I’m back from Bahrain. It was a short trip; I arrived there around 1500, and left around 2215. What made this trip special was that I had the chance to meet Mahmood al-Yousif, Bahrain’s most famous blogger. We had a nice chat at Starbucks of al-Seef Mall, where we discussed many topics, including, but not limited to, blogging, the lost history of extended families in the Gulf, and the states in our countries.

Mahmood is a nice man. We had a pleasant talk, and it was my pleasure to meet him. Next time I’m going to Bahrain I’ll make sure to meet him again, or maybe we can meet in Saudi Arabia if he decided to drop by sometime. My advice to all of you bloggers out there: if you had a chance to meet a fellow blogger in the real world, do not miss it. It is a really great experience.

Can two persons go through all the stages of an actual relationship almost solely via text messages? Read this story, and then tell me what you think.

Husein Shubukshi says nothing new regarding the issue of movie theaters in the country. Many rumors talks about movie theaters in malls ready waiting for a decision to allow them to work. No one exactly knows why they are banned, and no one in the government or Shoura Council is willing to discuss this. Anyways, I can’t wait until someone does. I’m going to Bahrain again to watch a movie. A 2-hour drive to watch a movie is no big deal, is it?

Jawaher al-Subaie: “This obsession with the male guardian’s consent has ruined the lives of many women.”

Many people, including me, are using the personalized Google page as their homepage since it was introduced in May. Now, you can find and add your favorite feeds to the page. Yahoo! had this feature for a while now, but I don’t like using it. If you looked for the word “Saudi” in the feeds section, Google includes Saudi Jeans as one of the suggested feeds to subscribe. Cool.

I was waiting for this. The great Dr. Hamza al-Mizeini is writing about the statement against women’s driving, and teaches those opponents a lesson in constructional criticism. “How dare these petitioners to describe their Saudis counterparts, and other Muslims who have the same opinion on this subject, as corrupted and atheists? Does it even worth it?” he asks. For all of you who can read Arabic, this is a must-read.

The Louvre, the world’s largest museum, is to get a new wing to display its vast collection of Islamic art thanks to a 17 million-euro gift by the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal bent on mending post-9/11 ties between the West and Arabs.

The gift of the prince, one of the richest individuals on the planet, is one of the largest in France’s history, French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres said at a ceremony Tuesday.

Ironically, some Saudis think Prince Al-Waleed is wrong, and he could spend this huge amount of money in his country instead of donating them to the Louvre. Prince Al-Waleed is not so popular among conservatives in the country because he always promoted social reform, especially his stance on women’s rights.