Humour
January 2010 - From 'gay girls' to 'shagging flies', the changing meaning of English words causes no end of confusion.
November 2009 - Are Saudi Arabian beauty shows for goats as weird and outlandish as they seem?
November 2009 - As the singer prepares to visit Egypt, Christian and Muslim fundamentalists agree: Beyoncé is the root of all evil.
October 2009 - Having kids is no longer the preserve of married couples, or couples full stop, it now seems. That’s all good and well, but does it mean dads will soon be surplus to requirements? No way!
October 2009 - Is technology designed to monitor and report on our every move a sign of ambient intelligence or stupidity?
September 2009 - From fashion tips to adult breastfeeding – rulings by some clerics range from the eccentric to the downright bizarre.
Swedish idiom and the sum of all cardamom
September 2009 - If I were to vanish into thin air, my Swedish in-laws would have a suitable expression for this.
Stilettos: career boosters for the down at heel?
September 2009 - Just because I want to wear high heels to work, that doesn’t make me a brainless bimbo.
Bugging the culinary operating system
September 2009 - Elevating food to celebrity status has turned the theory of motivation upside. It’s time to stick one up the foodies.
September 2009 - A new search engine claims to filter out 'haram' (sinful) content for the faithful. Should non-believers now demand their own version – let’s call it Godpile – that blocks religious content?
The Arab Republic of Investment
August 2009 - Egyptians should not be too harsh on poor Gamal Mubarak. He's bound to become the president of the many entrepreneurs and professionals and not of the few who live on less than $2 per day.
That joke isn’t funny any more
August 2009 - What passes as a good joke in the office or at a party nowadays? Not much, it seems.
Poetry, nonsense or what (not)?
July 2009 - Beauty, failure, enchantment, … you name the emotion and poetry’s got it. But this noble art is not for everyone. And it’s by no means easy to call yourself a poet.
July 2009 - Deciphering hieroglyphs is much more fun than decoding the 'thumbspeak' of SMS texting.
July 2009 - A revolution is on the way and it's going to change everything – in our house.
July 2009 - It’s bad enough, in the Friends era, being able to quote Ross Geller – the nerdy palaeontologist – but being fully versed in the McDreamy language of Grey’s Anatomy is a nauseating form of existentialism.
July 2009 - Being called a miserable sod might not be everyone’s moniker of choice, but Shakespeare was on to something with his comment “The miserable hath no other medicine but only hope”.
Psion of things to come – technology’s curse
July 2009 - Christian Nielsen’s long-dead Psion Organiser is a constant reminder never to buy any technology that promises to help him remember things.
July 2009- Wacky conspiracy theories cause damage by drawing attention away from the real plots being hatched by our governments.
March 2009 - Rumours of deadly SMS messages are symptoms of a worrying trend in Egypt – the unstoppable rise of superstition.
March 2009 - God now has a number. Sadly, it goes straight to voicemail, but I’ve got my messages ready. What about you?
January 2009 - The adult world shouldn't dismiss childhood romances as cute follies – first loves can leave a lasting impression.
December 2008 - It’s the Western world’s greatest childhood controversy: does Santa Claus exist? The answer is both comforting and disturbing to the children among us and within us.
December 2008 - Can science make us more attractive and appealing? Let’s put it to the test.
December 2008 - An Iraqi journalist expressed his contempt for President Bush in a manner familiar in the Arab world: by throwing his shoes.
What’s the difference between Obama and an Arab?
October 2008 - John McCain has furnished compelling proof that Barack Obama is not an Arab: the Democrat is a family man.
September 2008 - With booze in short supply, the month of fasting can be a thirsty wait for some Muslims.
