owlolive

Everything that matters to me (and maybe you as well)

Archive for the tag “Facebook”

22 Jun 2012
3 Comments

Adults These Days!: People Would Rather Lose Their Wedding Rings Than Lose Their Phones

Okay, let’s all ‘fess up to it. Come on, guys: Let the truth set ye free!

We all love our phones a little bit more than we actually care to admit. I mean, when it comes down to it, to a lot of us our phones are as essential to us and our lives as food or air or sleep or chocolate. Really, I can’t even begin to imagine how I would cope with anything more than a few hours without my trusty iPhone. How will I check my twitter feed every 5 minutes? How will I casually look up the biographies of random Hollywood stars? For the love of God, how will I Instagram my lunch?

I wish I was being sarcastic here but I’m really not. I’m actually as much of a tech-junkie as the next person. Not only am I a tech-junkie, but I’m a tech-junkie that occasionally mopes about how everyone is way too plugged-in and no one enjoys real life anymore and OH MY GOD WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LOOKED AT THE SKY?

This is why when I read surveys like this I’m both a little bit horrified and a little bit unsurprised.

Apparently, an extra 87% of people would go more nuts over losing something as vital as their phones than the 77% of  those who would stress over losing something as meaningless as their wedding rings. Because, you know, one is a symbol of lifelong commitment and the other is just a pretentious accessory that you mostly use to impress people (ah, yes, sarcasm).

It turns out that the only thing that fills us with more dread than not being able to post daily pictures of our Starbucks morning coffee onto Instagram is losing our wallets.

And that’s not all.

This survey revealed that most people are actually more attached to their phones than they are to pets and friends. But, hey, what with all the liking and the tweeting we’ve got to do all day, whose got time for actual friends? Hell, with your trusty phone in hand the whole world is virtually your friend.

Also, an overwhelming number of the people surveyed have admitted to a feeling known as “outlet rage.” You know, that feeling we all get when the phone alerts us to only 10% battery left and makes us break out in local rashes. Or that feeling you get of wanting to throw heavy objects when you walk into a Starbucks and realize that all the power outlets are taken. When we find ourselves out of touch with the digital world (or even on the brink of  being out of touch) we get some very intense feelings of withdrawal–you know, like a junkie.

So the next time you freak out because you’re out of cell reception, or your phone runs out of battery or, heaven forbid, you forget it in a restaurant, remember–you’re not alone. And then remember, you can probably buy another phone. Really, its okay. There are plenty of tweeting, liking, Instagraming fish in the sea. Or peaches in the orchard. Or birds in the flock.

Point is: relax, take a deep breath, and maybe put the phone down every once in a while AND LOOK AT THE SKY.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
18 May 2012

Grandma’s Coconut Cake? Totally What (Online) Success Smells Like.

So what with all the tweeting and the posting and the liking and mentioning that the entire world likes to spend their online lives doing all day long, it was bound that some one would come up with something like this at some point.

Everyone? Meet Olly. He’s the technological equivalent of a schnauzer. As in he’s here to sniff out your success in the digital world. And, no, that’s not as metaphorical as it sounds.

Apparently the creator behind Olly (Benjamin Redford) thinks that we need to feel even more validated and praised for our online popularity than we already do. It’s not enough that we’re constantly glued to our phones in anticipation and immediate responsiveness to that one ping, that one like, or that one mention. Now, people need to be rewarded “in the physical world for their digital and social interactions.” Redford added, “We are gradually spending more and more time on screen and it’s good to have some other form of sensory stimulus rather than just video and audio.”

So now I can stand in the middle of the room and silently bask in my growing online popularity, as signified by the wafting smell of my grandma’s delicious coconut cake (my own fabulous scent of choice) filling the air and rewarding me for being an awesome tweeter. I would appreciate it if someone could create a device that can also bathe me in angelic white light while a harp softly plays in the background during this truly rewarding moment.

Oh look! 50 retweets! I am the glorious sun around which the beautiful world revolves!

That is, uhm, the online world.

