Archive for February, 2009
Tom’s Phone
If you’re free this Tuesday, be sure to catch the Lebanese produced film “Tom’s Phone” showing at MIT (in 6-120) at 6:30pm.
from www.tomsphone.com
Set in New York City, the story revolves around three unsuspecting people that become entangled in a bizarre love triangle because of a lost cell phone. “Tom’s Phone” is the first feature film by Lebanese director Pierre Abs and producer Patrick Zeitouni. The movie was shot entirely in HD-Video, and independently financed by their emerging production company: Filthy Martini Films.
The sexually-charged comedy (Rated R) is expected to go into theatrical distribution in Summer 2009. I already like the film soundtrack.
Check out the trailer here: Tom’s Phone Trailer
Countdown to Honduras!
A little more than a week to go and I’ll be making my way down to Honduras!!! One of my dreams is finally coming true and here’s a chance to make a big difference to people who really need it.
Ever since my cousins made their way with “Builders Beyond Borders” to Ecuador and Guatemala a few years ago, I’ve had my heart set on doing the same thing when the opportunity came forth… and it did in a delightfully unexpected, unplanned way 
This experience will certainly change my life in ways I can’t even imagine right now. As part of the program, we’ll be in La Esperanza for a week building homes for impoverished families. I’ve also never been to that part of the world so that in itself will be a huge eye-opener.
Just today I received a little kit from the organization (i-to-i travel) that we’re going with. Check out the cool t-shirts we’ll be wearing:
says "Meaningful Travel"
I still have two more vaccines to take (this week) and some light shopping to do. We’ll be getting down and dirty most of the time, so tees and shorts will be the most essential. Ahhh… it’ll be so nice to be in tropical weather for a few days! Where does one buy a mosquito net btw?!
My parents are naturally freaking out. Parents will be parents, right? People travel the world all the time and it’s not like I’m flying to Baghdad. And you’d think that being from Lebanon – which is a country the world has a negative image of because of political disputes and war-torn history – would make them more gutsy about sending me to a similar country. I’m not worried. Can’t wait is closer to how I feel right now!
that “gonna-vu” feeling
All day yesterday I had this strange churning in the pit of my stomach. It felt like one of those days (and they happen quite often) that I knew I’d run into certain people. Most often, certain people I didn’t want to see. I just couldn’t knock that feeling off and was consciously observing my surroundings, looking for that familiar face.
The anticipation, the sureness of seeing – it’s that “gonna-vu” feeling. It feels a hell of a lot like “deja-vu”, but this pertains more to the anxiety prior to the encounter. (I might’ve just coined myself a new term here!)
And then I saw him! At the end of the day, right when I was about to dismiss my “gonna-vu” feeling as mere delusion. It felt oddly satisfying that some energy had warned me about this encounter and prepared me. When that moment came, I was fuzzy. The person looked different from a distance, it was dark, but then he approached me with a quick hi as he walked past. I smiled to myself as I walked away – he had no idea this was going to happen today.
Dinochicken
Reading the latest Wired issue, I came across this bizarre article about a genetic project to create dinosaurs from chicken embryos. Yeah. You know those cute little chicks that they dye fluorescent colors and sell on the Lebanese streets for under 50 cents? Yup, that’s how dinosaurs are making a come-back.
By flipping the right genetic switches in a chicken embryo, scientist Jack Horner believes that you can find the dinosaur-like traits that naturally develop in a chick’s early stages. For example, a long tail, teeth and three-fingered hands. These traits apparently exist from birth, but somewhere along the way get canceled by other genes. The tail never gets formed and the fingers get fused into wings.
A wild notion, especially coming from one of the consultants of Jurassic Park… But how possible is it that he’s onto something? Horner reports in the interview that “Dinosaurs are not extinct; they’re still with us in this sense. Birds look different, but it’s all cosmetic.” We’ll find out soon enough if he’s right. It would be a very interesting discovery!
And if nothing else, his research will help us learn more about controlling genes, and would give us plumper chickens. So get on it KFC!
Little Russian Man
Little Russian man
sitting on the steps of my building
What are you thinking as the world passes you by?
Has the world left you behind?
Forgotten you?
Every once in a while
I catch you on my way back home.
At the bottom of the stairs
Where you’re hunched over
With your big round belly
And long white beard.
As your walker waits atop the flight of stairs
I wonder how it made it up there without you.
Yet with all your might
You resist any help from me.
Even that day I saw you fall.
Groceries in hand
I watched you pick yourself back up
And slowly crawl up the icy stairs
A strong pride resting heavy on your jagged shoulders
And a curt response
in my direction
that till today
I never could understand.
