Did somebody say Kunafah? Drool. Ya naas, stop talking cunto. PLEASE. Sis, he changed his mind I guess.

I'm beginning to think bad short term memory swims in our Somali gene pool. I LOATHE post-it notes. I once developed a taste for them at work. I would have one list, which would then become unclear and confusing so I'd create 2 new post-its using some kind of logic to separate the tasks. Pretty soon, that logic too would need rethinking, relisting, rewriting, repasting here, there and... I gave them up. Rather a bad short term memory than post-it-mania. I don't necessarily think u have a medical problem Sue. How badly does it affect your day-to-today life? Somebody recently asked me what I had done that day and I said I couldn't remember. He seemed surprised but for those few seconds I had absolutely no idea. I had no reason to immediately conjure up anything specific. It was just another day. Soon the images came back and sure enough there was nothing to set the day apart from any other. Who wants to remember that the day was just like the last? I have to say my short term memory has improved because I've made a concious effort. Visualising yourself completing an event that has taken place often helps retrieve its memory; similarly it helps to see yourself carrying out a future task. I like to think that those that have problems with short term memory have far, far more important things going through their head.

Forgive those that have wronged me. Concentrate and I mean concentrate when praying and work toward a better spiritual constitution that will last all year round. Amiin to that.

Get rid of the diaries and the pocket thingymajig. They'll make u rely on them. When u have only yr memory to fall back on, u will concentrate and make a conscious effort to store away information. Things that u store away actively are easier to retrieve. Take it from me, She..Sheha..Shehe..Heshe..

Il Capo, don't catch the delete bug too, man! If this girl shows no appreciation how about u delete her from your thoughts? Save your words for someone who wants to hear them, bro. It's not worth this much effort.

We're all alive to take advantage of another Ramadan. Make the most of it. Inshallah, I'm planning on making this Ramadan an extra special one for me. Ramadaan Kariim.

Only for Xoogsade? Nope. The stories will keep him and the rest of you off the streets for one thousand and one nights. Good deed done.

The Poetry section is the place to be. Scandal after scandal. So entertaining. Oh well, get it out of the system b4 Ramadan.

This topic would have interested me- from what I can tell. the delete virus spreads on

Did I hear somebody say an old man was found with a young boy? Young boy as in 'child'? If that's the case, who cares about his alleged sexual preference? What we're talking about is paedophilia. Forget saying hello from a distance, I'd walk right up to the filthy swine and send him to an earthly hell. Tell me it wasn't a child.

Your long intro was separate to the italicised section of your post. I understood what u had to say perfectly despite the fact that af Soomali is more adag on you than me. Ha adkaado af Soomaligaagu e yaanu xumaan.

You forgot to say, 'lol'.

I'm calm. You don't need my permission to respond to anything, N. Do you need time to work out how you're going to explain this one away? U're losing your touch, duq.

Originally posted by NGONGE: edinka [/i] na, gabadh la foray bad nacasnimadeed la qaybsanaysan. Yaaaa? Xagee ayaad ku maqashey nacasnimada gabadha? Ma nacaskii furey ayaad tahey? Gabadha la hadal hayo ha ku danbi galin. Shan bilood ayaa ka soo danbeeyey dhibaatada ey soo martey, wali na wey ka xun tahey. Xaflada la sheego ya na war kama heyso, sidaan u fahmey sheekada. Markaa, sheekada ha nagu dul xawaasheen. Sh*dh. Hadii ey nacasnimo meesha taalo, si wacan ayaad faraha u la gashey. Baga ayaad na afkeena ugu soo qortey. Wax lagu hadlo kumaad hadlin. Fariidka loltu ka soo horeeyso na waxaan odhan la haa: kilkilooyinka qarso hadii aad xadanto badan tahey. GlassEyeGirl, don't acknowledge the divorce with a party. Be there for your friend, remind her of Allah's Will and by all means spoil her if you can; she needs the distraction and the boost. The rest of you: please, excuse my Somali. It isn't great and I'm irritated right now. Can u guess why?

Everybody gets hot under the collar when the 'F' word is mentioned. Everybody has a different take on it. I have no real interest in feminism as I define it. The only thing that concerns me is that many Muslim women the world over are denied their Islamic rights. Anybody running a course on that? I'd take it.

Personally, I don't see the point of gold as an adornment; also a little definitely goes a loooong way. I have seen what look like rocket launchers on fingers and wondered why. There must be more to those monstrosities than mere adornment or social pageantry. Something double-oh-seven about it. Still, it is her wish, your bonded life and your priorities. I like the sound of the condo. U can't go wrong with property. If it were me, I'd save the money for the roof over the head and not the launcher on the finger.

I'm seriously disappointed, mate, unless your friend goes by the name of K'naan! http://www.thedustyfoot.com/poetry2.php

Do u seriously think Dangerous would have posted this if he wasn't concerned?? Yes, he should get advice. If his cousin isn't sick, then fabulous, great, no serious harm done. He knows him better than we do and if things don't seem right to him, then there might be something to it. The man could be in the early stages of a deterioration. Some of what Dangerous describes point to that. I'd rather he watches over him and keeps mindful than ignore it. But that's just my 'seen-too-many-sick-young-Somali-men' Hollywood story. Your head looks cynical.

