Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Non, elle n'a toujours pas compris :D

Monday, October 4, 2010

Lebanese Recipes: Falafel

You can find here the Lebanese Falafel Recipe (as opposed to the other available Falafel Recipes)

 

Lebanese Recipes: Falafel

 

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Dream Lebanon

Very nice pictures and music - enjoy

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Tripoli Sea Festival

Interesting Lebanon Tours (Walking and biking and islands visit) for the discovery of the Mina Region in Tripoli as part of the Tripoli Sea Festival during your travel to Lebanon

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Monday, September 13, 2010

Lebanon Cities Festivities for Eid el Fitr

Thousands flock to Hamra and Sidon for Eid al-Fitr festivities
By Mohammed Zaatari and Carol Rizk

Thousands flock to Hamra and Sidon for Eid al-Fitr festivities

SIDON/BEIRUT: Two of Lebanon’s most popular destinations were transformed into massive theaters of live performances during the weekend, as thousands of people celebrated Eid al-Fitr in Hamra and the coastal city of Sidon.

In the capital, the busy and cosmopolitan street of Hamra was filled with music, decorations, circus performances and other fun events, as the Maraya 2010 festival was held from Friday to Sunday.

Hamra Street, which usually witnesses bumper-to-bumper traffic, was packed with people walking, dancing, singing and enjoying the parade.

On the first day of the festival, a convoy of Harley Davidson motorbikes rode through the crowd, accompanied by a car transporting Miss Lebanon 2010 Rahaf Abdallah, a married couple in a horse carriage, entertainers on stilts, and dancers performing a traditional sword fight.

The traditional Lebanese dance, the dabke, was also performed, while children flew balloons and rushed to gather as much candy as possible. Girls were dressed as gypsies, musical instruments were everywhere and the flashes of cameras were going off faster that anyone could say “cheese.”

The three-day celebration also included performances by jazz artist Arthur Satyan, oud player Charbel Rouhana, Beirut’s Hip-Hop band, Fareeq al-Atrash and Cirque du Liban. Sports activities were also present, with the contribution of Hoops basketball club and Lebanese Rally champion Jean-Pierre Nasrallah, in addition to a food market, poetry recitals, plays and shops.

The organizers described the event as the first of its kind in Hamra since 1998 and enjoyed seeing the famous street live up to its pre-war reputation of being the most cosmopolitan and most popular street in Beirut.

Maraya 2010 was launched by Hamra Street’s Merchants Association, under the patronage of Premier Saad Hariri.

Also over the weekend, the coastal city of Sidon in the south of Lebanon marked the end of Ramadan with busy and joyous Eid al-Fitr festivities.

Sidon held its annual “City Wedding” festival, organized by the Hariri Foundation, and its sea front was transformed into a venue for many interesting local and international shows, as visitors from all over Lebanon flocked to the corniche and seaside cafes.

Sidon’s boulevard was closed for cars and the streets were decorated in a fairytale-like fashion with bright lights escorting visitors as they walked past the cafes, clowns, air balloons and entertaining performances.

Over 50 artists were featured in the celebration, such as the French companies Remue-Menage and Motus Modules, which held extravagant shows mixing dance, theater, aerobics and music. Clowns entertained children with face painting and fun activities, while giant animal-shaped balloons were released into the sky.


Read more about Lebanon Cities and Lebanon Vacations

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From Israel to Lebanon and Syria - 3 weeks vacations wow!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Barouk Cedars - Interesting

Did you know?

One of the most popular recording artists on the planet right now is Lady Gaga. It's a pretty safe bet that she would not be enjoying the level of success she's having right now by using her real name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.

Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas, but there was already a famous Michael Douglas in the Actors Guild. So instead he chose the surname of an actress he admired, Diane Keaton.

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Tripoli Soap Factory

Traditional Tripoli soap factory makes comeback

TRIPOLI: Like various traditional products, which were once considered essential and basic, old-fashioned health and hygiene items have today become forgotten.

However, the traditional Lebanese soap – commonly known as saboon baladi – is regaining some of its former glory, as people are rediscovering its therapeutic benefits.

The comeback falls into a worldwide trend of returning to traditional and natural products, especially when it comes to cosmetics and medicine.

Lebanon’s northern coastal city of Tripoli has particularly profited from this resurgence and its famous soap factory is currently witnessing very prosperous days.

The factory, known as Khan al-Saboon, flourished in the Mamluk era and was built in a neighborhood filled with perfume makers, chemists and physicians. The Khan was able to turn Tripoli into a “Soap Kingdom,” with a number of families leading the business.

Among these families was the Hassoun family, which passed down its secret recipes from generation to generation and is still managing the factory today.

Bader Hassoun explained that soap making has been a family trade for about eight centuries. “The women used to create the herbal combinations to make the products, which were later sold near the factory … As for the men, they were scattered in different levels of the manufacturing process,” he said, noting that the most important part of the procedure was the mixture of herbs and scents.

History records show that soap products in Tripoli were in great demand and the rate of their exportation could be compared to that of silk and sugar.

Books also show that Europeans were introduced to soap and to its health benefits after the crusades campaigns. The product played such a significant role in Lebanon and the region that it was present in mythological tales. It was said that Adonis used to offer soaps scented with herbs to his lover Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love.

Nonetheless, with the arrival of the industrial revolution and after the end of World War I, the traditional Lebanese soap was no longer able to compete with the mass production of industrial soap, which was cheap and came in various scents.

At the time, Lebanese soap makers were only able to produce 21 different types of soaps, perfumes and creams, all based on three main combinations known as the Trabulsiya, the Sultaniya and the Malakiya.

Today more than 2,000 products can be found at the Tripoli soap factory in Lebanon and at its branches in the Arab Gulf, Europe and America.

