There are a handful on Lebanese people I consider heroes. Charles Malik is one of them, but more recently, Gebran Tueni and Joumana Haddad take the top spot in my heart. Both of them published countless articles in Annahar, and Joumana continues do so today. So, as you can imagine, it was an immense honor getting my name published in the same newspaper as them. Here’s an excerpt of my humble opinion piece printed yesterday, May 16, 2013, in Annahar Shabab

لا ترضوا بالجزرة حين تدفعون ثمن الكافيار

حين أنظر حولي وأقرأ اللافتات المعلقة فوق شوارعنا، وأسمع مقدمات نشرات الأخبار، وأصغي إلى خطابات السياسيين، وأقرأ عناوين الصحف، أسأل لماذا “نتلهى” بتلك الأمور وننسى ما هو أهم؟

إذا أخذنا عينة من كل ما ذكرته، من المحتم أن يكون من بين الموضوعات “سلاح المقاومة”، “التدخل في الشأن السوري”، “المحكمة الدولية”، “مؤامرة إسرائيلية أميركية” وغيرها من العناوين التي نسمعها دائماً. لكن، لنأخذ خطوة إلى الوراء ونتعمق قليلاً بهذه الموضوعات الكبيرة والبعيدة والغامضة. هل يتأثر احد منا بأي من هذه القضايا مباشرةً؟ كل هذه الموضوعات مهمة، ولكن في رأيي المتواضع، ثمة موضوعات أهم. أولها حاجاتنا اليومية من كهرباء ومياه وإتصالات ومواصلات وبنزين وطبابة وانترنت وقانون وقضاء وحقوق ومواقف للسيارات ومياه ساخنة، وحماية البيئة، وغيرها من الأولويات الناقصة.

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I love the idea. It’s something you rarely see when doing business in Lebanon: revenue forecasts, share prices, expected cost, etc. And usually, shares are between friends and existing colleagues, rarely offered to the public in such an accessible manner: Facebook.

I think it’s a really professional spin for a medium-sized business in Beirut trying to raise money without being indebted to a bank, while at the same time guaranteeing their investors either fun times, or a return on their investments depending on what they pledge. It’s sort of like indiegogo, kickstarter, or presella even, where guaranteeing enough rides beforehand and pre-booking will make it possible to hold the event/produce the product/expand a business, plus good-old fashioned investments where you make money in the long run off of helping a company kick off.

If you’re into ATVs, check it out here. Would love to see this model succeed, it’d set a precedent for so many projects that get hung up on fairly small amounts of capital that are hard to come by sometimes, even with a good and sustainable business plan.

I love music. I especially love electronic music. In fact, I’d go as far as saying I only love electronic music. Some songs, they stick. Others, they’re interchangeable melanges of beautiful sounds that come together on the 1s and 2s or laptops live at a club. Some tracks though, stay with you. It’s hard to shake them off and we all have a handful which we can listen to always and probably forever.

In the past few years, one track has particularly stuck with me and its remixes even more so. Usually, tracks I worship don’t mix well with other folks. These 3 though, have made believers out of the biggest deniers of the magic of electronic music. That’s why, I’m sharing them with you all, in hopes they’ll be soundtracks to parts of your lives, for better or for worse.

Paradise Circus – Original Track

Not exactly electronic, but the vocals and experimental sounds make it a solid backbone for some remixing magic by Boratto and Zeds Dead

download link

Paradise Circus (Zeds Dead Remix)

I love Zeds Dead. They are, in my humble opinion, the best remixers I know of. They take a song, and elevate it to a different level, while keeping the original charm of it there, only better, more evolved, more complex and goosebump-inducing.

download link

Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix)

I adore Gui Boratto. His remix of his own track, A Beautiful Life, is my all-time favorite. That song has been with me for years and if I press play, everything else pauses till it’s done. So, imagine my extreme ecstasy when I found out he reworked Paradise Circus. Just, wow.

download link

I leaked Virgin Radio Lebanon long before anyone had even heard of the plans. Many of you have gotten in touch to see if they’re hiring and I was happy that so many readers of this blog got a chance to be part of this new radio station.

