Life after Death...

Life after Death…

This must be the biggest question mark that humanity have and will always do.
What happens to our soul after leaving the body? Does it stay near the body, faces the judgment day, travels in time, wonders between the livings, or simply evaporates to no return?

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:27) and this is where it all began and will all end.
After the Creation, God has given Adam and Eve the World. All existing was virgin and allowed for only two humans, except one tree in Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve got seduced by Satan, Adam got weak, and the original sin was transfered to mankind. It took one human being only, in few days, to destroy a specie, our specie, and make every human existing to face the Truth one day, be judged, and chooses his eternal path.
As every human after making a mistake, Adam and Eve both regretted, and asked forgiveness from God; but God was clear and firm about the only rule he made.
This was the first success the Devil has ever made on humans and started his eternal challenge with God.

After this first sin, humans opened a big door for the Devil to act and take over. This is when people started to kill, rape, steal, curse God and worship Satan. Some were aware about the results of their sins and about what they will face on judgment day and other were not; but they were and will still all be judged.

“Those who follow me shall live forever” praised the son of God.
For Christians, this is the answer to the big question mark. Whoever walks the right path and live by Jesus’ instructions shall be in Heaven. Different religions and sects have different understanding for the after life. The three holy religions share the same belief of Heaven and Hell, thought they have different understandings about the same.

As a Christian believer, I believe in Judgment day, the day where we will be facing God, exploring ourselves, seeing the deepest memories of our life flashing in our mind. This is the day when we die, only on Earth.
A preparation period has been completed with our death. We should simply learn about the good and bad.
In Christianity, the soul might go to Heaven if it was pure, to Hell if it was impure, or might be given a chance to explore itself, pray and ask forgiveness for all committed sins to go Heaven; this place is called Purgatory.
Few are the souls that are pure and go straight to Heaven; maybe only few saints did. Many go immediately to Hell as this is the road they chose. The biggest part might be stuck in the Purgatory, praying for forgiveness. This is where all kind of challenges might happen; this is where the Soul gets to know the true meaning of Life.
When Satan challenged God with Adam and Eve, it was just the beginning. His biggest challenge comes in the Purgatory, where souls are roaming in loneliness asking forgiveness, trying to reach Heaven; this is where he tries to strike and win more souls and get them away from the Creator. Some fall, some resist; strong and great are who succeed. The doors of Heaven shall open for them and they shall be greeted like heroes.

The strongest weapon Satan uses to attack and attract the living and dead souls, is Wisdom. This is the trick he used with Adam and Eve when he succeeded convincing them that the mushroom will give them all wisdom.
He tries it with the livings by giving power, money, lust and wisdom; but his offerings are all fake and temporary.
The soul faces the same challenges and temptations when asking forgiveness. Weak believers might not stand and will fall to the temptations. Satan will come to them offering immediate relief from praying by giving power, wisdom and lust. The only thing he will be offering them is eternal pain and suffering.
As for the heroes who made it to Heaven, they will have the Knowledge of Life. They will have answers to every question they have asked on Earth and in Heaven. They will be blessed to be next to the God and Angels, and even become angels in God’s army to fight Evil.

Life is beyond lust, money and power… Life is knowledge, a knowledge you can only get with God.

image "Of Heaven and Hell" by Jorge Luis Borges

excalibur!

Excalibur or Caliburn is the mythical sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called Caledfwlch. via wikipedia

images via google: 1. King Arthur holding Excalibur, 2. Lady of the lake holding Excalibur, 3. Merlin

guardian angel

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. (Luke 1:19)

image via yahoo

shrooms banned

It is official now that magic mushrooms will be banned (illegal) in Netherlands! This is what the Dutch Government decided last Wednesday.
It is good to know that this "fruit" won't be sold like candies anymore.

For those who don't know what shrooms are, here's a brief explanation:

Mushrooms with magical powers, they have been around forever, the first known experimentations date back 7000-9000 years in the Sahara Desert. With very light dosages it can be used as a party drug, but are often taken somewhere in a safe place. Magic mushrooms can take on a real magical trip where anything is possible, it can be a really intense, spiritual trip, or just very visual with many hallucinations. The mushroom is a product made by nature, and they have different effects on different people, because of course we are all unique.

Try everything... but not what nature gives...

image via yahoo images

bala ma nwali3a

Sound Barrier

This is something you hear everyday in Lebanon.
Sound Barrier on wiki

FashionTV Party in Bahrain

update: here's as well a video of the Making Of

FNB Plastic Surgery Loan

This is the ad of FNB Plastic Surgery Loan I posted about few days back. Picture was taken in Lebanon last week.