“The new products have new therapeutic functions. Throughout the past years we’ve gathered recipes from Arab and foreign soap factories, including China and India, where soap manufacturing has a long history,” said Hassoun.

He added that some of the new soaps could be used to cure certain skin diseases. “I give out free samples to costumers. They can try them and see for themselves,” he noted.

However, Khan al-Saboon is still facing some difficulties and might encounter more trouble in the future.

Hassoun said he was still trying to make the production process completely Lebanese and was working on replacing any foreign material with local ones. He added that a contract would soon be signed with a Lebanese cardboard firm, which will provide the factory with all its soap-wrapping material.

But even if such an obstacle could be overcome, another hindrance may lie ahead as the Tripoli municipality and the Culture Ministry are trying to acquire the factory.

Details of the possible acquisition remain unclear and the economic benefits to come from it are also ambiguous, but Hassoun fears that shifting the factory’s ownership toward a collective property might lead to instability. “I am afraid that Khan al-Saboon would become soulless without its soap,” he said.

You can visit the Tripoli Khan al Saboon as part of you Lebanon Packages or your Lebanon Vacations

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Lebanon Restaurants Alcohol Free during Ramadan

No wineing, it's Ramadan

Paige Kollock
, September 2, 2010
 

Lebanese men and women gather at a restaurant in Beirut for a suhur meal just before sunrise, which marks the start of the daylong fast for Ramadan. (AFP photo)

A recent article in the Lebanese daily An-Nahar has sparked a debate about the possibility of the eventual presence of mutawa in Lebanon. Mutawa is the singular of mutaween (Arabic for "volunteers"), which are government-authorized religious police, commonly seen in conservative Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia. Their job is to enforce proper Islamic behavior.

Lebanon, a country built on its religious and ethnic diversity, has largely steered clear of government-imposed morality, and as such, has gained a reputation for being a bastion of tolerance in the Arab world, with Muslims and Christians living side by side. So when the author of the An-Nahar article, who is a Lebanese Christian, went to a high-end hotel in downtown Beirut, she was surprised to find that the waiter did not want to serve her wine, due to the fact that it is the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. When she insisted, saying that she was Christian and that the restaurant should respect her beliefs too, the waiter offered to disguise the wine by putting it in an opaque glass. In the end, she left the restaurant, but to her and to many other Lebanese, the incident was just one indication of how the country is becoming less tolerant, or at least appearing to be so, in order to cater to business interests. 

For restaurant and hotel managers and owners, making a decision about serving alcohol during Ramadan based on financial concerns is a tricky one. Alcohol sales bring in a lot of cash, but if many customers are Muslim (Lebanese or tourists from Gulf countries), they won't be drinking it anyway, and owners may turn off potential diners.
 
An unscientific survey of the hotels and restaurants in Beirut revealed mixed policies when it comes to serving alcohol during Ramadan. Many of the top-tier hotels, such as The Four Seasons, the Mövenpick, Le Gray and the Phoenicia have at least one restaurant that is dry during the Iftar dinner period, from 7 to 9 p.m. Other hotels, such as the Hotel Bristol, the Riviera and the Bay View Hotel, have some areas where they serve alcohol, some without. The Monroe in Ain Mreisseh and the Crown Plaza in Hamra serve alcohol at all hours. 

The Sheraton Four Points in Verdun serves no alcohol at all during the month of Ramadan, despite the fact that it is an international chain. In many "dry" hotels and restaurants, it is often the owner who makes the call.

"The owner decided. It is his will. He is Muslim," said Sheraton manager Fahed Dayeth, who claims the policy started in 2006, when the hotel opened. "It doesn't affect our customer levels," he said, although many customers may not know the policy until after they have booked, and those desperately seeking a drink can still order one from their rooms.

Along the Beirut waterfront, which is full of touristy restaurants, one would have no problem finding an Iftar dinner special, but a hard time finding a beer. Popular tourist spots such as the Petit Cafe and the Grand Cafe in Raouche do not serve any alcohol during Ramadan, not even at the customers' insistence. Grand Cafe Manager Abou Hassan says it's been that way for 10 years, since they opened.

However, just down the waterfront at Cafe Rawda, the no-alcohol policy is relatively new.

“All the customers are Muslim, and when they see the alcohol, they don't like it," said manager Mohammad Chatilla, who noted that the establishment is alcohol free year round. "Some people see that we have no alcohol and they leave, but it’s ok; business is good. We don’t like the alcohol."

He says the policy changed because "the big boss is hajj.” 

A group of Lebanese Christians drinking coffee outside Dunkin' Donuts in downtown Beirut told NOW Lebanon they think local restaurants are getting stricter.

"It wasn't like this before. We always lived together, and there were not these kinds of problems. This is the first year they've really cracked down," said Michel H, who chose to keep his last name anonymous.

"It bothers me because, when we are fasting for 40 days during our holy time, we don't mind if others drink and eat. If I'm fasting, I'm doing it for myself and for God. Part of fasting is controlling yourself. Besides, this is a Christian country, and we never bother anyone from the Arab countries when they come to visit," he said.

"We're a mixed country, so they have to respect us," added Dali Geagea. "We drink alcohol during this period of time, so why do the restaurants stop serving? They should respect that we're not fasting. They are ignoring us."

Meters away at the Place d'Etoile clock tower, Fatima Al-Agha says she respects Christians, but does not want to be around anyone who drinks...ever.

"I don't go to a restaurant where there is alcohol. If somebody was drinking alcohol, I would leave immediately," she said.

At Lebanese restaurant Karamna, across the street from Dunkin' Donuts in downtown, manager Jad Bandakji says they stopped serving alcohol during Ramadan just last year, after 10 years. "The owner made the policy. He's a hajj," he said. Besides, he added, "nobody asks for it during Ramadan," as they serve mostly Lebanese Muslims and customers from the Gulf.

