Trouble in Salafist heaven “2”

And there are lots of development taking place in the Salafist heaven since last I spoke about there here in the blog , I mean lots of developments by all measures as there are splits in that heaven !! We are speaking about a drama that has not finished it .

Al Nour Party , a way to drama !!

On Tuesday the Supreme committee of Al Nour party “Borhami front” held an urgent meeting to withdraw confidence from its leader Emad Abdel Ghafur and to appoint El Siyad Khalifa , the former vice president as the leader of the party for the current time. The Supreme committee issued a statement later thanking Abdel Ghafour later claiming that they withdrew confidence from him because he has become President Morsi’s advisor and that position needed him more than the leadership of Al Nour Party. “Despite the upcoming escalating developments between the two fronts , Borhami and Abdel Ghafour, Al Nour’s Supreme committee thanked him officially on the party’s official website.” Khalifa , a former MP from Suez was the vice president of Al Nour Party.
On Wednesday we found the party official twitter accounts announcing the following :

صدق الدكتور عماد عبد الغفور على قرار الهيئة العليا باقالة اشرف ثابت من الهيئة العليا للحزب و اعضاء اخرين

— حزب النور (@alnourpartyeg) September 26, 2012

Emad Abdel Ghafour has ratified the decision of the Supreme committee of the party to dismiss Ashraf Thabet and other members from the membership Supreme committee of the party.
This decision was presented officially to the Parties’ commission . It was followed by this tweet announcement

اقالة نادر بكار من منصبه كمتحدث رسمي وحصر التصريحات المعتمدة اعلاميا على محمد نور ويسري حماد .يتبع

— حزب النور (@alnourpartyeg) September 26, 2012

The dismissal of Nader Bakkar from his position as the official spokesperson of the party and appointing Mohamed Nour and Yousry Hammad as official spokesperson instead of him.
Hammad also became the vice-president of the party. Nour was already the spokesperson of the party less known than its big star Nader Bakkar who could not ignore this tweet alone.
“The news is not true !!” Bakkar tweeted !!
Bakkar was to be married on that day , the poor guy knew from twitter that Abdel Ghafour kicked him out !!
and then comes the mother of all surprises, the climax of this drama

يؤكد حزب النور على ان كل من يثبت انه تعاونمع احمد شفيق ليس له مكان بيننا ونسعى جاهدين لتطهير الكيان

— حزب النور (@alnourpartyeg) September 26, 2012

Al Nour party assures that anyone proved to have had cooperated with Ahmed Shafik in the past has no place among us and we are working hard to purify the party
!!!!! dan dan dan dum !!!!!!! Abdel Ghafur is accusing Borhami and those men he kicked out from their positions in the party of cooperating with Shafik during the elections thus betraying the revolution.
In few hours Yasser El Borhami on Dream TV 2 dropped a bomb on air after being confronted with Ahmed Shafik himself : He did visit Shafik. More shocking details for the Salafist began to pour with no stop : El Borhami and Ashraf Thabet met Shafik before the announcement of the final elections round offs’ results. It seems that the Salafist calling wanted to secure its position and its party in case if Shafik won. There is nothing wrong in this but hiding and denying it.
Of course logically Abdel Ghafour knew about that meeting all that time then why he announced it now !!? In this way ?? Needless to say there is talk that he met Shafik too. I was not shocked because I know the Salafist Sheikhs like El Borhami are deceivers who used to work with State security
People felt lost on last Wednesday, Emad Abdel Ghafour dismissed those who dismissed him !!!!!
The two fronts war was reflected on the social network accounts of the party. We got now “@alnourpartyeg” ,the official twitter account that follows Abdel Ghafour and his front where as the official website of the party and its official Facebook page follows Borhami front !!! Contradictory statements and interviews as well TV debates and confrontations, it was a circus.
Up till this moment Bakkar swears that the twitter account of Al Nour party is hacked by former members of Al Nour that have been fired recently !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

حساب النور على تويتر مخترق منذ فترة بعيدة من أعضاء مفصولين و قد نبهنا على ذلك أكثر من مرة....2

— نادر بكار (@naderbakkar) September 29, 2012

Now we got two Nour Parties literality , one that follows “Borhami” and the other follows “Abdel Ghafour” and both parties that are fighting for recognitions. Who will win ?? I do no know , the upcoming days will only tell without the dirty revelations coming by second proving those Salafists are dirty politicians with my all due respect to them. It seems that all odds and logic are in favor of Yasser El Borhami and the rest of Salafist Calling group after all it is religious based party and they are their spiritual leaders. I do not need to tell you that both parties use religion and Sharia with testimonies from Sheikh x and Sheikh Y that each of them is right and the other is wrong !!
According to the Parties law , the Parties committee following Shura council should freeze the second biggest party till it sorts out its issues or in this case its shit !!!!
Many people felt that there is some of State security’s smell here as bringing down promising political parties during the Mubarak’s regime like what happened in El Ghad party , Al Ahrar party and Al Wafd Party if you remember. Still there is no state security anymore not to mention there is no Mubarak regime. Some are blaming and accusing the Muslim brotherhood of standing behind this crisis as the MB wants to get from its closet rival in the Parliamentary elections especially many speculate that MB’s Freedom and Justice Party will not be lucky like last time.
Despite this can be true I have many doubts about this assumption. I will explain in another day and another night insh Allah.

