Gooo LATINO

It wasn't that late yesterday; around 10:00 pm. The whole thing came spontaneous without any pre-planning. The time, the place, and the climate where typical for an unforgettable night to taste and drink Latino food, listen and dance on Latino rythyms, and mix with people with various nationalities sitting in the cozy atmosphere, wooden decorations, mellowed design, and carved walls. Its typical to go there when you feel yourself so "Cubish".

Lit candles are spread in the hall, one on each table, dimmed to participate in the ambience creation and to increase the level of harmony and warmth in the conditioned place. What attracted my attention, is the water droplets dropping from the outer faces of the windows facing the sea, which appeared as if we are having a dinner in a rainy Cuban night. But here it wasn't raining at all; the high humidity and temperatures reacted with the cooled windows which created the raining effect.

To go into some particular details about what was taking place inside; Coupled men, women, or men & women took there places. A laugh from here, a voice from there, chiming spoons & forks, and moving maids all tenderly participated in giving the place its classy touch. Full fashioned ladies, well-suited men, well-rapped indians, and some casuals', me being one, surrounded with the breath-taking food odour and all glamoured by the Cuban band playing professionaly on their tools and singing endlessly Latino songs from which I knew some, and never heard of others, but all very amazing.

After some dining, the tone of the music rised. People, especially couples, left their tables and started dancing on the wooden floor. Some were good, others were less good, and some others were just trying to catch up with the mood. But in general it was a nice tabloid to watch. Facial expressions varied from person to person. Ladies usually, especially professional dancers, took away any smile and took a seriuos look, that look of JLo in "Shall We Dance". Others had an endless smile, white teeth all across their jaws, heavy looks, and floor-directed gazes. Men usually were less hyper, especially those who appeared to be mixed up about what to dance; they created their own cocktail of arabian-mexican-latin-western dance. It looked against the scene.

Things didnt appear to calm down at 12:00 am. The floor was crowded with dancers, the music was even higher, and attendants never stopped to enter. But as we all have to wake up early the next morning, we found the best thing to do is to leave Cuba and go back to Dubai. To the hot and humid reality, to the wide spread and endless desert, to the never-ending scrapers, and to the unlimited horizon.

END

Cartoons... Brought From Our Childhood

Among the luckiest generations in the arab region are those with in the age interval of 22 to 35 or those born between 1972 and 1985, for a simple reason, the cartoon material that they used to watch.

Whoever you ask from this age group to name a program he/she used to watch, a similar group of answers will be acquired: Grendizer, Jonger, Sasooki, Al Rajol Al Hadidi, Bel & Sebastian, Zeina & Na77oul, Adnan wa Lina, Jazeerat Al Kanz, etcetera etcetera of aimed material that we were brought up with. The thing is, when I watch them nowadays, on youtube.com, I regain the feeling of that child waiting curiuosly infront of the thick-grey-concex TV screen, mesmerized there with a high level of sensational focus. We didn't use to analyze the material during that days; What we knew was that a problem was supposed to take place and the hero or group of heros were supposed to counter-attack the problem and save the world, and thats it. But today, after the great advance in animation technology, a HUGE bunch of material is available, accompanied with an even "Huger" boquet of TV stations ready just to get the tapes and air them for the kids-time interval without, in my opinion, to any kind of material analysis and evaluation for the educational outcome. Old kinds of carefully selected material raised patriotism in us, this is at least what I configured today after reading an intensive analysis of it. Today, its just something aimless, caharacters moving, special effects, illusionary and corruptive concepts, weak language, even weaker dialogue, and most clearly a 100% commercial program that promotes the "heros" of the series and advertise within the same period the presence of chewing gums or lollypops or whatever that has the sticker ot dummy doll of the characters. How silly and cheap I can't imagine.

The idea here is not opposing the new stuff being aired; and not everything Japanese will be a boom; on the contraray, among the various japanese productions that had been selected during the late 60s, the essence of them were chosen carefully and evaluated for the entertainment as well as the educative theme that will follow and definitly brought out by a very careful selection of deviated senarios (language being a big part) that will suit the arabic audience and children in particular.

What we need today, is the revitalization or the recreation of the Gulf Institute of Program Production, which was responsible for the great productions in our days. Such monitored institutes, with the expertise that was invested in them, would regenerate and give the momentum for a new generation of purposeful material to build a solid ground for raising our children on at least peaceful, tolerant, and moderate basis.

END

Once Upon A Time in Lebanon !!

