So, as many of you might have already seen, I got my hands on the IPSOS ratings for Lebanon’s TV stations. The reason I did that was because MTV had sunken to new lows, using terms such as “shrameet” (whores in Lebanese) to describe willing participants on a show that is equally, if not less sexually suggestive and full of misogynistic innuendos and jokes, than most of MTV’s flagship shows.
Naturally, it was weird to see the champions of scantily-clothed women suddenly go full-ISIS and call women whores when it was a man that did the undressing on the show (yup, conservative acolytes of a festering patriarchal society aren’t too good at making up logical insults).
Turns out, they didn’t suddenly find God and decide to be “moral”, they were just butt-hurt about always ranking in 3rd after LBCI and Al Jadeed, despite their claims for years about being the “top”.
Proof of that was a childish exchange of one of their reporters, who referred to me as “ibneh” (son) in a condescending rant about a status I posted bashing MTV for calling Lebanese girls who willingly participate in a show “whores” with language similar to that TV’s writers use, you know, so they can understand it.
I replied and shared his post, and the exchange quickly degenerated into attacks on my person and trying to implicate NGOs I’m part of in their attempt to bully me into backing down. I didn’t, and the status is still there, contrary to what the “reporter” alleged. What’s funny though, is that the fabricated, laughable “Digital Drugs” report has since been made private. Irony much? And congrats! The Internet is now significantly less stupid!
In short, I threw the bait and they ate it up, further confirming my conclusion that this was about ratings, not morals and ethics or journalistic integrity. Someone calling for “respect” thinking they’re some sort of father figure that is here to make my language “polite”, went on to crack fat jokes, suggest I see a shrink and several more childish attacks and insults, to which I replied with suggestions of new chicken restaurants to feature on their news between fabricated satanism stories and other absurd scandals they always pedal on an unsuspecting audience. And yes, it was a lot of fun exposing that side of the “respected” station.
Anyway, here’s the expanded version of the ratings, and if any of MTV’s groupies would like to claim that even if it’s third, the “ads are still more expensive”, I’ll be happy to also share the rate cards ad agencies in Lebanon count on to price these slots, you know, to try and stop the consistent lies and misinformation and bullying this channel is doing.
The time of whining and op-eds complaining about their horrid performance is over, and every attempt to bully someone into silence will be met with cold, hard facts and numbers. The “fake news” dynasty is over, time to start doing your jobs properly ❤
Advice to MTV: stick to the actual issues here, not my person. It’s not and will never be your job to make me “polite”, especially when your station uses words like “shrameet”. You might think you’re a father figure here ta “traboonna”, but sorry to tell you, you’re not. As long as you use disgusting words, I will use disgusting words to address you. Disrespecting Lebanese women won’t fly, if that’s how you talk to your mothers and daughters and sisters (your favorite argument), then how dare you say you’re “respectful”? Don’t use women and women’s rights as a mop to get into feuds with rival TV stations for money. If you do, like the “shrameet” filth you published, people are gonna call you out for it. Calling for respect while slut-shaming a show for beating you in ratings? Shu hal respect, ya 3en!
Translates to: “Prostitution Party on Lebanese Screens”
Those of you who have a social media account, will probably have seen the exceptionally hysterical and juvenile behavior of MTV recently (even by their standards).
Now, before I get into it, let me explain why I dislike MTV so much, and why I think they are comparable if not worse than Al Manar in terms of propaganda and news with an agenda.
Zero Journalistic Integrity
I think the folks in the newsroom at MTV think news is an art form, not a science. I guess they meet up in the morning, and come up with absurd stories that will titillate their heavily conservative (read: sectarian) audience.
For me, the first time I was made aware of how low MTV would sink to champion an agenda of oppression, censorship and intolerance, was their “Digital Drugs” fiasco. If you didn’t see that “news” report, here it is:
(EDIT: As you see, MTV have since removed the video, and as usual, without an apology or explanation. Mabrook!)
What’s amazing is the stock footage they used of alleged users “tripping” on “digital drugs” came from Fox News, a broadcaster known for their extremely biased and outright untrue news to serve the American conservative movement’s goals. Others are clips pulled off of YouTube. What’s even funnier, is that they patted themselves on the back, with then Justice Minister Rifi (the same guy who prosecuted two young Lebanese taxpayers for burning an ISIS flag) did this, which is the equivalent of “kannesing the sa7ra” or “balleting the ba7er”
“After MTV highlighted the issue in a prime time news report, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi’s office released a statement, confirming that the latter had demanded State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud to take the necessary legal actions against the new craze of digital drugs.
Rifi also demanded that all websites promoting such drugs that are harmful to Lebanese youth be blocked” — source
This plays into their relentless campaign against a tolerant, open and liberal lifestyle in Lebanon. It’s a small part of an endless war of misinformation and inciting hatred and intolerance, especially against the clubbing community in Lebanon.
Bottom line is, digital drugs are like the stories that the sun will turn off for 7 days or other stupid fake news Lebanese media often mistake for being real (possibly because none of them took basic science in school?)