While some may argue that Karamna's change in policy is symbolic of the Islamification of Lebanon, others say it's just plain economics.

"The economic revenue of the country is because of the Arabs, not like before when there were English, American and Italian tourists,” said Michel H. "And so the Lebanese have to cater to them, and pretend they care, so they can get business."

More on Lebanon Vacations and Lebanon Tourists

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Lebanon at the top of travel guide to-do lists

The Lebanon is a loose cannon of a country and, as its capital, Beirut is fittingly fast-paced, colourful and raw. It is a window on the innumerable faces of the original phoenix which spouts folklore and capitalism in the same breath, where the rousing song of the minaret competes with the clamour of church bells, where faith meets hedonism, and where first world meets third world.

The history of Beirut is not relegated to museums and dusty libraries like a venerated but useless grandpa stowed out the way on a comfy chair in the back room. Its past is chronicled on the walls of the capital, from the Roman baths to the damage of the civil war in the eighties. It neither worships nor denies its past, perhaps because it is never over. The business of making history thrives in the Middle East, though the storyline loops and the actors merely change masks.

Even after the civil war ended in 1990, this esteemed undertaking has punctuated life for the Lebanese with almost monotonous regularity and repeatedly punctured the bubble of hope that swells each spring as Beirut’s businesses look gingerly forward to that elusive thing – a tourist season. Year after year, a new boil burst from an old infection, scuppering any likelihood of a return to the heady summers of the early seventies when the city was awash with visitors.

But in 2009, at long last, there was no war, and revenue from tourism soared 80% while the number of tourists jumped 39% to an all-time record of 1.85mn, beating the previous record of 1.4mn set in 1974, the year before civil war broke out. The term “tourists” requires some clarification: the vast majority of incoming visitors in 2009 were first or second generation Lebanese expatriates returning to their homeland or visitors from the Gulf, preferring the hospitality of Lebanon to the increasingly equivocal reception of another old favourite, the US. A full year without major conflict, and the accolades and recommendations came raining down, shunting Beirut out of nowhere to the top of travel guide to-do lists.

The Lebanese, for their part, remain wary of the future and weary of the past. Above all Beirut lives its golden age in the present.

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Thursday, August 26, 2010

U.S. State Department warns against travel to North Korea

© Copyright 2010 WireUpdate - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Advertising | About WireUpdate

Interesting how a country government or politics can set the country population against another country or population with a single click, with or without a reason?

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Macaulay Culkin turns 30

Fairuz - How often you should visit Lebanon

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

My new “childhood memories” blanket…

Pas mal hein? http://www.lemondedesucrette.com

via Le monde de Sucrette's blog by Sucrette on 8/18/10

Good morning to you all,

I’ve been planning lately in my head a new blanket with 7 yummi colors…

and turning and turning and turning the whole idea with many patterns on my mind etc…

and I was not doing anything about it because I have many projects still working on…

But now, that the romance shawl is done, I still have to finish my country flowers blanket which is 65% done:

and my zigzagy blanket (granny stripes blanket)

which is 65% done also :)

So, I promised myself to finish one of these two before I even think of beginning a new blanket which will be my “Childhood memories” blanket.

I know, I’m gonna finish the country flowers first, but I could not help myself trying 2 patterns with these beautiful colors.

Aren’t they lovely together?

The first pattern: It is a granny simple one with the 7 colors. The border will be with this red color I adore…and I’ll be mixing the colors differently in each square:

And this is the second pattern: Smaller flower squares. In each square I use 3 of the 7 colors and the white one. Here also the border will be in red.

I think I will make the final border for the whole blanket in white.

So, what do you think? which pattern do you prefer? the first one or the second?

I’m gonna think about it while I’m finishing my country flowers blanket which is becoming bigger and really really nice.

Have a lovely day!

Sucrette.


Filed under: Blankets, colors, crochet, granny squares

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Friday, August 20, 2010

Eres todo en mí

Lo eres todo!

Cada vez que veo tu fotografía
descubro algo nuevo
que antes no veía
y me hace sentir lo que nunca creí.
Siempre te he mirado indiferente,
eras tan solo un amigo
y de repente lo eres todo, todo para mí,
mi principio y mi fín.
Mi norte y mi guía, mi perdición,
mi acierto y mi suerte, mi equivocación,
eres mi muerte y mi resurrección,
eres mi aliento y mi agonía
de noche y de día,
te lo pido por favor,
que me des tu compañía
de noche y de día... lo eres todo.
Dame tu alegría, tu buen humor,
dame tu melancolía,
tu pena y dolor,
dame tu aroma, dame tu sabor
dame tu mundo interior,
dame tu sonrisa y tu calor,
dame la muerte y la vida,
tu frío y tu ardor,
dame tu calma, dame tu furor,
dame tu oculto rencor.

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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Are you inventing things to do to avoid the important?

Interesting website to set deadlines while working:

If doing work online or near an online computer, http://e.ggtimer.com/ is a
convenient countdown timer. Just type the desired time limit directly into the URL
field and hit enter. The http:// can often be omitted. For example:
http://e.ggtimer.com/30 (if you just put in a number, it assumes seconds)

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Internet Speed in Lebanon

This is the sad truth, but let's say that we Lebanese are not Internet People, we are more social people

via BritinBeirut by BritinBeirut on 8/17/10

I was just sent this via a friend in Korea:

 Korean Internet - Faster than Usain Bolt on speed...

After compressing it by a factor of 10, I’m showing it to you.

Yes, that’s download speeds of 61.18 MB/s (for 40 USD a month). 