Yammouni - 1891 - Lebanon

Zahle, Lebanon - 1891 - Lebanon

Zahleh - 1896 - Lebanon


Sour (Tyr) - 1898 - Lebanon

Tripoli - 1896 - Lebanon

Universite St. Joseph - Beyrouth - 1892

Plage de Batroun - 1893 - Lebanon

Qannoubine - 1898 - Lebanon

Qannoubine - 1898 - Lebanon

Ras Baalbeck - 1896 - Lebanon

Saydah vue du Sud - 1898 - Lebanon

Jebeil (Byblos) - 1893 - Lebanon

Maison a Beyrouth - 1892 - Lebanon

Nabi Younis - 1898 - Lebanon

Nahr Al Kalb - Louaizeh - 1894 - Lebanon

Notre Dame - Dleptah - 1894 - Lebanon

Hasroun - 1898 - Lebanon

Harajel - 1894 - Lebanon

Ghazir - 1893 - Lebanon

ps: click the photo for a larger view


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Cycles of Energy

Some times I feel that the whole world cannot contain me from the joy and happiness I feel, the selfconfidence I hold, and the optimistic view to life I have. This makes me feel in peace and harmony with myself and empowers me to continue the way no matter what others may say or throw about a certain thing I did, still doing, or intend to do in the future. I cannot ignore that I am easily affected by the words of other people, and I feel that I am meant in any statement they say even though they are saying it in a completey different context. But then, I watch the development of the dialogue and conclude that I wasnt meant or the words werent intentioned to leave an effect in myself.

Other times I start to hate myself; I start to bring and gather all the passimism of the world until I cannot handle it any more. I begin evaluating what I have did in my life in a completely negative approach. Its not a self-criticism process, I know that, because it doesnt lead to a corrective action. Its just a summation a negative energy blowed into my mind thats doesnt aim to anything but deconstructing my self confidence and make me feel that I live in the fringe of life, not in its center. I cant describe how I feel. I start seeing everything awkward, meanigless, aimless, and causeless. I can't find after that any spot of light that may raise my spirit again. This really annoys me until I configure that its useless to remain thinking of the whole thing and then retreat into bed whatever the time in order to dissiminate the bad energy away from my mind and start undergoing a process of self-recompilation that drives me into another neutral state where I can start again, and find another cause of completing what I was doing before, positively.

What remains is the reason for all the optimism or the passimisn that comes an goes, It may be the new environmrnt I am living in, or the work pressure, or the new faces am seeing through the day, I really don't know, the future will tell.

ps: missed appostrophes are intentioned

END

Attracted to HINDU

I dont know, why these days I am becomming thinking seriuosly in visiting India! Maybe I know the source that triggered this process, but after thinking of it, I really want to visit that place, and get to know its culture and its people from within. Usually, we Lebanese, generalize our stereotypes until we become dealing with them as realities, and thats the case with Hindu people.

I want to get out of this, I want to discover the reality behing India and its charming nature through a visit maybe will be scheduled within a year. I will be heading north, because usually the north is the essence where raiky or yoga priests florish.

If you wanna come, just tell me.

END

A Song I Remembered

If you ever watched De'De' on LBC, then you should have listened to that song. I dont know why it came to mind today in particular!!!!

I dont remember it all, but here is a couple of lines:

it says:

Grandfather, has a garden
He loves it very much
and a scarecrow in the middle says
BIRDIES.... dont touch.

bla
bla
bla

END

Friendship Styles

Everyone can't live without him/her or them. Friends, as the proverb says, are angles, but when these angles are born without wings, we call them friends. And this is completely right.
We all have friends, we like them, we love them, we feel comfortable talking to them, tell them our problems, our secrets, or thoughts, our plans, our feelings, etc. Its the soul that has a different essence, taste, and odor than our parents, our brothers & sisters, and maybe our cosins. We like them, and we like spending time with them.

We know them from our childhood, from our kindergarden, elementary school, highschool, or college; A minority is found during our career life. But the rule says that the older you know a friend, the closer you feel to him/her, the better the relation.

We either have played in the fields, spotted out T-shirts with mud, climbed the trees, picked the flowers, played hide & seak, or gathered around a newly bought battery car and were astonished by its behaviour. In that case, we know their history, their background, their parents, their way of thinking and we got used to dealing with them whatever the situation, wherever the place, whichever the time.

Nowadays, we are starting to witness a changing in the way people do frienships. They are trying to increase the database of their friends' list using the advanced technology methods like msn, yahoo, facebook, blogging, etc. I don't oppose such ways of communication, but sometimes the way and the style these ways are implemented may destruct the newly born relation or maybe the cause and aim and the intention of the person we are seeking differs and thus the outcome.

On a personal level, I have passed through both experiences. I found verygood friends who l like and satisfied with them as firends, and other came and left with or without a trace, it doesnt matter.

For those who I knew through the internet, I tell them stay in touch, for those who left I dont mind the effort to say a word.

