Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Project Unbreakable

I stand for and against so many things in life and one thing that I am proud to stand against (but saddened that it even happens) is victim blaming, especially in cases of sexual harassment and rape. There are so many people out there who are working to make people aware of this and to stop it, and one of the notable projects in regard to it is Project Unbreakable. 

Started on 2011 by Grace Brown, it has reached such a wide audience and it is such a great way of healing for the victims, the survivors. The idea is that she photographs survivors who hold placards where the words of the rapist/words from people is written. Every photograph is filed with such disgusting thought, stories, it makes me so sad, so disgusted, and yet so liberating that the survivors are so strong, so courageous and they never give up. 

Personally, I know a few people who have gone through such trauma including some people who are very near and dear to me and I'm so inspired by their strength, in their journey to live. Victim blaming is such a horrific thing to do and no matter who you are, if you are blaming the victim, you are wrong. 






This is the terrible reality of our society. Once a neighbor of mine was a victim of sexual harassment and the whole neighborhood was saying things like oh she was hanging out with boys, wearing mini skirts, etc etc. You know something is wrong with the society when it tries to shift the blame from the rapist to the victim. Her clothes, her friends, her family, her being out at night, or her having a boyfriend is not her asking for it. Not at all. Not even close. No. 

I'll leave you with this video of Kalki and Juhi about victim blaming. The humour angle is refreshing, but we all know rape is no joke. Let's hope that it has at least one person out there thinking how stupid victim blaming is. 


What infuriates you the most about victim blaming? Check out Project Unbreakable! All images from PU. 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Monday Playlist: Paris and London, baby you can take.

I have not done a Monday playlist in such a long time. I have been listening to the same songs everyday, and eventhough I do check out new music every now and then mostly for DYMag, I just stick to the old favourites. However, here are some songs I haven't talked to you guys about. 


Royals - Lorde
This song has been my main song for days, even since I first hear it. I have watched countless covers of it on Youtube, sang it way too many times and generally just loved it. My favourite line is we aren't caught up in your love affair, it's such a John Green line and I am so much in love with this song it's crazy. Love this PTX cover. 

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus
I know how everyone is super controversial about this song, ditching Miley and all, but I have always been a fan of her. I love how completely funny she is, she never takes herself too seriously and she's great. I especially love the lyrics of this song, the part about falling under the spell is my favourite. I sometimes feel like a wrecking ball. 



Gives You Hell - All American Rejects
Since I first this song on Glee when Rachel sings it to Finn, I loved it and found it and has been loving this. It's very oh-you-suck kinda song and I love those kinda songs. But if you listen to it on repeat, you might have a bad time, just saying and I just watched the video and I think it's super cool. 

Cruise - Florida Georgia Line
This slightly pop country song is my favourite form the band, but then again, it's also the only one I heard. Seriously, it makes me feel like I'm in a southern Road Trip movie, sipping lemonade wearing a silk scarf and hanging out with cowboy hat wearing heartbreaking boys. 

Busted - Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is one of my favourite cartoons ever and they ave some very cool songs each epiode and this one's a favourite among us sisters. We love Candy and how she's always trying to bust the brothers. This is such a fun song. 


I Love New York/New York New York - Glee Cast
This is the best song mash-up ever. Last year for our International Marketing Class, we did a presentation on New York and it was THE BEST! Seriously, we played this song, chilled and generally had a great time and we got really good marks for it and I know everybody was talking about it. We were like some sort of crazy presentation five-o. 

Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heroes
How amazing is this song? Very. It reminds me of the days when I worked in radio and those days were pretty fantastic. It's a great upbeat song for when you are exercising or in the mood for some good upbeat music. 

What's on your playlist?

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Let's have a toast for the douchebags

Ah, hello everyone. I had a slow weekend all alone by myself. I didn't pick up any phone calls and watched old episodes of Friends all day long. Best kind of weekend eh. 

During Eid I made a couple headbands and ate a LOT of desserts. I really need a trip to the dentist, I feel super guilty about it but it was yummy. Mom, Hipster Sister and Mick went to Himmafushi to celebrate Eid but I could not go because I had office and other things. So Dad and I were staying and since Dad is mostly out I was all alone in the house and the first day it was super scary but I was enjoying being alone the second day. 


On Wednesday, I hosted DYM's Eid Scavenger Hunt which was a blast. There were 5 teams and we ran around finding things, videoing ourselves and generally having a great time. Everyone was a great sport and in the end team Batman won and all was great.


Overall, it was a good week with lots of resting, watching good things, reading good books and spending time with good friends. I did miss Mick and she was really sad that we didn't tag along but she had a great time with cousins playing Eid.

