I never liked the guy and never will, but I am sure many of you will be excited to know Ziad is having two concerts on December 20th an 21st in Beirut. Tickets will be available starting this Monday at Boueiry Press Kaslik and Maarouf Saed center in Saida. Tickets prices are respectively 40$ 50$ and 60$. You can check out more info [Here].

Via Elie

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.

Roland Saade, Faysal El Khalil, Dory Hitti, Edward Maalouf, Mary El Aam, Maha El Shaer and Mickey Chibli participated in this year’s edition of the Beirut Marathon in order to raise money for the victims of the bombing that shook Achrafieh few weeks back, killing General Wissam Al Hassan, Ahmad Sahyouni and Georgette Sarkissian. [RunForAchrafieh]

They were able to collected an impressive 240,000$, which will be donated to reviving Achrafieh and helping the families.

A great initiative from all 7 runners and the Beirut Marathon association.

AP Picture taken from WeAreLebanon

Over 33,000 runners defied today the bad weather to take part in the 9th edition of 2012 Beirut Marathon. Ethiopian runner Kadir Pecaro won the 42.195 Km race while “Hussein Awada was the first Lebanese to finish the same race with a time of 2 hours and 28 minutes” [Naharnet].

Picture taken from WeAreLebanon

Picture from the DailyStar: British ambassador Tom Fletcher participating in the marathon

Picture from the DailyStar: 150 political, diplomatic, media, and social figures, including first lady Wafaa Suleiman attended the event.

Picture from BeirutMarathon: Ethiopian participants cheering.

Picture from BeirutMarathon: 42k special needs race at the starting line.

Edward Maalouf always up for the challenge

Red Cross volunteers joining the race

Beirut Marathon association provided rain coats at cheap prices for all participants

For more pictures, you can check out BeirutMarathon [Facebook page] and [Website] and The DailyStar [Website].

When Adel (Talal El Jurdi) is overheard admitting that his girlfriend Stephanie (Nadine Labaki) is aging and is no beauty anymore, a chain of events begins that sees his world and his relationships completely reshaped. He is confused and can’t see what he’s done wrong, but Stephanie is devastated: she doesn’t want to be with a man who doesn’t think she’s beautiful, whatever she may think of herself. Meanwhile, Adel’s best friend Toufic (Elie Mitri) alternates between boasting about how his gorgeous wife, Carla (Nada Abou Farhat), and is chasing after a hot new colleague. Carla, meanwhile, begins to re-evaluate the state of the fairy tale marriage she thought she lived in. [Link]

I heard some good reviews about this play and am planning to go watch it as I was told it’s hilarious. Reasons to be pretty was originally written by American playwright and screenwriter Neil Labute. It premiered on Broadway in the Spring of 2009 and was successfully revived in London’s West End in 2011.

If you want to know more about the play or buy tickets, click [Here].

Platea will be hosting an exhibition dedicated to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. More than 60 interactive machines from Da Vinci’s original drawings will be on display , along with 15 high quality reproductions artworks, giant art panels, and rare copies of his Leonardo Codices. Don’t miss out on this unique exhibition that celebrates the works of one of the greatest artists of all time. [Link]

The exhibition will take place from November 7 till December 7 2012 at Platea in Jounieh.

As previously posted, and following the great success of the Achrafieh car-free day two months ago, today was a pedestrian day in Rmeil and Geitawi loaded with activities from running, cycling, yoga, zumba, painting and others. As you can see from the few selected pictures I posted, people from all age groups went down to the streets to enjoy this day.

Those events are part of the Achrafieh2020 initiative, which is aimed at “satisfying Achrafieh residents dreaming of a neighborhood where adults, youth and children can easily and safely walk on wider and cleaner sidewalks, bike on dedicated bicycle alleys, hop on a tramway as a means of commuting; where waste is managed optimally, where parking is well organized and structured and where traffic is highly regulated and law enforced”.

You can check out more pictures on Achrafieh2020 & Greenation Facebook groups [Here] & [Here].

