satin

أحب الأغاني القديمة لعدة أسباب

منها, خلو التسجيل من التعديل الإلكتروني على الموسيقى أو على صوت المطرب . فالصوت في التسجيلات القديمة و إن شابه ما شابه من خشخشة فهو صوت أداءٍ طبيعي جميل يسجل لحقبة مضت دون أي تلفيق و خداع , و تصل العفوية في الأداء و الطبيعية إلى أن يخطأ المطرب ببعض كلمات الأغنية فلا يعيدها بل يرتجل عليها أبياتاً أو يكمل له الرديدة

و لهذا السبب أستمع إلى الجلسات و الحفلات الخاصة , فهي عفوية طبيعية لا تسجل إلا مرة واحدة , فتستمع إلى جميل الأداء المتميز بدون تعديل و تلفيق إلكتروني

و أحد مميزات هذه الخاصية , هو أن التسجيلات الحديثة تعتمد على التركيب, فيأتي عازف الكمان ليعزف قطعته و يلحقه عازف العود و من ثم الإيقاعات .. و يتم التركيب ليأتي المطرب في النهاية لكي يسجل صوته . بينما لو جمعنا الكل في مكان واحدٍ للأداء فسوف تتكون قطعة متحدة يجمع بين العازفين و المطرب و الرديدة جو موسيقي مشترك , فيكون حينها الإرتجالات العبقرية و الأداء المتفاعل مع الموسيقى و العكس

و منها , أن ما يصل إلينا من التسجيلات القديمة يمثل نخبة النخبة كما هو الحال مع أشعار العرب القديمة . فالتسجيلات في تلك الفترة و إن كانت متوفرة إلا أنها لم تنتشر إلا لبعض المتميزين . و أما الأدعياء فقد ضاعت تسجيلاتهم و أسطواناتهم فلم يحفظها السميعة و لم تبقى للأجيال المتأخرة لكي يسمعوها . فلم يبق إذاً إلى النادر المتميز. و يجب الإستثناء إذ ضاع الكثير من المتميز و لكن ذلك لم يكن إلا لعدم تقدير قيمة الحفظ , أو لعدم إنتشار ذلك المطرب كمطرب أهل طبقة معينة غنية يحافظون على تسجيلاته و يوثقون له . فالبعض كان متميزاً و لم يصل إلى آذان أهل المغنى من الأغنياء سوى متأخراً في حياتهم فلم يحفظ لهم الكثير

يسأل - يسألون - يتسائلون

سألني الكثيرون عن إصراري -رغم تذمري الدائم - على البقاء في ذلك المكان التعيس إلى أن يأتي الفرج .سألني الكثيرون و هم يعلمون و أنا أعلم كذلك بأن تركي للمكان أمر هين و بسيط . و لكن الأمر ببساطة هو كوني علمت بأن تعاستي مرتبطة بأسباب عديدة خارجية و داخلية .. أي نفسية معنوية و أخرى مادية صرفة متعلقة بالظروف المحيطة

فأما المادية فمصيرها التغيير و أما النفسية فلن تتغير إلا بإمتحان النفس و إمتهان كرامتها المصطنعة . فأين المفر من ما يعتل نفس الإنسان من خبيث الصفات و العلل ؟

فآثرت أن أبقى , و لا أترك الميدان هارباً . فآثرت أن أبقى حتى يعربد سيفك -يا نرجسُ- بدمائي ؛ حتى تكسر مثقّف رمحك في صدرٍ أبرده الخوف و الجبن عن مواجهتك ...فإن تراني صريعاً قد مزق أوصالي جميل معروفك في , فلا تنحني لي حزناً (و ما كنت فاعلاً). تسجد لك أوصالي و دمائي - أقاتلي يا خير قاتل

يموت على يدك الجبانُ محزوز الرأس - و يبعثُ أنتَ .. و يبعثُ أنتَ

Billie Holiday
(1915 - 1959)

You've changed

That sparkle in your eyes is gone
Your smile is just a careless yawn
You're breaking my heart

You've changed

p.s. this is not a dedication.. nor it is a statement about my current mood.. I just love the song

narcissus

Contemplating..

Contemplate;

[Late 16th century. From Latin contemplat- , past participle stem of contemplari “to observe carefully,” from templum “space for observing omens.”]

