Some scenes

For some reason or another, my blogging efforts have been thwarted very effectively by various things going on in my life these days. Lest you all wander off to some frequently-updated, high-quality, amusing blog, I'll toss out some pictures in the hopes of dragging you a long a bit more.

I wonder what time it is?



These streets are a bit tough for birds...

A few images

We decided to take a jaunt down to Sidon yesterday, and here are the pictures to prove it.

While getting bonus points for creativity, this is the least jolly Christmas tree I have ever seen. The way all the lights droop and bunch up in the center makes it look sickly to me. Maybe if they were woven into the rings...



In addition, there is that lesser-known Lebanese monument, the leaning minaret of Sidon...



Although not as interesting as the architectural wonders, the interest from the audience on my last post about certain Lebanese menu items led me to post these pictures of the meat department in the local souk. Yum.

The Cow economy

OK, so this originally came to my attention as an email forward, which I generally find pestilential, but this time it was quite funny:

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows and you give one to your neighbor.

COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The Government takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both, shoots one, milks the other and throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow dropped dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN EGYPTIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are voting for Mubarak.

Adventures in eating

One of the things I really enjoy about traveling around the word is trying out new foods. I often like to order something I’m totally unfamiliar with just to experience it. For the adventurous, here is a picture of the menu in a little corner fast food place that I really like.



Admittedly, the ‘Engrish’ here is pretty amusing. However, the main point is the mix of familiar and unfamiliar food items. Before getting too carried away though, it helps to know how far you are willing to go in dietary experimentation. A quick look around the shop shows that one of those menu items will lead you to eat a brain-on-a-bun.



Hmmmm, braaaains…

No men allowed

When we were trying to decide whether or not to move to Beirut, my wife and I listened to this story on NPR about a women only beach in Beirut. This isn’t the same beach in the story, but I found it interesting.

Up on the housetops

One of the things I don’t like about Beirut, is the lack of green space. In most large cities I’ve lived in, the planners make a deliberate effort to place parks and such throughout the city. For many reasons, not the least of which being the age of the city, Beirut doesn’t follow that type of urban planning. Thus, people have been rather creative in fashioning different styles of living. For example, on of the apartment buildings across the street from us has converted the roof of the building into a very deliberate recreation area. Folks play games, play around and generally make use of the space for things that might be more typically seen in a traditional park.

During my time in NY, I saw people do things like this, but not on the same scale or usage as the Beirut folks. In any case, there are also several very interesting (to me anyway) aspects of architecture in this part of the world that contribute to having fairly drab buildings take up all the room, and having parks, gardens and play areas elsewhere.

Rajaa is a 300lb bouncer

This picture brings several questions to mind. If you go to a beauty salon to have your makeup done, as the picture seems to be advertising, doesn’t wearing a veil tend to mess that up? I would think there would be a smudging problem. I suppose maybe they are just going to get a haircut or something. I would really like to talk to someone wearing a full veil to find out what sort of cosmetic products they find useful.

On a more cheeky note, I wonder if providing a duly authorized certificate of homosexuality would allow a man to work in the special veiled section.

Rooftop guessing

This one is rather easier than yesterday's, but since these aren't too common in the area of the States that I come from, I thought I would post them. Anyone want to guess what these devices are for?



Again, if you are from Lebanon, don't ruin the game for the other folks.

Mystery device

From the vantage point of our new apartment, I’ve been able to gain some insight into Lebanese apartment construction. Some of the gizmos people have on their roofs are a bit odd. One in particular confused me for a while. I think I’ve finally had a eureka moment with a strange piece of equipment on the building across from us. I thought it might be fun to have a little guessing game to see if you folks can figure it out too.

No hints from you Lebanese folks who already know what it is!

Depressed people?

A few days ago, a new acquaintance asked me whether or not I liked Lebanon. This is always a difficult question when you are a guest in someone else’s country. As I think about my experience here, it strikes me as important that I only lived in Lebanon for four months before the Hariri assassination. Could I really call what has been going on since then the real Lebanon? Do I even know the real Lebanon? I wonder…

Along these lines, it’s been interesting to me to see the changes in society as the events of last February march on. From what I’m told, things are quite bad for the country economically these days. However, from what I directly observe, and from the macroeconomic indicators, the economy is doing reasonably well from a historical perspective. So, this begs the question, is the sky really falling, or am I hanging around with negative people?

Lebanese food

I went out to lunch at a fairly nice Lebanese restaurant today. I’ve never really blogged about Lebanese food before, but I think I might start. The key aspect of today’s meal that caught my attention was how odd it was that we had all been eating for about thirty minutes before any of us picked up our utensils.

That’s just the way it goes with a lot of Lebanese dishes. They aren’t exactly finger foods, but many of them are eaten with flatbread instead of silverware. For example, you tear off a little 2x2 inch parcel of flat bread and use that as a scoop for a wide variety of potential salads and starters. The actual meal generally requires utensils, but not necessarily. It’s just a different way of eating, and quite tasty at that.

half full, half empty

One of the downsides of our new location has to do with out proximity to the ocean. At this point, we’re about a block and a half away, which means that because our building’s water supply comes from a well, all the water is slightly salty.

On the plus side, this makes it really easy for recipes that call for boiling salted water….

Out of Achrafieh

The move is over. Things went relatively well, although we couldn't find my shoes for about 36 hours. So far, the new house is great, and we are really looking forward to spending the next year here.

On the other hand, it looks like our old landlord is getting cantakerous. I can imagine that the prospect of having their ridiculously over priced apartment sit empty doesn't really please them. I can understand that, but my sympathies are limited. If you want a tennant, lower the price. It's called competition. We don't owe to to you to endlessly renew the lease on your overpriced place.

Anyway, we're very happy with the new place.

Looting

I've often wondered how so many of Lebanon's archeological treasures are still around, seeing as most of them are in plain view for anyone to pick up and walk off with.

Well, I guess the answer is that people are going to pick them up and walk off with them whether they are in plain sight or not...

Lebanon's Summer Presidential Palace is Burglarized

"...burglars sawed the iron of a ground floor window to slip into the huge compound and get away with priceless jewelry dating back to the Roman era."