It Ain’t About How Hard You Hit… It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep movie forward
- Rocky Balboa
Perhaps one of the greatest lines from a movie in recent times. See the trailer below. Oh, and by the way, the movie was awesome!
And what’s this?! They’re back!!!
I think everyone has those days when they feel life is getting to them just a little bit. Definately, being a Muslim eases the pressures of life by giving us an outlet to turn those fears and worries. For the longest time I have had this ideal life pictured in my mind of how I would like to see myself living from day to day, month to month, and year to year. Parts of my life are getting closer to the ideal section, while others are still far away. I just hope and pray inshAllah that I don’t get overwhelmed and ever give up. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel… The only question is how far away is it???
So, I was watching the only TV show I really like, CSI, when a commercial came on TV for a particular DVD about young women, barely dressed, showing off their bodies, and performing suggestive acts. I quickly looked for the remote, and changed the channel to save myself, and contemplated posting this, but decided I must let out my anger.
WHY?!! WHY, must women degrade their bodies like this?! WHY would a woman want to make themselves an object of man’s fantasies and sexual desires?! WHY would a woman sell themselves to such an idiotic idea?!
I am so frustrated now, and slowly losing hope in humanity. The only thing that keeps me moving is my hope in Allah, and that He can make the world a bettter place for us all if we take time to do our part. True, we are barely doing ‘enough’, but we should never give up hope, and we should continue working to stay motivated and keep each other motivated.
And to those women who accept lowering themselves to such unrespectable levels, I hope that you find some glimmer of shame and guilt in your heart that will cause you to turn your life around. Everyone in life deserves to be happy and have peace in their lives, but by lowering your expectations in life to being a ‘man’s’ object of affection is definately above the gift of humanity that God has given you.
* AM *
The other day JC and I were at the mall and we heard this song in one of the stores we went into to. So JC, this post is dedicated to you…
Ok, I am not even going to pretend… It has been a really rough weekend… Our oven blew up last night…. Just adding that one to the list…
You know how in life you sometimes have a split second to make a decision, and that decision can change the course of your life or alter it in some manner in one way or another… well I had this happen to me twice in one weekend, and the weekend is not even over yet. I think I will hide at home for the rest of the weekend. First I get a gun pointed at my face as I stood helplessly ny my friend in the store he worked in as he got held up for the money in the cash register, and today a situation that got out of hand led to a fracture in my right hand… Live and learn as my mom always says… Right now I don’t feel so great about either though… perhaps a good night’s sleep will heal some of the scars…
It just doesn’t get better than this. This guy cracks me up time after time. He used to be on a show with Whoopi Golberg in the states, and is famous for doing stand up in the UK.
By Ali G. Scotten, Fri Jan 19, 4:00 AM ET
TEHRAN, IRAN – ‘What do
Americans think about us?” asked an old lady on the bus. That was the question most often asked of me during my three-month stay in Iran last year. Messages to the American people were also common. “Tell the Americans that we’re not crazy, scary people,” she continued. Her comment came after she and others had been dancing in the aisle (with curtains drawn so the police wouldn’t see) while the rest of us – along with the driver – clapped as we raced down the highway. So maybe they are crazy. But in a good way.
Many Westerners are afraid to come to the Middle East nowadays, and understandably so. But it’s at times like these when face-to-face contact is most crucial. As I traveled alone through the Iranian countryside conducting anthropological research, I took note of local opinions about US-Iran relations. I was heartened by what I heard.
While I’d often visited Iran as a child, the current political situation in the region made me apprehensive about taking the trip. Tensions were rising – as they still are today – over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear enrichment, and there were reports in the American media of possible military action against Iranian targets.
Beyond mere hospitality, authentic affection for America
However, I was soon put at ease. After speaking with numerous Iranians from all walks of life – lower and upper class, religious and secular, Westernized and traditional, government- affiliated and civilian – I became convinced that this vilified member of the “Axis of Evil” is actually one of the most welcoming places for Americans to travel in the Middle East. Indeed, all Iranians with whom I spoke shared a positive opinion of Ameri- cans.
