Sa’ad Al-Sawayyan writes a great column about… his grandmother! “Let me introduce you to my grandmother “Mezna,” may her soul rest in peace.” She did not know how to read or write, but maybe that was for her own good, because our educational system has become brainwash that stuffs the head with useless crap.

He wishes that his grandmother were alive to attend the meeting of Karen Hughes with the students of Dar Al-Hikma College for Girls. “I am sure that my illiterate grandmother would be wiser, more truthful, more transparent, and more polite while discussing with Hughes than those educated girls of Dar Al-Hikma,” he said.

He thinks that maybe it was OK for a student to stand up and tell Hughes that she does not need to drive a car because she has a driver, but asks what about those who don’t have enough money to have a driver? What about those who want to practice their personal freedom?

Autism is one of the most complicated mental disabilities, and it costs a lot of money to take care of autism patients. The Saudi Autism Society, who provide care for about 70 autism patients in their first center in Riyadh, are in need for money to help them build a network of services centers around the Kingdom. If you have difficulty reaching them, just send an email to me, and I will try to help you with that.

Jason Kottke writes about a feature that he would like on his mobile phone: the ability to “ping” someone with two or less keypresses. He calls this “sweethearting“, a short for “sweetheart ping.” As he said, it can be great to let people know that you think about them, which is, I think, very nice.

I like shopping, especially at malls. This is not great for a young single male living in Riyadh, where shopping malls are restricted to families and single females. However, I discovered how I could manage to have a good time doing my shopping, without going to malls.

Apparently, nobody notices the fact that Olaya Street is loaded with dozens of brands from all over the world, with only few hundred meters that separate them. Imagine Olaya Street as a very big open shopping mall, or some kind of a modern bazaar.

As weather is getting calmer these days, you can take a walk along the street, starting at Sports City that is located near the intersection of Olaya St. and Orouba St. Then, you can walk until you reach Faisaliah Mall. If you think this is a very long walk, you can stop at Ya Mal Al-Sham Restaurant, which is in the middle between Zara and Jarir Bookstore.

Taking this short walk last night, I spent around SR 600 (US$ 160) at the likes of Next, Adidas, Attitude, and Jarir. I did not even enter Zara, because I was quite sure that I would not leave without buying a T-shirt or two, and I already had spent enough that night.

Khaled Batarafi writes about building bridges with Americans. I think that we, Saudis, need to get out of our shells and start building bridges, not only with Americans, but with the whole world.

Iyad Madani, the minister of culture and information, has appointed Ali Hasoun to be the editor-in-chief of Al-Bilad newspaper. Ali Hasoun is the first Shiite to be appointed in such position. Al-Bilad, founded in April 4, 1932, is the oldest newspaper in Saudi Arabia.

Those of you who enjoy reading Arabic may would like to take a look at my Arabic blog. I’ve been posting there more than usual, and these writings would help you to know me better.