Mstdfr Show 2015

20% Arabic - 80% English


In this episode we talked about:

Movie Rating System - Wifi Security  - Personal Picks for Best Movies - Lord of the Rings - Batman The Dark Knight - Saw - Ghostbusters - Transformers - 12 Angry Men - The Stinking Rose - San Francisco - San Romeo Hotel.

Hosts:

Ammar Sabban (http://twitter.com/Sabban31)
Rami Taibah (http://twitter.com/Rtaibah)

Guests:

Omair Taibah (http://twitter.com/Amrush)
Faisal Assiri (http://twitter.com/4aisal)
Hashim Alzain (http://twitter.com/Hashimooto)

About MSTDFR

A bunch of Middle Eastern "Nerds" talking about random things every week, we have no agendas and we are not trying to save the world. We just like to hear our selves talk B)



#001: We Don't Know What The Hell We're Doing

20% Arabic - 80% English

Omair tells us of the story of how Hashim grilled him in an engineering job interview. Rami asks what would be the most watched video if Youtube existed in 1900. We discuss the misuse of the word 'literally' and how the word has been redefined in the English language.

We then move on to discussing what to name the podcast and come up with the MSTDFR podcast. We have the Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison debate. Ammar  laments the challenges he is facing with his children teaching them the Arabic language. Finally, Faisal schools us in linguistics.



#002: Literally Redefined

30% Arabic - 70% English

Rami shares with us his geeky yet mischievous wifi tethering hotspot name. The MSDTFR gang discusses being multicultural, conformity in Saudi Arabia vs. USA. 

Ammar then segues us into TV and media consumption with children. We discussed Naqatube, the video website preferred by Muslim conservatives. Rami rants about Internet censorship in Saudi Arabia and it's adverse effect on making parents passive with their children's internet consumption.

We casually ask the question; what is the effect of technology on social relationships? (We need to dig into this deeper!) We somehow found ourselves talking about vegetarianism and the health effects of overeating meat.

We finally end up talking about nerd culture in Saudi Arabia and comparing it with the general global nerd culture.

Show notes:

1- Naqatube http://naqatube.com/
2- The truth behind one YouTube account's 77,000 mysterious videos http://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/may/01/truth-youtube-mysterious-videos-webdriver-torso



#003: MOI Surveillance

90% Arabic - 10% English

Ammar and Rami go at it debating whether management as a profession in itself as important as it is made out to be or craftsmen can/should be able to learn managing their enterprises. Then they delve deeper into the Saudi job market as an institution and analyze it and discuss what is holding it back.

Omair explains to us thermal radiation and why darker colors absorb more heat than lighter colors.



#004: It's Not A Meritocracy

20% Arabic - 80% English

Today we host Abdulhameed Sabban (aka Tudi) a comic book aficianado and expert. We start discussing the DC superhero universe and explore the parallels between Superman and the story of the prophet Moses. We then analyze the Fox vs. Marvel war and the reasons behind the bad blood between the two companies.

We then reminisce about the comics we grew up on in Saudi Arabia, Tintin, Mickey Magazine, Bassem Magazine, and Majed Magazine. We later discuss the conspiracy theory that Stan Lee did not invent Spiderman. We finally bring it home by discussing Comics in the Middle East including The 99 and the highly anticipated Bilal movie.


Shownotes:

1- Mutant X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutant_X_%28TV_series%29

2- Did Stan Lee Really Invent Spiderman? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiDCxKqD5Mo

#005: Tudi Marvels From DC

40% Arabic - 60% English

Today we talk about art and personal passions. Fayiz Melibary starts by telling us the story of Elon Musk. Then we talk about Huda Baydoon and her artistic contribution to Banksy's Dismaland.

Then we ask the question whether photography an art or not, which gets us into war photography and Kevin Carter's 1993 notorious photo. 

The gang then talk about their own individual passions including photography, woodworking & metalworking,  puppeteering, and the environment. We talk about the different challenges social we face day-to-day to pursue these passions.

