Home of The Weekly Leaks, The Blacklist and FASHAL
There I was worrying about the Lebanese government screwing up the internet… Now, the US government is doing it. I won’t bother writing anything, just take 4 minutes of your time and watch, and be horrified.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
After the horrifying Ashrafieh building collapse tragedy and the laughable reactions of the government and authorities, mass hysteria about other buildings and infrastructure not fit for use and habitation have surfaced. Broadcasts, tweets and statuses warning people to avoid the infamous Jal El Dib bridge, which was built back in the 80s and was expected to be in place for 3 to 5 years, is in its third decade. A less “in-your-face” hazard is the Charles Helou bridge-parking-bus stop. Blog Baladi and Kataeb.org have already touched upon this subject, and I’ve borrowed photos and some information from them for this post, so thanks guys!
I risked my life to take these photos for you guys! I also got my sweater dirty thanks to the leaks from the GAPING holes in the bridge. It’s really fascinating how it didn’t fall down yet. This has been a problem for years, and it should’ve been dismantled this month, but according to my friend Najib from Blog Baladi, political disputes have retarded the plans.
Was closed last weekend. I was hoping they’d be paving the road… Apparently, they were keeping it up with wooden boards. Hurray! -_- (note: I was being sarcastic =P the boards hold up the concrete they added to the cracks and holes, after all, those tiny metal bars and wooden boards won’t hole the tens of thousands of cars that pass there everyday)
So, here are some roads to avoid these bridges (and traffic too). I admit, I wasn’t posting this for the past two years cause I wanted some of them all to myself. Yes, greedy I know. But, I wouldn’t want any of you guys to fall to their deaths so, here you go!
Take the exit on the right instead of going straight near the MTCtouch building. You will go on the road that leads to the Beirut Port entrance and eventually BIEL.
U-turn off the Forum de Beyrouth, go on the Pierre Gemayel road, then at the cross-roads near Art Lounge, go on Armenia Street which is the one that leads to Gemmayzeh eventually. This will probably be less crowded than the Port area. I use it often
The small, one-way road is not very well-known, so it can be useful while avoiding monster traffic and crumbling bridges.
It’s not the inner road we all know, but the one above it. Much less crowded, I use it more than the highway and main inner one.
I liked this movie. It’s different. It’s a movie about a disgraced journalist in Sweden which ends up moving out of the city into a rural town, aiding an aging businessman in finding out whatever happened to his niece who disappeared 40 years ago.
In Stockholm, a brilliant young hacker with a disturbed past and an unorthodox look and behavior struggles to make a living off the state’s welfare system. Eventually, she (Lisbeth) finds herself helping the journalist (Mikael), whom she had investigated previously, in finding the truth about Heriot (the missing girl).
Soon enough, a pattern of killing women emerges and the rural island where they’re investigating the disappearance of Herriot proves to be quite a complex mini-society of mostly psychotic relatives.
The twists and turns and sometimes graphic images make the movie awesome. There are instances in the movie where you’re gonna be like “fuck this shit” but then, another scene makes you go “hell yeah!”. Also, the movie’s makers are trolls. They drop obvious hints, making you feel like you’ve got it all figured it out, then the story takes a twist out of the blue which I found quite entertaining.
All in all, it’s a nice movie which is different. It combines several types of movies, with some cool action scenes, awesome mystery-solving plot and an ending to make the movie stand-out from the cliches we’re used to. So, I recommend you watch it, but, the length of it might make getting it on pirated DVD and watching it at home all the more appealing.
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
My Rating: 8/10
I loved this movie. It’s in French, I know, blekh… But, if you know just a little bit of French, combined with the English subtitles will eventually make you not sure if you were reading the English or magically understanding the French.
It’s a funny movie with plenty of witty jokes and some slapstick action. It’s also very touching and moving, but in a nice way. I’ll leave you to Hady’s review below. And by the way, Hady might’ve been a tad bit more moved than I was =P
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
My Rating: 8/10
A few months ago, Intouchables was released in France. It slowly became a nation-wide sensation, and broke all French box office records.
Intouchables was released on January 5th, and I obviously decided to head down to the movies to see what all the fuss was about….
Intouhables is the touching and hilarious true story of two worlds that meet. Philippe, a rich paraplegic aristocrat hires Driss, a young man from an impoverished urban suburb, to care for him, to everyone’s surprise. Driss is certainly not the most qualified candidate, but Philippe appreciates his lack of compassion and pity towards him, which almost makes him feel normal again. On the other hand, Driss appreciates his newfound lifestyle: taking showers in big golden bathtubs, driving Philippe in a Maserati, and flirting with the enigmatic secretary. However Driss’s past slowly surfaces, menacing both men’s friendship.
Directors Nakache and Toledano deliver a feel-good movie, where Omar Sy (Driss) &François Cluzet (Philippe) both excel in making us lauch, cry, and even cry of laughter at certain times! The buildup is phenomenal and the film gradually become funnier, till the final scene (which is most likely sponsored by Kleenex) where you’ll probably shed a tear or two! Keeping in mind that Cluzet only uses his face to express himself, he does a remarkable job conveying all his feelings and emotions, and Omar magnificently emits a wonderful “joie de vivre” which transcends right from the screen right into our hearts.
I strongly encourage all people (even if they don’t understand French) to watch it. I saw it twice in 4 days, and I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD and add it to my personal collection! I guarantee that this movie will shake you to the core, and you’ll leave the theater with a HUGE smile on your face.