Dangerous, we're most of us ill-informed about mental illness and what it entails. Except for a couple of us here who know what they're talking about medically, the rest of can end up giving u information that may not be useful or correct. I suggest you go and talk with somebody at the mosque and ask for advice. Can some reading be done for him without him being there for instance? If so, request for it. Also, go find a medical expert and tell him of your cousin's symptoms. You need to know how to handle him without alienating him or adding to his distress. As for you, you have some responsibility toward him and are doing well to stick around. Many will not. Acknowledge his distress- his fear etc-but not the delusions themselves. I understand how devastating it can be to watch someone deteriorate. Do what you can and create some boundaries- hours on the phone will have negative consequences on you too, tell him u have to go to work, study, sleep, he needs to keep hearing of the real reality. Let him know that you will be there for him. See if u can get him out of the house and in your company. Mosques are almost always a refuge for those who're suffering this way. Suggest going to Friday prayers together if you can. I have given you my advice as I have some idea of what you face but please, talk to the experts. P.S: a thought. The Internet spreads information quickly. It is not beyond imagination that some clumsy person might recognise your cousin from your description and allow this information to reach your cousin directly or indirectly. Imagine him hearing of this post or seeing it. Now they're talking about me on the Internet, calling me mentally ill and Dangerous of all to have started it! His delusion would have come true. Please consider removing some of the specifics. He can not afford any unintentional harm. I'll pray for him and for you.

Who needs monsters under the bed when u have Elmo's arm around your neck?

Yes, we have internal negative issues that have nothing to do with Islam(i.e Islam is not the cause) that are not dealt with effectively by Muslim organisations. Sometimes, I get the impression that they'd rather leave it alone than get heavily involved. I personally do not care what a non-Muslim thinks of me but when asked about Islam I feel an obligation to tell it like I know it. Depending on the asker, the conversation can either be illuminating to them or have had no effect at all. Their opinion is their's to have and change at their will. However, each situation has to be dealt with individually. I might be questioned by someone who's clearly only interested in being critical but may have an audience of those clearly listening and genuinely interested. To abandon the conversation completely does not do Islam complete justice. If I can not find a way to steer the conversation to Islam's advantage(as a result of my ineptitude), I abandon it but if I find myself making decent sense, I continue but keep it brief. We are each of us representatives of Islam and can not depend soley on organised institutions. The Muslim man/woman on the street suffers most as a result of the media's message and the world powers' condemnation and so we should never take our individual role lightly or ignore it entirely.

Sullen Sue, you sound like u're involved with Sure Start. I once applied for a job there many moons ago. I don't remember what the job was, the concept got my attention but I didn't get their's! Perhaps I shopuld have written them a story instead of sending in my CV. Oh, well.. If you do work with them, perhaps you could send some information to various Somali community centres etc or spam them with informative emails. Why not? Reading and early reading particularly may not be on the top of Somali families' priorites but if a community centre were to run some kind of reading scheme for children- well organised, publicised and convincing- I think it would get the attention of many parents. Do post information here if you can. I found their website easily enough: www.surestart.gov.uk Spreading the word here is a good way to start, however, Admin moving it to the Student Talk section baffles me(though not entirely) and pushes this issue away from the eyes of the majority. Xoogsade, I would hope city-born refers to being born in a city and nothing more. The notion of being civilised only when city-born/city-dwelling is common(something else we're to stay away from!). I'm as civilised as the one-camel town I was born in. You're determined to make a stroy-teller of me. So I'll do what all self-respecting novices do and cheat. This is a version of Sheherazade's story: http://www.wic.org/artwork/shehera.htm Since Sherrazde's story is one of a thousand and one stories within a story, it is only fair to provide a link to some of her stories. We all know of the adventures of Ali Baba, Aladdin and Sinbad but what of the other stories? http://www.bartleby.com/16/ I have also come across a story which is of another Sheherazade but as you're a sucker for words, you'll like it well enough: 'Prince Omar and Princess Sheherazade' http://childhoodreading.com/Edmund_Dulac_and_Gus/Omar_and_Sheherazade.html The genies' names had me chuckling. Read one story per night. Sheherazade wouldn't have it any other way.

I spent some time in Samarkand in the late 90s. The stories I have to tell of that time..well.. ..they'd all be make-believe as I'd pluck them from my imagination just like the Sheherazade. I love stories and story-tellers, hence Sheherazade as a choice. Incidently, the word apparently means 'city-born' in Persian. Not quite so cute translated, eh?

Picked the color turquoise as my favourite or whatever the question was. Result says my energy is turquoise. I'm impressed. I also have WAY too much time on my hands lately- my energy is colourless. This has to be the worst touchy-feely test I've seen.

I like.