Sunday Night Poetry: Margaret Atwood

#Syria : And history is being destroyed now

The people of Aleppo are not asking the world to save them anyone , they lost hope in the people but they are asking the world to save their history. The fight now between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian Arab army is in the old Aleppo which has been declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. The people are asking the world to press both fighting parties to move outside this year.
Already many sections of Al Madina souq was destroyed in the fight. Allegedly 600 to 1000 shops are in that soup.

ِA photo taken on 22/9 showing Souq al Ebe

Here are also collection of videos filmed last week showing the amount of destruction in the old souqs

On 21/9 Souq Mwazin
 


On 21/9 Souq Al Madina
 
On 29/9 Souq Al Madina on fire
There are modest attempts to save Syria’s heritage. Tomorrow an emergency meeting will be held at Cairo university to discuss how protect the Syrian history heritage under the auspices of Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) bureau in Egypt and Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities.
A Syrian tweep summarized what is happening in Aleppo in very few sad words

The only thing remained for us after the murder of our people is our history and it is being destroyed now. 

Saturday Night Music: Maria Callas

and unfortunately this front page will be always remember in the history of Al Akhbar !!

This is the front Page of Daily Al Akbar on Friday and its headlines said the following :

Splits threat Al Nour Party .. and Bakkar gets married !!

I understand why the splits of Al Nour party should be a front page headline and issue but I have not got the slightest idea on why Nader Bakkar’s marriage would be a front page item at all or his photo along his bride on the first page !?? Nader Bakkar is/was “it is up to which front we are speaking about in Al Nour” the official spokesperson.This is not the society page for God sake !!
Bakkar’s marriage is only relevant to the topic in a very small way. He is married the daughter of Bassam El Razaqa , a leading figure in the Salafist calling “Borhami’s front” and that he married on the same day Abdel Ghafur fired him from his position as official spokesperson of the party.
Bakkar is not the Prince of Upper Egypt or the King of Egypt last time I checked as the only man I can recall to have his wedding’s photos posted in the Front page was King Farouk along with his family pre-1952 !!!!!
Unfortunately this front page will be recorded in the history of Al Akhbar as one of the worst front pages ever !!
This is a state-owned newspaper which means it is funded by the taxpayers’ money.
BY the way I do not like what is taking place in Al Akhbar Al Youm press organization , I mean I do not get how Akhbar Al Adab claimed in its issue last week that Karl Marx converted to Islam before his death in a huge insult to the readers and their knowledge !!

Color Love: Plum.

One.Two.Three.Four.Five.Six.Seven.Eight.Nine.Ten.Eleven.

51 Years of Memories Magazine

A little over a week ago now I suggested that rather than just copy everything you see on Pinterest, try taking a few of them and making the pins your own. Adding personalized details or tweaking the project can put a whole new spin on an "old pin". Often I'll get into a project with one picture in my head of how I want it to turn out and then half way through I end up changing what I'm doing...either because I had a new idea or because circumstances around me changed and changed was necessary. Jean sent us in a great example of thinking on her feet and changing up a pinned project when she was thrown a curve ball. She started with a sweet and wonderful gift idea for her husband and ended up with something different but just as wonderful...she made the pin her own. 

The Original Pin

http://nothingbutbonfires.com/2011/06/sixty-years-memories

Have you seen this "60 years of memories" idea? You ask family and friends write memories they have of your loved one (usually the birthday boy/girl) and then you order them by year and present it as [insert age] years of memories. I did this with my husband one year for Christmas...he loves top 10 lists, so I had people write their favorite memory of Cameron and I made a top 10 (or 20) list of favorite memories involving Cameron. He loved it. It meant so much to him that people would take the time to send in their memories and thoughts. We did this again for my parents 25th anniversary and they loved it. This gift really is sweet and fun for anyone at any age. 

Here's Jeans story of her experience with this project: 

"When my husband's 50th birthday rolled around, I froze.  Paralyzed by the fear of planning a surprise party, I did (mostly) nothing.  I did enlist the help of our young daughters in creating an Angry Birds cake, but that's a whole 'nuther Pinstrosity. 

Not wanting to disappoint him for his 51st, and knowing the pressure was off for a real surprise, I began recreating the fabulous '60 Years of Memories' pin.  In the original pin, the Pinner presents her dad with 60 letters from his friends filled with their memories of him.

Like this Pinner, I wrote an email using her verbiage but exchanging words where necessary.  The following message was sent via Facebook to approx. 100 friends:

'Hello!

If you're receiving this message, you probably know that Tom is turning 51 next month. To celebrate his birthday, I'd like to put together a little surprise to let him know that his nearest and dearest are thinking of him. I'm going to try and create a '51 Years of Memories' book with a memory his friends and family have of him.

And this is where you come in!

If you have a spare moment in the next few days, I would be so grateful if you'd jot down a favorite memory you have of Tom and send it in a reply to this message, or email it to me at [email address]. You can mention anything you like -- although the more nostalgic the better! Please absolutely feel free to send jpg photos too.