I've got 512k at 50 USD a month... but it's OK, it doubles at night.

I’m crying into my coffee here.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Lebanon - A piece of sky

Very funny

This wouldn't happen on a Lebanon beach (Lebanon Beaches - Lebanon Vacations)

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Become a Micro-Blogging Professional with Twitter - Free Ebook

Free report to get you started and performing on Twitter, the number 1 micro-blogging platform, brought to you by Lebanon Packages

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Lebanon Dating and Relationships

According to a US Study, adults with internet access have more chances of having a love relationship than those that don't.
 
The study shows that more than 82% of adults with internet access at home end up married in comparison with 63% for adults that have no internet access at home.
 
In Lebanon, multiple international sites are used for dating, but sites specific to Lebanese are mostly Lebanon Hearts, Lebanese Match Maker, Lebanon singles (.com) and Rencontres Francophones (.net).
 
If you're single, coming to Lebanon and you want to have the best Lebanon Vacations where you can enjoy great Lebanon Packages and meet people from the opposite sex for dating or for a serious relationship, now you know where to go first.

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What happened to the best tourism season ever?

What happened to the best Lebanon Vacations season ever?

Lebanese hopes for tourism bounty dented
By Abigail Fielding-Smith 
Financial Times

Published: August 16 2010 17:41

This year’s tourist season in Lebanon has been even more hyped than most. Fadi Abboud, the tourism minister, predicted a 20 per cent increase on last year’s nearly 2m visitors, and pitched this summer as “probably the best in our history”.

True, hotel occupancy rates were up more than 20 per cent in the first six months of this year. Yet anecdotal evidence suggests the summer season – when the bulk of tourism revenue, which is an estimated 25 per cent of Lebanon’s gross domestic product, is generated – may prove disappointing.

Nizar Alouf, a board member of the Hotel Owners Association, says summer bookings have risen only 5-7 per cent, compared to the predicted 15 per cent.

“We have mixed signals, strong in the first half and feeble in the second,” says Elie Namoor from travel agency Rida International. “The number of rooms booked is almost the same [as last year], but this in itself is somehow disappointing as there are more additional incoming flights from Europe and from Arab countries.”

“So many things interfered,” says Mr Alouf. He cites the football World Cup, the fact that Ramadan falls mostly during August this year, and the political situation.

The rhetoric from both Israel and Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant group, has grown increasingly bellicose in recent months, and a deadly exchange of fire between Lebanese and Israeli soldiers at the border this month has raised fears.

Internal tensions have also increased as Hizbollah fears a United Nations tribunal may accuse it of assassinating Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister.

“Definitely everyone in the Arab world is listening to every single bit of speech by our politicians,” says Mr Alouf.

The border incident does not appear to have provoked mass cancellations, but all eyes are on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday after Ramadan when Lebanon hopes to recoup revenue from Arab tourists who stayed at home for the month of fasting. Bookings are said to be high but, says Ms Namoor, “it is highly likely that [the political situation] might trigger a negative effect”.

There are other checks on the promised boom that are unrelated to politics.

According to one hotel manager in Bhamdoun, a mountain resort, the main thing deterring visitors is the traffic. Lebanon’s roads are in critical need of development and are increasingly unable to cope with the summer influxes. “The journey from Bhamdoum to Jounieh [a coastal resort] should take 20 minutes, but it takes three hours,” the manager says.

Value for money is another issue. Jad Chaaban, president of the Lebanon Economic Association, says the country has pursued a niche tourism strategy, focused on attracting a relatively small number of visitors, mainly from the Gulf states, who are willing to pay high prices.

This does not mean, however, that they are insensitive to value. The costs of accommodation, food and transport in resort areas are high even for better-off visitors. For example, a standard double room for the Eid holiday in the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Beirut costs $350 a night, excluding taxes and breakfast.

The average Beirut hotel room rate has increased by nearly 16 per cent since last year, more than anywhere else in the region, says Byblos Bank.

“I hear people saying they regret coming here,” says the Bhamdoun hotel manager, whose guests are mainly from the Gulf. “The Lebanese people are trying to steal from them. If I were a Kuwaiti or from the UAE, I would go to Syria or Jordan.”

For Ms Namoor, price inflation partly explains the poor bookings for the second half of the year. “My impression is that the chain of supply readied itself for a record summer by increasing the costs, without perfecting the equation of quality to cost,” she says.

The number of non-Arab visitors is reported by the industry to be growing. However, to turn Beirut into a popular destination for European tourists would require the availability of cheap package deals; at present, these account for a tiny proportion of tourists. Mr Abboud says he is keen to develop such products, but there are significant impediments.

Jean Beyrouthy, head of the Federation of Touristic Syndicates, says that the political situation needs “four to five years to stabilise” before advance block-booking and charter flights become commercially viable, and there would have to be more investment in building hotels and resorts outside Beirut.

As the mixture of languages being spoken on Beirut streets indicate, 2010 is far from a disaster. But there is a sense of missed opportunities.

The sporadic outbursts of tension, congested roads and lack of a co-ordinated development strategy look set to continue. “We are losing things because of the lack of unified vision of where we want the country to go,” says Mr Chaaban.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Interesting Kola nuts

My hairdresser gave me 4 Kola Nuts lately.  Being unable to find anything particular about them from a taste point of view, I googled the term, and I found the following definition in Wikipedia:  Quite interesting

Kola Nut (Cola) is a genus of trees native to the tropical rain forest of Africa. It is related to the South American cocoa. It is an evergreen tree, growing up to 20 m tall (about 60 feet), with glossy ovoid leaves up to 30 cm long and star shaped fruit.

