TV Series Character of the Week

Character: Donna Noble

TV Series: Doctor who (Series 4)

Role: Main Character - Comapnion

Played by: Catherine Tate

This week's character is Donna Noble. Donna Noble is the tenth Doctor third companion. However series 4 was not her debut. Her first appearance was in the Christmas special that follow series 2 "The Runaway Bride". Her first appearance was quite comical, something we needed after "Doomsday". There's no doubt Donna is bad tempered and noisy, she gave the Doctor a hard time when they first met. However, she shows her soft, merciful and humane side later.

During the new doctor who, she was the only character that refuses to accompany the Doctor. Anyway, she regret it later and we see that in the premiere of series 4 "Partners in crime". From the premiere of series 4, it seemed that we were going to witness one hilarious Doctor who series. That was the case on many occasions, and episodes like the unicorn and the wasp, for example. But, the series also had its fair share of heartbreaking episodes, and an end that contradicts the premiere's happy reunion.

Donna was the doctor's friend and that was it. That's what made her my favorite companion. They were a brilliant duo. She was not just another companion of the doctor, who followed him in whatever he says. She'd object on whatever she thinks is wrong. She's not one to turn a blind eye on whoever needs help, because they just can't help. She's also one of the funniest new doctor who characters.

In spite of Donna's sorrowful ending with the doctor, she had a satisfying closure in "The end of time". 

Anime character of the day (2)

I'm sure this is the first to come to my mind because of the movie I saw yesterday :D

Character: Takeshi or as I've known him for all my life Brock
Anime: Pokemon
Age: 15 years old
Role: Ash's traveling companion.
History: Brock had a rough childhood with his father disappearing and after that his mother leaving, he had to take care of his siblings and become the Pewter Gym leader. When finally his father came back he was able to join Ash and Misty in their quest.
Specialty: He started as a rock type trainer and then started collecting other types along their journey. His main goal was to become a breeder. That goal started changing after the Diamond & Pearl series as he saw his friends' dreams being bigger than his, so he decided he wanted to become a Pokemon doctor instead, which feels more like him if you ask me (I know that white coat would suit him well :D)
Who he is: Brock was portrayed as a gentle friend who cares so much for Pokemon. I remember him preparing so many meals for his and his friends' Pokemon (small brown delicious looking food :D). Sometimes he is the voice of reason in the group and gives good advice. His backpack became quiet legendary for the amount of supplies it carries XD He's very smart and helps his friends understand Pokemon battles and strategies better.
Why I absolutely love him: In addition to all those merits, my favorite thing about him is his- not so successful- pursuit of beautiful women. He's hilarious! I don't even know how he differentiates between all those officers Jenny and Nurses Joy (Yes they all have the same name and are all over those Pokemon cities :D) He's just smitten at first sight and keeps trying to pursue a girl for a whole episode until she breaks his heart OR Misty pulling his ear :D Just look at him XD

Bonus: An interesting thing about Brock is that his eyes are always appearing closed, which annoyed me alot as a child as if they were too lazy to draw him a pair. Anyway we were lucky enough to see his eyes opened (unwillingly) a couple of times :D

Song of the Day

Song: Can't take my eyes off you!

Artist: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Album: - - Single (1967)

        For me, this song was the song that Heath Ledger sang for Julia Stiles in 10 things I hate about you, or that was the case till a month before. We were at Hend's place, working on our graduation project, and she felt like listening to it. I was saying that I liked Heath Ledger's version best, since the other version I'd heard was slow and boring. Then, Hend said that he was not even really singing and we got into the argument whether it was good or not. Then, Summar played her usual role, judging between us. So, we listened to the movie version again, and Summar decided that it was no good. We decided to find the original version and listen to it. It started and I thought it was the same boring one from before, but then It got all better at the part "I love you baby…". I was just thinking this is good, when Summar said it. :) 

        Now, whenever I hear it I remember this argument and those days, and I love the song even more. <3

FYI, the performance by Heath Ledger in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate about You, was nominated for Best Musical Sequence in the 2000 MTV Movie Award!

See?! It was not that bad after all! XD

Movie of the week (1)

     So, I shall start our weekly movie reviews, with this lighthearted, yet unique movie.....

Movie: Bend it like Beckham

Genre: Comedy, Sports, Drama, romance

Starring: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley

IMDB rating: 6.7/10

Rotten tomatoes: 85 %

    Bend it like Beckham, in short, is a movie about girls playing football. However, it's more than just football.

   The main character Jesminder (Parminder Nagra),or Jess, is an Indian Sikhi who live in England. She is obsessed with football and her favorite player is David Beckham. She wanted to play football, but her conservative Sikhi parents refused because she's a girl. For them, a girl's best achievement is to get married and raise a family. However, with her friend, who's having his own secret, covering for her, she could play. The coach is impressed by Jess and puts her on the team. That's when everything starts, a long struggle with football, love, cultural differences and parents.

   The movie discusses issues like gender and racial discrimination, but in a simple and humorous way. It is very enjoyable to watch and, most definitely, not a wasted time.