How was your weekend?
Currently Listening: Runaway - Kanye West

Saturday, October 19, 2013

The iPhone Post

Most of my close friends and generally all of my friends already know that I have an iPhone now. I know, I used to be that girl who was so anti smartphone! (in some aspects I still am. You would NEVER find me on my phone scrolling down in a coffee with friends, nope. But you might find me reading on my Kindle. That's a whole different story) It was a very rash decision. One day I woke up and I told myself, you know what Shaha? I bet this is a great day to get yourself and iPhone and that's exactly what I did. 

I chose an iPhone 4 because my friend Queen and I had this pact in college when the iPhone 4 came out that we'd both buy it. Of course he got it right then and I waited a couple years, but a pact is a pact. I also love the covers for iPhone 4, the size and most things about it. I still haven't got a cover though. Or iOS 7 installed but whatever. 

What I love most about the smart phone is that it's super easy to organize things. I still use my Filofax to make appointments, for DYM uses and I do have a journal for journalling and a Kindle for reading and all, but I have all these cool apps and I'm trying to find the best way to utilize it. 

Yes, I only have two screens because it's easier to scroll this way. I am super duper organized and obsessed with making lists and alphabetically organizing things so every screen is organized from A to Z and even the groups are alphabetically organized. Call me crazy, but I like things a certain way. The notifications did used to bug me, but I thin I've grown to accept them. As you can see, my most used four items are the camera, messages, music and phone. For the obvious reasons.


 In the first screen, I've got the apps that I use the most. I like Appsfire, because it gives me pretty useful free apps and who doesn't love free apps eh. My favourite game is Blitz and I used to have a sleeping/alarm app but it used to drain all the battery so I stick to the Clock. Simple, no fuss, clock. I am looking for a good expense mapping app but haven't found the perfect one yet, and Expense List is the next best. I like that it shows subtotals of each category so I know exactly how much I spent. I no longer use my Filofax for this, so yeah. Obviously, I love Goodreads. I am always leaving my laptop at work so whenever I finish a book, I just mark it as read and write a quick review and it's so easy. The list is the best to-do/list app that I have used. I use it for so many purposes. All the DYMag content work is done through that app and it's fantastic. I used to use the simple Episode Tracker App but found the TV Show Tracker to be more useful. I know, I have 57 episodes of TV shows to watch, it's crazy. 


I am a calculator freak. Serious. I used to love DrawFree but haven't played in weeks. Also, FrameMagic to put outfit posts on Instagram. I do have a couple books on iBooks but I prefer a tablet/kindle/actual book. I find the phone screen too small and have to turn the page every five seconds so that's sad. I do like to read poetry on it. Perfect size. I am planning to upload my entire life list into iWish so I can have it with me anywhere anytime. Newsstand is there because I can't seem to put it in any groups. -.- I am also looking for a good panorama app and so far, this is the best one I have found. I like the 360 angle thing. It's pretty rad. Starmaker is just the best karaoke app ever. Hipster sister and I love singing mainstream songs on it. The only two unlocked songs I have are Jai Ho and Chasing the Sun, haha. I ofcourse love Style.com, instantly being able to check all the fashion shows, screen cap my favourite ones, so good. 


Then of course I have the grouped apps. The first three groups are named after the 9th, 10th and 11th in that order. Eccleston has some of my absolute favourite apps since he is my favourite Doctor. Dreamdays is great for counting down to days (like my birthday!) and Free Light for reading books in the middle of the night, haha. Keeper to keep all my passwords safe and remember them easily and Plates is the best thing ever! Seriously. TinyScan is also very handy since I'm always jotting things down and need to scan them. 


Tennant has some random apps that I sometimes use like news, celebrity gossip, a yoga app and a ringtone maker. Just your general weird app collection. Smith has some apps I sometimes like to use. Dhingana is great for streaming Bollywood songs since I am a Bollywood freak and I'm checking the waters with iTranslate. Nakaiy Nevi because I feel like the app is very close to my heart since I was super involved in promoting the app. Skyview is nice as I am very passionate about constellations and stars. Teen Vogue because why not? haha.





Then I have the four Hogwarts houses in alphabetical order. Gryffindor has my least favourite system apps, things I don't use very much. Apart from contacts (which I use on the Phone app) and YouTube, I have never used the other apps, ever. Hufflepuff has all the games on my phone which Hipster sister and Mick uses so often. Revenclaw has some apps that I sometimes use, like Pages and Calender and Slytherin obviously has my favourite personal apps like Blogger, Bloglovin, Drive and Pinterest. 

So mainly, that is everything on my phone and I named my phone Perry after my favourite Playpus. I know, super weird. I just made that up. -.- 

So, are you a smart phone person? What are your favourite apps?

