(2) The Big Freeze

This was the COLDEST day I have ever seen in my life. I woke up at 7 am and I had lots of things to plan. I wanted to buy a bus/train subscription, look for a mosque to pray the Friday prayer and go to the Office of the Registrar because it was the last work day before I started my clerkship in Monday. The problem: MSNBC Weather's website said that it was -11C and felt like -22C. -22 Celsius!!! Our freezer back at home is not that good.

So, I took a leap of faith and went outside, and man, it was cold. You felt like your clothes had needles in them. I think that I have fried my anterior spinothalamic tracts from the huge influx of pain impulses. I walked with my back arched and my hands inside my gloves inside my coat pockets and my head tucked into my coat collar as deep as possible. It was like a 2-footed tortoise walking. When I was walking, I discovered the ultimate truth about Google Maps, which is a thing that I can confirm is true: not everything they say is true. It's not intentional, but some businesses close and this doesn't get updated on the map. So, I walked trying to look for one of 2 cashier/money wire transfer offices that also sold tickets for the bus. I couldn't find either from the get go. One was no where to be found, and the other had a different building number. But in the end, I was successful, thank God.

Next, I used the notes I wrote in my quest list, err, I mean my notebook and took the bus trying to reach the mosque. The bus was something to behold. There were 2 varieties of buses, a regular one and an extra long one. I, ultimately, tried both, but for my first time, I rode a regular one. This one had 2 doors. People could leave the bus from any door but you should only get on from the front door. There was no conductor. Next to the driver, there was a machine that had a slot for magnetized tickets (weekly or monthly tickets, like mine), a scanner for CharlieCards (prepaid cards that you can add money to) and a slot to add either $1 bills or 25 cents coins. And that's it. Everyone was polite and no one skipped this electronic conductor.

Now, here was the thing: the bus only stopped in bus stops. There was no "on your right, Yasta". The bus has GPS and you get both a written notification on screens in the bus (one in front and one in the back, along with 3 other screens on the exterior that show the number of the bus and its pathway) and a computerized voice. Should you want to get down on the next stop, you should press on large yellow tapes that were strategically located throughout the bus and this would be notified with a "stop requested" written and spoken through the speakers. Not only that, but the computerized voice was also responsible for some ads and some notifications, like "Report any suspicious behaviour or unattended bags to the driver." 1984-style.

I went down after a while and lost my way. Finally, I reached a small zawya after asking a nice old lady in the street. The person in charge there directed me to the large mosque in the area. He was from Panama and spoke very little Arabic. I followed his direction and went to the large mosque. It was really huge. Inside, it was like a regular building with a dedicated part that resembles the mosques we all know. I mean, the entrance had an office, a cafe, etc. There was a notice on the door regarding shoe policy inside. It stated that in certain places inside you must take off your shoes. Inside, there was a nice ablation section that was separate for both men and women. They had hot water! The first and only mosque I have seen that had this. And not only that, they had paper napkins to dry yourself afterward.

The praying area is not that large. I noticed upper floors, but I didn't see anyone praying in them. I arrived at 11.45 am and according to an electronic board they had (Courtesy of Kuwait) the Zuhr prayer was at noon. But they didn't start until 1 pm. I asked after the prayers and I was told that they start the Friday prayer at this time regardless of the season to make it constant. Smart thing, but I would have liked it to be at noon, so as to coincide with the lunch break here. The imam was from Egypt. I knew it from his accent in both Arabic and English. I was always curious about how non-Arab Muslims (80% of Muslims) give the Friday sermon. He used both Arabic and English with a great ability. I think he had an Azhar education. You can always tell! The sermon was great too, one of the best I have heard in a long time. Man, I need to change the mosque I pray in, I almost memorized what the imam had to say.

