Leeno, our nice Riyochic, has a very nice post entitled “Culturally Etiquette-less!!!” She talks about some Saudi customs, or as she calls them, rules, and asks why can’t someone publish a book explaining them. Actually, I had my share of what she is talking about. I had the very same embarrassment when I had to pour the coffee for guests for the first time, and used the wrong hands. I also usually find a hard time trying to figure out the right reply for all these mojamalat that older people use when speaking.

We Are Iran is a book that is dedicated to blogs in Iran. According to Hoder, the book consists of hundreds of translated blog posts by Iranians on different subject matters which is then completed by informative background information about each topic. Good idea. Do you think that we could do something like this for Arabic blogs someday?

According to multiple sources, Sami al-Jaber, captain of Saudi national football team and al-Hilal club, will be named Goodwill Ambassador for the UN. Al-Jaber has refused to comment on the news, but his agent has confirmed there were meeting between the player and officials of the UN office in Riyadh. Mona Abu Sulaiman, a lecturer in KAAU and talk show co-host, is also expected to be named along with al-Jaber.

Picasa offers you a nice way to thank people who attended your wedding. It is very nice, but I don’t think it could work out for Saudi weddings. I mean, we don’t know what “guests list” means, and even if we had one, it would be so enormous that you have to choose between having a wedding or sending thank-you’s.

Lubna Hussain would like to know what qualifies someone to be a censor, because “After all, they can’t just be ordinary men who do the job.”

Starbucks Challenge: Next time you go to Starbucks, ask for a fair trade coffee, and report back.

Last week, I was interviewed by a Spanish newspaper. I don’t read Spanish, but here is a link to the interview for those of you who do.