Pop version of "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's opera Gianni Schichi. The Siberian synthetic strings and drums cater to my lacking taste. And you can dance to it. It's so wrong on so many levels it's perfect.

LOL @ Libaax-Sankataabte. Cara I think with that avatar, he's earned the title Twihard I was quite fascinated by the ideas presented in this talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_seung.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-09-29&ref=nf but this one is my favourite because the speaker is funny and the subject matter is of special interest to me: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Aaliyah, I think Kool Kat is way too unafraid! It's kind of cool, though. We need to learn to be less paranoid. Which reminds me, a man stalked a woman on Facebook and followed her and killed her! That's not a real story but it makes you pause and think.

*Blessed;683093 wrote: Waa runtaa but I don't mean they should be pressured, far from it. It's very important for the person to be ready and I don't think readiness is age dependent. I know older coupls who got divorced within months for the stupidest of reasons. It is one thing to say, I don't want to be married or be in a relationship yet and another to say, I have to do x, y and z first. If you can do x, y and z and be married than why waste your time? I've seen so many youngsters who are ready to get married but are discouraged out of it because of the demands on them to study and fulfill an endless list of obligations (the 20K wedding for example) and this if we're honest and realistic usually leads to xaraam. A sister I know married her daughter before she went off to university in another country. People were questioning her sanity. But the girl was obviously ready because she brought the guy, it would've been wrong for the parents to refuse. The big wedding demands are rediculous and unislamic and tend to make marriage difficult also without adding any substance to it. I find it ironic that it's harder for one to get married in the Muslim communities.. To be fair, it is a lot harder to do certain things when you are married with kids. I think most young people, especially women, are put off by the prospect of being a stay-at-home mum with no profession if they marry young. Of course, one could always study but it tends to get harder after a couple of kids - and it doesn't help seeing their parents (most Somali parents don't have formal education). I know certainly my mother had barely finished high school - although my father went to university. It's OK for men to study but not women, because "at the end of the day, we're gonna end up in kitchen". I completely agree with you about marrying off the few intelligent, calm and mature teenagers there are. Unfortunately there are so many failed young marriages you'd think it's the norm. *Blessed;683093 wrote: The big wedding demands are rediculous and unislamic and tend to make marriage difficult also without adding any substance to it. I find it ironic that it's harder for one to get married in the Muslim communities I had to comment on this separately because what you wrote above is so important. Big weddings in which tens of thousands are spent (mainly borrowed money) are not only unislamic but also utterly useless. This summer I was watching a wedding in which the couple had separated but apparently the guy was still paying off the loan for the wedding, subhanaAllah.

Listen, I was not judging you Nugul. You said in your first post that "gaalasha wax kasto bee helaan". You said you asked God many times to ease things for you, you said you were mentally exhausted before you met your husband - and now you have more fears. I asked whether everything that happened in the past might have been a result of possible ungratefulness. I was certainly not judging you and I apologize if it sounded like that. I simply happen to believe our thoughts and actions have consequences. If you surround yourself with negative feelings and thinking (your lonely academic years, sheydaan) then of course it will be more difficult to be sincerely grateful for everything else. If one is not feeling happy from the inside, gratitude will not come easily. Anyway that was just my 2 cents, I hope I did not manage to offend you even further.

Pyjamas;682621 wrote: The prophet said this world is like a prison for us and like Jannah for non-muslims. First time I heard this, I thought it was because the believer's soul longs for God and Paradise which are not in this world, and hence feels like a prisoner. I think it sounds kind of silly to think the world is a prison because we can't go gamble and be entertained by male/female strippers whilst drinking champagne and snorting cocaine from pork rolls. I'll go with the soul's yearning for God.

I think that's perfectly normal. Everybody has had doubts and then you either overcome your doubts and become a stronger believer or not. But what I do think is a little worrying is your feelings of ungratefulness. You say it's because you fear you might be infertile. Although that alone should have been enough, you talked about having been treated badly by Asian Muslims in your university years and having asked for many things in past. It kind of sounded like you were still feeling a little resentful about that. Just throwing this out, but did it ever occur to your mind that you might have just been a generally ungrateful person? And that because of general ungratefulness, hard things kept happening? I would say learn to be grateful. Force yourself if you have to. Write down each day 20 things you are grateful for and thank God for them. If you don't want to do it, remember that it's a choice and you are choosing to stay ungrateful. It's the blocking brick, get rid of it so God's kindness might reach you.