Thank you so much for participating -- I know everyone is busy with their own lives, and I do appreciate you taking a few minutes to do this; it will be so worth it when he reads all the memories people have of him! (Please don't forget to keep it a surprise until then, though!)

Thank you again! -- Jean'

Of the 100, 15 friends replied with stories, 2 asked when the party was (party?), and at least 3 said they would get back to me (but never did).

Since I was a far cry from the intended 51 letters, I had to work with what I had. I created a magazine, and gave each friend a full page to tell their story.  This resulted in large, easy-to-read fonts and big pictures."

The Pinstrosity

Jean said that "although this did not turn out as expected, [her] husband is VERY proud of his birthday magazine, and never misses an opportunity to show it off."

Things will go awry (I love that word) during projects. That's just life. And Pinterest. But that doesn't mean that all hope is lost and that we should climb under our covers and wail. 15 letters would not have made quite the impact in the original form of the pin...but Jean was able to take the pin and what she had, and make it her own. 

When things don't turn out just exactly how you imagined them, look for ways you can salvage it and turn it into something new! I know not everything is salvageable, but you'd be surprised what you can save even out of the biggest Pinstrosities. 

Do not put yourself in hot situation !!

I hope the questions are not hot as your opinion ,I hope the questions are not hot as you

Egypt’s minister of information

Salah Abdel El Maqsoud

My questions are hot but I am a cold as a person.

Zeina Yazigi, Syrian TV host on Dubai TV

This is what the minister of information in Egypt Salah Abdel El Maqsoud told Syrian TV host Zeina Yazigi in Dubai TV last week. My mom was stunned when she saw that clip. Of course my admiration to Zeina has increased after her reaction. Here is her twitter account by the way.

The MB “mainly” say it was a joke and he did not mean as he meant her opinions were hot but she interrupted him and he had to repeat it again in that way !!  The MB boys of course are defending him madly claiming that we are all going to hell and that he is better than all of us !! Of course if the minister of information was Non-Islamist minister , they would have considered him a rude womanizer infidel. “imagine if it were Amr Hamzawy !!”

Others say that it was just a blunder and he did not mean any sexual harassment from any kind , he is just an idiot who does not know how to speak. Well indeed he is an idiot who does not know how to speak to the media internationally and he is the minister of information. This is even much more dangerous than a minister who can not control his hormones !! How can I have a minister of information representing my country worldwide who does not know how to speak or act properly !?

I wish that he apologized on air , at least he would set the record straight and in fact he would be respected more.

I know Salah Abdel Maqsoud was chosen by the Muslim brotherhood to head the ministry of information in order to control the National TV , this is something I know and I am sure of personally according to sources I trusted. There were big names proposed then from Maspero Children who got experience in press like famous Hamdy Qandil but unfortunately the MB insisted on Abdel Maqsoud as their men in Maspero to control the News sector which the brotherhood believed that it was fighting the president.  Abdel Maqsoud is a MB journalist who got a history in the Islamist newspapers as well long career in the journalists syndication. The government promised that he will be the last minister of information.

RIP Ahmed Ramzy “1930-2012”

Ramzy in Ibn Hamido 

Today Egypt has lost its beloved original heartthrob of 1950s and 1960s Cinema star Ahmed Ramzy.
The 82 years old actor passed away after he fell down on his head in the bathroom of his house in North Coast where he used to live for a long time. The half Egyptian-half Scottish actor wanted to be buried at the North Coast too.
I feel so sad , there is no girl in Egypt that has not fallen in love of Ramzy on screen in those black and white films from 1950s and 1960s. He was our original heartthrob with open shirts and smiley face.
My favorite Ramzy’s films are Zizi’s family “I wish that I had a neighbor like him” , Ibn Hamido “with his open shirt through all the family” , Days and nights and Chitchat on the Nile.
Almost all people loved him in romantic comedies and light romantic films. He was also our favoirte bad boy that broke the hearts of virgins in films. Oh God we got generations who had crush on that man.
Still He was not the best drama actor

His open Shirt was
a trademark 

After huge success in 1950s and 1960s , Ramzy’s stardom faded away and he starred in cult films produced in Beirut. Even his cult terrible films were iconic in their cheesiness if I may say!!
For almost two decades he quit acting yet returned back to appear as guest star in his close friends films and TV series like Faten Hamma’s “Moon Face” and Omar El Sherif’s “Hanan and Hanin”. Already he was El Sherif’s best friend since high school.
Now to celebrate the memory of that star , here is couple of clips you should watch and share.

First a tribute to Ramzy , the neighbor's son

First time to hear Nancy Agram's song , it is fun and light.
Second his famous scene in a drag in the epic Chitchat on the Nile

By the way Ramzy did not like President Nasser and believed that Egypt's best era was in time of Sadat. Late Aida El Shaer , the diva of folklore songs sing the famous iconic song “El Titsht a’ali”
Third his most famous interview in 1966 when he was being criticized by famous Laila Rostom for his always-open-shirt and how he wore a blue pendant to protect him from envy !! “It was given by his wife then.”

