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Samsung Galaxy S10 Now Available for Preorder in Lebanon

By Rami on February 21, 2019 in Lebanon, Technology

Samsung unveiled yesterday the latest version of its Galaxy S series, the S10, and this year it is coming in 3 models. The S10e (relatively cheaper model), the S10, and S10+ with 5.8 inch, 6.1 inch, and 6.4 inch displays respectively.

In comparison to last year’s version, and without going much into numbers and detailed specifications, the S10 now has a bigger display with more screen rel estate and smaller bezels, an in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint reader, an upgraded triple-lens camera with the ability to take wider scenes, and reverse wireless charging allowing you to use your phone to charge other devices. I am personally currently using the S9 and already feel tempted to do the upgrade (I hope I’ll be able to get my hands on a test unit).

The S10e, S10 and S10+ are already available for pre-order on Samsung CTC website for $779, $929 and $1,029 (for the 128GB models) and they all come with free gadgets (Galaxy watch and wireless charger for the S10 and S10+, or a bluetooth Speaker and battery pack for the S10e).

I also noticed you can also save $179 on the S10 and S10+ if you preorder via Phonefinity.net who is offering the same bundles at a less price with 1-year CTC warranty, which is a pretty good deal tbh!

A Government of Publicity Stunts

By Rami on February 20, 2019 in Politics

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!!!

Pick a Flower, Snap a Photo, and Win $500 This Valentine’s Day

By Rami on February 14, 2019 in Social

If you pass by Mar Mikhael today then you will definitely notice red flowers bouquets hanging around the place and up for grab to anyone roaming the street. I first thought it was some sort of a practical joke when I was passing by last night since red flowers tend to get expensive around Valentine’s and you would not expect someone to just give them away for free during this period.

As I got closer, I figured it was Banque Libano-Française who staged that stunt around their e-branch in the area, and aside from giving people flowers to offer to their loved one they are also giving them an opportunity to win $500.

To qualify for winning the prize, all you have to do is taking a cool picture of the hanging bouquets or the flower that you pick (they’re staying there until tomorrow evening), share it it on Instagram via post or story tagging @blflebanon or @luckytobeyoung, and wait for their jury’s decision ext Wednesday February 20th.

You know everybody hates overpaying a red flower on Valentine’s, so there’s nothing wrong with getting one for free this year and even having a $500 on top of it! So Happy Valentine’s and good luck winning.

Adonis New Music Video and Concert

By Rami on February 12, 2019 in Music

The music scene in Lebanon saw the rise of several local bands over the last few years, but one of the my favorite Arabic performing bands remains “Adonis” which was formed in 2011 by Anthony Khoury, Joey Abou Jawdeh, Nicolas Hakim, and Gio Fikany.

Their music isn’t sophisticated and I simply like how they mix Arabic lyrics and traditional sounds with international influences. They first started with “Daw El Baladiyyi” in 2011, and then followed it with “Men Shou Btishki Beirut” in 2013 and “Nour” in 2017.

Adonis recently released a new music video titled “Shayef” which I recommend you check below. And if your like their work, then you have a chance to catch them in concert tomorrow night (February 13th) at HNGR Beirut and you can reserve your tickets here.

Cement Blocks Near The Ministry of Interior Finally Removed

By Rami on February 5, 2019 in Beirut

Security forces in Beirut is finally removing the cement blocks that were set in place a few years ago due to security threats. People who work in Hamra know how badly positioned were these block due to the traffic they were causing everyday, so it is a relief to have them removed at last.

The funny thing though is that the former minister of interior (Nohad Machnouk) and the new one (Raya El Hassan) both claimed they ordered the blocks removal which really sounded childish (here and here).

The Cheesecake Factory Closing Down For Good in Lebanon

By Rami on January 30, 2019 in Lebanon, Restaurants

A friend of mine shared with me yesterday an end of work notice that The Cheesecake Factory employees were getting from their management which states that April 30th 2019 will be their last working day due to the restaurant closure. (You can check it here)

The notice attributed their closure to the bad economic situation that Lebanon is going through right now, but I don’t think it’s only that. I personally loved The Cheesecake Factory but always thought it failed to really compete with other american diners here for two reasons.

They never justified their prices

Items at The Cheesecake Factory are expensive if you compare their menu to that of other diners in the country. However their portions are really big and definitely meant to be shared.

Unfortunately, that’s was one thing people failed to get at the beginning, which left an impression that the restaurant is quite expensive while you can in fact share a main dish and a salad with another person and end up with almost the same bill you would get from Roadster or Crepaway.

They never bothered to convey that message to the masses and I never recall they promoted some special formulas for two like other diners do sometimes.

When was the last time they made an advertising campaign?

I recall they made a buzz when they first launched but that was it I guess. My timelines across the different social media platforms is always infested with sponsored posts from food places but I can’t recall the last time I saw an ad from The Cheesecake Factory. On the other hand, I have no idea if they follow the same strategy in the UAE but their outlets there are much busier and I remember I once had to stand in line for a good time to get a table. So I’m not sure whether they should be blamed or the Lebanese market simply has different preferences.

Anyway, as much as I hate to see it going, I think a lot of us were expecting it, and foreign brands who are planning an expansion to Lebanon should definitely take lessons from The Cheesecake Factory experience here.

2019 AFC Asian Cup Starts Today – Good Luck to Lebanon!

By Rami on January 5, 2019 in Lebanon, Sports

The AFC Asian Cup starts today in the United Arab Emirates, and football fans throughout Lebanon will be rooting for the national team to hopefully advance to the knockout stage!

