B L O G G I N G
With the current situation in the country (Lebanon), the circuit of rumors is going at full speed. Now for those living in Beirut, or who’ve lived here, they know that the Lebanese are good at this. The spreading of stories. Some may be true, but sometimes you hear stuff that is so outrageously strange, you just wonder whether the one who invented this is quite alright. A cosmopolitan city with a village mentality.
When mobile phones were introduced to the Lebanese, this circuit doubled itself in growth and in speed. Lebanese talk all day long! I know this from Walid. He’ll talk to his Mom for over an hour about the political situation of that day. If, in twenty years or so, the number of Alzheimer cases in this country doubles, we know it is true: Mobile phones fry your brains.
And now that everyone has figured out how the internet works, they have added a new dimension; blogging. Now you van talk, and just about everyone in the world can read you! And what do they talk about? Politics, what else. No people in the world that seem to be more interested – and aware – in what is going on behind the walls of the political institutions. What is decided officially, and un-officially. Now I agree that the situation here has been quite interesting lately, and since every Lebanese is a political analyst, a lot of them have started blogging about the political situation. How to interpret this politician’s handshake with that politician. Why is Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah) saying what he is saying? Why are they bombing the Christian areas?
Whatever happens, it is being analyzed into the smallest details. Some of these blogs are actually quite interesting. If you’re interested in the Lebanese politics, (and that of the ME), here are a few good ones:
http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com (excellent)
http://beirutspring.blogspot.com/
http://www.blissstreetjournal.com/
http://lebop.blogspot.com/
http://lebaneseblogger.blogspot.com/
As you can see, everyone is blogging, even Sietske. And I am in good company. Check this one out: http://billclintondailydiary.blogspot.com. (I am still not sure whether this one is for real or just a hoax. Can’t be a hoax, though. I doubt the real Bill Clinton would allow that).
B O U L I B O U F T O U S
I’ve got a little nephew here; Obi, and he’s got one thing on his mind. Food. Now he is still in his growth years, so he’s quite all right, but he eats as if his life depends upon it. We call him now and then ‘boulibouftous’. Bouli comes from bulimia, en bouftous comes from French, meaning ‘eating everything’ (bouffer tous’). The little cousin speaks French.
Now Hana a well-earned eating reputation. She is therefore called boulibouftous but with a different spelling; boulibouftwo (# 2), of boulibouftoo (as in also).
Yesterday she wanted an apple. So I peel an apple, cuts it into little parts, put it on a plate and give her the plate. Five minutes later, she comes with another apple. I figure she lost the first one, or dropped it somewhere, so I look around, but no, it seems she ate the whole plate of apple. Because she already had one apple, I figure I give her a pear. So I get a pear, peel it, cut it into little parts and give it to her. No mind you, she’s been watching me doing this. When I hand her the plate, she says: “No. Apple.” And she hands me the plate back. Reminds me of parking in Lebanon. They watch you park, forward, backward, forward again, backward again. You are finally parked. Get out of the car, lock the door, and then they come to you; “You cannot park here.”
And this morning she didn’t want breakfast. No cornflakes. No sandwich. No pancakes. Five minutes later I see her carrying the box with chocolate cake to her father. She knows he won’t say no. How will I keep this girl slender without turning her in an anorexic?
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