Apart from the digital drugs bullshit, they also regularly “feature” stories about “satanists” and “satanic worship”, especially targeting nightlife enthusiasts, specifically fans of psy trance. MTV, in their usual unprofessional and malicious way, reveal the identities of the clubbers and weave stories straight out of a catholic middle school teacher’s rambling thoughts about black masses and whatever (of which ZERO cases have been actually found in Lebanon since the campaign began with Tele Lumiere and the Catholic Information Center in the early 2000s when you’d get arrested and tortured by cops for wearing a Metallica t-shirt after a relentless campaign that included “live exorcisms” on TV).
Some of their articles are so insanely stupid and made-up, that after an uproar by anyone with a brain in this country, they quickly and silently take the articles down, without the decency of apologizing or correcting their mistakes.
So, those are some of the reasons why I can’t stand MTV. Many folks who work there (not in news) are good friends who I respect, but the establishment itself, especially its news part, is a disgrace to journalism everywhere, and they should be ashamed for constantly stoking sectarian tensions and fabricating news that appeal to their skewed sense of “morals”.
What’s Happening Now
Ratings. Pure and simple. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night are when MTV’s flagship shows air: Dancing with the Stars on Sunday, Menna w Jerr on Monday and Hayda Hake on Tuesday.
These are the IPSOS ratings of these shows from the first two weeks of January 2017, versus shows on Al Jadeed and LBCI at the same time slots (percentages are share of audience)
Sunday:
Take Me Out — LBCI 62%,
Al Osboo fi Sa’a — Al Jadeed 7%
Dancing with the Stars — MTV Lebanon 26%
Monday:
Hawa El Horriye — LBCI 34%
Menna w Jerr — MTV 37% (ends 40 minutes after Lil Nasher and Hawa El Horriye, making it in second place in ratings given the extra time)
Lil Nasher — Al Jadeed 22%
Tuesday:
Lahon w Bass — LBCI 49%
Hayda Hake — MTV 37%
As is painfully obvious, MTV Lebanon is still consistently ranked third despite the whole fuss about IPSOS they created in the past two years. (An auditor MTV brought in confirmed the IPSOS ratings btw)
So, the obvious smear campaigns against Lahon w Bass and Take Me Out become instantly obvious. As for MTV’s smear campaign against BBChi star Fouad Yammine and the show he’s part of, is because plans to take ChiNN to MTV didn’t fall through and LBCI picked up the show’s cast for the new BBChi.
This also explains the attacks on Al Jadeed boss Tahseen el Khayat throughout the summer, trying to catch up with the second rated channel in Lebanon.
Why Ratings Matter So Much?
Because that’s how they price ad slots on the channels. It’s perhaps why MTV news now features the opening up of new chicken restaurant sandwiches in their evening news. At the end of the day, all these channels care about is the ad revenue, and when you’re third, but pretend you’re the first, it’s really hard to level your ad money with what you boast about.
I won’t go into the details of each show and which ones are worthy of the higher viewership, I don’t watch much Lebanese TV because it’s depressing most of the time. However, the fuss online made me want to get to the bottom of why MTV is going so crazy, with stuff like this.
What MTV Can Do
Apologize and admit their mistakes, especially ones that lead folks to get into harm’s way or into trouble with the government, like many folks featured on their irresponsible shows and news broadcasts.
Second, create content that people wanna watch, not smear and bash other TV stations pulling in better rankings.
Third, knock-off the high moral ground bit. Since when are you against scantily-clothed women on TV *cough* Maya Diab *cough*? It’s like the distinguishing factor of that station, which now has the audacity to call another show a “cabaret” and its participants “shrameet”. You know what they say about throwing rocks when you’re in a glass house or whatever. Also, this is not Kandahar, people can wear what they want, as you demonstrate on most of your shows. I’d expect Manar to complain about cabarets and prostitutes, not MTV.
What You Should Do
Watch whatever you like. Don’t partake in the pettiness of MTV and others like it in trying to tip the scales in their favor with fictitious scandals woven in their imaginations. Numbers speak louder than words, and the numbers are clear, this is another temper tantrum the channel is going through after consistently ranking 3rd in Lebanon.
Like Hicham or like Adel, or like both, ma 7ada khasso, your remote is in your hands. However, no one should accept lessons of morality and ethics from the creators of digital drugs and satanism scandals, which hit at the heart of what makes Lebanon special: personal freedom and a liberal attitude the rest of our Arab counterparts only dream of. And don’t you ever dare call someone a “sharmoota” again, or someone is gonna call you out for it like I just did.
Those of you who have had me in their social networks for a while now will probably know that a lot of what used to become blogposts, have now become almost instantaneous Instagram posts with captions and a shots taken mostly with my Fujifilm X-A1 mirrorless camera.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing photos from Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen on the #BebElDahab hashtag. Below, I’ll briefly explain what MARCH is doing up there, why it’s been so fucking awesome for me and what we’re hoping to do next.
What’s MARCH?
It’s what I mean by “we” when I’m explaining to someone why I need to be in Tripoli after a full night of clubbing.
MARCH was founded in 2011. It was created to help empower the many different elements of Lebanon’s civil society. We do that mainly through freedom of expression and fighting censorship. MARCH’s mission is to educate, motivate, and empower citizens to know and fight for their basic civil rights. We hope to raise a tolerant, more open Lebanese society so we can foster our diversity and promote equality between all taxpayers in hopes of reaching a genuine reconciliation among the various communities scarred by decades of violence, mistrust and hopelessness.
What’s MARCH Doing in Tripoli?