Whenever you get 3 parents in the room, the discussion invariably veers to our children; Fayiz, being a dentist, rants how it is very difficult to control sugar and sweets consumption with his children. He even equates candy to alcohol! We also discuss homeschooling as an option for our children and how to encourage our children to pursue their passions.

---

Shownotes

- Dismaland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismaland
- Kevin Carter's notorious image http://matteovegetti.com/blog/kevin-carter-vultures-and-graffiti
- Awesome honeycomb knife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=801NU7CkEQM
- Alnoghair
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSrhPCHV5kXiak3xt7hSmg

Correction: Khayra referred to an art piece she believed was made by Huda Beydoun https://www.behance.net/gallery/8397101/Documenting-The-Undocumented , but was in fact made by Manal AlDowayyan www.manaldowayan.com/my-name.html

#006: Juggling Dreams

25% Arabic - 75% English 

Today's conversation brings us to a few pet peeves in Saudi etiquette - serving things with your left hand and taking things personally. We then find out the MSTDFR origin story after realizing there aren't a lot of podcasts like us.
"IT guy" Ali turns out to be a prankster, and shares an adventure with us and highlighting the phenomenon of people teaming up with him. He gives good tips on how to come clean to the pranked.

Many age-old Internet debates come up; Are audio books and comic books as legit as real books? Ali distracts the group by bringing up the Game of Thrones books vs the TV show. The gang then admit to their smartphones of choice, with iPhone users being outnumbered.

Finally, Ammar shares his high school story, featuring his knife-carved desk and his adventures of being head of his "high school police".

Sponsored by Studio 966, UX developers. Get in touch at hello@966.io
Sponsored by 31 Workshop Ave, Entertainment Production Studio. Get in touch at imafroott@gmail.com or @afroott on Twitter/Instagram

---
Shownotes

- Telegram is in fact accessible on Mac OS X and on iOS web browsers.
- Picture of Ammar's carved desk can be found here http://instagram.com/p/7kql4Jga-t/

#007: A is for Android?

20% Arabic - 80% English 

Featuring Ammar Sabban @sabban31, Rami Taibah @rtaibah, Omair Taibah @amrush, & Faisal Aseeri @4aisal.

The guys start off the day by discussing dumb questions that don't deserve answers. However, seeing dumb questions in retrospect makes Omair and Faisal think differently.

Science gets explained in lay men's terms. Even better, super hero science, human tetrachromats (see show notes), outer space, and existentialism has its 15 minutes of fame.

We shed light on different techniques to watch all 6 (or 5)of the Star Wars Saga. Just in time for the release of Episode VII in December! Back to the Future's prophetic nature is appreciated and illusions are explored as tricks your mind creates. Play-along section includes (1) An experiment is presented, get in touch with us about your findings! (2) a GIF that you should watch to play along. 

Rami wants to clarify that Omair made the joke at the end. 

Sponsored by Studio 966, UX developers. Get in touch at hello@966.io
Sponsored by 31 Workshop Ave, Entertainment Production Studio. Get in touch at imafroott@gmail.com or @afroott on Twitter/Instagram

---
Shownotes

- Battlestar Galactica also accurately represented space death (but not FTL drive travel, that's for another time).
- A person with extra receptors is called a tetrachromat and can see 100x the colors the average person can see. Here's a link to art created by a discovered tetrachromat, Concetta Antico, where we see what she sees daily http://concettaantico.com/
- Illusion GIF for your play-along entertainment http://imgur.com/gallery/7uRSo
- Cover illustration by L. Calçada found at European Southern Observatory http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0908a/

#008: Leave Pluto Alone

90% Arabic - 10% English

Today's topic generally is not viewed as a geeky topic, our challenge was to geek out on it. We talk sports.

We get into a heated debate on the 'national choice' issue that many North African soccer players face during their careers. What makes Zidane, Benzema, Nasri et al choose France over Algeria or vice versa to represent on the international football stage?

We then discuss the Arab/Saudi sports and why it is extremely difficult for athletes from the region to make it on the international stage.

