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Seif and the Freak wedding

Bonjour!! Morning is beautiful here today! I woke up to a magnificent ringing of the church bells here in Ashrafieh! My godson has been getting a little bit bored lately, and being the coolest godfather bil 3alam, I went out and bought him a cute little orange kitten. I know the animal fanatics and their animal safety sirens are blasting, but its okayy, he's not going to kill the kitten!I have, however, witnessed a wedding the other day as I passed Ras Beirut (my favorite neighborhood in this city) and noticed a wedding procession. I know that there is always the zaffe in a Lebanese wedding, which is very important, and usually very lavish. So I stopped and decided to watch a bit of it, you know because like I said they really are very lavish.  This one had two belly dancers in bright red prancing up and around the entrance of the building. It also had a fir2a, or Lebanese dance group, doing dabke and other traditional dances. I could hear the zalghouta's from the balcony and flowers showering the floor from above. But wait... where is the bride?  Oh thats right, she is coming down the stairs of the building, being carried actually, in a huge CLAM like she was some flippin mermaid. I noticed on the side, 4 men hauling a HUGE cake into the back of a truck, and talking about how they are taking it the hotel for the bride.  I looked at Charbel and asked him "why in the wolrd does that huge ass cake have a door?". He smiled and said "it's obvious. The bride is gonna come out of it in the hotel!". The bride is what?!?!?! I mean what in the world is she jumping out of a cake for? She already looked like Ariel from the little mermaid,  she wanted to top it off by looking like a porno bride jumping from a cake?

Lebanon has gone to the extreme in showing off, looking lavish, and being super superficial. The wedding must have been like some game show if you ask me. Not a celebration of union between the two.

The rant: Hezballah again?

I have been most fortunate to see my beloved homeland this year, even though it is for a short period of time. Many of you abroad and in Lebanon have been hearing a lot about the "War of Words" between Hezballah and Israel as it has been escalating to a point where worry is spreading quickly across the nation. It all started when a group of women from Lebanon, Europeans, and some journalists have been preparing a flotilla to Gaza. Israel says it will "take an necessary action" to ensure it's safety. Fair enough. Great, so once again Lebanon inches closer to a war like the one in 2006 because Hezballah likes to pick a fight.  We have to sit around watch Hassan Nasrallah talk on behalf of Lebanon, a country with a large percentage of people who do NOT support him, and threaten Israel, its existence, and Tel Aviv. Oh my God, can you give it a rest? Like are you a lunatic? This is coming from a man who claims the Lebanese government isn't doing enough for the "Lebanese people". Do you blame them? I mean, our country is still trying to form a stable economy after its civil war, and frankly you causing wars for no reason DURING THE TIME LEBANON MAKES MOST OF ITS REVENUE IS NOT HELPING! Come on, yesterday 30% of reservations to Lebanon have been cancelled. The year where Lebanon is officially back up on its feet, being called the "best" place to be for the summer of 2010, making billions of dollars, and you go around acting like Rambo?  We get it, you have weapons, but hopefully not for very long. Being a Lebanese who lives outside of Lebanon, because I'm scared theres going to be a war every year, scared to ruin my future, and my family's future I am forced to live bil GHHORBEH while you sit around and act like your Lebanon's "godsend". I'm sick of it, the Lebanese outside of Lebanon are sick of it, Lebanon's people are sick of it. Wake up and do whats good for Lebanon....DISAPPEAR OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET! I'm sick of hearing "Lebanese Resistance" too. Resistance to what? Life? If I recall correctly Israel left our Lands in the year 2000, you have nothing to resist. Your a power hungry, desperate, attention loving idiot. And the people who sit behind you are just as messed up. Go and fight Israel from Syria, from Iran, or from the middle of the ocean. Anywhere but here. 


Im done. :)

Cannot sleep!