Our work in Tripoli revolves around our peace-building and de-radicalization efforts in the former warring neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Beb El Tebbeneh. At first, we painstakingly sought out and vetted 16 young men and women who had participated in the fighting in one way or another. Some were even part of radical extremist groups fighting on both sides in Syria and other parts of Lebanon.
Phase 1 — The Play, The Documentary
Over a period of 7 months, our volunteers were trained by many prominent drama and theater professionals. March hired Lucien Bourjeily to help mould the fighters into stage actors. The likes of George Khabbaz, Nadine Labaki, Rafic Ali Ahmad and many more helped the young men and women learn how to act on stage, build confidence and trust amongst each other. They also helped them write their own satirical play about their life and circumstances called “Love and War on the Rooftop”.
To make sure we document everything, everything was kept on film and MARCH produced a 50-minute documentary that depicts the transformation of the actors and the project from right after the clashes stopped, till the cross-country tour of the final play had wrapped up. Below is the trailer, and it will be available for the public very soon!
Phase 2 — The Cultural Cafe
The resounding success of the play, and its accompanying documentary, made us resolve to transform that success and momentum into something more permanent and sustainable.
That’s when we decided to take over a heavily damaged building on the former front line of “Syria Street” in Tripoli, and revamp it. A few weeks later, our fully-equipped cultural cafe: “Kahwetna — Cafe bi Kaffak”, was open.
The cafe is a safe space run by the former fighters themselves. It has a stage, screens, a sound-system and anything they might need to host their own shows, movie nights, karaoke nights and other events such as kids birthday parties and football match viewings. More importantly, it gave many young folks in both neighborhoods a place to hang out, to work and to unleash their talents on stage or learn from regular workshops carried out inside it. It also gave folks from outside of the two neighborhoods a chance to come visit the heart of them, and meet the people they had only heard bad things about over the news since 2008.
Months after the cafe opened its doors, it hosted the Cultural Blast festival, with a lineup of different comedy, musical and experimental acts from both Tripoli and other parts of Lebanon. The amazing success of both is what pushed the project even further, with plans to rehabilitate 90 stores on Syria Street and Muhajareen Street that were heavily damaged by the clashes.
Before the neighborhoods were called Beb El Tebbeneh and Jabal Mohsen, they were both known as “Beb El Dahab”. We loved that name, and it symbolizes a more prosperous, more peaceful time. That’s why we gave the rehabilitation project that name, and so far, several small business owners have decided to rename their establishments into: “Cafe Beb El Dahab” “Forn Beb El Dahab” and “Garage Beb El Dahab”!
A lot of the young folks from Tripoli and the region are extremely good musicians, singers and rappers. If you don’t believe me, check out this gem:
Our next plan is to try and create a recording studio for them in the cafe, so they can produce their own music, anytime without the exorbitant fees a musician usually needs to book a studio.
Tripoli isn’t our only focus though. In December, we launched a similar peace-building project in Akkar. This month, we kicked off our Beirut project with renowned Lebanese director and playwright Yehia Jaber: Hona Beirut.
If you’d like to volunteer, you can email us and get in touch with us regarding the projects you’d be part of.
We are also participating in GivingLoop’s campaign to help fund more of our projects, with a small monthly amount. So, if you like what I do, check out our page on GivingLoop!
If you’re like me and grew up playing Assassins Creed games, you might have been a mixture of worried and excited when you heard about this movie. Video games with cult followings being turned into mainstream blockbuster movies don’t usually turn out for the best.
Given Rotten Tomatoes’ 17%, I was afraid this applies to the Assassins Creed movie too. However, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. In fact, it was quite enjoyable.
For one, the cast is extremely massive. From Marion Cotillard (who looks like an exceptionally hot scientist) to Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons and Denis Menochet. It might have been slightly overcast I guess, but it was still awesome seeing Marion explain how the Animus works and Jeremy Irons trying to push it beyond the safe limits.
I waited patiently for the “Leap of Faith” moment in 4DX, and I wasn’t disappointed, gleefully giggling and clapping as the chairs moved and gusts of wind blasted from the blowers on the ceiling and behind your ears.
Many scenes in the movie are beautifully reminiscent of chapters in the games, such as a daring horse chariot race, jumping over city streets and rooftops as well as silently creeping up on a target and planting the assassin’s blade in their throat.
It was a bit too long though, and not enough was explained about the Animus and how “genetic memory” is supposed to work and be useful. It’s not a movie that’ll change your life or make you think of it months later, but it was a lot of fun for me as an Assassins Creed gamer seeing all the glory of the game visualized on the big screen with all the bells and whistles of 4DX.
I’d recommend you see it in 4DX with other fellow gamers, but expect to drop some of your popcorn with the gratuitous fight scenes and extreme acrobatic feats. I’ll try to always recommend movies I think deserve to be watched in 4DX here. Enjoy!
It took me a while to get updated with what was happening in the La Reina nightclub on the Bosphorous in Istanbul. It undoubtedly put a huge damper on what was a safe and secure NYE in Beirut, that saw all of its clubs packed with revellers celebrating the new year.
There are several things that made me cringe, not least of which was the media and politicians’ reaction in the aftermath. However, the reaction on some social media channels ways also very painful to read and says a lot of the state of the world and in Lebanon in 2017.