Afterward I started the great tour... I managed to get on a bus and asked the driver, Egyptian-style, if he passed by Brigham and Women's Hospital (from now on, I will refer to it as they do here, Brigham). And he said that he did. I went into uncharted territories. I wanted to take pictures, but the cold was unbearable. From my research on Google Maps, I knew that Harvard Medical School was a street or two behind. But, as you can expect, I was lost. I asked around until I managed to go to the building, only to discover that I got the wrong entrance and the correct one was a street behind. The view of the main building was incredible. And this is a fact that I have noticed in most buildings here. Building here have a character in them. They are not just made of expensive marble or glass, they are designed uniquely, and at the same time have a similar thing that links it with other buildings of the same institution or the neighbourhood. At the registrar's office, I got my confirmation letter in letterhead.

Afterwards, I wanted to do something. I wanted to visit the local RadioShack to change the phone I bought earlier. I used info from Google Maps. And this time, I totally lost my way. I mean, after some time, I had no more orientation with where I was. I stopped and asked someone in the street. While we were talking, he looked behind me and told me that someone was calling for me. The first thing that I thought of was "WHAT?". I mean, I don't know anyone here. It was a car that was honking its horn to me. And guess who that was. Well, there is only one guy who can be the driver. It was John! He was heading to buy some groceries from a shop called Trader Joe's which was like Sainsbury's when it was operational in Egypt. I mean, what was the possibility of that happening! Not only did I get a free ride (and I dare to say, a medevac! I was freezing), I actually went with to the shop and bought some groceries for myself. Inside the shop, it was like wonderland! Most of the stuff sold there I had no idea what it was!!! So, I asked for his help and told him what I wanted and we got it together.

During the long walk in the freezer, I had a Snickers bar in my pocket that actually froze. My camera was stone cold. The tears in my eye from the wind froze on my eyelashes! And in this arctic circle, there were some volunteers from Amnesty International standing in the cold asking people for donations to end violence against women. Later on, I met similar volunteers from other organizations. They are volunteers: they are not getting paid. The get credit for it though. And this kind of credit is needed for colleges and schools here. People are encouraged to volunteer for any kind of social work here.

I went home afterwards, after I had known what cold really meant...

(1) Discovering...

I woke up at 6 am, local time. There is a 7 hour time difference between Egypt and the East Coast of the USA. The first thing that surprised me when I woke up was that I have really slept well. Although it was only 6 hours, but I slept without waking up in the middle of the night many times (which is my norm). The second thing was the absolute silence. There was no noise of any kind. No car noise, kids, people talking, nothing... My street in Egypt is not super noisy, but it's not super quiet too!

After staying in bed for a bit, I decided to contact my family using Skype. Afterwards, I took a shower. I know! Too much detail. But the thing is that the shower tap was very strange. It was one thing without a separate tap for hot and cold water. So, I thought that since we were in winter and it was freezing, warm was the default. I was wrong and I was greeted with a wave of cold water that made me want to scream... The trick is that you need to increase the flow of water a bit for hot water to catch up. Smart, eh?

I was hungry. I ate some stuff I bought last night, but still, I was hungry. So, I decided to leave the house and go forge for food. It was cold. Too cold outside. It was my first real walk in the streets of the US of A. I was amazed by everything: from the cleanliness of the streets, the street lights, the pavements (sidewalks for the Yanks), the architecture, the shops, etc. Some people were walking and the seem not to be bothered by the cold at all. I found mothers walking with their little kids and everyone is happy and not covered in 1000 layers of clothes like I was!!!

I bought a coffee and some bakery and went back home after walking for like an hour or so in the cold. When I went home and wanted to go out again, it was snowing then. I saw snow the day before, but it was in the street and not falling from the sky! It was beautiful.

The rest of the day passed normally in unpacking and arranging my stuff in the room, talking with John (my landlord) and looking at the map of the city in Google Maps.

(0) Getting there

I have traveled only once outside of Egypt. When I was 8 years old, I did an Umra with my family in Saudi Arabia. That's it. So, the experience of traveling to a new place is not something that I have. Add to that the fact that I am cold intolerant. And (okay, this is embarrassing) that I have never lived alone before. Yup, I am a mama's boy. I once went on a trip for 5 days to Sharm but I don't think that this counts!