It was recorded in our pop TV culture how Rostom commented on his answer sarcastically and said her famous two words “Too Cute”. After 40 years the woman is still being asked about this interview despite she was like Barbara Walters in her time in Egypt !!
And last here is my favorite film "Ibn Hamido" , this film is an epic comedy where we got legendary stars like Ismail Yassin , Zainat Sedaky, the amazing Hend Rostom, Abdel Fatah El Kisry , Tawfik El Dikkin and of course our boy late Ramzy. I already learned its script by heart.

By the way this film's production budge was LE 15,000 and that beach was in Ain El Sokhna.

Beautiful Women of the Silver Screen: Catherine Deneauve

I Love Lamp.

Friday is here!!!! Holy long week Batman! Tomorrow is craft day with my girl Mille, and I have this lamp that is in desperate  need of a makeover, and this Pinstrosity was just what I needed to get my butt in gear for a lamp shade renovation! Here is Lindsay's creation!

The Original

http://cleverlyinspired.com/2012/02/24/diy-cover-a-lampshade-super-neat-trick/

This was just a plain cream lampshade beforehand, and using a piece of craft or wrapping paper, you measure the area you need to cover, and then cut your fabric to your new paper pattern and using craft glue you glue it on...Lindsay followed the directions and ran into some slight issues, check it out:

The Pinstrosity

It looks great before you turn on the light, and certainly brings some color and dimension to an otherwise boring lamp, but while in use the extra edges underneath create an icky shadow.

How to fix this:

-Lindsay measured the fabric correctly, there is supposed to be a little extra to place underneath, however her fabric looks fairly thin, and therefore is more prone to show a shadow of the leftovers.

-She might have been able to trim up the edges ( after all the gluing was finished) if she was super clean with her application of glue around the under edge, but if she was liberal with her glue (which is fine, you definitely don't want the fabric to go anywhere) than that isn't an option. Make sure your fabric isn't going to cast a weird shadow if you can't trim it.

-Another option is to line the lamp with a darker shade underneath, and then place your decorative fabric on top (if it is especially thin). The only issue with that is that you probably own't get as much brightness if you do that. For some projects, like purely decorative or mood lighting lamps that's fine, but if lamps are your only source of light this probably won't be ideal. 

-I would suggest looking at fabric in the home decor section  (it looks like that is what the original blogger used), it is generally really thick and they tend to have patterns that match most decor (imagine that! Decor friendly fabric in a home decor section lol). This is the stuff you would use for curtains, or reupholstering etc. Be advised that it is usually a little more expensive though, if you are doing a small lamp like Lindsay's though I don't think it would be too bad, however the lamp I will be doing will probably need a yard and half or more, it is a large antique decorative lamp from my grandmother that was damaged in our last home when it flooded, and I am hoping to be able to fix it on the cheap (Huge world map perhaps?!).

And there you have it, how to upgrade your lamp on the cheap and easy...does anyone have any fantastic lamp upgrade experience to share with the Pinstrosity world?!

Make sure to check in tomorrow for an awesome post from Marquette, and have a great weekend everyone!

**Update: So I must have been distracted, because the suggestion to add decorative ribbon to the bottom of the outside of the lamp to hide yucky edges, or to add ribbon to the inside to make a clean silhouette totally eluded me, but almost every single one of comments suggested that, an easy fast fix. This is why we ask for your feedback! Sometimes the simplest answer is the hardest to find! Thanks readers for your suggestions, y'all are awesome!**

currently craving {nyc edition}

1.) Tibi sweater; 2.) Joomi Lim necklace; 3.) Sandro jacket; 4.) Linda Farrow sunglasses; 5.) 3.1 Phillip  Lim 31 Hour Combo bag; 6.) Tibi PVC pencil skirt; 7.) Dannijo earrings; 8.) 3.1 Phillip Lim Kadie cut out bootie

It's been quite some time since we've had a proper "Currently Craving" post around here so I figured a little figurative window shopping would be fitting as we duck into one of our first fall weekends of the year. A lot of what you see above are all pieces that I spotted during my whirlwind New York trip a few weeks back. It's always difficult justifying serious retail therapy while out there for Fashion Week -- mainly because my luggage was already overweight from the get-go (desperate transferring of shoes to other bags didn't help!) but also the bank account simply just won't allow it. That said, I did get to visit some of my favorite retail haunts while in the city and while the credit cards were benched for most of it, it's still made for great leisurely afternoons of window shopping. My must-visits always include:

1.) Opening Ceremony in Soho: It's a no-brainer for me really as I usually have one browser tab dedicated to Opening Ceremony, defaulted to their sale section (which I check constantly!). When visiting the city, I'll typically devote an entire afternoon to digging through this store -- all floors of it, since a lot of their specialty pieces aren't carried online. This last trip, Samantha and I popped in after a few morning presentations and left with some serious clutch candy (seen here) and a certain embellished skirt, which will be making a blog appearance quite soon. 

Don't miss: their accessories. They carry a lot of emerging designers that I've yet to find stocked anywhere else. Personal favorites include Joomi Lim and Cabinet Oseo.

2.) Otte in the West Village: This gem of a boutique came at the recommendation of Alicia, who has been obsessed with their cool, it-girl designer offerings since moving to NYC earlier this year. After one of our first brunches in the city, Alicia took Heather and I to Otte to see what it was all about -- and I'm so glad she did. 3.1 Phillip Lim, Elizabeth & James, Suno and Dannijo all under one roof? Where do I sign? 

