30.7.06

Beirut on July 30, 2006

Beirut from Ain Saade


———
Tonight was the first night in a week that i sleep well. Unfortunately i woke up to the news of the Qana bombings.

I was going through the washington post website, flipping through images they have of the latest news on the war. there was a photo of an israeli soldier being greeted by his wife on his return from combat. the wife had a camera in her hand. obviously she was happy to see her husband, happy he returned safe; but a camera? i still do not understand how people can rejoice about any kind of violence or any offspring of the violence.
the man was in a war—true.
His wife is happy he's back safe and sound—fine
but the camera? what picture did this camera take? the instant of the return or the testimony of the war? what is there to take forever with you? i don't understand...
and i can't find the words to explain my thoughts... ma 3am bifham...

what has she exactly caught on the camera, in that photo that merits the survival to the test of time?
the happiness? the glory? the pride? the vengeance? the hatred? the bigotry? what?!?


29.7.06

Beirut on July 29, 2006

Beirut from Ain Saade


———
I was thinking while showering about what i had talked about last time; the memories and illusions. and i remembered the latest Aïzone campaign (created by H&C Leo Burnett), the "i had a dream" campaign—fairy-like figures with dreamy fantasy-like settings, bubbles, light colors, happy places...
A good follow up for this summer would probably be "... and the dream ended up as a nightmare" campaign (or "...woke up into a nightmare" campaign)—blood, destruction, ruins, dead people, burned people, wounded people, crying people all dressed up to the latest fashion by the luxury brands... running mascara, smudged lipstick, teary eyes, torn clothes... very dramatic and tragic... i should sell this idea to aizone... i'd make money off the bourgeoise too. they make a great job of twisting human conditions to their advantage, why not war too?
Another campaign could be "... and i woke up crying": sicilian widows theme, to the old Dolce&Gabbana style—they ripped off Diesel campaigns, why not D&G ones too?

ok, i should probably stop lynching the aizone campaigns. but i need exercise, my mind is numb.

———
T is here. my buddy is here. gtg.

28.7.06

Beirut on July 28, 2006

Beirut from Ain Saade—Note the black strip of shit in the sky


Dahyeh from Ain Saade


Ras Beirut/Ashrafieh from Ain Saade



Port from Ain Saade



Today, there's a bluer sky. the reason is of course that israel spared dahyeh and beirut tonight.
The grey/black strip of pollution is getting thicker day by day. 3azeem. tawash. thank you israel.

———

i don't feel like talking much today. except i got a phone call from my client to resume the work. am happy things are still rolling in. we will survive israel, we will survive all of them.
unless of course this turns into a fucking catastrophe, with Al Qaeda's video yesterday—who asked them for their opinion? as if we needed more escalation. Are they trying to turn this into a thirld world war? what's with the hatred?

———

it's my brother's birthday today. Happy birthday bro. hope next bday is more peaceful.

27.7.06

Beirut on July 27, 2006

Beirut from Ain Saade



Port from Ain Saade



Dahiyeh from Ain Saade



where did the blue skies go? reminds me of the Bank Audi billboard on the streets.
fuckin war.
beirut is all fogged up. can't see anything.
is beirut disappearing? maybe it's getting bleached... we'r being erased... or maybe beirut is just an image, a photo that was badly developped; bad photo paper... bad exposure...
it has to be the photo, the image, coz i saw beirut, i was there, not so long ago... it's real, beirut is real.
or maybe was it a mirage, a hologram. reminds me of that anime Memories. when those astronauts walk into that abandoned ship where the soprano's memories are kept in the form of holograms. the guys walk into the hologram sometimes believing in it and so they can interact with the memory; and sometimes deceived by the image and find themselves walking through the hologram, only to find themselves in a swamp.
that is probably what happened to us this last year, isn't it?
The manifestations, the hollow victory, the promise of a better lebanon...
We believed in the hologram and so we lived in it, until we were drawn out of the illusion to find ourselves in a swamp.

How naïve we have been. and how utterly stupid.

Even after all of this, people still manage to be at each other's throats. yesterday on Kalam el Nass, they gathered 12 or so young "politically engaged" (at the absence of a better term) lebanese asses; they were gonna kill each oter repeating hollowly the ideologies that had been fed into their minds ever since they can('t) remember. Failing to find words and ideas to adapt to each other's comments; each and every one of them went into monologues reminding people of 20 year-old arguments, stories and idiosyncracies of their parties. these are supposed to be thinkers of tomorrow. why are we enraged that the israelis are wageing a war on us. maybe we really need to be wiped out. we have never done anything good to this land, have we? Lebanon has been good to us, and we have been the worst to it.
History repeats itself i guess. i hate this phrase. fatality...
Why are people always afraid to think for themselves?
...