Heyy everyone! It is Saturday, July 17th here in Beirut. The current time is 6:02am. I cannot sleep. I have tried to sleep, but I cant. So I decided to blog my last 48 hours for you guys. I have spent the day touring around Beirut, I have no beach time, so I watch the ocean as much as I can. We got home from Gemmayze, literally, 2 hours ago...and my tipsy-ness is starting to fade! Because my stay is only 9 days this summer, hence the over-swamping myself with thousands of things to do, I probably will not see my Canadian friends who are here as well. Bummer. They'll understand that my Beirutis have planned out every second of my 9 day stay right down to the to the last second at the airport! It's actually a bit foggy here in Ashrafieh, as I am staying with Charbel and Lina. So this is what happened. I landed, and after begging them I need to stay at my hotel, as I had reserved, and they will charge me either way, they agreed. So after my landing celebration at Gemmayze and Celtics in Monot, they dropped me off....LATE. I slept two hours, which is okay, considering my sleeping pill kept me asleep during all of my Canadian Airlines flight and half of my MEA airlines flight as well. Precisely, at 9:57 am, the reception girl, who is clearly OVERLY DRESSED FOR HER JOB, she looked like a walking doily, calls my room and tells me I have visitors in the lobby. Charbel and Lina, and a good friend Assaad, were sitting there insisting I check out on the spot and head to their place. I didn't even bother to argue, and I did as I was told.  


We cruise Beirut, and guess what? I cried, hehehehe. I've been uploading pics for my friends like crazy over Facebook...god...thank you for my Blackberry.  Crepaway is as tasty as ever, and partying like this has never felt better. P.s. I haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood).  So today after drinking up at Barbu, I am unable to sleep. My argeeli awaits me on this balcony, and I will probably smoke it, and fall asleep for an hour before I have to be up again.  I go to Syria tomorrow. 5 hour limit as Charbel has directed me, so I will be back to spend another crazy night here in Beirut. Sun 7 is a new place I have to check out, it is "roof-top" just like Skybar, and yess just as exclusive.


Anyways, I will fill you guys in on the creepy hot dog guy, and the rest of my adventures in Beirut later on. 


P.s. I have a date tomorrow with a nice French girl spending her summer here tomorrow night, she will accompany us to Sun 7. Elodie is her name. I met her at Barbu, very sweet. And oh so French. Ana ba3reef e7keh Faranceh??? Je ne sais pas....thats for sure. I figured out my French is terrible when Lina and I jumped onto the bar and danced like idiots... my friends, I was cheered on like I was a male stripper. HOW ENTICING! Her reaction to that was: qu'est-ce qui se passe (whats happening?) ?!?!? followed by a loud laugh. My reply was tu veux quoi?dis-moi ce que tu veux! meaning (you want what? Tell me what you want). Layko manna jursa! I will definitely work on my French for our date at Sun 7.

 Anyways BeirutOnline, and myself are meeting at Paul's Bistro after tomorrow at 12:00 noon for some lunch. Everyone is welcome to come.  I look forward to meeting all of you!

Gosh it's great to be home.  Here is a view from the apartment and ill post a link to the song that was playing in the airport as I kissed the floor (it started the water works hearing this song and kissing the purest and most loving of floors). Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuAEfTGZqUM

Bye bye

So I'm all done, all ready, and can't wait for the best 8 days of my summer, and possible the year! I'll definitely be posting from the motherland whenever I get the chance (as I will be SWAMPED and cramming everything into these 8 days).  No beach for me this summer, just events, and some major catching up! I doubt I'll visit the valley, and if I do, it won't be for a long period of time. Maybe just a drive so I can take a whiff of it's amazing freshness! Looking forward to meeting you my fellow blogger, and faithful fan "BeirutOnline"... I'm thinking brunch at Paul's? Let me know what you think about that. Everyone else... have fun, be safe, and keep the smiles going! Stay posted, for sure I will have some interesting things posted up on here.


P.s. any of my readers in Beirut that messaged me about getting together, I will definitely post on here what day BeirutOnline and myself are getting together and where, you all can come and join! Yallah khaleena net3araf!

:'(

Rain, rain, rain.

