Tag Archives | lebanese

Dr. Inaya Ezzeddine, What Do You Know About Momo?

The internet was buzzing over the past week with articles about the “Momo” YouTube character that was enticing kids to hurt themselves, and threatening to kill them if they don’t comply. I personally was concerned about it since my 5 year old boy watches YouTube sometimes, but a few searches later on google I learned that it was a hoax, and in fact several articles were published on popular news outlets in the last two days to inform people about it.

However, just when everyone started to know that this whole “Momo challenge” thing is false, ex-minister Inaya Ezzeddine felt like pitching in by calling the ministers of Interior, Educations, and Telecommunications to take the necessary measures in order to ban the Momo “game” in Lebanon. Okay madam but what game do you exactly mean?

From a doctor turned minister, everyone would expect smarter statements. But just like a typical know-it-all Lebanese, she decided to contribute to the mass panic without even a minimum knowledge about the topic. And what’s with the fake belief in the power of censorship? An educated doctor in our age seriously believes you can actually ban things on the internet? How about simply providing some internet safety tips instead? Lebanese politicians are seriously so cringy that they make you feel uncomfortable even when they mean good!

Still, the worst is yet to come. Wait for Joe Maalouf and company on Monday night when they discuss the issue on their upcoming episodes!

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Lebanese Mayyas Group Deserved a Golden Buzzer on Arabs Got Talent

You’re missing out big time if you’re not watching Arabs Got Talent this year. Last week Lebanese Mayyas group coached by choreographer Nadim Cherfan got a Goden Buzzer from Najwa Karam after delivering an epic Chinese inspired dance to the tunes of Oum Koulthoum’s One Thousand and One Nights (video below).

On the first week of the show, another Egyptian group called “Ghalhum” performed a nice acrobatic show as well and also got a golden buzzer from Ali Jaber.

With a golden buzzer, competitors guarantee a spot in the semi finals and Mayyas are now set to make a second appearance in the show on April 6th. Wishing them the best of luck and hoping they deliver an equally awesome performance!

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A Government of Publicity Stunts

After a 9 month political deadlock, we finally got a new government that won the vote of confidence in the parliament last week. And with all the challenges ahead of the country, you’d think the new ministers are busy planning a way out of this shit we are in. However all I’ve been noticing lately are nothing but pathetic publicity stunts to make a positive impression, while in fact everything is still steadily deteriorating like the electricity supply for example.

Over the last 20 days, and according to social media which supposedly reflects the people thoughts, here are the major achievements of the new government.

Raya El-Hassan – Ministry of Interior

Just like every previous minister of interior, she started by claiming she will ban all illegal vending kiosks and tents that cause traffic on the highways, in addition to banning illegal motorcycles. Yep, good luck with both decisions in areas like Ouzai! But anyway, fast forward two weeks, everybody will forget about these decisions and everything will be back to “normal again”.

El-Hassan also called for establishing civil marriage in Lebanon (that is partly ruled by religious figures), while she knows very well that implementing it will definitely backfire on her political party and she would never allow that to happen. The move is only an attempt at scoring with civil and secular movements.

Mohammad Choucair – Ministry of Telecommunications

Cellular communication is expensive, and DSL internet is SHIT. So what does he do? He simply promises people an awesome level of service soon, and of course never forgets to mention fiber optics plans in his statements.

Fadi Jreissati – Ministry of Environment

There was a dying plant in the office of the previous minister, so the first thing he did was replacing it with a new one and posting about it on social media. And he also decided to drive to the parliament in an eco-friendly car. Meanwhile, Litani.

Nada Boustani – Ministry of Energy

Shortly after the formation of the government, the electricity supply was reduced due to shortage in fuel. So what does Mrs. Boustani do? She makes it public that working hours at the ministry should be highly respected. Ok.

They’re all against corruption

One thing all ministers are currently agreeing on is to make fighting corruption as one of the main goals of this government. So they all want to stop whoever is robbing the country’s wealth and resources. Because you know, it was the Italian Communist Party that has been ruling our land for the past 40 years.