Don't miss: their bag selection. It took a lot of will power to walk away from this goodie. 

3.) Tibi in Soho: Heather and I made a beeline to the Tibi store during this past trip, just so I could try on the emerald green sweater/skirt combo you see above (you can see the end result here). That's about par for the course though as I always enjoy stopping by their Soho store to play dress up. Plus, their sale racks, if you hit them at the right time, can be awfully kind to you! 

Don't miss: the in-store merchandising. Many of the complete looks are straight off the runway, but several mix it up a bit and make for good outfit inspiration fodder. 

4.) Spiritual America in the Lower East Side: Like Otte, this boutique is a recent find to me. The store owner, Claire Lemétais, is a former art gallery curator, and it shows in the designer pieces she selects for the floor. Expect to stumble across Loeffler Randall, Wendy Nichol and Vanessa Bruno, in addition to a slew of up and coming New York-based designers, like Dusen Dusen and Shabd. 

Don't miss: the kitchsy romance novels sprinkled throughout the space as decor. Most, if not all, are about nurses, which is homage to the nurse paintings by Richard Prince, who incidentally displayed some of his work in the same space the store is now in. How's that for some trivia?

5.) Sandro in the West Village: I'm borderline obsessed with this white leather Sandro jacket I picked up a few weeks ago, so a visit to their West Village store was a must for me during this trip. We came just in time, as they were fully stocked for fall -- lots of emeralds, wine reds and this amazing jacket, which sadly did not make it's way into my luggage at the end of the trip. 

Don't miss: their dresses. Man, I'm a sucker for their dresses. Truly embodies that Parisian je ne sais quoi.

Since I'm always on the hunt for new boutiques to try when heading into the city, I'd love to hear your favorites! Let me know in the comments below!

Friday's Forgotten Books, September 28, 2012

Check with Todd Mason for today's links.

Two weeks to Agatha Christie week.

Pretty Please!

Do you enjoy a good and easy peasy crumble recipe? If so, this might just be for you! For the full recipe, please pop by here! I was recently invited by the lovely folks at Right Angle Studio to participate in The Thousand's Celebrity Non-chef showdown. I was gifted a whole bagful of Connoisseur's newest Ice cream variety. How lucky! And for the challenge, I was tasked to create a recipe inspired by my choice of flavour. And of course, it took me only about 5 Minutes of tucking into 4 different pints to decide on choosing the amazing Snowy Mountain Blueberry Crumble. Yummmm!

Cooking for me's really truly a fun thing to do. I'm never a firm believer of recipes that require super extreme precision. Cooking should be fun, simple, relaxing. A dash of this, a dash of that. Too salty, laugh it off and try to save it with sugar (If you can!) Too burnt, oh well, the more practice, the better right? So yup, for this challenge, I've whipped up a super easy fail-proof crumble recipe. It's filled with lots of berries, crumbly bits and all-round niceness. It's not one of the prettiest looking crumbles, it's a little flat and boring looking. But never judge a book by it's cover! Top it with ice cream and it'll send you straight to crumble heaven. I hope! It sure did for me and friends. Haha.

So, as much as I hate asking for votes, I would really, truly appreciate it if you can take maybe a minute or two to look through my recipe and if you think I should win, do vote for me. I would LOVE to win a $500 dining voucher. It would certainly be a nice way to celebrate working hard! Oh and if case you're wondering what you'll get in return... By voting, you stand a chance to win for yourself a $500 voucher to Cumulus in Melbourne, Momofuku in Sydney, The Survey in Brisbane, Pata Negra in Perth or Press* in Adelaide. Ooh lala!

Voting closes this coming Monday at 5pm. I'll be keeping my fingers, eyes, toes and hair strands crossed. Ah! Hopefully with all of your lovely help, the amazing dining voucher would make it's way to me. Thank you! xo

What about the Christians in Al Arish Mr. President !??

President Morsi stated in his meetings with the media as well Egyptian American community members during his visit to New York that Egyptian Christians suffer no mistreatment what so ever as religious minority in Egypt especially with the rise of Islamists in power.
“All Egyptians are one , all Egyptians are equal” Morsi told US media as well Egyptian Americans yesterday at the Egyptian consulate in New York on Wednesday yet unfortunately in 24 hours or even less he is proven to be wrong after what happened in Al Arish.
The Christian families in the city of Rafah have been receiving threats for some time now from alleged Jihadi Salafist militant groups that want them to leave Rafah. We thought back in Cairo that were just unreal threats but today I heard that militants opened their fire on a Christian shop owner forcing the families to head for the governor asking him to transfer them in Al Arish for their safety , the city capital of North Sinai. According to activists there were flyers distributed by those unknown militants claiming that Rafah now is an Islamic principality !! The families had to leave for fear on their safety and do not ask where the security is from all this because it seems that Sinai is out control !!