Anyway, the trip was boring. I traveled by EgyptAir and it took 12 hours to get to New York in a direct flight. I was worried about the new security measures. I mean, I am an Arab, Muslim, male and 23 years old. In Egypt, the guy at the check in disk of EgyptAir, started asking me about my birth date and place. After he was done, I asked why and he told me that there is someone with a similar name on "some list". WOW! I thought that I am doomed.


Thank God, nothing happened. When I touched down in the US, there was a really long line in front of the immigration office. We were given forms to fill on the plane and when I finally reached the officer (they even had us move to the stands dedicated to US citizens because it was really crowded in the visitor stands), he was super nice. He didn't even want to look at my confirmation letter from Harvard or anything like that. He gave me 6 months allowance and a smile. Thank God. And in the customs office, I gave them the form that I filled and I was given back a smile. Nothing else.

My first impression when I was in the queue for the immigration officers was one of total amazement. I saw people from lots and lots of nationalities all in the same place. Note: this sense of amazement faded away when I went into New York! Officers were organized and everyone was smiling.

On the plane, I failed to sleep more than hour divided throughout the entire trip. I couldn't read and I don't know why. I didn't use my laptop because I know that my battery life is embarrassingly short and that I may need it later. I watched G.I. Joe. This was a terrible movie. Sienna Miller is hot and all, but this movie was terrible. I met a nice lady and her daughter on the plane. We talked a little on the plane, and when we arrived at JFK airport we moved together till we got our bags. They were really friendly.

I met at the airport with a guy a colleague of my mother's knew when she (my mother's colleague) was teaching in the US. He is Jordanian and he was really nice. It was enough for me that I heard someone calling my name! We talked a bit together and then he showed me where the taxis where and I took one to the bus station, Port Authority Station, in Manhattan, where I will catch the Greyhound bus to Boston. I booked a ticket from Egypt and I chose the last trip for that day because I thought that I may be delayed in the airport. I wasn't delayed but by the time I arrived there, I had about 2.5 hours left. This was actually good because I lost my way there. It was like a maze in there and I had around dragging my two pieces of baggage behind me like, ehm, a donkey. The station is not dedicated to long distance travel, so there were no baggage trolleys. Speaking about trolleys, in JFK, a trolley costs $5. In Cairo International, it costs $0. God bless Egypt.

The taxi had a touch screen in the backseat that allowed  you to see a GPS map of your location and destination. You can check the weather and read the news too. The trip took about 45 minutes and it cost... $55. If taxi drivers in Egypt knew how much I paid, they will revolt! LE 250 for a taxi. That was a shock. But I kind of expected that. The fare is $45 from JFK to any first destination in Manhattan. Add $5 for a toll station and $5 as a tip (which I was told is a must) and you have 55. When the driver passed the toll station, he didn't pay anything, on the fare meter there was just $5 additional expenses. Wow. During the ride, all I thought of was the Ninja Turtles.

I didn't mention the first contact with subzero temperatures. I first knew what freezing was, was when I stepped out of the airport door. It hurt everywhere. Even my eyes hurt and were full of tears from the wind. It felt horrible, and I was dressed up in my heaviest clothes with a heavy coat. I kind of got used to it now, but not that much really.

I had one priority that I wanted to fulfill. I wanted to get a prepaid cell phone subscription. I did that at RadioShack. It's not that different from RadioShacks in Egypt. And I also wanted to eat. And this was my first contact with the serve yourself policy. I went into a small cafe near the place where I was going to board my bus. I asked for a cup of coffee. The guy at the counter told me to get it myself. I got it, paid, then asked about the sugar. It was on a table, for self-serving. I learned my lesson since then.

I didn't see anything in New York except what I saw from the taxi car windows. But I did go outside and walked for like 50 meters. I had no idea where I was or where Time Square was (which I wanted to see) and I didn't want to risk losing my bus, so NYC will have to wait.

When it was finally time to board, I met an American guy who was an African American and was totally like Coach from Left 4 Dead 2. I mean totally. There was also a Japanese girl who played the violin. She was great. I asked her to play Barber's Adagio for Strings and she did. She has talent.

