Thank you guys for your wonderfully kind wishes! Unfortunately there's been a change of plans and I won't be going. Narniah, Turkey was great Can't wait to go there again, inshaAllah. I might post some pictures. chubacka;892104 wrote: Hi 5, we were in Marrakech last April. How long are you there for? The city itself doesn't take too long to explore, so if you're there for more than 3 days book some excursions. The Ben Yousef mosque and school is definitely worth seeing as is the old theatre, you will def see Masjidul Kutibiyah, if you hang around you will probably be able to be shown the top where you can see the whole city. Try to go to Essaouira, its a georgeous white washed beach town, really beautiful, about 2 1/2 hours drive. If I were to go again, I'd stay there. Cabs can be expensive and unnessary so take a good map and you should be fine to walk to most places. The souk in the old madinah, near masjidul Kutibiyah, is where everyone seems to concregate in the evenings and there are lots of places to eat and watch the madness of the souk unfold. Shops are aplenty and prices differ so I'd say don't buy anything for @ least the first couple of days until you know what's what. French phrase book would be useful and be prepared to be called Sudanese by everyone! Enjoy and let us know how you get on iA. I wanted to thank you separately as you had taken the time to give some really good advice. InshaAllah waan ku soo laabanaa this thread once Marrakech becomes current again.

OdaySomali;894009 wrote: More than community loyalty I would say this is more about sense of personal identity. Dating and perhaps marrying a non-somali, and in future perhaps have half-somali children would be to destroy your Somali identity. Because you family (spouse, children) are an extention of you , to have a non-somali spouse and half-Somali children means to only be part-Somali and to be lacking in the parts that would complete/seal your being Somali... Identity does not mean to only have come forth from the Somali nation, but also to bring forth the next Somali generation and contributed to it, rather than 'run' away and 'be' something else (mixed race family or whatever not). It would be to choose to live with non-Somalis or in other words not live with Somalis for the remainder of one's life. It would be to have a non-Somali wife; to have non-Somali children with non-Somali grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts etc. It would mean becoming part-Somali. The allure of being a pure Somali is far greater. Non-Somalis are too strange and alien - culturally, linguistically, physically, religiously and culinarily - from us. Warkaan wuxuu ahaan lahaa more meaningful hadii aad afka soomaaliga ku qori laheed about the importance and beauty of being Somali and the Somali culture. Hada daqanka, diinda iyo afka waxaad ku faanisay af gaalo which takes something away from it (whether you notice it or not!) Wax la dhahaayo calaf ayaa jiro. Hadii uu calafkaaga yahay in aad naag jahuudi oo jiis eh in aad guursadid, nothing in this world can stop that from happening Not even your current semi-racist opinions Narniah, I like you sister, but your post is repulsive. It sounds like it was written by a neo-conservative white middle aged man who is trying to get into the pants of Somali women by trashing Somali men. Stop hating on the brothers, sis.

What a sick, sick man.

So off to Marrakech for Xmas-New Year holiday. Any SOLers been there? Any tips, advice etc on places to visit etc?

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That's an interesting question Abwaan. If indeed they found something, would would have the right to claim it? The Americans? I hope they didn't find anything too (potentially) valuable, as that could start a whole new war.

I'd love to see a Paris Hilton shop in the Vatican City. Oh wait, that's never going to happen because Vatican City is considered a holy city. And then you have some Muslims like Ibtisam, Haatu, Wyre and Ngonge defending Paris Hilton's right to open a store in Mecca. Awesome! (not really) But whatever, you rock on guys. Maybe even have Hugh Hefner open a coffee shop bearing his name in Mecca. Hey, why not? It's not like he'd be selling nude magazines! It'd just be a coffee shop! P.S. You can say a lot about KSA but fairing high in porn statistics is definitely not true. Such sites and content are completely banned much like FB in China.

Haha yeah I've seen "In Time"... I've always liked Andrew Niccol. Watched "S1mone" like a hundred times when I was younger, and to this day really dig "Lord of War" (Nic Cage gives one of his best performances in it). Niccol is a really good writer ("The Truman Show") and a decent director, but he really did woefully miscast Justin Timberlake in "In Time" And I guess that's not the end of his woes if the Twilight crowd doesn't show up for his upcoming film "The Host", based on the young adult novel by the same name by Stephenie Meyer. From writing "The Truman Show" to adapting a book by the Twilight author... But hey! Maybe it'll be great, who knows.

