The 'Ramadhan' Way

RAMADHAN KAREEM :) :) :)

photo credit: http://www.aliyaleekong.com/

Ramadhan Kareem Everyone!!

Watch this space for new Ramadhan Projects we are about to launch!

Currently Away on Vacation 

Be back on 1st August!

EXPENSIVE RECIPE!

 

A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a very expensive store; i.e., they sell your typical $8.00 T-shirt for $100.00. My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe." Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty. It's a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to my tab. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00".  That was outrageous!    I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was "two fifty",     which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation       of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money because,    according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen      the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this po int." I explained to the    Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the state of Texas.     I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's     office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want.. Don't bother thinking of      how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back." I just said,     Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth of fun." I told her that I     was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the world has a $250 cookie recipe from     Neiman-Marcus..for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, perhaps     you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!" and slammed down the phone.  So here it is! Enjoy! :) ***********************************************************    NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES 2 cups butter 24 oz. chocolate chips 4 cups flour 2 cups brown sugar 2 tsp. soda 1 tsp. salt 2 cups sugar 1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated) 5 cups blended oatmeal 4 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. vanilla 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice) Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

TalkTalk: Homes Within Homes

It gets lonely in the doll's house

A lonely cuckoo in a clock, an eskimo in a snow globe and a

sad-looking doll in the doll's house reach out and make

connections in this spot for UK telecom brand TalkTalk.

Dining out in the World!

Let's see how smart you are!

Just click on the pic below, and get quizzed on some well-known International Culinary Discipline. It will give you the correct answer, after which you can then move on to the next country. 

Its funny and hard :)

Swimming Pool – A fine installation

The idea for “Swimming Pool” by Leandro Erlich was first conceived in 1998 while the artist was in residence in Houston as part of the Core program. Since then, it was featured at the Venice Biennale and has found a home as part of the permanent collection at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan.

Erlich has constructed a full-size pool, complete with all its trappings, including a deck and a ladder. When approached from the first floor, visitors are confronted with a surreal scene: people, fully clothed, can be seen standing, walking, and breathing beneath the surface of the water.

These pictures are installations from the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center andThe 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.

10 reasons to start a blog

1. You get to possess your own place in the (virtual) world - a .blogspot or .com is much cheaper than a house.

2. It makes you more beautiful. It's your blog, and everyone knows that photoshop is your best friend in blogging.

3. You get a new name. People stop calling you by your real name and start to refer to you as your blog name.

4. Expert status is simply handed to you. About 24 hours after you start your blog everyone will start to refer to you as an "expert".

5. You get free stuff. There are no such things as free dinners, but there are free products, lots of them.

6. You learn a new language. "Once I got the BO for the MPU, the campaign went live and I sent a screen shot to the agency, who were happy with the initial CTR & CPM".

7. You can officially be a part of the Google gang. Almost everything you do is followed by: ‘I wonder how that will affect my google ranking' and when you wake up in the morning your first thought is, ‘I should check to see if google changed the algorithm again."

8. You get a whole new identity. If you wish to confound someone who asks, "What do you do?', say ‘I'm a blogger'. Usually they say, ‘Oh that's interesting' and move on.

9. Wedding invitations start to arrive thick and fast. Every time you takea photo at the wedding, everyone asks, ‘Will that be on your blog?'

10. The 15 minutes of fame. When you are the person that can give people fame, you sort of take on a weird kind of fame yourself.

Published by FRIDAY magazine on 20th May 2011

Cadbury New Zealand: Share the Joy

A nation fills a glass and a half.

This Cadbury Glass and a Half Full effort out of New Zealand has recruited the entire country to contribute to a new tune, based on the brand's mantra of joy. Over the past six months, DDB New Zealand and the client have been collecting sounds of joy from all over the country, all of which will be turned into a tune, with the help of Bobby McFerrin.

To view their website and to contribute your 'share of joy', click here

Sabiha says:

Hi Guys,

817 page views later, I decided it was time for you all to hear from me. It's been so much fun blogging its been great!! And to hear the comments, makes it all even more worth the time. At the moment, I'm working on another creative page similar to this one, and will put up the link, once I feel it's a ready to be viewed.

So, what I really wanted to know was, who are my followers? Right now, I only see 4 people on the top right corner, and thats all about what I know. I'd love to have you guys on my side of the team, that way I can cater my posts to you all. Usually, I'm just putting up random stuff that I find interesting, coz that was the plan initially, but if I knew who regularly visited this page, I can suit to their needs too, and make the whole process more fun.

oh and hey, blogging is really cool! If anyone out there is interested at starting something up, give me a shout if you need a hand :)

Mucho Gracias [its spanish for Thanks Very Much]
nah I don't speak spanish, I just like to think I can ;)

Sabiha

A Wonderful World - just change your words

Disappearing Dosi - Something to Ponder!

