ذبيحة العيد

لماذا في هذا اليوم المبارك؟ لماذا في هذا اليوم المفرح والسعيد ويوم تجمع الأهل والأحباب؟

بعض العرب سعداء من خبر إعدام الدكتاتور صدام حسين وبعض المسلمين يحسبونه من شهداء حرب العراق لأنه اعدم في يوم عيد الأضحى المبارك

أنا شخصيا لا اقبل بحكم الإعدام لهذا الطاغية والسبب ليس لانه يوم عيد مقدس لدى المسلمين جميعا، إنما لان حكم الإعدام قد يكون رحمة لهذا الشخص. الآن اصبح صدام حسين مرحوما وشهيدا في نظر البعض

كنت افضل شخصيا أن يعيش صدام حسين لآخر أيام حياته معانيا في سجنه الانفرادي مع عفنه و قذارته ليفكر في ذنوبه وشروره وظلمه لشعبه وكذالك للشعوب المجاورة أيضا. لكن مع الأسف هذا لم يحدث

ما رأيكم؟

عيدكم مبارك وعساكم من عوادة

New Movies

I’ve seen a couple of trailers a few days ago and I can’t wait to see the two movies I mention in this post.

Smokin’ Aces is the first one I saw. What I gather from the trailer and the website is that it’s an action movie about 7 assasins. Reminds me of Kill Bill but this one might not be as visually artistic. The list of stars is amazing. Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys (she looks like a bad-ass), Jason Bateman, Andy Garcia and loads of others. The release date for the movie is January 26th. See the trailer at the official website here.

Music and Lyrics By stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. I would never pass on a reason to talk about something to do with my girl, Drew. Ofcourse, the movie is your classic Hugh Grant romantic comedy. The trailer looks supremely cute and the movie is your typical chick flick (I don’t usually like rom-coms as much as the next girl but I think I might really like this one). Also, it will be released on February 14th, Valentine’s Day (aww..)! Unlike the Smokin’ Aces trailer, this one kinda tells you what it is about. The official website for the movie is here.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Hotspurs

3′ Kieran Dyer (NU)
7′ Obafemi Martins (NU)
15′ Danny Murphy (Spurs)
34′ Scott Parker (NU)

Could this have been a better game?

First of all, I would like to say that this has been an awesome week. I could not have had it be any better. I’m writing this draft in Heathrow airport and my brother is sitting next to me and I’m thankfull to have him and our relationship (corny). So thanks for the fantastic week Big Bro!!

The game was on the 23rd and we went to the stadium two hours early again so that my brother could get some more autographs. This time he got a whopping FOURTEEN autographs! From Newcastle he got Shay Given, Albert Luque, Kieron Dyer, Obafemi Martins, Giuseppe Rossi, and Lee Clark. From Tottenham he got Martin Jol (Tot Manager), Dimitar Berbatov, Ahmed Mido, Steed Malbranque, Jermain Defoe, Michael Dawson, Jamie O’Hara, and Ledley King. I took a photograph of him with every single player that signed for him. He was super psyched. And he says he can’t wait to show to the “shabab” at the dewaniya. I even got Obafemi Martins to sign my scarf! That was awesome because I was wearing a shirt with his name and number.

The cheering this time was even better because we were sitting very close to the away fans section so both Tottenham fans and Newcastle fans were cheering so loud, trying to out cheer the other, and it was really exciting. Of course, everyone went crazy when the first early goal was scored. And then we went even crazier because the next came four minutes later!

Then came half time and I had that yummy burger again. Also, Orange Fanta in the UK tastes awesome! It’s so different from the rest of the world I think. Maybe the rest of Europe has the same Fanta as the UK but the point is that it’s nice and tangy. Not sugary so much that it’s noticeable.

Then second half had Newcastle trying to score at our half of the pitch. There weren’t any goals but there were lots of chances and corners.

It was kinda ironic that the order of my favorite English teams was Manchester United, Chelsea and then Tottenham. Now, it’s Manchester United, Newcastle United and then Chelsea.

Hway hway! Toon toon!!