Contemplating marriage as a seemingly inevitable future.

What am I, married?
What is she, married?
Is there an I, married?

Where do problems and conflicts come from? Is it in the word "Couple" or the insistence on maintaining individuality?
I honestly want to maintain my individuality. Yet I need to be completed. Individuality's long hours seem to end when I realized that I am partially an individual. My individuality will only be completed when coupled with one.

I'm losing weight like crazy!
Its amazing.. I haven't stopped eating any of my favorite meals.. yet I'm losing weight. I guess its all about the amount. I mean why eat fried chicken everyday? or every other day? why not just one a week? It tastes better!
5 more kilos... then my life will change! dramatically..

What would change life?
Where does change come from?
I used to think that a change comes from the outside. Through experience I was proved wrong. I then thought that it comes from the outside as well as from the inside, that a change from the inside is dependant on the change from the outside. Again, I was proved wrong. Now I know for sure that the inside comes first and last. The outside will only reflect the inside eventually with time. If successful then people might think that change comes from without to affect the within. However if not successful in reflecting the inside; it will no longer matter for the inside will be immune against what the conscious mind used to perceive as "positive change". The conscious mind now sees beyond what the surronding society's forced beliefs about noble qualities.

I took Saturday off, and went to my Nutritionist (I guess I make him happy.. that he sees that whenever I come I've lost some good 3 to 5 kilos). Then went to the bookstore in KU... cheap discount books! amazing books! We looked very weird though.. we looked too old to be naive innocent freshmen; and too weirdly dressed to be teachers. Books so cheap! One book you'd find in Virgin, or Jarir or the family bookstore for like KD 5-6.. You can buy there for KD 2! Used books are just.. man! Now.. this book you'd normally find outside for nothing less than 15 dinars.. in KU, a brand new one would be around 7 dinars.. a used one (which isn't "abused") is 2.5 dinars!

Ah.. I should stop being cheap... I'm not a student anymore. I get paid now...

When I'm done contemplating marriage..
I think of this
Mobile? or iPod? Adobe Photoshop classes? or DSL?
They're all worth the same price..

Rasheed Al-Qundarchi (1880-1948) رشيد القندرچي

ألف و هلا بهالمقبل ... و منك يفوح العنبر

إلى النرجس في النفس

أحبكَ أبداً

welcome back Narcissus

powerful

Катюша

I read something interesting on Erzulie's blog.
She, one of many hidden open-minded people around the net, spoke on the matter of discrimination in Kuwait; ethnical, sectarian and social discrimination.

I could go on and on about who created such discrimination; but I can assure you that the only party (partially) responsible, and (fully) using this to their sick plans to dominate the people of Kuwait, is the Kuwaiti government.

Kuwait will never rid itself from such precarious ideologies that create such animosity between the different social, racial or religious groups of which Kuwait is consisted. Our hope is that a generation will come that is blind to these differences; a generation that is indifferent to the demagogues.
Everyday I hear disgusting stories about how one group detests the other
Sunna vs. Shia; Arab vs. non-Arabs...
Though I am what I am, but I am before all, a Kuwaiti. It hurts to hear people talk about your brothers as "traitors". My brother is the one who once played on the beach of old Kuwait. My brother is the one who remembers playing on the stairs of 7ussainiyyat Ma3rafi in Sharg in Old Kuwait. My brothers speak with a heavy Bedoui accent! My brothers speak little Kuwaiti but fluent Farsi. My brothers are not Shi3a or Senna.. Badu or 7a'9ar.. 3ayam or 3arab; They're Kuwaitis.

God knows how sad I feel seeing my brothers arrested on charges of Terrorism.. deceived by these ideologies.
God knows how sad I feel seeing my brothers lose faith in Kuwait as their homeland.. deceived by these ideologies.
God knows how sad I feel reading a comment like " ***** are dogs period..They should be sent back to ******** .An open minded guy talking here".