---

Shownotes

- Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez is fast fulfilling his late father’s dreams http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/12/leicester-city-riyad-mahrez-father-dream-algeria-world-cup

- Hachim Mastour Proud To Be Moroccan https://youtu.be/iXNfmJkU2sE

- In 1994 World Cup qualifiers the Egypt-Zimbabwe match was annulled and replayed in France because of Egyptian fans violence. Had the result stood, Egypt would've qualified to the final rounds of the African qualifiers. The game in France ended 0-0, allowing Zimbabwe to advance. Rami mistakenly claimed that Egypt qualified to the World Cup only for the match to be awarded to Zimbabwe due to violence.

- Saad Shadad Al-Asmari https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saad_Al-Asmari

- Hadi Soua'an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadi_Soua'an_Al-Somaily

#009: Draggin' Balls In Our Court

30% Arabic - 70% English

In this episode we kick off trying to answer the question 'what is an Arab' and Arab identity. The discussion automagically veers to the "genie" on Twitter.

Ammar then quizzes our local theoretical physicist Reem on the science behind the flux capacitor from Back To The Future. Reem then tells us about her work at CERN and the  Large Hadron Collider (LHC.) Which leads to particle physics, positrons, anti-matter and a lot of other mind-numbing physical concepts that Reem did a marvelous job explaining and graciously dealt with our stupid questions and Ammar's lame jokes.

#010: Positron vs Megatron

50% Arabic - 50% English

We couldn't just let Reem go after one hour, so Ammar & Rami held her hostage for two more hours!

We delve deeper into particle physics for almost two hours. Then Reem tells us more about her fascination with kung fu.

Bonus 001: A Conversation With Reem Taibah

20% Arabic - 80% English

In this episode we talk to WSJ journalist Ahmed Al-Omran and uber new media geek Lou Kay.

We talk about journalism in the Middle East and Saudi, the future of newspapers in Saudi, news consumption, the 'filter bubble,' WhatsApp journalism,  and many other new media topics.

Oh and we geek out fonts.

#011: We're Here for the Anal Probe

30% Arabic - 70% English

Today we start with reminiscing about our online personas 15 years ago. We then talk about privacy or the lack thereof in today's world. 

We also discuss ridiculous resumes we encountered. Unprofessional resumes for some reason grind Ammar's gears. Oh well.

Khayra then tells us about her struggle with learning the Arabic language.

Fun times!

#012: We Are Not Hipsters

50% Arabic - 50% English

This week we host Dr. Sari Sabban (No relation to Ammar :D) a  molecular biologist and biotechnologist. Sari tells us how he got into science and the interesting journey on how he ended up as a molecular biology.

We discuss DNA, the human genome project, and protein folding. Then Sari proceeds to blow our minds with amazing biological facts: Gros Michel bananas, fecal transplantion, crowdsourcing technologies in science, anti-vaxxers, vitamin C and much more!


Links

- Red Shift CD http://www.amazon.co.uk/Focus-Multimedia-Ltd-RedShift-4/dp/B000056C0C
- Human Genome Project http://www.genome.gov/10001772
- Folding@Home http://folding.stanford.edu/home/
- Fold It Game http://fold.it/portal/
- Human Proteome Project http://www.thehpp.org/
- Seti Project http://seti.org
- The Man Who Hasn't Showered In 12 Years http://www.inquisitr.com/2400090/man-who-hasnt-showered-in-12-years-to-sell-his-secret-spray-that-keeps-him-clean/)
- Panama diesease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_disease
- Vaccine Controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_controversies)
-Linus Pualing & Vitamin C Advocacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling#Medical_research_and_vitamin_C_advocacy
- T3rf De http://t3rfde.com

Corrections

 - Sari mentioned that Cavendish bananas got extinct. However he meant Gros Michel bananas which were completely wiped out from South America due to the Panama disease.

Hosts

- Ammar Sabban http://twitter.com/sabban31
- Khayra Bundukji http://twitter.com/khayrab
- Rami Taibah http://twitter.com/rtaibah
- Sari Sabban http://twitter.com/sarisabban

#013: Stop Cloning Around, Bananas!

