Monthly Archives: June 2010

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Cowboys In Beirut

It’s the real deal:

Organizers recruited a fistful of genuine American cowboys for the project and a troop of 17 native Americans to give visitors a West Wild background during their visit. While Cheyenne and Apache entertainers admitted to performing ancestral dances and singing only as part of touring shows, cowboys are professional rodeo competitors dressed in Texan hats, ranch boots and traditional blue jeans. They lack only a Colt on their belts.

“genuine” American cowboys, not some cheap Canadian imitation..
 
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Dear Writers, The President Will Not Read Your "Dear Mr. President" Articles

In the wake of the scandalous Facebook arrests, one mainstream writer and one blogger have written pieces entitled “Dear Mr. President”, the hidden subtext being: “We know it’s not you, it’s your nasty handlers who are doing this behind your back”.

But while the articles are both fantastic (recommended reading actually), what makes you think that the same handlers are going to pass on your letters to the President?

Update: add one more “letter to the president” to the list

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Faulty Cereals "Can't Be Recalled" From Lebanese Market

Guess where the ‘trick’ is in this statement:

But since there is no exclusive buyer agent for Kellogg’s in Lebanon, the Consumer Protection Department at the Economy Ministry announced it was difficult to recall cereal boxes from the market.

It’s the use of the word ‘exclusive’. Any agent can recall goods. The exclusive agency model is one of the negatives of the Lebanese economy. Such agencies stifle competition and hurt the Lebanese consumer.

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* Hijacking The Greatness Of Others

Have you ever asked yourself why the Lebanese celebrate so much the victory of others?

They dance on the streets and set up fireworks at midnight if the Brazilian team wins, and they publish glowing obituaries of Swiss billionaires on their newspapers’ first pages.

In both cases the associations are dodgy: Hanging the Brazilian flag on your window for the the last month doesn’t make make you a native of Copacabana, the same way that being born in Lebanon almost ninety years ago and leaving for better pastures only make you “technically” Lebanese.

In fact, both examples are testimonies to Lebanese failures: The failure to get our national team to the world cup and the failure to retain our best and brightest.

But we don’t care, we take pride nonetheless. I’m sure there’s a psychological explanation out there; what is it about our nagging need for greatness? Our itching desire to tell everyone how cool Lebanon is, how good our Hummus is, how gorgeous our women are, how skilled our doctors, how breathtaking our nature, how rich and successful our billionaires and how fancy our parties are. Why do we do that?

..And when we think we’re not great at something? Easy, we just appropriate the greatness of others..

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The White Plastic Chair As a Lebanese Object

Great observation from Ginger Beirut:

The plastic chair plays a key role in the esteemed Lebanese activity of waiting. Shopkeepers waiting outside to tell you not to park on the two metre stretch of road outside their shop (they’re saving it for customers); traffic police, bored of signalling, waiting for their colleagues to relieve them; guards watching over building sites, idly playing cards, waiting for the high-rise to be completed to then move their young family on into the ground floor of another skeleton tower; soldiers languidly draped at checkpoints and on street corners waiting for something – anything – to happen, waiting for a war.