Uses

Cola acuminata

The kola nut has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a group setting. It is often used ceremonially, presented to tribal chiefs or presented to guests. It is preferred among African Muslims, who are forbidden to drink alcohol. Chewing kola nut can ease hunger pangs. Frequent chewing of the kola nut can also lead to stained teeth. Among the urban youth of West Africa, kola nut is becoming less popular.

Kola nuts are often used to treat whooping cough and asthma. The caffeine present acts as a bronchodilator, expanding the bronchial air passages.

Kola nuts are perhaps best known to Western culture as a flavouring ingredient and the source of caffeine in cola and other similarly flavoured beverages. The "Cola" in Coca Cola itself references the use of the Kola nut.

Pharmacological effects

Kola nuts are used mainly for their stimulant qualities. They were once commonly used in soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but have now been replaced with artificial ingredients. They have effects similar to other xanthine-containing plant products such as chocolate, tea, coffee, guarana and yerba mate. They have stimulant effects on the central nervous system and heart. Animal experiments indicate that kola nuts have analeptic and lipolytic (fat-burning) properties, and stimulate the secretion of gastric juices. Human studies show kola nuts have positive chronotropic and weak diuretic effects. In humans it enhances alertness and physical energy, elevates mood, increases tactile sensitivity and suppresses the appetite. Autonomic changes include increased body temperature, increased blood pressure and increased respiratory rate. Effects may last up to 6 hours after ingestion.In medicine the refined extract is used as a cardiac and central-nervous-system stimulant

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Friday, August 13, 2010

Voyage Liban

Lebanon Packages - The Lebanon Tourism Reference

Lebanon Packages and Vacations up and running for the best deals about Lebanon Hotels, Lebanon Tours, and all you need for your travel to Lebanon, all combined within an easy package.

Need to reserve a flight or a hotel in Lebanon, these can be already included in one of the available Lebanon Packages, or you can custom create all your trip from the flight, to the hotel reservation, to the activities, transportation, food, etc.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Kids who think outside the box!

It’s twilight, soccer season, my older son,
my eight year old is on the field, and he’s the
goalie. It’s a practice game in the evening.
The score is tied. The field is well lit, almost
glowing, against the chilly November sky. This
is what it is all about. I’m a soccer mom; he’s
a soccer kid. Oh my gosh . . . the ball is coming
to him. I’m so glad I pushed him to all
those practices. I know it wasn’t easy for him,
he wasn’t that athletic, but I thought no pain,
no gain.

“Morgen, you can do it honey, look alive,
the ball is coming right to you,” I yelled in a
voice filled with support and hope for both
him and me. Whew! He’s in position, ready
to get that ball. “What’s going on,” I thought
to myself. He’s looking at the sky, not the ball.
Maybe at eight years old he has his own strategy.
“Morgen, look at the ball . . . look at the
ball . . . look at the ball.” I yelled as I clapped
my hands, cheering him on. The ball was moving
down the field, right toward my son the
goalie. Morgen again looked up to the sky and
not at the ball. Maybe at the age of eight he was
spiritual and was praying to God for a win.
With one last kick from the other team, the ball
was coming directly at him. “Easy recovery,” I
thought to myself. Then to my horror, while
my eight year old was engrossed in something
celestial, the ball went right through his legs
and the other side had scored a goal.
“What were you doing?” I yelled from the
sidelines. With a gleam in his eye, he turned
and looked at me as he pointed to the sky.
“Look Mom, I think I spotted a double star.” I
wanted to cry. Not because we lost the game
and not because he missed the goal. I wanted
to cry because I was trying to make my
wonderful, bright, scientific child something
he was not and never could be. Now it was
time for him to feel good about what he was
about. From that day on, we didn’t look back;
we located programs and activities that utilized
the intellect, insights, talents, and wisdom.
We didn’t stop at go, didn’t push him to
be something he was not, and once we knew
we had a “kid who thought outside the box,”
our family hit the ground running.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Traveling to Lebanon - Ecotourism

Traveling to Lebanon: Don't miss La Reserve, Afqa

CONCEPT. La Réserve, the premier ecotourism resort in the mountains of Lebanon, offers all nature-lovers and adventure-seekers the opportunity to live thrilling moments, performing unique outdoors activities and sports, in a green and friendly environment.

LOCATION. Located at Mnaitra, at the heights of the caza of Jbeil, the resort spreads over millions of sqm, full of apple and cherries trees gardens and ever-green juniper, pine and oak trees. The surroundings nestle archeological remains, fabulous grottos, numerous valleys and plateaus with breathtaking sceneries, and natural water springs.

Lebanon SUMMER CAMPS. Every summer since 1998, boys and girls of 6 till 15 years old, meet at La Réserve and join all together in a harmonious team to spend unforgettable summer vacations. During each session of 12 days, kids and teenagers perform, in teams and individually, unique creative activities and sports aimed at stimulating their minds and bodies.

Lebanon Hiking programs are available at La Réserve for beginners and experienced hikers aged 12 till 65 years old. A welcoming Nature, pure fresh air, and zero pollution!

Lebanon ROPES COURSE. The Ropes course is a series of 'bridges' constructed of treated wooden poles, stainless steel cables, and ropes. They are desi-gned to be fun, but also are one of our newest and most useful tools in outdoors experimental education. They are set in beautiful woods overlooking the Adonis Valley.

Lebanon CAMPING. Feeling the need for a night or two in the wilderness? La Réserve's camping site wel-comes you from May till October. Every tent is equipped with four beds, mattresses, pillows and lighting. W.C.'s and showers are individual prefabricated units.

www.travel.lebanonchoices.com

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Que viva España!



Ya son campeónes! Y lo merecen.