Listen to the advice given by an elderly lady ('DOSI') in Gujrati

regarding ignoring the old parents. This applies to the present

day generation who somehow overlook the fact and forget to

 appreciate that parent's blessings are very important in life

We – the nation

We are the people, who

were born and brought up in a land

other than our own, made to believe that

this is home. To them, home is Tanzania.

I look around me, trying

to find solace in the people, strange

as it may seem, they are all a different nation.

I look at them, make my first move, a feeling

of solitude overpowering me. I am

not from them, not from here.

Friendships are built, relationships flourish,

children grow, parents age, all through the

years, adding days to our lives. My longing for home

continues. Home is where the heart is.

With Indian ancestors, a Tanzanian birthplace

and a house in dubai, life is

a three ring circus. I look forward

to that day when I will find a place,

a place where I shall retire,

a place I will call home.

A few shots from back home

Click on the pics to enlarge

29 ways to stay creative

The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Epcot is a theme park at Walt Disney World Resort, and is located in Orlando, Florida. 

At the moment, they are hosting The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, a spring special event filled with Disney character topiaries, a colorful array of flowers, gardens and special presentations. It's where Disney springs to life! 

Mummy Time

Mummy Time is the coolest new forum for mums all over the world!

Read below for a message from the moderator :)

Hope you are all well, I have set up a forum which I think would benefit all the mums globally, It’s so simple to use, just register and share your views and ideas on the topics. I think we can all learn from each other.

I hope you will support me and all the other mums in making the forum a success, remember without you we can’t do it. Please share this forum with other mums globally.

It’s a great way to stay connected to Mum’s (and dad’s now too) across the world!

Your email address will not show publically and you can have a username which is totally different.

Welcome to

www.mummytime.com

Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark :  Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .  ONE:  Don't miss the boat.  TWO:  Remember that we are all in the same boat!  THREE:  Plan ahead.  It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.   FOUR:  Stay fit.  When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.  FIVE:  Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.  SIX:  Build your future on high ground.  SEVEN:  For safety's sake, travel in pairs.  EIGHT:  Speed isn't always an advantage.  The snails were on board with the cheetahs.  NINE:  When you're stressed, float awhile.  TEN:  Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.  ELEVEN:  No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Shia Ithna Asheri Community Alumni Networking Event

Are you an Ithna Asheri holding a University Degree?
The Education Board of Africa Federation invites you to be a part of a social networking initiative. 

You will enjoy the experience of interactive relationships with fellow degree members of the community.  By participating in the session you may be also assist in aspiring youngsters who will benefit from hearing of your experiences.

To sign up, please email the following details to alumni@africafederation.org:

Name:
Contact Number:
Email ID:
Institution attended and country:
Academic qualifications:
Year of graduation:
Current occupation:
If employed, name of organization:
Current residence: (city/country):


Good Luck!

The Royal Wedding

An Illustrator at The Telegraph produces clever drawings to showcase 

all the hype created for the Royal Wedding

Big Fork Little Fork

Click on image to proceed to website

Color your Kitchen

Choco coat-it

Click on picture to visit site

Everything sounds good when it's choco-coated!

Anti-Slavery International and Lean Mean Fighting Machine are raising awareness of the most bitter of issues with a sweet site that turns your vile utterances into chocolatey goodness.

The site's aim is to put the spotlight on child slavery in the Ivory Coast's cocoa production industry. Like marketers who greenwash rather than actually institute sustainable practices, according to ASI, cocoa traders choco-coat their anti-child slavery measures. So, LMFM invites Twitterers to choco-coat their tweets. Just type in your politically incorrect, profanity-laden outburst and tweet. Friends who see your tweet will be able to click to get more info on choco-coating (as well as see the un-coated version of what you wrote, so, you know, use your best judgment).

Ahlulbayt TV Gala Dinner

Al Zahra - Gala Dinner from rizviGrafiks on Vimeo.

For more information, click here

Magnetism

Click on image to enlarge view

The idea is simple and, like its central element, forcefully attractive. Ahmed Mater gives a twist to a magnet and sets in motion tens of thousands of particles of iron, a multitude of tiny satellites that forms a single swirling nimbus. Even if we have not taken part in it, we have all seen images of the Hajj, the great annual pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca. Ahmed's black cuboid magnet is a small simulacrum of the black-draped Ka'bah, the 'Cube', that central element of the Meccan rites. His circumambulating whirl of metallic filings mirrors in miniature the concentric tawaf of the pilgrims, their sevenfold circling of the Ka'bah.

