Posts tagged ‘beirut’
Peace of Mind
Apparently this ad’s been up for a while now (thanks to Beirut Drive-by for posting about it last month), but I spotted it only yesterday and it grabbed my attention. Now although some have made comments about the irony that Toyota would be associated with peace in the Middle East, if we take it at face value, it’s actually quite an effective ad:
Image via Beirut Drive-By
For three years living in the US, I drove a Toyota and can vouch for the fact it gave me “Peace of Mind” and was sad to sell it when I moved back. Now I’m driving a modest Honda, the Middle Eastern equivalent.
Murder on Sessine Square
The letter “meem” (equivalent to “m” in english) was found murdered in Sessine Square.
Time of death: Unknown.
Linguists are currently investigating the motives. Suspects under consideration are the Lebanese youth, who, when interviewed, would answer only in English or French (or both, further confusing the investigators). “Ya Man! Je ne sais pas!”
Guilty or innocent?
We’ll let you decide. We can only pray that no other Arabic letters suffer a similar, devastating fate..
(Ok, I’m just making this all up for fun. These installations announce the Arabic Language Festival to be held on June 26 in Hamra. Well-done!)
From the Post Office: The City is a Fake
Originally Posted: September 15, 2009
The city is a fake.
An impostor.
The mosques alongside churches,
sing at the top of their lungs,
portraying an image of tolerance
but each competing with the other
and truth is
there’s no one in either.
The empty restaurants
With nothing different to offer.
Waiters jump at you from left and right
Reciting their menus onto deaf ears
Hoping to wet your appetite
And a body to fill their seats.
Downtown has become a commercial center.
And I hate it with a passion.
I hate the enclosures to get in.
Where else in the world
Do you get searched for walking down a street?
I hate the soldiers strolling within it
With children cycling,
Round and round,
Innocently playing
Where guns are set free.
This city desperately needs to be liberated;
To inhale some dirt,
To inhale some life,
To inhale something real.
Where are the street vendors?
Where are its true inhabitants?
This is a city that bleeds history.
But we’re draining that too.
What bothers me most is what it represents.
And right now,
It is amazingly clear to me.
This city represents that which I hate most about my country.
A pretty facade that knows just how to lure you in
But doesn’t have the guts to keep you here.
This city represents that which I hate most about my country.
A pretty facade that knows just how to lure you in.
But doesn’t have the guts to keep you here.
And why are you here?
How does one most appropriately answer such a question in the presence of successful entrepreneurs, “angel” investors and the Google team?
Simply and honestly: I was curious. Armed with a stack of business cards and a fully-charged iPhone, I entered the Hatboor conference dome not really knowing what to expect from ArabNet 2010. Would it be a conference aimed at programmers, heavy with techie jargon? Would it be a battlefield of suited businessmen competing for the most cutting-edge project?
Turned out to be a little bit of both and none at the same time. Lost ya? Let me elaborate..
There were certainly plenty of suits on the stage. Some suits came off mid-way through the conference (whether intentionally or not is debatable). The coffee was over-flowing during the breaks after every panel. Business card paper cuts from passing them around so quick. “Here’s my card. We’ll be in touch.” So many faces, so many names, so many projects, so many stories, so much advice. Over-caffeinated speakers kept one eye on the moderator and the other on the live twitter screens (my favorite aspect about the entire conference) Some panelists were nervous about what words would appear while they spoke. Others embraced the system. Others abused the system.
Bloggers, once the hidden faces unleashing their innermost thoughts and desires into a cloud of cyberspace, are now the critics, promoters and generators of online communities. Almost everyone I know now has a blog, or has attempted to start one as it currently gathers cobwebs.
The Ideathon opened the platform to emerging online projects and entrepreneurs to introduce their ideas to the audience. By the end of the 2-day conference, all of them had been contacted by interested investors. Really?! I had my fair pick of favorites, but not all had the same potential. (I was rooting for the Arabic web font pitched by Maya Zankoul. As a graphic designer, this would be an immense aid for my web projects!)
Overall, the conference was huge success and the much-needed push forward for the online Arab world. We’ve got all we need to excel (as Mr. Fadi Ghandour so passionately expressed), so what are we waiting for?
That would be a more appropriate question to be asking at such a conference then “why are you here?”
Entering Buttonland
What do you get when you combine a tree, old telephone, miniature chair, button rings and three free-spirited designers?
A story that only makes sense in Buttonland and your imagination. Entering Buttonland..
Rings by: Dima Boulad
To see more: Click here
