Random posts

• Hi, keefak, ça va?: Writer, publisher, lecture organizer and cultural expert Henri Zoghaib shares his incredible love for Lebanon and enthusiasm for literature.
• Business beef: I generally tend to avoid potentially violent confrontations in closed environments, especially when said environments float at around 50,000 feet.
• Special Olympian: Who would have thought that a Lebanese would bring back an Olympic medal? Edward Maalouf knew it all along; he only wishes his government appreciated it a bit more.
• Naked classics: Vanessa Nassar threatens to take the violin, and us with it, to new heights. After watching her carry it, I'm a believer.
• Blush: Working all the pretty faces from your neighbor's wedding to Elie Saab's fashion shows, the beautiful Hala Ajam gives me a look behind the blush.
• Man vs. kitten: When tigers roamed free, we kept our distance. We lived in mud huts, lit fires and sharpened sticks, and prayed that tigers would just leave our miserable little villages alone.
• 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.
• Brush aside: Tony el Mendelek is a hairdresser, one of the best hairdressers in the country. But ask him if his work can change society and he'll laugh in your face. Which is rather refreshing.
• Love is blind: Who loves you baby? Friends? Family? Professional matchmakers? We set two guinea pigs, Karl Baz and Nayla Aramouni, on three blind dates apiece to figure it out.
• Love me Dutch: ‘Well, if all else fails, we can always get married.’
• Cotton candy: Zena el Khalil doesn’t create; she reacts to Beirut. Take the mind of a war-child, mix in the memories of an immigrant, and season with pink. Lots and lots of pink.