Puesto a parte el hecho que jugaron mejor que los demas, y que buscaron la victoria en todos sus encuentros, hay que decir que la victoria les queda mejor que a los demas, mucho mejor:

1- Porque son humildes
2- Porque se echan adelante para buscar cualquier ocasion y cualquier posibilidad
3- Porque saben celebrar y saben vivir la felicidad

Así que felicidades para el futbol Español, y para adelante en el futuro!

Appetite Suppression or Regulation Tricks

I've came across an interesting article about appetite suppression. Actually it goes with my view of eating healthy and well being, that's why I am reproducing its basic ideas here.

As a matter of fact, one doesn't need to suppress his or her appetite in the first place, all one has to to is to increase his or her metabolism: the rate at which the body uses food for fuel. Then being hungry is a good thing... as long as one is eating the right foods at the right time.

But let's say you want to curb your appetite at night.... that's the time most people
really lose it on a dietplan. Even on a plan that ASKS you to eat frequently, there are times where night-time cravings need to be put to sleep.

So use these tips to ease the urge to eat at night:

1. Protein First: "Rise and shine with protein." But what does this have to do with night-time cravings?

Everything.

Set the body up to use your own fat-stores for fuel by eating protein in the morning and your appetite FOR fatty foods goes way down during the day and the night. Protein is "thermogenic", meaning it helps increase your metabolism. It also acts as a natural appetite regulator.

Notice I said "regulator" and not "suppressant." That's because you only need to regulate your appetite, no matter how much bodyfat you desire to drop.

Cool, right?

2. Go For The Grapefruit

In a study at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, people who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds in three months. That doesn't sound like a lot (and it isn't) but that's ALL they changed.

It doesn't matter for our purposes... we want to lower insulin at night. Why? Insulin is not only dangerous for your health in excess but it also can cause a LOT of fat storage if secreted too much at night. Enter the lowly grapefruit.

A great snack, especially if you have a few bites of lean protein with it.

3. Smell This! This is a trick I didn't know about until recently.

Smelling food can trick your brain into thinking you've eaten.

A recent study found that those who inhaled peppermint in scent form every 2 hours at (get this) 2700 calories LESS per week than they normally did.

Let me put that in perspective: That's a fat loss of more than half a pound a week...
from sniffing peppermint! Vanilla also works. You can keep vanilla-scented drops or even candles around the office and take a wiff every few hours.

How easy is that?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Professional Children Audio Books with parents voice!

Lately, I have come across a website that is promoting a method for parents to read and record audio books for their own children. The concept is nice, even though in my opinion, it would be much richer and entertaining if these kids audio books recorded by some parents can be made available and shared with others. Maybe, contributing parents can have free access to titles, and others would have to pay some small charge for downloading the children audio books.

Read more at Children Audio books Club

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Anybody looking for work?

Even though usually I advise people not to get employed, to try to be creative and get themselves to generate some income by directly creating value themselves, and not by creating value to someone, some people still want to get employed, and still prefer to go the hard way in life. They don't respond positively to wise advice. For these, I have come across the following book that may give them some edge in their cover letters and job interviews.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Cinema Théatre Vendôme



Quand j'avais 7 ou 8 ans, là où on attendait l'autocar, sur un des murs d'une vieille batisse qu'on appelait Station Abou Arbid, il y avait chaque semaine une nouvelle affiche, l'affiche d'un nouveau film qu courait sur les écrans de Cinéma Vendôme. En ce temps, je ne savais peut-être pas ce que c'était un cinéma, ou je le savais? Un des copains qui attendait l'autocar avec moi essayait à chaque fois de décoller l'affiche sans la déchirer, parce qu'il faisait une collection d'affiches. Je me rappelle aussi le titre d'un film "Le Coup de Parapluie" de Pierre Richard, parce que ce type était particulièrement excité le jour où on avait collé cette affiche, sous prétexte qu'il s'appelait Richard, et que son frère s'appelait Pierre.

Plus tard, du temps de mon adolescence, cinéma Vendôme perdit un peu de sa superbe, surtout avec l'avènement des cinémas Empire qui monopolisaient peu à peu l'industrie dans tout le pays. Néanmoins de temps en temps, on allait cinéma Vendôme. Certes on ne prenait pas autant de plaisir que dans les salles Empire plus modernes, mais les salles n'étaient pas mauvaises après tout, et on pouvait voir l'écran sans gêne de la tête du spectateur devant nous. Puis encore et surtout, on référençait l'escalier Geara par l'escalier au milieu duquel il y a l'entrée d'un ciné.

Plus tard encore, peut-être un an ou deux auparavant, comme je travaillais quelque part dans la région, je passais parfois devant ciné Vendôme qui n'était plus qu'une vielle batisse sans aucune entrée, pour monter l'escalier Geara et aboutir de Nahr à Geitawi. Je ne manquais pas à chaque fois de regarder l'entrée condamnée par des blocs de bois ou de béton, et je me demandais si cette entrée rouvrirait un jour?

Aujourd'hui, en passant par la rue Nahr, et comme je voulais monter l'escalier Geara, je cherchais la demeure du ciné pour localiser l'escalier, et je ne le trouvais pas. Le panneau où on colle les affiches est toujours là, mais à côté, un chantier commence à se creuser. Un centre commercial ou un immeuble résidentiel se prépare rue du fleuve, et une autre page de la région et des habitants de la région se tourne. Dans l'espoir que ce soit une belle page, on peut voir dans la photo ci-jointe, les ruines de Ciné Vendôme.

Semsom - Lebanese Cuisine with a twist?



We finally went to Semsom at City Mall. Ever since it opened, we wanted to go, and it happened this Sunday.

The concept is quite original. It's strange to see the colored hommos, and the other varieties, and since our first thought is that it is a Lebanese Restaurant in the end, we have the impulse to make our orders in the old fashioned way. This is what should be avoided. The Semsom restaurant concept according to me is a kind of occidental way of presenting Lebanese cuisine, with the option to go the old way.