This is considered a forced displacement and it is not the first time it happens to Christian families unfortunately since the revolution or before that or in the era of President Morsi. Of course in the past the Christian families return to their homes after these sessions of talks between the elderly, church men , government and sheikhs in those areas they forced to leave. I do not know who will talk with Rafah militants this time !? The Salafists or Al Gama’a Al Islamiyya. 
This is another test you are failing constantly Mr. President , Christians do not feel that you are a president for all Egyptians.
President’s assistant Samir Marcus should do something quickly as well President’s advisors Ayman El Sayyad and Sakina Fouad, yes I mention them by name because I trust more than other member in the president team.
By the way I do understand the anger of Christians from those radical militants but I do not understand or can tolerate any racist comments about Egyptian Bedouin tribes. The Bedouin tribes suffer from those radical militants and the government more than the Christians and it is enough how  they are being regarded by the Egyptians from the valley. We will not solve intolerance by radicalism.
I will not also accept that talk about Palestinian invasion.
Ironically the e-MB committees in social media are all quiet after knowing that scandal in Sinai , they do not even speak about Amr Hamzawy’s controversial op-ed in Al Watan anymore !!

My Life at the Theater: A Hard Heart

I saw this at the Clurman Theater in New York in 2007. I can think of few plays I liked less than this one. It was cynical without being interesting. Opaque and yet preachy at the same time. I'll leave it at that. I can't think why we chose it. Maybe the tickets were free?

Do I smell something burning?

Pinterest myth #423...the instructions are ALWAYS 100% correct. 

Okay, I know...our number one suggestion is to follow the instructions when trying out a pin, but Lyndsey is here to tell us that sometimes the instructions can be way off. 

 "I am a newly wed. My husband and I had been married and in our new home for all of two weeks when I decided to surprise him with a pinterest inspired meal when he got off work. Bear in mind, I am no Paula Dean. I have no hesitation admitting I am not a great cook, but if you give me directions, I can usually pull off whatever recipe it is... Enter Chick-fil-a inspired chicken."

The Original Pin

http://www.domesticfrugalista.com/2011/09/15/recipe-home-made-chic-fil-a/ 

"Things went fine until it was time to fry the chicken. The directions tell you to heat the oil for 20 minutes. Now, most of you would automatically say 'No way!'. I, however, thought, 'Far be it from me, a lowly novice cook, to judge these super women Pinterest people...' and continued to heat my oil on the stove top (on 5) for 15 minutes..."

The Pinstrosity

http://www.clintondailynews.com/photoarchives2.htm

Okay...that's not really Lyndsey's house...but you get the idea. 

She tells us that she ended up with "a grease fire in which the fire department was called, and my husband and I were out of our home for close to a month while is was being cleaned of smoke damage.... Lesson learned, take everything with a grain of salt."

"P.S. no picture of burning skillet, though flames went to the ceiling..."

Lyndsey, I hope you don't mind I was chuckling through your story. I think that most of us have these early cooking stories (or if you're like me...still making these cooking stories). I was at a sleep over and my friend and I got up early to make breakfast for the family and pulled out their pancake recipe and mixed it up...only we didn't know there's a difference between baking soda and baking powder. We didn't end up with a kitchen on fire but those were some pretty weird and nasty pancakes. Or like when I decided to make potpourri as a kid and put some grass which I had pulled form the lawn into the microwave to dry. I was sure I was going to get a great smelling plate of awesomeness and that mom would be so proud of me. That microwave made everything taste very..."organic" for the next few weeks. So, we all have these moments that to some might seem like, "Well, duh!" moments, but really we all do things like this every now and then. I'm glad the house didn't burn and that everything turned out alright in the end. But yes...20 minutes is way too long to heat your oil on high...but you know that now. 

la vie en rose

Top: H&M (love this version); Skirt: Zara (almost bought this one in NYC); Shoes: Prada; Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim; Sunglasses: Karen Walker; Jewelry: Forever 21 earrings

Have been itching to try this color combination for quite some time now, especially after spying this look from the Marni s/s 2013 collection. I love how it feels equal parts spring and fall at the same time -- a good transitional duo. 

Any fun color combinations you've been considering?

Chaos And Curls

As a hairdresser, I have seen my fair share of hair woes...cosmetology school would be the BEST reality TV show EVER created. On a side note, not only would the comedy factor be high, but the drama alone would beat out all those stuffy rich housewives in a second...and America would then know what NOT to do with their hair, it's a win win win situation. Think on it. If I ever get a decent camera, I am starting on that A.S.A.P. and will then distribute the millions I make with all of you, promise. Until that day comes however I will share with you a series of unfortunate hair Pinstrosities...we have received this one, or a variation of this one quite a bit...You might want to sit down, and if you are drinking something, set that down too, laughing and drinking are a chocking hazard, you have been warned!

The Original

http://www.lovemaegan.com/2011/09/revisiting-no-heat-big-curls-w-twisted.html

Miranda sent us this, and here is her take:

The Pinstrosity

The Original

http://theglitterguide.com/2011/10/27/1980s-hair-tutorial/

Here is Sara's take:

The Pinstrosity

The Original

From Piper: http://sherellechristensen.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/monkey_cupcakes.html

The Pinstrosity

From A.