As luck and chance would have it, I met the Virgin Radio Lebanon chief on the plane back from Dubai two months ago, and I was expecting to get scolded for leaking stuff they wanted to keep under wraps. But, luckily for me, I didn’t get the Lebanese mentality reaction and instead, he understood that the leak sort of helped Virgin Radio Lebanon and he topped it off with “How would you like to meet Sir Richard Branson when he comes to Beirut?” and I was like… “Uuuuum, YES PLEASE!”

So, the date’s been set and I’ll be on the round table that will get to meet, greet and ask the entrepreneurial icon and international magnate some questions. I want to prepare a few questions, and I have some ready now. But, I would love to hear what you guys and gals would like me to ask, especially those of you in the business and marketing world who I’m sure regard Branson as an idol and role model for success in the business world.

So please, just put your question as a comment, or email me on Gino@ginosblog.com and I’ll be more than happy to ask! However, please do so within these two days as we are pressed on time.

Taken by Elie Chalfoun in Batroun

No credits mentioned for the photographer’s own safety. Funny/sad photo there… It should be a satirical sign, one that pokes fun at “women’s demands” which men complain about. In reality, it’s where women are allowed to stand in line, separately from the men. One of the many reasons I will never go to Saudi…

Gino’s Blog won best personal blog at the 2013 Social Media Awards on Monday night.

I’d like to take a moment to thank every single person who took the time to vote for me, and I’d like to thank the judges who put their faith in this blog and its mission.

I am extremely sad I did not get to attend, but it’s not all bad news. I am currently writing this from San Francisco, where I have been tagging along with Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui in a tour of the major tech companies in Silicon Valley in hopes of attracting their business and investments to Beirut and the Beirut Digital District.

The biggest thanks goes to the Online Collaborative, who began what I hope will be an annual tradition in Beirut. Ya3tikon el 3afyeh guys and thanks a lot.

I promise there are really good things coming very soon. I’ll be back home in a few days and I’ll tell you all about it.

Watch the video above before continuing to read, and laugh a little at my awesome dance moves.

So, y’all know me, I don’t really drink much and if I do, it’s like half an Alamaza or some chick-drink cocktail that tastes like chocolate and vanilla. However, you guys also know I sometimes go to, “unorthodox” lengths to try to get in somewhere or into something.

I was in Uruguay Street the other weekend because I got tipped off that something cool was happening and there was gonna be a group filming it. I thought it was just another boring corporate event I get all those emails with only “Dear” in the title. But, when I got there, I saw Nissan cars with sirens on top and realized it’s cool, and that I didn’t just want the scoop on it, but be part of it. So, like the hoards of men taking photos of the hot police officers, I blended in and saw what was happening. They were rounding up really wasted folks and giving them hilarious sobriety tests and those that failed, were “arrested” and taken home in a Nissan and their own cars driven home by someone sober. One of the “suspects” was so wasted he vomited (not shown in the video for the squeamish I guess).

One dude danced PSY’s Gangnam Style, I twirled around like a ballerina with my hands on my head spelling my full name backwards and we even got mug shots. Of course, I wasn’t drunk, and in hindsight, my lie sort of sucked since 5 beers and 3 cocktails is a lot for anyone. Regardless, I got to do the tests and Officer Tara caught on to me (my desire to shine in dance and spelling my name backwards outweighed my poor acting skills).

So, as I was being shooed away, I asked, since I am not drunk, if I could drive the Juke and test it out, you know, maybe plug in my phone in the auxiliary… After making me wait while more folks were rounded up and tested, I got the OK and at around 3:00AM got to drive the Juke around and get the hangover kit they were distributing. Being completely sober, I later headed to PC and then Max Cooper that night, happy I got to test the car out just a week before another test drive I’ll be talking about soon!

Best part is, that was the first time they were doing this, but not the last. All throughout March, you can get in contact with them and report your friends. I’m definitely going to do it to one of you drunkies in Hamra’s alleyway or Mar Mikhael. I think it’s a nice activation that actually serves some purpose. Driving in Lebanon is already super dangerous, mix that with alcohol and a bad temperament and you get one of the highest killers of Lebanese young folks per year.

Go to their page, prank your friends, have a couple of laughs and make sure you get home safe and alive.

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