Donkey business

This was fun watching:

Book Of Note

Internationally, millions know of and have read Alex Haley's Kunta Kinte 'Roots: The Saga of an American Family'; but fewer know of or have read his other masterpiece: 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'. Many, who hated or still hate Malcolm's radical beliefs and ideas, can never and will never appreciate the book. Few autobiographies have I read, are as absorbing, as saddening and as exhilarating as Haley's very well researched and brilliantly written book - from the first page to the last. No wonder TIME magazine named it One of the Top Ten Works of Nonfiction of the last Century and rated it as a must read.

Out of Al Mukalla: Flowers, Trees and Greenery

Can we, humans, survive without plants? No way. We can not. Indeed, most animals can not live without plants. Plants make life possible here on Earth. As simple and fragile as plants might seem to be, we completely depend on them: for oxygen which we cannot survive without and they form the core basis of our environment and food supply. Algae and other forms of marine photosynthetic forms are included as plants; though, some argue they are not. While, they plants, do not depend on us. That is the wonder of God and Nature. Imagine plants depending on us, humans? Selfish, destructive humans? If that had been the case, plants would have been in real big trouble now. Very fortunately, God and Nature let plants be dependent on light and water for their existence.

Even as totally dependent as we are on plants, we still are very destructive and merciless to these delicate creatures. We, every day, continuously destroy them. Each year, millions of hectares of trees and plants are cut and destroyed by humans; and they disappear. Each minute, we continue to pollute the environment and endanger not only animals and plants, but our own selves too.  Each minute, we consume so much, so unnecessarily that it is hard to believe it is we humans who are said to be the most intelligent here on Earth. We have just celebrated Earth Day. With that in mind, I remembered how, a few days ago, I went visiting a short distance out of Al Mukalla and found several 'green zones'.

Hadharem and the Henna

Though it is said that henna or hinna usage first began in North Africa, I do not know of any where else, except around Khartoum in Sudan, and some parts of India - where henna, botanical name lawsonia inermis; is so regularly used and highly regarded as here in Hadhramaut. No celebration, be it a wedding or any other form of joyful occasion or special festivity, would be complete here without the henna. Both men and women use it; men rarely use it - to dye their hairs, especially when gray, or on the hands or feet, the henna is used not as an adornment but  in a simple way or for treatment. It is women who use it almost daily: as a form of body adornment, for treating their hairs to make it more lush and stronger and as a medicament.

Who reads this blog........

I have never done this before: today I decided to check on who my visitors are and which posts have been the most read so far since my starting this site in January, 2006. I am in a way, very surprised with the results that my Google Analytics gives for that period of the last four years:

The continuing Rise of Qatar

Qatar? Doha? A few years ago, very few people on Earth knew or had ever heard of the two. Then, in 1995, came Shaikh Hamad Al'Khalifa Al'Thani and by 2007 Qatar had so dramatically changed and had become not only one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but the nation with the second highest per-capita in the world - after Liechtenstein. In 1996, Al Jazeera Channel was launched and through the TV and the Internet, has become one of the world's most known news source and has now expanded with several outlets with a variety of programs. It is Al Jazeera more than any thing else that has made the world very much know of Qatar and Doha. With its superb, state-of-the-art Qatar Airways, immense gas reserves and some oil, the State of Qatar is certain to continue growing, expanding and being one of the world's most talked of countries:

Congratulations Mr. Obama and Americans!

Nothing is as comforting and soothing; nothing gives one a sense of immense security and joy like knowing that - there will always be enough food to eat for oneself and those whom one loves; like knowing that, you and your family will always be financially secure. But more than all, maybe - nothing is even more so, like knowing that, if you or any one whom you love gets sick, that person would be taken care of well and properly. Medical bills can be expensive; at times - so high that only a few can afford proper medical care and treatment.

To think or imagine that in a country as rich and as powerful as the US, millions of its citizens, all these years - had to go through extreme desperation and mental agony due to not being able to take care of themselves and their loved ones properly - medically - is beyond belief or understanding. How could such a thing happen in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, when lesser countries have been able to secure their populace, medically?  How can it be, that, in the United States of America, of all places - some of its citizens go through so much pain and suffering just because of a simple toothache, simply because the bills involved for taking care of that toothache is too high for them to afford?

The Two Blue Bridges of Al Mukalla

Four bridges hang over the canal that runs through Khor Al'Mukalla; two of which are distinct and unique in Yemen. Two pedestrian only bridges, made of steel and painted blue. The two bridges are about 500 meters apart; right at the center of the Khor.

The Palaces of Hadhramout

Hadhramout, was once ruled by sultans. There were two most notable ruling families in Hadhramout: the Al'Kathiri family and the Al'Quaitys. The Al'Kathiris ruled from Seiyoun for about five hundred years - from 1400 to 1967; and the Al'Quaitys ruled from Al Mukalla - from 1882 to 1967. Like all sultans, the two dynasties built palaces.

The Colors of Al Mukalla Market

Markets in Al Mukalla are very lively and colorful. Today early morning, this is what I saw in one of the many markets here:

Book of Note

Thomas Hardy is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers in English of all time. A master of/with words and the English language. Best known for his books: Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. And there is The Woodlanders, one of his very rarely read and lesser known or mentioned books. A book so exhilarating to read, that it leaves you either completely fulfilled or hungry for more. It is a masterpiece.  Not because of the characters or the plot which aren't that very absorbing or captivating as in his other novels . But, it is the words. The string and stream of words that are astonishingly, masterfully and beautifully used. If I am asked to choose only one book, that I have read,  that has the greatest and sweetest stream of English words in it - then Hardy's The Woodlanders would be that book.

Birth defects in Iraq are too painful and shocking

Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion. To read and watch what is happening to these children in Iraq is just too painful.

Google: now it is DocVerse

Google continues strengthening itself and getting even much better: it has just acquired  a company funded by Microsoft veterans - DocVerse. A company that makes plugin software that enables cloud-based collaboration in Microsoft Office applications Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Hadhramout: beware of flash floods

There has been lots of rains around here; especially on the Highlands and in Wady Hadhramout. With the rains, there are many flooded areas. And these floods, flash floods in particular, can be very dangerous and at times - fatal.

There are now several flash floods streaming in several parts of Hadhramout. Flash floods may look simple and many here, because they underestimated the strength of the floods and being in a hurry, have lost their lives by trying to cross through them. Already, today, I heard that last evening, four people who were in a 4x4 vehicle trying to cross a flooded road - were swept away and all died. One managed to get out of the truck and climb over the overturned, partly submerged vehicle; some people on the banks of the streaming flood, tried to throw him a rope and get him out but the water rose higher and swept him away.

Comments Moderation

Due to time constrains, I have not allowed comments on this blog for some times now.

Picnik: another great addition to Google

Google has acquired another excellent utility: Picnik. Picnic is a service that provides users with both free and premium services to edit digital photos in a Web browser - without downloading any tool. Those who regularly use Yahoo's Flickr services may know of Picnik and may have used it and seen how good it is.