Greetings!

This page is intended to provide the reader an insight into the functionality of a perpetually whimsical mind.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Blog Day 2005


Shirazi from Light Within has asked everyone to participate in this blogger collaboration event called "Blog Day", where bloggers from around the world pick five of their favourite blogs. Honestly, I don't visit too many blogs due to the lack of time, but here are the ones that I visit most frequently:

Natasha's Sanctuary

Lifeless Sheyster

Callieischatty

Polkadottedpickles

Shirazi's Light within

Best Regards,
RaY-ZoR

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Mothers: Angels from Heaven - Talking Point


Image Source:
http://www.rachelwapenaar.co.nz

Friends, I'd like to talk about a very special person who features in almost everyones lives. Those who are blessed with this special person in their lives will forever admit the importance of this loving and caring figure. Those who aren't as fortunate and have not received the unconditional warmth of this person know their true value. I am referring to all the mothers of this world, who despite the actions of her children such as their belligerence, untidiness, stubbornness, arguments, rebellion and mischief to name a few, never let go off their hands from the day they are born till the last moment she spends with them.

This is a tribute to all the mothers in this world who sacrifice every possible thing they possess, just for the sake of their childrens' happiness. Mothers are gifted with immense love and affection for their children which is not only limited to humans, but can be observed in animals too. A human mother will look after her little ones, just as a lioness will ensure the safety and well being of her cubs.

Through the years, I've come to realize that no one can provide one with as much loves as their mothers can. A mother will stay up all night when her child is sick, give up her portion of meal when her child asks for an extra serving, cook, wash and clean after her children without hesitating once. They will stand up for their children against anyone who attempts to misguide them, mock them for their peculiarities, or try to harm them in any fashion.

I want to dedicate this post to my mom, who has worked relentlessly to ensure that my brother and I receive the love and care that we demand, in addition to looking after us until the day we bid her farewell before our departure from her loving arms. I love my mother more than anyone else in this world and I know that even if I had twice the time I will have in this life to give back to her, it would be insufficient. May God bless all the mothers of this world for giving to their children, all their lives without expecting anything out of the relationship, and without ever complaining or regretting fulfilling their duties as a mother, even if their children abandon her. God bless them all.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

British, Paki and Proud - Television

I personally believe that the best source of information after the internet are documentaries. Some of the documentaries that have been aired on BBC, National Geographic and various other channels are not only extremely informative, but entertaining as well. A recent documentary was aired on BBC2, titled "British, Paki and Proud", which sought to portray to the rest of the world, the lives of British Pakistanis as they struggle to hold on to their culture, while trying to accept some of the norms and values of the British culture. As second generation nationals, people face a difficult dilemma of whether to associate themselves with people from their native culture, or with people from the country in which they reside, in this case, Britain.

The problem arises when children grow up without much exposure to their own language, culture and social values. When these kids visit their native countries, they feel out of place because they can not completely comprehend their own mother tongue, in addition to being innocuous and vulnerable to lies and deception, which are commonplace in third world countries.

Furthermore, no matter how long one resides in a foreign country, irrespective of whether one was raised in that country or not, the local inhabitants will never accept foreigners as one of their own, simply becuase it is human nature. Skin color is only one factor, which creates divisions and a sense of difference, apart from culture, religion and language.

This documentary seeks to explore the lives of these British born Pakistanis who feel the difficulty of living in a foreign society first hand on a day to day basis. It also touches bases with a more positive and patriotic side of their lives where British Pakistanis admit to being proud of their Pakistani descent, while showing love and pride for their new home, now UK. The documentary was initially titled "Pakistani nights", but the title was later changed, which caused an uproar within the huge Pakistani community residing in UK.

The reason for this commotion was the inclusion of the word 'Paki' in the title of the documentary. The word 'Paki' is considered as a racial slur against people of South Asian descent, or at times, simply brown skinned people. Several Pakistanis were totally against mentioning the word in public due to the nefarious history attached to it; however, some progressive thinking Pakistanis argue it is a good idea to use the word openly, as using it colloquially takes away the negative feeling attached to it and should be used with pride.

You can learn more about this documentary at the BBC website here. Enjoy!

Monday, August 22, 2005

Hand Shadows - Creative Art


I've always been inspired by hand shadows, but never really gave much thought to them. Creating such vivid images by the use of one's hands and a light is in my opinion, an art. To learn a little bit about the different kind of images that can be projected using your hands, copy and paste the following link in your web browser. For some reason, creating a link to the page seems to redirect the user to some other page on the website.

Here's the direct link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/2/9/6/12962/12962-h/12962-h.htm

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Silk Jive - Music



Recently, there has been a surge in the influx of emerging rock bands from Pakistan with bands like Fuzon, Jal, Roxen and Imik smashing the charts. This rock fever is not resitricted to Pakistanis residing within Pakistan, rather, several overseas Pakistani bands have come out in the light with some serene melodies. One such band is Silk Jive from Los Angeles, California. These guys performed several of their hit singles from their new album - set to be released sometime in November this year - at the Pak Day @ LA on the 6th of August, a couple of weeks ago. Their biggest hit, "Ek Umar" was also included in their performance, which can be downloaded here. Please visit their website at:

http://www.silkjive.com

Enjoy!

