Hassan El Aroussy introduces the Little Tennis Program to Palm Hills Dragging your children away from television and computer screens is not enough to encourage them to boost their physical activity. Parents need to take a more active role in getting their kids involved in outdoor sports. And if fun is part of the equation, …

Given the choice between accomplishing something by going out and getting it done or by tapping a few keys into your pc, it’s obvious what many people would prefer. Especially if it involves some bureaucratic hassle which Egypt is famous for, and which takes more of your time than you ever thought possible. Everybody who’s …

At first sight it seems like a dusty old deserted house with the aroma of days gone by. The old pieces of furniture spilling outside a ground floor residence on Maadi’s Road 9 evoke such images. Craftsmen diligently repair these the old pieces, reshaping and shining them to cater to the special taste of a …

It’s time to replace the internal combustion engine We’ve been using the internal combustion engine – your car’s engine – for over a century. And though this invention may have served us well initially, and we’ve all benefited in different ways, our collective hands are now around Gaia’s throat. This Mother Earth, Gaia, much as …

A handful of nuts a day might keep the doctor away. Recent nutritional studies released in the Journal the American Medical Association and other reputed publications, found that eating nuts regularly has a multitude of beneficial effects on health including lowering the risk of developing heart disease (1), type 2 diabetes, dementia, stroke, and gallstones. …

LOS ANGELES: Paris Hilton filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday demanding the closure of a website where visitors can pay to view nude photos and other items that formerly belonged to her. Hilton s suit alleged that the website – parisexposed.com – which displays photos, home videos, diary entries and audiotapes of her …

Walking into the brand new Starbucks shop in City Center, Nasr City, you may as well be entering the Starbucks branch at Union Square in New York City or at Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. This place is not Egypt. Soothing tunes from the Dave Matthews Band, a popular music group from Seattle where …

Falling off the southern coast of Thailand and swallowing a large potion of the South China Sea, Malaysia is the only one of the Asian tigers to have turned towards sustainable tourism. Malaysian society boasts Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist peoples of mixed backgrounds intermingling harmoniously, allowing aspects of Chinese, Indian and Islamic culture to …

“Getting Things Done offers a new approach to getting your life under control We still call them nine-to-five jobs, but only on rare occasions do we switch off our computers at 5pm and head home. More often than not, we’re still at the office around 7pm catching up on the never-ending workload. Being overworked – …

Macrobiotic diet: A cancer cure? “I believe in the macrobiotic diet very much. It absolutely helped and saved my life, it is exceptionally powerful, said Diana Berschader, a recent lymphatic cancer survivor, who credits her survival to the macrobiotic diet. Over the past few decades, it has become evident that food can be an intense …

Most fish restaurants have a common problem. You sacrifice pleasurable atmosphere for good food. Unattractive Kleenex boxes sit atop even less attractive tablecloths, resting atop easily-cleanable tile floors, reminding customers that they are just there to eat and will be making a mess. And for some reason, these restaurants tend to be bright with high …

Drinkers who dry out for over a month experience brain growth CAIRO: Boozehounds, who jump started the year with alcohol-fueled revelry still have a chance to re-grow parts of their brain. A new study says that alcoholics who quit drinking can enjoy considerable brain growth. European researchers found that alcoholics who dried out for 38 …

The newspaper is hemorrhaging, radio and TV wounded; which victim will it claim next? First it stripped print media of its monopoly on publication. By the time this decade came round, the music industry was feeling the thumbscrews: MP3 files were small and being exuberantly exchanged. Today, instead of watching TV, teenagers graze over amateur …

New models in same price range as last year Vroom Vroom. No, not the sound of those purveyors of prog rock, King Crimson, but rather the dream of almost every male teenager in Egypt, the sound of their own new car revving and raring to go. Most wait for that day with great impatience. The …

Trackmania Nations: Electronic Sports World Cup If you bought it in a box it would be labeled “for ages 7 to 70 and “fun for the whole family . It might also carry an advisory sticker that says “Warning: users may incur hours of life-loss or “Sleep will be severely restricted . A new version …