Apparently, Olly is coming out sometime later this year so it won’t be too long before you can take your online social status to a whole new sensory level of gratification.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
08 Apr 2012

Frugal Approval: Madly Yours Blush (and Why Your Skin Will Love You for It)

Unlike many other blogs who will rant and rave to you about an item they got for free, I do not believe in that VERY FLAWED method of reviewing. But, in my own personal time, I will go out and spend my money every now and then on a thing or two that I think is worth mentioning. I do not get a single thing out of making these reviews. And this is what Frugal Approval is all about. Honest, straight-forward reviews about products, services, etc. in Kuwait that I have personally spent money on and that I would personally tell my family and friends about. And now, I’m telling you.

Look, I’ve got to say it: I’m something of a makeup snob. I have no problem splurging on a foundation, or a lipstick that doesn’t make me look like I dunked my face into an oil well or like my lips are made of pavement. I’m not saying that I splurge on every bit of makeup that I buy. I am all about the Maybelline mascara and Cover Girl eye shadow and wouldn’t trade them for anything.

What I am saying is that, to me, my skin’s health and radiance doesn’t have a specific price tag.

And this is where the Madly Yours blush comes in. In short: if you love your skin you’d check this place out.

Now, I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with these products, but MY GOD DO I LOOK RADIANT AND LIGHT. Like, seriously, one brush stroke of the Sheer Satin blush and, I swear to God, my cheeks transform into rosy, plumped up rays of sunshine. And, that is not an overstatement. It’s just that good.

And, trust me, I’ve got a pretty complicated history with my blushes. Ever since I first saw my big sister put on makeup when I was around twelve years old and I saw how, with a few dabs to her face, this stuff transformed her (already gorg’ face) into a glowing peach, I was obsessed with blush. It’s the first bit of makeup I ever tried and it was the only kind of makeup I ever used up until I graduated high school. I have gone through all kinds of blushes and received mixed results with each, all in the endless pursuit of finding that perfect balance between a natural, sunny glow, and feature defining, rosy hue.

A whole lot of the blushes I went through did not look like this natural, healthy, and enhancing glow that I was going for. For the most part, they just looked like puffs of rose pink which made me look more flushed than glowing most of the time. They weren’t exactly bad, but they were not natural looking.

So, one day way back in 2010, a dear friend of mine drove me out to, what seemed at the time, east-freaking-nowhere. It’s actually not that far off, I just have a really horrible sense of orientation. Anyhow! We arrived to this little boutique in the Behbehani Houses area (I think its somewhere in between Dar Al-Funon and Cleo Salon… not sure though) and, as a side-note I’ve got to say: the place has got the most quaint and charming vibe to it.

Now, upon seeing the huge array of blushes and powders that were laid out oh-so-delicately in pretty porcelain cups, I was immediately intrigued. I excitedly sauntered over and tried out one powder (and blush case) after the other. And, honestly, my skin has never felt this genuinely soft and luscious and freaking fresh since, I’m guessing, my very early years. I have never, to this day, found a brand of blush that compared to Madly Yours. Not a single one.

And since that fateful spring two years ago it has been the only kind of blush that I use. From The Bronzing Powder and the Sheer Satin Blush to the Sorbet and the Rose powder. I have yet to be disappointed by a single one of the Madly Yours blushes.

Now, as far as pricing goes, it is somewhat hefty: somewhere in the ballpark of 9 KD and 13 KD depending on the kind of blush you get. I believe that most of these products are mineral based and use only the lightest and healthiest (hypoallergenic) of ingredients so, if you ask me, that kind of justifies the price a bit. I mean, I’d personally rather have a light, healthy, and radiant glow for the price of a few more bucks than pay a lower price for the standard issue rose pink puffs I was talking about earlier. However, as with any purchase, the price is something you should always consider so there it is.

I haven’t personally bought (nor have I really tried) any of their other products so, in the Frugal Approval spirit, I can’t review anything besides the blushes. For what it’s worth, many of my friends who have tried their foundation and eye makeup are absolutely smitten by them. I wouldn’t personally know though.

Here’s a great article about Madly Yours’ gracious founder Maha Al-Otaibi (by Bazaar). It definitely speaks for the great level of entrepreneurship that Kuwait has in store, and Maha is a great example of this. Also, you can check out or contact Madly Yours on their Facebook page right over here. (Picture used courtesy of the Facebook page)

All my love!

