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Posted: January 13th, 2019, 10:17pm UTC by Roba
when you’re at work staring at excel sheets you’ve been looking at for so long, and a song randomly pops up on up ‘next on’ youtube and the song ...
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Posted: May 21st, 2018, 6:30am UTC by Roba
When I travel, the only thing I research is what to eat and where :)
I mean, what better way does a person have to know a ...
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Posted: March 28th, 2018, 5:21pm UTC by Roba
I’ve been trying really hard to raise my protein intake to 100g per day (so far, I’m finding it impossible), so I’ve been doing tons of googling about ...
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You know those moments when you’re just going on with your day and then a memory — no, a memory of a feeling — hits you completely out of ...
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I’ve always really enjoyed stoic wisdom. Here’s a nice snippet from a post on happiness on LifeHacker:
I like to think of life as a ...
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Posted: November 2nd, 2017, 7:14pm UTC by Roba
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget just how new borders and nationhoods are. It’s even easier to forget that globalization in our part of the world (the “Old World”) has ...
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What is good writing?
Let’s start with the obvious. Good writing has solid character development. It explores important or interesting ideas, and progressively builds an exciting story. ...
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Posted: August 30th, 2017, 5:26pm UTC by Roba
I know, it’s quite random to come back after a long hiatus with a recipe. Or maybe it isn’t that random.
The recipe’s keyword is: Sumac.
...
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Posted: July 11th, 2017, 6:24pm UTC by Roba
Snippets from New York Mag:
It is, I promise, worse than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level ...
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Posted: March 19th, 2017, 5:33pm UTC by Roba
Here’s a really cool map from 1956. For more information, head over to Tobzeh.
How small the city was.
...
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First: I love science fiction. I love it much more deeply than most people you’ve met. I love it enough to have systematically read every single book published that ...
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To be honest, I never did.
But this is really cool, anyways.
...
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Posted: February 8th, 2017, 9:08pm UTC by Roba
One of my favorite dishes in the world is hindbeh. Aside from the wonderful flavor, I also love its simplicity: chopped leaves, lightly cooked with onions and lemon sauce, ...
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Posted: February 6th, 2017, 6:06pm UTC by Roba
Update: My brain totally punked me. Seems the connection between Arabic “Nakas (نَكَّسَ : فعل)” and English “Nix” is nonexistent. Pretty cool that the word means the same thing ...
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Posted: January 24th, 2017, 12:39am UTC by Roba
Let’s take a small intermission from this hiatus to all meditate together on how kale (in all its foreign, hyped-up, “superfood” non-glory) is the same food as delicious, hard-to-find, ...
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Posted: November 7th, 2016, 4:32pm UTC by Roba
Jordan has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Yet our government consistently keeps trying to KILL job creation.
If you use Careem, you’ll ...
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Posted: November 7th, 2016, 4:32pm UTC by Roba
Jordan has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Yet our government consistently keeps trying to KILL job creation.
If you use Careem, you’ll ...
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Posted: November 6th, 2016, 9:10am UTC by Roba
I have always doodled and drew and written things out to understand, to remember, to make sense of information (and that’s the reason of my infographic obsession).
...
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Posted: October 13th, 2016, 6:10pm UTC by Roba
Take a minute to look at the details of the comic book panel above.
The water spills on the tiled floor.
The carelessly-uncovered bathroom drain ...
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Posted: October 3rd, 2016, 11:14pm UTC by Roba
Take a look at this beautiful post celebrating Amman’s handlettered store fronts before the curse of Photoshop on Hussein Alazaat’s blog.
...
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Posted: August 24th, 2016, 8:06pm UTC by Roba
Posted by Red Bull Jordan
We’re back for another round of Red Bull SoundClash in Jordan.
Last time this event took place was back in ...
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Posted: August 7th, 2016, 10:29pm UTC by Roba
So cool.
...
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Posted: July 14th, 2016, 5:48pm UTC by Roba
At the ripe old age of 30, I had my first turkey sandwich.
It was late at night. I was starving. There was a ready-made turkey ...
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Posted: July 3rd, 2016, 4:33pm UTC by Roba
Nothingness. The cradle of civilization. The equator. Europe. Modernity.