My rating: 8/10

Song of the day

It wasn't easy to pick one, but what made it easier is that I'll get lots of opportunities to talk about all my favorites. So, this one doesn't necessarily mean it's the best, but it's among the list of special ones I like listening to :D

The Lazy Song

By: Bruno Mars
Album: Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)
Genre: Roots reggae
Why it's special: The title alone speaks for itself. It's a song I've played a lot while working on my projects in college, it just made me feel that I'm not alone in the world and someone even made a song about his inability to work just because he's not in the mood to. The first time I heard it I was on a car ride home during our first year as architecture students with Aya and Heba, it was 7 pm and it was a crowded day on the streets. We tuned in the radio on Nile FM and this is the song that comes up, so we start moving our heads along with the song with the windows rolled down and nice summer air hitting our faces. It was a really nice experience ^_^
Drawback: The only drawback is the "S" word which was uncalled for, I just pretend it's not there due to the discomfort that comes along with it.
Bonus: Another cherry on the top is the funny video with the monkey masks. I just love them :D
So, relax, play the song and do nothing ;)

Anime Character of the Day

We'll be having one of those everyday....hopefully :D

Character: Makimachi Misao "Weasel Girl"

Manga: Rurouni Kenshin

Anime: Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan

Age: 16 years old

Role: Supporting character

       Makimachi Misao is a member of the Oniwabanshū clan. She made her first appearance in the second arc, New Kyoto. She's, definitely, one of my favorite anime female characters!

       Misao worships Shinomori Aoshi the leader of the Oniwabanshū, since he used to raise her as a child with the rest of the group.  She's been very dedicated to finding him. That's when she meets Kenshin, and sticks to him on the hope he would lead her to Aoshi.

       My first impression of Misao was that I liked her. I was worried, though, that she'd turn into a very annoying character once she realizes how things were between Aoshi and Kenshin. However, she didn't let me down. Her liking Aoshi didn't make her choose his side when he was on the wrong. She could judge from the time she accompanied Kenshin, that he's the one she should support, even if that meant opposing Aoshi.

      Misao is a very animated character. She clearly expresses her emotions and switches between different emotional states quickly.  She might not be physically strong but her strong will and determination make up for that. She's always ready to help and she's liked by everyone.

     Misao, also, is one of the funniest characters in Rurouni Kenshin. She makes a hilarious duo with Yahiko.

Our Graduation Project

Among the many wonders our bodies are built with is the connection between all the organs and the brain. One that interests me the most is how you capture with your eyes billions of images and yet you manage to store millions of them. Whenever I felt “This is a special moment” I tried to convince my brain to save it for me, to capture it, to keep it safe because I’ll need to revisit those memories and relive them to bring me joy and mind relief. I never thought making our way through college would mean much to me for it’s such an ordinary event that half of the world’s population goes  through, but surprisingly it did. Our graduation project is the product of so many moments that hopefully we wouldn't forget. Everyone likes to think they’re special, that they exist for a certain purpose others can’t fulfill. That’s why superhero movies are always loved and almost never fail, we connect with them, we see ourselves in the nerdy Peter Parker, Clark Kent who literary is an outsider and the rightful Bruce Wayne who had to build himself of nothing. So the people in our story are heroes in a way, for they were able to come out of this five years journey stronger, more experienced and above all enjoying the company of each other.

 So, I’ll try to sum up our graduation project experience just for the fun of it :D. Out of our four year experience in group work most of our class decided it was better to work in small groups, which we conquered because frankly the pain you have to go through to be in touch with 4 other people and having all 5 of you agree on the same thing, was very much not worth it. So we ended up as 3 members Yosra, Hend and me. Our graduation project is an institute of books and library science, meaning we teach students everything they need to know to produce a book starting with writing and editing and ending with book design and publishing. We spent almost 3 weeks to shape up our idea and its birth place was in Cilantro, Misaha square :D. I still remember the three of us sitting around the table having drinks and brainstorming about possible ideas for our project. It was no easy task to convince our supervising doctor and his assistant of the idea, they both read the title, formed an image of it in their heads and we were expected to know what they wouldn’t tell us.

The first semester was much easier of course because all the work we did was some research and adjusting the idea bit by bit. I remember how worried I was about the teaching staff not understanding the project, but whenever we talked to each other as a group, talk to our friends or me excitedly give my mum a headache telling her about our institute, my faith was renewed and we just kept going with what we believed in. Of course it was not easy going into the unknown like that especially that here in this country people like to make a big deal out of everything enjoying your insecurities and worries, but fortunately we did and we couldn’t be more proud and glad ^_^.  

Our second semester was the hardest of all the five years, as expected.  It was no easy task coordinating between the three of us, at first everything was fine, then we had some small bumps on the road but nothing major happened. Yokatta! I’d like to confess that sometimes I felt I was leaning on my team mates too much, I just had no energy and I just felt like I’m working on the easy stuff and let them deal with the heavy ones. There were some dark days where I couldn’t see the end of it, I lost hope and just wanted to give up, but gladly we had great supports including our families, friends and of course two great teaching assistants who really liked our project and believed it could be something good(Ramy and Yasmina, just so years from now I still remember their names :D).

The last couple of weeks before our final presentation day were the most tiring and yet the most joyful. I mean how many times do you get to have a sleepover with your best friends while have a totally legitimate alibi for your parents :D I’m so glad we made those final working hours so much fun watching movies, talking and eating some good food. Finally, the best thing about working on this project together is knowing our true capabilities, proving to everyone that beating the odds can be done all on your own with no seeking “professional help” from the outside, and above all you CAN work with your best friends and have an amazing result. I’m proud of us guys! ^_^