Passionately M

My elementary teacher told us that "It is wrong to tell a child climbing up the tree that he will fall down."  The tongue has its power.  From that day on, I have kept this in my mind. Old people say that we speak things into existence. Even God did so when He created the world. Genesis 1 : 1-31 says -- In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day... If you will watch inspirational videos created by life coaches and preachers, you will hear them always saying positive things, hacking our brains to think that way -- that they will come into existence. Joel ...

My beloved niece asked me why I love to paint Arabic women and other subjects with Arabian touches. She is a Muslim (convert) so she is happy to see some of my artworks with such a theme. I cannot explain my profound interest in them. Maybe this is also the reason my feet landed here. When I see Arabic artworks, I feel that my soul travels elsewhere to a whole new world where everybody understands the patterns of life, as reflected in Arab artists' geometric arts. That whole new world is an amazing converging point where everybody is respected and protected, regardless of race, religion or economic status. The soul is the essence of life. Once it has experienced a different journey, it flies happily to another dimension, far away beyond the physical boundaries. My first painting with an Arabic theme was "SuperMoon". It was painted for some months when I was in my worst trying times. The sight of the moon and the sounds of names with 'moon' as a commo...

There are many shawarma stands near our place but I take a long walk to get one from a cafeteria about three blocks away from our area, for some reasons. In addition to good staff services, the shawarma there is yummier than the rest I have tasted so far. The wrapper is somewhat crispy and grilled.  The juicy meat and vegetables inside are all fresh. At AED5.50 per order, it is a cheap dinner so no wonder there are lots of customers falling in line to grab their pieces, with matching chai (hot tea with milk and ginger, AED1 small cup and AED2 bigger cup). I usually ask for garlic sauce in addition to tomato sauce that they serve. It has a spicy kick that I love. I recall when a friend sent me an invitation to his birthday get-together.  He called it a 'shawarma party' held in the same place, then after that, there was a fun run. I was not able to join them but for sure they all enjoyed it. Shawarma,(alternative names: chawarma, shaurma or showarma) is a pop...