Anyway, the whole thing makes me wish I was a minister. Making promises is quite easy, and the benefits are pretty cool. Who would object a high salary, cool circle of colleagues, getting worshiped by the people, driving like an asshole in tinted cars, and making TV appearances?! SIGN ME UP PLEASE!!!

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11 Lebanese Online Shopping Websites To Help You Do Your Christmas Shopping

With Christmas only few days away, and knowing how jammed the roads and mall tend to get over this week, I personally avoid to do any shopping during this period. So if you also hate spending several hours on a trip to the mall to get a single item, here are 11 of my favorite online shopping websites in Lebanon who are known for their consistent service and can definitely save you time and effort if you have been postponing your holiday shopping.

JouéClub

Several big toy stores have recently launched in Beirut but Joue Club remains my favorite. Their website has all their popular brands an they offer free delivery for orders above 150,000L.L.

Antaki Group

Antaki is a distributor for several high end brands like DJI, Parrot, Polaroid, Dyson, Yamaha, Bose and many others. They have a lot of interesting and cool gadgets to choose from.

Exotica

I know there are many flower delivery websites in Lebanon, but when it’s Christmas you better not take risk and simply go with the best in the field.

Codeone

This website is specialized in home and giftware items. Their collection is always carefully selected

HiCart

This website has a wide variety of products from electronics to mobiles, home appliances, toys, beauty stuff, and even books.

209 Lebanese Wine

This website offers wines from over 45 Lebanese wineries and delivers them straight to your door, hassle-free. What I love about the website is that it makes your choice easier by telling you what kind of food goes best with each bottle. They offer free delivery for orders over $70.

Feel22

This is your go to website for everything makeup and perfume! They have a lot of brands and cater mainly to women but also have a dedicated section for men’s products.

Sarah’s Bag

Sarah’s Bag is a Lebanese fashion house that creates luxury hand-crafted bags and accessories with original designs that I think would be pretty cool as a Christmas gift.

GS

All the brands you love from GS online! They offer free express delivery for orders above $66.

Como Store

Como is a multi brand concept clothing store. I know from my friends that they have a good customer service and they offer free delivery.

Librairie Antoine Online

For some, a book is always a good idea as a gift, and we all know Antoine is the leading bookstore in Lebanon.

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Vegan Lebanon – The Ultimate Directory For Vegans in Lebanon

Being vegan is hard enough, but I think it becomes harder in a country like Lebanon where meat is an essential part on our table everyday, and it gets boring to get stuck with potatoes and salads everytime you decide to eat out.

So for those of you who avoid any animal-derived food, Vegan Lebanon is a directory for Lebanese restaurants and shops that cater to your needs, with the options to search for food and products both by category and location.

The website has so many listings and I personally never thought we have that much vegan offerings here in the country. So if you follow a vegetarian diet, do check out the directory on www.veganlebanon.com because I’m sure it will definitely bring something new to your table.

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8 Radio Stations Will Pay Tribute To Gavin Ford With A Special Show This Week

To all those who loved the late Gavin Ford and tune to his morning show on Radio One, you will will definitely find solace in listening a tribute show for him that will air on the 7th of December between 9AM and 10AM on 8 Lebanese radio stations (Radio One, Virgin Radio, Mix FM, NRJ, Light FM, Nostalgie, Fame FM and Power FM).

There is no doubt Gavin was a quite loved media personality and his show Gavin Ford In The Morning left a mark in the industry, that’s why he certainly deserves this gesture by the participating radio stations.

The pre-recorded show will be produced by Dan Harper and Olga Habre and is going to be available on YouYube afterwards. If you have a memory to share about Gavin or a special recording from one of his radio programs, you email it to Dan on dan@danharper.co.uk so they can try to include your contribution.

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Dual SIM Phones and Mandatory IMEI Registration in Lebanon

Earlier this month the ministry of telecommunication brought back the mandatory IMEI registration as an attempt to keep dealers from smuggling mobile phones into the country without paying any customs duty. In principle, buyers are not required to do anything when buying a legal phone from the local market, but they will of course have to pay the due tax when getting a phone from abroad.

