TED TALKS & ARAB COMICS

Recently, I discovered TED Talks. Well, by recently may be around 6 months back. A friend of mine shared a video on Facebook about how a little Kenya Masai boy found an innovative idea of keeping the lions away from his herd at night.

That video led to many others and I was like 'What the heck? Why didn't I know of TED before?' After that day, I would say not a day passes without watching a video or at least three in a week. I LOVE TED!! Absolutely adore whoever thought of the concept and the kind of speakers they find. Established, passionate, discovers, motivators, scientists, actors, activists.. you name it.

Through TED I also came to know about Maysoon Zayid. When her talk got featured, it came with the title 'I have 99 problems and palsy is just one'. It didn't interest me so I skipped and watched others. However it kept popping up whenever I would go into TED app or TV and I finally watched it. OMG! What a hilarious session. I loved Maysoon's spirit, her comic timing, the way she brought up key points in laughter and through her I discovered other comedians like Maz Jobrani.

I love Maz for he can speak in the accent and body language of his characters and his timing impeccable.

Both Maysoon and Maz make the the western world understand through humor what it is to live in an age where the media goes blaring 'Muslim is Terrorist'. I don't think it helps change the general perception out in the world but I do think that whoever, listens to their jokes, would next time not scream out of fright if they see a Muslim...hehe.

Not to get too serious (on the crazy hate out there), I must say that I do enjoy comedy a lot especially, stand up comedy by Maysoon and Maz and a few others that I have discovered. Through them I have realized that at times and most times, you need to laugh. You need to laugh out your situation. It has helped me while dealing with my team at work. I laugh at the policies, I laugh at the rules and when the team laughs with me, I know they don't mind following the rules and policies because they do it with a smile.

My Audacious thought: Do you think I can become a comic? I know I am a relatively okay story teller and many out there enjoy reading my stories, I also have a good script and acting ability but comedy? I do remember in one acting gig, I got the house roaring - not because I was funny or I had funny dialogues - but I portrayed a crazy selfish girl with some unreasonable demands. The best act of the class they said.

...May be I am a comedian.

What's more ugly?

Yesterday, I logged in my blog account after may be months and months and I have put a comment moderation as I had horrible spam comments.

Surprisingly, I have so far never seen a hate comment. I have seen other websites post a link to my ‘Punishment of the grave’ page on my MBA blog and making weird comments on their website but not on my page.

Anyways, so I log in and have 60+ comments for moderation. One of them was by a person named Sharique who was so happy to read my story ‘Sharique’. I spent another half hour reading the story I wrote years ago about a man married to a bad woman but how he persevered until he died without divorcing his wife.

I made Sharique from a number of characters – few men in my life and my family and friend’s families – and what I had seen of them. I also wrote it when I was single. When I had no idea what it was to be in a bad marriage. It was easy to write ‘he persevered’, ‘he forgave’ but when it’s you who is living it, I wonder how much would I or you preserve?

Given the chance, I don’t know if I would have changed the story or twisted the plot. Should I have made Sharique give warnings to his wife to behave otherwise he would leave the house? Should he have left temporarily so that Zareena would have understood she couldn’t go on with her behavior, should they have sought marriage counseling? As I write counseling there is a smile on my face for the story is based in a setting and era where there was no concept of therapy and counseling. All the therapy and counseling you needed was just to walk down to your friend’s home and pour your heart out.

Anyways, the story is fine as it is I conclude for it is for a different generation who were brought up with different values. I also find Zareena’s character rather mild now: how bad of a wife was she? Apparently, she did take care of the house and bring up her children. She didn’t have an affair or vices like smoking and drinking. This marriage was one of incompatibility and Zareena’s vice was that she was unthankful, greedy for wealth and a show-off.


Which is the greater vice? To indulge in sinful acts or to be a relatively okay person with a number of character flaws?

My Old Life

I spent that last two days reading my blog(s) or part of them. To be honest, I am quite taken back. I am reading MY blog and few of the things here bring back memories long forgotten and some I can't even remember - like watermelon soda - I don't even remember the taste of it but I have it mentioned on one of my posts.

This blog is a lot like a journal, a life journal. However, a journal that is selective. That has notes which are positive or neutral or opinions. Life though, is not always the happy face smiley.

Well, where am I now? I am a MOTHER!! Yep, I am blessed to be the mother of a super cute naughty little girl.

For years I dreamt of becoming a mother. In fact my get healthy posts were of an era where I was trying to loose weight so that I would have a healthy pregnancy.

My mind is blank.

With a smile on my face I think how innocent was I when I wrote my posts. I see so much in my past posts; innocence, confidence, laziness but earnesty, passion, anger, love and hate.

And I cry

And I laugh

for so much has happened.

So much...

I am still the fiesty bratty lady (older one) with a bunch of experiences which I don't think I would ever post on my blog but I do know that as an individual, I'm refined.

And may be that was the intention of why I went through what I went through. A diamond has to go under the knife for that perfect cut and polish.

In conclusion, I think I will write. Once again. On topics, on life incidents, on random thoughts and may be ten years down the lane I would read my posts and remember myself.