Well, this is Somaliaonline isn't it Jacaylbaro? Being a little selective, aren't you... Anyway my intention wasn't to get into politics or get myself irritated by narrow-minded dividing. If you want to throw your 2 cents, you're more than welcome. Blessed that's a great idea. Also maybe we could hook up in the summer inshaAllah. I might come to Hargeisa, it's either that or Mogadishu. I'll keep you updated later in the Spring, iA.

Aaliyyah;682925 wrote: 5 happy bday hun in advance... Thanks dear. Blessed, I agree with you although I don't think marriage is easy by any definition. I personally feel those who constantly encourage young people to get married don't care to give them the whole picture of marriage. Too many people rush into it. It's almost like the most fashionable thing to do amongst Somalis; get a nice big wedding that costs £20,000, a honeymoon to an exotic destination and a house with all the latest-model home appliances. But what people tend to forget is, you're moving out from childhood home, from the people who brought you to this world and are tied to you by blood, and as much as you respect and honour them - you inevitably had fights and quarrels with. You're leaving that and you're gonna enter a house where you will also inevitably have quarrels and disagreements with a person you've known for a very short while. And unless you have prepared yourself for it, in the long run, you will not have the same kind of respect for that person and it will show. So instead of rushing into marriage, I think majority of people should work on themselves first. It doesn't mean getting a degree or travelling to Hong Kong, but making themselves a better person; spouse; future parent; neighbor; human being so that their marriage could be a successful one.

Education is like life: it's what you make of it. Having said that, if you are strongly individual, independent and creative, the conventional route may not be the best option.

Kool_Kat;682780 wrote: Strangers are just friends waiting to happen! That's so sweet. Although I don't subscribe to the idea that you should share private information with strangers. That's what Facebook is about: sharing (pictures, news, links) with friends and family. I would add/follow totally random people on Twitter, though.

Kool_Kat;34337 wrote: Long skirts and good ol' winter? Naga daa dee! Ma barafkaa rabtaa inaad laamiyada ka nadiifiso? You'd be amazed at how warm wool maxi dresses are.

She met him in Gran Canaria. He gave her gifts, lots of attention. She still gets attention; sometimes 5 stitches sometimes 10. They tell her to change her locks but she likes his curly hair. And he does the dishes too! It is a shame his wife can't see that.

Aaliyyah;682606 wrote: ^^ I heard of him hun and heard this song in fact. But, isnt he imitating the real music that most singers use? in that case wouldnt be haraam?? I couldnt percisely say it is haraam bt I would assume thats the case ..Also, the lyrics of the song should be taken into account. Isnt he talking abt something along the lines of "we gonna rock this club, we gonna go all night, we gonna light it up like it is dynamite" how halaal does that sound to you from 1-10 Polanyi, good luck walaalo. Haha I know That's why I said "almost halal" Istaqfirullaah... but imagine the possibilities though.

Polanyi;682262 wrote: I have started listening to music again after a long time. Inshallah, i will quit again soon. Same here. I've noticed a pattern in my music habits. I go without music for full 6 months, then a catchy song comes along (usually during the summer) and I download it and listen to mainly it. Then by autumn I'm sick and tired of it and I go through the autumn mainly without listening to any music. Then Xmas comes along, and this is like a mine field. Because of my penchant for the cheap and tacky in music I UNFORTUNATELY and kind of unintentionally find myself humming Jingle Bells and other awful Xmas tunes, which opens the door for music. But soon after I'm off music (until the summer). I've found a very good (almost halal!) alternative though: a Canadian youtube sensation who does covers of hit songs with only his voice. He's pretty good, too. So on scale from 1-10 , Aaliyah, how bad would this be:

Lychee;682186 wrote: Anyway let’s be real, you can acquire as much academic education as you want, get as many degrees under your belt but convincingly (IF YOU ARE BLESSED) you’ll get married and settle down and ultimately your place will be at home looking after you kids, raising them in an Islamic environment and looking after your husband and fulfilling his needs. Or else you’ll end up being a lonely pseudo feminist. (Good luck ladies) We're the same age (I am turning 23 next week) and I don't know who you hang with but 23 is NOT old. Maybe you should stop spending so much time with your grandmother and more time with actual 23-year-olds, and maybe - just maybe - you might be able to find more content and happiness in your life. BTW, I know that bit you wrote was just a not-so-subtle self promotion, but you should stop being so cocky about only blessed people getting married. Plenty people get married and divorced and many more live in an abusive marriage. Then of course there are those who want to get married (like you) but ultimately never do (like my aunt). So if it's blessings you are looking for, turn to your parents and worship the ground under their feet.

