Category Archives: News and Events

My write ups on the latest news stories and events, mainly political within the US and the Middle East.

SF Sundays – Celebrate, Laugh and Eat!

20 January 2019A Tourist In My Hometown, I'm Always Hungry, News and Events, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Sundaysarts, arts photography, Asian Art, CA, California, city walk, de Young, fine arts, food blogger, foodie, foodie life, free admissions, GLBT, Golden Gate Bridge, happy new year, Jewish Museum, Legion of Honor, local, local travel, Museum of Craft and Design, museums, new year, new year goal, new year's resolution, Oakland Restaurant Week, photography, repatriation, Restaurant, Restaurant Week, Restaurants, san francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Fine Arts, SF, SF City Guide, SF Sundays, sunday, tour guides, tourist, tours, travel, travel blogger, travel bucket list, travel local, Travels, Visit California, Visit Oakland, Visit San Francisco, Visit SFMs. Hala

Hope you are all surviving this Bay Area cold. Luckily the weather seems to be calming down after those rain storms. At least there are a few things to enjoy outdoors if you’ve got a nice coat and a sturdy umbrella.

I’m not sure what’s more exciting, the long weekend of celebrating the great Martin Luther King’s life, laughing to tears or all the food that’s involved.

HAPPENING AROUND TOWN

Martin Luther King week is already in full gear! Tomorrow, January 21st, the MLK march will start at 11am at 4th and King Street before ending at the Yerba Buena Center. This is where the celebration festivities will be held until about 5pm. Some may head straight to the center but you don’t want to miss Caltrain’s Celebration Train that’ll be at the King Street Station just before the march. There are more activities, festivals and celebrations to partake in as listed by the NorCal MLK Foundation.

Want to explore the San Francisco African American Freedom Trail? As recommended by San Francisco Travel, this is a great way to not only learn about how African Americans changed the world from our humble Bay Area, but a great way to explore the city on foot. This is a great learning adventure for the whole family, just wear good, comfortable shoes.

If you haven’t already, the 18th Annual SF Sketchfest, founded by David Owen, is still happening now through January 27th. With this shutdown mess, we could all use a laugh from the likes of Andy Kindler, Sasheer Zamata, Michael Ian Black and local favorite, Peaches Christ.

YUMMINESS ACHIEVED

San Francisco Restaurant Week is starting just as Oakland Restaurant Week comes to a close. From January 23rd through the 31st, almost 130 restaurants will participate in showcasing what makes this city the most gastronomic city in the country!

During the week, participating restaurants will be serving exclusive menus for either lunch and/or dinner. Two course lunches will be between $15 – $25 and three course dinners between $40 – $65. It that isn’t a biting deal, I don’t know what is! When you’re out and about, show off your eats by using the hashtag #SFRW on Instagram or Twitter.

Disclaimer: This rant was not sponsored or paid for by the events or restaurants listed. If you’d like me to check out and rant about a happening around town or an eatery in town for my SF Sundays series, please email me at ha@mshala.co.

Picture of the Day

SF Sundays – It’s Cold Outside

6 January 2019A Tourist In My Hometown, I'm Always Hungry, News and Events, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Sundaysarts, arts photography, Asian Art, CA, California, city walk, de Young, fine arts, food blogger, foodie, foodie life, free admissions, GLBT, Golden Gate Bridge, happy new year, Jewish Museum, Legion of Honor, local, local travel, Museum of Craft and Design, museums, new year, new year goal, new year's resolution, Oakland Restaurant Week, photography, repatriation, Restaurant, Restaurant Week, Restaurants, san francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Fine Arts, SF, SF City Guide, SF Sundays, sunday, tour guides, tourist, tours, travel, travel blogger, travel bucket list, travel local, Travels, Visit California, Visit Oakland, Visit San Francisco, Visit SFMs. Hala

Happy New Year! Welcome to San Francisco in January. It’s cold! I’m reminded of how cold it can get this time of year in the city every morning I leave for work before the sun. I’m also quite surprised at the number of tourists I’ve come across this cold season. Then again, we can still head out and enjoy the city despite a few rain showers and cold breezes, am I right?

So what to do when it rains? When it’s oh so cold outside? Here are a few ideas to stay warm, cultured and with a full belly this season.

HAPPENING AROUND TOWN

Tahitian Woman with a Flower – *Gauguin, A Spiritual Journey*

If your new year’s goal is to get more cultured, look no further then the city’s many beautiful galleries and museums, with most offering free admission days. The GLBT Museum offers free admission on the first Wednesday of the month while the Asian Art Museum does so on the first Sunday of every month.

