At this moment I’m sitting by the open window, a dark cloud is looming in the horizon and thunder has been rumbling on loudly for about ten minutes now. I’m the dictionary definition of a pluviohile, I literally open my eyes wide and begin to operate on an entirely different level when it rains, rain charges my soul the way Superman charges by the sun, hence this post that has been playing around again again in my mind.
I’ve also decided that perhaps I should have pursued a career in book-publishing. Why didn’t I? I don’t know, perhaps because it doesn’t pay too well? Perhaps I’m going to one day but until then I will stick to writing whatever comes to my mind in my little blog and you, my readers, will be the lucky ones to suffer through :p Read more »
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the long awaited 8th book!
By danderma | August 1, 2016
I’m writing this post with a head buzzing with thoughts, heart fluttering with feelings, and eyes brimming with tears as I’m in a roller coaster of emotions that’s been tumbling since I returned home from work and sat with my iBook copy of the long awaited 8th book of Harry Potter, the one with the Cursed Child.
Is it really an 8th book? A proper sequel to the battle of Hogwarts set 19 years later? I couldn’t allow myself to get too attached the the book nor let myself believe it was a “real” or “100% authentic” new Harry Potter book. I was afraid. I didn’t want to be let down by it, I know its based on a sold out play and its not only J. K. Rowling’s name on the cover, I’m not sure what to expect and I had a feeling that… well.. this story is only make belief and this Harry book is a fraud. Read more »
Have you ever suffered from a writer’s block so severe, it makes you strain to remember how words go together hand in hand?
I suppose not many would relate to what I’m talking about, but this happened to me. I love words, words are my thing. I could reduce a classroom to tears stringing a few words into sentences that would grab your heart. Many of my Read more »
It’s been a while since I’ve had friends over. I’ve been too tired lately and with all the Ramadan fasting and meal preparations I haven’t had a moment to relax. During the holy month of Ramadan people gather for a “ghabga” and there are many ghabgas going around. A ghabga is a dinner party Read more »
Elba’s traditional Kuwaiti bakery brought back their famous Elba with the start of the holy month of Ramadan. I’ve missed their elba, but they only make it in Ramadan and so on the very first week they sent me one cold pot of saffron-y elba, Dallah’s way of a Ramadan greeting. Read more »
It’s official, the long awaited holy month of Ramadan will start tomorrow! On this blessed occasion, I would like to wish all my blog readers, my family, my friends, my loved ones, and everyone I’ve met and dealt with through the blog a very blessed Ramadan. Mbarak 3leekom el shahar o 3sakom min 3owaddah insha2 Allah 
I also would like to point out that I will try to make my “food” posts here and on instagram start by 5 P.M. during Ramadan and I will try to make them healthy and beneficial. Plus, I have a special Twitter Dewaniya announcement: we will start tomorrow dewaniya girls, I’ve missed you and I look forward to tweeting during Ramadan with you since I barely tweet anymore -too much politics-.