Monday, October 14, 2013

Currently - October

I'm always watching, reading (at least two books at a time!) and listening to all sorts of things. Here's what's on schedule for October


The Secret Circle I think I watched up to Ep12 and then stopped for some reason and now that it's cancelled and I have the whole series, I wanted to watch again but I forgot the part I watched so I started again. I really like Casey and her room. 

Schindler's List I seriously need some time off this movie. As much as there's great buzz around it, the movie itself is boring. There are some great parts of course, but I think I should just have read the book instead. Been trying to watch this three hour long Oscar winning movie for almost a month now. 

Your Grammar Sucks - Jacksfilms I love love Jacksfilms, especially him as Intern 2 in My Music. This however is the most hilarious thing ever. It makes me chuckle so much. When I am at work/home and feeling sad and in need of laughter (which I have been feeling a lot lately) I always watch this and instantly I'm laughing all the way to Alaska. 

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi I just started reading this on my Kindle and so far I'm liking it. Not a lot but it's good. I've heard great reviews of it so I'm looking forward to finishing this book soon and hopefully reading the remaining books in the series. 

There are Reasons Noah Packed no Clothes - Robert Jacoby This book is very page turning, interesting and so full of meaning. I like reading about Richard and his struggles in life. It deals with dark topics such as self harm, suicide and depression. 

Pure Heroine - Lorde This album is seriously fantastic and so is this girl. Ever since my friend Moony introduced me to Royals, I've been listening to the song non-stop and I checked a lot of the songs on the album and all of them are simply amazing. This is on repeat when I work, play, surf the net and generally go about the day. 

Wishing all Muslims a very blessed Hajj and Eid. May Allah bless you and your family. Tell me what you're reading, watching and listening to lately?

Sunday, October 13, 2013

100 Fans Giveaway

I'm s excited that my Facebook Fan Page for the blog has reached a 100 people. I know, it's not much but ah to even have 100 people who for some reason likes the things you write is a big accomplishment for me. 

So, to celebrate this, I'm giving away two bracelets from Rings & Things which are so pretty I want them for myself! A major thanks to Shamma for sponsoring the giveaway. 


There are three ways you can enter. 
You can comment on this post stating which bracelet you prefer OR you can head to the Facebook page and comment on the post OR you can ReTweet my tweet about the giveaway

Super simple, right? The giveaway will go on till end of this month and I'll choose TWO winners. 
Good Luck! 

Friday, October 11, 2013

DYMag September Issue

AHHH. I am so late in blogging this, I know. It's October now. Everyone who was sleeping is up, since September has ended and all that. ha, what a month it was. 


This cover was the best. Seriously, it was such a fun shoot. These guys were super duper amazing. Totally funny and awesomesauce! Also, we said goodbye to our veyr own Wuffy Duffy as the content director (who loved Corel Draw and perfection was his middle name, but didn't know what justify was. Ah, that was his hamartia.) but we also welcomed the nicest person on earth, Imysickle as the new content director and he was super duper great to work with and he even threw a mockingjay in my letter which I think is so well done! Design wise I mean obv. haha

Sifr's editor's picks are very serious, big topics that he really likes the magazine to talk more about. I'm more like OMG DESIGN, APPLE, FASHION, MILEY haha. It's fun to have people who think different in a group. I did love the quotes he chose, and as you all should know I'm a quotations junkie. 

Abo's music review of Ellie's Halcyon was so brilliantly written it gave me the chills. He was sweet enough to send me a few songs which I liked mostly because it reminded me of this great writing. Next is DYM Recommends by me, where I tell you the stuff you should be reading, listening to and watching! 

Ish writes a heartfelt and down to earth article that is inspirational, heartwarming and a gentle reminder to stay strong. Moony's noblesse oblige talks about taking responsibility, being your best self and is filled with motivation. Jin brings sports in a light to talk about a more deeper issue in the society and how sports brings us together as a country. A great read indeed. 

I cannot keep talking about Literallyric, because it is all sorts of amazing. This kid is going places! Shaam writes about a campaign of DYM, Faahaga which was a great fun campaign. We also featured one of my favourite people, Shamma who is truly a wonder woman. Each month we will be featuring a great woman from our society as inspiration to all. 

Next is the feature of the issue. The cover interview with none other than the fantastic Space Parade! These people know how to have fun and they don't disappoint! They talk about their lives, Space Parade, the country and inspirations and is sure a fun read. 

My life list column was about Random Acts of Kindness which is a concept I believe and practice. I hope that it serves as inspiration to be your kindest self and be nice to people all around. Liam's poem is so earth shatteringly beautiful. I wish I could write poetry that good. 

Thihnan is great because she can tell you something about a disease and make you understand it simply. She gives facts in a great way that makes you want to research more. Arthritis and cholesterol and two things she's written about and here's hoping that you now know a little more than your started with. The issue ends with two regulars. Shifraz's beautiful poetry and Fazu's beautiful poetry. Ah poets! They make the world go round and round.

