Al l
Vol. 2 Issue 7
A R O U ND
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
2 April 2006
Cartoon Network
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like without the wonderful world of
cartoons? We certainly have! All Around brings to you our latest issue; a bubbly and
bright cartoon theme. Included are the pros and cons of animation, a fantastic insight
on CMU-Q's cartoon look-alikes, and a various number of articles regarding the main
theme. So don't be shy, we're all young at heart. Dive in and enjoy!
Inside this issue...
STUDENT OPINION
What cartoon characters do
the students of CMU-Q resemble and why?
See page 3
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Latest snapshots on and
around campus
See page 4
A Semester In
Pittsburgh
Noor shares her experiences
on the Pittsburgh campus
See page 5
Cartoon Madness
How Carnegie Mellon contributes to the cartoon
world, and is Yasmine living in the real world?
See page 6
Entertainment
Test your
Disney IQ
and check out
some of our
favourite
Disney quotes
See page 8
Nasser Rowhani takes a well-deserved break during half-time.
Victory for Soccer Team
By Yasser Khan
The soccer team has done it again.
It is of great significance that many things
have come our way and have helped us in
hard times. We may not have been active
in as many extracurricular activities as
many would have expected of us. But in
the end, we proved them wrong!
Our soccer team’s string of victories has showed that CMU-Q is indeed a
force to be reckoned with. Soccer has been
our major driving force, and soon more
will follow. Our victory against Weill Cornell proved to be a start of better things to
come.
Continued on page 4...
2
All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
All Around’s
Directory
Meet The All Around Team
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
NOOR AL-ATHIRAH
Acting Editor-in-Chief
YASMINE ABDELRAHMAN
Content Editor
NOORA AL-ANSARI
Noor Al-Athirah
Yasmine Abdelrahman
Mona Maher
Noora Ansari
Copy Editor
MONA MAHER
Layout Editor
JINANNE TABRA
Theme Editor
AMUN BASHIR
Editor at-Large
BASHEERA BANU
Jinanne Tabra
Amun Bashir
Basheera Banu
Marium Chandna
Business Manager
NOOR AL-JASSIM
Staff Writers
NOOR AL-MAADEED
MARIUM CHANDNA
DANA HADAN
Photographer
YASSER KHAN
All Around is a bimonthly
student led newsletter.
It is Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar’s budding
student body voice. The
first issue was published
on the 28th of September
2004. A team of four students were successful in
publishing 8 issues in the
first year along with the
help of Kristin Gilmore
as their advisor.
You may forward any contributions, enquiries,
questions, or suggestions to our official email address
<all-around@qatar.cmu.edu>
Dana Hadan
Noor Al-Jassim
Noor Al-Maadeed
Yasser Khan
A Word from the Editorial Board
As always, the All Around team
is continuously developing the content
and layout of the newsletter for the enjoyment of its readers.
Our latest progress has been
greatly enhanced by the efforts of Andrea Zrimsek, CMU-Q’s very own Marketing and Public Relations Assistant,
who was kind enough to spend a considerable amount of time enriching us with
her experience as a professional journal-
ist. Andy provided us with intrinsic
guidance on making All Around a
more professional newsletter and we
greatly appreciate her valuable contribution.
We hope that you all enjoy the
newest version of the newsletter and
request that you send us your comments to help All Around continuously
progress.
Have you missed our past issues?
Would you like an electronic copy of this
issue?
ALL AROUND IS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Please visit our website at:
http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/student/index.php?pg=allaround
All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
Disney Dynamics @ CMU-Q
3
Amusingly assembled by: Amun Bashir (Theme Editor)
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go! We’re back with yet another student opinion page. This issue’s article is dedicated to uncovering the CMU-Q student body’s favorite cartoons and which animated character they believe resembles them the most, whether it be
physically or personality wise. Read on to see how your peers perceive themselves in the world of cartoons!
Fahad Al-Jefairi: A pondersome
Fahad responds: “cartoon, cartoon,
cartoon, hmm, actually I prefer
anime, a cartoon called ‘Bleach’”.
