Le Bi

I was directed to this documentary.
I'm watching it right now and it's surely fueling my anti-corruption excitement.
This means, weird plans boil inside my head.

MUST SEE!

Ok, I signed in my msn (which I rarely do) and some random guy pops up.
The conversation was in Lebanese but, here ya go, I translated it.

http://www.roomtopray.net/Images/chatting.jpg

GUY:
im top
where do you live

ME:
i have a bf so this conversation is pointless hehe


GUY:
no I don't have a bf. do you?


ME:
I'm telling you I do hehe


GUY:
You don't wanna have sex?


 ME:
I told u I'm with someone.



 0.o SERIOUSLY
Is that guy serious? lol
You guessed! Manjam guy.

http://yasa.org/en/print.aspx?id=58

Is it me or Lebanese motorcycle drivers seem to be above the law?
They drive in all directions.
Traffic ain't a problem since they can drive on the other side, or grind your cars.
No problem! They even overtake cars on the right side and you have to be sorry if they do that while you're turning right and they hit you and fall off their motorcycle.




While searching for a pic to add to this post, I stumbled upon this Yasa article HERE
It's interesting, you might want to check it.

You know these moments?when you think there's nothing more to them and then a new way emerges?
Well I do!
It's like when you're eating cake, and then you discover brownies!
Or when you send letters with pigeons, and then you discover "email" (or a computer 0.o )
Or when you spend half your life in traffic jam,and then you discover Europe ( you have to be Lebanese for this example)


Really, it's when you find new and better ways that you realize that what you are doing can be done better,  at least by one notch.
I decided to never stop questioning.
Try it! Knowledge is a strong tool.
It's blissful, well at least to me (noteToSelf --> you're kinda sick)

-You're holding it wrong!
said my drawing teacher at university.
He was talking about the pencil.

I guess most of you have heard this ad on the Radio.
if not,click here
"Shaklak mwalla3 fiya w bet dalak te7ki fiya" and there's a new English version of this really annoying mantra!

I mean this song just sticks in your brain and won't come out, it's like an infection, an endless agonizing loop! [/drama]

Anyway, In my opinion the marketers want these words to be engraved in your minds. They want us to love and adore this product (I personally haven't tried it yet, so I can't judge this "Austrian" energy drink)


If that was the real purpose of this looping tune, I believe the *people who made this ad* failed.Well they made the song stick (obviously by repeating it) but didn't really make us compelled to buy the product. The reason is "YOU".

Yes , All they had to do is replace the " You're obsessed with it" with " I'm obsessed with it".
In this way, the listener who will be focusing on driving the car will
confuse this with a thought of his own and will go and buy the drink and
probably love it. (brainwashing 101? anyone?)

McDonald chose "I'm lovin' it" for a reason.

Just my "after midnight" 2 cents.

http://uniqueproductfinds.com/

I personally hate conforming … it's boring and it suppresses the true you.

If you're conforming,not sure or want to just question where you're at in your life ,read further.



It only takes one decision.
Look in the mirror and ask yourself :


Am I happy with who I am? Is it really me? Am I trying to fit in?
Do I like the music I listen to? Am I comfortable with my clothes?
Am I happy with my job? My major?My religion?
Do I get to choose? Are these my ideas?My tastes?



If you're scared of mirrors (for whatever sick reason that is), lay on your  bed or sit wherever you want and close your eyes. Take a couple of deep breathes. See yourself on an isolated beach. It is isolated, really , no one will see you.
Now Put some clothes on, what's your ideal attire?Colors?
Don't forget the background music, shout the name of the track and it will play.
Be comfortable!
Now it's time to question your beliefs and habits.
Are you treading the path you truly want to be on? Is this job/major the right one for you?
Question your sexuality.
Let everything out, don't repress a thought, you're by yourself there, so no one will hear you but yourself.
When you feel that you're done, hold that perfect image of you in your mind and as you're gaining consciousness try to bring that YOU with you (It makes sense no?).
Stand up, move your body in order to wake up.
The ideal person you saw there? You brought it with you!
(repeat this exercise whenever you feel like it ... if you feel like it)

Starting now,  you're embracing the true you. The one devoid of masks that god knows who put them on you (actually I know, it's society ... we're all gods anyway,you know it too)

You're born UNIQUE and DIFFERENT. Your body and your brain scream difference. It's a FACT!

