7th Monthly Elham This Tuesday

As promised, here are the details of the upcoming event on Tuesday. This is the comeback of Elham following our hiatus during the summer. So come down there and enjoy an evening or art, poetry and music.

There are other events coming up over the next few weeks. Vist our website at elhambahrain.com or look us up on facebook where you will also find info on our activities.

Week In, Week Out

One week down. Three to go.

Ramadan Kareem to you all.

Ramadan always seems to go as quick as it comes. The first week went on pleasantly, apart from the three day's that I've been sick. I was bed-bound for a while and since getting back on my feet I've been running between my new job and all things Elham-related. More on that soon. I'll be posting about our 7th monthly gathering - which will be next Tuesday - in the next day or two. Although you've likely already heard about it. It was all over the magazines and newspapers and magazines (Ohlala, Bahrain This Month, Bahrain Traveler, Gulf Weekly, GDN, Bahrain Confidential etc).

My bro is back from the UK after complete his Masters program. It's cool to have him back. That was the longest he's been away from home. So we've been hanging out since his return. I've also been watching a few DVDs including a brilliant film called Dead Man's Shoes and I also re-watched A History of Violence, one of the best films you're likely to see, gripping in its sutble violence and intense drama.

Oh and just as a side note, I've recieve yet another rejection from Succour

Blinding Beauty

I wake up and
I see the sun
Blinding bright

And I feel my heart
As heavy as a stone
Sinking in deep water

Cold and dark
Warm and hearty
Unsure of your love

And I feel my soul
As light as a feather
Swaying in the breeze

I wake up and
I see you
Blinding beautiful

Speaking Foriegn

So we sit down, excited, finally, the long wait is over and we'll get to see the film we've been anticipating. So, the film starts, and all is well. Its brilliant.

And then the Russian begins.

Now, I know all about the film. I know that it is originally Russian. I'm talking here, of course, about Day Watch. (I've seen Night Watch and fell in love with it, awesome, kick ass film)! But I saw that on DVD, with the bliss of an English audio track.

We sit for about 20 minutes. Through which I try to translate, while I read the subtitles and watch the beautiful visuals. It was not only impossible, but extremely NOT fun. There was only Arabic subtitles.

We leave the theatre and confront the staff with the problem. They seem as bewildered by it as we were. They didn't have a clue. We did get a refund, but our evening was ruined. We were so looking forward to seeing it and now we'll have to wait for the DVD to do so.

You would think, that they would know what they are purchasing, but the folk at Dana Cinema seemed quite oblivious to the whole thing. Not least the manager, who stormed off seemingly angry at the fact that someone somewhere screwed up big time.

Anyway, so, just beware, if you want to see Day Watch. Unless you can read Arabic, or understand Russian!

Would You Die for a Larrff!

This comes with a warning... this is a likely chance that you will either burst something, fair, or overdose.... from laughter!!! (watch all 7 episodes, it is SO worth it. Ross Noble is absolutely brilliant!

A Writer of Ficion is What I Am

Am I the same person I was yesterday?
Will I be the same person tomorrow?
Life is traveling like a shooting star.
All fast and sparkling.
But, eventually, fading.
I am 29.
And I've just known what love is.
What will I learn when I am one year older?

I've been sucked into the vortex of my new job. It's been extremely busy, but the disconcerting thing is that I'm enjoying it, despire the fact that I've put in 8 hours on a Friday, something I've never done before and that I didn't think I'd even contemplate.

I've hardly had time to catch my breath. Hours and days are tinged with a sensation of timelessness, time has no more weight. And through them there is one thing that now matters to me most. One thing and one thing alone. And it's a beautiful thing.

No, I've not been writing. The truth is that I actually miss writing. I miss being a 'writer'. And all that comes along with it, the freedom, liberation, wrecklessness, carelessness... a complete disregard for reality. I am a writer of fiction. And fiction is what I write.

But I don't feel I am the same writer I was four, five or even ten years ago! I no longer write because I NEED to. There is a sense of obligation, of responsibility, an unwelcomed burden.

I want to go back to the writer I am. Go back to losing myself into the thick of it, and not the idea of it. I worry, and this is, now, my darkest worries, is that I will never be that writer ever again.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine
Originally uploaded by Alizod

I went out the other day for a photo shoot through Muharraq. The last time I did that was at least five or six months ago. There is no doubt that there is a magical thing about that place, because every time I visit I discover new things to shoot.

After a bit of dabbling with photoshop, I came up with this photo, which keeps reminding me of the film Little Miss Sunshine. The film is a beautiful treasure and I fell in love with it from the first frame. A simple story of a odd and somewhat dysfunctional family, I know it sounds too familiar, been done to death, but trust me when I say this, there is nothing like Little Miss Sunshine. That's one film that will leave such a lasting impression on you that you'll find yourself remembering for days and weeks to come.

Not to mention the fact that it have one of the most sweet-beautiful-romantic-heartbreakting-sing-a-long-happy tune I've heard in ages. If you must download one song this weekend, make it "Till the End of Time" by Devotchka.

Now go do something useful. Bake a cake or something.

Fools in Love

How can it be so scary? Being happy. Being in love. I'm lost in a sea of romance, a vast ocean so deep, so warm, so engulfing. A fire. A storm. A vortex. A paradox. It's everything wrapped in one. It's thrilling, exciting, frightening, comforting, like a drug of extacy.

How can she make me want to become a dream? How can she make me want to be lost in her eyes? In her kiss? Those lips so inviting, enticing, tantalizing, always beckoning me.

She's the first thought on my mind when I wake up, like a morning song stuck on repeat, like she's everything and all i know. When I lay myself in bed I could almost sense her warmth next to me. Skin as fragile as the wings of a butterfly.

How can we be so foolish as to fall in love again?

1, 2, 3, 4... Smile!

We can all do with a Feist song every now and then... and since I'm in a happy place, I wanted to share a smile with you.

Stardust in Their Eyes

It gave me goosebumps. It made me cry. It made me laugh silly. It made me giggle. It made me reflect. It painted my world with magic and colors and starlight. When you wait for something for so long, and then it exceeds your expectations, you're left in a beautiful daze.

I'm talking here about the wondrous Stardust, the film adaptation of one of my favorite novels of all time, of the same title, by the master of storytelling Neil Gaiman.

One would usually be wear of such adaptations, but the filmmakers got it spot on here. The film was perfect, a joy, a wonder, a gorgeous journey and a thrilling adventure, one that will no doubt makes you once again believe in love, in magic, and in dreams.

I can't stress enough the need for every one of us to see Stardust. And once you've seen it once or twice, go out and get the book (if you've not read it yet! shame on you!).