Finally, the bus moved on. The bus was massive, and it had a bathroom, power sockets... and wireless internet!!! Yup, I talked to my parents using Skype from a moving bus. I did manage to sleep most of the trip. It was dark and there was nothing to see. The driver told us that our ETA was 11.30 pm and we did arrive at almost 11.30. I called my landlord 30 minutes before I arrived and he was so nice that he came to the station and drove me home. That was just awesome of him. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met (more on that in later posts). He had his dog with him. If you personally know me, then you know that me and dogs just don't mix, at all. His dog was in the car, it's a she and she is called Penny. It's a Pug (Google it). She was very tame and sat in the backseat. We reached the house, we went in, he showed me my room, and that was the end of the busiest day of my life.

(34) Days of America

Dear Readers,

I was accepted in a clinical clerkship that I applied for at Harvard University. More specifically, in the Orthopedics Department in Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. I thank God for this great opportunity and this chance to do something I always wanted to do and this is my last chance to do (more on this in later posts).

I know that I am terribly late in writing this. I have been in the US for almost 2 weeks (2 weeks tomorrow, God willing). But I have really busy and things have been really moving too fast that I didn't have the time to do anything. Actually, I still don't. And I am writing this just after I came from the hospital and I still have to eat something and then sleep really early because I have to be at the hospital at 6.15 am tomorrow, God willing. And to add to the fun, there is a snowstorm tomorrow, with warnings of up to 30 cm (Metric, people, metric. I refuse to use the inch) of snow fall...

I mean, if I am not going to blog about a unique experience like this, then what the hell am I going to blog about beside reviews that only 3 guys read?!

So, I am going to document my trip and what I have seen and done. And I am going to cheat. I am writing this on the 9th of February, but I am going to date it January 26th, which is the day just before I traveled. And I will do this till I am up to date.

Yours amorphously,
Amorphous Snake

Believe

Finish the Fight

20-09-2003

19-01-2010

Reply to District 9 review

It seems that my friend Leopard was unable to post his reply to my review in the comments section because it was longer than the default 4,096 characters. He sent it to me via email and I took his permission to share it here.

Here is the full comment of my friend:

Hey, I tried to leave a comment, but couldn't. My comment is too long for the blog. Please read it, it is important, I left a small comment on the blog.
So here is it:

 Unfortunately, I couldn't disagree more with this review, it seems to me that either you intentionally search for shortcomings in the movie, or, more likely, you just didn't get it.

 The movie starts with a documentary style, we all agreed we liked. What you failed to understand is that the documentary was not about the alien invasion, it was about Wikus van de Merwe. The invasion took place like 20 years ago "1982" and the documentary filmed today was about Wikus and how he turned bad. You get the feeling everybody knew already about the invasion, the movie was just refreshing our memories, there was no need, at least for me, to know more. If you are making a documentary today about say the Palestinian refugee camp youth, you will give a quick, not necessarily comprehensive, hint about the history of the occupation, and then get to the main topic of your film, and that's what they did in here, the movie is about Wikus, district 9, and not about the invasion and its circumstances. I don't know why you assumed that no research was done regarding the alien presence, their anatomy and civilization, many of the speakers in the documentary were alien researchers, engineers etc, so I assumed they did the research, yet again this was not of relevance to the actual story, this was "common sense" for the people living those events, at that time.
 You spent two, fairly long paragraphs, enumerating the questions the movie "failed" to answer, but you never tell us with these questions answered, how will it affect the overall story?

 Which takes me to the actual story you apparently failed to see, or wasn't interested in seeing.
You see the story is about a race of "aliens" that came to this land, which happens to be South Africa, those folks look different speak different and more importantly, needed the "human" help, so "humans" fed up with their actions and needs, feeling "superior" to the other race decided to put them in a "District 9" and nobody really cares about them, lets just dump them somewhere else and get on with out lives. The way we see these "aliens" is as savage, ignorant, unable to think or plan, incapable of experiencing emotions.
Now, read the previous paragraph again and change: Aliens into Black, Humans into White, and District 9 into District 6. You will get the true story this film is trying to parody.
This also explains why most of the folks working at MNU where white, and the only black one, was a trainee, they all treated badly and was eager to "serve".


