Time to zip it

The problem about me and blogging is not an emotional issue here. It can be easily rationally explained. Here's why:

News type of posts, obsolete now
For new readers, you probably don't remember the days when I used to blog about recent events and political news, back there were no twitter or facebook in the density used now and people didn't share and spread a word. So, I was one of the few bloggers who acted as the middle man for what's happening in the country.

Lessons I learned this past year

Dublin - August 2012

2012 taught me 10 things:

1. You can never predict your future. 
2. A decision can truly alter your life one direction or the other. Weigh pros & cons, but at the end, go with your instinct.
3. Eventually you are bound to go back on the path you were supposed to be on
4. Do not underestimate. Do not expect a lot. Keep the balance
5. Make the best out of wherever you are
6. People will only see what they want to see in order to justify / explain / make sense out of things they are going through. Therefore whatever they're feeling, it's their problem and not your responsibility.
7. Never regret, as difficult as things may get.
8. Cherish distance for it will reveal true friends.
9. Cherish distance for it will make new friends.
10. Lists are always more impacting when they contain 10 points.

Here's a bonus lesson I learned from someone at work: "If you don't find it challenging, it means you're not learning anything new". 

And another bonus one, something I wrote a while ago, in response to the previous bonus lesson: 

 "Walking away is not always giving up, sometimes it's just moving on."

جرّب هذا الصباح

جرّب هذا الصباح
أن تستيقظ على غير عادة
تخرج الى الشرفة
تنظر الى البشر وكأنهم فراشات،
افتح ذراعيك وكأنها أجنحة..

جرّب
أن تجدّل الغيم ضفائراً للسماء،
أن تمسح الدمع عن خدّ الشمس
وساعدها في وضع أحر الشفاء،
اهمس في أذنها كم الحرائق مثيرة،
وتفرّج عليها تضحك بخجل،
امش على الأرصفة
وكأنك تمسّد التعب الذي خلّفته
الأحذية التي عبرتها،
افسح متسعاً للكون على كتفك،
ليتكئ ويرتاح،
أخبره:
كل شيء سيكون على ما يرام،
جرّب أن تنظر في وجه البشاعة
واعتذر
أنك منذ زمن بعيد
لم تخبرها كم تبدو جميلة
في الصباح...

By Pascal Assaf 

Why we shouldn't be making fun of Lebanon's independence

What is very noticeable on this day is the level of cynicism present among the people with voices online today. Because sadly nobody cares to make a change or point out something new or old that no one mentions so we can fix. Everyone just cares to be cynical and funny.

We might laugh that our country is celebrating being independent for 69 years now since the French انتداب, but let me remind you that a country is not made of walls, it's made of men, and men are personalities. So if you think that Lebanon is independent, and then laugh and point a finger, let me remind you that a personality takes a lot from the education it gets and the culture it lives in and people it is exposed to.

So as my friend Wissam Y. said and I add to it, when we as Lebanese, one by one, stop being so dependent on the other, on what the other thinks of us, on seeking attention, approval and ackowledgment from our surrounding, when we stop judgimg everyone else because it's how we feel better, when we stop caring about driving the best car, when we move out of our parents house before 40, when we make our own lunch and stop waiting for our mothers to cook for me and my husband, when I have a baby that I make more time to see him... No wonder our politicians are dependent, no wonder our country is dependent, because no doubt how pathetically dependent we are.

In 2000 we marched to the street and asked Syria to get out, because back then we thought that this was our problem. Sadly it's a psychological one that we need to work on. But hey, at least we protested in 2000 when army still opened fire brigade's pressured water on us and even hit us.

What is scaring everyone today? Of course, we are scared to face the truth that we are also a big chunk of what we call fake independence.

On this day, I tell you, go on, like and share in thousands silly content and memes, while we could be trying to make the next generation more intelligent than us.

Happy independence day Lebanon, nevertheless, some people are independent and one day we will get there. We are more than a comedy show, we can be change. Remember that.

Helping restore hope in humanity, one blog post, one share at a time

Darkness...
Even with the so much darkness and ugliness we see everywhere all over the world, in some places more than others, one small gesture in an airport by one traveler to another can change your whole perception. Well maybe not your whole perception but at least your mood.

Act of Kindness...
While waiting at the gates to board for our planes in CDG, a young woman dropped an A4 paper folded 4 times, and didn't notice; a man sitting beside me (and myself) saw that, the man had already started waving in order to get the woman's attention, but instead another young woman girl noticed the man and then saw the paper. So she picked it up and had to kind of run behind the other woman in order to catch up with her. She ran for almost 20 meters (I kept looking to see what's going to happen), then she poked her and gave it to her. The first woman said thank you and the second just came back to her seat.

FAQ - Smoking Shisha should be allowed (NOT)

Q: Shisha & Cigar places should have a special license!?!?
A: No, because if that happens, that all places will include shisha on their menu including garderie. And then we are back to square one. Business in Lebanon in general don't care about health, they would abuse such a loophole, we all know it.

Q: Alcohol is bad for health too
A: No, because there is no such thing as second-hand drinking (please exclude exception which have a very low percentage compared to 2nd hand smoking). Smoking is a main cause of death around the world.

Beer garden, outdoors but not cold or wet. See, solutions exist

Saving Lebanese economy, one warm ass at a time

Pun Intended

Seeing the latest ridiculous events in Lebanon, from protesting for your right to smoke indoors because winter is at the door and your ass has the right to remain warm and frozen free, to a Halloween party dubbed as a satanic ritual thanks to long time veteran hard working out-of-this life intelligent reporter on our local media.