I know that sometimes conforming is easier and gets you into less problems but are you willing to boulder your true tastes and thoughts for some illusive happiness?
I personally wont.
Artists,Philosophers and every well known and admired person wont. (well at least the amazing ones... most of them if not all)

... in/than Lebanon.


Have you ever noticed that we often have these exclamations in our daily chitchat?

- Uf shou sari3a 3endkoun l connection!  Your internet connection is so fast!
- Lek shou mrattab hel mat3am! This restaurant is so neat!
- Khay, mafi 3aj2et ser lyom! There's no traffic jam today.
- Ma betrou7 3endkoun l kahraba? Your electricity is never disconnected?
- W ma ken madroub l alcool? The alcohol wasn't bad?
- Walla, be3tin 7ada ynadif hel tor2at! It seems they've sent people to clean roads!
- Rokhes l benzin (100 lira ?) ! fuel got cheaper !
- Lek shou ndif hel ba7er, mish ka2an lebnen! This beach is so clean, as if it's not Lebanon!
- Mni7 l2it ma7al soff! It's cool, I found a place to park!
- Zmatna mnel joura! I missed the hole !(yeah our roads are quite "hole-ly")
- 3aal, mdawrin l dwiyeh 3al tari2! thank god the road is lit!
- Aklo ndif w le2mto taybeh! The food there is clean and is very good.
and yada yada yada.....

Are we doomed to have such lame services? I mean it's really disgusting when you see how stagnating we remain while other countries are so far ahead, when our problems seem archaic and solutions seem too far fetched for our dear politicians.

I attended Mashrou3 Leila's concert yesterday.
It was at Beirut Hippodrome, a fine location indeed.

I'm not going to write lengthy text, just some quick notes(don't expect a review).

When I first got there, I was surprised by the setting, didn't think it was going to be on such a big scale ($25 were so worth it).
The stage was huge with a nifty setting (an extra platform that extended from the main stage formed a sort of a mini stage where the band performed a couple of their songs)

It took the band forever to show up.I mean really we were there at 8 BCE were spinning some indie tracks and it was too long,  a 2 hours set,outdoors, with absolutely no lighting is extremely boring.









Then Mashrou3 Leila showed up around 10:00 pm,accompanied by a mini orchestra, and the rest was absolutely magic.
The lighting was well thought of(colors,placement,synchronization with music) and they had all types of launching machines (smoke,flames,silver confetti) to explode when the song reached its apex.













note to self: never expect good drinks in bars at concerts


------------------ 

 I'm sure most of you heard of the arrest of Ziad Hamdan (Zeid and the Wings) yesterday, on Wednesday the 27th. (the arrest (in arabic) )
The reason is shocking!He was arrested for telling the president Sleiman to "go home" in his song "General Suleiman"(released in December 2010), which is a very cute and innocent song (check it here).



But thanks to the support of the fans, he was released later in the evening( Free Ziad Hamdan from jail
-  Free Opinion, Free Speech, Mobilize NOW to Free Zeid Hamdan )

I mean , are you serious?! When did we lose our freedom of speech? (or we didn't really have it in the first place?)
We have the right to reject politics!
We have the right to reject politicians!
We have the right to reject corruption!
We are obliged to stand for this and it is our duty to fight for this freedom, for it is one of the pillars that define a person's individuality!

The issue is not resolved. I know Ziad Hamdan is out now, probably writing about this corrupted event, but knowing that speaking out loud about our views, that might contradict the consensus of people in power, is going to generate such an unaccepted reaction is dangerous!

It is absolutely not accepted !



To be checked:
---> Stop Cultural Terrorism In Lebanon
---> He’s out: Zeid Hamdan talks about his arrest over the song “General Suleiman"

( Zeid and the Wings released their first LP, check their page for more info)

My friends, you only see that in Lebanon, the weird clapping scenario that happens at awkward times.