Pretty crazy.
...
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Posted: June 14th, 2016, 3:10pm UTC by Roba
File under useful information. I’ve had my Mitsubishi since 2004 and it is an absolute dream.
...
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Posted: June 12th, 2016, 3:10pm UTC by Roba
Just a vent: I’m unreasonably worried about Gawker Media. Gizmodo, Lifehacker, io9, and Jezebel are among my favorite things in the world, and I can’t imagine a world where ...
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Posted: May 19th, 2016, 4:52pm UTC by Roba
Adults who baby talk need to be institutionalized.
...
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Posted: May 5th, 2016, 6:08pm UTC by Roba
All our lives we’ve been told to drink milk. Milk is good for your bones. Milk has a lot of healthy nutrients. Got milk?
I have bad ...
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Posted: April 27th, 2016, 6:44pm UTC by Roba
My dear idiot countrymen and women,
Thank you for jading me. Numbing me. Locking me into a bubble. Thank you for making me not care anymore, about ...
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Posted: April 27th, 2016, 6:31pm UTC by Roba
I don’t think I’ve done this before, but kudos must be given when kudos are deserved: Thank you Al-Markazia (Toyota Jordan) for your efforts in spreading comedy in Jordan, ...
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Posted: April 21st, 2016, 4:02pm UTC by Roba
The Atlantic collects beautiful photos from 1986. This was the world when I was one.
Better? Worse? At least it felt hopeful.
...
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Posted: April 20th, 2016, 4:19pm UTC by Roba
This is the best thing I’ve seen online in ages.
...
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Posted: April 19th, 2016, 11:12pm UTC by Roba
Here’s a genius idea on what we can do with the horrendous towers shamefully lining Amman’s skyline with their constant reminder of corruption, retardation, and poor planning.
...
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Posted: April 18th, 2016, 4:36pm UTC by Roba
Okay, so turkey.
I have been exercising regularly for almost three months. I’ve never been much of an exercise person, so it’s actually a big deal for ...
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Posted: April 16th, 2016, 4:10pm UTC by Roba
I urge you to take 15 minutes to read this piece about a Pakistani classically-trained signer called Farida Khanum, ملکہ غزل (Queen of Ghazal).
Khanum is ...
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Posted: April 14th, 2016, 4:10pm UTC by Roba
A haunting post by a peace activist from the border area of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I know the Americans think me an opponent of their ...
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Posted: April 13th, 2016, 4:00pm UTC by Roba
How I Feel About the World These Days...
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Posted: April 13th, 2016, 3:56pm UTC by Roba
Watching Rami start Toffimelt during the past 3 years has been an eye-opening experience, especially in regards to how difficult the government makes it to start a business. ...
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Posted: April 12th, 2016, 8:37pm UTC by Roba
Little pockets of wise insightfullness are not usually found in publications like The Guardian. Until they are, that is.
Here’s a ...
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Posted: April 11th, 2016, 8:27pm UTC by Roba
Just found out that Lama Qubbaj, who won gold at the World Jiu Jitsu Championships in November, is now fourth in world rankings. The January rankings by ...
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Posted: April 7th, 2016, 5:00pm UTC by Roba
I’ve always been humbled by the wonderful attitude and dynamics of Filipino communities outside the Philippines. They have an inherent ability to connect, grow, and thrive, even in the ...
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Posted: April 5th, 2016, 6:11pm UTC by Roba
The Roman road in Um Qaiss, the ancient city of Gadara
Living in Jordan means we get to walk on a lot of ancient Roman roads. Some ...
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Posted: March 29th, 2016, 5:17pm UTC by Roba
This is hilarious.
...
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Posted: March 28th, 2016, 11:12pm UTC by Roba
Dude, really, everyone needs to chill out. I won’t go as far as amazing, but the movie was actually good.
A note, first: I have never been ...
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Posted: March 24th, 2016, 7:51pm UTC by Roba
The World Really Does Feel Like This...
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Posted: March 23rd, 2016, 10:45pm UTC by Roba
I know, that question made me cringe, too.
