I Will Never Understand This

Darn you, Gatsby!

This has to be one of the dullest things I've ever read. I don't know why, I just can't get myself to read it. I've been 5 chapters into the book and I'm bored stiff.

I'm wondering if anyone here has the same problem ? Or maybe its just me!

I don't even have the time to read this anyways. For holidays, I sure am busy :(

Although, there's a movie coming out in the end of 2012, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, and it includes Amitabh Bachan! (It should be epic! Mark your calendars).

My National Day Tribute

You want? :)

On the occassion of the Bahraini National Day...I thought I should redebut on this blog so.... I made this sandwich!

Toast...with ketchup! (I was that  hungry!)

Alright, it looks a bit cruddy but that's because I was really hungry at the time. Hunger does that to you!

And yeah, I know there's a point missing , so don't flame me about it.

But I felt patriotic at the time, so...Happy Birthday Bahrain!

Tip: If you want to make one of these yourself, do NOT use Ketchup (it tastes too viniger-ish and salty for the usual taste bud)

Jam is an excellent substitute.

Happy National Day to my fellow Bahrainis (and to non-Bahrainis in Bahrain, enjoy the holidays!)

Books again and my journeys

Hey, its me again.

Yeah, I know. I haven't posted in a while, completely my fault. Been busy much in the past few weeks. Sorta ironic for summer, don't you think so?

So, now that I've finished reading those books I bought, I've bought some more! Yes, I know, "Dude! You read too much" will be your usual expression... yeah but I love history :)

I bought a book on the American Revolutionary War, since I never really understood the thing aside from the fact that the colonists won and the British lost. Imagine the irony these days :)


Perhaps its one of those mysteries of life, like what is the purpose of an eyebrow ?
Actually.. that IS a good question...

I also bought another book (what? They had a booksale!) about the History of the Arabs, and it is so huge that I'm frightened of reading it :(

But recently, I got into studying about my own country's heritage, culture and history. Yes, I made a visit to the Bahrain National Museum.

And I can say for a fact that it isn't what I imagined it to be. It was honestly a fun thing, creepy to say it but I felt like it was fun, learning about Dilmun, about Tylos , about Bahrain's ancient history and lifestyles.

The 1932 Buick car, located in Bahrain's National Museum.

Often a times, they seem brilliant compared to nowadays.
I even snapped a picture of a 1932 Buick car given to the late King of Bahrain.


And I have to say it, it was a much better experience than, say, 4 years ago (School field trip, don't ask :)

Or it could've been because of my lack of history at the time... I don't know.

Ah, why can't there be a History course here in Bahrain ? Or perhaps, should I setup my own ? :)

Oh the hassle boredom is.

The End of Harry Potter...

Yes, you've guessed it. I'm a harry potter geek. Its plain obvious (from the title) that I am a dedicated fan. I read the books and think they're brilliant.

Don't get me started about the difference between the books and the movies because I'll go ballistic! But, I guess the books are often the best choice , in my opinion. Then again, don't take my word for everything.

As we bid farewell to the lifestyle of Harry Potterism and the end of a whole decade (and my childhood's favourite franchise) of Potter. It was a good trip, a brilliant one. A sad one, at last. Perhaps I am becoming too emotionally attached to it, I may not know.
But today, as hundreds upon thousands, or possibly millions, descend onto cinemas to watch this last final epic movie, we bid farewell to the series that reinvented reading, that recreated the level of imagination around the world.

From Mumbai and Moscow to Miami and Santiago, Harry Potter has hit the world high and wide. And it is with a sigh of sadness that we now bid farewell to Harry Potter.

It was nice knowing you.

Mission Accomplished and Task awaiting

No... not that sort of Black Ops mission :)

I finally managed to buy some decent books today. And as usual... there goes my pocket money for the summer. :(
But, I hope its worth it. I got a history book (go figure!) about the Crusades called "A Very Short Introduction on The Crusades" by Christopher Tyerman. Apparently, its an oxymoron! The book is around 170 pages, that is LONG in a kid's Point of view! :(

And the other thing I got , yup you guessed it, I got me another Famous Five book :)
"Five Run Away Together" is the name of the book, I hope its as good and fun as the others. So far, Enid Blyton hasn't let me down :)

Its sorta odd that I'm posting this at 12 AM but still, I guess anything is possible during the Summer holidays. Today involved using an overpriced restaurant and watching Cars 2 (which I admit was good, but sadly I wasn't in the mood for it, heavy lunch! ;)

But I'm sure I'll be in the mood for something alright :)
This Thursday, will be the stage... where it all ends!