Media Failing
Lebanon has a lot of experience when it comes to covering tragedies and massacres and terrorist attacks. When you have TV stations like MTV that consistently fabricate stories from “satanic worshipping” and “digital drugs” and accept paid content like a new chicken sandwich place opening as a feature on their evening news, what else would you expect from them?
When they still host a tortured gypsy or whatever Michel Hayek is, and do a multi-hour “news” show to try and explain how his “predictions” from the past came true, what else would you expect? When one of their main popular shows is about ISF operations against “criminals”, when none of these cases has been to court yet, and they always focus on crimes done by non-Lebanese and non-Christian suspects, what do you expect? Fair and balanced news? Reporters that are “news” reporters, are more like tabloid trash, clickbait adventurers taking a dump on whatever humanity that might reside under all the polished, fake exterior of their “news”.
Then, on the opposite side of the fabricated news spectrum, you have Al Manar. One of their “journalist”, Hasan Hamzeh, tweeted gleefully that “Isntanbul is paying the price it deserves/owes”. MTV and Al Manar are basically the exact same level when it comes to integrity. One of them caters to extremist shiite fundamentalists, the other panders to extremist christian ones. It truly is like two opposite sides of the shit news services, with whatever credibility left in Lebanon’s mediascape lying somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.
This applies to several other media outlets in Lebanon, but as usual, MTV outdid them all last night in their ever-declining level of professionalism (assuming they ever had any).
Martyrs or Not?
Another thing that bothered me was how several pro-Hezbollah accounts where sharing videos and photos of their fighters killed in Syria, with captions like, “how do you like that, my friend Hussein, nightclub victims are now called ‘martyrs’” (example).
One thing such disgusting religious vitriol shows is how identical both sides of the extremist religious struggle are. If pro-Hezbollah folks are sworn enemies, fighting to the death against the ISIS fighters who carry out such attacks, then this should be a straightforward condemnation of a barbaric act against unarmed civilians. Instead, they question the “righteousness” of the victims’ deaths because they are at a nightclub, and dare I say of a different sect, which makes their lives, and deaths, mean less to such people. Which begs the question, how is that attitude any different from that of ISIS folks? Or Saudi Arabia’s, who’s ashamed that its citizens would party, and won’t release the names of its killed citizens.
If anything, it shows how religious conservatives are two sides of the same, hateful, violent and intolerant coin.
As for my personal opinion, I don’t like the word martyr because it has such a religiously-charged connotation. Also, when you are murdered in cold blood, when not even aware of it, I don’t get how you are a martyr for a cause. You’re a victim, and your killer and his ideology and backers need to fucking pay for it. “Martyr” is a word Lebanese politicians throw around to remove the guilt of them not doing anything to solve a crime or murder: “Khallas, he/she is a martyr with god now, you should be proud and glad” and case closed. No, not case closed. Find the son of a bitch who did this, and put him behind bars and do the jobs that our taxes pay for.
ISIS Cowards Hate Clubs
When ISIS targets clubs around the world, it tells you a lot about what a club represents to them, and what it should to us. Aside from the alcohol being served, the entire idea of a nightclub or party is like cancer to ISIS and co. It’s a place where folks are happy, no one wants to decapitate or crucify another person, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a guy, girl, gay, straight, white or black. Whether you like it or not, places like Bataclan and La Reina are now symbols of hope and resilience to the hatred and violence of religious extremism.
To this effect, I hope police forces and governments stop bullying clubs and club-goers over a joint of weed, and focus on protecting them from religious fundamentalists hopped up on god knows what drugs. After all, whether it’s in London, Beirut, or Istanbul, governments and their sympathetic religious conservatives always push back against clubs and the open and liberal culture that surrounds them. A kind of culture we are in need of most these days, with ISIS, Trump and Brexit threatening to make intolerance the new norm around the world.
New Year’s Eve is a great opportunity for many of us to get together with our friends and loved ones to celebrate (a hopefully good) the past year, and usher in the new one. It can also be quite annoying, with higher than usual traffic, increase in drunk driving, extremely high prices and an increased security presence.
Don’t Drive, Use These Instead
Don’t drive. It’s that simple. There are plenty of cabs you can call or hail by app. Think of it this way, you won’t have to suffer the humiliation of being strip-searched at a checkpoint, and you won’t have to deal with valet parking attendants.
UPDATE: Thanks to an initiative Syndicate of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs and Pastries Owners, in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces and by the General Syndicate of Taxi Drivers in Lebanon, you can also call 1514 for a free cab ride home if you’ve had too much to drink.
Just call 1514
Flugen Rides
This is a brand new awesome taxi-hailing service from the folks at Kunhadi. The app includes several cab companies you can choose from. What’s nice is that all their drivers have undergone training programs for responsible driving from Kunhadi. Also, they include wheelchair-accessible cars, so everyone can hail a cab.
For the holiday season, Flugen Rides will help discourage drunk driving by giving you a free ride to your car if you drove to your party and got too drunk to drive back. Read more about their life-saving holiday campaign here.
I’ve been using Uber for years, in every country I’ve visited and lived in. If you hate calling the cab and giving directions, just drop your pin and see how long your driver needs. If you still don’t have the app, download it for Android here and for iOS here.