50% Arabic - 50% English

We start talking about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is a test designed to indicate psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. 

We then geek out on our very own show; MSTDFR! We talk about how the show came to be, our listeners, our stats so far, and our plans.

The gang then takes a trip down media & technology memory lane: Walkman, CD's VHS, Terrestrial TV. Leading us to a plethora of technology & society issues.

## Hosts

- Ammar Sabban http://twitter.com/sabban31
- Rami Taibah http://twitter.com/rtaibah
- May Abughazalah http://twitter.com/may_ag

## Links

- 16 Personalities http://16personalities.com
- Podtrac Podcasting Stats Software http://podtrac.com
- Steve Job's didn't let his kids use iPads http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html?_r=
- Whatsapp Blocked in Saudi Arabia http://www.itp.net/602475-whatsapps-new-call-service-to-be-blocked-in-ksa
- Microsoft buys Nokia's phone business http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/03/us-microsoft-nokia-idUSBRE98202V2013090


#014: You Are Just a Dumb Pipe

20% Arabic - 80% English

For the month of Movember, we decided to shed light on prostate cancer. We host Dr. Abdulhakeem Jomah and start talking about working out, supplements, and nutrition.

We also talk about the medical industry in Saudi Arabia from Hakeem's experience in Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies to his adventures in practicing medicine in the 'Karantena' district in Jeddah.

We then comprehensively talk about prostate and testicular cancer detection and symptoms. Spread awareness & save lives!

Hosts

- Ammar Sabban http://twitter.com/sabban31
- Rami Taibah http://twitter.com/rtaibah
- Khayra Bundukji http://twitter.com/khayrab
- Dr. Abdulhakeem Jomah http://twitter.com/hakeemjomah

Links

http://movember.com



#015: The Doctor Will Not See You Now

40% Arabic - 60% English

In this episode we host Abdullah Sabban. Listen to this episode to find out how Abdullah was involved in a major international political incident. 

We then talk about corporate life, self-help books & self-improvement, discipline in the Saudi workforce, and realizing  dreams.

## Hosts

- Ammar Sabban
- Rami Taibah
- Khayra Bundukji
- Abdullah Al-Sabban

Links

- Saudi Plane Bound for London Hijacked http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=82384
- Imperative http://imperative.com


#016: Welcome to Iraq. Cupcakes, Anyone?

70% Arabic - 30% English

In this episode we explore the interesting success story of Lomar thobes with it's founder Loai Nasseem. No success story is complete without failures. Loai tells us his failures that led to the success of Lomar.

PS: From a fashion design point of view, the Saudi thobe stayed unchanged for decades. At the turn of the century Lomar spearheaded a cultural shift in thobe designs by making them more functional, hip, and modern. Revolutionizing a cultural dress and making it mainstream is no easy task, and that is the main reason we decided to talk to Loai.

#017: Who Needs a Couch? Let's Get Tailors!

20% Arabic - 80% English

Nour Fetyani, Jeddah's pre-eminent tree hugger, joins us on MSTDFR to talk to us about Mother Earth. We talk about the journey toward, and the struggle for, environmentalism in Saudi Arabia. We appreciate the balance of nature and talk about the need to protect that balance. And we discuss the the quality of our food and where it comes from.

Nour showed up with an upcycled braclet made out of crushed Nespresso capsule. Normally we geeked out on her trash. Nour then told us how she got into caring for the environment and Ammar somehow found a way to find similarities between Saudis and earth worms!

We also discuss Ozone depletion, climate change, the littering problem in Saudi, composting, the Pacific trash vortex, recycling and a lot more.