———
today, it has occured to me that my survival as a freelancer is seriously jeopardized. i need to either find a job here or go outside, leave he country. the first is not only appalling in concept but improbable—the sector i work in has the most dubious future ahead. And so the leaving the country is semi-forced, unless i completely forget dreams of making it in my profession, and resort to a different vocation altogether.
So, just for the heck of it, let's indulge in planning a future to meself—+thinking out loud helps me take decisions.
If i leave the country, i can either work or learn. if i work, then i need to apply to a company—as i cannot freelance outside since i have no contacts whatsoever, and money has to be made fast, hence it leaves me no other option than the 9-to-5-hell-hole.
if i learn, i can either apply to a university or apply to an internship. in the former case, i am left clueless as for my interest in further studies; and in the latter, hell! why not? but only if it is irrelevant to my main vocation/discipline—which leaves me with a huge array of options.
Or, hey, i can go park my ass at some relative or friend's place.

26.7.06

And so now we moved to ain saade. at least i get to see the action.
am happy, i have relocate the ZOoz activities to here, with full power on. i will be able to work at least, keep the engines running.
I think i am accustomed to the idea of being at war. after a week of conscious self-control, i have hit a 2-day streak of i-can't-believe-this-is-what-it's-come-to; and now i am ok with it. not the war, but the war adapting mode.
i feel ma ileh 3azeh.
i feel like breaking into a hysterical laugh. Yesterday i finally had a ride in beirut. Alf and i drove through beirut, had breakfast in Ristretto and then we worked a bit. And i saw T, and then we went to check on the Muwatinoon and the Samidoon in Sanayeh. Waow. i can't believe i missed all this action—and am still missing it right this instant. I master the art of being insignificant and completely useless.
the self-pity session is officially over.
———
Zeina sent me a link to a blog she contributes to. in it there's a day-to-day recap and a mapping of the israeli attack. i was so happy to see that map. it's unbelievable to see all that violence as circles on a map. in my boring faraya days, i had dreamt of a mapping for the war. am happy i saw my dream come to life, although not by me—story of my life.
———
yesterday, on my road down from faraya, i was shocked by the dust/pollution over beirut. it had hit me before that the amount of pollution would've risen considering the showers we've been getting from the israelis; but the sight is something else. el 7akeh mish mitl al shawfeh.
———

19.7.06

ayreh b7ayateh

i can't believe this is happening.
i can't believe i had to leave home.
i can't believe i had to leave Beirut.
we had to go to faraya. My dad wanted pasta. so we went to the intercon in Mzaar for dinner.
unbelievable fuckin lebanese bourgeoisie.
these people are disgusting. Showing off their money and clothes. looking at each other from their tables. wondering who has the newer nose in town. wondering if the sexy girl's boobs are real. are these the new diesel jeans? oh my god! i can't believe she bought them before me. and those manolo sandals. and those empty guys telling their stupid stories of how they survived the night under the tayaran.
fi 3alam rey2a.
w fi 3alam khalsa.
w fi 3alam m2ayra.

and the worst fi 3alam metit.
w fi 3alam 3am bit moot.
and there's nothing i can do.
coz i don't know what to do, and how to do.

4.7.06

22.6.06

failing blog

i was reading one of my favorite comic strips, Pearls Before Swine. And there's this series where Rat keeps reminding Pig that no one is reading his blog, since no comments are being written. and i realised, hey, that's me! and it got me real depressed, i am a failing blogger, with a failing blog...
*sob*
Disclaimer: this is not a call for pity comments, thank you very much

19.6.06

gender roles

The same place that sells this


sells that


makes us wonder where our girls get their fashion sense... and they say it's haïfa's fault... eh a77a...

8.6.06

2.12.05

15.9.05

when hos and ZOoz get published

they publish…

in…

with that guy…

they get to have the longest credit ever...

and their names on the back…

it's so cool…
…and am sooo happy

2.9.05


Yet another attempt at millionaire-ship-ness—or commonly as easy money.
Results tomorrow—or tonight on tv.
kil malyoon w ento bkheir

20.8.05

Check out this website that shows the work of a graffiti artist—genius
www.banksy.co.uk

19.8.05


Wishful thinking…

Another good marketing strategy

U are all invited to mess around with my logo.
I will create sth with all of your contributions in the end. So please download it, fuck it up, or make it better, or i dunno... be creative, and send your contribution to josettekhalil@gmail.com or try posting it as a comment (if it works).

w thx a zoozillion.
(and please do invite other people to mess with the ZOoz, or to the blog, the more the zoozer)
itanku

16.8.05


Good marketing strategies

3.8.05

See, i never wanted to have a blog. it only happened when areej did his, and i found myself filling forms, for i dunno what. until i got a window where it asked me to name my blog. And taraaaa!!!
I dunno what to do on it.
hmmm.....
Am getting some ideas. but am at work, w meen ilo jledeh.
We all agreed sister of work and his hour.