Hamra's Flash Mob: Are We Really Over the Civil War?

      The Lebanese Civil War has been a plague to our society that has suffered its worst forms of destruction, corruption, deceipt, and all the dark behaviors one can think of. The Lebanese hatred to his fellow brother remained burning long after the war was over...and the country has been in an all-time low ever since. 


      All developed nations focus on efficiency instead of ethnicity. We claim to be aiming to become one day a developed country, but how can this happen when we have the mentality of jungle tribes and short-sighted savages? It is so easy to spot a business owner who prefers to employ his illiterate cousin than to bring the right person with different political views. This is simply stupid.


      The lack of dealing with the Civil War has made it a stigma in our Lebanese culture. The facts are opinionated by the narrator, the ignorance of the young generation is too obvious to be avoided, and the tear in our elderly's eyes are some of the signs that show we are still not over it.


      A local NGO noticed this, and decided to act about it. CitiAct made an interesting flash mob in the Hamra district, a delightful region that gathers all ethnicities and a hub for social events, sending a message to the people to finally get out of it, accept it, and move on to build a better nation. The notion of imploding the country has become unbearable to all of us, and things should change one thought at a time, one action at a time.


      Let's hope this would be a kickstarter for a better future for our youth. I've seen a lot of people talking about this and propagating the idea, hoping that the symbolism behind the initiative wouldn't be the Lebanese's ability to create instant traffic, but a mere emulation of the dark side to prevent people from falling into it. 


Heck even Minister Sahnaoui supported it :) kudos! 

@NicolaSehnaoui
Nicolas Sehnaoui
Really impressed by this video. Flash Mob in Hamra to commemorate the Lebanese Civil War. Tenzakar w ma ten3ad! http://t.co/omsN139M 1 day ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · 

Nshalla tenzakar w ma ten3ad....

Smartphones at the Dinner Table

Yes. Technology has made the world smaller. A global village. An interconnected grid. Call it what you want. Smartphones control our desires, and have been successful in becoming part of our daily life, even during our sleep.

A recent observation has led me to write this post. It was the rising phenomenon of using (or rather abusing) smartphones during social outings. There was a time when parents would smack the wax out of our ears if we brought gadgets to the dinner table. But when daddy needs to check his mail on-the-go and mommy needs to play Fruit Ninja, the taboo has been shattered! Referring to Dan Brown when he asks "Who will guard the guards?"

It's a cute thing to stay in touch with friends, tweeps, and random strangers through the phone, but it shouldn't replace the notion of live, physical social interaction! Apart from the fact that it's impolite to keep tweeting that you're tweeting and your date is thinking of getting a twitter account to have a decent conversation. It's just absurd. 

The world won't fall into pieces if you put your phone down for a meal. Enjoying life beyond our screens has sadly become a lost gift. With Project Glass and the likes are planning to occupy our complete consciousness, take some time to sit down, have a peaceful meal and a decent conversation with your loved ones before uploading food pictures to Path and maintaining your online existence.

So Beirut Wants To Go Green

...About time! It's been ages since our dear capital has been smeared with pollution and environment reports, blackening our days and dumping our good mood. For ages, I have sat on my terrace gazing at the capital, adjusting my eyes in every way possible to distinguish the buildings from the cloud of smog that covers them, but to no avail.

Sure, green buildings have been among the talks of the public for quite some time now [.pdf] yet as Nader Nakib, CEO of green building consultancy group G-Building, states "The wealthy are simply pioneers helping to mainstream green buildings into the Lebanese street", hoping that going green would be a trend that would eventually be too mainstream to raise interest among the Lebanese. If there's one more burden to add to the poor conscience, it's the environment or how our building would show from Google Maps…there's more to it.

A recent air pollution study by the American University of Beirut (AUB) revealed that Beirut is shrouded with air pollution, rendering $10 Million in health-related issues. The study showed worrying numbers looming, with 100,000 cars being introduced to the streets every year and nothing to change the environmental status quo, not mentioning the rest of the baggage that comes with this number.

The spotlight lands on Wassim Melki, an architect that was influenced by the capital's harsh reality and teamed up with local NGO ReAct with a mission to plant 60,000 trees on beirut's rooftops. With 15,000 suitable plateaus, Melki claims that simple techniques of placing medium and large trees in pots would suffice to complete the process. It's up to the public to criticize or support the project, hoping some beam of hope would shine through the deep smog of our beloved Beirut.

Sources:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/09/world/meast/beirut-wonder-forest
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/Pages/air-pollution-beirutis.aspx
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2011/Jun-25/Green-buildings-for-the-rich-gain-ground-in-Beirut.ashx#ixzz1rlfsfg7M

Call Me a Laggard

Yes, I did create my blog when people started saying "Blogging is dead!", but who's to judge when is it time to jump on the train? I've delved too deep in the world of social media, and it's only organic to grow more into blogging, micro-blogging, or whatever other term they coin. So...voila! Another blog in the already saturated blogosphere!


I've met a handful of people (yes, including you @lnlne ) that really inspired me to join their passion and their enthusiasm. Every tweetup seems like a family reunion, and in me sprouted a sense of belonging. 


For what it's worth, I do believe that I will slack and/or procrastinate in posting blogs and remaining active, but I'm sure to come up with a patten i can follow.


I'll be sure the blog reflects thoughts,globe-trotting adventures, personal views, and reviews. I try to keep my choices varied and give you some variety and entertainment. Till my next blog post!