However, beware, Uber is expecting a lot of demand between 12AM and 3AM tonight, so take into consideration a higher fare and longer wait times. If you are a new Uber user, use my promo code “cvrp5” so you get your first ride free or click this link to download and get a free ride (free up to 15$. So you get an idea, a trip from Jounieh to Downtown costs aroun 12 to 14$ usually)
Careem
Careem is another ride-hailing app I love. It’s developed in the Middle East and I love it, especially when I’m in the UAE. My favorite thing about this service is that they allow you to schedule well in advance if you already know what your schedule is gonna be (plane lands, shift ends, etc.) Download it for Android here and iOS here.
You can use promo code “EZH0YA195W” or click this link to download the app and get 10$ off your first ride. Remember, 12AM-3AM is peak time tonight, so expect longer waits and higher fares.
Know Your Rights
In Lebanon, you can get arrested for just a suspicion that you might use drugs. In other words, even if you haven’t taken any drug in your life, if a cop thinks you look like you might, they’re allowed to take you in and interrogate you. Despite the many daily horror stories, blatant disregard for human rights and legally questionable behavior, you do have rights, even if you use drugs. There are awesome folks like Skoun who do amazing work in rehab for addicts as well as campaigning for rights of drug users with their “Support, Don’t Punish” ethos.
Before going out, and whether you use drugs or don’t, make sure you check out Skoun’s amazing Know Your Rights Website. It has all the info you will ever need in case the worst happens. Be safe and careful tonight, and empower yourself with the laws and rights you have to make sure you or someone you care about aren’t a victim of wrongful arrest or entrapment.
We all know we tend to drink a little more than we should tonight. So, please, try not to drive.
If you’re heading up to the mountains, stay there. Don’t risk driving back down in bad weather and road conditions.
If you have more than one party or place to be, take into consideration traffic and plan your schedules accordingly. No one likes to do the countdown in their car stuck in traffic…
Be a little nice to everyone who’s working tonight. It’s their NYE too, but they’re stuck doing their job, whether it’s the 24/7 supermarket cashier, the waiter at a club or a security guard or soldier or even a police officer.
In a couple of days, this blog will be 7 years old. That means it’s been around for more than a quarter of my life. It’s also come to define who I am for most folks who know me.
For the most part, it has been fucking epic. I’ve done stuff, met folks, been places I would have never been if the drive to write about it hadn’t led me there. However, it‘s been quite testing as well. Most people don’t have their entire journey of self-discovery indexed in searchable blog posts. The me from 7 years ago is nothing like the me now. That’s why for most of the past year, I haven’t really written much on it. I wasn’t sure why I should still write, or about what.
Calligraphy by Yazan Halwani
After many months abroad, doing several beautiful projects around Europe and especially in Berlin (my second home now) I am based in Beirut again. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that 7 years is a lifetime online, and what the blog used to be is no longer necessary, or fun for me.
Many of the posts I used to write can be substituted by an Instagram post on my personal account @GinoRaidy. Many websites now review, expertly I might add, what I used to attempt to review. In other words, it took me a few months to realize what I actually still enjoy writing about and sharing, and here’s what it is:
Fun things to do around Lebanon, whether at night or during the day. I’ve been plagued with the unfortunate task of commenting and raging about all the things I find broken or wrong in this country. At the end of the day though, I do love this country and the people in it, even if we are usually at odds on many things whether political, social or cultural.
In a decade of protesting and activating on the ground, I’ve matured enough to know that change does not only come from the street in anger or revolt. It comes from projects on the ground that are sustainable and self-sufficient. It is why I’ve dedicated most of my time working on projects for MARCH in both countering violent extremism and peace building initiatives in former or potential conflict areas in Lebanon and on the borders with Syria.
In the many years and thousands of post I’ve written, many folks agreed with me and supported me when push came to shove. Many others disagreed though and I’ve had to learn to deal with constant barrages of hate mail and personal attacks. That’s the beauty of free speech, it includes what you love and agree with, but also what you despise and actively work against. I’m tired of always arguing when neither side will budge an inch the other way. I’ve realized the only way to really change something is to work on changing things incrementally on the ground, goals you can easily track and gauge the success of, and that is what I am dedicating most of my time and energy for.
It’s no secret my irreverent and godless views have always been an obstacle for many to hear out what I have to say. Maybe because for those folks, the purpose for trying to do anything based on my world view seems pointless. It’s true I don’t think our existence has a higher purpose or meaning. It’s also true that none of what I do is for securing a place in heaven or balancing out a karma scale in some other dimension. The pointlessness of life and our struggle in it though is quite liberating. If this is the one life and world we have, why not make it a bit better than when we were born on it? We are social animals and being good and understanding and accommodating each other is something nature has been selecting for for millennia. It’s also to enjoy our time here and help others enjoy it too. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to try and do good whenever you can, and why I’ve shifted my doom and gloom tone and activism, to a more pragmatic “how can we do something about this” approach.
Anyway, existential rant over. I’m happy to be back to writing on here, with somewhat of a clean slate and fresh perspective. Expect a lot more fun stuff to do, especially at night and in clubs. Apart from that, expect regular focuses on projects and initiatives you can be part of to help causes and people that need it. Lastly, I will be writing and contributing to several other publications and online platforms in the coming year, especially when it comes to social and political commentary on whatever’s happening in Lebanon and the region. In short, this place is gonna be much less political and opinionated. It’s gonna be where you come to figure out what to do each weekend, where to club, where to hike, or your next roadtrip destination.