When asked what cartoon character
he most resembles, Fahad replies
“the Genie” with an ear to ear grin!
You look very at home with him in
this picture Fahad!
Yasmine Abdel-Rahman: “I
like Shrek”. Unfortunately, the
interviewer became quiet confused when Yasmine yelled
out “DONKEY!” when asked
which character she believed
she was most like. After some
intense internet research, we
learned that the furry and exceedingly hilarious donkey
played by Eddie Murphy, (who just thought of Professor
Marion Oliver, raise your hands!) was indeed named
“Donkey” in the film.
Anum Bashir: Our Disney maniac responded with much
enthusiasm that “The Emperor’s New Groove” is her favorite Disney movie. Before our interviewer could finish
their question, she yelled out “Yzma!!” as her character of
personal resemblance. Ah, such modesty Anum, but still,
we see a resemblance!
Mona Maher: Oh la la! Mona here claims that “my favorite Disney movie would have to be Beauty and the
Beast.” Perhaps it was Gaston’s rippling biceps!
Professor
Benjamin
Reilly: “I would have to say
“The Incredibles” is my
favorite cartoon.” With a
chuckle, professor Reilly
adds, “I’d like to be one of
the villains, because they look like their having more fun,
especially Jafar. After he became a wizard he appeared to
be having a lot of fun!” Now let’s see you grow a beard
like that, Ben!
Zaina Shreidi: “Probably, Sleeping Beauty, no wait, Cinderella!” Zaina also believes that “Jasmine” is her kind of
girl!
Omar Alouba: Omar evidently ‘digs’ muscles because his favorite movie is
“Hercules”. After some
serious confusion, Omar
argued that he was most
like “the goat guy in Hercules”. For your information
Omar, his name is Satyr and he is a very loveable centaur!
Nora Al-Subai: Our paparazzi managed to get an interview
with Ms. President, and she claimed that “Find Nemo”
topped her list. Behold, our very own Nora believes that she
and the “Tasmanian Devil” share a few similar qualities!
Could vicious anger be one?
Noura Al-Moughny: Our former Gaza girl answered that
“Shrek” is her favorite cartoon. Nonetheless, Noura and Yasmin are in competition, because she too believes that
“Donkey” is one of a kind!
Mohammed Abu-Zainab:
“My favorite cartoon is Tasmanian Devil and if I were to be
like any cartoon character it
would have to be Timon.” Our
extremely thoughtful
Mohammad was willing to give us a laundry list of characters that he resembled, Hercules being one of them!
Hicham Nedjari: Hicham says that “Timon and Bumba” is
his favorite cartoon. Nothing like giving Disney an Arab
twist! After some persuasion from his colleagues, he agreed
that “Simba” is his character.
Hala Abbas: Hala is a big fan of “The Lion King” and believes that “Jasmine” shares her personality!
Sahrr Malik: After Sahrr’s
rendition of “Under the Sea”
in java class, it’s more than
prevalent that her favorite
cartoon is “The Little Mermaid”. More so, she believes
that Flounder, Ariel’s sidekick, bares closest resemblance to her personality because,
“well, he’s crazy!” That might be the only thing you two
have in common!
Adib Abu-Saba: Adib is also a fan of “The Incredibles” and
with a little help from Nasser Rowhani, he agrees that “Fido
Dido” (Yes, the 7-up guy!) is his spitting image.
Professor
Salam
Mir: Salam believes
that “Snow White”,
being the only Disney
character she can remember, is most like
her! They certainly
have pies in common!
Mohamed Al-Mahmeed: A highly cooperative Mohamed
claims that “Finding Nemo” is his favorite cartoon. Moreover, he believes that he and “Dory” have that special resemblance. All we can say is, just keep swimming!
4
All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
Victory Streak Continues For Soccer Team
Continued from page 1...
Beating our opposition by double the score, the
main stars of the match happen to be our offenders. They
went straight for the goal, not letting anything distract them.
