^^^ Can't help it. Your youth, vitality and over all sweetness brings a smile to my face. What was the question again?

^^ Hello stranger

All Somali women are good, dear. They can be annoying, irritating, uninformed, emotional, myopic, silly, hormonal, obstinate, vain, disparaging, snappy, inconsiderate and querulous. But they’re all good. :cool:

This? No idea what it is

Ngonge Speak for yourself I am having a great time Alhamdullilah may allah grant you a good wife bro you need it by the sounds of it You mean another one?

^^^ I'm not too slow. The site was slow last night. I was online lakin magacayga ayaa eska qarsan. Jamal_11 ya baryahaan arkay..esaga ii fasiri lahaa heestan

How do you choose the core group? Do they merely state their interest or are they hand-picked by someone who has hand-picked himself? An interested group of people do not need to be acknowledged as an entity in order to keep things going. The Poetry section doesn't need a designated list of poets, why should a book group? Also, isn't maintaining order and introducing finalised rules part of admin/moderator's job? If rules are created by the rule-makers, we abide by them though we grumble; if they are created for us by self-appointed rule-makers with a heavy-handed approach, it's a whole other book group. Heh. You’re reading too much into this, Scheherazade. I don’t think you have to “choose†the core group. I would have thought it would be open for all. In saying it’s a core group though, I was merely talking about a group of people who showed their commitment and intentions to take part in these book reviews. The core group could be one person and it could be a hundred. The point is, someone has to keep this thing going. It is not like poetry. Poetry is a solitary activity. The poet, in most cases, does not need to have people discussing his poems. If nobody even acknowledges him/her, he’ll still carry on writing those poems. A book group need to review books. The fact it IS a group implies that discussion will take place. Therefore, in order for the group to flourish and stay alive, it will have to have dedicated members suggesting and discussing books. In order for it to make sense, these members should have some sort of agreement on what books to discuss and the methods to follow. Words are great. They say more than the person intended to say, they confuse, irritate, annoy and amuse. They can be misunderstood, misinterpreted and misread! Some people would read my words and think me silly, childish and dim-witted. Others will see wisdom, ingenuity and class! :rolleyes: Some will read PK’s and think him arrogant, snobbish and condescending. Others will see clarity, logic and willingness. :cool: Some will read Scheherazade’s words and think her snappy, excessive and tenacious. Others will see passion, cleverness and sincerity. Misunderstandings! I love them.

^^^ I sometimes admire without good intentions It's a hard life, man.