Thank you for the years of reading what I write. And thank you for letting me mature on these pages you see pop up on your newsfeeds and timelines.
I’m a huge Star Wars fan, in case that wasn’t already painfully obvious. Back when Disney bought up the franchise, many folks started grumbling, but personally, I was ecstatic. My hopes were justified, since we’re getting a Star Wars episode or spinoff every December from now on. Talk about a perfect Christmas present every year!
The buzz about Rogue One was mixed, from what I could tell. Plenty of folks were skeptical that a Star Wars movie that didn’t revolve around Force-sensitives would be any good. For me though, I was even more excited about Rogue One than Episode VIII: The Force Awakens, and here’s why
Normal Organisms Doing Extraordinary Feats
It’s easy for a powerful Force-user like a master Jedi or Sith Lord to use the Force to decimate dozens or hundreds of droids, clones or storm troopers. Sexy as it is to see Darth Sidius Foce-lightning the shit out of Luke, Darth Vader Force-choking rebels from across the room and Master Yoda impressively moving objects like Luke’s X-wing fighter, it kinda makes the rest of the galaxy’s folks seem lame and too easy to beat.
We rarely see what the rest of the galaxy faces and how they manage to live their lives and fight their fights without the help of The Force. Rogue One was just that. That means fighting a horde of Stormtroopers became all the more difficult. It also means that getting yourself out of a tight spot is a lot more relatable. It also means a lot of the characters become mortal, and that for me, was where Rogue One was different and touching.
A More Diverse Spectrum of Good and Evil
It’s very easy to cast one side as evil and the other as good. Often times, the evil seems exaggerated and without a specific purpose, and the good is far too selfless and righteous. Nothing is that simple though, and one thing I loved about The Force Awaken’s Kylo Ren is that the struggle most of us feel between the Dark and Light side, manifests itself beautifully.
Rogue One is beautiful because it explains the story of Galen Erso, the genius behind the Death Star’s planet-destroying, kyber-crystal-powered laser. Erso was an Imperial scientist who was led to believe his research would help less-evolved and poorer systems acquire cheap, efficient energy. When he found out the real purpose the Empire was developing the kyber crystal technology, he fled with his wife and daughter.
I won’t spoil more of the plot of Rogue One, but it goes to show you that not everyone that works for the Empire is pure evil. It also shows you that some Rebels often callously kill those in their way, elaborating that the Rebels aren’t always pure good (after all, how many thousands or hundreds of thousands of imperials died in each Death Star destruction?)
This blurring of the lines between what is right or wrong, or rather, how characters in the Star Wars universe justify the paths they take, is beautiful. It’s a massive improvement on where Episode IV V and VI began in the 70s.
I might be a bit biased here because I tend to love the Dark Side users more. After all, who the hell wants to be a monk-like knight that can’t love, have possessions or enjoy their lives? Then again, the Dark Side’s lust for control and order often leads them to terrorizing the galaxy, which is also a problem worth fighting against.
The Death Star Flaw Was On Purpose
Creating the most powerful super weapon in the galaxy with such a massive flaw always seemed weird. Now we know it was Erso’s way of taking revenge on The Empire and making sure their terrible weapon could be defeated by the Rebel Alliance. It’s also important to remember that Luke’s use of The Force to guide the torpedoes down the shaft was also a stretch, after all, a weapon that uses this much energy’s reactor needs to have an exhaust vent somewhere.
Resurrecting Old Favorites
General Tarkin’s appearance made my heart skip a beat. The CGI was so beautifully done, it gave me goosebumps when he appeared on his Star Destroyer surveying the Death Star and overseeing its first test. There are other beloved characters that make an appearance, but I shan’t spoilt it now.
Just Enough Vader
I was worried Darth Vader would make a cheesy cameo, but his role in the film was just enough. He didn’t take too much screen time from the real heroes, the non-Force users, and his immense power wasn’t able to change the course of events much. However, I couldn’t help fangirl out loud when he made his appearances. Fuck yes we missed the old Vader ❤
K2SO
It goes without seeing that R2-D2 is my favorite droid in the Star Wars universe, but K-2SO definitely won my heart and mind in Rogue One. I adored that reprogrammed Imperial droid, so much ❤
Death Troopers
Absolute sex. The Death Troopers were perfect, from their voice-changers to their black armor and gorgeous blasters. They were one of my favorite things in Rogue One, along with the new TIE variant.
I Watched in it 4DX
I was lucky enough to watch Rogue One in Vox Cinema Lebanon’s brand new 4DX theater. The theater’s chairs move, vibrate and pivot with whatever is happening on screen. Add to that wind, fog, water sprinklers and stroboscopes, and you get the 4DX experience. When the movie is showing a dogfight between the new TIE fighters and the beloved X-wings, the 4DX effects make it all the more beautiful and captivating. All in all, I had my doubts about how much I’d enjoy the 4DX theater, but, if it’s a movie you truly love and have been waiting eagerly for, there’s no better way to get even more engulfed in the magic on screen.
I highly recommend you watch it ASAP, and May the Force be with you all!