END

DUBAI NOW

A NEW LIFE IN A NEW PLACE

The first time I write, while I am now in a completely different environment, a completely different climate, a completely different system of habits, and a completely different way of life. All what I used to do before has now ended. The free time I used to have, the late wake-up habit has vanished, tasting my Mom's food and having a cup of coffee with her in the morning has ended, smelling the fresh mountaineous breeze and touching the nature's beauty is postponed, watching my favorate series or programs is up-held, and my own car is now inaccessible. Why all that...? Simply, I moved to Dubai.

Everything seems different except the presence of my fellow Lebanese. Huge buildings standing on the edges og the 40 meters wide highway, the 150 floors Burj Dubai is still climbing up, crains are spread all over the landscape as if an octopus is trying to take over the area, the humid-hot airflow ruling the neighborhoods, and resorts flashing far away in the horizons to invite nightlife seekers in. In a word its a desertous version of New York City.

Until a period of time, I will discover DNYC. I will dig it out and find where I can find places and people who are my type, whom I like to be with, to talk to, and to be-friend with. Until then, maybe I will start feel a sence of belinging to this piece of the world, with a slight different change, i.e. higher temperatures.

END

Round Trip

For all of those who lost me, or missed me, or thinking where i might be I will tell you.

I left Lebanon on February 21, 2007 towards Kuwait. I stayed in Kuwait for 15 whole days and tonight I will be flying to Dubai for a 10-days stay there. If you wanna know the reason of the trip, then its all business, yes business, I will do business there, so wish me luck. I will be back in Lebanon maybe on March 22 plus or minus 2 days, so see you there or from there.

Why I Love Beirut

A member of A Small World, answered the question the "Why do you love Beirut?" as such, enjoy it! "

I love Beirut for its opposites. I love Beirut because I see a girl in a mini skirt and her sister in a tchador. I love Beirut because it is neither West nor East it is both. I love Beirut because one can party till 6 in the morning and not realize that it is tuesday morning. I love Beirutbecause Beirutis live as if they are going to die tomorrow and party as if they are going to live forever.

I love Beirut because I can be swimming in the morning and 30 minutes later I'm on the slopes skiing or doing apres ski. I love Beirut because I have never seen the sun this strong anywhere in the world. I love Beirut because I can see 6,000 years of history. I love Beirut because Christians and Muslims are living an understanding and do not need to have Christian Muslim understanding classes. I love Beirut because every Beiruti has a political opinion and will share it with you even if you could care less about his and you want to share yours with him. I love Beirut for all the conspiracy theories and how many people actually believe them.

I love Beirut because any night I can find a friend to go out with. I love Beirut because I do not need to call my friends to go and see them at their houses I just stop by. I love Beirut because as soon as I arirve at one of my friends houses his mom takes me to the kitchen and becomes the spokesperson of the refrigerator. I love Beirut because one can smell gardenia , and jasmine. I love Beirut because strawberries taste like strawberries and fruits taste like fruits. I love Beirut because the food is so good that one gains pounds even if she tries to lose .

I love Beirut because although the Lebanese women at times look alike as some did their surgeries at the same plastic surgeon they are the most elegant women I have ever seen. I love Beirut because when I go out at night I don't know at which women to look at as each one is gorgeous in her own way. I love Beirut because everyone knows me by name.

I love Beirut because I don't have to explain myself. I love Beirut because of the traffic jams and the people you meet because of them. I love Beirut because of the noise pollution from cars honking. I love Beirut for the spirituality of the people whether Muslim or Christian. I love Beirut because I'm the first to call my Muslim friends on Ramadan and they are the first to call me on Easter. I love Beirut because on May 1st I see Muslims visiting Harissa ( Virgin Mary ) just like I seeChristians. I love Beirut because we can differentiate between a Jew and an Israeli. I love Beirut because on the 22nd of every month I see Muslims going to Mar Charbel and believing that a miracle will happen.

I love Beirut because women look like as if they are out of a Vogue magazine. I love Beirut because you eat to live and live to eat. I love Beirut because one leaves one cafe to go to another and one does this all day.

I love Beirut because all the Lebanese living outside want to come back and the Lebanese who are in Lebanon envy the ones who are living abroad not realizing what it means to live away from Beirut. I love Beirut because my sister , her husband are there and my niece and nephew who are 5 are waiting to see their uncle. I love Beirut because my niece asks me to bring her a pink skirt and tells me : "I love You".

I love Beirut because a girl or a guy can easily tell you I just had a couple of Lexo or Xanax as if they just had a chewing gum. I love Beirut because for every Lebanese we have a singer. I love Beirut because the Lebanese star singers sing in nightclubs. I love Beirut because women go into the swimming pool with full make up. I love Beirut because guys go in with their cigars.

