Malika, hugs from me too. I thought you had walked off in a huff after Sayid acted like being married = leprosy Ola Ladies. Where's Ibti been recently? Don't tell me she abandoned the new troll corner just like Serenity abandoned the old one :mad:

How you doin' Faheema? Waxaa igu soo kordhay the sad realization that I'll never be a morning person. I tried really hard this morning, came into work at 8:30, gave myself a pep talk about how I could be done by 4:30 (yay!), wrote down what I was planning to do. Then I think I lost about an hour staring blearily out the window with my mouth hanging open And then like magic 10:00 rolled around and I did more in 15 minutes than I managed in the past hour. Are there any chirpy early bird trollers? Can we take turns hitting you?

People, I know this is the troll corner, but we don't turn on one of our own! :mad: Ngonge, your usage is actually correct, but nice try Anyway, I know that it's only going to start showing up in your neck of the woods after the North Americans have gotten bored and moved on. Late adopters!

^I can see it now. Young men in ill-fitting pants walking around Hyde Park beating women with sticks for "dressing immodestly" Is Britain ready for that kind of law enforcement?

Hello trollers! Where are the usual suspects? Here's one more clue I'm getting to be an old curmudgeon: I cannot stand when people begin sentences with "So" for no good reason :mad: Worse yet I know I'm going to start doing it now. "How was your weekend?" "So I went to my grandmother's funeral and had a fight with my cousin Ernie..." Like, what is that about? It's so, like, annoying.

Curly, you and me both.

LOL. It's sad that this doesn't seem so implausible.

^They are from Haiti?

Notice the story details Adam: Main character is an orphan (your character should have a difficult childhood, or something should happen in his formative years to alienate him from the community). Maybe a terrible tragedy destroys his home, or he is born with what his people consider a curse or deformity. Cruel stepmothers, jealous older siblings and evil uncles are popular. Befriends a fantastical creature/person (a genie, a fairy godmother, a talking horse, a flying half-giant on a motorcycle, a wise old wizard). Goes on a journey to a dangerous land. Heroic deeds, a love interest at this point, becomes an adult. Returns to home a hero OR leaves for a more fantastical journey he earned for his bravery/sacrifice. Cinderella, Aladdin, Joseph, Frodo, even Caraweelo. It's a pattern that resonates with people everywhere. That's why Harry Potter and LOTR are "mainstream". They use the same frame story effectively (although JK Rowling chickens out at the end of Harry Potter which makes for a disappointing conclusion). Your intended audience is young adults, right? Well, they are even more susceptible to the story because all teenagers feel alienated and special and they yearn for an epic journey of self-discovery.

Johnny is going to be thrilled, CL. By his standards your choice of avatar says you find him irresistible. Hello trollers all and sundry. Margiyaa i xanuunaayo maanta didn't realize I spent most of yesterday hunched over at an awkward angle.

^Children should be seen and not heard. In your case, we'll skip the seeing too. Layzie dear, you should consider that someday YOU might decide to wear the burkha. Maybe on the day you cut off your nose to spite your face? Really, Ibti has been extremely patient and accommodating but alas I don't have her disposition. You have presented not one single argument for a blanket ban on the burkha, either theological or secular. Clearly you're arguing just for the sake of arguing, without even true conviction to back up your misguided position. If you have even one sincere thought in your head, let's hear it or quit wasting everyone's time!

Well?

Hear hear @ Juxa. I'm not showing up just because there's a picture of a cake. What a terrible accusation :mad: What up trollers?

OK Norf, we're getting somewhere. Hamza has obviously read the book and has written his rebuttal to what he believes are the book’s main arguments. How can you evaluate Hamza's rebuttal though? Are his beliefs valid? 1. Did he really read the book? Maybe Hamza also only read a review 2. Even if Hamza read the book, is he presenting Dawkins' arguments fairly? Is there something he overlooks that you would spot yourself? Can you critique the rebuttal at all? Are there any flaws in his reasoning, or something you disagree with? [hint: first clue that you are in over your head is if you can't think of ANYTHING to criticize about someone's position]. Or has this place been reduced to ‘oh, go and read the book before we have a discussion’ forum? LOL. Actually it would be refreshing if this forum was "reduced" to that. Instead the recent debate on evolution was started by someone who does not know what a mutation is, and here you are, wanting to have a debate about a book without reading the book. Honestly, I'm not too interested in "The God Delusion" itself or Hamza's rebuttal or whatever the next copy-paste project will turn out to be. I just want you to be a better thinker, I don't care if you then end up stronger in your faith. It's lazy thinking I can't countenance