On the one hand, I’m disappointed that all three mega-parties are on the same night. On the other, I’m amazed at how far the scene in Beirut has come, with so many absolutely amazing artists gracing its dancefloors on the same night.
The Red Bull Music Academy has a special place in my heart. I got the chance to attend the RBMA Dubai Bass Camp a couple years back, and it still is my favorite visit to the Emirates where I got to sit down with heros of mine such as Derrick May and become close friends with local Lebanese talents such as Gurumiran, Ronin and many others.
This year’s RBMA is in both B018 and Reunion at The Grand Factory, the two venues I can safely call my second home the past couple of years. There’s a bus shuttle between the two venues, as usual, so you can pick and choose which live acts and DJ sets you’d like to be part of.
My 7 months in Berlin included a weekly ritual at Berghain and Panorama Bar. Steffi has been a resident at Panorama Bar since 2007, so I’ve had the pleasure to wrap up or warm up my rituals there to her Vinyl sets on more than one occasion. Needless to say, I am fucking ecstatic she’s going to grace us with her presence at Reunion on Saturday. Above I’ve embedded a veritable anthem of Steffi’s, and below is a taste of what her sets sound like. What I love about Panorama is that it touches upon the different points of the electronic music spectrum, from hardware-saturated Techno, to the deeper ends of House music all the way to Disco. Steffi’s is one of the sets I’m most excited about this mega Saturday
Radioslave
As Steffi consecrates Reunion with some Berlin Panorama treatment, Matt aka Radioslave will be working the decks at b0. The best part about the Radioslave alter ego is that it’s his remix and edit one. Sometimes, with today’s extremely diverse production across the board, we tend to forget that the origins of electronic music lie in re-working and re-editing existing, sometimes forgotten tracks into something fresh and beautiful to listen to. The above is an example of that, it’s 11 minutes and 12 seconds of pure joy and a darker take on a track and rework saturated with some of the best names in the scene right now. The only remix I’d say is close to this one in epicness, is Rodhad’s.
This party merges the nostalgia for the good old stadium-sized events we grew up to in Beirut, plus the excitement of HYTE’s debut in Beirut. Last October, I was lucky enough to attend a HYTE party in ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) and it was undoubtedly one of my favorite nights in the almost week-long clubbing festival. Of course, the real reason I’m excited about the Beirut instalment isn’t just the HYTE tag, but the mouth-watering lineup.
Loco Dice
I once attended a party in Barcelona back in 2014 that there and then made Loco Dice one of my favorite DJs to party to. Hard-hitting, extremely physical sounds mixed with just enough melodic emotions is the reason for the “loco” in his name. The dice part is cause you’re never sure where he’s gonna take his set, whether it’s gonna bask in the magic of minimal Techno or veer into the more sophisticated parts of the spectrum. It’s easy to confirm that when you see the different labels he’s released sexy sounds on, from Richie Hawtin’s M_nus, to Cadenza, Cocoon, Desolat and Ovum.
Monoloc
My time in Berlin the past year has made Monoloc the artist I’m most excited to see play. I chose “Phoenix” to embed above for all you pro-Phoenician hedonists, but decided to also add his edit of Stephan Bodzin’s timeless “Singularity”. The dark, minimal, deep and almost terrifying mood Monoloc sets captures what Techno in Berlin is for me. Gloomy, almost subterranean but also elegant and unrelenting. Add to that the melancholy his productions and edits have, and you have a set made in heaven in my humble opinion. He’s also in town just after releasing his new album on Dystopian, one of my favorite labels since my Brooklyn days.
Dixon, Nu and Satori in Uberhaus fashion under the Forum de Beirut roof. Dixon needs no introduction, it’s Dixon. Nu and Satori don’t either in my book, but just in case, here’s what in store for you on this third leg of this mega Saturday in Beirut.
Satori
I chose to embed the Satori Bachstelzen set during this year’s Fusion Festival, because for those of you who don’t know, my Fusion experience is what made me stay in Germany for the better part of a year thanks in big part to the life-changing experiences like those that unfolded during the sets at the Bachstelzen stage. If y’all would like to know more about Satori, check out this cool interview my friends at Project Revolver did with him in the run-up to Saturday!
Nu
Imagine listening to the above track, up in the mountains, under a starry night, with a few good friends. That was when I discovered Nu, and ever since I’ve tried to follow him as best I can around the world and cities I visit. His solid rhythms are the uninterrupted backbone of his tracks, with tinkering making it always a multi-minute journey that is as captivating as Trance, but as gritty and dancy, and dark as Techno and the deeper end of House music.
Dixon, Nu and Satori makes for a massive lineup of different takes and genres that I love deeply.
Remember, It’s All About The Music
If you’re having as tough a time as me in choosing where to be on Saturday, take some time and listen to the artists and see which ones speak to you most and touches those intangible parts of your brain with the often wordless journeys.
Remember, it’s all about the music, always, and with such perfect lineups across the board, this Saturday is gonna be legendary no matter where you end up. So, have fun, drink responsibly and wear the soles of your sneakers out in one, two or all three of these parties.
Remember back in 2013–2014 when that extremely stupid “law” was passed where you need to “register” your phone’s IMEI when you were passing through customs at the airport? To keep things short, the IMEI number is a unique number for each handset, and the registration was supposed to combat the illicit smuggling of phones by making them unusable on Lebanese networks if they weren’t registered (either by individual users at the airport, or retailers when they import in bulk and pay taxes and tariffs needed).