Mbarak 3leekom el Shahar once more, I cannot wait for tomorrow <3
The time has come to bid my favourite fruit ever, the Alphonso Mangoes, adieu. After an exceptionally long season where I’ve devoured every single golden mango that passed through my threshold, at last I can sit back and wave good bye for the imported cartons of mangoes. There are still a alphonso mangoes around but the taste has changed a bit, you know it’s time to let go. I’m also not interested in any other kind of mango, for once you taste the Alphonsos then that’s that. Read more »
Every morning when I open up my Google Reader, the message that it will not be in use by the 1st of July greets me. It’s beyond me why successful and popular application would get the axe. Just like that favourite TV show with so much potential that gets axed just as you are getting addicted to it. C’est la vie, life goes on and as much as it saddens me, I feel like I’ve been evicted from my own home or something, have had to search for an alternative. Read more »
It’s time again to bring out the samboosa dough, for my Ramadan iftar table is never complete without a plate of hot bubbling baked samboosa (samoosa) in the very centre! With fourteen days to go until the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan where muslims fast all day long and break their fast at sunset. A favourite Ramadan preparation activity of mine is wrapping the Samboosa’s myself at home using my own filling mixes. Read more »
I’m still unboxing my moving boxes and in my process of doing so, I realised that I might very well have the entire collection of my childhood VHS tapes intact, not missing a single tape. Not quiet so surprising given that I was fiercely protective of my VHS tapes, even writing “owned by” on some of them to distinguish between mine and other family member’s therefore painting a red line and not allowing anyone to touch them. Read more »
The other day I was driving my husband’s car for the day since my own car was in the garage getting fixed. I stopped to refuel it with gas and since in Kuwait women don’t get out of the car to fill their car tanks up and my iPhone’s battery was dead I had nothing better to do to kill time but gaze at the dashboard of the car. The car I was driving was Read more »
One of my favourite played MSX games in the 80’s was Athletic Land. It was kind of special to me, partly because no one else liked to play it and when I did I had it all to myself without other children nagging for their turn to play. Read more »
We take too many things in life for granted, never really appreciating their worth until the day we stop having them around. Who would have thought that one day a simple everyday breakfast setting of cereal and milk with some coffee would be something of a reckless luxury for me? Read more »
Long before we met Mortal Combat and Street Fighter, there was a game on MSX, perhaps one of the earliest fighting/martial arts games, by the name of Kung Fu. I almost forgotten all about it then one day it just passed through my memory and I began searching my list of roms for it. The name wasn’t Kung Fu, it was Yie Ar Kung-Fu which is why it took me a while to locate it. Read more »
The Goonies game on MSX was one of my favorite and most special games back in the 80’s. One reason being was that I actually did complete the game back then and it might just be the very first game I’ve ever completed! The Goonies was based on a very popular 80’s movie by the same name everyone I know from my peers used to rave about it. When Read more »
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’d know I’m in love with British cosmetics brand Lush. I’ve posted about them more than once before and I always make sure I come back from the UK laden with their fresh handmade, vegetarian, natural, ethical, colourful, fun, and deliciously fragrant products. Read more »
Another Sunday is here and again I’m longing for my beautiful weekend with my few hours of peace and quiet. Why does time fly when you want to savor it, and crawl like a snail when you want to get something over with? I wish the time would come when humanity would realize that a three-day weekend is the ultimate solution to the weekend blues. Imagine Read more »
The one thing I miss most on those dreadful Sunday mornings are my quiet Friday afternoons. I rarely go out on Friday before evening, if at all. I like to stay in and take a day off the face of the earth. After breakfast and the Friday prayers and rituals, I do a bit of housework, order in some lunch while watching something I like on TV. Then when all the hoopla is over its time its time for my favourite things to come together… Read more »
Almost everyone who owned an MSX Sakhr in the 80’s know and loved “The Castle” game (post). One day back in the 80’s we stumbled into a small shop in Hawalli, maybe it was Al-Alamiya maybe not I’m not sure, possibly a computer shop in Bin Khaldoun street. There displayed on its window was another Castle game! The second Castle game was Read more »
Once upon a time scores of years ago, when I was in student in Kuwait University, I was reading the University’s newspaper “Afaq” when I decided to send in a response or an article. On the next issue, with utter surprise, I saw my article printed and then a request from the editor of Afaq to come to the newspaper urgently.
Surprised, I go to meet with the editor and he tells Read more »
If I have to pick one video game that sums up my childhood, it would be “The Castle” on MSX Sakhr computers. I love everything about this game: the soundtrack, the memories, the little dude who can Read more »
The earliest memory I have of chocolate was in some family party in the early 80’s. In the party they were distributing small bags of Macintosh, otherwise officially known as “Quality Street” and I remember myself with one of those bags. I even have a picture of Read more »
One of my favorite spots in London has to be Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden. Its a little secluded courtyard accessible by a narrow alley with only a barrel on top of the entrance to guide you in. Read more »
It was a cold afternoon in London, we’ve been walking for hours on end, shopping and taking pictures, when we finally reached Covent Garden and decided to stop there for some lunch. We were heading in the direction of Read more »
On the night of 16 July 1992 I was on the phone talking to my cousin, cradling the phone speaker with my ear and shoulder while both hands were busy playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Genesis. I remember that clearly because when Read more »
