"Sir" Brian Clough - I do believe in fairies

In the famous 1974 interview with arguably the top two English managers at the time, the great Brian Clough explained his football philosophy as opposed to that of Don Revie who had won the league with Leeds United with a pragmatic and physical approach to football. This is one of my favorite lines by football managers.

Review: Animal Farm

Animal Farm by George Orwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A timeless classic. It's always enjoyable to find out how the situation slowly moves in a circle to return to the same point where it started; how the animals don't feel but a slight change at a time that can only be noticed when we take a step back and look at the big picture, and how the great idols gradually devolved from "All animals are equal" to "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others".

It's one of the books that probably everyone should read but probably not everyone would appreciate it the same; I read it once many years ago but appreciated it infintely more after the recent Egyptian uprising and the colossal media machine that efficiently played the role of "Squealer" in our novel afterwards, brainwashing normal poeple and exploiting their fear, gullibility and volatile memory that can be easily manipulated by all the devil advocates around. I've seen the story events almost take place before my eyes more than once since January 2011.

Orwell was thought by some to be, simply, opposing socialism. In fact, it was the exact opposite, he believed in it so deeply that he wanted to protect it from the form of communism that was hailed by many at that time (after WWII). I've read someone putting it this way, for Orwell, "Capitalism is the disease, socialism is the cure, but communism will kill the patient". He believed in democtratic socialism and classless society, abd these socialist ideals were betrayed by the Soviet Stalinism.

Like 1984, it can be applied to any totalitarian regime not specific to the Soviet one. Yes, it almost directly refers to Marx, Stalin and Trotsky, but manipulating history and betraying the noble causes are around us all the time. It's depressing though seeing how wickedness ended in triumph, seeing how things went with the character "Boxer", but it's still worth reading by everyone as a warning cry for nations to beware of the wolves, to stick with "Snowball", to know their enemies, and to keep their memories alive.



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Greatest Movie Themes -- The Motorcycle Diaries -- De Usuahia a la Quiaca

The mesmerizing music by Gustavo Santaolalla from the soundtrack of "Diarios de Motocicleta"

You're just a kid -- "Good Will Hunting" Favorite Scene

A favorite scene from the great movie "Good Will Hunting" .. beautifully written, and brilliantly performed by Robin Williams:

Sean: Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me? 
Will: No. 
Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about. 
Will: Why thank you. 
Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston. 
Will: Nope. 
Sean: 

So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.  

If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. 

And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. 

I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. 

And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. 

You're an orphan right? You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

عين شمس وهليوبوليس -- مصر قبل الثورة

فيلمى "عين شمس" و"هليوبوليس" من أفضل ماشاهدت فى الفترة الأخيرة من الأفلام التى تعبر بصدق شديد عن مصر ما قبل ثورة يناير .. الفيلمان المستقلان يصلحان لتأريخ هذه الفترة وهموم جيلها .. وفيلم "هليوبوليس" ربما يكون فيه الرد على سؤال حير كثيرين عن سبب اشتراك طبقات مستريحة ماديا فى المظاهرات ورغبتهم الشديدة فى التغيير والتى لم تقل عن رغبة الطبقات المطحونة.

الكاميرا المستقلة تتنقل بحرية فى عين شمس ومصر الجديدة .. تحكى قصة مصر التى سرقت منا .. ترصد أحلام سكانها المجهضة ومشاعرهم المليئة بالحزن والإحباط والحيرة، وحتى الوحدة برغم الزحام الذى يخنق الجميع .. الفيلم البديع "عين شمس" كان أفضل ككل برأيى أما "هليوبوليس" فبرغم أنه قد عابه كثرة التقطيع فى المشاهد الا أن الحالة السائدة من رثاء مصر الجديدة ذكرتنى برثاء الاسكندرية فى فيلم داود عبد السيد الرائع "رسائل البحر".

أتمنى أن تعرض هذه الأفلام باستمرار فى المستقبل لتحكى كيف عشنا وعاشت مصر قبل الثورة، وتعالج ضعيفى الذاكرة وهم كثيرون.

Greatest Movie Themes -- Once Upon a Time in America -- Cockeye's Song

Cockeye's Song by the great Ennio Morricone

Then you win

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"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."