Example of IMEI on an LG device
Luckily, it didn’t take much time for telecom minister Botros Harb to realize that the government shouldn’t have succumbed to the pressures of the corporations in Lebanon that own exclusive rights for many popular phone brands in Lebanon and pass this stupid, wasteful and ineffective law. He canceled this provision and dismissed it as a “waste of time” and “only got 13 million dollars” in tax revenue in the first year. In other words, it was potatoes compared to the cost and inconvenience, and was also hurting small-time phone shop owners who usually rely on reselling used devices, which was incredibly complicated under the IMEI provisions.
On Amhaz and Cheaper Phones
Now, everyone in Lebanon knows about Amhaz. You’ve all probably ventured into “Stars Communication” and gotten that iPhone for like $70 cheaper or that Galaxy for $40 less or whatever. Everyone knew they were smuggled in, and no one seemed to bother. When reports about Amhaz helping fund and research weapons-ready drones for Hezbollah to use in Syria surfaced he was placed on the US’s blacklist for supporting a “foreign terrorist organization” is when I felt things might start going downhill for him. I just never imagined he’d actually get arrested.
Regardless, I still think he will be released soon when the right pockets have been replenished. As a consumer, I would love to buy cheaper goods instead of pay even more money to the government’s coffers which will end up disappearing into our politicians’ off-shore accounts and shell companies from Hong Kong to Switzerland. I also don’t find his extremely lucrative smuggling business the problem with this whole scandal. The real problem is the Airport security and how easy it was to cheat the first line of defense against terrorism we’re supposed to have.
The Lebanese Bomb Squad on Sale for 25,000$ Only
We all know Beirut Airport security is only good for humiliating foreign domestic workers, but not much more. Sleepy, rude officers who wouldn’t mind turning a blind eye if you have a friend in uniform escorting you past the security check line. Heck, you can even sweet talk your way into extra kilos on your flight if that same uniformed friend walks you up to the baggage drop-off point.
However, one would think with the threat ISIS and its derivatives pose to Lebanon, you’d expect at least the bomb squad there would be somehow more serious about what your taxes pay them to do. The ongoing investigations prove that that could not be farther from the truth.
According to LBCI, two officers in the bomb squad would get a photo of luggage containing smuggled goods. They’d confidently walk up to the baggage claim conveyor belt, and confiscate the bags as “suspicious”. Then, away from CCTV cameras, they’ open it, retrieve a smaller bag containing the goods, and deposit the empty larger bag in the “lost and found” area of the airport. All that cost just 25 thousand dollars and a picture probably sent over Whatsapp.
Now, if this doesn’t horrify you, I’m not sure anything would. Imagine whoever was sending these bags replaced it with something more sinister. A bomb, a chemical agent, etc. Now, imagine a fucking bomb technician getting paid money to carelessly treat that bag as harmless and just some money on the side, given their salary is just a tiny part of their income and for the most part it’s bribes (which sadly applies to way too many, but not all, our security forces in Lebanon).
But, let’s assume for a second that won’t happen and that if luggage contained explosives, the origin country would have better security personnel and technology to foil that plot, cause we obviously don’t (given we still didn’t upgrade the security systems since they’re still not sure who’s gonna get the cheese from the bloated government contracts, right Minister Zaiter?). This is still a huge problem.
The people tasked with being the first line of defense in keeping us safe from terrorist attacks, turned out to be some of the easiest to buy and corrupt. Perhaps this is because security assignments happen based on wasta and sectarian criteria, not merit. I know many cops who were my classmates and who I would trust with my life, that would be exemplary officers to keep our airport safe. However, they usually end up in shit assignments cause someone from a better connected family (tribe) or a more in-demand sect gets the spot, despite their ineptitude and in this case, outright criminal activity.
Lives At Stake
Cops are extremely good at harassing citizens at checkpoints, or entrapping kids who smoke pot, or making sure you don’t seal your balcony off with glass without paying them. Smugglers and thieves are also really good evading the law, paying taxes and other things the rest of us have to abide by. But, even in Lebanon, there needs to be a limit for corruption. In a country where everything is corrupt, from the garbage crisis, to no electricity, shit Internet, reckless healthcare, endless traffic, poor infrastructure, expensive mobile coverage, etc. There needs to be a fucking limit. Is it really that cheap to pay off an airport bomb tech? Would it be so hard for an ISIS operative to do the same, but with tragic loss of innocent life?
I know the jokes are fun to make, and the “supporters” of Amhaz closing roads unimpeded by the government make you lose a little more faith in Lebanon’s future, but this goes far beyond smuggling and taxes the government’s politicians are missing out on misappropriating. Next time you’re waiting for your baggage near the conveyor belt, remember, someone might have paid someone off to put god knows what in there.
Get your shit together Lebanon’s government. Hanging posters of new presidents won’t mean shit if the same politicians are colluding again to rob you blind, business as usual. We might not be able to take them all down immediately, but after the past two years, Lebanese taxpayers deserve just the bare minimum, or at least let their lives and safety not be as cheap as 25k$…
Elections are around the corner. I hope this time people will vote their conscience, not their sect. Vote for a representative, not octogenarian warlords and militia leaders.
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