Picture from BeirutNightLife.com

PS: Inspired from a Lebanese meme but enhanced a bit.

Amine Maalouf, Lebanese-born French author and member of the prestigious Academie Francaise, on top of the list.

A list that covers 30 Lebanese personalities that were hot topics during 2012 due to good/bad things they’ve done. The list is a subjective and not based on any ratings or votes but I think is good enough to sum up 2012. [Full List]

[YouTube]

I always used to hear from friends and family that hyenas are dangerous and deadly creatures that pose a threat to humans and should be killed. However, I learned from a previous post that there are various types of hyenas, one of them being the striped hyena which is an endangered species and is known to be extremely timid around humans.

This being said, we should not be killing these creatures but preserving them instead. In order to do so, you can contact The Animal Encounter organization and they’ll be more than glad to help. Last but not least, I wish that LBC and other TVs ask their viewers to refrain from shooting down these animals and reporting them instead to them or to the corresponding organizations.

[YouTube] Start Watching at 1:04:00

Why isn’t she looking at Tony at the start when he’s talking to her? That’s quite rude but not as rude as when she stood and insulted him (Starting 1:19:00).

I think the best thing MTV should do is ignore her and enjoy all this free publicity for DWTS because no one’s buying her story.

Here’s an article resuming the interview. [Link]

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I was going down The St. Nicolas stairs on Thursday on my way to Gemmayze when I noticed what looks like a small roller coaster set up on a big portion of the 500 meters staircase. I am not sure what it is being used for but I noticed a construction site at the end of the wooden railway so I am guessing they set it up to carry building materials down the stairs.

It would be fun if someone, Red Bull for example, comes up with a fun game where you go down the stairs on a roller-coaster wearing a costume (maybe during Easter) and jump off it into some pool or huge air mattress. Another idea would be a “Jump and Freeze” event but that’s more suitable for Faraya/Mzaar or the Cedars. Either ways, I will be the first to take part in such a fun event.

Source: Wiki

On a last note, I just realized that the Saint Nicolas Stairs, also known as L’Escalier de Saint-Nicolas or L’Escalier de L’Art, is the longest staircase in the Middle East with 125 steps. [Link]

Figo29 is one of the best bloggers/tweeps when it comes to football and he somehow managed to meet his idol and Football Legend Maradona yesterday. I can’t wait to see what Maradona had to tell him.

Picture from Annahar

I saw B.Balady on a van in Achrafieh yesterday so I googled it to see what it is about. [B.Balady] is a selection of natural products grown by families of war victims and landmine survivors members of the Development Cooperative in Jezzine. The families are supported and funded by the USAID and the World Rehabilitation Fund in Lebanon since 2001 and it’s been a success story so far.

In fact, the B.Balady egg is believed to be the number one brand selling premium natural eggs in major supermarkets and special stores all over Lebanon. Bayd Baladi is far better and tastier than the commercial eggs you buy in supermarkets.

This initiative truly shows that when there’s a will there’s a way. I recommend you read other success stories of members of the Development Cooperative in Jezzine, mainly the story of Naja, a landmine survivor, who succeeded in initiating and developing his own Herb Cultivation activity on a piece of land secured by him and his brothers near his house in Mrah El-Habbas and is now securing a monthly income for him and his family, as well as Bshara, a landmine survivor, who lost his left arm and had his other hand maimed as a result of a landmine explosion in 1987 yet kept on taking care of the beehives with the help of his 9 year old son Samuel and the WRF. [Read More]

PS: BlogBaladi and B.Balady are not related in anyway, except that they both provide fresh and “baladi” products/posts on a daily basis :)

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Nothing beats a cold Almaza beer even when it’s freezing in Faraya.

[Vimeo]

I haven’t seen or heard much about the Green Party for the past 5 years and the information on their website confirms what I am saying. I love though how they uploaded 2011′s budget and based on the numbers provided, I think they should relocate to a cheaper area and save some of that rent money to come up with a decent ad and fund more activities.

Speaking of ads, there’s a spelling mistake in the one embedded above:
It’s “This day 5 years ago, we “started” (not start) our own revolution”

My friend tweeted this picture to Prime Minister Najib Mikati but didn’t get any reply yet. It’s Thai food for those of you who are interested in knowing.

[YouTube]

Ever since that place opened in Zaitunay Bay, people were pronouncing it the wrong way. Even I didn’t think it was wrong because everyone was saying it the same way. Well at least now we know.

I think it’s funny but also smart that they decided to come up with a video on how to pronounce ‘Amarres’.

My friend went to watch yesterday “The Impossible” at Grand Cinemas in ABC Achrafieh and I was truly surprised to hear what happened during the session. I’ve always had good experiences at Grand Cinemas and never had anything to complain about, except the annoying people talking during the movie but I can’t really blame them for that.

Here’s a brief summary of what my friend texted me after he left:

” In the middle of the movie, the screen just went black but the sound kept going for like 3-4 minutes. People started clapping and shouting and some walked out. After they fixed the picture, the movie was rewinded some 15 minutes ago but once they realized the mistake they fast-forwarded it a little. Then the screen would just freeze every few minutes and people would start yelling and cursing until it works again. This happened at least 8 times and the picture would come and go at critical scenes which pissed off the spectators even further. It was really frustrating and chaotic and ruined the movie for us. At the end when we left, I wanted to talk to someone or expected some apologies but there was no one to talk to”.

I am surprised no one went after the guy showing the movie lol!

On a serious note, knowing Grand Cinemas and out of personal experience, I believe it’s a one-time thing but it wouldn’t hurt to investigate it and know what really caused all this mess.

Does anyone have any update on the two power-generating ships that Our Energy Minister promised to deliver by November? Last time I heard about the ships, they were help somewhere in a Pakistani port for violating some minimal safety and general requirements.

If that’s true, I hope they never come.

[YouTube]

Did they really think we’d forget about Catherine Zeta-Jones’ laser scene in Entrapment?

[YouTube]
Start watching at Minute 2:26