GEORDIES !!

And snaps to my boy Cristiano Ronaldo for scoring the first two goals within the first seven minutes of being subbed in at the start of the second half of the Premiere League match against Wigan Athletic last night. The game ended at 3-1 .

Old Trafford

My first day in Newcastle, my brother and I woke up early in the morning and set off on our road trip to Manchester to go see Old Trafford.

We weren’t going to a game but we were going to the stadium tour and then the museum afterwards. The tour was fantastic. It’s not your everyday boring tour, this one was interesting and fun and we got to go around the whole stadium inside and out! The tour guide was really cool too.

As we went through various areas of the stadium, the guide would tell us the history of them. The ones with a story were really interesting. In the player bar and lounge, where the players and their family, guests or friends hangout out before the games, there is a wooden plaque hanging on the wall. That plaque was completely handmade by a fan of Manchester United and he wanted to present it to the team himself. However, his warden did not allow him. The fan was actually serving 15 years in prison. Sir Bobby Charlton was so moved that he went to the prison himself and accepted the plaque.

Another cool story is about the old tunnel that the players use to enter the pitch from at the start of the games. During World War II, Old Trafford was heavily damaged and according to the guide, all but that tunnel was in need of repair and reconstruction. As the years passed, the club recognized the tunnel’s solidarity and decided never to replace or change it in anyway. They instead built another entrance tunnel, which is used today, to fit all the players, escorting children, match officials, security personnel and the media.

We went to the players changing room and bath where they had images of the current players to point out where they sit. The guide also told us where some of the past players use to sit also. There was a private warming up room that was specially built for Eric Cantona who was superstitious and could never warm up with the team before a game. The bath was closed so we could not go in, but we could still see what was inside. There were showers, a massage bed and a huge jacuzzi. Because of health safety, there is a rule that if a player has any open wound he is not allowed in the jacuzzi. Sir Alex Ferguson also has a rule, any player that is red carded is not allowed in the jacuzzi for a month. That was pretty funny.

After the tour we had lunch at the Red Cafe. It was really cool because everything was red and the backs of the chairs had players’ name and number. We then went to the museum and also had a great opportunity not many have had. There was a special photo shoot where you can have your picture taken with the Carling Cup and Santa. We didn’t want to take it with Santa so we told the photographer we wanted a background of the pitch behind us. He said that they didn’t have that so as we turned around to leave, he asked us if we had our own camera. He then took the cup and went to the next room where there was a giant image of Giggs on the wall. He gave us the cup (!!!) and told us he would take the photograph for us. So we each held a handle and raised our arms as if we won the cup. We were really lucky to actually carry it and that was really cool. People were only allowed to hold it as it was sitting next to Santa.

It was a great day and hopefully the next time I go to Old Trafford, it would be for a real live match.

Images of my visit start here. Just press next. I haven’t put them in a seperate set yet becasue my eCheck for my Flick renewal is still pending

Carling Cup Quarterfinal: Newcastle vs. Chelsea

For those of you wondering why I’m posting about this game instead of the Real Madrid game last night, it’s because I wasn’t able to see the Real Madrid match since I was at the Newcastle game! (and because Real Madrid apparently weren’t that great :/ )

I’ve been in Newcastle since Monday night visitng my brother in his last week of studying to recieve a form of lisence in his field of work. Apart from studying for his last exam, this will be a football filled week. We went to Old Trafford on Tuesday (tomorrow’s post) and the Newcastle game last night. And on Saturday we will go to the league match, Newcastle against Tottenham Hotspurs. So, I’m really having so much fun.

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So last night was my first time ever at a real live game! (One game at Al Arabi doesn’t really count.) We went there super early so that my brother would have a space to stand on the steps on the side of the Newcastle dugout to be able to see the players. He’s been here for four years in his days as an undergrad and in the last four months of his studying here, he’s been to all the Newcastle home games and was never able to come early enough to do what he did last night. He was able to get SIX AUTOGRAPHS: Glenn Roeder (NU manager), Shola Ameobi, Giuseppe Rossi, Antoine Sibierski, Jose Mourinho (Chelsea manager), and Chris Kamara (SkySports football analyst).