 Regarding the Nigerian gang thing, from the movie you get two things: One, "MNU" supports the gang leaders as part of their evil balance of powers in the district. Two, gang leader "Obesandjo" is bad.
 Now, again, I will ask you to replace "MNU" with South African regimen, led by president "Mbeki", and replace "Obesandjo" with "Obasanjo" former president of Nigeria. You see recently, Nigerian elections, saw "Obasanjo" placing his hand-picked successor "Yar' Adua" into the Presidential palace. The elections were mired in controversy. The ballot papers for the election, were printed in South Africa, and though a lot of international concerns about the elections were sounded, Mbeki was the first to congratulate the new Nigerian president, get the point. Naturally the the Nigerian government was deeply offended by the film. And it was later banned in Nigeria.


This story is not about some alien invasion or independence day, this is about something else, this is a re-imagination of the District 6 forced removal of 60,000 people during the apartheid regimen, this is a cry for help for every refugee camp and  minority concentration camps all over the world today, they are humans too, they have children too, they can feel too, and they deserve to live as much as we do.

My only take on the movie however, is that the land belonged to the black people in real life, they weren't just invaders, and they had nowhere else to go.

This movie deserves more than 7/10, at least that's what I think.

N.B. I haven't replied to this yet. When I find time, I will reply here. Watch this space.

2010: The Year We...

Finish medical school!

Goodbye, 2009

2009 had its ups and downs with me. There were some good stuff, lots of bad stuff and lots and lots in the middle.

Happy new year, dear readers.

District X: Episode 0 (a.k.a. District 9)

The movie that came out of nowhere… Produced and sponsored by Peter Jackson. Made for cheap and heavily advertised, it went to make a huge profit. Not bad for a guy whose first movies were short films on Youtube.

 

While I did enjoy the movie, I didn’t understand what all the hype was about. Yes, it does have a story, and is story-driven, AND it’s not Transformers 2… But, the story has more plot holes than actual plot lines. And I didn’t care for the main character, at all.

 

The following review contains SPOILERS. I repeat, SPOILER ALERT. You have been WARNED!

 

The story about a space ship that appeared out of nowhere and stopped over Johannesburg seems very promising. The first few minutes with their documentary-style really attracted my attention. But I guess the movie was like a pretty girl who was pretty until she started speaking.

 

If the movie didn’t try to be big on the story, I wouldn’t have minded, but to try to be story-centric and then deliver a mediocre one is baaaaad in my book. The movie fails to answer a lot of the questions that it asks, giving you the impression that the story is incomplete. The biggest mistake they made was the 20-year time gap between the arrivals of the aliens and the events of the movie. 20 YEARS!!! That’s a lot of time… If the aliens were sick when they arrived and the humans helped them and reallocated them. Did we learn anything about them (except that they love cat food)? Nope. Nothing. Did the movie tell us how come they were prefectly adapted to the Earth’s atmosphere and gravity? Nope. Are we given any explanation on how come humans and aliens are able to understand each other without speaking the same language and without even being able to replicate the same sounds? Nope. I don’t even think that it is humanly possible to replicate these clicks. Do we know anything about their government system, their society, religion(s), anatomy and physiology? Nope. Did anyone try to board the ship and dismantle it, know its energy source, flight logs, operating mode, loaded weapons? Why wasn’t the ship destroyed after the evacuation of the aliens? So many questions.

 

But the most important question that was left unanswered is why they came to earth? Refugees? Then why pack such kick-ass weapons? Which brings me to the point of how come were these weapons brought to earth from the ship if the evacuations were done by humans? And if you had such awesome weapons that can only be used by your kind, why beg for food when you can take it? Why stand so much humiliation for 20 YEARS without doing something about it? Wasn’t any of these aliens interrogated to find their purpose? Why wasn’t the city evacuated for fear of something so massive as the mothership to fall down? And speaking about falling down, why did the little shuttle fall down? And why was it needed for the operation of the ship? And how come no one found it, again for 20 YEARS?!!! Why, why and a million other whys?