Mahatma Gandhi

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FREE WE ARE -- Glorious Feb11

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February the 11th was indeed the best day in my life, and the 18 days of revolution starting from January 25 leading to that day were my most remarkable and emotional days in my life. I don't expect to live such a period, witness such events and experience such feelings again soon, if ever, in my life. History was written and I'm very glad I was part of it.


Hope is the greatest treasure we found and now everything has a meaning; I appreciate my life more, the food tastes better, the water acquired a sweet taste, even the air smells better; polluted and all but we'll fix everything .. It's the feeling that anything is possible, the spirit is high that we can touch the sky, we can do anything, we can make our country one of elite of the world .. it's hope that's driving us now.


There were hundreds of stories within this period that can be told later .. there were moments where victory seemed to me unlikely, but astonishingly the revolution was able to hold and finally conquer the regime.






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صوت الحرية بينادى ...

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الحلم بيتحقق ...

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مهما حاصرتوا الميدان .. عمره ما يتحاصر

أيادى مصرية سمرا ليها فى التمييز
ممدودة وسط الزئير بتكسر البراويز
سطوع لصوت الجموع شوف مصر تحت الشمس
آن الآوان ترحلى يا دولة العواجيز

عواجيز شداد مسعورين أكلوا بلدنا أكل

ويشبهوا بعضهم نهم وخسة وشكل

طلع الشباب البديع قلبوا خريفها ربيع

وحققوا المعجزة صحوا القتيل م القتل

اقتلنى قتلى ما هيعيد دولتك تانى

بكتب بدمى حياة تانية لأوطانى

دمى ده ولا الربيع؟ الاتنين بلون أخضر

وببتسم من سعادتى ولا أحزانى

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يا مصر قام العليل رجعتله أنفاسه

وباس جبين الوطن مال الوطن باسه

من قبل موته بيوم صحوه أولاده

إن كان سبب علته محبته لناسه

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متخافش على مصر يا با مصر محروسة

حتى من الطغمة دى اللى فينا مدسوسة

ولو أنت أبوها بصحيح وخايف عليها قوى

تركتها ليه بدن بتنخره السوسة

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لكن خلاص يا وطن صحيت جموع الخلق

قبضوا على الشمس بإيديهم وقالوا لأ

من المستحيل يفرطوا عقد الوطن تانى

والكدب تانى محال يلبس قناع الحق

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يرجعلها صوتها مصر تعود ملامحها

تاخد مكانها القديم والكون يصالحها

عشرات السنين تسكنوا بالكدب فى عروقنا

والدنيا متقدمة ومصر مطرحها

كتبتوا أول سطور فى صفحة الثورة

وهما علما وخبرا مداورة ومناورة

وقعتوا فرعون هرب من قلب تمثاله

لكن جيوشه مازالوا بيحلموا ببكرة

صباح حقيقى ودرس جديد قوى فى الرفض

أتارى للشمس صوت وأتارى للأرض نبض

تانى معاكم رجعنا نحب كلمة مصر

تانى معاكم رجعنا نحب ضحكة بعض

مين كان يقول ابننا يطلع بنا م النفق

دى صرخة ولا غنا؟ وده دم ولا شفق؟

أتاريها حاجة بسيطة الثورة يا أخوانا

مين اللى شافها كده؟ مين أول اللى بدأ؟

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لا الظلم هين يا ناس ولا الشباب قاصر

مهما حاصرتوا الميدان عمره ما يتحاصر

فكرتنى يا الميدان بزمان وسحر زمان

فكرتنى بأغلى أيام فى زمن ناصر

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أولنا فى الجولة لسة جولة ورا جولة

ده سوس بينخر يا بويا فى جسد دولة

أيوه الملك صار كتابة إنما أبدا

لو غفلت عيننا لحظة حيقلبوا العملة

لكن خوفى مازال جوه الفؤاد يكبش

الخوف اللى ساكن شقوق القلب ومعشش

يقوللى مش راح يسيبه ولسه حيقبوا

وهيلاقولهم سكك وبيبان ما تتردش

وحاسبوا قوى م الديابة اللى فى وسطيكم

وإلا تبقى الخيانة منكم وفيكم

الضحك على البق بس الرك ع النيات

فيهم عدوين أشد من اللى حواليكم

الميدان -- عبد الرحمن الأبنودى