Random posts

• Bless the rains: The 30-year-old Lebanese-Canadian singer, producer and songwriter Karl Wolf has had a couple of successful visits to Beirut, and promises more.
• Take the stairs: Have you ever soaked up the bohemian vibe around Gemmayzeh Stairs? Thank Joseph Raidy, the man behind its renaissance.
• Kababster: Architect Maroun el Daccache attempts to define the Lebanese style, not in the least through the incredible office building I was welcomed in. For me though, it's all about Kababji.
• Flip the mic: He's interviewed everyone from the president to the Dalai Lama, and here's (little) old me putting Ricardo Karam on the other side of the mic.
• Monkey seeds revolution: Corporate Lebanon is a repressive, power-hungry world with nary a ray of hope. One monkey fights back!
• Chalk please!: I know he was being helpful, but I’m neither blind nor stupid; what bothered me the most though, is that I’d actually asked for wine, not wipes.
• The gypsy emperor: Michel Elefteriades – guerilla fighter, artist, musician –doesn't even consider himself Lebanese, rather the Emperor of Nowhereistan, a state with no land and where everyone is welcome. Provided they pass the test. Where do we sign up?
• Chocolate cake: The pub was crowded and loud, and there was chocolate involved. I know this because cake was rammed into my mouth before I sat down.
• Desert toes: In Cairo, there’s an overcrowded area called Khan el Khalil. There I was, wet, smelly and limping on what may have been a broken toe; just like me to have a flashback.
• Ziad dit ca: Creator of West Beirut and Lila Dit Ca, Ziad Doueiri is one of the founders of modern Lebanese film. Just don't use that term around him.
• Bearded bells: A legend in Lebanese theater, Rafic Ali Ahmad buys me a shisha at the notorious Rawda Cafe and talks about his life.