I join hands with both. But I will fight for one cause du jour at a time. Let's start with the first.


I demand the country to ensure that its citizens have a warm ass while smoking, I also insist that our economy, our flying in the sky economy, from flunking, just because a few morons get bothered from smoke while indoors. I say screw them. Warm asses are more important than lung cancer patients. In fact, smoking indoors will definitely lead to better economy. I have scientific proof.

People unite against each other

Only yesterday I was sitting with colleagues for dinner in a French restaurant, where we reserved the Moroccan room. There was a bunch of us, the Europeans: Irish, French, Spanish, Polish, and me, the Arab.

We discussed and talked about everything, men, life, George Bush, twitter, relationships, adoption, family stories, life in Trinidad & Tobago, which brought us back to me, the Arab, in particular, the Lebanese. They asked me if things in Lebanon are fine, I replied proudly: “Yes, they’re fine. Small conflicts here and there but they’re fine.”

Sassine Explosion, after 4 years of being explosion-free

After more than 4 years of no explosions. It's back today.

Source: everywhere on the net

According to MTV & Reuters, 8 dead people and 61 injured so far . It happened in Sassine square Christian area and a residential one mostly, at 2:30pm when kids leave school and streets are packed.

Distance, the black & white

Barefoot - Taken by yours truly in Dun Laoghaire - Dublin

Being & living abroad is kind of the organic method to clean your friends list. It reveals a lot about people you knew in your previous life. It's true that with social networks, you are still virtually connected and it's not the same as for those who used to immigrate 50 years ago; being disconnected while relying on making one weekly phone call to their family or worse sending out letters that took weeks or months to arrive.

Being far reveals a lot about a lot. Some people kind of fade away with time, even the nature of their relationship with you shows its true face, and some others emerge just like a crocodile in a river; it was always there but you didn't notice. Maybe this was one of the reasons I had decided to leave Lebanon, after knowing so many people for so much time, between school & colleges, several jobs and different encounters, you're left with no time to be you and think. You're just going with the flow.

Why some people should move out of their country

When I moved to Dublin, I wasn't sure what I would be able to blog about, since my blog is purely dedicated to Lebanon and Beirut in terms of social, human rights, politics and entertainment. At one point I thought maybe I can compare. But I thought before I make a decision, I want to be quiet for a while, soak things in and see where that leads me. Today, I decided to simply blog about any idea that comes to my mind. And I hope you like this new kind of posts.

This post is not dedicated to "Lebanese" people where I tell them to leave Lebanon. This is for some people (whatever their citizenship), telling them to move out and go live in another country. This is not for everyone, but it is surely for some. "Which ones?" you might ask.

You can play this song while reading this post

These are the people that always feel like whatever they do, something remains missing. It's not because they're greedy and can never be satisfied, it's just because they're not comfortable in their comfort zone. Confusing, I know!

Port of Dun Laoghaire - South of Dublin

Logical approach: You are born in a country which you did not choose to be born in. So by default, you are not exactly at that perfect place for you. There is a chance that your home country is the right place for you, and a chance that it's not.

Lebanon, the world's ashtray...

Taken from: www.wkozak.com/ColourEditorialDrawings5.htm

For everyone who are criticizing the banning smoking indoors law following the argument of: "There are criminals and armed kidnappers out there, and all the government cares for is giving fines for people who want to smoke?" I have an answer for you, complete with logic.

If you think that small problems should not be advised and visited until big problems are solved, then our country will not only harness pigs and criminals, but it will also smell like an ashtray.

Botox, Rooftops, Clans and Military Wings

Taken from twitter parody account

So I decided to watch today's Prime Time news on MTV. And with every news, I felt like it was a Deja Vu.

Al Mokdad trying to take over fighting against Free Syrian Army with their "Military Wing". They're from Baalbeck and we all know it's its own government there, it's at the borders with Syria, and during the Golden days... well 2 words: Weapons and Iran.

My thoughts? It's not really about the kidnapping, they say they're not affiliated with Hezbollah, I agree, they are under the wing of Hezbollah. Hezbollah can no longer pull such games in Lebanon because well they are now part of the government and a whole legitimate political part, so they delegated it. The start of Al Mokdad also reminds me of when Hezbollah started more than 2 decades ago.

Government is quiet, and if they made any statement, it's lame, silly, useless.

Talents in Lebanon - Artist / Painter: Rudy Chidiac

This is a very old series "Funky Talent" that I started doing in late 2006, there are 3 entries in it only, and now I am going to revive it with a new entry about one of the very popular talents however only few can mesmerize you with their work and keep you looking at them for some while. Thus I am honored and happy to introduce you to Rudy, one of my favorite talents in this world

Rudy Chidiac - Facebook - Deviantart

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·     Howold are you? 20

·     When was your first drawing? 7 or 8 or even younger, drawing cartoon characters (Disney)

·     Do you draw from memory? Yes, I don't use reference pictures nor models

·     How do you feel when you draw? When I'm very concentrated about it, I kind of feelhigh, especially if I'm listening to my favorite bands. Maybe dreamy

·     Which are? Cocorosie, This mortal coil, Metallic Falcons

·     What inspires you and do you take a while to decide on it, or does it just come to you?  My ideas come very fast, I write them down soI don’t forget, and when I feel like drawing I chose from the "to-dolist". Sometimes I get ideas from dreams or sometimes when I start a workI see it complete in my dreams it happened with me twice - I even saw one ofthem in motion

A Bomb by Rudy Chidiac
"Sometimes I get ideas from dreams or sometimes when I start a work I see it complete in my dreams"