Iranians don’t hate America. On the contrary, many of them envy Americans to an unrealistic degree and think of the US as a paradise, a land where no problems exist.
One encounters this sentiment in even the most unexpected places. For instance, when I ran into problems renewing my visa, an austere senior official at the immigration ministry offered to help. “Because you’re American, I’ll do this for you,” he said. This was not unusual. Generally friendly to foreigners, Iranians were especially friendly to me once they discovered I was American. It was as if they were trying to prove a point. “Go home and tell the Americans we like them,” the official continued. “You know, I have family in Chicago. Can you h
elp me go see them?” On the way out, a soldier in the lobby was excited to see my passport, handling it as one would a priceless object. “How can I come study in America?” he wanted to know.
Paralleling Iranians’ favorable opinions of Americans as a people, however, is their unified opposition to any US government intervention in their country. This directly contradicts what Vice President Cheney and others believe – that if the US were to attack, the population would rise up to help the Americans fight the Iranian regime. Judging from my experience, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, US intervention seems to be the only issue that will unite most Iranians with the Islamic regime.
We can blame the Bush administration’s poor grasp of daily realities in Iran on an almost three-decade-long freeze of contact between the American and Iranian governments. As a result of this isolation, so-called experts who have never been to Iran (or at least not since the Islamic Revolution of 1979) advise US government officials on the opinions of the Iranian populace. The comment by one influential US scholar comparing Iran to a concentration camp in which people would rather be bombed than live another day under such conditions, is a glaring example of misinformation.
At a private party in a trendy suburb of Tehran, I sat down with a group of young professionals as they relaxed after a busy workweek. Iran is not like a concentration camp, they assured me. Yes, they’re repressed by government restrictions, but they find ways to get around them. And the situation is certainly not to the point of rising up against the regime.
In fact, politics was the last thing on their minds – that is, until I brought up the possibility of US intervention. “As much as I despise this regime, I love my country more,” said Reza, a 20-something. “If America were to attack Iran, I would be the first to lay down my life. Ask anyone and you’ll hear the same.”
*** Read Full Article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070119/cm_csm/yscotten ***
So Oklahoma was hit with another snow/ice storm once again. It seems like this has happened every year since I
have lived in Oklahoma (about 8 years now…), and each and every time, everything shuts down. Why do things shut down you may ask? Well, quite simply because the state of Oklahoma does not have the proper equipment to clear the road ways. So each time we get even the slightest bit of snow on the ground, you guessed it… No School!!!! That means good things for the kiddies of course, they love no school. Sometimes means good things for us university students, although we usually get less slack than the grade schoolers do. But, it also means something else, EMPTY SHELVES AT WAL MART!!! You folks who live, or have lived in the North East United States probably think we are crazy!! But, seriously, I went to Wal Mart the day after it started snowing, and there was no bottled water or meat to be found in the store. People are absolutely t
aking this all out of proportion. Things always shut down for a few days, but that is ALL!!! Never have things been, and probably never will be so bad that we will run out of meat and bottled water, or not be able to get to the store for some after a few days. It is either Americans, or Okies. I am an American, so I will defend that and say no, it cannot be an American thing, but I am definately not claiming to be an Okie. So, it must be an Okie thing. Sorry all my Okie friends out there, I still love you, but you need to talk to your fellow Okies and tell them to stop the MADNESS!!!!
In other news, things are really dangerous out side. I remember snow storms being bad in the past, but it is really bad this year. This time, it snowed and then ice covered the snow. So you can imagine how fun it is driving outside, and walking across my university campus is quite a challenge as well. I hope no one gets seriously hurts…
Imam Zaid Shakir is perhaps on of the best (along with Imam Suhaib Webb and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf) American Muslim speakers around. He is definately one of my favorites, and always inspires me to be a better Muslim.
 | HUSSEIN NAMOOYA on Nasheeds.com Special Ramadan… |
 | Takumi on Positivity |
 | Mariam on About Me |
 | fellow muslimah on Loneliness |
 | daim on “Allah Made Me Funny-The… |