I enjoyed reading this topic and having had experience with kids who have been back to Somalia on a Dhaqan Celis “programâ€, I too can honestly say that it’s a faulty concept. For a start, there has to be a Dhaqan in order to do the “celis†part. I don’t believe that such a thing really exists. If it does, I don’t believe it is applicable to children and adults who grew up outside Somalia. I look at all the kids and teenagers in the West and see that most would be regarded as “Dhaqan Celisâ€. Many don’t speak the language, don’t follow Somali traditions and have picked up countless Western traits. However, they’re not fully westernised. They have their own little culture. They follow their own traditions and norms; they have their very own values! You see it in the language they use, the way they dress and behave. Somali youth in the West are not “blackâ€, “white†and not “Somaliâ€. They’re a mixture of everything. Even those who have succumbed to crime, drugs or prostitution are still not fully assimilated. They’ll mix their language with Somali words (even though they confess not to speak Somali), they’ll sprinkle their values with Islam and when at a loss, they’ll attempt to “return†to their Somali heritage. They are really not that different to any of us. In their minds, they seem to have an image of what it is to be Somali. This image or interpretation is unique to every single one of them. The combined interpretation is Western Somali culture. Like all other cultures, it has its good and bad points. It resists change and believes itself to be superior to any other cultures. When one of these teenagers goes back to Somalia to experience the “real†Somalia culture, he/she treats it as just that, an experience. Very few go back in the hope of reclaiming their original culture, because, in their eyes, this original culture is inferior to the all-singing-all-dancing one they’ve created fro themselves in the West. This would also apply to those living in the Arab world or any other place where Somalis reside. The idea of Dhaqan Celis assumes that the Somali culture is superior to everything else and refuses to take into account people’s upbringing and experiences! The parents of these kids expect their children to behave in a similar way to a child brought up in Xamar, Bosaso or Berbera! Those few souls that do go back and fully immerse themselves in the Somali way of life return lost and confused. Their old acquaintances resent them for rejecting the Somali Western/Arab/Indian “culture†and they find it hard to reconcile their way of thinking with the rigidity of the original Somali culture. Rocks and hard places spring to mind! In regards to culture, Dhaqan Celis is a pointless exercise. Many people quote success stories of wayward kids who were sent back to Somalia and returned as reformed characters! However, there is no evidence that the “Dhaqan Celis†implementation is what reformed these characters. It could be that the prolonged absence from their peers and destructive environment has given them a chance to think and mend their ways. In which case, the Dhaqan Celis application would have been as successful if they were sent to the North Pole rather than Somalia! It could be that their exposure to the overwhelming Islamic ways and norms is what helped in reforming them, in which case, a Dhaqan Celis trip to Indonesia would have yielded the same results! Dhaqan Celis is a rotten concept. It’s based on the idea that all Somalis should be the same! Dhaqan Celis is a bully’s dream. It’s a way for people to correct their own inadequacies by attempting to highlight the shortcomings of others! Dhaqan Celis is meaningless. It assumes that its “victims†will be better off by being assimilated into the cultures and ways of the homeland! It focuses on the faults and ignores the good qualities. It’s based on uninformed assumptions and tries to reach dubious conclusions. For Dhaqan Celis to work, it has to be designed, approved and implemented by its own victims. The way of life of a Somali in the West will never be the same as the way of life of one in Somalia. The requirements, obstacles, trials and tribulations are never going to be identical. Dhaqan Celis has to be planned and created here (depending on what HERE means for you). It has to take account of the values, norms and lifestyles of its targets. It has to become Dhaqan Horomar (if that’s the correct word to use here).

Nice topic. Can't comment on it now. Will edit later.

It's probably because people have nothing new to add to the topic. Check out these old threads: Culture Values Almost cultural Culture in crisis Dhaqan celis I think there is enough "debate" in there to answer all your questions

^^^ Cajiib! Heh. Ok, for you, magaca wan badalaya..QOROX ayaan eso bixin Anyway, maxad la xishootay oo wax ween ka digtay? waxan aan copygareeyay so hees may aheen? hees meel walba lago qaado oo xita caroorta maqasha? ano waxan kaa filayaay(adiga eyo cida kale ega jawabi laheed) enaad ego tedhaahdan waa hees xun, bila edab, shidh! oo aan ka hadalno heesaha somaliga eyo say lo qora marmarka qarkood. ma garatay? ma fahmino? (abaayo, walaalo ,huuno malab, af somaliga ega yaree dee..waan ku xiiqa). ** Starts coughing **

^^^ First of all, let me tell you that I have some sort of idea of what those words mean. An idea, mind! I could be right and I could be wrong. If I'm right and it is as dirty as I think, then, well, erm, I'm shocked! :eek: If I'm wrong. Thanks for confusing me even more with your hints, dear. :confused: My name is N-Gone-Gay. It's a popular name in the Congo. I don't know what it means. Edit: I also have no idea what this means "midaan inaad iga dhaaftit"

^^ You know you want to

^^^^^ It sounded "rude" and you just didn't help here.

“Sida Rucubka Naasahan Hadba Soo Ruxaayoo†What does that mean? :confused: I probably don't want to hear the answer.

The pigs have finally flown! I'm speechless. :eek:

^^^ Heh. You must be feeling unwell today! Too much innuendo in that last sentence for any man to read. :rolleyes:

^^^ Watch out for the trees though. I'm a grown man who thinks he could take a lion, wrestle a tiger and hand wrestle a crocodile. But, snakes SCARE the hell out of me. Which is why I'm not going anywhere in the far east. EVER. PS Take raula with you

sheherazade, You really need to read books from the end. Trust me, you will love it (Crime thrillers and Steven King type of books only, mind). Anything more highbrow than that deserves more respect! As for the “book group†and the points Mutakalim made above. Well, I sort of agree with him here. This topic was started a while back but it had no form of order about it. People liked it and expressed their desire to join in; yet, nobody took the bull by the horn as it were. Trust Mutakalim to be the one to do it, eh? The idea that only “the book group†can recommend books makes sense too. Like I said, there must be some sort of order to the whole thing. If we want to review books in the way that people have suggested above, we have to be organised. If the recommendation of books is open to all, we will end up having ten books to read one month and none the next! At least Mutakalim’s way addresses this issue and seems more methodical. Having said that, there is nothing to stop others from “suggesting†books to be added to the “reading listâ€. A “core†group IS needed for this task to be sustained. If things are left random and open to all, sometimes, “all†might lose interest. At least this way, you know that the “group†will still be there. To be fair to PK, he did state that his list was not exhaustive and that people were free to add their suggestions. You on the other hand have grander ideas in mind. Yours is not about a mere book group. You want a reading group! Nay, you want an entire forum dedicated to literature. Great idea if you ask me, but we already have such a forum (it just needs a slight name tweak by the admin). It’s called the poetry section. I’ve been eyeing it for a while now and thinking of posting a couple of short stories there (not mine). Maybe a combined fluttering of eyelashes at the admin will do the trick and get them to change its name to something such as “poetry and literature†or “Literary cornerâ€? Then again, the name does not matter. We might as well just post on that section and see the admin’s reaction (I can just see that solemn baby face with the words “ Topic moved to General sectionâ€). Cry havoc! And let loose the geeks of SOL!

Sounds like a midlife crisis to me! Tsk. Kids these days grow up so fast. :rolleyes:

I had a conversation with a Somali man who didn’t believe the Earth was round! (No joke, though I laughed of course). :rolleyes:

I hated turning over the corners of books as markers. It always made me whince when I saw that triangular flap. Why couldn't the lazy reader memorise the page number or use a bookmark? Another readers' habit that used to drive me insane was jumping to the last few pages of a book. I'd see a reader at the library skimming the last page of a book only just removed from the shelf and wonder what kind of person you would have to be to do that! The end determining whether or not the book is worth the read? What lunacy. Doesn't that rob one of most of the pleasure of a story? Mea culpa! I only used to do that with John Grisham’s books (only read three mind). The thing with crime thrillers is that they’re really not that exciting. The methods are almost always the same. The characters always have “similar†problems. The story flows in more or less the same way. The only difference usually is the writer’s style and his/her ability to create a believable plot. I don’t usually go out of my way to purchase, borrow or seek a crime story, but when I get hold of one, I usually read the last page first. I need to know the outcome first. After that, I start reading the book from the start and wondering how the writer is going to take me into that eventual conclusion. It helps me create my own suspense. I suspect that’s why many writers have tried to vary their styles by starting their novels with the solution for the crime first and then the clever unravelling of the plot! Even then, reading the last page still helps in creating and sustaining the suspense. It IS like reading a book that you’ve written yourself. Classique, I’ve read a couple of books by Paulo Coelho but I can’t say either was that memorable. I tell a lie, the Alchemist (which I’ve read a few rave reviews about) was sort of memorable. I read it in a few hours and was left unfulfilled and disappointed. I’m not sure if it was the English translation that took away from the story’s quality but I found it child-like and unconvincing. The story was great, the writing was better but it was fleeting and weak in parts. It came across as something that he wrote in a hurry. Rather than the big meal of other writers, this was a bit of salad with no feta! For no particular reason at all, I dislike Maya Angelou! Maybe dislike is a strong word; I am indifferent to Maya Angelou. Never had the urge to read any of her books for some reason. I read a couple of her poems but they did nothing for me. Maybe a review of one of her books will ignite my interest. Ready girls?

Originally posted by sheherazade: quote:Originally posted by Muad: It is a great story and great book, the Author does a great job by exhorting the virtue of literacy in this book, hence the title - when Cawralla writes a letter to Cali, who was illiterate, revealing her love for him, he goes to her father and brothers so they can read the letter for him. Thats when he realizes the importance of literacy and pledges to teach himself how to read and write inorder to respond to Cawralla's letter. Now that's romance. sigh Heh. DEADLY Romance more like.

No I have not (yet). A few and ten are the same thing dee. What's a year here and there between friends?