Here's a couple of scenarios that just came to mind.(I'll be updating this soon)



Airplane landing fiesta: when the pilot lands the airplane

Arrival fiesta (airport): when friends/relatives arrive at the airport

Movie ending fiesta: when the movie ends at the theater (bad guy dies,marriage,final kiss,etc.) [it's not a theater I'm afraid]

Yes fiesta : at the wedding, when the bride/groom says yes [because he brought you all the way here so he can ditch her a the altar]

http://www.flamewarriors.com/warriorshtm/ego.htm

I noticed something in the LGBT community, I'm sure you've witnessed it around you or even in you.
I'm talking about a degree of ego inflation.

Really, for example login to any dating site and observe the statuses,comments and requirements.
"I need a 1 foot tall man with blue eyes that speaks good english"
"I am classy and require the same"
"I need a muscled[add feature here] guy, but I'm not interested in a one night stand"
"no pic no replay" (sorry, couldn't keep myself from saying it :p )

I mean it's a dating site and the person should specify his interests, but when does it become extremely filtering? to the point where the person wants a copy of himself?
I understand this if the person's looking for a one night stand, but it's the same in most of the "serious" profiles.It's always about the "I".

What do you really want?

Do you truly need THAT guy? Does he even exist(Adonis is a myth for a reason)?
One thing I'm sure of , the shallow "perfect guy" is an illusion created by the media,.
To a certain extent we all look for a love affair...you can't force love, it comes by itself.
How about we stop looking for our ultimate type and start looking for someone who can actually withstand a relationship, someone who's mentally challenging (of course there should be some form of attraction) .
In other words, we can't force love, so let's stop bitching about how bad the world is,and let go for a while.

I heard that Acid reopened last friday.
It took over Ghostbar that initially took over Chocolate(a neat club I used to party at), and that, after Matinee Group hosted their Barcelona's Circuit Festival's opening there.

The location is kinda stranded, away from your usual night clubbing scene, but still Chocolate has always been crowded on weekends.

Not that I've ever been to Acid, but a lot of people are excited about that.


EDIT: ok so it seems that Acid's management took over the place, not really a "reopening".

 P...C... parties seem to be the new hot parties in town.They're known for being gay friendly and with exotic themes, and as it is said,the crowd keeps getting larger since the first P.C. iteration.

So yes, my friends made me go with them to the Plane Crash which happened to be yesterday (July 1st) Me being a never-been-to-gay-places-and-kinda-reluctant type of guy, it was my first step in the "scene".

If you're wondering emotions, well it was a mixture of nervousness/excitement/paranoia.

I went there by 1:00 a.m, a 15 mins queue and I'm in.
First Impression : nice, it's crowded!
The music was annoying at first, I didn't like the genres that were played since I'm more into electronica and trance rather than R'N'B and pop.
But it shifted to something nice, than shifted again ...and shifted again... and shifted again. So yeah I didn't really dig the music(too many genres!!)
but hey, we had an open bar!


I wasn't allowed to pick up chicks, my friends threatened me.So at first I was reluctant to dance but then I yielded.
hehe I do sound like a 10 year old who discovered the "party" concept. Come on, it was my first time at such a place!!

Anyway, the atmosphere was not bad, it was something between classy, naughty and chaotic *stress on OPEN BAR*
The age range was really all over the place, I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing but it didn't really bother me.
Diversity was much appreciated, it's nice to see that for a change and as the party's anthem states, "there's nohtin'wrong with lovin' who you are" (born this way, cant believe I'm quoting Gaga *blink*)

I left the place by 4:30 a.m, mostly because of the music.

Last Impression : now that's something new!

Will I be attending the next party? I'm not sure yet.
But Kien and Johnny did a great job and pulling off these parties! The people there seemed to be extremely enjoying their time.

Hey all,
I'm going to be referring to myself as Le Bi.

Let's start by saying that I'm a [...]

 NO TO ARTICLE 534
http://www.helem.net/node/22

(sorry I had to let this out)

[...] bisexual Lebanese guy (I don't really like the label, but it's used for a better communication), one foot in the closet and one foot out(to a selected few).
I've recently come to terms with my sexuality,embracing every aspect of myself and not binding myself to any social limitation.
---> I hate limitation

So here I am, excited about starting this blog which is going to be a manifestation of my experiences(yeah, I'm kind of a noob on the gay side),my views on Lebanese social taboos(related to bisexuality, especially the gay side) and some random rantings.

I'm really looking forward for any kind of feedback -constructive ones,of course- , so don't hesitate to comment or email me.

see you around ;)