Not being intimidated by the attendance level of the opposition, they showed that football can be played the hard way.
Later on, another victory followed suit. Not only
was this against our previous opponent, but in another sport
– volleyball. This further strengthened the status of our
sports club and the players that are committed to its performance.
A week later, it was time for some payback to
one of our opponents. We had lost to them previously, and now we were going to show them a
thing or two. Qatar Academy may have
beaten us before, but we showed them a
thing or two. It was a tie at first, but
thanks to our players and the fast hands of our
goalie, we made another victory.
All our game matches were well played by our
opponents. They may have put up a tough fight,
but there can only be one winner.
What’s Been Happening
Above: The leadership retreat for Orientation Counselors
leaves the girls tangled in a human knot. From left: Sahrr
Malik, Rasha Mkachar, Yasmine Abdelrahman, Jinanne
Tabra, Nora Al Subai, & the back of Samiha’s head
Above: The visiting students from Pittsburgh. From left: Andy Butler, Blake
Coughenour, Steve Reilly, Kamaria Hayden, Elizabeth Chen, Rachelle Emard & Renee
Camerlengo
Above & Left: The
girls are less than convinced by Fahad’s attempt at saving the
day.
Pictured above: Anum
Bashir, Sahhr Malik,
Amun Bashir.
Pictured left: Fahad AlMahmoud.
Above: The faculty and staff show our BA Sophomores a thing or two about business
dress. From left: Cynthia Mills, Mark Stehlik, J. Patrick McGinnis, Andrea Zrimsek,
Marion Oliver, Menna Mulugetta, Kristin Gilmore & John Robertson.
All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
5
Subai’s Guide To A Stress-Busting Semester
By Nora Al-Subai
Student Government President
To say that it’s been an intense half a semester doesn’t even begin to describe the past seven
weeks. Students were moved by Cleah Schlueter,
former administrative assistant, and Jacobo Carrasquel,
former Computer Science professor and undergraduate advisor’s
leave and distressed by the semester’s workload.
We all got stressed. We all crammed. We all procrastinated. We eventually made it to Spring Break. Some walked
away from the experience stronger than before, others were
caught off-guard and a rush of uncertainty and lack of motivation surged through.
Quiet frankly, I was one of those that felt lost and overwhelmed at times. I have, however, come up with a list of therapeutic methods that could help ease the stress:
1) Wake up each morning with the hope that if you could just
get yourself out of bed and to class, they may cancel it due to
extremely hot temperatures
2) Dive to the underground garage at high speeds believing that
if you get there first, they might let you be the first to leave
3) If you can’t find a parking space right in front of one of the
doors, wait in your car till someone leaves – this will be extremely important when you go to lunch at Landmark
4) Make an effort to run to class…in hopes that if you’re professor died, you’d be the first to know and would take joy in
spread the awful, awful news
5) “Dispute everything your professor says, no matter how simple. Try to get him/her to "prove" everything to you. Rant and
rave about what a big liar your professor is. Yell at students
who are taking notes, saying, "Stop writing down all these
lies!"” (inspired from http://www.getannoyed.com)
6) If you feel overwhelmed, pick on people smaller than you (it
has been calculated that the average student is capable of
taking on Rooda Al-Neama, sophomore business administration student, and Khulood Al-Farsi, sophomore computer
science student. (Exceptional people, can take them on both
at the same time).
7) Rooda, Khulood…sigh…just wear heels…
8) Sit in the yellow lounge for 10 minutes…that’s all it takes to
see that other people are just as bad off as you…some even
worse
9) If, at any time during day, you see Mona Maher, sophomore
business administration student’s hair growing and you observe little sparks, close your eyes! Don’t try to look her in
the eyes and under no circumstances, try to touch her curls
10)Making “Hakuna Matata” your motto, can make all the difference in the world
When it comes down to it, life is a journey that challenges each one of us to mold difficulties into beneficial experiences. We all fall, but we make conscious decisions whether or
not we choose to rise.