To read more, click here

Ayyam-e-Fatimiyyah

Find below a beautiful write-up of a hawza student from Qum. She has managed to capture the essence and true meaning of these Ayyam through her experience in the Holy City of Qum.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

اللهم صل علی صدیقة فاطمة الزکیة، حبیبة حبیبك و نبيّك، ام احبائك و اصفيائك التي انتجبتها و فضلتها و اخترتها على نساء العالمين اللهم كن الطالب لها ممن ظلمها و استخف بحقها و كن الثائر اللهم بدم اولادها

Signs of Ayyame Fatimiya are everywhere we go. From posters on Jamiah notice boards, flags and banners in the streets to the black cloth draped all over the walls of the Haram of Hazrat Fatimah Masoomah (s.a.). Today’s Dua Nudba was just unbearable, all the ‘before/after & between dua narrations’ these days are the heart wrenching narrations of the evils that took place after the death of the Holy Prophet (s) and injustice done to his holy household- especially to his daughter who is ‘a part of’ him (Fatimah Zahra s.a.) and to the his brother and successor, for whom faith is mixed in his blood and flesh just as it is for the Prophet (Ali ibne Abi Talib a.s.).   I never knew about Ayyame Fatimiya until I came to Qum and experienced the uproar first hand.

Ayyame Fatimiya is the name given to the 20 days of mourning Hazrat Zahra (s.a.)’s death anniversary.  Its 20 days long because of the two varying narrations of her death date; the first one being 75 days after and besides it’s an excuse to educate and make people aware of the great lady! There are lectures and azadari held in all the mosques in every area. The second Fatimiya (the second narration- 95 days after the Holy Prophets death), especially, is as commemorated as big as Ashura here – the whole country is mourning- especially Qum, as they say if you want to perform the Ziyarat of Hazrat Zahra then do so at the Haram of her granddaughter Fatima Masoomah! 

There’s a Farsi saying “قبری که در مدینه شد گم، پیدا شد در مدینه قم” – The grave that was lost in Madina, has been found in the city of Qum.  

Groups of mourning men and boys come to the Haram in turns with their drums and flags, barefooted, beating their heads and chests, to pay their respect to Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) and Hazrat Masoomah (s.a.), but this time it’s not only the regular boys and men, on the Shahadat day Maraje Taqleed – Ayatullah Waheed Khorasani, Ayatullah Safi Gulpaygani and the likes of them, walk from the homes to the Haram of Hazrat Masoomah barefooted, mourning and performing matam and are followed by huge crowds of Tulab (students of hawza) and other people.  You will see regular Ruhanis (scholars), having taken their amamas (turbans) off their heads - rubbing dust on their shoulders to show their sorrow.  There are stalls of ‘salawati’ tea or sherbet, ‘nazri’ food is given out to all.

But these are just the physical signs you see everywhere, if we open the eyes and ears of our heart, I am sure we would be able to see every existent, the birds, insects, trees, flowers, walls and doors, crying and wailing for the atrocities that befell this great lady of light! It’s a pity we don’t know her and definitely don’t understand her worth!

A lot of the ulema and shuhada that I have heard or read stories of had a very special connection with Hazrat.  Ayatullah Waheed advised us once to recite Sura Yasin every day after we finished our work, and gift it to Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) – I guess if you want special attention from someone, you are going to have to do something special for them. Here in Jamiah every evening for 40 days the Salawat of Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) (which can be found in the Mafatih and was recommended by Khanum Jafari) is being recited for the quick reappearance of Imam Zaman (a.s.).  In that salawat it is stated that Hazrat Zahra is the mother of anyone who has even a bit of love for her in their hearts, therefore a lot times here you will hear her being called ‘Madar’ meaning mother in Farsi and this helps you make a closer connection. 

We need to increase our maarifat for this Bibi by reading history, reading about the religious and sociopolitical situation in Madina at the time of the Prophet, reading about how Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) lived her life and how we can apply it to our lives today, understanding the super amazing role of women in Islam through this great lady, understanding how she didn’t protect her husband rather she defended her Wali, the Imam of her time. 

We as women need to be religiously and politically aware to avoid falling into the traps and tricks of the enemy and we are able to easily decipher between the truth and the falsehood dressed in the clothing of the truth. And when the time comes we are able defend the truth just as our ‘Mother’ did! 

During these days we should take some time out to read and try to understand Hazrat’s the sermons she gave in the Mosque of the Prophet and see how eloquently she shut the mouths of deceptive ones.  We should remind ourselves that reading alone will not get us very far, for knowledge without two very important factors - practicing it and tawasul (seeking intercession) from her and her pure household – is useless. 

I pray to Allah (SWT) that He helps us understand and follow our ultimate role model, Hazrat Fatimah al-Zahra(s.a.) and may she be our intercessor and we be her companions on the Day of Regret!