Thoughts – Mahmood's Den

Life under Covid-19 Quarantine

By mahmood on Friday, February 18, 2022

I tested positive for Covid-19 the day before yesterday and I’ve been in quarantine since. I’m starting to understand how awful this is; the sequestering more than the disease itself! I’m not complaining though. My business is going on with some impact, but we receive orders online for our products, and our services team is …

Thoughts

RIP Prince Khalifa

By mahmood on Wednesday, November 11, 2020

I just heard the sad news of the passing of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the long serving Prime Minister of Bahrain. May he rest in peace. I join everyone in Bahrain in mourning his passing and extend my deep condolences to His Majesty the King and all of the Al-Khalifa family and of …

Thoughts

New Nike Ad is a lesson in seamless and gorgeous editing

By mahmood on Friday, July 31, 2020

Did you get goosebumps? Watch it again. Even more goosebumps, right? This is what a real piece of art does. I love the seamless integration of these shots. What’s even more brilliant about them is the fact that they are all archive footage. Nike’s team didn’t go out and shoot them specifically, though their team …

General Thoughts

The Sisyphean Nature of Small Business in Bahrain

By mahmood on Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Having a small business in Bahrain is nothing less than a Sisyphean task. It’s agonising. Heart wrenching. Soul crushing. Doesn’t end. And one has to deal with a myriad of hindrances to business. Growing a small business is an even harder enterprise. Everything is lobbied at you not to succeed. One of the main detriments …

Thoughts

The Height of Nonsense

By mahmood on Monday, July 6, 2020

This quote came to mind this afternoon from an Arabic novel I read a while ago by the Tunisian writer Ahlam Mosteghanemi. The quote goes something like this: “Nothing hears the most nonsense in the world as a painting hanging in a museum”or in Arabic: “Ù„Ø§ Ø´Ø¦ ÙŠØ³Ù…Ø¹ Ø§Ù„ØÙ…Ø§Ù‚Ø§Øª Ø§Ù„Ø£ÙƒØ«Ø± ÙÙŠ Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø§Ù„Ù… Ù…Ø«Ù„ Ù„ÙˆØØ© ÙÙŠ …