## Hosts

- Ammar Sabban http://twitter.com/sabban31
- Rami Taibah http://twitter.com/rtaibah
- Khayra Bundukji http://twitter.com/khayrab
- Nour Fityani http://twitter.com/nourf777 

## Links

- Popup Archive http://popuparchive.com
- How to make a compost pit www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Compost-Pit
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs http://www.amazon.com/Cloudy-Chance-Meatballs-Bill-Hader/dp/B00304E5NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449073839&sr=8-1&keywords=Cloudy+With+a+Chance+of+Meatballs+movie
- The Story of Stuff http://thestoryofstuff.com
- Kees Chic http://ateeq.me/
- AlNabta https://twitter.com/alnabta
- Mawakeb Alajer https://twitter.com/mawakebalajer
- Recycle Your Jeddah https://www.facebook.com/groups/2595600860/
- Ammar's show: The Earth Day Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz0HzS1O-ug
- Khayra's Documentary: Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU
- Rami's Documentary: Six Degrees Could Change The World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_pb1G2wIoA


  
## Keywords

-  Ozone Layer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_layer
- CFCs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorofluorocarbon
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch
- The Three Rs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_three_Rs
- Freecycling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freecycling
-  Upcycling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycling


#018: Stop Messing With the Hole

10% Arabic - 90% English

We host Majid Al-Reefi a sports fan and an american football die-hard. We discuss what makes sports exciting, the role it played in former Yugoslavia politics, the rules and history of american football, refereeing in soccer, american football, and tennis, injuries and concussions, sports in Saudi Arabia, and a lot more.


## Hosts

- Ammar Sabban http://twitter.com/sabban31
- Rami Taibah http://twitter.com/rtaibah
- Majid Al-Reefi mreefi [at] yahoo [dot] com


## Showlinks

- Japan beats South Africa in the Rugby World Cup http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/19/south-africa-japan-rugby-world-cup-2015-match-report
- American football has 11 minutes of action only http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406
- Drazen Petrovic & Vlade Divac breakup http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/04/sports/on-pro-basketball-a-battle-that-is-going-beyond-the-court.html
- The Boban kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnrLuAzUPMs
- Birth of a nation: Boban cult hero http://media.balls.ie/uploads/2013/10/croatia.jpg
- NFL passes rule allowing refs to consult with officials on replay http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24499958/nfl-passes-rule-allowing-refs-to-consult-with-officials-on-replay
- Tennis Hawk-Eye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk-Eye
- John McEnroe tantrums https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcWNsS6wEps
- Tennis court surfaces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_court#Surfaces
- The tennis big four https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_%28tennis%29
- Why Do Athletes Slap Each Others’ Butts? http://mentalfloss.com/article/51141/why-do-athletes-slap-each-others%E2%80%99-butts
- A Beginner's Guide to American Football https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t6hM5tRlfA
- American football or rugby: which is more dangerous?http://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2013/jan/28/american-football-rugby-more-dangerous
- Mystery solved: Don’t blame the Americans! The real origin of the word ‘soccer’ https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/the-rio-report/mystery-solved-don-t-blame-usa-real-reason-123344142.html
- How Dangerous Is Boxing For The Brain?http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080328114523.htm
- Concussion Movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322364/
- Junior Seau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Seau
- Mutu played 'high on cocaine' http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/mutu-played-high-on-cocaine-6965248.html
- Top 10 Soccer Stars Who Smoke http://www.thesportster.com/soccer/top-10-soccer-stars-who-smoke/?view=all

  
## Keywords
- Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade riot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinamo_Zagreb%E2%80%93Red_Star_Belgrade_riot
-  Concussions in the NFL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concussions_in_American_football
- Performance-enhancing drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance-enhancing_drugs



## Errata
- Boban is actually a Croat not a Serb as Rami mistakenly said. Also the game referenced was between Dinamo Zagreb & Red Star Belgrade



#019: The Evolution of Stewey-Head

بودكاست مستدفر هو برنامج إذاعي سعودي من تقديم عمار ورامي يأتيكم كل أسبوع فجر يوم الأحد من مدينة جدة ويقدم لكم حوارات عصرية  وترفيهية وثقافية مع مجموعة من أبرز العقول في مجتمعنا اليوم.

ونقدم لكم محتوانا بشكل عفوي وصادق من قلوبنا إلى عقولكم