What happens when an Egyptian – “conservative , “traditional – marries a foreigner – “liberal, and “independent ? Cultural differences abound, and bliss would seem difficult to find within mixed marriages. And indeed, it often is. Kristine fled the country when her Egyptian husband started getting violent. This, after she discovered that he was having …

With stealth and caution, Hisham walked into a downtown pharmacy and, blushingly, whispered some words, which the pharmacist did not make out immediately. The key word in Hisham’s hushed speech was “condom . Yes, Hisham came to the pharmacy in search of a condom and because he requested it red-faced, the pharmacist, who happened to …

Generally resistant to change, most Egyptians won’t substitute their beef and poultry for this healthier alternative: ostrich meat. But for those who enjoy this delicacy, there may be a chance they could order it from the menu of some restaurants – if they still offer it, that is. Having lived abroad for the past few …

Fashion is notorious for its retro looks, and now epicureans are following their lead as fondue makes a comeback. Whereas a year ago, one had to search high and low for a fondue pot, today the city’s more selective retailers are stocking the latest must-have kitchen accessory right, left and center. Fondue – from the …

Stepping onto the Blue Nile boat in Zamalek, you notice the diverse selection of restaurants, from the Applebee’s to the Far Eastern cuisine of Asia Bar, which strategically overlooks the magnificent waters of the Nile. One restaurant in particular located on the upper deck is Il Ritrovo Piano Bar, a new, sophisticated bar and dining …

The hidden fats in your everyday meal or snack You may be aware that processed foods and junk foods are bad for you, but do you know why? Numerous dietary culprits in these foods make them unhealthy but one group that has recently come to the fore as being particularly villainous on your health are …

We have never seen more marriages ending in divorce than in this decade but the concept of marriage counseling is still relatively new to Egypt. Because of upbringing and rigid beliefs and habits, not many of the couples having problems seek to solve them in this non-traditional approach. More often than not, the burden to …

The long weekend and mid-year break, as well as the cooler winter temperatures, are a great time to explore the city with your family. It’s also a great way for your children to learn about Egypt’s history and culture. For those who are faced with the challenge of making an educational excursion with the family …

If you are one of the people who regularly crave sushi then you are either loaded and willing to pay the big bucks or you practice admirable self control. In Cairo, sushi is expensive. It s offered in restaurants where they charge you for the mere act of taking you to the table you reserved …

The Japanese may have lost World War II, but if their culture and cuisine have any say, they may be winning the battles for minds and stomachs. Manga cartoons, which exploded onto the international scene with such masterpieces as “Akira , influence not only the animated film genres in Hollywood but have also started to …

What to do if you want to kick like your heroes Let’s admit it, every armchair supporter of the world’s greatest game (that’s football, otherwise known as soccer to US residents) wishes he were in place of his favorite hero when they come to score that winning goal, or keeping their team in the scrap …

Multi-core processing: Doing more, even if you don’t need to The wonders of technology have brought us many ways to pass and – let’s be honest – exploit our time. And now you can multiply them by four. At least that’s what Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) would have you believe. These manufacturers …

Great food, hip cafes and a bumping nightlife Jerusalem: In a brick theatre dating from pre-Ottoman times, a crowd of revelers has gathered to groove to the unrelenting thump of minimal techno. Even though it’s closing in on 4 am, the packed dance floor hasn’t let up, and the unyielding rhythms of Berlin-based DJ Aaron …

Getting married in Egypt is an arduous process. Many negotiations are settled, and arrangements solidified to ensure the couple’s compatibility. Finally, it all culminates in a beautiful day that ends with a night waited for since the first accidental glimpse of an R-rated movie. Still, marriages are just not working. They are getting increasingly fragile …

First of all, it’s not technically a smart-phone, some are saying it is a smart-iPod. Not that Apple’s latest gem needed help de-geeking its image; Apple has always been led by design, but this has so often been at the cost of practicality. The iPhone may be no exception. Though its name may already be …