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Freeze Jounieh Bay! I will shoot you!

By on October 19, 2009 in Freeze I will shoot you

It’s time for another episode of “Freeze I will shoot you”, and this time it’s coming from Jounieh.

Sorry to disappoint you if your expecting some street photography but I actually preferred to take a panoramic photo of Jounieh bay from the road leading to Harissa. So far this is my best attempt in making a panoramic photo, and I am quite satisfied with the result, although I know there is room for improvement. (I’m relying on Antoine‘s comments!)

jounieh bay - panoramic view
(Click to enlarge)

For those of your who are interested in more details about the photo, it’s actually made up of 3 photos each exposed for 6 seconds, and merged using autostitch.

Stay tuned for the next episode, it’ll be featuring Batroun at the end of the summer season.

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The man in the cube – IndyACT

By on October 17, 2009 in Lebanon

Via IndyACT’s blog:

“The man in the Cube” is a project organized by The League of Independent Activists – IndyACT aiming to raise global urgency on the critical dangers of global warming and to urge world leaders to take fast and effective action against climate change in Copenhagen this year.

‘The man in the cube’ (Rami Eid) represents “the last man on earth” enduring a fierce struggle for survival against climate change effects. He will be living in the a transparent cube on Ein El-Mreyseh for 3 days starting 16 October 2009.

The “last man” simulates the possibility of a dim future for mankind where we failed to act against climate change when we had the chance.

So I went last night to see that man, who’s called Rami Eid by the way, and watch how is he managing to live inside a cube (in addition to taking photos of course!).

The area in which he lives doesn’t exceed 4 square meters, with a chair, a small laptop and a connection to the internet via a MOBI device. Needless to say there was a LOT of annoying people around him, especially kids tapping on the glass and trying to make fun of him. He even reported via twitter that one guy threw a cigarette butt inside the cube!

As you will see in the photos, the water level was at around 20 centimeters, and I assume it will increase as time goes by. (simulating one of the climate change effects)

indyACT the man in the cube

indyACT the man in the cube 1

indyACT the man in the cube 2

indyACT the man in the cube 3

indyACT the man in the cube 4

You can follow the man in the cube via his blog and twitter.

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Nike human race – Beirut

By on October 16, 2009 in Events

Nike human race beirut

Nike Human Race is a worldwide sport event that is going to take place in 35 cities around the globe, including Beirut, on October 24th 2009. It’s basically a multi-city event for celebrating the report of running by giving runners everywhere the opportunity to run together.

In Beirut it is going to take the form of a fund raising event. Those who sign up and upon paying the registration fees ($10) will have to mention under which association name are they going to race, and at the end of the event Nike will be donating registration fees to the Association which will gather the biggest number of runners.

It’s just a 10K fun run event with no ranking or winners, however all participants who will reach the finish line will get their Nike Human Race Beirut Medal souvenir.

Registration forms are available at all Nike stores – ABC Ahrafieh, ABC Dbayeh, Verdun, Kaslik, Tripoli and Downtown Beiru. Don’t forget to write the name of the Association you will be running for.

Click here for more details on Facebook.

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Blog Action Day 2009 – Climate Change

By on October 15, 2009 in Events

In case you’re wondering, the blog action day is the day when the blogsphere unite to talk about a subject that relates to all of us, and this year’s subject is the climate change.

Today I won’t be writing about what the climate change is and its bad effects on our planet, I’m pretty sure you lately came across several articles about that (just in case you didn’t, here’s something for you). This post will be more about what we as individuals can do in our not-so-ecofriendly country, also known as Lebanon.

Zouk Power Plant
Photo by Antoine Kater

  1. Carpooling on a daily basis is hard I know, and our transportation sucks big time that’s for sure, but I know that I can leave my car home at least twice or more each month and reach my destination either with a friend or in a bus. And so can you!
  2. Do turn off lights when you don’t need them! That’s the least you can do to help the environment. (and to reduce your electricity bill of course!)
  3. Recycling! If you do work then let your boss know that Sukleen CAN collect recyclable materials upon request. So contact them as soon as possible and let them collect your paper trash for recycling.
  4. Think twice before you print, do you really need that document in hard copy?
  5. Plant a tree if you can, the environment will love you for that.
  6. … and the list goes on…

I know my post alone might not convince you to make a slight change in your lifestyle to help reducing the effects of the climate change, but just wait until the end of the day and see how much blogs will be talking about the same matter! Then you’ll know how serious it is! Oh and make sure to also check this shocking post from Travel Blog Magazine.