Thanks Alpha. How long have you been there? How are you finding living there? I'm in the creative industry here but I'm guessing I should forget about that there?

Many thanks to both of you! Blessed, that website is great. Fear of being bored out of my brain is the main reason I'm looking for work opportunities, too! Six months is a very long time to spend in Somalia (Somaliland) shaqalaan. I'll be definitely checking out that site regularly.

Dear all, Hope you guys are doing well. I am looking into moving to Somalia (Somaliland) for six months in the fall of 2011, inshaAllah. Do any of you know any Diaspora Somalis down there doing some kind of paid work? Or is that totally unheard of? Thanks for any replies. 5

Originally posted by Somali Psycho: Why would you say that? Not your genre?, Cliche plot? No, "gigantic" and "evil creature" are just weak descriptions. But like I said, I got the point. Your story sounds actually interesting. Just don't kill it with too much talk. Get writing.

Who on earth ever came up with this? "Let me prove my point that eyewitness testimony is not very reliable by taking a picture of Albert Einstein and photoshop it so that it will look like... Marilyn Monroe?" Seriously? Who comes up with that? Gacanaa u taagey.

RAIN - those kinds of stories are disturbing. I've never understood the appeal. SOMALI PSYCHO: "It is the mental captivity of the notorious box of specialisation that prevents a great writer from landing a gigantic spaceship, with an evil creature inside" Any writer who writes about "gicantic" spaceships with "evil creature inside" is not a great writer! But I get the point. CARA: “Science fiction films from the West are failures here. Even Star Wars!” he said. “The themes aren’t taken seriously. Science fiction will come here when it is relevant to the people of Africa. Right now, Africans are bothered about issues of bad leadership, the food crisis in East Africa, refugees in the Congo, militants here in Nigeria. Africans are bothered about food, roads, electricity, water wars, famine, etc, not spacecrafts and spaceships. Only stories that explore these everyday realities are considered relevant to us for now.” Actually, bad leadership, food crisis, famine etc are all excellent themes to explore in sci-fi. Clearly whoever that comment is by, is not particularly familiar with serious sci-fi lit. In fact Africa should really produce 21st century's best sci-fi stories precisely because things are not so comfortable there. Comfort is the death of creativity - of course assuming it's already alive. Which, unfortunately, is not the case in Africa. Should we encourage more Somalis/Africans to pursue sci-fi? Dunno. As a creative professional, I'd love to see more Somalis pursue creativity in general but I think first we (as in those in creative industries) need to create a network that makes creativity appealing to Somalis by making it compatible with Islam. Many unfortunately view most creative careers as religiously dubious. "A novelist? You wanna write fiction? Isn't that lying? But lying's haram!" "What! You wanna make films? But you can't even photogragh people, it's haram." "But why do you wanna waste your time painting dots? Shouldn't you make better use of your time here on Earth? I'm sure that kind of waste of time must be haram some way". "Writing slogans for companies that pay taxes to governments that kill innocent Muslim lives is wrong!" "A playwright? So what does that mean in practice; men and women kissing on stage?"

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: I always thought Jacaylbaro is a unique name ,,,, And very feminine too! To the original poster: My sister gave her daughter the most beautiful name; one that is pure delight to hear again & again. Aniga ayee igu samisay

Originally posted by cynical lady: As for the Somali women are uneducated bunch comment- child, I hope you know you’ve just insulted yourself, your mother, sisters etc. silly chit. Cadaan ma is dhahdey? As someone who attends immediate family member weddings only and isn't massively familiar with the Somali wedding scene, I did find Garowe Gal's claim about Somali women being uneducated extremely offensive and ignorant. Dabaal dheh.

It's the S-landers!