What’s better than a Cheese or Zaatar Saj to kick off the day?

Families enjoying a great day with their kids

Gas stations off-duty on that day

Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Den Bosch and Beirut were the cities chosen by Armin Van Buuren for his “A State of Trance 600″ tour planned in 2013. The World No.1 DJ will be performing in Beirut on March 9th, 2013 at the Forum De Beyrouth starting 10 p.m.

Let’s hope that he won’t change his mind amid all that’s happening in Lebanon, as Beirut will be the only capital in the Middle East to host the event, and Lebanon could benefit from such exposure before the summer season kicks off.

First wave of tickets will go on sale starting November 16 2012 exclusively at My Mix- ABC Level 1 and at mixfm.com.lb according to BeirutNightLife.

AVB has already performed several times in the past few years in Lebanon, out of which twice only last year.

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band [Wiki]. I had the chance to watch it few years back when I went to visit a friend in London and I would gladly watch it again. ABBA is one of my favorite all-time bands.

Spotted at the Salon Du Livre Francophone 2012 yesterday.

I passed by the “Salon du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth” yesterday and I was glad to see so many people attending the event. In fact, Biel was packed with visitors from all age groups and some of the exhibitors were very interesting. The “Salon du Livre” still has 2 days until it ends, so hurry up because you are missing out a lot.

In addition to the exhibitors, the scheduled conferences and featured guest speakers are very interesting. You can check out all the needed information on Le Salon Du Livre’s website [Here].

Here are few random pictures I took from the event:

365 jours pour rester positif au Liban, an Agenda featuring BlogBaladi on one of its pages

I always end up buying a Bande Dessinée

Kids playing with Lego at the Samir Kassir Foundation stand.

Tintin & CIE stand, tons of awesome figurines

Some of the stuff I bought

You can take part in Lebanon’s Independence celebrations in Beirut this year by adding your picture to the large Lebanese flag that will printed out and put on display on that day. Beirut.com came up with this initiative in an attempt to “unite all of faces on one flag”.

If you want to read more about it and join, click [Here].

[YouTube]
Same horrible ad from 2011

This year marks the fourth edition of InShape, the health, beauty and fitness fair. It was originally planned for this past weekend but due to the circumstances and the explosion that took place in Achrafieh, there will be 3 additional days on the 27th, 28th and 29th of October 2012.

I originally used to go there to support my friends’ at the ShapeUp supplement store stand but I found out the exhibition is actually pretty interesting. If you like to know more about the event and exhibitors’ list, click [Here].

Carlos Ghosn at IXSIR’s launch

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has decide to invest in Lebanese winery and become a sleeping partner in a winery called IXSIR. I was invited to that event and had the honor to meet Carlos Ghosn and even take a picture with him.

I don’t need to talk about Ghosn as this man needs no introduction. I will leave you with excerpts of his speech translated to English by Ansamed.info

I believe in the future of this country. Of course there will be highs and lows, but the Lebanese people can make it.” Having survived a terrible civil war (1975-1990), Lebanon now suffers the consequences of fears of a violent spillover from neighboring Syria. With the Gulf countries issuing travel advisories on Lebanon, both the real estate market and the tourism sector are in free fall, with GDP contracting rapidly after posting 8% yearly growth between 2007-2010. ”Yes, the Syria crisis is scary, but Lebanon is used to living in crisis. I have no doubt it will make it this time as well,” said Ghosn, a Brazil native who grew up in Beirut, where he studied with the Jesuits. ”And anyway, a good glass of wine is the elixir we need in times like these,” adds Ghosn, making a pun out of the winery’s name.

IXSIR Winery in Basbina, Batroun

You will ask yourselves, what is a carmaking boss doing here,” he says. ”Well, for those of us dealing with an industry made of metal and big investments, in which governments often intervene, it is sometimes a relief to get away and recharge. And let’s not forget that this land has been producing wine since the Phoenicians. By exporting wine we can also export the lesser known aspects of Lebanon, which are quality and joie de vivre.