Lebanon, the Middle East, Christianity, and the future

I always ask myself, what will the future of Lebanon, the Middle East, and it's minorities be like in the future. One topic that interests me the most, however, is the topic of Lebanese and Arab Christians. For those of you who don't know, Lebanon is the only Middle Eastern country that is democratic, along with Israel, and is the ONLY country that has a Christian (Maronite Catholic) as it's president (by law). This however, is threatened by Hezballah, Iran, and Syria daily. This makes me wonder, what will happen to Sunni Muslims, Christians, and other religious groups in Lebanon when we have a militia and Iranian backed organization like Hezballah with the amount of weapons, and power we see today? In the times of the Late Prime Minister Rafiq el Hariri, these groups were not threatened as they had someone with a power much stronger than that of Hezballah's. That power was equality. Fairness. Respect. Democracy. As we inch closer to the threat of a Shiite run government in Lebanon, one can only think about what will happen to these groups. Will they be safe? Will they have the ability to live as they once did, practicing their faiths freely without the fear and persecution we now see in Iran. Today, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani provides us with an example of what will become of us under Hezballah and Iran. Will we one day sit in a court that convicts us on a basis of assumptions, lies and extremism? Will we too one day be stoned to death? Lashed 90 times? Will we not live democratically, and freely, with no worries of leaving our homes? Will we fight senseless wars for the sake of the Shiite Mahdi Iran and Hezballah clearly and desperately anticipate? Coming from an Arab Muslim, who has friends of Jewish and Christian faiths, who does not differentiate between the Christian cross and the Muslim crescent I pray that we will never reach a time where we will be faced with the decision of leaving the Middle East for good because the only sanctuary of peace and love in the region called Lebanon is gone. Pray that images, like the one above, showing freedom and love and coexistence never be lost from us... do you guys disagree?

Fadlallah of Lebanon: Who and why!

Grand Ayotallah Mohamed Hussein Fadlallah. A name thats big in the news today. With a CNN editor fired for a Tweet describing her "respect" for him, his big influence in the terrorist organization Hezballah, and being one of the USA's largest opposers... I would think he is a big name. But who was he? 


He was a prominent Twelver Shiite Marja (or person of influence), who was born and raised in Najaf, Iraq. He is of Lebanese origin, and grew to become the self-proclaimed leader of the Shiites. However, he was not just a religious man, he also was the spiritual leader of Hezballah. Yes, the organization that ranks high up there with Al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization. Personally, I feel Hezballah, with the help of Iran, is far more a threat than Al-Qaeda.  Anyways, after 21 years of studying with the prominent Shiite scholars of Iraq, he returned to Lebanon, and rose to power with the heavy influence he had on Hezballah. Many argue that Hezballah and Fadlallah were two separate entities, having nothing to do with eachother, I beg to differ. I think they were one. In proof of this I will provide a quote from their TV channel Al Manar. They said he had at least "inspired the leaders" of the group. It added that "From the pulpit of the Imam Rida mosque in the Bir al-Abd neighborhood, Sayyed Fadlullah’s sermons gave shape to the political currents among mainly the Muslim Shiite sect [of Lebanon], from the latter half of the 1980s till the last days of his life." WOW, doesnt that seem to be exactly what Hezballah does? Considering they mentioned "the later half of the 1980's, and Hezballah was created officially in 1985, this provides me with enough knowledge that he was behind the Hezballah organization from it's early days, until his death last week. 


What did he stand for? He stood and supported the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hezballah, and when he was interviewed once, he mentioned his dream was to have an Islamic Shiite Republic of Lebanon where "there will be room for other faiths". Yeah okay. We seen the room "other faiths" have in Iran, and guess what? We aren't impressed. Considering Lebanon has 18 different religious faiths stretching from Christians, Muslims, Jews and anything in between where did he plan on putting us? Before I get back to him, I would like to say, that as a Muslim (not Shiite), I really am scared by his notion of an Islamic Lebanon. Anyways, Fadlallah later earned himself a place on the list of terrorists and was strongly opposed by the USA.  He had his fair amount of opposing the USA back, including boycotting American products, American foreign policy, and what he called "American Intervention in Lebanon". He seemed to have forgotten Iranian intervention in Lebanon...not surprised. In November 2007 Fadlallah accused the United States of trying to sabotage the elections going on in Lebanon. He stated "The insanity of the US president and its administration is reflected in Lebanon by their ambassador pressuring the Lebanese people and preventing them from reaching an agreement over the presidential election."I believe Hezballah was preventing Lebanon from agreeing on a president if I remember correctly, I also remember them in May running around in Beirut with weapons and explosives, bringing Lebanon closer than ever to civil war since 1990. Must have slipped his mind as well. 