Posted in Approved, Fashion, Frugal Approval, Musings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
07 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Stop Joseph Kony Today – Uganda: I’m sorry. World: Wake Up.

I’ll be the first to say it: I did not know who Joesph Kony was last week. I was completely oblivious to any distinct war crimes going on in Uganda or, actually, any other part of Africa. The name Joesph Kony did not mean a single thing to me, and did not move me or interest me in the slightest.

I admit it.

But yesterday I found the hashtag #stopkony trending worldwide on Twitter and, as I usually am, I was curious. I clicked on it and I discovered a war criminal whose evil and destruction was so boundless and remorseless that it shook me to the very depths of my soul and I felt ashamed.

How could I not have heard about a man who has murdered, abducted, maimed, and sexually enslaved OVER 30,000 CHILDREN and FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS? How could that kind of crime which exceeds all manner of political power-play, revolutionary uprising, and economic turmoil get past me? How could it get past anyone and for so long?

I know that I don’t share all the blame in my ignorance. At the end of the day, all we know is all that we see.

The pan-national revolution of the MILLIONS OF PEOPLE known as The Arab Spring was started through the power of social networking and, through the power of the people, has toppled governments and revitalized a new sense of hope and justice in the Arab World.

In just the span of 20 hours, this blog has received 300 VIEWS and counting (WHAT?!) purely due to the post I made about Shurooq Amin’s brave fight against censorship in Kuwait. Due to the power of the Twitter and Facebook social networking sphere, the name ‘Shurooq Amin’ is now on the tongues of hundreds upon hundreds of people in Kuwait and her unfortunate experience is known by all the people who matter and who can help make a real difference. People reacted to her experience and, through the power of a simple tweet or a Facebook status, are actively making an effort to stop the censorship and discrimination in Kuwait today.

Word of mouth is everything and it can literally make or break any cause.

To stop Joseph Kony we have to follow the same tried and true method of making sure that we, in our normal human nature, essentially do what we do best: Talk.

We have to spread the word so much that it’s inescapable. So much that not a single government can say that ‘it is not in our interest.’ Because guess what? If the people are interested then so is their government and if it “interests” the people to do something about this then their governments will have to comply or face political upheaval and public unrest.

I wish that every government in the world didn’t have to wait for such a cue before they finally decide to get up and do the responsible thing THAT THEY KNOW THEY SHOULD DO ANYWAY but, unfortunately, that’s just not the way it is.

Please take 27 minutes out of your time to watch the above KONY 2012 video. It will explain all this in a much better way than I ever will.

And then, after that, please visit www.KONY2012.com to pledge your solidarity to help stop this human demon, and to make any contributions or purchase any ‘action kits’ (that comprise of posters, stickers, bracelets etc.) to help raise public awareness of his crimes.

I know that I will.

I urge you with all I have to please hashtag, tweet, retweet, share, status, like, or even just talk about the tragic and deadly circumstances that these children are under-going right in this moment under the brutal power of this war criminal and vilian, Joseph Kony.

Just like I found out about the severe evil and criminal injustice of Joseph Kony through something as simple as a Twitter hashtag, I can promise you that, if we all do our part, everyone else will known his name as well.

All my love!

Posted in Everywhere Else, News, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Feb 2012

Facebook Parenting: A Well-Placed Reminder to the Spoiled First World Teen

We’ve all experienced that moment of cathartic outburst we all have at some point. Where you just feel like you want to scream your lungs out at the world, break things over people’s heads, and, basically, rant on endlessly about the trauma of living with your first world problems.

You know, tragedies like knowing you left the remote on the other side of the room, walking into a wet bathroom with socks on, or not being able to hear the TV over the sound of your maid vacuuming. What harrowing, woeful, ABSOLUTELY HEART-WRENCHING lives we lead.

Now, this video right there, as well as the story behind it, is an example of two things:

  1. Why we, the privileged citizens of the first world, are beyond spoiled.
  2. Why you should never EVER badmouth your parents (or any figures of authority, really) on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other social networking site of choice.

This is a father who, in what some might consider an over the top gesture (I don’t), decided to remind his daughter how good she actually has it. See, she decided to go on a stark-raving rant on Facebook about the woes and toils of doing a couple of basic chores around the house, and demanded payment for her strenuous first world troubles. She blatantly blasted her parents and used all manner of profane wording against them, self-righteously and ungratefully stating that the day they become too old to care for themselves and need her help she “won’t be there.”