Road safety in Lebanon

Jeita - lower grotto guardian

I'm in Lebanon!

I've been in Lebanon since Monday. All I did so far is seeing my parents and friends, preparing a bit for my brother's wedding on Sunday and some shopping. Not out yet! Somehow I prefer being home.
But am just wondering... Why do Lebanese people speak French with dogs?!

Formula One Bahrain

I went to the Formula 1 race today. It was nice, occupancy seemed to be around 70% which is bad especially with Abu Dhabi GP starting in 2009. The crowd was also calm, a big difference without Schumacher.
We were sitting in the first turn after the Start point, it's a nice open location.
Ferrari with Massa and Raikkonen did an excellent job with first and third position. The new brit rookie did magnificent also by getting the second position in his 3rd F1 race ever. He also stood on the podium in his previous 2 races.

Results:
1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:33:27.515
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren +00:02.360
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:10.839
4. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:13.831
5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:14.426
6. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 00:45.529
7. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 01:21.371
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 01:21.701
9. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 01:29.411
10. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams-Toyota 01:29.916
11. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams-Toyota 1 lap
12. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1 lap
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap
14. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker-Ferrari 2 laps
15. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker-Ferrari 4 laps
16r. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri-Honda 6 laps
r. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull-Renault 16 laps
r. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull-Renault 21 laps
r. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 23 laps
r. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 31 laps
r. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 57 laps
r. Scott Speed (U.S.) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 57 laps
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)
Fastest Lap: Felipe Massa, 1:34.067, lap 42.
(Compiled by Infostrada Sports)

in the picture from left: me, bob, shadi

Einstein's Riddle

ARE YOU IN THE TOP 2% OF INTELLIGENT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD? SOLVE THE RIDDLE AND FIND OUT.

There are no tricks, just pure logic, so good luck and don't give up.

1. In a street there are five houses, painted five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of different nationality
3. These five homeowners each drink a different kind of beverage, smoke different brand of cigar and keep a different pet.

THE QUESTION: WHO OWNS THE FISH?

HINTS

1. The Brit lives in a red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The Green house is next to, and on the left of the White house.
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.

ALBERT EINSTEIN WROTE THIS RIDDLE EARLY DURING THE 19th CENTURY. HE SAID THAT 98% OF THE WORLD POPULATION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SOLVE IT.

Jesus has risen. Happy Easter

HSBC Ads

I was trying to search online for the HSBC Ad for the Gulf area: TRADITIONAL / TRENDY showing Henna and Tattoo.
Didn't find it online, will try to take a take a shot from a magazine. Found these 2 instead.

Jean Paul II - Saint

Pope John Paul II is on the way to be a Saint. This is the quickest time the Vatican declares a sainthood after 2 years from his death. Mother Theresa is the second case. She was declared Saint after 7 years from her death.
I was just reading on Yahoo how a nun is saying that she was cured from Parkinson after praying to St. John Paul II. read full story here

Sauza Conmemorativo

The best Tequila for Margaritas.

That guy who dances on the internet

This is the funniest coolest guy on the net! He's know as "That guy who dances on the internet". Here's a link to his website also.

Canon EOS 5D

This is such a beautiful camera. The price is $3799/- on Amazon

12.8 MP full frame CMOS sensor
3 fps 60 JPEG image burst
9-point AF with 6 Assist AF points
2.5" LCD
Picture Style image processing
DIGIC II
Records RAW/JPEG images
Digital Photo Professional software
Compact magnesium alloy body
Connectivity options

check Canon website for more information.

Blood Diamond

I have been wanting to watch this movie for 2 months now. I just came back from the cinema and it's an excellent movie.

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra theLeone,the two men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside.

High graphics and nice surround system. It shows the human struggling of a nation against the fight for power and money. A sad true fact that happens in Africa everyday till now.
I have never thought that tens of people might die for a stone that us, in this part of the world, pay 3 salaries to buy it. how valuable this stone is to take their lives and our money. However, no body will take this stone after his death. That was the message from the death of Leonardo in the end.

click here for website and trailer

I did it!