Fadlallah also had many views about women's rights, abortion and stated that Iran's "Waliyat el Fakih" had no role in "Modern Lebanon". This I do give him props for. However, as a young Lebanese, I wonder, what form will Hezballah take now, will his death change anything in their extremist Shiite Islamic views? In their power hungry state of mind, I think his death will change very little. He may be gone now, but his ideas, books, interviews, website, and so on are still here. Not to mention the thousands of people he had schooled himself. What is it that will change? Well, I think Hezballah will become much "wilder" if you will, as Fadlallah was a spiritual leader, and theological writer more than he was political. He was much more "peaceful" than Hassan Nasrallah ever will be, and he did have much acceptance to other faiths (even if it was just for media purposes). Personally, I think Lebanon is closer now to destruction after his death than before it. With Hezballah becoming stronger and stronger by the minute, and threatening Lebanese democracy and peace in the region, one can sit around and hope for the best. What do you guys think?

Seif sees Eclipse

I lost any interest in movies at theaters ever since the movie "Leather Heads" in 2008. But after being dragged to watch Eclipse, one of the top rated films of the year, I once again remembered why theaters can be a very fun place, and why Eclipse is such a good movie. The movie is romantic , sexy, exciting, suspenseful, and everything inbetween. It’s like romantic drama meets Lord of the Rings! And those two have some damn chemistry between them, mostly the way Bella and Edward and Jacob (soo annoying) make a pretty good mix on action and drama. Although Bella is not the best of actresses, she really is improving and makes you feel the heat and leaves you thinking about how there are no girls like her around (hehehe). I must warn you, Leah in the film, is so damn annoying, I really did say "oh my god your so annoying" out loud 4 times... I even got someone who replied "tell me about it, b***h". Jacob is as needy, and desperate as ever, I could just hit him. Back off already dog. Someone needs to go back to doggy training school if you ask me. Bella does scream "stay" at him a couple of times on the mountain, not usually funny, but the two guys beside me (bless their souls, hilarious) did say out loud "stay and you get a treat".

The Volturi are definitely my favorites. If i could become a vampire, I would definitely choose to be a part of them... and DAMN they got some nice style. But then again being Italian vampires, they probably stopped in Milan before they made it to Forks. So in salut to the Volturi fashion, I will post 2 pics of them...the one of them in the green background is from Eclipse...those jackets are the BOMB (not clear here, but in the movie, you will see how nice they are).

Public quarrels?

Lovers quarrel. Oh how I know. But I find it a little bit annoying when it becomes public. Today being out with a couple of friends, we had to yet again step into the quarrels of two of our friends. It was a peaceful get together, on the balcony having some drinks and chatting about normal things. Two women stroll by in their shorts, one of the guys checks them out, his girlfriend sees, and yes, hell opened a crater on that balcony today, and broke loose. It didn't just break loose, it erupted, spilling over the balcony and onto the streets below. People ran for their lives. Us however, have become accustomed to this couple's outburst, intervened and tried to make peace between the two.

I don't get it, if you are so desperate to stay together, and are so in love, do you need to throw things? Slam doors? Cry? Scream? and cause more drama than the people on The Hills? If you want to put on a show, please, find a reality TV show, and sign up!

Yet another get-together ruined by the ridiculous display of love and drama. I ask, if you are so unhappy why stay? Is it a drama addiction? or do you get turned on by nearly ravaging each other to death? I don't get it.