The Pinstrosity               The Original          

http://borntobeblonde.com/must-have-curly-hairdo/

Another take on this pin from Sarah Rose:

The Pinstrosity

Ok is everyone still breathing? Is your computer liquid/spit logged because you didn't heed my warning and you ended up spitting your drink onto your keyboard? Bummers. 

Here is the hard part folks, and some of you may be mad, and think, what does she know?! Keep in mind I am a cosmetologist, and I have had experience with all of this and then some, but the hard truth, like we have said before is not everyone's hair will do everything, and it definitely won't do it perfect, the first time or otherwise.

Here's some good news, it also might do what you are wanting. Doing wet twisted curls with your finger and pins isn't always going to give you the same end results and here is why. Variation. Every time you do it you may be pulling harder, pinning looser, taking smaller chunks, taking bigger chunks, inconsistency is the issue a lot of times. That is the other issue with Pinterest, did any of these pictures come with directions ON them? NO. Now if you are lucky enough to have had a link to go with your picture, and smart enough to follow that link, watch the tutorial video (the first one had one), and then follow those directions, you might have had a fighting chance. However if your hair is different than the tutors, then you run into more trouble. Let's be real here also, nobody's hair is exactly the same...I have had clients whose hair does not work with heat, others who do not work without heat, others who had to wash it every single day  in order for it to anything, and others who washed it once a week or it looked like a wig on chicken. Everyone's hair is different. 

Now that I have the different hair pow wow over with I CAN give you some tips to help out.

-Some pins you need wet hair, others need dry, look at the picture, does the original pin picture have nice tight twists on top of their head or do you see "fuzzies" sticking up everywhere? If you see an abundance of "fuzzies", there is a good chance the pinners hair is DRY. If it looks slick and clean is is most likely wet.

**The one with cute little girl seems to be wet, and her picture tutorial only shows four pieces (we will touch on that in a moment), kids hair tends to be softer and easier to do things like this with because they have little to no damage**

-Using a leave in conditioner will generally help with tame the"fuzzies" for when you take your hair out, but humidity is a WHOLE nother (is that a word?it is now.) ballgame. 

-Leave it in over night. Most of these pins require you to sleep on them. Those of you who have hellathick hair, your hair will most likely NOT be dry in the morning, like I said in our last hair post, if you  MUST blow dry it, use the blow dryer gently on low heat low speed...gently...too vigorously and you will look like you put your hand in a socket. No bueno. 

-Those of you with fine limp hair, this is tricky...you don't have a ton of hair and it generally doesn't have a lot of volume, I would put a silver dollar size of muse in your roots before twisting it up, this should help add some volume. Also when you take it out tousle your roots with your fingertips while your head is flipped upside down, but don't shake like a dog, too much will ruin the effect, and definitely use hairspray. 

-Section sizes, it's hard to tell you what size to take because everyone's hair thickness is different, but I would say thick haired people use 1" by 1" squares all over if you want good defined smaller curls. For bigger more wave like curls take bigger sections, but I wouldn't suggest anything bigger than 3" by 3" or you will have a problem with it not drying in time. 

-People with short hair, these pins aren't generally your friend, unless you are going for a look like this:

http://elizabethbanks.com/blog/post/elizabeth-banks-stay-classy-glamour-shots

(Cat included)

-Another thing to think on, if you are sleeping on it, maybe use a hair net, or hair cap over it to add some security, some of us aren't still sleepers. Food for thought.

-DON'T brush it out, use your fingers to separate it, if you are desperate use a pick, again, GENTLY.

Short hair peeps: This isn't t say if you do it loose and maybe do a touch up curl or two that it can't look cute, because it can...exhibit A:

http://pinterest.com/pin/155866837074249482/

Cute no? Short, yes. Touched up? Hell yes. 

-Also, in general you will almost never see a hair style like the above styles on Pinterest that hasn't been touched up with some sort of curling iron/straightener/wig. It is just the way of the game, just like photo shop and magazines, they think no will notice and that everyone will think that's just how they look. The jig is up, America knows.

A great tutorial can be found here: http://www.lovemaegan.com/2011/09/revisiting-no-heat-big-curls-w-twisted.html

The moral of the story is, don't get discouraged, make sure you have directions, or someone who has done this before to maybe help you out, and figure out your hair, it's yours, own it! Everyone's is different, and with that will behave differently, so remember to take that into account...and don't be ashamed to do a two minute touch up. I'm not, and I am a hairdresser. 

Happy Hair Hunting Pinstrosipeeps!

Opening Credits: Taxi

#UNGA : Our President speaks in front of the world

And our first democratically elected president addressed the whole world from few hours ago at the 67th UN General Assembly in New York. Here is the speech in video.