I also took photos of Damien Duff as he was commemorated.

Check out the video and the photos at the end of the post.

I really enjoyed the game and the atmosphere. I spent the first half just taking it all in. Then after half time (and after the best burger I ever had), I got into the game just like my brother and the fans around us. Yelling and cussing and chanting. My favorite was: “Same old Chelsea! Always cheating!” HAHA. It was amazing. However, it really sucks that they won 1-0. Even though Newcastle had more plays and were working the pitch much better than Chelsea. Drogba was subbed in at the 75th minute and scored the free kick at the 78th. Obafemi Martins was so close to scoring a fantastic shot but he was denied by the goal post.

It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to go to the Newcastle versus Tottenham game. My brother says league games are even crazier.

NUFC vs. Chelsea Pre-match video
Damein Duff 1
Damein Duff 2
Damein Duff 3
Damein Duff 4

Washington > Kuwait

On my way back to Kuwait on Thursday, I used United Airlines because I got my ticket last minute and it was the cheapest one at $1500. British Airways, which I usually take, was around $2500 (buying an earlier ticket is around $1500 also).

I was kinda dreading it because my experience with airlines that were American was crap. So many delays and old planes with bad seats. But United turned out to be really cool. Even the small plane that took me from my state’s capital to Washington D.C. was brand new and the seats were wide and comfy. The “No Smoking” sign above was replaced by a “Turn Off Electronic Devices”! I really liked that. It was a short flight so I can’t evaluate the service much.

Then I waited in Dulles airport for about 3-4 hours. It was a great change from the EIGHT HOURS I used to spend at Heathrow on my ways back to Kuwait. However, I did miss the many stores and cafes.

The plane was almost packed and the seating system was 2-5-2 (in economy :P). But I really didn’t feel like I was in economy. Like the other United plane I took, this one also had wide seats that were comfortable. Not some janky old cushions. The flight attendants were so friendly and I was quickly moved to an aisle seat after I realized I was in the middle seat with two people on each side! I was like “heeeeell no!”

They handed out menu cards for the in-flight food early in the flight. The food was like any other plane food but I thought the menu cards was a nice touch. The coffee that was served after the meals was Starbucks Coffee! Haha. I thought that was pretty funny.

Even thought the flight was about almost 12 hours, I didn’t have any cricks in my neck and all that kinda stuff. I slept soundly for the first 8 or 9 hours and then listened to my iPod fr the rest of the flight.

All in all, I’m definitely using this route from now on. No more wandering around Heathrow! Woohoo!!

Update: They now have a bonus miles offer. You register 30 days before or after your flight. And you only get miles from the flight originating in the US. Plus, this isn’t only for the Washington D.C. - Kuwait route. There are many others as well. Go here for more info.

I think I’m going to register and use United for all my domestic and Kuwait flights

Surprise!

I’m back in Kuwait! And I surprised my parents and family exactly as I had planned.

It started about a two months ago when I thought it’s about time for a new surprise. The last one I had was after my first semester and was for my extended family at my grandma’s house.

So, I told my parents that I decided not to come this winter break and that I will spend two weeks at my friend’s house and then a week in Miami with a friend from school. They believed me and everything was cool. Then about a week ago, my big brother tells me that my aunt and cousin from Egypt were coming during December so I thought it would be a good chance to do some acting.

I haven’t seen my family in Egypt for five years and my mom knows I’ve been feeling really guilty about it the last two years. That’s why I think she didn’t tell me herself. So I told her that my big brother told me and then I pretended to be sad by asking her if she knew they were coming from a while ago so that maybe I could have changed my plans. She said that it was just recently been planned and that I couldn’t have changed my plans because it was too late.

Only my cousin and my big brother (who is in Newcastle) knew. My cousin was an insider because he is good at keeping secrets and I needed a ride from the airport. Hehe.

I flew on the new United Airlines route and surprisingly, it was a very good experience. But I will talk about that in my next post.