I love Beirut because it has been destroyed 7 times in History andhas risen. I love Beirut because since 1975 the Beirutis have withstood the PLO, Syrians , and the Israelis. I love Beirut because the Beirutis will not accept anyone to occupy them and rule over them. I love Beirut because we>feel that it is better to die on our feet than to live on our knees.

I love Beirut because each street is a two way street even if it is a one way officially. I love Beirut because one can park anywhere and not get a ticket. I love Beirut because one can go as fast as his speedometer.I love Beirut because MEA lands there.

I love Beirut because on MEA we can clap in unison when we are about to land. I love Beirut not because it is my city , but because it is the city of every Lebanese. I love Beirut because it welcomes every exile freethinker , independent mind of the Arab world.

I love Beirut because we have hundreds of newspapers and our press is finally Free. I love Beirut because most Arabs dreams of coming to Beirut and wishes his capital was more like Beirut.

I love Beirut because when I explain Beirut to my Western friends, my friends see the passion of Beirut in my eyes. I love Beirut because there is so much misconception about Beirut in the media and in the minds of people who have never visited. I love Beirut because when I tell my friendsthat I'm going to Beirut they tell me can you take me with you.

I love Beirut because we argue over who is going to pay the bill at a restaurant as everyone wants to pay it. I love Beirut because although many whine about not making enough money everyone is living. I love Beirut because if I do the cross before I start driving the person next to me does not ask me if I fear that I'm going to get into a car accident but instead does his cross as well.

I love Beirut because we accept our differences as we disagree with each other. I love Beirut because it serves as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the Arab world. I love Beirut because to praphrase what Gibran said about Lebanon " Had Beirut not been my city I would have chosen it to be." I love Beirut because there is no city like it. I love Beirut because even if Beirut is being destroyed you are still beautiful and will remain beautiful no matter how disfigured you are. I love Beirut because you are always on my mind. I love Beirut for no reason. I love Beirut for all the reasons of the world. "

And another one:

I am a beirutiI love Beirut with all my heart and soul.I love it's people, it's energy, it's unique beauty, I love so many mall thingsI love many small parts of Ashrafieh, Monot, Abdel Wahab, Rue du Liban, Sursock, the trees that arc over the roads bringing shade and shading off rain, I love getting lost in it..I love the Corniche at dusk and dawn, the magnificent beirut sunset from anywhere, the AUB campus, Bliss street,hamra street and the smell of falafel, shawarma and sweets,I love that you can be stuck in traffic at 3am somewhere..I love how informal our darak are with us drivers sometimes..(also mentioned above lol)I love the "everything goes" attitudeI love how I hear three langauges all the time and it's totally normal.E.g."Maitre, El Hseb Please"I love Zaatar W Zeit after a heavy night of partying..always finding a place to sit in that teeny placeI love sitting at Casper & Gambini overlooking the ancient Roman RuinsI love Matyre SquareI love the churches and mosques scattered around the cityI love how complex being Lebanese isI love how people ALL around the world keep telling me that someone they know or heard of or their parents has been to Lebanon and talks about its gorgeousness and amazing peopleI love the mediterranean, and we will clean it!I love our amazing cuisine, so proud of our HOMMOS and FALAFEL and MEZA and the world wide reputation of our food (people now refer to Arabic food as Lebanese Food!)I love the world class rest, bars and night clubs we have. WOWI love the old B-018...and the new one...and the Classic one too...I love our new and upcoming Lebanese designers (clothes, shoes, bags, jewelery)... and their gorgeous little shops..I love Sour, Saida, Jounieh, Tripoli, Baalbak, Chouf..I love the smell of the city after the rainfall, and the spring smell of gardenia...or the boys who sell you gardenia necklaces at traffic lights..I love how we get wild flowers growing everywhere in sprint, red, white and yellow..I love the energy of the people, their eternal optimism, faith in their city and country, resilience, passion, love, hospitality..I love you and will see you soon beirut...

In The "Trap" (Sat. 20th - Wed. 24th Jan, 2007)

Its a very special experience. I have been on a TV before, but this time it was a mixture of competition, friendship, entertainment, and strategy. I gained very special friends regardless what did happen during shooting, they are all wonderful and I am satisfied with what I attained.

Joseph, Marwan, Zaher, Caroline, Me, Samer Fakher l Dine, and Sharbel were all competitive, although from the first episode I did impress some of them and proved to be a tough competitor and they did comfess. I was able and ready to go till the end but the voting did not help me at all. But at last, I did my best, I am proud with what I achieved, and will never hesitate to undergo it again.