Yes, you found out. I'm a potterhead and I'm going bonanza over it. It is kinda sad that we bid farewell to the story but we could at least hope that the movie is really awesome (if not, we shall storm the Tower of London!! :)

And now... to find where I kept those books. O' bugger.

MythBusters, Football and I Need New Books

Another day, Another time where I can blog.

As a child, I was an avid viewer of the Discovery Channel. I didn't know why, it was always surprising and very informative whenever I keep watching it. I suppose I had a weird sense of entertainment then :)

With the knowledge I got from shows like MythBusters and How Its Made, I remember going around the household telling about all sorts of facts and stuff. I remember how irritated my brother was, he had only wanted a decent game of football (on the PS2 of course!). Ah, how I enjoyed the MythBusters. They were so enthusiastic about their job, and they made it look like its a heck-load of fun. And also, made Science look like its fun. And it actually is!! :)

Which reminds me of one important thing. Whenever a guy says "Lets play some football", you'd think he'd mean the actual game. But to my dismay, he was referring to playing it on the old PS3. O,O

I mean, I see this as a new trend, now people seem to quit the physical game and simply go play it virtually. What has happened to this beautiful game ? Well, aside from the recent FIFA scandal, it seems that people are becoming more couch-potato-ish than ever before. Some say blame fast food, others say they are just being lazy. God knows how this problem could be solved! :(

My first Famous Five Book. I need more!

Now, drifting from the above topic, I'm glad to say that I've finally finished reading my first ever Scholarly History Book!!! Yes, I managed to finish the 600 paged A History of the Modern Middle East , by the late William Cleveland. It was absolutely brilliant, I have to say. That comes from me, A teen that loves History :)
It has taught me so much on my Middle Eastern Heritage.

Which also leaves me pondering, I need new books. And since I'm in the mood for some fiction, perhaps I should finally get some Famous Five books ?

What? I absolutely liked those books during my younger years. They helped portray the image of young and energetic youths. If only Bahrain had the moors and hills, the rivers and fens of the British :(

Well, I'll try to get some new Famous Five books :)

 You can never outgrow the classics, like Mr. Bean and such :D

Thanks for reading, and goodbye for now.

Having Some Fun With Google

Admit it ! Come on, Google is a recognized symbol of the Internet. It is etched into our brains now, whenever we face doubts. We don't turn to books or libraries anymore. We simply " Google it " :)

Admittingly, I have to say it does make us somewhat lazy , now that we no longer go through the books manually but yet we expect the answers to be readily available and spoon feed ourselves with it.

But, don't get me wrong. Google is a brilliant piece of work. Not simply because of its role as a search engine but the fact that it has other roles to it, other services. A vintage example is the Google Translate tab. Fantastic tool whenever I feel like translating between languages (Although I'm waiting for Latin ! Come on, I wanna sounds like Ezio :).

A feature that I most definitely like about Google, is the fact that you can go search through the news archives. Yes I know, what sorta lad would waste his breath searching through old newspaper articles ?
Well, I'm a lad that likes his history :)

I go search about how the olden times were, especially in Bahrain. In fact, according to Google, Bahrain was only mentioned in Western Newspapers in 1935 (Something to do with a football derby, I think :P ).

Which makes me wonder... Was life in the olden days better ? Well, I'd know my mates wouldn't like a place where there's no PC or any PS3 within sight. They'd go ballistic!

This flower was pink , two days ago! But still, my photography

But I guess asking myself this is because I don't like Change. Of course, sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. I don't like it when good things disappear, such is the case when you lose a loved one. But change is inevitable, and the only thing that would never change in the universe, is Change (that and the coldness of space!).

But in the words of Obama , "Change we Can", so it looks like I need to change this summer. Hmm... I wonder if the library is open...

Ah well, enjoy this shot I took yesterday. Come on, this flower was pink two days ago!!!

Meh.. I'm out :D

Update: Another reason to love Google. They make pretty fun doodles. Like the Guitar one! (Click Here if you want to play it again!)

A New Word and How to Have Fun

Sulking... a word that not many people may recognize but would probably have used it on more than occasion in their lives.

While in Bahrain, we rarely use English words to describe ourselves (except for the occasional English word in a whole Arabic sentence!), we do have a word for it. To brush up your memory, here is what it means (as the all-knowing Websters Dictionary says)-

Be silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment

Fair to say we've all done that at one point in our lives, from moments when you get into trouble with your friends or parents, you'd probably retreat back towards the act of sulking. The silent treatment as it is sometimes termed. Quite effective but can also backfire too!