Before this new mechanism became effective, the ministry asked people to insert a SIM card in their old devices in order for the cellular networks to recognize them as “legal” devices in the future. I imagine the majority did it, but some people who use dual SIM phone might have missed to insert a card into their second SIM slot (I know I did!) since each slot has a different IMEI number that should be registered with one of the available networks.

My friend who uses a supposedly legal Sony XZ1 recently tried using a second line in his second SIM slot and received the below SMS from MoT.

Funnily enough, when he contacted 111 to ask about the issue they literally answered “el SIM mish mjamrak” instead of explaining to him that he should have inserted a card into that second slot prior to the first of September. The guy also went to LibanPost to inquire about the fees he should pay in order for his phone to work properly and they had absolutely no idea what should be done in his case!

So in brief, in case you have a dual SIM phone and also forgot about that second slot you have in you device, then you should know it will only function for 90 days when you need it.

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Heyoka Arabic Productions

Most of what I watch on TV at home are foreign movies and series that I get from torrent websites, and except for a couple of shows, I rarely follow Lebanese TV channel because most of their stuff are either pointless like the famous talk shows or utterly stupid like the murex d’or worthy drama series.

However, I’ve been recently loving some of the Lebanese content I’m finding on Youtube and Facebook and the ones I follow the most are the shows produced by Heyoka, a collective founded by a group of movie enthusiasts. They currently have two main shows, Movie Court presented by Anis Tabet and Daniel Habib, and Kazdoura presented by George Khalaf and Stephanie Atallah. The two shows are really simple, one reviews movies and the other is about street food, but I personally find them more entertaining than anything on TV.

Anis and Daniel are quite knowledgeable about the film industry and you got to enjoy the episodes they do to butcher some Lebanese movies, and apart from that they sometimes host Lebanese actors/directors for interesting talks about their work and the movie industry in Lebanon. On the other hand, George and Stephanie have a cool chemistry in Kazdoura, they have a good taste and it’s always funny to watch them tease each other in each episode.

Other projects they were involved in also include “El3ama malla show” featuring Ghayd Chammas a few months ago which was also pretty cool to follow.

You can follow Heyoka’s new videos on their Youtube channel as well as on Kazdoura’s Facebook page and Let’s Talk About Movies page.

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Beautiful Shoebox Apartment in Achrafieh

Check out this cool shoebox apartment up in Achrafieh up for rent on Airbnb that recently made it to dezeen.com. While 15 sqm are barely enough space to cater for a bedroom or a living room in some modern apartments nowadays, Lebanese architect and designer Elie Metni squeezed everything a person could need into a mini apartment of the same size.

To make it feel relatively spacious, the apartment was all painted white and fitted with custom made space saving furniture including a queen size bed and folding tables to keep the 2 meters wide room as neat as possible the whole time. A kitchenette and a bathroom are also available and separated by a glass door, in addition to an outdoor roof terrace overlooking Beirut.

Practically speaking, the apartment can sleep 2 people but accommodate around 5. You can read all about it on dezeen and if interested rent it through Airbnb.

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Lebanese Snapchat Artist Georgio Bassil Nominated for a Shorty Award!

Georgio Bassil is a Lebanese architect and Snapchatter, going by the name @georgio.copter, who’s known for drawing cool monsters into his everyday Snapchat stories. At the end of 2016 he internationally rose to fame after winning The Snapchat Artist of The Year at the Ghosties Awards (a ceremony honoring the world’s most talented users).

I’ve personally been following Georgio for a while now and have always found his snaps to be vivid  with those “Copter Monsters” looking creepy yet entertaining at the same time!

Fast forward to 2018, Georgio got an opportunity to once again make it big after getting nominated for a Shorty Award under the “The Snapchatter of The Year” category, and you can help him win by voting here.

The Shorty Awards (aka Shortys) is an annual award event honoring the best content creators across social networks, and I believe this is the first time a Lebanese gets nominated. Voting ends on on February 22nd with the ceremony event set for April 15th in New York.

Best of luck to you Georgio!

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