Hallah Moustafa haute couture designer costume for sale.

Looking a special something for Christmas?
Hallah Moustafa haute couture costume for sale. Hallah designs haute couture works-of-art for some of the top names in bellydance. This costume has gone unused, and therefore is in new condition. It deserves a stage!
Photos are posted here: www.flickr.com/photos/14638127@N04/
This gorgeous ensemble is hard to capture in photos. It is luscious shades of red mixed w/ islands of purple, & tinges of reddish-orange. Designer sturdy lycra has a light sheen to it. Costume is heavily sequined & beaded and generously decorated with tassles & rhinestones. There are loads of red and clear rhinestones on the bra, upper skirt and accessories (headband and 2 armbands). Bra -11 tassles, skirt 60+. Tassles are 8 inches length.
Bra is padded for pushup, B/C size, 30.5 ribcage (underbust), hook closures w/ velcro reinforcement, lined w/ soft red velvet. Halter straps currently measure 18.5" from cup to cup. Hooks can easily be resewn for adjustment.
Skirt is 41" at longest scallop. Front panel w/ large scallops is an approx 70"; back panel w/ softer scallops measures an amazing 82"width. Red chiffon spans 65 inches from back slit under the skirt (acting as liner & loft). Purple chiffon (slightly darker than photos) spans 85" from back skit to across front scalloped front (as liner & loft). Back slit is 31 inches in length. Elastic waist stretches from 30 to 36 inches. Skirt has sewn-in underwear for no-ride up the hips.
$700 + S, INS. Will ship to overseas. Money order, cashier's check, paypal. Costume was completely hand-crafted in Cairo, Egypt. Absolutely one-of-a-kind.

Dina - childhood photos

Dina on a TV program, commenting on childhood photos. Very sweet. (Very brief translation in the comments below).
www.youtube.com/watch

Kiva

I am feeling warm inside tonight. I gave up some money yesterday.... I feel it's going to a good cause -- a farmer I read about in Togo. It all started after I read an article about a non-profit organization of a different sort. It's called Kiva (means "unite" in Swahili). They don't ask you to donate... they ask you to LEND. The loans go to people in impoverished countries who, with just a small monetary nudge, are able to get ahead. Amazingly, the loan repayback success is excellent. The loans are interest free. So I'm giving it a try. I feel as though I've planted a seed and am thrilled to now watch it grow. And... I did donate a portion... to Kiva, to keep their organization going....

More from Kiva's website, www.kiva.org :

"Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform for the poor. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle."

you know...

... I enjoy reading the blogs of friends although I don't have that much time to do so and therefore don't read that many. BUT when a person, who is not someone I know personally, has overwhelmed and dominated the number of entries with complaining about their life and how everyone else is wretched as well as uses nasty foul language, entry after entry, I can't help feeling spammed by a energy vampire. I don't need that kind of negative energy in my life, much less from someone I DON"T KNOW. So I had to delete a "friend" (tribe's term) today... and it's a welcome relief.

Hagia Sophia petition

I received an email about this. There is a movement and petition to have the beautiful Hagia Sophia reverted back to being a church (instead of just a tourist attraction). More here (and voting too):
www.hagiasophiablog.com

nice story, Shada Hassoon

Wow, some GOOD international news for once. Shada Hassoon, a young Iraqi lady, singer, and hopeful in a Lebanese singing TV contest is an inspiration:
www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/m...my/index.html
Also, here is a link to one of her highly artistic performances. She has a lovely smokey voice, similar to Diana Haddad (Lebanon) who, BTW, got her start in the same fashion. (Diana was the winner of a LebaneseTV singing contest).
www.leechvideo.com/video/vi...1100.html
Shada is gorgeous!
I'll be waiting hopefully, watching for her star to rise... higher.

I miss Sahara Dance...

I miss Sahara Dance -- the first place (almost) where I got started bellydancing. I miss Rachel K and Saphira and watching these videos just made me miss them all that much more....

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

They're just so beautiful!

What to do about a very trollish comment on a video of mine.

So about six months ago, someone who saw my side-to-side bellyroll on youtube REALLY wanted me to me make a video to the song Trust in Me from the Jungle Book. Not my first choice of songs but they wanted to make the point that you can bellydance to just about any song. Finally I did and the way I interpreted the song was to dance as if to "hypnotize", like Ka the snake did, only using the belly mostly, instead of the eyes. In fact, I thought about painting my belly like a snake's face with eyes but it was too much work. I improvised the dance and to be honest I was still very tired from taking a trip overseas. But I got 'er done. www.youtube.com/watch Mostly, other viewers have left good feedback. But the other day, one very trollish comment appeared & from another *supposed* dancer. She wrote, "Did I miss something? I don't insult my shimmy sisters but you did not complete one movement in the whole choreography." Normally, I don't delete comments positive or negative and rarely do I respond to trollish comments. I can't help but feel like asking, OK, what's YOUR definition of a "move"? because it wasn't like I just stood there and did nothing in front of the camera. Or I don't know if I should just delete the comment, or just leave it and ignore it as everyone's entitled to their own opinion. In truth, I just feel like yanking the whole video so I don't have to deal with trolls or ignoramus's any longer. I usually dance Egyptian style anyway.