Honestly, I've no clue why I started this post with the above topic, maybe because I was that bored. But anyways, Summer is here once again. The birds are chirping and the trees are blooming. Bahrain technically doesn't have a Spring season (or so my Geography book said) because its too darn hot. But Summer is the best time for plants here to grow, Maximum sunlight and water.... Ok, forget about the water part :)

You'd think with Summer being here and all, that it would be fun. I do admit, it is fun but only if you know how to have fun. In whatever ways you like, sure go read that book if you think its fun. Yes, go swim through the lagoons of Amwaj if you think is fun. My point is, do what you like and think is fun. Heck, if you think swimming from Muharraq to Hawar is fun, go do it! (I want photographic evidence!!! XD )

If you want to go to the Museum for whatever reason, then go. Don't listen to critics who say its boring. To them , it is dull. To you, it may seem fun. Just have fun the way You want it. But, for God's sake, don't get into trouble in the process!

K THX BYE :)

And... I guess that sums up for today, I'll leave you guys with a funny internet picture. Just for Laughs :P


Oh come on! You know I love LOLCATS!! :D

Summer and the Incurable case of Boredom

Back when it was September, when I started school once again, carrying a bag that weighed like a dozen hamours and having a nervous look on my face. I started the old Academic year again. To cut the story short, I spent the whole year, moaning about Summer.Don't get me wrong, school is a unique place, for socializing and (obviously) for learning.

But now that summer has finally arrived in the desert island of Bahrain, I have to say, I'm bored!
True, we wait the whole year for summer vacations. We work our butts off for it, bracing through IGCSE, CBSE or whatever the heck you study for a decent few months where we could rewind ourselves.

But alas, the boredom has caught onto us, our once daily routine of waking up at 7 AM in the morning and returning at 2 PM is ruined. But with one problem solved, another emerges. Boredom! Boredom! Boredom!

My Photography skill at work: A beautiful flower.

You ask yourself now, What should I do ? Its summer, I have free time but I don't know what to do. That is the dilemma for the Average student. Sure, the obvious answer is traveling. I'm all for that, but what if you're on a budget ? Ah, then you can't.

Watching Phineas and Ferb on Disney Channel a while ago, about two brothers who try to do fun stuff every day in Summer, it sorta inspires me. Yes I know, you'd be like "OMG! U watch Disney! Nab! Kick!!!" along with some insult :) Sorry, I don't grow out of old habits :D

I recently tried to cure this boredom, I took up the art of Photography, though I simply take photos of flowers and plants, along with Birds and the occasional neighborhood cat. I also tried my skills at making YouTube videos, I'm no master or anything , but I suppose everything starts from scratch.

I also did the obvious that a teen my age would do... work out and build that body. Which simply means... I just do lots of power-walking and jogging... and Swimming! I love the swimming!

Well, I suppose I could always spend my whole day being an outcast and lock myself in my room and continuously play World of Warcraft and Call of Duty: Black Ops with no lights in a dark room.

No.. just no. That is soooo not my lifestyle... well, it is an option if you're stuck at home ! :D

And now, if you'd excuse me, I'll try to enjoy my summer. See ya later, guys and gals! :)

A Place of my Own and Some New Beginnings.

WOW! My own personal blog, all for myself (and my viewers too). While I'm not new to blogging (I'm the guy @ Rani's Daily Views), It is much fun to start afresh and best when its all personal.

I suppose introductions are in order, I'm Mohammed but my friends call me Rani. I'm a student , still stuck at school, but now enjoying the summer break. I'm a Bahraini, born and raised in Bahrain. I look forward to blogging here and I hope you guys and gals enjoy my posts :)

People regard birthdays as something special (well, most do). Today, I celebrated mine, I looked back to my childhood and I realized something; I spend too much time in the Library!! (Sorry, Couldn't resist putting a little joke :). No but, I've realized that now, I'm no longer 6 or 9 or 12 anymore, I've grown up. I'm a teenager now, and sure I love to have fun, I have to acknowledge the fact that I have to take up responsibilities.

To my Studies.
To my Family.
To myself.

Now it is quite hard to go through the transition of a game-a-holic guy who spends his whole day playing World of Warcraft or Call of Duty (Back in my day, we had Counter Strike!) to a semi-fun guy. I mean, you got new responsibilites now, people expect stuff from you. You're no longer in diapers! You're in baggy shorts now! (Assuming you're a male :P ).

Only now do I finally understand my Dad's advice when he told me:

Enjoy your childhood, have as much fun as you can.