March 2012
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February 2012
5 posts
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“Yes, but I need a majority.”
– Adlai Stevenson, 1950s Democratic candidate, on being told he had the support of every thinking man in America.
After observing this year’s GOP primary, fair to say that there are even fewer thinking men/women in America.
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How would you describe in Islam in three words? →
(re-posting my answer to this question on Quora here)
Primordial human nature.
These three English words are a translation to the third word (transliterated as “fitrah”) in the three word Arabic phrase below that Muslim scholars use to summarize Islam:
“الاسلام دين الفطرة”
Translation: Islam is the religion of [returning to] the primordial nature [that all mankind...
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Audio recording of a discourse (khutba) I gave on...
January 2012
6 posts
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“We tell stories about the dead in order that they may live, if not in body then...”
– Philip Connors, Stories to Live With, Lapham’s Quarterly.
One of the most honest, piercing, poignant pieces I have read in a long time as the author takes us through his own experience with his brother.
December 2011
13 posts
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“Another test you can use [for finding the work you love] is: always produce. For...”
– Wish I had seen this Paul Graham essay years ago: How to Do What You Love. A must read.
Here is to making “always produce” my resolution/motto for 2012.
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The Magic of Give Kids the World Village
(the following is a conversation I overheard between my 9 year old daughter and my wife Asma)
Maaria: Are you glad we convinced you to stay here [to Give Kids the World Village]?
Asma: I actually am. I was worried that seeing sick kids was going to effect me. But here the kids are so happy unlike when we would see them at the clinic [where Sereen would get her chemo]. And that makes everybody...
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Symmetry
“I don’t want to tell anybody. Tell your parents, tell your sister. Nobody else.”
My wife had been adamant from the moment we had heard from the Make-A-Wish Foundation that our application had been approved and Sereen was going to get a wish granted. The Oncologist had encouraged us to do it very early on in Sereen’s chemotherapy regiment. “These wishes are not...
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November 2011
7 posts
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“I wanted to be loved because I was great. I’m nothing. I dishonored it...”
– Brad Pitt, speaking as father to his oldest son, in the movie Tree of Life. My wife asked me if the Brad Pitt character reminded me of myself. I said yes.
“You are a bird in a cage. You were a bird before the cage; you are a bird inside...”
– My good friend Azhar Usman on the reality of existence.
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What is the most sacred space on earth?
(the following was my answer to this exact same question on Quora)
The most non-religious sacred space I have ever been in was the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) at Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn Illinois. 11 months ago, only a couple of days before Christmas, I sat alone in the pediatric ICU after a 3 pound cancerous Wilms Tumor had been removed from my 2 year old...
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“It happens because institutions lie. And today, our major institutions lie...”
– More from Charles P. Pierce’s piece on Grantland “The Brutal Truth About Penn State”.
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“The crimes at Penn State are about the raping of children. That is all they are...”
– Charles P. Pierce in his Grantland piece “The Brutal Truth About Penn State”
Just in case anybody else wants to try and wax eloquent on Penn State, keep this in mind. In fact this is the only thing you need to keep in mind.
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October 2011
7 posts
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“Another phrase I now can’t get out of my head is “managed decline.” It’s been...”
– Why the Current Crop of Twentysomethings Are Going to Be Okay - New York Magazine
A long read but well worth it. As a father whose oldest is 13 and in his last year of middle school before the “real game” starts in high school, this was eye opening. I wonder what this article will...
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Scans - 2nd Edition
This Tuesday was Sereen’s second batch of scans post completion of her chemo this past June. Unlike the scare we got with the first scans, the ultrasound and chest x-rays looked normal. The radiologist told us the 2.5mm spot on her left kidney didn’t grow and continues to look more and more like it is a benign cyst. Big relief. Next scans in January.
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“Sociable robots and online life both suggest the possibility of relationships...”
– Sherry Turkle in her book “Alone Together”. I just started reading this book an if the number of highlighted passages in chapter one is any indication, this will be an eye opening experience. I liked this passage not only because it points to our “performances” online but to...
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Learning from Steve Job's Death (not His Life)
Finding out he died was a total surprise. I was on my wife’s MacBook and opened Safari. “Oh my God, he died” I said out loud when his picture with the dates underneath rendered itself as the Apple web page loaded. Since that moment, like many, I have read and watched the tributes of the life he lived and what he was able to accomplish in his life. But the biggest lesson for me...
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“Deep in the sea there are riches beyond your imagination.
But if you seek...”
– Saadi of Shiraz
September 2011
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[ Gray Clouds.]: Whether or not you’re in a... →
brainprisoner:
Whether or not you’re in a relationship, you should read this.
Marriage.
“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my…
Beautiful. Poignant. And true.
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“An act of cellular violence
This physiological warfare
Shedding ruddiness of...”
– Jane Chin wrote this poem after reading my On Losing Hair post that I had re-posted on Quora. To think that such a deep connection (inspiring poetry) could be made by the simple act of interacting online is moving. Thank you Dr. Chin.
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Miss Inspiration for September - My Daughter →
Humbled that the SkinLess Project would select my dear Sereen, cancer survivor, as their inspiring woman for September. She truly is inspiring, our little hero.
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These are the Reasons We Walk
“How about I go up there and stand with you?” I asked while placing my hand on Tanweer’s shoulder. “Sure”, Tanweer responded softly as he turned his soft gaze away from his wife who only moments before had shook her head at the proposition of going to the stage with him. Taking the lead, Tanweer began to weave his way through the quiet crowd, me right behind him. ...
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August 2011
4 posts
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“If you want to polish your heart clean as a mirror then drive away ten things...”
– Sufi Meditation of Repentance, Love, Holy Names and Annihilation
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The Ecosystem of Cancer Support
One thing that is truly amazing to experience when your child is touched by cancer is the endless amount of advocacy and non-profits that are out there with the express purpose of supporting patients and their families. From the hat tree, to the Treasure Chest Foundation, to Chemo Duck, you will be hard pressed to find a niche of the cancer experience that isn’t covered by some...
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