Our first and only participation in the tournament dates back to the year 2000. Back then, we were automatically qualified since we were hosting the event, so this this counts as the first time we make it to the tournament with our own effort (bear in mind that the 2019 tournament was be expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams).

In Group E, Lebanon will be facing Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and North Korea, and our matches schedule will be as follows (all in our local time):

Lebanon Vs. Qatar – Wednesday January 9th at 6:00PM
Lebanon Vs. Saudi Arabia – Saturday January 12th at 6:00PM
Lebanon Vs. North Korea – Thursday January 17th at 6:00PM

You can of course watch the games on biIN Sports channels, and Télé Liban seems to have bought broadcasting rights but I have no idea for how many matches.

So until our first game against Qatar, here’s to Lebanon making good results and hopefully advancing to the next stages. Good luck to the Cedars!

Ya Lateef! Beirut’s NYE 2019 Celebration Ranked 7th in The World!

By Rami on January 2, 2019 in Beirut, Journalism, Lebanon, Social

National Geographic compiled a list of the top 10 new year’s eve celebrations around the world and Beirut was fortunately mentioned in the article. Next thing we know, local media picked up the article to brag about how the party in Nejmeh square was the 7th best in the world, and people of course were euphoric about it on social networks. Even our prime minister spoke about it on TV!

I hate to spoil things. The national geographic article is nice, and having Beirut mentioned is absolutely cool, but can we stop blowing things out of proportions when it comes to such news?

First of all, the article was published a while ago and last updated on December 31st, so contrary to what people think, the editors didn’t watch every celebration out there in the world and in the end decided to include Beirut for its epic party. The article was simply prepared ahead of time with appealing cities from around the world.

Moreover, whether you like it or not, there were definitely some cooler parties around the globe. Nejmeh square is basically small compared to other public spaces elsewhere in the world, and anyone in his proper mind would know there’s no way it can make it to the top 10 celebrations in the world. On the other hand, The UAE celebrations were massive this year and included attempts to break several world records, why weren’t they mentioned? And what about other major cities like Moscow, Berlin, Bangkok, Singapore, Cape Town and others?

It’s not like I love to hate on Beirut’s party, my problem is with people who love to lie to themselves like the websites who incorrectly reported the news and are now infesting the social platforms with their article. Hell even the company who was in charge of organizing the NYE event sponsored a post on Facebook to brag about it…

https://www.facebook.com/420271691486788/posts/1144775369036413/

But then again, in a country where we lie day in day out about an economy boost after the government formation, a super fast internet, and better wages, you find it logical to have NYE celebration ranked 7th in the world. So let’s wait to see what other good news does 2019 holds for us!

War Hotels – The Holiday Inn and Le Commodore Beirut Episodes

By Rami on December 30, 2018 in Documentaries, War

“War Hotels” is a documentary series showing on Al Jazeera that tells stories of iconic hotels that were associated with recent warfare, and two episodes that were aired earlier this month explored the stories of the Holiday Inn and Le Commodore hotels in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War that starte in 1975.

The Holiday Inn opened in 1974 but unfortunately turned into a war only a year later as it became part of the Battle of the Hotels. During that time the fighting militias got into fierce battles to control a group of hotels in the area of Saint-George and Ain El Mrayyseh including the Phoenicia and Holiday Inn.

On the other hand, Le Commodore became famous for being a safe haven for world journalists covering the civil war. Aside from its relatively safe location in Hamra at that time, what also helped was the available of communications lines to allow journalists to report their stories.

The two episodes are quite informative and have very interesting testimonies. You can either watch them on Al Jazeera website here and here or through the below two YouTube videos.

“W Ma Tallet Colette” – A Big Middle Finger in The Face of The Authorities

By Rami on December 27, 2018 in Reviews, Theater

On November 23rd 2017, Ziad Itani was arrested and accused of collaborating with an Israeli Mossad agent to plot the assassination of minister Nohad Machnouk and former minister Abdel Rahim Mrad, and it wasn’t until March 2018 that we learnt he was in fact a victim of false evidences. The whole thing turned out to have been arranged by the former head of the cybercrime bureau simply because he dared taking a screenshot of a tweet she liked.

A year later, and instead of emerging as a broken man, Ziad Itani collaborated with Khaled Soubeih to illustrate what he has gone through in a new play titled “W Ma Tallit Colette” that started showing last month at Metro Al Madina. I watched it on Tuesday and totally loved Itani’s performance in it.

Everyone knows the story, Ziad made several TV appearances to tell what really happened, and all the media outlets that originally bashed him for “being a traitor” have also later spoken about the truth. Still, watching the development of events on stage was captivating the whole time. You will be amazed at how a worthless and stupid evidence can lead the interrogators to extort a confession from Itani over something he never did, and the process will make you loathe the authorities.

Throughout the play, Ziad expresses everything he felt during detention, and he will make you understand how vulnerable can anyone get in a similar situation. One scene will even seriously stress you as Ziad tell about the thoughts that were going through his mind in his solitary confinement. Still, the play absolutely qualifies as a comedy and the cast will make you laugh during the whole two hours. The best of all though is that you will leave feeling that Ziad Itani emerged from this case as strong as he can be, an gave one big middle finger to the corrupt authorities and those who unlawfully wanted to put him behind bars.

Needless to say, I recommend you go watch it. You can check the showtimes on MetroMadina.com and book your tickets from AntoineTicketing.com.

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