Any opportunity to draw blood. SOL is turning into an online Transalvania. :rolleyes:

Gag!! Brown, that article was so bad it was good. What a howler. Classique, I'm with you on the V Day crap. Some drunk guy propositioned me the night before V Day this year. The only reason I didn't bite his head off was that he's very shy and polite when not under the influence. The next day he kept away from me but at some point said I was a very good person. Later he gave me a flower and walked away shyly. I attract all kinds...it can be mortifying. Down with V Day.

Back when this was an issue...way way back...there were no Somalis at my Uni. Later a Somali guy told me he'd been to the same Uni too. I was so glad he wasn't there at the same time as I was. Pretentious type. Yuck. What kind of degrees are offered where you study, Socrates? That might have something to do with it.

Another know-it-all of Islam and Africa. Uff.

I actually meant to say, 'the morality of homosexuality'. There's nothing to explain is there?

Sophist, it is good that you removed his name which in fact appeared many times. For everyone's knowledge: According to UK law it is illegal to forward an email or post it on a forum without the permission of the author of the email. Secondly, it violates the privacy of the author when his/her email is shared with an audience for which it was not intended. It doesn't matter if this guy jumped out of the closet years ago and waves a pink flag in everyone's face to demonstrate his sexual choice. In fact, to be pedantic, he doesn't actually say he is gay in his email; he merely lists homophobia as a reason to leave. I have little concern for his morals- mine keep me quite occupied- but I do know that we have unwittingly intruded into his world. The only person this concerns is Sophist. He can deal with the morality of homophobia(if there is any) if he has to work with this man. The rest of us have nothing to do with it except to remember to be careful with others' revelations. Aan is asturno. Too much of this on SOL lately.

I know your opinion is not well represented, but knowing our Somali women, i feel that your lone voice may represent many silent viewers Brother, don't fool yourself. If you're not hearing what you want to, it's not because it is being kept silent.

Sophist, I don't have the time to break it down for you right now. Maybe you can tell us how it is ethical and lawful. GnP has removed his name.

^^And what street in what town in what part of the world might that be?

I see you took my editing advice. The pleasure was mine. BTW, worked a little more on that poem of mine. It might see the light of day. Your fault. Cheers.

Bro, Sophist, please have this deleted. It is unethical and unlawful I dare say.

Ehem. Does he have a brother?

Hollering.. Viewer Discretion, I'm usually too lazy to do this kind of thing but the title of your poem got my attention as I have an unfinished poem of (potentially) the same title lurking in my scruffy handbag. I must finish it. Here are my thoughts. Firstly, your poem is not horrible. It has a message and I heard it. What you can do is make the poem tighter and more focused. Everyone has something in common Which is the hope of a fairytale ending We’ve been programmed to it Cinderella found her prince And never heard from her since This is interesting; explore this more. What exactly happens after she finds the prince? Is it really happily ever after? The last two lines are making the reader ask this question and query the first 3 lines, right? So the last two lines should have a 'but' or a 'however' or a question mark somewhere. The next question should be What exactly defines that fairytale for me My dream house The Ideal spouse 2.5 children An intellectual boy for Dad And an eloquent girl for Mom I like this. 2 points here- one, never announce what you're about to say. I'm referring to this line, 'The next question should be'. It is unnecessary and distracting. Two and more importantly, you have changed the focus of your poem from a general one to a more personal one. If paragraph one was 'We', paragraph two is 'Me'. If a poem is to flow, the writer must not change the direction it is coming from. Relationship between us that’s unbreakable Love that is unmistakable A house of serenity And stability I like this notion. A house of serenity. Beautiful. Who is 'us' though? The last line of the previous paragraph was talking of Mom and then suddenly there's mention of a relationship between an 'us'. Keep it flowing, new paragraph or not.[/i] My mother’s health Ensure she lives in bliss And never be at risk Of danger, being with a stranger Riches galore And much much more My mother’s health- what about it? This line just hangs. Riches galore- this is a cliche. Stay away from cliches at all costs. A problem arises But not to my surprise Is it possible to have that fairytale ending? Its mind bending Another announcement. 4 lines when one would have sufficed. You know which one. I’d be happy with that As a matter of fact…. This life I remind myself is just a test And we all know the rest WE live the life in this world now and pay for it in the hereafter BUT IT NEVER HURT ANYONE TO DREAM As a matter of fact- no need for this line. It's not helping you achieve anything, Every word must have a purpose. 'Pay for it'- pay for what? Reword that line. Also stay away from rhymes, you can spend a lot of time making lines rhyme and the words may be interfering with the overall message or keeping the poem from being focused. Think original rhythm clarity and focus Keep writing. Hope I helped. If I finish that negelected poem(one amongst many), I might post it here. Re-write your poem. We become possessive about words we write but remember to treat them with tough love. Edit. Edit. Edit. Enjoy.

Nice one, Diamante.

I was scrolling very slowly; I stopped when I saw the faces: constipated or cheesy. No wonder the dogs are on leashes.

He needed counselling before he did what he did. Ouch.

I'm beginning to wonder what a geography class in a Somali school would be like.

Every few weeks I over-use some word or other. Right now I'm over-doing, 'wow', 'amazing', 'instinct'. Old-time favourites are: beautiful, funky, oh, love, awful, disgusting and boll*cks(I know better but it won't go away). Jay-eleven understands, hehe.

Shukran.

Wiilo, here's another SOL link where Londoners have dished out advice: London Be prepared, it's expensive. Better still let the Londoners treat you.

Marvellous. Thank you. You sure are an ambassador.

Thank you for bringing this up QL. Bare facts without the emotions. I'm printing that baby out, thanks Muad.

Ciid wanaagsan. Got another cold. It's turning into a festive tradition. Qorshel, I'd suggest you do something different. Make it more Eid-like by using your intiative. Organise something for friends, family or random kids. I remember spending one recent Eid that coincided with Xmas at work, with only the boss for company. I took the decorations that were lying around unused and decorated my machine. I bought myself all manner of junk food and proceeded to do nothing for the rest of the day but nibble. Memorable day.

^^ I'm just goofing around man.

Nice one, Ngonge. Thanks for sharing.