Just remember, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
Yes, it’s been an intense semester, but I’m hopeful of the seven
weeks to come. Freshmen, by that time you will be officially
done with 1/4th of your college life. Sophomores, you’re half
way through.
I heard this quote recently that just blew me away: “I
remember once imagining what my life would be like, what I'd
be like. I pictured having all these qualities, strong positive
qualities that people could pick up on from across the room. But
as time passed, few ever became any qualities that I actually
had. And all the possibilities I faced and the sorts of people I
could be, all of them got reduced every year to fewer and fewer.
Until finally they got reduced to one, to who I am. And that's
who I am…”
The Semester From A Pittsburgh Perspective
By Noor Al-Athirah
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Let me begin by “I miss Doha so much”. I miss everyone and everything so much that it sometimes gets depressing... I’m doing well in Pittsburgh, coping really! If I were to
describe in details my experience thus far, this letter would be
endless. So I would rather highlight the main lessons I learnt
and difficulties I faced.
The first month was tough. Pittsburgh is in no way
similar to Doha. I had a rough time coping with the freezing
weather, getting to understand the transportation system, and
memorizing street names. It was too frustrating getting used to
the campus. I got lost many times, and it’s no fun at all!
My toughest challenge was getting over the cultural
shock! The diversity in Pittsburgh is completely different to
that of Qatar or any other place I’ve been. It wasn’t easy to
make friends in the beginning. Students’ trends, habits, and
perception of fun are way different from what I’m used to. It
was difficult to find something in common with lots of them.
And what made it worse, is that I came at a time of the year
when students have already formed groups. There was no Orientation Program - very few students join in the spring!
After the first month, my troubles slowly dissolved. It
was then that I started settling in. The experience made more
sense, but that was only because I chose to be more patient and
adapt rather than whine and feel miserable!
This brings me to this day. Life isn’t beautiful yet! I
still struggle, stress out, and miss my family and friends more
and more everyday, but now, I’m more open to change. The
past three months have changed me so much. I know now how
important it is to appreciate what you have. I still can’t accept
‘no’ for an answer, but I can negotiate much more effectively to
get what I want! I learned that
student life isn’t restricted to
studying, it’s about responsibility
and delight as well!
Living abroad is not easy, and it’s
not much fun. But it’s extremely
valuable. In any case, I advise
every student looking to study
abroad to try to be optimistic. It’s
hard, but trust me, you are the
only one that can make it easier! I
miss you all...
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All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
Carnegie Mellon Students Making Movies
By Noor Al-Jassim
Business Manager
Many Carnegie Mellon
graduates especially CS graduates
work in animated production companies like Disney, Pixar, and
DreamWorks.
Here is some information
about Pixar, which is available on
their website.
“Pixar Animation Studios is an Academy
Award®-winning computer animation studio with the
technical, creative and production capabilities to create
a new generation of animated feature films, merchandise and other related products.
Pixar's objective is to combine proprietary
technology and world-class creative talent to develop
computer-animated feature films with memorable char-
acters and heart-warming stories that
appeal to audiences of all ages. In
partnership with Walt Disney Pictures,
Pixar created and produced ToyStory
(1995), Bug's Life (1998), ToyStory2
(1999), Monster (2001), Finding
Nemo (2003), and The Incredibles
(2004)."
Many Carnegie Mellon graduates worked with
Pixar, which was founded by former member of the university's CS faculty. Many CS graduates work as Visual
Development Artists, Shading Designers, Animators,
Storyboard Artists, and Graphic Designers.
I think we should be proud of
CMU graduates who produce all these
famous cartoons and we hope that CMU-Q
students do the same in the future. Go Carnegie Mellon!
A Fine Line Between Cartoons And Reality
By Yasmine Abdelrahman
Acting-Editor-In-Chief
Ever since I was a little girl, I
have enjoyed cartoons and the cartoon world in general. However,
there was one particular cartoon,
which I used to watch when I
was around seven years
old.