Each plate order comes with an option of 3 small mezzas, which come in the same plate, and make the table less chaotic than other Lebanese restaurant tables, and lets each person eat the mezza he or she likes the most without over eating. This is why I said above ordering the traditional way would be a mistake.

The food we ordered was good, except the cheese rolls (r'a'at el jibneh). The service was very good also, and each 10 minutes by the end of our lunch, we had someone of the uniform persons in the restaurant come and ask us if we were satisfied with everything. Usually this happens only once (if ever) in other places, and the manager does it, so we wondered if there were many managers?

The only thing we missed were the dessert, because we were so full we couldn't eat anymore. Even the kids enjoyed the meal, and stayed long part of the meal on their chairs, which is rare.

Overall, it was a good experience, and the restaurant location inside Citymall is a location of choice, overlooking the sea.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Les enfants vont faire dodo...




Les filles essaient de dormir... C'est le moment des batailles, des cris et de l'exercice du pouvoir, ainsi que de l'abus du pouvoir, comme cela finit par être tous les jours.

Comme chaque soir avant de dormir, et une fois au lit, les filles trouvent toutes les excuses du monde pour jouer, bavarder, se chamailler, se jeter les doudous, et j'en passe. La maman ayant présenté sa démission depuis quelque jours, c'est le papa qui se charge dorénavent du dodo.

La première nuit, depuis deux jours, le papa a pris le pouvoir par coup de règle. Paff, un seul coup, et le silence a reigné. Le papa n'a plus eu qu'à s'asseoir sur la chaise, et à lire son courrier sur son ordinateur portable. Hier, un autre coup de règle beaucoup moins fort que le premier et le silence a reigné. Aujourd'hui, les choses semblent plus simples, pas de coups de règle, seulement quelques shhhhhhhh... Espérons que ça passe.

C'est bizarre ce côté oriental et impatient chez nous, qui nous donne tous les droits pour utiliser tantôt la règle, tantot le sabot, tantot la main tout court, tantot les cheveux, et on assume cette sauvagerie qui nous fait taper nos enfants sans aucune vergogne, et sans aucun état d'ame, alors que tous les manuels de l'éducation, tous les principes interdisent cette pratique du moyen-age. Et on s'en vante.

Mais c'est bizarre aussi ces enfants qui n'écoutent personne et rien, qui ne comprennent que la menace de la force, et qui tiennent tête jusqu'au bout. Est-ce que c'est nous qui les avons menés jusque là, est-ce que c'est leur caractère d'origine, est-ce la fréquentation de gens mal éduqués ou est-ce leur école qui n'est pas en train de leur instiguer les principes d'obéissance, ou encore les grands-parents qui gatent?

Bon voila, les ronflements se font entendre. Je peux m'éclipser tranquillement.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

How to lose fat: Two foods to avoid



One of the main problems with nutrition nowadays is that every person gives you a different insight about what should and what should not be eaten, about what is good for your health and what is not. It is a problem because rare are the people who really know what they are talking about, including doctors, and the problem of some people that don’t know is that they do not shut up and leave their ignorance for them, but they communicate it to others.

Some people even generalize and distribute their ignorance in the form of diet books, that become widespread and that a lot of people begin to follow blindly, only to discover later that all their efforts to lose weight or fat were in vain because they didn’t understand some rules.

Among these rules is one of utmost importance because it is among the most ignored ones. It is about 2 kinds of unsuspected foods that are to be reduced or deleted from your diet. These are 2 items that most people have always considered as healthy. These are the following:

- Wheat products: By wheat product, I mean all wheat, including all kinds of breads, complete or whole or brown, cereals, pasta and so on. In addition to the fact that a large number of people has some degree of intolerance to gluten, sometimes without suspecting it, the human body in general was never meant to eat large quantities of wheat, and never adapted to that as well.
Until 100 years ago, the wheat in bread and products didn’t constitute a major part of the human diet. This consisted more in meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

- Fruit Juices: Even though fruits in themselves are very good and very healthy for the body, when the juice is separated from the rest of the fruit, the fiber and other beneficial components of the fruit are left and not absorbed, which makes the fruit juice at best a high calorie sugary mixture.
Moreover, drinking the fruit juice alone doesn’t satisfy your appetite needs, and you are left with the same hunger feeling you were feeling before drinking, craving more carbohydrates, whereas the whole fruit slows down the blood sugar response.

From the above, two points are to be retained, especially for people looking to lose weight or fat and feel better:

- Stop or reduce wheat from your diet. Try it to begin for 2 or 3 weeks, and notice how you will feel better and lose weight. If you feel you cannot resist your carbohydrates cravings, realize that it is only in your head, and that this need is more psychological than physical. Soon without even realizing this need will disappear by itself, if you persist. In addition to feeling better, you will start losing body fat much faster, and you will get rid of migraines and other indigestion related ailments that has plagued you for so long

- Stop or reduce drinking fruit juices. These make you fat. Instead eat the whole fruit and take benefit from the full fiber and energy boost that these give you

Living healthy is not a theory, it is a practice. Unfortunately, we are not educated enough, we have been misinformed, and we have been taken into a vicious circle of bad habits, either by our parents or by the society around. Still, if we engage in learning about the truth of the matter, we can get back to the right track. This is not an easy task, but believing is achieving.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

They buy our kids for life for 10 cents



I was sitting there working when suddenly I felt like a Big Burger with a lot of fries from one of the fast food chains around. While talking to my wife, I told her about my craving, and she told me that she felt exactly the same. Having been both of us following some good eating practices lately, the fact that we both felt like eating that crap struck me.

