Remember when old white dudes used to sit around in places like 19th century Egypt and pontificate on questions like “why are the Muslim people so backwards?” and “I wonder what that woman looks like under that veil? I bet she’s a real tiger in the bedroom.” This, my friends, is what people much smarter than me (take Edward Said for instance) would call “Orientalism”. But if you think Orientalism died out in the 19th century, watching the new advertisement by Liaison Dangereuse, a German lingerie company, will show you otherwise. The exoticization of Muslim women is still very much alive and well. 

Italian designer Eliana Lorena has outfitted 500 Barbies in cultural clothes from around the world to be sold at an auction in Florence, Italy in celebration of Barbie’s 50th anniversary. Mattel’s release of these 500 special collectors’ Barbies spurred a lot of controversy, but you won’t hear about Kimono Barbie, Gomesi Barbie or Selwar Kameez Barbie. Nope. Everyone’s talking about Burqa Barbie - and it’s not because they’re admiring her colorful choices.

That’s the title of a new book penned by British journalist Brian Whitaker that, at first glance, looks like one giant slap in the face of the world’s most tumultuous region and everything Arab. In fact, the book represents such a disturbing notion of cultural bias that it would be unsavory for any God-fearing Arab to open it. However, if one braves the controversy slowly beginning to swirl around the publication of this book, one might see that Whitaker makes a couple of very real, tangible and truthful points. No “shoeing”, please. The rest of the book appears to be, by far, something Whitaker dreamed up in the sand swept deserts of Arabia.

If I could have any talent, it would be the ability to sing. I don’t mean a little tra-la-laing in the shower, but to really sing. I’ talkin’ Mariah, baby. Sadly, my singing is not so much Mariah as it is dying cat. That said, I do appreciate a good singer when I hear one. 

Ever wonder what a Bollywood movie would be like if Kashmir and India were the feuding families keeping the lovers apart? Well, one wire news agency can give you a taste.

Following years of debate, the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names (ICANN), an Internet oversight agency, announced last month that it will finally allow non-Latin letters and characters to be used in domain name suffixes (such as “.com").  Now, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Hebrew scripts can be used to register web addresses. But you’ll never guess which country was the first to take ICANN up on their offer. Nope, not China. Not Russia. Egypt! 

When Ross Gellar blurted out Rachel Green’s name, at the alter when he was marrying Emily ‘whoever’, residents of the Middle East gasped just as loudly as their American counterparts did. And when Kate set up Sammi Brady so that Lucas would call off the wedding on the day of the ceremony, residents of the Gulf were all abuzz and stunned with the shocking news.

Every year, the Saudi Government must prepare for the influx of pilgrims ready to perform the religious pilgrimage, the Hajj.  With roughly 2.5 million pilgrims entering the holy city of Mecca each year, the Saudis have a lot to worry about.  But luckily, because of modern technology and careful planning committees now in place, performing Hajj isn’t as chaotic as it has been in past years. 

The famous Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe in the East Village of New York City might be one of the coolest places on earth. Where else can you go for live Latin Jazz, killer spoken word, open mic nights, plays, and now the premiere of the first major Pakistani-American playhouse?

I hate the holiday season. I always buckle under the pressure of finding just the right gift for everyone (I once got my brother a t-shirt with a turkey on it. Enough said.) And the gift guides that come out this time of year are never helpful. You’ve probably never met my mother, but if you tried giving her the “open hearts” necklace from the Jane Seymour collection at Kay Jewelers, she’d disown you.