The new issue (April-March) of Al Qafilah magazine has come out, and inside it there is an article by yours truly. Al Qafilah is a prestigious magazine published bimonthly by Saudi Aramco. I feel proud because this was actually my first writing gig; the first time ever that I get paid to write something. My article was featured in a page where they usually offer a point of view that is unusual regarding some cultural issues. I had the freedom to choose whatever subject I want to write about, so I wrote on the crisis of publishing industry in the Arab World. I want to thank Fatima Al Jefri, the editor of the magazine, who offered me this opportunity based solely on my writings online (especially my Arabic blog). She was really nice to me, and kind enough to answer all of my stupid questions, as this is my first time to do such thing.

Why nerds make better lovers? “A hot body might get you in the door, but eventually, what meets the eye will fade. It’s important to add depth and substance to your personality. The hottest, most intense relationships are the ones with people you can really talk to, laugh with and learn from every day.”

I never liked pulling all-nighters. I did it once during my first year in college, and it was awful. But if you had to, or if you are simply a night owl, then this how to might help you out.

I guess OCSAB (I’m not linking to them this time, they had more than their fair share) should thank me, because my post about them has generated traffic and links for them far more than they could actually create over the past two months ;-) This should not anger the OSCRAP – oops, excuse me, I mean the OCSAB guys, because as you all know: there is no such thing as bad publicity.

Let me make this clear: I’m not getting into some flame-war over this. In spite of all hurdles, SaudiBlogs.org has been around for a long time, and its blogroll is the most comprehensive list of Saudi blogs out there. It is true that the website in total is not yet launched (due to some many technical problems), but the blogroll is regularly updated. I still receive new requests to join every other week or so, and I keep adding new blogs to the list as soon as I can. Anyways, in case you have not noticed, my post was followed by some remarkable additions by the likes of Farah, Aya, the Sandmonkey, and Roba. Have a nice day, everybody.

Attention, everyone: The sheikhs of the so-called Al Sahwa Al Mubaraka (I can’t believe I just said that) are coming to campus. Last week, there was a lecture by Mohammed Al Dwaiesh, one of the guys who ruined the discussion panels at the recent book fair. This week, there is a double feature: Mohammed Al Areefi, and Salman Al Awdah, who has a weekly show on MBC and now described as one of the moderate scholars. These lectures are organized by the students committees at College of Sciences, and I have no problem with that, except for the part that our college is flooded with many, many posters for the event in a disturbing manner. I’ve been wondering though: why such events are exclusive for Islamists? Why we never see any lecture by a liberal or by a Shiites scholar, you know, just for a change? Oh, have I said that out loud? Never mind :-|

In a recent interview, Sheikh Ayedh Al Garni supported the calls for an open dialogue between Sunni, Shiaa and Sufi Muslims in Saudi Arabia. “We should meet and refer our differences to the Quran and the Sunna,” he said. I’m all for dialogue, but I don’t really see the point of this one. Instead of looking for our differences – as of these differences are some kind of a problem, how about respecting each other and support freedom for everybody to practices their beliefs?

Just like me, Didi has her own list of unread books.