Tuesdays have a few contenders such as the Contemporary Jewish Museum, de Young Museum, Legion of Honor, and Museum of Craft and Design. Check the museum’s website for exact schedules of free admissions days.

Still want to go outside? The San Francisco City Guides‘ is a group of volunteer tour guides showcasing their pride in the city. They have walking tours scheduled throughout the day at varying points of the city, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Japanese Tea Garden. They even guide you back in time to the 1906 earthquake and fire.

YUMMINESS ACHIEVED

Foodies, rejoice! Over 100 restaurants are participating in this year’s Oakland Restaurant Week, happening January 11th through the 20th. That’s two whole weekends for us to get hungry, eat it all up, walk it off, and repeat! There will also be a few special events throughout the week.

On January 12th, Brotzeit Lokal will donate a portion of the sales from their “prix fixe menu” to the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB). Also supporting the ACCFB is Baro on the 14th with a special benefit dinner. Then on the 15th, you can journey through Old Oakland Progressive and enjoy a multiple course dinner across three different restaurants.

San Francisco’s restaurant week returns soon after but I’ll more on that next week. If all that is not achieving yumminess, I don’t know what is. All I know is that I’m really hungry right now! Is it the 11th yet??

Disclaimer: This rant was not sponsored or paid for by the events or restaurants listed. If you’d like me to check out or rant about a happening around town for my SF Sundays series, please email me at ha@mshala.co.

SF Sundays – History, Arts and Kebabs!

16 December 2018A Tourist In My Hometown, I'm Always Hungry, News and Events, Review, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Sundaysarts, Bursa, CA, California, coffee, de Young, fine arts, food blogger, foodie, foodie life, local, local travel, museums, Peet's, Peet's Coffee, repatriation, san francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Fine Arts, San Francisco Symphony, SF, SF Sundays, sunday, Symphony, tourist, travel blogger, travel bucket list, travel local, travel photography, traveling, Travels, Visit California, Visit San Francisco, Visit SF, West PortalMs. Hala

San Francisco. The city by the bay. The Bay Area. My hometown. Within the city’s many hills and along the city’s many beach shorelines, there are stories to be heard, history to be made, secrets to be revealed and delicious food to be eaten. Every year, the San Francisco Bay Area sees millions of tourists and natives like me come to discover it all. With that, I’ll regularly rant on happenings around my town not to be missed and yumminess to be achieved. Join me!

BUT FIRST, A QUICK HISTORY LESSON

This California peninsula city was founded and established in 1776 by colonists from Spain, naming it after Saint Francis of Assisi. Part of the foundation of the city started with the Presidio and Mission districts. Soon after, the gold rush brought in the influx of gold seekers and Eastern settlers. And in just the last hundred years or so, the city saw everything imaginable.

Related image — c/o San Francisco Chronicle

1906 brought about the largest earthquake to date, causing one of the most devastating fires the West had ever seen. It was rebuilt, in part, by the influx of immigrants who came from all over the globe to start a new life and contribute to the greater Bay Area. The “decade of love” protested a senseless war whilst demanding equality, tolerance and some form of peace. The belief that love is love put San Francisco at the helm of the LGBTQ community activism, being the first in the nation to have same-sex marriages (before Prop 8 came about).

We make history and get very hungry in the process. And while being the most culturally diverse metropolitan city in the country, we’ve become the most gastronomical one too. One can eat their heart out then head to the city’s many museums, music halls, art galleries, comedy clubs or movie screenings. Once outside, one can ice skate the many rinks open in the winter, swim the ocean seas in the summer, walk through the many green parks in the spring, or bike their way through one of the best cycling city in the world all year long. That’s my city!

HAPPENING AROUND TOWN

This week, I’d like to highlight the Contemporary Muslim Fashion exhibit being held at the de Young through the 6th of January, 2019. I’ve been to the exhibit multiple times and plan on going again before it closes. This is a historical first for such an exhibit and of course, where else would such a colorful and truly inspiring exhibit be than at the de Young?

Tickets average $30 per person but members get in free! Side note: If you’re a true fan of art, a Fine Arts membership is worth every penny. With lots of exhibits to see and membership perks to enjoy at both the de Young and Legion of Honor.

San Francisco Symphony last week held a screening feature of A Nightmare Before Christmas and it was truly spectacular! They’ll do it again with the screening of the holiday classic, Home Alone.

Want to go ice skating? We’re spoiled for choice all across the city. Just for the holidays, there are three ice rinks: one right in front of City Hall, a second in the middle of Union Square and a third at the Embarcadero Center. There’s also the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center which is open all year round.