The sky diving experience started when I arrived to this place outside Cape Town after an hour drive. I was an hour late so I had to wait again for my turn and watched 3 groups doing the Tandem sky diving before I did. FYI Tandem is the jump with the professional instructor who will be hooked to you when jumping.
I was looking at the sky and waiting to see people falling from the plane, but didn't even see the plane on 10000 feet altitude. The only thing i was seeing are the parachutes opening at 4000 feet altitude. It looked fast and scary, especially when they're landing. I got the feeling that they were going to break their legs when landing but I felt more comfortable after seeing 6 landings.
It's my turn! I got on the plane, a bit worried to see the buildings getting smaller and smaller but I tried to enjoy the views from above as one American girl who jumped before I did has passed me the tip. When we reached 6000 feet, I asked John, the instructor, if it waas the time to jump; he said we were still half way! I was like fine, will enjoy it more. All was ok until we reached the 10000 feet, John told me that we'll open the door and it will be so windy. Julien, the cameraman I booked to record the experience opened the door. This is when i was seriously shocked and hesitated for a second. I thought what the hell am I doing up there?! But I was already on John's laps (this is how it goes in Tandem) and Julien was already hanging on the wing (this guy is crazy) and John pushed me out! Damn scary when you're turning 360 degrees in the air and seeing the plane getting away and away from you and you are flying or falling at a speed of 250 km/h and can't breath because of the air going so fast in your mouth and nose. It was around 30 seconds until john opened the parachute and gave me the handles to fly it myself. What a feeling to sit in the air and watch the views. I was so relaxed watching the Robben Island, the Table Mountain and Cape Town bays. 3 to 4 minutes, John took the handles and we landed. It was an amazing experience, not to be forgotten and certainly to be repeated! Whenever I go and see sky diving or paragliding from now on, I will do it!
It's expensive but worth every penny.

I am trying to upload the video on youtube but I have it in a DVD format. I converted it to quicktime but turned out to be 750MB for 7 minutes! I will try to convert it to WMV or something else and upload it.

Jumping from 11000 feet

This is what am going to do in South Africa. Sky Diving!
The jet will fly around 20 to 25 minutes till it reaches the 11000 feet (3400 meters), opens its doors and throws me out!
2200 meters free fall without parachutes in 35 seconds and then enjoy the 1200 meters remaining for 3 to 4 minutes flying with parachute.
I will get a DVD recording the whole experience and a certificate.

Most Expensive Cigar

Cohiba has released last year for its 40th anniversary the most expensive cigar box in the history. The price of 40 cigars container is 15000 Euro. Cohiba produced 4000 cigars only, all numbered.
read more

Burj Al Arab from Google Earth

The structure of Burj Al Arab makes it look so beautiful and clear from the sky, different than other towers.

Winner of World Press Photo 2006

This picture of US photographer Spencer Platt of Getty Images has been selected World Press Photo of the Year 2006.
The picture shows a group of young Lebanese driving through a South Beirut neighborhood devastated by Israeli bombings. The picture was taken on 15 August 2006, the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah when thousands of Lebanese started returning to their homes.
read more

Apocalypto

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within"
this is how Mel Gibson's Apocalypto starts.
Braveheart, The Patriot, We were soldiers, Passion of the Christ, and now Apocalypto. Mel Gibson has done it all. It is amazing how he takes you deep inside the story and touches your senses in each of these movies either in from or behind the camera.
Apocalypto is about the decline of the Mayan civilization and how it destroyed itself and mayans sacrificed each others for the sun.
The story runs about a Mayan whose village was destroyed and faces all challenges trying to save his pregnant wife and kid. A film with high graphics, lots of blood, full of tension, keeps you excited and waiting to the last scene. The not-to-be-missed film took probably more than 1000 persons in some scenes and was filmed in Mexico and using Malay language.

Johnnie drank & drove

a cool ad for Johnnie Walker against drinking and driving

Ivana Trump designs in Beirut

i read on rampurple blog that he saw a banner in Beirut that said "Ivana Trump Tower".
It seems that Damac Dubai will be building this residential tower that was designed by Ivana's interior design organization.

Children of Men

Children of Men is probably the only movie that doesn't show the future in a tech-advanced futuristic way as in The Fifth Element. It shows the world in year 2027, in a chaos where London is the only city still not yet destroyed by anarchy.
Women on Earth have lost fertility since 2 decades, and the youngest person on earth was killed at the age of 18. One woman is pregnant and represents the hope to humankind.
Many questions and ideas behind this movie. it doesn't even focus on what might be the reasons of infertility.
From Religion side, it asks if humankind can save itself without God and hope. One character in the movie even asks if God is punishing us.
From the Political side, it shows that war still exists and people still fight and kill each other till the day when they know there will be no human being in less than a century. it also shows discrimination, racism and hate.
After almost 20 years without hearing a baby's cry, it was heard among bombs and chaos. People were united for a sec to the hope in the only child on Earth and had faith to carry on again. But after that, the wars carried on.
Not saying much, if you haven't seen it yet, you can still make it. The movie was released on Christmas day.