The images of the fast food chain setting full of colors, with big pictures of Burger and fries, and the soda counters where you can fill all you can drink are so appealing. But being health wary, and knowing about all the unhealthy stuff that is wrapped in their meals, we cannot but ask ourselves where does that appeal come from? Why is it that we feel the need to indulge in eating that zero benefit, all fat meal that has disastrous effects both on our health, body and morale?

While thinking about that, I came across the fact that children adore these fast food chains. Everything is done there to attract families, and children ask to go there, both because there are playgrounds where they can play all they want, because they get their meal in nice flashy boxes, and because they get that extra toy with every meal. They even become collectors of these cheap 10 cents items, and sometimes just for the sake of getting that extra item that is missing in their collection, they make the whole family go to a fast food chain.

Parents want their kids to be happy and entertained. Their choices are dictated by those of their children. The children choices are in turn dictated by their attraction towards places where there are playgrounds, and where they give them extra stuff, even if that stuff only costs 10 cents for the piece, even if these same places sell crap for 10 dollars a piece, and most importantly even if they load you with fat and long term health problems and diseases.

So, the answer is there. No wonder if we crave these fast food chains as adults. We have grown up as children with pleasurable feelings towards these places. No wonder that we like these salty fries, we have come to accept them as the standard of good fries from our young age.

With this in mind, our reaction today should be not only to fight the craving feelings we have towards eating a big burger accompanied with crispy fries, it should be to instill in our children some good sense about eating good stuff and not eating bad stuff. We should from now on educate our kids to know what is good for them and what is not. We shouldn't allow these fast food chains to buy our children with 10 cents for their life to come, like they bought us years ago.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Citizen Protection Rights: Trash

At the old days of school, some students used to throw things in the playing field, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Teachers used to ask us then "At home, do you throw tissues on the floor after using them?" and we used to answer that of course not, but at that young age of ours (seven or eight years), we used not to perceive the full meaning of throwing things around, especially that there were janitors. Sometimes, students who were seen throwing matters were punished by being assigned to clean the whole playing ground, some other times, students were asked to volunteer to clean the playing ground. I don't know if that had any effect on me, and I don't even remember if I have followed this rule everywhere, at all times in my life.

Still, nowadays when I see people throwing trash out of their cars, or in the street, or I see long alleys by the sea full of trash, I cannot but ask myself why is it so impulsive for people to throw their stuff on the road. Is it because they don't want to go through the pain of collecting the trash in a bag and throwing it later where it should, or because of lack of education or because of lack of knowledge? Whatever the answer, and since every human action can always be reduced to one of the two governing emotions of Pain and Pleasure or to a mix of both, it should necessarily be that people throw their trash on the street because they feel more pleasure doing it than collecting their trash for later disposal, and more pain in holding that impulse. Maybe they feel proud about it?



Anyhow, and things being what they are, these untidy people are affecting a whole country, so in my opinion, the only solution to this issue is to enforce the pain related to throwing trash in the street in these people and also the pleasure related to not doing it. This can be executed in the following way: Whenever someone is seen throwing garbage in the street, he should be convicted, he should be made to pay some penalty and in the same time to execute some cleaning task. Very easy to track, easy to execute, and easy to set as an example, especially that people that are throwing all their trash on us are not hiding to do it. They are doing it proudly in public places, and the worst thing is that they do it in places they go to themselves. So it's only logical that they do the cleaning themselves.

This is part of what the citizen protection rights should consist of!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Lundi, bof!

Et voila, ça redémarre... Lundi passé, la machine se remet en marche. C'est bizarre combien le lundi est tout négatif de connotations, de pensées, et combien on se sent déjà mieux le lundi soir, en buvant le café au lait dans le bain :) Sérieusement, on se sent déjà mieux tout court.



Le dimanche après-midi, soudain, on se sent toute chose. C'est comme si on prévoit les 24 mauvaises heures à venir. Mardi, c'est autre chose, c'est le boom de nouveau. Autant que je puisse revenir en arrière en mémoire, je ne me souviens d'aucun lundi qui ait été agréable. Bon, enfin, je généralise un peu, mais c'est juste pour dire que la connotation négative du lundi est ancrée dans nos têtes.

Et ce qui est le plus étrange, c'est que objectivement, lundi est un jour comme un autre. Est-ce que ce sens négatif qu'on lui donne revient du temps de l'école? Est-ce que ça nous rappelle la peine de se lever le matin dans le froid, pour prendre l'autocar alors qu'il ne fait pas encore jour?

Bon, dans tous les cas, il faut trouver un moyen pour changer cela, et je crois que le meilleur moyen serait de prendre congé tous les lundis!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Mmmmh délicieux, à répéter sans modération!

Ce matin, j'ai eu envie d'un plat de "foul mudammas" de chez Foul Iyyem Zamen.

Plus tard, tout en me gavant sur mon bureau, je priais pour que personne ne vienne me rendre visite, et que personne ne m'interrompe, parce que j'avais fait un étalage devant moi de menthe, d'oignons, de tomates, etc.



Avec chaque bouchée, délicieuse comme tout, je songeais à l'importance de ce plat du point de vue nutritionnel, surtout s'il est mangé (j'ai bien dit mangé, pas dévoré) de bon matin. Il faut dire qu'il contient tout, et l'ail qui est inclus dans le mélange, avec les oignons, les olives, les tomates et la menthe qui accompagnent, tout de bonnes choses autant sur le plan gustatif que sur le plan anti-inflammatoire.

Je vous conseille vivement ce plat délicieux, même si vous ne devez rien manger de toute la journée, car ce plat seul suffit à vous faire le plein, et vous pouvez être sur qu'en même temps, vous ne manquez d'aucun élément nutritionnel.