And if you still need to shop for gifts, look no further than the upcoming Etsy’s Maverick Holiday Market happening at the Crocker Galleria December 19th. Nothing beats buying from your local businesses, right? Shameless plug: I’ve started a small boutique shop on Etsy too!

YUMMINESS ACHIEVED

This week, I’m highlighting an old favorite spot of mine, Bursa on West Portal. They truly serve up really good Arabic food with touches of gourmet and home. My favorite dishes are both the chicken and beef kebabs, succulent lamb stew, and the piping hot pastry cheese rolls. Just thinking about those cheesy rolls makes me hungry!

I’m not a fan of the seasonal pumpkin spice lattes (because yuck) but I did miss the occasional winter holiday coffee drinks. As a huge fan of Peet’s, I’ve been hooked on their peppermint mocha and the dark chocolate orange mocha. They are great pick-me-ups especially on those cold Monday mornings as you head back to work.

Until next time, Happy Sunday, peeps!

The Birthday of the Orphan Who Adopted the World

20 November 2018Islam, Middle East, Worldacts of kindness, adopt, calendar, carnival, celebrating, celebration, charity, egypt, festivitieis, figi, hijri, holiday, hymns, Indonesia, iraq, Islam, islamic, kindness, lectures, love, mahmad, malaysia, mehmet, mohamed, mohammad, mohammed, muhamad, muhammad, muhammed, muslim, muslims, orphan, pakistan, prophet, prophet mohammed, quran, rabi alawal, respect, scholar, shia, sudan, sunni, thanksgiving, tunisia, wahhabi, worshipMs. Hala

This is truly a holiday week for more than just Thanksgiving! This also happens to be the month of Rabi’ AlAwal in the Hijri calendar, which is considered the birth month of Prophet Muhammed* (pbuh). It is perceived that his birth date is on or between the 12th and the 17th of Rabi’ AlAwal, and thus throughout this week many Muslims across the globe acknowledge and celebrate the blessing that is the birth of Prophet Mahmad (pbuh).

Countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Sudan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Tunisia, Iraq and Fiji will celebrate with the distribution of charity, food, host street carnivals, perform hymns and conduct lectures. Many see these types of festivities are seen as a celebration, respect, admiration and love for Prophet Muhamad (pbuh). Don’t forget that the prophet is revered not only as the last prophet in Islam, but one that cared for his people, fought to defend their right to worship and taught through his practices on the best mannerisms of a Muslim. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is almost always revered as “the orphan who adopted the world“.

I’m sure many of my readers are asking, “but why is the date conflicted?” The date is conflicted because the Hijri calendar was not established until Prophet Mehmet was in his early fifties, about a decade or so before his death. It’s believed he was born in the year 570 AD and passed in the year 632 AD, at the age of 62. Even then there are some historical evidences of many celebrating the prophet’s birthday.

However, as more scholars studied the teachings of Islam, and mapped out the lunar events -on which the Hijri calendar is based on- differing schools of thought have determined it in the month of Rabi’ AlAwal. Sunni scholars believe it to be the 12th day of the month whilst Shia scholars believe it’s the 17th of Rabi’ AlAwal. True the exact date various but with the few Islamic holidays almost always celebrated for three to five days, rather than one and done, the entire week is used to celebrate.

Other schools of thought don’t believe it is appropriate to celebrate the prophet’s birthday. Countries with majority following the Wahhabi schools of thought do not observe it as a national holiday or host any particular festivities. However during my time in Qatar, I remember during the Friday of the birth week, sermons highlighting the prophet’s migration and struggles as a way of remembering why we as Muslims are to ask God to bring peace and blessings upon the prophet.

Personally, I love celebrating and learning more about the orphan who adopted the world. If he taught anything, it was always be kind, respectful and to be the best version of yourself. With that, I ask you all during this holiday week to do a kind thing for someone out there. Many this week have lost their homes in the California wildfires. I’ve listed ways you can help here.

Here’s to a blessed and joyous celebration of the birth of Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him.

*There are many variations of the English/Latin lettered spelling of the prophet’s name and I wanted to showcase that in this post.

