The poster on the left is the We Run Beirut poster for their upcoming event while the poster on the right is the original version, a poster for the TV series Battle Star Galactica (one of the best shows ever). It’s a poster to a party, who the hell would be lazy enough to copy another poster instead of coming up with something creative for such a cool event?!

I was thinking about songs that relate to our blog’s name when i remembered a very old song that went “El Baladi El Baladi wou bass .. ya 3ayni 3al baladi”. I looked for it a good half hour before I found out it was Nina and Rida Boutros who sang it, and both were belly dancers apparently.

I couldn’t find the song anywhere on YouTube but i found this and this instead.

Maybe we should see if they are still doing songs and ask them to replace el baladi with BlogBaladi, we’d have our first blog song lol!

I tend not to follow politics, but the situation in Lebanon does not go unnoticed.
I love the latest headline I read on naharnet: “French-Saudi-Turkish-Qatari Consultations in Paris to Reach Solution to Lebanese Crisis”.

Sounds like a joke “A Turk, a Frenchman, a Saudi and a Qatari walk into a bar..”

Just a thought, shouldn’t Lebanon be part of that meeting?

Check the rest here.

A rainbow after the storm I spotted last week, hoping this is what we’ll get after our politicians stop bickering each others at our expense.

I saw Armin van Buuren at Mandaloon Cafe during lunch time today! The concert is gonna be massive! Can’t wait!

I’m guessing he’s not very concerned about the political situation in Beirut.

To be honest I didn’t know what he looked like. Thanks to Helena and Alex for pointing him out!

Armin will be performing live at Biel on January 22

I remember when we used to complain that the price of gasoline was 20,000 LL. Aaaah the good old days…

My question is why does the Mufti need so many bodyguards? Isn’t he protected by army men and ISF officers?

Here are 6 ways to Get Your Mind Off The Political Drama In Lebanon from Ivy says.

I like Option2 most!

1- Go to Armin Only Mirage On Saturday the 22nd

2- When the clock hits 5pm after work, head straight to a Happy Hour at your nearest neighborhood bar

3- Go shopping; nothing gets your mind off Lebanese politics like a good shopping spree

4- Do not under any circumstance turn on the radio to any Arabic –speaking channel at any point in time

5- You can spot the frustrated ones right away.

6- See no evil; speak no evil, and most importantly HEAR NO EVIL.

I’ve requested from a friend of mine to get me a bottle of Arak from his uncle who apparently is known for his good Arak some time before Christmas. I was very excited about trying it out but then i got sick and could not drink alcohol for weeks and got busy and all. Finally i was able to taste his Arak tonight while having dinner and i must say the taste was strong but it felt relatively light and did not bother me at all.

I have my Arak along with a Labneh plate, Fteele (raw meat) and fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, quasi-typical Lebanese dinner.

A truck that probably can hold 5 cows carries 10 or more in Lebanon. Not only the way people treat animals is brutal in Lebanon, but the smell that comes out of leaving the cows for days in the same tiny spot does not seem to bother anyone.

Imagine that sometimes the smell spreads to all over Beirut when boats filled with cows and sheep are left for days at the sea port.

Two people were wounded and 15 vehicles damaged Tuesday evening when a family dispute between two brothers erupted into gunfire in the Beirut southern suburb of Ghobeiri, the state-run National News
Agency reported.
After the dispute, one of the brothers, armed with a machinegun, went out into the street, starting a shooting spree that left two people wounded, one of them Sudanese, and 15 vehicles damaged. [Naharnet]

Imagine it on a bigger scale and you have an idea of what might be happening anyday anytime now according to what some predict.

The funny part is that no one was arrested because the shooter suffers from a mental disorder. (ma hek?)

I was wondering today how come schools were shut down in Beirut but not businesses?

Are our brave 90 year old security men well armed against any group of armed to the teeth individuals?

I demand that we get sent back home :P

One thing puzzles me about the Lebanese is how scared and worried they get at the slightest incident, yet brag about partying during the war and not caring about the bombs. My friends were at Gemmayze on Saturday night and there was barely anyone there, or at least not compared to what Gemmayze looks on a Saturday night.

Why you ask?
Because there’s no government and some guy called Bellmare is handing out the STL report to another dude called Daniel Fransen, the STL pre-trial judge.

I wish someone would come out and tell people if he handed out the report, there are still at least 6 weeks until something is announced publically, if anything is gonna come out at all. Second and most important, i wish our army and ISF forces stop spreading their elite commando units on the streets and highways and scare the shit out of people!

You go to Beirut and feel as if it’s a war zone even though nothing’s happening. The last thing people need is a whole SWAT team guarding the intersections and sitting on top of their tanks parked on the side walks.

I had to share this, hilarious! [YouTube]