Though I can’t remember its name, I can
still remember that it was
about an elephant royal family in an elephant
kingdom.
One day as I
was watching
an episode the
King Elephant
was suddenly very
ill. I was very upset and
started crying for him. I was
sitting between my older siblings who were laughing at me;
since they were older, they knew
that it wasn’t real.
The next day I sneaked into my
parents’ bedroom to watch the new
episode alone with no one to bother
me. The King’s health was not im-
proving; the young elephant prince
was very upset. I started crying again
feeling bad for my friend.
Suddenly, in the middle of the
episode, the doctor came out of the
king’s chamber announcing
that “the king is dead”; the
prince started crying very
loudly.
At that moment I decided
to go into the television and help
my
friend,
though I didn’t know how. I
opened
our
tools box,
got out a
hammer
and decided
to break the
television screen to
enter the cartoon
world.
Fortunately my brother
came in, and shouted for
my mother to come take the
hammer from me. She convinced me saying that if I break that
screen, the road from our world to the
elephant’s world will be closed and
therefore I will never be able to see
my friends again.
Her words were technically true,
as with no screen there would have
been no television for anyone to
watch anything. So we were all fortunate that my brother came in at that
moment.
Though I am now an adult, and I
realize that there is no road between
the two worlds, as the elephants’
world doesn’t exist, I still wonder
what it would be like to live in a cartoon!
All Around, Vol. 2 Issue 7
7
Animated Movies Soon To Hit The Screen
By Yasser Khan
Photographer
What would our life be without cartoons? To say the
least, boring, dull and depressing to say the least. We
have experienced a multitude of them – Shrek, Toy
Story, Ice Age and the list just keeps going. We never get
enough of them either. Well, fear not! We have a bombardment of new ones heading towards our nearest cinemas when they are released. Some of them are sequels or
spin-offs of major blockbusters, while others are based
on fairly new innovative ideas that have never been implemented.
Puss in Boots will
be officially getting
his own movie later
down the line. It
will be describing
his origins and will
be voiced by Antonio Banderas. The
very person who lent his Zorro-like charm to the feline
has now made him a cultural icon. The adorable and
swashbuckling Puss in Boots will be telling his story
describing how he rose to notoriety before he met Shrek,
but we’ll have to wait for that.
Cars
Not much is known
about the movie yet,
except for the fact that
it is made by Disney
and Pixar. You can
never doubt such a
team, since they have
never failed. The only
titillating details I can
reveal are that the main star, Lightning McQueen is voiced
by Owen Wilson. All of you should remember him from
Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan. We’ll be heading for
our “tune-up” when this hits the big screen.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
For those of you who watched Ice
Age for the tri-manic trio, get ready for
another wintry experience when Ice
Age 2: The Meltdown hits the big
screens next summer. The woolly
mammoth, annoying sloth and ferocious saber tooth tiger return as the trio
they were, along with the cute, acornobsessed rat-creature called Scrat.
There is new vocal talent joining the
current cast, including Sean William
Scott and Queen Latifah.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho: Animation Past To Present
By Basheera Banu
Acting Editor-at-Large
Animated movies such as Madagascar, Shrek
and Toy Story capture the attention of young and old
alike with their enchanting story-lines that are accompanied by vivid graphics and color display.
Although, the emergence of animation as a
major field of entertainment and research seems to
begin dramatically from the early 90’s, like every other
field, however, animation was slow in becoming the
exciting entertainment media that it is today.
Animation is the creation of a sequence of
timed graphic images put together to give the appearance of continuous movement. The earliest of attempts
at animation date back thousands of years ago when
the humans first tried to capture a sense of motion in
their art. Thus, animation meant continuity of visual
images. Paul Robert was credited in 1828 with the first
invention aiming animation, the Thermatrope.
However, the big break came with the development of the Motion Camera and Projector; this was
the earliest practical means of obtaining animation. But
even then, animation remained surprisingly simple. A
short film entitled Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
issued in 1906 used the Motion Camera.