Her rightly indignant father went on to list the countless blessings he has bestowed on her and her over-spoiled life (providing her with not only everything she needed, but also everything she wanted). He stated that he and her mother had previously warned her about these kinds of rude, ungrateful, public outbursts and had punished her for it before. He detailed the measly number chores that seem to be the bane of her life. He reminded her of how good she has it in comparison to him, her father, who at her age had to be completely self-sufficient in order to survive.

He then proceeded to shoot nine rounds of bullets into her newly updated laptop as an abject lesson to show her what she, and perhaps every single pre-teen (and beyond) living within the first world, has to truly be thankful for.

I honestly have met many (and I mean MANY) people who live under their parents’ roof, do not have to do so much as lift a finger around the house, and have their every desire fulfilled by their loving parents. Yet they still have THE GALL to complain and whine endlessly about the most trivial NON-PROBLEMS on this earth.

And hey, I’m not saying I don’t have my own moments of first world woes (if I forget to take my iPhone with me to the bathroom, I almost DIE for half a millisecond). But! if my child ever makes a public outburst against me in such a spoiled and ungrateful manner as this girl did (especially when there are, at the end of the day, people on this earth who have to walk hundreds of miles just to get a sip of freaking water), not only would I shoot her laptop, I would also happily shoot her off to the nearest military school.

All my love!

Posted in Musings, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
23 Nov 2011
3 Comments

I’m Moving to Antarctica for 782.5 months! – Here’s to REAL Breast Cancer Awarness!

If any of you have been on Facebook or Twitter lately (which has, of course, turned into a redundant question at this point), you’ll have noticed a lot of girls tweeting and putting up statuses about how they’re moving to Germany or Mexico or London or WHEREVER for about 1 to 30 months. When I first saw this I didn’t really get it and I had to do some asking around before I finally got to an answer from a friend who was equally as confused as I was. Apparently, all these woman were OBVIOUSLY talking about Breast Cancer awareness. ADOY!

As someone who has personally lost a number of people (3 to be exact) to breast cancer this kind of thing REALLY ANNOYS ME. It annoyed me last year when women were suddenly talking about what color bra they were wearing (SAY WHAAA…!) and it annoys me now when they’re relating freaking cancer to holiday destinations! Apparently the point behind this ingenious plan is to get people so curious about what the hell these women are talking about that, when prompted to ask, they then receive the answer “Why, Breast Cancer, of course!” This is, in turn, supposed to make people more aware.

Okay. Problem is that if you want to raise breast cancer awareness, obscure references on Facebook to your bra color or wherever the hell you’re going for however long aren’t going to do a single thing for BREAST CANCER. You know what might? Using your status update to list the people you’ve lost to breast cancer, or the dates you lost them. Not this coy “Let’s get the boys to wonder what we’re talking about” nonsense, which is THE OPPOSITE OF AWARENESS. It has little to do with anything whatsoever!

But wait! How else will we gain awareness for a serious cause if we don’t horribly confuse people?

COME ON, PEOPLE.

So, just to recap on the complete useless nature of this movement of uselessness and for all the people who are just as uselessly confused as I was:

1) YOU CAN’T RAISE AWARENESS OF SOMETHING IF NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.

2) As mentioned, both this year and last year, there was a blind trend kind of drift where people stopped even connecting it to breast cancer…

3) …which gives a good suggestion of what this is really about: baiting people with vague innuendo for attention. Tee hee!

4) I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of breast cancer at this point. This needs to be about something more useful, like reminding people of the prevalence of it (which would be the point of, say, listing people you care about who have had it) and thus the need for regular exams and early detection. “Hurr hurr, she’s moving to Las Vegas, dude” DOES NOT ACCOMPLISH THAT.

I have had two close family members and a close childhood friend stolen from me by breast cancer. I’m not moving anywhere and HEY! MY BRA IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. Just make sure you get checked up on a regular basis cause if it can hit my life three times, it can just as easily and rapidly hit yours if you’re not careful.

All my love!

 

Posted in Musings, SAY WHAAA...! and tagged , , , ,

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