Here is also the complete official transcript after the break with remarks

My remarks :

• The original speech did not include Morsi’s praising to Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” nor the part on how We as Egypt is going to respect those respect our Prophet “PBUH” from country. He also added it to the part concerning the respect to Muslims and Islam faith. Needless to say this part in the beginning made him earn the admiration of many Muslims and Islamists showing him as someone who is proud of his religion.
• To be honest personally I think the biggest insult to Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” comes from those claiming to be sheikhs just like those three men appeared on three Egyptian TV channels last. Those who watched ONTV , Al Kahara wal Nas and Dream TV2 know what I mean.
• I do not understand why Morsi had to repeat the word legitimacy was mentioned several time in the part concerning Egypt. Nobody debating the legitimacy of Morsi as elected President. I am afraid this shows as someone who is worried on his chair and legitimacy.
• Again I felt lost in the speech as he was trying to cover too many points , he covered Syria, Palestine, Sudan, Somalia, Africa, Youth , Egypt , Nukes, Islamophobia and UN systems !! He needs a better speech writer.
• There is nothing new about Palestine and Syria in his speech. He is against military intervention in Syria already whether internationally or Arabic unlike Prince of Qatar.
• Of course the MB boys and girls are extremely happy that he did not mention Israel by name. It is not a big deal already.
• The Egyptian Christians are angry that he mentioned the “Non Muslims in Egypt”to be honest he could have meant all Non Muslims from Christians and Jews in good way. “I will not even dream that he meant Baha’is as well” Still I feel Morsi should have spoken about Egyptian Christians in particular after they were mentioned in Obama’s speech. I wish that he makes them believe that he is a president for all Egyptians not only the Islamists.
• I do not understand how the president who allegedly speaks as if a representative of Egyptian revolution asks the world to help Sudan when it is still under the control of Omar El Bashir !!? Are you kidding me?? He is a corrupted dictator and war criminal , he is responsible of an agony just like El Assad !!
• He was trying to tell the world that Egypt is back to restore its role in Arab and African sphere. Unfortunately Egypt will not restore these roles by strong speeches after all these decades , after depending economically on other countries.
• Where is Bahrain !? At least you should have said “I want stability for Bahraini people away from any regional intervention” but of course you can not say this.
• The MB boys and girls are flying from happiness that an MB addressed the UN member states forgetting that he is only there because he is the president of Egypt not as MB member. They think that this is the best historical speech ever said in the history of the UN General assembly and that Morsi killed their historical nemesis Nasser who taught the Egyptians that good leader means strong words speeches.

OFF THE RECORD: AT THE MOVIES

47 short stories, based on classic film titles...

Following the Spinetingler award nominated 'Off The Record', the charity anthology featuring stories based on classic song titles, comes the highly anticipated sequel.

This time, inspiration arrives in the form of classic film titles. With an introduction penned by Chris Ewan and featuring some of biggest and brightest names writing today including...

Will Carver, Steve Mosby, Helen FitzGerald, Adrian McKinty, Matt Hilton, Stav Sherez, Claire McGowan, Sean Cregan, David Jackson, Mel Sherratt, Nick Quantrill, Maxim Jakubowski, and many, many more...

47 writers from around the world. All coming together to raise money for two children's literacy charities...

In the UK, National Literacy Trust.

In the US, Children's Literacy Initiative.

From Crime to Fantasy, Taxi Driver to Weekend at Bernie's, there's something for everyone in this collection of 47 short stories.

And all proceeds from the sales of this anthology go directly to charity!

My story is called MERMAIDS. And it is definitely not based on the Cher movie but rather on an experience of my wild youth. 

fall beauty lineup

When it comes to my beauty routine, I aim for a more natural look for both day and evening -- so, admittedly, I hardly consider myself a makeup guru. I do, however, have a handful of recent favorites that I swear by and figured I should spill!

In the top photo, from clockwise from top left:

1.) Estée Lauder Intense Kajal Eye Crayon -- perfect for a winged cat eye look. I'm not much of an eyeshadow gal, but love using this crayon smudged just a bit for a more dramatic, evening look.

2.) Bare Escentuals Warmth All Over Face Color -- gives just the right amount of a sun-kissed glow, sans sun.

3.) Estée Lauder Daywear Anti-Oxidant Beauty Benefit Cream SPF 35 -- I'll usually put this on right before my foundation, or if it's the weekend, I'll opt for just this, as it's lightly tinted and does wonders to even out your skin tone. Plus, gotta have the SPF!

4.) Chanel Vitalumiere Moisture-Rich foundation -- this is a recent addiction of mine. Absolutely love the almost dewy effect it has. 

5.) Benefit "They're Real!" mascara -- got hooked on this right after this fun little shoot. Gives great volume without looking too over done. 

6.) Chanel Correcteur concealer -- spot control done right. Just a little goes a long way under the eyes and blemishes. 

7.) Chanel foundation brush #6 and #7 -- I used to use a makeup sponge applicator and only recently switched over to using brushes. I highly recommend making the investment purchase for this. Application is much more even and if taken care of properly, these brushes can last quite a while.

8.) Chanel Poudre Universelle Compacte -- my go-to for on-the-go touch ups.  

9.) Chloe eau de parfum -- while I normally switch off between my Chanel No. 5 or Balenciaga, I just added this Chloe scent to the rotation, (thanks to Fragrance.net!) and love how refreshing it is. Notes of rose, powder and even a slight hint of honey. The man friend's take? He thinks it smells like Christmas, which I think is boy code for, "I like it." 

On a related note, if you're in the market for a new scent, I recommend you check out the selection over at Fragrance.net -- they offer free shipping on orders over $70 and This Time Tomorrow readers can enjoy 15% off their order with the code "TMTW3".

Now tell me -- what are some of your favorite beauty products as of late? Would love to know!