 

And here is another why: why do I care? Because the movie could have been GREAT. It could have been a whole new sci-fi universe that could rival Star Wars, Trek and Battlestar Galactica. But no. It was just a wasted opportunity. I don’t care that the movie was made for cheap. Look at The Fountain. It was made for real cheap! And it delivered a great, minimalistic story that respected its budget while answering most of its questions.

 

This brings us to the point of looks. The movie is a looker and I think after watching this movie two persons committed suicide right away: whoever was responsible for the Halo movie in both Microsoft and Universal. A Halo movie with these filming techniques and visuals would have been massive… It could have been the biggest blockbuster for many years, looking at home much the game is popular. The special effects in District 9 are life-like, gritty and believable. Too bad that the story wasn’t given the same attention to details. Great job by the WETA guys. After all, the made Lord of the Rings visuals!

 

For a movie that was shot by a South African and filmed in South Africa, I think the movie is racist! There is not a single good black character, except for Wikus’s assistant who is a total noob! The bad, non-alien guys are black, and they are (surprise, surprise) Nigerian. Nigerian? Why Nigerian? Why not South African? And why not white, or a mixture of both? And it’s really ironic that Wikus can understand the clicks of the aliens, but he can’t understand the Swahili or whatever these Nigerians are speaking… Ironic, isn’t it?

 

So, after everything is said, this is a good movie that could have been great. It was a commercial and critical hit, which means that District 10 is only a matter of time! Which makes District 9 nothing more than a pilot movie, a proof of concept and a test drive to the abilities of Neil Blomkamp… And as Christopher the Prawn told Wikus that he will be back in 3 years, I am waiting for the sequel in 3 years.

 

I didn’t hate the movie, but I was pissed off because I was expecting something great. The hype was incredible and I did put myself in my radio silence mode and avoided any distractions from trailers and reviews. But I wanted more… The Amorphous Snake is disappointed… 3.5/5.

 

P.S. I guess after reading this you must be shaking your head at disbelief and saying, “All this criticism and he gives it 3.5/5”. And my answer is that I could have gladly given it 5/5 if it had filled the clothes it made for itself. It’s a nice first effort, and it has great action and visuals for a $30 million movie, but when you start something, you finish it. Look how Battlestar Galactica’s pilot was. It didn’t fill in all the details about the Cylons, but the movie was about the human survival and the Cylons were a mystery to us and the movie didn’t try to give you conclusions, but asked you to focus your attention elsewhere and allowed you to fill in the gaps with your imagination, but the gaps were small gaps, not lunar craters!

Greatest movies 2000-2009

While I personally believe that the first decade of the 21st century ends in 2010, NOT 2009, people still believe that 2 days from now will be the end of the decade. So, here is a list of the best movies I have seen produced between 2000 till 2009, in no particular order. You may notice that they are ordered alphabetically. This wasn't intended, but there was so many movies, that I had to use my list to remember. My list was listed alphabetically.

Note: If you would like to contribute to this list, be my guest in the comments section, but no bashing of any kind will be permitted.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Gladiator

Requiem for a Dream

Traffic

Memento

Snatch

The Patriot

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Cast Away

Amores Perros

Training Day

Black Hawk Down

The Man Who Wasn't There

Kingdom of Heaven

21 Grams

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Big Fish

Letters from Iwo Jima

Avatar

Sin City

City of God

Downfall

The Lives of Others

(500) Days of Summer

Kill Bill

The Fountain

The Fall

The Prestige

The Incredibles

Wall-E

Batman Begins

The Dark Knight

Spider-Man 2

X-Men 2

Mulholland Dr.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Children of Men

No Country for Old Men

Oldboy

Infernal Affairs

Pan's Labyrinth

Mystic River

Gran Torino

Hero

Hotel Rwanda

Ocean's Eleven

Battle Royale

King Kong

The Last Samurai

Little Children

Little Miss Sunshine

Million Dollar Baby

Minority Report

The Mist

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War

This list is by no way complete for two reason a) my memory is not perfect and b) there is a lot of critically-acclaimed movies that I have and haven't seen so far.

There are two non-movie entries that I would like to add: Band of Brothers and Battlestar Galactica. They are simply amazing...