Chimera, I agree it was of course watchable. I was only disappointed because I had such high hopes. Not that I'm a big Bond fan in the first place, but there are certain expectations that come with a Bond film; great action scenes, complex plot and gadgets (and of course Bond girls but whatever ). Skyfall had a downsized plot (which is why the second half of the film drags for me) fewer action scenes (which I prefer though) and next to nada gadgets. Bond got Thor'd, he is no longer the world's greatest secret agent, but an aging and alcoholic agent who is accepted to re-join the MI6 only because M takes pity on him. Not sure what Ian Fleming would have made of this updated version of Bond Javier Bardem's character is everything and anything at once, from being possibly bisexual to meditating to being tech-savvy. The writing of the character is forced, probably to make him a "different" villain and hence be remembered and celebrated like The Dark Knight's Joker. In both attempts (of humanizing Bond and creating a legendary villain), John Logan should have looked a little deeper and a little longer at Christopher Nolan's Batman scripts. Wait-- why do I care!

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I'm sure the poor guy had no idea in aad kufar tahay. Ilaahey Hajjka ha u aqbalo considering the source.

The Older version's body parts disappearing scene was a great sci-fi-y take on classic mafia torture scenes. Brilliantly thought-out and executed. The Looper didn't have a traditional black-and-white take on good/evil nor a sick and empty "Killer Joe" type of complete disregard of morals or any sense of right and wrong. It was smart without trying too hard. I liked the ending the best (really couldn't have seen it coming). Speaking of obvious endings: saw the new Bond film. Disappointing. Looking forward to seeing this little indie film:

This sounds so exciting! I'm applying even though I know there's no way I can stay 11 weeks in London early next year.

I discovered Mindy Gledhill recently as I was googling for whoever sang the hip song on the Windows 8 commercial. So I guess I can thank Microsoft Corporation for discovering this small-time indie singer, hmm? Mindy also takes the most interesting photos on her Instagram.

Easily the best sci-fi film since Moon. Definitely worth seeing.

The western world has been so focused on the rights of minority women and girls and empowering them, that men have been largely forgotten, and this is very sad. Not sure if I agree the problem is absentee fathers with Somalis.... during and after the second World War, European countries were practically kept alive by women. Many lost their fathers and husbands either to the war or to alcohol and depression resulting from the war. Women were still able to raise their children despite the absence of a father figure. We need to dig a little deeper and try and understand what the root of the problem might be, we're loosing far too many young Somali boys and men to the wrong side. It cannot be blamed on "absentee fathers" entirely, although that can definitely contribute to the problem.

OdaySomali;885588 wrote: The Rainmaker... Sorry to hijack your post, this just reminded me of the best sci-fi film of the year: The Looper.

When's Curiosity's successor heading to Mars? Might as well board it as Earth is getting too unstable... Why do people like fighting?

Haatu;869803 wrote: What a sh!t movie Che. C'mon son, don't waste your money. Have you seen it?

Just learnt the dance. Shaqo la'aan....

So what do these statistics tell? That there's plenty of money to be made in healthcare, education and military. No wonder there are so many wars and diseases. (Filling out a job application to Pfizer.../jk)

Maarodi;868305 wrote: Same here, but it was the first time I went to an IMAX with good friends, and also the movie had a plot twist as well, something I didn't expect and it's a good thing because I always try to predict what will happen. Plus the whole socio/cultural aspect to it made it that much interesting as well. Some Palestinians actually identified with the Navvi wore the costume to a . Yeah, the killings and the misery the human battleships wreck, are a very thinly veiled criticism of global colonization and slavery, and exploitation of natural resources by human corporate greed. Cameron very successfully combined these themes and issues of corporate greed & exploitation of the third world and threw in a love allegory; all with dazzling visuals and astounding technical skills. His technical eye for detail is unparalleled (though script is rather weak). Chris Nolan writes terrific scripts with his brother, but for some reason (lets blame the Britishness) his films despite the sleekness, somehow end up feeling rather cold.... Jim Cameron's scripts are weak but his films are always somehow warm and full of heart (even Terminators - especially Terminators). If only the two collaborated...

I cried today because I laughed so much. Tears started running down my cheeks because someone did something so utterly funny. So I guess you can "cry" without actually crying.

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This Serbian bloke has made an impact on me: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743215362/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=0atorgmarkdes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743215362 Here's a funny Oatmeal comic on Tesla: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla He actually makes others look a little less genius. "An inexpensive instrument, not bigger than a watch, will enable its bearer to hear anywhere, on sea or land, music or song, the speech of a political leader, the address of an eminent man of science, or the sermon of an eloquent clergyman, delivered in some other place, however distant. In the same manner any picture, character, drawing, or print can be transferred from one to another place" - Nikola Tesla envisioning iPods, iPads, interactive pen displays, cell phones etc back in 1909 (decades before television came, even 2 years before the very first Hollywood film). His list of inventions is so impressive and crucial to the world today, yet he gets almost no recognition.