However, the animation for this film was created by drawing faces on a blackboard, photographing
them and erasing them to draw another set of facial
expressions.
Later on in 1928, Walt Disney added sound to
his movie cartoon, Steamboat Willie and took animation to a new dimension. The first full length animation
film ever was the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs released in 1937.
Finally, with the advent of computers came a
new era as it was possible to incorporate animation into
computers for special effects. Toy Story
released in the mid–nineties was the feature
film animated entirely on computers.
Today, however, personal computers make it possible for the average
individual to create such animated
movies.
8
All Around, Issue 7, Vol. 2
Garfield
Instead of our weekly celebrity gossip, we’ve decided to
spice things up, keeping in mind the theme of our issue. We
present to you the most memorable quotes from the many
Disney movies we watch and love. Read along and have a
good laugh or two…
Sebastian: You know what her father'll say? I'll tell you
what her father'll say. He's gonna kill himself a crab,
that's what her father'll say.
The Lion King (1994):
Pumbaa: [After singing Hakunama-tata] "It's our
motto."
Simba: "What's a motto?"
Timon: "Nothing. What's a motto with you?"
Pumba: "What's eatin' you kid?"
Timon: "Nothing, he's at the top of the food chain."
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937):
Grumpy: Ask her who she is, and what she's doing
here!
Doc: Ah, yes. What are you, and who are you doing
here?
101 Dalmations (1961):
Horace: Oh Jasper, do you suppose the puppies disguised themselves?
Jasper: Say now, Jasper. That’s just what they did. Dogs
is always painting themselves black! Idiot!
Internet Source <http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Tower/1244/
halloween/comic9.gif>
Test your Disney IQ
Take a few moments to see how well you
know your Disney movies and characters.
1. Was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" the first full-length
animated Disney movie to be released?
Yes
No
2. What song is NOT from "The Jungle Book"?
The Bear Necessities
Heigh Ho
I Wanna Be Like You
Trust In Me
3. What movie is the song "When You Wish Upon A Star" from?
Pinocchio
Bambi
The Three Caballeros
Sleeping Beauty
4. Lady, Trusty, Peg, and Aunt Sarah are characters in what Disney
film?
Aladdin
Robin Hood
101 Dalmatians
Lady and The Tramp
5. In "Peter Pan," whom does Peter banish from Neverland?
Captain Hook and Smee
Wendy
Tinkerbell
Briar Rose
Disney Quiz Answers:
1. Yes ("Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was
granted a special Academy Award for screen
innovation in 1938, one large and seven small
Oscars)
2. Heigh Ho (Heigh Ho is from the Disney film
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
3. Pinocchio ("Pinocchio" won an Oscar for Best
Song "When You Wish Upon A Star.")
4. Lady and the Tramp ("Lady and The Tramp"
was released in 1955.)
5. Tinkerbell (The jealous Tinkerbell is banished
for trying to kill Wendy.
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000):
[plotting ways to kill Kuzco]
Yzma: Ah, how shall I do it? Oh, I know. I'll turn him
into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I'll put that
flea in a box, and then I'll put that box inside of another
box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it
arrives...
Yzma: [evil laugh]
Yzma: ...I'll smash it with a hammer! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say!
Yzma: [knocks over bottle of poison on flower, which shrivels up and dies]
Yzma: Or, to save on postage, I'll just poison him with
this.
Aladdin (1994):
The Genie: Oy! Ten thousand years can give you such
a crick in the neck!
Finding Nemo (2003):
Gill: To the top of Mount Wanna-hock-a-loogie.
Dory: [dreaming] Uhhh... the sea monkeys have my
money... yes, I'm a natural blue...
Shrek (2001):
Shrek: Well it's no wonder you don't have any friends.
Donkey: Wow, only a true friend would be that truly
honest.
The Little Mermaid (1989):
Ariel: I've never seen a human this close before. Oh
he's very handsome, isn't he?
Scuttle: [Looking at Max, Eric's dog] I dunno, he looks
kinda hairy and slobbery to me.