Picture via Najimix

That’s a nice video to start the week with!

Time Out has posted the official list of winners from the Time Out NightLife Awards 2012 ceremony. You can check them out [Here].

When someone mentions fashion in Lebanon, first thing that comes to my mind is the Lingerie show in Faraya

Someone pointed out to me the other day that she loved BlogBaladi because I talked about all sorts of topics, including Fashion. I was a bit surprised at first because I couldn’t remember writing fashion posts, or at least it’s been a long while since I ever wrote one. In fact it’s been almost 10 months since I came up that “Zuhair Mrad: Like a Boss” post.

Nevertheless, even though I am not really interested in fashion, I’ve been following up closely on a Lebanese fashion blogger who’s been doing a great job ever since she launched her blog and that I believe is worth a mention. She posts regularly, passionately in a professional manner and is one of the most active fashion bloggers in Lebanon.

To be honest, some of the posts/reviews she writes don’t really interest me but others are fun to read and could prove helpful when you need to buy your gf/fiancee/wife a gift. She always tries to have the scoop on upcoming fashion events/openings/shows and posts tons of pictures of herself or others trying out new outfits. Plus she’s posting about men fashion lately so that ought to teach us men a few things, such as how to dress for work for example.

I am talking about L’armoire de Lana of course, which you can visit by clicking [Here].

Marion – Atelier de Gourmandises

I passed by Le Mall Dbayeh last Thursday to have lunch but had no idea where to go. I walked across Level2, which is packed with all sorts of restaurants, before I finally got to Marion Bistro and decided to give it a try. Marion is a French Bistro located at the best possible spot on Level2, with an outdoor terrace overlooking the highway and Marina Dbayyeh. It serves brunch, lunch and dinner and has one of the best salad bars!

What I liked most about this place it that it’s spacious and situated in a relatively calm corner of the mall. It’s the ideal place for families but also for couples to hang out away from the overly-crowded diners, pizzerias and burger places. It also overlooks the mall, the highway and part of the Marina Dbayyeh, which I know is not that great but better than not having any view at all.

As far as the food is concerned, you can choose from a large selection of salads, appetizers, sandwiches, pastas, hot dishes and of course their list of desserts all at reasonable prices. I’ve been to Marion 3 times already and was pleased with most of the dishes I ordered. I liked their Club Saumon, the “Australien Black Angus” steak, Coq au Vin and the Vitello Tonnato appetizer. The quiche however wasn’t that great and overpriced.

Filet de Boeuf Bresilien

Added to that, I am a big fan of salad bars and Marion has one of the best salad bars in Lebanon. The display is great, there’s a decent selection of ingredients and the salad dressings are put in small pitchers on the side, which is better and neater in my opinion than those large bowls and ladles.

Salad Bar

Moving on to my favorite part, which are the desserts, I strongly recommend the Mi-Cuit Au Chocolat and the Creme Brulee. I didn’t like their Tiramisu though.

Mi-Cuit au Chocolat (Using Belgian Chocolate)

All in all, Marion is my favorite type of restaurants, as it’s spacious, has a decent salad bar, some good desserts and fine dishes. Price-wise, the majority of items vary between 15 and 20$ (excluding desserts) and the salad bar is priced at 22,000 which I think is a reasonable price.

If you wish to know more about Marion, visit their Facebook Page [Here].

Picture from ClickSports

I just read on SportKello.com that 5 Lebanese Basketball teams (Riyadi, Byblos, Amchit, Hoops and Muttahed) in the first division have suspended their participation after being lied to prior to the Lebanese Federation elections.

What happened (According to the article) was that all teams agreed on a list of candidates to head the new federation, only to see this accord changed on elections day by Jihad Salameh, who’s in charge of the sports section in a prominent Lebanese political party. Honestly, I have no idea about what’s happening but when you have 5 teams out of 10 suspending their participation, with 4 of them ranked in the top 6, whomever came up with this federation is obviously doing a bad job.

I’ve said it and repeat it a zillion times, politics should be strictly forbidden in sports events and Lebanese Federations should not be influenced by members of political parties at all. In fact, I don’t understand how you can mess up the elections of a Lebanese Basketball Federation. If the aim is to encourage the teams, improve the sport and modernize it, then find someone competent and neutral having everyone’s consent to head the federation. How hard can it be?

Allah yer7am President Choueiri.

Picture taken from TheDailyStar

Pierre Hashash was intercepted two days ago by plain-clothed army intelligence and beaten with rifles on his head in broad daylight outside Dunkin Donuts in Batroun. He was taken to Batroun’s serail then to Qobbeh prison in Tripoli where he’s being held as we speak. For those of you who don’t know Pierre, he’s an artist and a controversial figure who runs for parliament using sarcastic slogans and banners.

The reasons for which he was detained are still not clear, as some are saying it’s because of insults against the Lebanese Army and its chief that he posted on Facebook, while others are saying his arrest was due to a personal dispute with an army officer. In both cases, the way he was beaten up is unacceptable and unnecessary. As for the legal aspect of his arrest, some are arguing that it’s illegal while the army is saying there are several legal cases against him.

This being said, I find it surprising that the army would behave that way a day before the Independence specially that their slogan for this year’s Independence celebration was “Jayebli Salam” (English: Bringing peace). I also find it hard to believe Army chief Kahwaji would allow such a thing on the eve of a ceremony that he’s been working on personally. It could be a personal dispute like some media sources suggested, but that doesn’t justify one single bit the method used to apprehend Pierre.

So until things are cleared out, I honestly believe everyone should calm down and stop taking shots at the army and its head, because it will only make things worse. Pierre has a lawyer taking care of his case and hopefully some politicians or high-officials have already done their calls to settle this case once and for all.

This is the first episode of ‘Breezes of Hope’- a series of 6 short films on development and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. There are unfortunately various camps and areas in Lebanon that are living in terrible conditions and need attention.

“Planète Courses” is a French Monthly TV show about horse racing around the world. I think that’s the first time I find a documentary on Beirut’s Hippodrome. It looks like a beautiful place, too bad it’s neglected and forgotten.

EM Chill is organizing a 100% Lebanese alcohol night on November 28th, to support our local brands while listening to local tunes all night. All drinks will be priced at 4,000 LL only.

I think they should offer discounts on food items as well, because if there’s Arak at only 4000 Lebanese Liras the drink, people will get wasted before the party kicks in!

Check EM Chill’s Facebook Page [Here] for more info.

Via Beirut.com

Picture by Carmen Chammas

Jennifer Lopez surprised her fans today by holding the Lebanese flag at her Dubai Concert in celebration of Lebanon’s Independence day. I don’t know why she would do such a thing but it’s pretty cool of her, at least for the Lebanese watching the show.

Picture from Tinia Nassif taken from Gino’s Blog

Via Gino

[YouTube]

Here’s the short video that the Lebanese Army has prepared for the Independence Day celebrations.

Here are the doodles from the past two years:

As far as I know, Independence day is for all the Lebanese, not just the army. So it wouldn’t hurt if Alfa & Touch did something for all their users, such as doubling those ridiculously low 3G caps for everyone free of charge or lowering the 3G plans prices. Is that too much to ask?

Alfa mobile network has launched the “Army Line,” an exclusive offer to the Lebanese Army with preferential rates on its calls, SMS and data, the state-run National News Agency said Wednesday. The Army Line offers price cuts on phone calls, SMS and Internet access for fixed lines that reach up to 80 percent. [Naharnet]