Originally posted by grasshopper: quote:Originally posted by Geel_jire: "iPad: apples new feminine hygiene product ... It helps stems the flow of Data" cant remember the review site I read this from today .. lakin kilyaha i xanuunay sidan u qoslayay LOL. First time I've laughed at a MadTV skit in a long while (since the heyday of Ms Snow ). Love the silhouettes at the end!

Welcome back Adam! You must read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". Basically, successful fantasy novels have a very well-established pattern that you can exploit to appeal to just about everyone. Everything from ancient mythology to Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter to Suul Cawro has an underlying structure. Apply that structure with your own spin and you don't have to worry about appealing to Somalis, or to women specifically. If you write it they will come

LOL@ Ngonge winking at the teacher. I've seen children trying to wink and I'm sure the teacher slapped you because she thought you had a facial tick or were suffering a seizure and was hoping to snap you out of it. My earliest memory is sitting under geed qurac ah, begging mum for a few more minutes of rest and pretending my shoe strap broke to buy some time when hooyo said no. We were traveling by foot and I was having trouble keeping up with the adults. I'm not sure how old I was, but probably under 4.

You're correct in that I haven't read the book but why would I be ashamed as Hamza has quite clearly and eloquently countered the book's main spine? Are you saying Dawkins' main arguments are not those countered by Hamza? Are you saying the book is credible? Are you saying the book has no flaws? What are you saying? Oh, you're saying 'he is wrong'. Norf,it doesn't matter if Johnny is saying the book is about elephants in pink tutus dancing "The Nutcracker". You haven't read it yourself, and yet you are able to determine that Hamza counters the book clearly and eloquently? Really? You don't see any flaw in that "logic and intellect"? Well let's see. Johnny hasn't read Hamza's rebuttal. Johnny, this is what Hamza says: blargh buffle hurk beep. And my answer is "ha ha ha ha that's complete gobbledy-gook". There, you can rest assured I effectively countered all his arguments. Aren't you glad you didn't bother to read his crazy talk yourself?

Do you think it has something to do with the fact that we didn't think of breasts as particularly sexual then? Maybe the guy didn't consider stuffing money down a woman's cleavage to be much more intrusive than handing it to her. I remember growing up not only did a woman not bother with bras but if she needed her arms free she would throw the garbasaar off and think nothing of how much skin she was showing. But tell her to take the masar/gambo off and she would be scandalized. That's arbitrary social mores for you. Back then it was all about the bari You don't see Geeljire reminiscing about the dancer's upper half.

Ibti you made some good points. LOL @ "Just in case he was correct I dropped out of uni" Anything is better than being a smug know-it-all miyaa? I don't know why but I can't stand Dawkins. I also agree that he said all he needed to say in The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker, every thing since seems like preaching to the choir. Strangely enough I agree with some of his analysis of the Bible and its contradictory nature, I wonder why he did not select other religious text books from the world religions? He picked an easy target. I for one would have liked to see his attempt on the Quran. I suspect he did not want to live the rest of his life in a safe house.

Not cool. I don't care if you are into cacti or cumulonimbus clouds, but if you're claiming to be a poet and yet quoting a Katy Perry song, you're seriously messed up. May God have mercy on your soul because I wouldn't. Sherban, if you got this gem after searching for Toni Braxton, I wonder what you would get if you googled "Cher Somali"

^Safar wanaagsan to him. Is it a long walk :confused: Happy Sunday trollers. I have a million errands to run and no motivation whatsoever.

CL, I have less trouble understanding when you write in Swahili :confused:

^Anyone can set up an NGO, but few can run it effectively. Thanks for posting this Bilaal. The editorial is from a special issue on conflict and health. I highly recommend the podcast.

^This black woman is mystified by the structure in the middle photo. Is it a house? A warning about osteoporosis?