, and there you have it this is exactly the same situation. 
Ignorant feeble-minded people with no background and education (and here may I add you might have gone to school and university but you can still be ignorant and uneducated), are trying to set the norm for the rest of us, acting like stern parents telling us what is good for us. NOT I and BLOODY WELL NOT IN MY NAME!
I have an education and I have ethics and morals, and I have a background and was raised properly (as most of you were but obviously some of these fanatics were not) so we do know what is wrong and what is right.

The people in charge of our morals (or they put themselves in charge of them and we let them) have ridden rough-shod over our freedoms and our personal civil liberties, they are interfering in all parts of our lives where they have no rights to be. Personal liberties include the right to read what I want without worrying about being thrown in jail for it. THe right to express myself through how I choose to dress (I am not saying everyone should be allowed to dress in drag or whatever, but the choice should be yours not some stupid trumped up little self-important official). The right to having an opinion without risking being thrown in jail for it (but also remember freedom with responsibility, this doesn’t mean you can go around swearing at everyone and accusing them indiscriminately without evidence as was the case with the students who were accused solely because they looked and dressed differently). And to make matters worse the students remained in custody until now with this verdict, which caused a furore with the human rights groups.

Hypocrisy is rampant in our society, and I wil reiterate what I have written on many  times whn it comes to the subject of Satanism. 
LEARN THIS AND LEARN IT WELL! 
TRUE SATANISTS WILL NEVER DRESS UP AS AN EMO OR A GOTH, IN FACT THEY COULD BE YOUR DOCTOR, TEACHER ANYONE. THEY DRESS AND LOOK LIKE EVERY ONE ELSE TO FLY UNDER THE RADAR. THEY ARE LIKE EVERY ONE ELSE.
WHAT YOU SEE RUNNING AROUND AT BLACK METAL CONCERTS, BEING EMO’S OR GOTH’S IS A SOCIAL MANIFESTATION AND A FASHION STATEMENT NO MORE NO LESS, SO GET THAT INTO YOUR HEADS AND LEARN IT.
IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF A DISENCHANTED AND DISENFRANCHISED YOUTH WHO SEE NO  HOPE IN THE FUTURE AND EMBRACE MORTALITY.

Anyway that was my two bits worth. Until next time.

State of the T-Art. :-D

Random thought of the day nr. 2.000.000.00

Hello Skinlovers,

Here we go again a mini rant or observations if you wish….

 

So random thought of the day ( I am sure many more will pop into my head!) is this:

I find it funny how here in this town they claim to strive for achieving excellence, only to fall flat just a few steps from it. They have mastered the mundane and transformed it into an art-form specialising in mediocrity.

But how can one blame them when they do not even know what excellence looks like, or how to achieve something on your own merit.

I shall be judged as being too harsh and generalising, which some say you can not do, to them I say nay! I can and shall!

For in this region Mediocrity is the norm, and the laws of averages are turned topsy turvy, where if you follow what goes on in the rational world you will succeed by sheer effort of hard work, integrity, and honesty.

Now cast if you will a magnifying glass on our society, if you are honest you lose because the liars are so good at self-promotion that everyone believes them. If you are a hard worker you are suspect, for only thieves are people of note. If you have morals and ethics you are labelled difficult.

This is my truth, now tell me your lies.

Rantings on mentoring or TOR-Mentoring in Jordan! :-D

Hello Skinlovers!

Here’s a mini rant!

Some one in the film industry once had the gall to ask me why I do not mentor and I do not do anything for the film industry in Jordan.

So after I finished swearing at them (amongst telling them to go do physically and anatomically impossible acts on themselves) I replied.

I am one of the few make-up artists/ Whatever-you want in film go-to persons who actually does that!

I take people under my wings and I teach them my way of doing things without restricting their talents. Just because I don’t post it on my facebook, or tweet it, or instagram it, some people do (I mean seriously do I want to know you took a dump), I do not over-share.

I find and nurture talents to the detriment of my own business, which means why would people hire me (since I am “Too Expensive” in their eyes) when they can hire some of my assistants/minions (depending on whom you ask) at a fraction of my prices.

Most film-makers know they can phone me and they will get advice, and where to go to get stuff, and some times they are even allowed into my Sanctus Sanctorum to film.
I do all this and yet I am the one who is “Difficult”, “Too Expensive”, “Antagonistic” (duh! Of course when you are an idiot who does not know how to do your job some one with experience ME will tell you how to do it).

I am not some blue light k-mart special discount offer.

So yes I do get insulted. And yes I eventually will become even more bitter, but such is life.
This town wants people like me to work for free because “It will be fun!”, or when they get the information they turn around and say “O Walid is difficult and too expensive to work with” forgetting all the time that on any production I have worked on I am always the first on set before most of the crew. I run an efficient team that can function like a hot knife through butter even when I am not around.The only team that usually gets things done without a hassle is mine (and that is because I fight for their rights and I am not one of those who sits back and let them do all the work, actually other way round they are treated better than anyone), and lord help anyone who interferes in my teams work they will have to deal with Mamma Monster (as one of my minions calls me).

So please spare me the pontificating on my behalf, and do not tell me what to do. The RFC and everyone nearly in this industry knows who I am and what I can bring to the table, and if you don’t then you do not count.