But think about it. I’m not a sociologist, obviously, but in this country, it’s hard to miss the overlap ...
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Posted: March 21st, 2016, 7:47pm UTC by Roba
It’s hard to forgot that the brave men who protect our borders from the horrors of the countries around us have equally-brave mothers waiting for them each night. This ...
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Posted: March 21st, 2016, 6:24pm UTC by Roba
We usually think of our mothers in the context of how wonderful they are to us. They made us who we are. We could have never been ourselves without ...
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Posted: March 16th, 2016, 7:38pm UTC by Roba
One of the questions I always ask myself.
Sometimes, I want to escape and live somewhere really remote, away from people, just to escape their noise.
...
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Posted: March 14th, 2016, 11:25pm UTC by Roba
Sometimes I stop and wonder, what is it that made me more private, more reserved, and more skeptical over the years? Is it the wisdom of age, or the ...
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Posted: March 8th, 2016, 11:04pm UTC by Roba
We learn to use Arabic bread as a utensil from the day we’re born. I never thought about how freakin’ weird that is for non-Arabs until a short while ...
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Posted: March 7th, 2016, 11:19pm UTC by Roba
Finally! This is amazing work by Syntax.
...
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Thank you, Theeb, for reminding us that opportunities could be created. You have inspired hope in a jaded generation.
...
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Looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, ...
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Oh, speak again, bright angel…
-WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Romeo and Juliet
Enjoy this excerpt from a book selected by Carl Sagan in his book ...
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… should be locked up together, alone, away from the rest of civilization.
It is not cute. Not a bit. It is really, really annoying.
...
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The problem with crappy design is that you CAN’T AFFORD TO HAVE CRAPPY DESIGN ANYMORE.
Uber’s Head Of Design Steps Down:
[flip.it]
...
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They tell you that smoking is really addictive: once you start, you can’t stop.
It’s true, but it’s not the whole story. It doesn’t cover just how ...
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I wish to propose for the reader’s favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it ...
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I wish to propose for the reader’s favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it ...
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I wish to propose for the reader’s favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it ...
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A very beautiful and mind-numbingly wondrous explanation of why the sky is dark at night:
...
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Posted: February 9th, 2016, 5:28pm UTC by Roba
Thankfully, winter’s almost over, but knowing how to quickly defrost your windshield is always a useful trick. I tried it and it actually works.
In a nutshell:...
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Posted: February 8th, 2016, 6:33am UTC by Roba
Dear world… For heaven’s sake, I’m really too young to go through the SECOND financial crisis of my career life. Wait another decade, at least!
From the ...
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Posted: February 8th, 2016, 5:39pm UTC by Roba
A little interesting article for those who care about stuff like the Fermi Paradox:
There is no logical contradiction between the statement “E.T. might exist ...
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Posted: February 7th, 2016, 6:00pm UTC by Roba
A long but brilliant article on why the mainstream approach to weight loss is bullshit.
Here’s what happens when you interfere with your hypothalamus – ...
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Posted: February 5th, 2016, 4:41pm UTC by Roba
It’s always useful to know what happens beneath all that skin when you’re stretching, and to know which stretches target the tightest spots in your body. [More ...
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Posted: February 3rd, 2016, 5:00pm UTC by Roba
Which side is it spinning?
Via Kottke
...
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Posted: February 2nd, 2016, 6:56pm UTC by Roba
No, seriously. Look! AndFarAway has a new design!
This is a huge deal because the last time AndFarAway got a facelift was in 2006. That’s TEN WHOLE ...
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Posted: January 27th, 2016, 11:08pm UTC by Roba
Update: So it turns out that the news about sounding the alarms today isn’t true, and Arabia Weather has retracted. Kudos to the Jordanian government for an amazing job ...
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Posted: January 27th, 2016, 6:16pm UTC by Roba
From WaitButWhy, here’s a genius map of “Horizontal History”. It lays down history a little different than we’re used to. I’ve always been fascinated by how disconnected past ...
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Posted: January 26th, 2016, 5:18pm UTC by Roba
I’ve become much better at winter over the years, probably thanks to the fact that I don’t have to brave Jordan University’s lack of indoor heating and long freezing ...