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Banning motorcycles in Lebanon

By on October 10, 2009 in Lebanon

I just came across a news that made it for me! Our minister of interior affairs Ziad Baroud issued a statement banning motorcycles between 6:00PM and 5:00AM as of October 15th 2009. In addition to making it clear that motorcyclists gatherings are forbidden.

Lebanese motorcyclist

بارود يصدر قرارا بضبط سير الدراجات النارية ابتداء من 15 الجاري
أصدر وزير الداخلية زياد بارود قرارا ً بضبط سير الدراجات النارية في الأراضي اللبنانية المختلفة اعتباراً من تاريخ 15/10/2009، وطلب الى المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي التشدّد في تطبيق القرار.

وسمح القرار بسير الدراجات النارية المسجلة أصولاً لدى هيئة إدارة السير والآليات والمركبات والمستوفية لجميع الشروط القانونية، اعتباراً من الساعة الخامسة صباحاً وحتى الساعة الثامنة عشرة، ويمنع سير جميع الدراجات بين الساعة 18.00 والساعة الخامسة من صباح اليوم التالي.

By the way, every time I see a motorcyclist performing stunts on the highway, I get the urge to hit him and watch him rolling on the asphalt! Yes that’s how much I hate you Lebanese motorbike owners!

Photo via flickr

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Freeze Balou’ Balaa! I will shoot you!

By on October 5, 2009 in Freeze I will shoot you

Today’s episode of “Freeze I will shoot you” is brought to you from a nice village called “Balaa” in Tannourine, located around 70 kilometers from Beirut. I went there 10 days ago with some friends under the guidance of Mireille (from Life Geeked), who showed us a lot of nice places in both of Batroun, Tannourine, and Laklouk. So Balaa was actually just a stop on a one day road trip.

Balaa is very famous for its 250 meters deep natural sink hole that  has been carved by water 160 million years ago! According to Mireille, a magnificent waterfall can be observed during winter and spring with water vapors rising up to the surface, so I’m definitely going to revisit Balaa again.

Moving to the photos…

Balou balaa 7

There’s a distance of around 300 meters separating the sinkhole from the main road, and yes you have to walk to get to it.

Balou balaa 1

And we’re gettig closer..

Balou balaa 2

And here we are! The photos actually do no justice to the location. What appears like a shade in the middle is actually is small waterfall.

Balou balaa 3

As you can see, the place IS dangerous, the edges are a bit slippery and you really don’t want to risk falling down.

Balou balaa 4

The bridge in the middle is reachable, and the below photo is taken from its top.

Balou balaa 5

Balou balaa 6

Yep, 250 meters deep!

The location is suitable for a picnic by the way, but camping is forbidden as per the ministry of environment.

My next destination will hopefully be ammiq.

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The new Kazouza in town!

By on September 30, 2009 in Lebanon

I was at Idriss Supermarket (Hamra) few days ago when I noticed a new soft drink on the shelves, and the brand name is “Kazouza”. I’m sure you have heard the word “kazouz” before, referring to carbonated soft drinks, so here you go a Kazouza!

Kazouza

I personally liked the name and the design of the bottle. However, the producers claim to have existed since 1941, do you have any info about that? Darine from Identity Chef blog is also wondering about it!

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Achraf Rifi acting silly

By on September 29, 2009 in What the fuck!

Achraf Rifi

According to this news article, chief Achraf Rifi issued an “unusual” order to his force calling on them to vote in favor of Jeita Grotto for the seven natural wonders of the world.

“I gave orders to 23,500 police officers to cast their ballot in favor of Jeita Grotto so that they do their part as citizens and our entry comes out the winner,” General Achraf Rifi told AFP, in commenting on his written order.

Next week’s “unusual” order will be calling them to either join the Internal Security Forces group on Facebook, or become fans of his Facebook page.

Mr. Rifi, teach your officers how to respect us and behave well in the streets before giving them orders to do online voting!

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