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Erzulie wrote:

"I just find it perplexing that some Kuwaitis voluntarily isolate themselves from their own kin instead of collaborating and bettering their time here in America or in other foreign places for that matter as well as in Kuwait itself. Isn’t it time we shelve our differences and look beyond
one’s religion and name and more into this individual’s nature, personality, and spirit? In friendships, I do not think the saying “What’s in a name” applies; it is what is in and what makes up one’s truest heart of hearts that is most important, in my opinion anyway"

It is in people's nature to choose, sometimes unconsciously.. and it happens unconsciously.. friends of their same group. I'm speaking from a sociological point of view.. groups of people are raised according to traditions and ethics that rule their lives as they grow up. If you were in a school and you're still too young to know who's who; you'll be attracted to the one who is, in interests, behavior and appearance is similar to you. A religious Shia boy/girl would be attracted to befriend a Senni boy/girl, because they come from strict families that rule their lives in an islamic manner different than other kids in the school. Naturally when they grow up they'll realize they're different.. then comes the moment when they end their friendship based on stupid xenophobic ideas. I examined the friendships I've created with people from over 10 years; I did not know they belonged to my same group, but I realized I befriended them because we were alike on so many matters.

However.. now we live in a different time. To actually pick friends on basis of race or sect is very xenophobic; sickeningly xenophobic.

That is that..

Anyway..
I'm not a Communist, but I cannot help but admire theories of revolution against the corruption of power. One more thing about Communists.. is their amazing propaganda! Don't talk to me about Capitalist, American, Imperial propaganda! Its so stupid. No wonder Communism was popular.. a Nation that produced writers such as Pushkin, Tolestoy and Dostoyevsky are better than those stupid Imperial Europeans..

Katyusha

Apple trees and pears were in blossom
On the river hung the morning mist
Young Katyusha stepped up on the high bank,
Of the river steep bank in the mist.

On the bank Katyusha started singing
Of a proud grey eagle of the steppe,
Of the one Katyusha loved so deeply,
Of the one whose letters she has kept

Oh, you song, you bright song of a maiden
Fly you by the sun, fly like a bird
To the soldier on faraway border
From Katyusha bring a greeting word.

Let him think of simple native maiden,
Let him hear Katyusha's clear song
He will guard the land of dear homeland
And their love Katyusha will keep strong.

Apple trees and pears were in blossom
On the river hung the morning mist
Young Katyusha stepped up on the high bank,
Of the river steep bank in the mist

Red Army Choir

P.S. The picture above is edited by me... Thou Shalt not Steal!

عادل شهودي

I had breakfast in Jean's Grill, the waterfront, the other day. I got to see old friends, (not really friends.. and how could they be old friends? they're either friends or not.. friends don't get outdated!), some of them got bad jobs, other got not so bad job, some (like me) got miserable jobs.. well its only me who got that.

Well... Silver Marlboro is back in the market..
Capitalist bastards... STOP TOYING WITH US!

I was asked to prepare something about Naguib Mahfouz by next Monday to be presented in the Writers Union; I don't know what to write about really.

Enjoying; Listening to Hassan Al-Malawani. I don't know much about him really, but I love these old "adwar". Its so soothing; opening with a Turkish composition, a solo on Qanun then gently surprised with a moving, tranquilizing mawwal. A moment of silence after an intense intercourse of instruments on Maqams, disturbed ecstatically then with an organized sad yet optimistic cry of instruments to open a "door".

"et tu Brute?"

I'm going to go through my mobile phone contacts and look up some old friends and make new friends out of them. I guess I cannot trust anyone these days; I'm a paranoid. Distrust is comfortable though. Blindly accepting friends and trusting them is actual blindness; I'd rather live with paranoia than be stabbed at the back.

"et tu Brute?"

Few come to my mind, that I can give 90% of my trust; that's just two people. I may consider a third. People whom I have no doubt about their maturity and understanding. Others around me I cannot trust for they always show me how unworhty of trust they are. Have you tried it before? I, upon knowing of a horrible betrayal, like Caesar, give up and fight not back.
If you give your whole world to friends; what is to be left if you're betrayed?
I regret giving other people more than50% of my trust; some in fact I foolishly gave more than 70% of trust.
And you learn more everyday oh poor antihero

Saleh Effendi Abdul-Hay (1896 - 1962) صالح أفندي عبد الحي

عصر الهوى و الجمال ... ودعـته لـيه يـا فـؤادي
قـال شفت حـبي ده مـال ... فاتني و راح للأعادي

شمت حسودي و خان عهودي
و عادل شهودي , تشهد عليه