Another facebook episode

It’s some hours before lunch, she has just woken up. The kettle is speeding up the electricity meter and the cigarette is glowing. She adds some of her “First Price”* coffee in the mug and let the boiling water force the powder to change its mood. (I don’t have anything against First Price products; on the contrary, they have a good variety there).

“Gosh, I am stressed, I haven’t been on facebook for hours now and I am definitely missing a lot”.

Her careless soul and big bum give the chair a hard time and she thanks Bill Gates for making her life easier. Gates is cool, but he is not as popular as Zuckerberg. Mark is the man. Facebook is the new heaven.

Her best friend has made a strong statement on her wall, so our friend pushes the like button before she even reads and then she adds:

“I am proud of myself, getting on well with my diet”

“Congrats (like)”

“I ate a whole pizza with whole wheat bun, rich toppings and a glass of DIET coke”

“Good on ya, I should start mine soon” our friend replies and keep in mind that all is happening on the public wall.

“You’ll manage, I think. What are your plans for the weekend?”

“Big ones, getting drunk”

“Like”

It might sound shallow to read such a story, but it is an example of what many who are doing nothing other than infecting the way we now communicate. It is unfair to generalize; however, the majority thinks that mainstream is the solution.

There are ways in posting comments and updating the status on facebook. It is cooler if we achieve that by using iPhones and the fruit of that is proudly shown”sent via facebook for iPhone”. The other fact is having more that 500 friends and we communicate with only few of them. We meet someone on the net, in a pub, on the bus or in bed and we become facebook buddies.

Facebook has turned the communication situation upside down. We can’t ignore the fact that it is a platform where we express many of our frustrations, support, love and hate, but some are turning it to a measurement for our faith like “press like if you like Jesus” or ”join the group if you are an atheist” etc. If you are not a member of this giant network then you are doomed.

Nevertheless, doesn’t the “like” button govern no matter how bad things are? It reminds us of the “red green coalition “that’s been ruling Norway for some years despite the majority's loathing…

I have had that love/hate relationship to facebook. I admire it and I hate it. To commit a social suicide by deactivating the account could be a solution, but I will always remember my really true friends whom I cherish deeply.

*First price: a low range with a variety of affordable alternative.

Keep the promise

The stoning

It is interesting how the Ultimate power works when it needs to deliver a message. Yesterday, when checking Amnesty's web page, I decided to be a member. It is not only about paying the annual fee, but it is about acting. It is about shouting for the sake of human rights until the voices wither. It is about fighting for justice even if it will shed blood.

It is interesting how yesterday I was reading about the stoning of Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani whose case has shaken the world showing the primitiveness of the Mullah regime. A rotten system overdosed with religious testosterone.

Today, I watched "The stoning of Suraya M", a movie, based on a real story, talks about the evil cooperation of male savages accusing of adultery an innocent mother of four. I nearly decided not to continue watching, blame it on nerves, but I did and a heavy load of silence paralyzed my ability to forget.

I do not know how to act, maybe a prayer will be heard or another will give me creative ideas. I will do what it takes to share my voice with those heroes shouting from above the tower of justice .

For those who haven't watched the movie yet, please do and tell me what you feel.

When she showers her voice on my soul, I fly.

When she tells me the world is wonderful, I wonder.

The strings of her instrument tickle my skin. She’s asking if I remember her when we walked in those fields. I can still feel the west wind touches my cheeks.

Sing to me, I want my troubles to melt away like lemon drops. Keep me imprisoned behind your words, your harmony, in your memory.

Songbird, chant for me and if I fall catch me. Let me shake your hand and say time might heal my broken pride.

Here I am, I see no true colors, but I’m eager to shout, swing and take off my stained cloth. I don’t know where the time goes, when we are leaving- Perhaps our seeds will bloom and the scene will be great, but you will always inspire me.

Cassidy, thanks for inspiring me, Eva, sing high

Berlin, the city that never sleeps

Berlin, the city that masters perfection, I fell in love with it.

I never expected to experience the beauty of every single spot that I looked at. I might exaggerate, but I really saw beauty.

Our hotel was located in the nice area Friedrichstraße. We arrived there earlier than expected due to the punctuality of Norwegian air (sarcastically the trip was estimated to be one and a half hours, but we were at the airport half an hour earlier).

Hotel Melia is a 4 stars hotel which we got for the price of 3 star hotels since we booked before Easter. It is highly recommended :-)

I have to admit that travelling with my best German friend Per made things awesome. We travelled to Barcelona last year and I didn’t have to worry about any maps to follow due to my lack of sense of directions. In Berlin things were the same, a German perfectionist leading a messy Lebanese. He was well prepared with plan to achieve, i.e. to show me around.

Every single place or monument we visited left the impression. The TV tower, the cathedral, the parliament (Reichstag), Sony center, Madame Tussauds and many more, made our cameras work hard. Perhaps one of the touchiest places was the Jewish museum and the Holocaust monument that made me think of the cruelty that attacked the peaceful humanity and still acting wild in our days.

Night life was fabulous, we enjoyed every single evening, we met folks from Finland and Spain. Turkka, the Finnish dude, suggested that we head to the biggest discotheque in Europe, there we waited and waited in what I called a UN cue. Hundreds of people from different nationalities have heard about that famous place that opens at 6pm and closes around noon day after…I have to say that we gave up in the end, took a taxi disappeared.

There is much to talk about, but I highly recommend Berlin and I will definitely go back again