Read it HERE. 

And as October issue comes near a finish, I hope that this issue was a great read. See you soon! Enjoy. 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Fault in Our Stars

Yesterday was a terrible day for me. Even a bit today. Even though people die everyday, when you really think about death, the whole notion of not existing anymore, it scares you. Like Gus, you fear oblivion. 

I try not to think too much about negativity, think of positivity. There's a sadness, a melancholy. But it's not depressing. It's the kind that is more poignant and romanticized, like the sadness from a Midsummer Night's dream that Shakespeare talks about, or like the sadness in not being able to name someone like in the poem that hipster sister likes so much. 

image credits
I had some time yesterday to be engulfed in this sadness. I read the Fault in Our Stars. I have heard so many good things about this book and it didn't disappoint me even in the slightest. It was so tear jerking, heartwarming, falling in and out of love. Hazel and Gus make you think of life in ways you never chose to. Sometimes I think about stories and people around me, and I want to know their story, how it ends, what happens. But I never try. I never think of asking. Hazel and Gus did, and maybe it disappointed them, and maybe from that disappointment, they got some contentment. 

The book was so well written. I fell in love with the words, the people, the okays. There was this one line that Augustus often used, "I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasures of speaking true things" which I really liked. Sometimes I wish my life was that poignant. That some silences meant more than words itself, that the light humour was nice, that the way the stars danced in the night I could see. 

Reading is the closest to this feeling. In reading, I find pleasure, laughter and sadness. Maybe it'll go away and I'll soon be a part of universe itself. Maybe I'll stop thinking of this story and how it had affected me so much. Maybe one day, it'll all be back to normal. The thing is, I don't know what normal is anymore. I'm so conflicted between the demons in myself, I don't think I can ever stay. 

But yes, I'd recommend this book to everyone. It's so hauntingly beautiful. So simple yet so strange. So fun yet so otherwise. Maybe it'll make you think a bit more, maybe not. But yes, reading it feels nice. 

Rating: 5 stars. 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

We aren't caught up in your love affair

Hello! I know I have been like Waldo lately. Been head under water wrapped up in work, seriously. My day job seems to be taking over my life. *sigh* but oh well, I love it so dah-dah. 
Here's what I've been up to in the last few weeks.
 

Made some cards for the little one to give her teachers. I'm rather glad of how they turned out. Also, love how she signed her name with a heart, so cute! | Celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness month at work. The launching ceremony was very fun and throughout this month, I shall be wearing the pink ribbon to work | Went to Koakaa Foakaa Cinema with the nameless guys. It was really fun and later we hung out a bit. 

 Got way too excited seeing a Doctor Who reference on a wall (also a Space Parade reference) when I was on a work event at Villigili. My co workers probably think I have a thing for wolves | Saw a Oyster Card from last year when I went to London on one of my winter jackets. I'm sure it wasn't mine cos I returned it | Went to Fahi Dhuvas of MNU and got these pretty bookmarks and later had ice-cream with the dudes. 

DYMag's October cover shoot went rather well. It was a blast working with these guys | Hung out with the pizzaforpresident gang a lot. We treated them once and Nonns and Timmy treated us this week. It was the best | Took this little girl to see her favourite Teletubby, Po. She was super shy though, haha. 

So basically, that was a lot of the things. I also did a LOT of crazy fun stuff that I forgot to Instagram, haha. When you're having fun, who has time to instagram, eh?

Also, I'll be doing a mini giveaway on my Facebook Page (I KNOW, I now have Facebook page, so classy eh! Maybe give a like. plax ) when I reach 100 fans, so be sure to keep on the look for it.

 How were you guys? Had any fun lately? 
Currently Listening: Royals - Lorde

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Happy Birthday Wuffy!

Today is one of my bestest and most fun friend and recently neighbor, Wuffle's birthday. He's super duper awesome, and the best part? we are the same age!

So here's wishing you all the best for today and the future. You are amazing, a humble, great, integral human being who sees the positive in the world. I'm glad to have you in my life.

I know it's a terrible photo but these were such fun days. <3
Thanks for being the crazy weird guy you are, for always taking about hot people and eating good food and complaining about bad service. Thanks for the endless deep talks, crazy adventures, dance sessions and for doing stuff to piss me off like going to Abbey Road and Platform 9 3/4. Thanks for wearing hipster clothes and not giving a fruit tart. Thanks for countless photos, pancake memories, random dance sessions all over the world and for everything. 

You rock!

Also, if you don't do the scavenger hunt/random acts of kindness/something fun this weekend, I might take back everything I just said. Just saying. 

But ofcourse, I love you boo. 

Have a great 21st! Don't do anything Miley Cyrus wouldn't.