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Posted: January 11th, 2016, 5:59pm UTC by Roba
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six)
Commencing countdown, ...
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Posted: January 10th, 2016, 8:04pm UTC by Roba
It’s not 1966 anymore and typewriters are a thing of the past, so why, oh, why, do I see more and more people adding an ugly space before their ...
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I do love making blanket statements about restaurants that do one thing really, really well (for example: Brisket makes the best burgers in Amman). Rest assured that I ...
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The video was shot in parts of Jobar, once a highly populated neighborhood in outskirts of Syria’s Capital, Damascus.
No related posts.
...
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I complain about noise a lot. During my last bout of complaining, a reader actually recommended something that turned out to be really useful: an app ...
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Jordanian kids about to start college have no memories of a world that was ever safe.
Let that sink in for a second.
They grew ...
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Posted: December 6th, 2015, 5:00pm UTC by Roba
What happens when you put snakes and boards successively closer together in a box? This video.
It is really amazing – I feel like I’m watching a ...
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Posted: December 3rd, 2015, 6:44pm UTC by Roba
I can’t believe I missed three whole months of photo posts. I thought I missed only one.
In my defense, I haven’t really been taking many pictures, ...
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Posted: December 2nd, 2015, 5:00pm UTC by Roba
Previously:
Being Allergic to Chicken
Discovering that my Chicken Allergy is Gone
This Was the First Bite of Chicken in My Life
...
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Posted: December 1st, 2015, 5:32pm UTC by Roba
I’ve come to deeply respect Microsoft in the past decade, not only for their world-changing technology, but also for what they stand for, and the culture of change and ...
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Really, double dipping is such an awful habit. Here’s why it’s bad for your health.
Anywhere from hundreds to thousands of different bacterial types and ...
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Previously:
Being Allergic to Chicken
Discovering that my Chicken Allergy is Gone
This Was the First Bite of Chicken in My Life
...
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Previously:
Being Allergic to Chicken
Discovering that my Chicken Allergy is Gone
—
If you’ve never had chicken before in ...
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I’m thirty. I’ve never had chicken in my life, because I’ve been allergic since before I can even remember.
But allergies — especially those developed when really ...
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Posted: October 25th, 2015, 11:28pm UTC by Roba
Yesterday we watched “Hamlet”, a performance at the Odeon amphitheater by English troupe London Globe. The performance brought to my mind one of the first paintings I ever loved, ...
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Posted: October 20th, 2015, 6:37pm UTC by Roba
This is crazy. And I find soft lenses annoying.
No related posts.
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Posted: October 14th, 2015, 7:20pm UTC by Roba
The title is the title I found of a draft I wrote in 2009 but that I never published: “To the people taking over the First Circle”. Funny now, ...
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Posted: October 13th, 2015, 5:58pm UTC by Roba
It was always one of my favorite things in the world. A book covering my face while lounging under the hot, hot sun. My nose buried in pages that ...
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Posted: October 12th, 2015, 5:39pm UTC by Roba
To quote Jana Zeineddine, this video goes out to those who love what they do, and do what they love.
What’s YOUR story?
No ...
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Posted: October 7th, 2015, 11:25pm UTC by Roba
No related posts.
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Posted: October 1st, 2015, 4:02pm UTC by Roba
This is a really awesome event happening tonight in Jabal Al Weibdeh, 6:00PM till midnight.
From the event page: “For years now, Jabal ...
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No related posts.
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By Tarab 3al 7atab
No related posts.
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If you want to send gifts to anyone in Jordan without having to look for a damn flowershop, my friend Mahmoud has just started out a website that lets ...
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In the past twelve years, I’ve blogged often about amazing artists making amazing music in the Arab world. There’s something really inspiring to me about music.
...
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Rain-Bros by Daniel Savage is a fun visualization of the different wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum, from the loping walk of red to blue’s energetic bounce.
...
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The situation in Syria is still very surreal. Like a bad dream stretching on and on and on.
Photos from my last trip to Syria in 2005. ...
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It sucks to go back to routine after a long and awesome vacation.
August was bleh.
...
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