How to Help Those Affected by the California Wildfires

13 November 2018News and Events, San Francisco Bay Area, USAabc7 news bay area, airnow.gov, American Red Cross, bay area, Benevity, Butte County, California, California Community Foundation, california fire foundation, Camp Fire, caring choices, CCF, charity navigator, disaster, disaster relief, donation, donations, evacuations, fires, first responders, gofundme, help, islamic relief, Islamic Relief USA, KTVU, north valley community foundation, Northern California, Qspa, red cross, Sacramento Bee, san francisco, smoke, Sourthern California, support, Venture County, vitalant, wild fires, wildfires, Woolsey FireMs. Hala

The wildfires in my home state of California has been devastating. The Camp Fire in Butte County has claimed over 40 lives, burned over 110,000 acres and only 30% contained as of writing. This fire has been so far the worst in California history. A second fire in Southern California’s Ventura County deemed the Woolsey Fire is fast spreading. CAL FIRE reports as of this writing that the fire has spread across over 91,500 acres and only 20% contained. There have been five injuries, three of which are firefighters and I’m praying there will not be reporting of causalities.

Being almost 200 miles away from Butte County, the billowing smoke has affected the air quality here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve used my rescue inhaler over twice a day since the fires began. I’ve stayed indoors as much as possible over the weekend, dunned a face mask when one was available to me but I keep thinking, how are the people in the heart of this disaster even coping?

The first responders have put their own lives on the line helping people evacuate and attempting to put out this fire. Many of them are from Butte County and have family forced to evacuate and lost their own homes in the fire.

So how can we help our fellow Californians in their times of need? Below are a few organizations I’m aware of that are on the grounds. Your donations in the form of finances and time would be greatly appreciated.

Source: AP/Noah Berger via Islamic Relief USA

Islamic Relief USA has a Disaster Response Team that is helping those affected by the fires in both northern and southern California. The California Community Foundation has a Wildfire Relief Fund currently supporting recovery and preparedness. Benevity is supporting the American Red Cross’ efforts on the ground.

According to the Sacramento Bee, shelters have been receiving “generous but useless donations”. Meaning, kindly check what is needed before donating your entire stash of hygiene products. If you can’t donate things like underwear or backpacks, the best thing to do is to donate a gift card from say Target. Your time is also highly appreciated but please inquire ahead, your safety and that of others come first.

I’ll update this post with any additional information I come across on how we can continue to help those affected throughout California. If you have additional information to share, kindly email me or post them in the comments below.

For help, support or information for Butte County, please go buttecounty.net or call 211.

UPDATE – 14 November: ABC7 News Bay Area is teaming up with Vitalant for a blood drive. The North Valley Community Foundation is collection corporate gifts and in-kind donations. To volunteer, head to Caring Choices for more information.

*Captured November 21st at 7am on Judah Street*

UPDATE – 16 November: GoFundMe has created a central page with verified campaigns to help the victims. The same has been done by Charity Navigator, listing all verified organizations on the grounds in both Northern and Southern California. The California Fire Foundation is providing both financial and emotional support to the firefighters and the fallen officers and their families. Let’s be sure to showcase our support and appreciation to the amazing firefighters and first responders.

For details on the current air quality in the Bay Area, go to airnow.gov and enter the zip code of your area. As of this writing, it’s lingering at 233 here in San Francisco which is “very unhealthy”. According to KTVU, we are experiencing the worst air quality in the world. I took this picture this morning of the smoke looming above the Sunset district. Due to the air quality, most schools and universities are not open today or the rest of the week.

UPDATE – November 21: I’m sure there are many small businesses supporting the victims of the California wildfires. One of them is San Francisco’s QSpa, located on both Steiner and Divisidaro, off the Haight. Right now, QSpa is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sales of their $25 in-house cuticle oil to those affected in Butte County. For $15, you can bring back your empty bottle for a refill.

Final Update – December 1: The Camp Fire may be fully out but there is still much to do to help our friends get their lives back to some form of normalcy and rebuild the many towns affected. I want to be able to continue to showcase my support in any way possible. Therefore, all season long, I’ll be donating some of the proceeds from Ms. Hala’s Boutique to the Islamic Relief USA and the California Fire Foundation, two of many amazing organizations helping our friends across the state. Please continue to share this post and add on it to with any additional information in the comments below.

vote. Vote. VOTE!

6 November 2018News and Events, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area, USA#MsHalaVoted, 2018, ballot, California, civil duty, civil right, congress, election, elections 2018, Federal Voting Assistance Program, I voted, immigrants, judiciary, justice, Local Elections, midterms, Midterms 2018, November, November Is Coming, November Is Here, oprah, pen, san francisco, Senate, stay woke, suffragettes, vote, vote by mail, vote them out, voting, voting pollMs. Hala

Today is November 6th, midterm election day! ☑️ Have you voted yet?

I finally got my vote by mail ballot a few days ago, so took out my fancy pen and voted. Every time I vote, I think of the sacrifices of the suffragettes, the civil rights leaders, and my immigrant family who have made voting for many of us possible.

As Oprah said last week, honor our ancestors and GO VOTE!