by Natasha Tynes | Oct 11, 2005 | Film
The other day we watched the beautiful movie Whale Rider. Although it has been out for a couple of years, it was just two days ago that we managed to put our paws on this highly acclaimed film and what a treat it was.
This visually stunning film tells the legendary story of a young Maori girl who struggles to fulfill her destiny while being challenged by a patriarchal community. It is a story about love, redemption, heritage and family ties all woven together in this mystical manner that mates fantasy to reality.
The movie also sheds an important light on the tradition and culture of the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand through the travails of Paikea, who was wonderfully played by Keisha Castle-Hughes (pictured). It was such a joy to watch Whale Rider that I will watch it again and again. It is highly recommend for troubled souls!
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 9, 2005 | Jordan, my nation, Shutterbug
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While sifting through our photo archive, I came across this night picture of Amman that the husband took last May one day before we left Jordan for the US. The picture was taken from the roof of Wild Jordan Café, showing al-Qala and that giant flag pole. That night we took my mom (aka Zeezo) for her first trip and dinner at Wild Jordan. If my memory serves me correctly, I recall then running into Lina that night. She was there spending quality time with her sister. It is also worth noting that this picture was probably the last picture we took with our Canon A80 before selling it that very night to the one and only Isam. Ah, I’m homesick!
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by Natasha Tynes | Oct 8, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
I’m really looking forward to seeing the final outcome of the downtown Amman project, which according to the article below will cost some $1 billion. Frankly, I’m not used to seeing a nine-digit figure when it comes to projects in Jordan. For sure it seems — at least on paper — quite unique and revolutionary for the Kingdom. Here is an excerpt from that Reuters article, which was published in the Jordan Times the other day. Big changes await Amman! Let’s wait and see.
$1B new Amman downtown to begin construction in early 2006
AMMAN (Reuters) — Construction work on a $1 billion new downtown area for Amman should begin early next year, a senior executive of the largest property investment firm, state-owned Mawared, said on Tuesday. Twenty-three investors were expected to start work on almost half the one-million-square-metre space allocated for the project, which aims to transform a prime area of the capital’s centre into a high-tech commercial and residential hub.
“It took us a while to do the studies and demolish the existing buildings in the site and now we are moving fast,” Abu Hamdan, director general of Mawared, told Reuters in an interview. Infrastructure work on the site will be finished next March by Abdali Investment and Development, a 50-50 joint venture between Mawared and Saudi-based Oger group, which is owned by the family of late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Source: [The Jordan Times]
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 7, 2005 | Doha affairs, The Disturbing
Qatar Camel Jockeys left disabled
The risk of serious injury, disability and death is shockingly high among child jockeys in camel races in Gulf countries, a report shows. Researchers in Qatar looked at 275 boys, many younger than nine and some as young as five, treated for camel racing injuries at a local hospital. Seventeen of the boys treated between 1992-’03 were left with permanent disabilities and 3 died.
Source: [BBC]
This disturbing report struck a chord in me, as last year I got a chance to meet the young jockeys in Doha and converse with them. I’m glad a number of Gulf countries made the decision to ban the use of camel jockeys for good, replacing them with robots. The question now is: Will camel racing still attract as many enthusiasts when child jockey are no longer a part of it? [All images from that trip enlarge on click]
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 6, 2005 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch
I recently got a comment from Jerash Festival Director Jeryes Samawi regarding a post written last summer where I gave my impressions about the very first issue of Al-Ghad daily. According to Mr. Samawi, one of the items I highlighted in that first al-Ghad issue, An Israeli musical band infiltrates Jerash Festival, was a completely baseless story. This would be another significant mistake at the paper prior to the ‘Iraqi martyr’s funeral’ story the paper ran some months later. In this case, Mr. Samawi indicated:
I, as the general director of Jerash Festival, want to tell you that there was no Israeli group in the festival. That piece of news was wrong and there was a big talk about it in town then. It turned out that the journalist who wrote it didn’t get the right picture and wanted to have a scoop.
Well, since it was Al-Ghad’s very first issue I will cut them some slack. But there is a somewhat disturbing pattern here in light of the latter story. I just hope that the people in charge of al-Ghad will learn from their mistakes and work to improve an image so tarnished after March’s major blunder.
The other day we watched the beautiful movie Whale Rider. Although it has been out for a couple of years, it was just two days ago that we managed to put our paws on this highly acclaimed film and what a treat it was.