Funniest joke of all time - Humor

Folks, scientists have been very unoccupied lately and their latest reseach is indicative of this statement. The search for the funniest jokes of all time, according to a global survey suggests that the following joke appeals to people from a wide variety of cultures and regions. So without further ado, here it is:

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services.

He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?"


The following are some of the runner-ups in the 'competition'.

Doctor, last night I made a Freudian slip. I was having dinner with my mother-in-law and wanted to say: 'Could you please pass the butter?' But instead I said: 'You silly cow, you have completely ruined my life.'

--------

TEXAN: "Where are you from?"

HARVARD GRAD: "I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions."

TEXAN: "OK - where are you from, jackass?"

--------

This one's my personl favourite. It's pretty mean, but I couldn't help myself from bursting out a loud snicker on this one.

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen.” The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “That driver just insulted me!” The man says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you.”

--------

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300o C. The Russians used a pencil.

--------

A dog went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote: “Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.” The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: “There are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the same price.” The dog replied, “But that would make no sense at all.”

Monday, August 15, 2005

Scarface (1983) - Move tribute


Say hello to my little friend!


Scarface (1983) - Al Pacino, Steven Bauer and Michelle Pfeiffer

For all you Scarface fans, here's atribute to one of the greatest movies of all time, featuring Al Pacino in his days of glory. I've included links to the most popular quotes from the movie, two different soundboards and some wallpapers. Enjoy!

Memorable Quotes

Scarface Soundboard

Scarface Soundboard (Anniversary Edition)

Scarface Wallpapers 1

Scarface Wallpapers 2

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Happy Independence Day! - Talking Point

Roshan Pakistan

The phrase: "Roshan Pakistan" closely translates to "May my Pakistan have a bright future". Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy and blessed independence day! Today, the 14th of August is a very important day in the history of all muslims, as today, the Muslims fought for their freedom and were the first to achieve their freedom in the East. An entire nation was carved out of the historical India on the basis of religion. As Pakistanis, we need to remain united and work towards acheiving self-sufficiency. Our top priority must be to improve and support our country by every means possible, to make it a better place for not just Pakistanis, but everyone else who visits this land of warmth and hospitality.

We as Pakistanis love to celebrate as many events as possible, whether it is the birth of our nation, the Prophet's birthday, Pakistan day and whatever else we can possibly find to commemorate. This of course indicates that we are by nature, fun loving and jubilant people. One thing we must not forget is to remember the basic principle behind our independence, that is, the foundation of a nation that braces itself upon religion - Islam in our case. Therefore, our every action must coincide with the teachings of Islam, that is, to love and care, to preach peace over hatred, forgiveness over vengeance, to side with the truth no matter what, and to remain united under one flag.

We must also pay tribute to all those who so graciously gave up their lives to provide us with the feedom that we enjoy today. If we think about it, the importance of having a free country like Pakistan is truly a blessing, and something we all tend to take for granted. The only country that will always accept us no matter what, is our homeland, Pakistan. Even as citizens of foreign countries, we will always remain as foreigners not only in the hearts of the local inhabitants, but within our hearts as well. We belong to Pakistan and we must accept it by heart that we will forever be Pakistanis. I for one am proud to admit the fact that I'm Pakistani and I'm ashamed to not have been raised up in my own country, but then again it was not in my hands to choose my place of residence. There are so many things I've missed out, so many basic aspects of our society I am not even aware of, and probably will never know about. However, it is never too late to learn.

We must all work together with our hands, with our minds, with our wealth, with our hearts and with all our might to give to Pakistan what it rightly deserves from us. We must learn the invaluable lesson of unity and patriotism from the great American leader, John F. Kennedy, when he spoke the following wise words at his inagural address on January the 20th, 1961:

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you:
Ask what you can do for your country"

May God bless our nation and it's people and may He guide us towards success and true feedom from within, when one Pakistani can look at another as a Pakistani, and not as a Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi or Pathan. Ameen.

I have put up several 'milli naghmein' or "Patriotic songs" on this lovely day. Simply click on the song you would like to listen to, and a new window will pop up and start playing the song.

Note: You will require Internet Explorer 4+ to play the songs.

Qaumi Tarana - National Anthem of Pakistan

Vital Signs - Dil Dil Pakistan

Vital Signs - Dil Dil Pakistan (Remix)

Junoon - Jazba-e-Junoon

Junoon - Azaadi

Junaid Jamshed - Jeetaein gay


I've also put together, a set of picture of Pakistan and it's people. Enjoy!

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Pakistan Pa'indabad!