Mind Soup

What is Tamanna? Tamanna is an NGO in Lebanon that grants wishes of children with critical illnesses to give them joy, strength and hope. Fulfilling a child's wish provides an escape from a difficult reality, restoring time for laughter. It allows the child to live a magical experience and to share unforgettable moments with his family. Any child between 3 and 18 years with a critical illness may be eligible for a wish. Tamanna currently grants an average of three wishes a week. Some granted wishes A boy's wish to be a fire fighter for the day A gitl's wish to be a princess. A boy's wish to own a play station portable The above photos are just a glimpse of what wishes Tamanna has granted. From having a wedding for a young couple at the Children Cancer Center of Lebanon, to introducing the children to celebrities (such as President Suleiman, PM Hariri, basketball teams) and unforgettable trips to Rome, Istanbul, Paris and Disney land to owning laptops a...

A Concert featuring Algerino and Faudel in Memory of TALAL KASSEM, 17 year old young man hwas killed while crossing the road going to school by a raging driver… Talal Kassem (Photo from facebook) Proceeds of the concert and other contributions will go to "The ROADS FOR LIFE, Talal Kassem Fund for Post Accident Care" for training of Emergency physicians. Trauma surgeons and Emergency physicians from hospitals ALL ACROSS Lebanon will be offered the Advanced Trauma Life Support course (ATLS). This course will improve the chance of survival for injured victims on the roads in the first 60mn of the accident known as the GOLDEN HOUR. "The ROADS FOR LIFE, Talal Kassem Fund for Post Accident Care" will cover the fees for as many physicians as possible in as many sessions as needed. Upon completion of the course, they will receive Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Certification from “The American College of Surgeons” , committee on Trauma, Chicago, Illinois....

Under the High Patronage of the First Lady of Lebanon Mrs. WAFAA MICHEL SLEIMAN The Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (SIDC) is organising, in collaboration with Vivre Positif and the Centre de Santé de l’Université St. Joseph and with the attendance of Miss Lebanon 2010, Ms. Rahaf Abdallah, a concert on the occasion of World AIDS Day. Ms. Grace Deeb   and: Violinist:  Joelle Saadé Pianists:  Vladimir Kurumilian and Liliane Chlela Pop Rock:  The Weirdos The concert’s proceeds will go to support needs people living with HIV (PLHIV) Date and Place: 10 December 2010 at 8:30 at Pierre Abou Khater Auditorium, USJ, Rue de Damas RSVP: contact  info@sidc-lebanon.org  or  call +961 1 482 428, +961480714 Tickets will also be available at the door. Follow SIDC's account on twitter  here

Date:  Tuesday, November 9 · 8:00pm - 10:30pm Location: AUB West Hall Bathish The AUB Music Club in association with the AUB President's Club is proud to present November Rain! This is the first of hopefully many awesome events that will take place throughout this year. AUB's talented muscians will be performing on the stage of Bathish (West Hall). They will be covering different musical styles including blues, rock, jazz, alternative and more... Bands that will be performing: Lazzy Lung Home Made Plugged The Passive Standouts Along with other classical, jazz & acoustic solo pieces... -Ticket Price: 5,000 L.L sold as of Monday November 1st on the Music Club stand outside West Hall and at the door. -Non A.U.B students must bring their official ID! - Check out the event's Facebook page . Hope to see you there!

Poster for Cirque Du Liban Below is a message from the AUB Music Club who will be participating in the Hamra Street Festival which will take place on 10, 11, 12 September.  The festival will include two major events: September 10: - Inauguration of the Festival under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Beirut Deputies and the Hamra Committee. - The Big Hamra Parade  September 11 and 12: - Stands Activities, Street animations, Music concerts, Dance, Plays, Kids Arena, Fireworks etc... The AUB Music Club would like to invite you in participating in this festival through: Big Hamra Parade (September 10)  - The AUB music club will provide you with comfortable/funky costumes and percussions. You just need to wear the costumes, show up on time, improvise on your percussions (IF you want) and have fun! The parade will take place at 5.30 p.m and will last for two hours tops. - The AUB Music Club will provide you with a two-meter banner, printed with the logo of the AUB Music Clu...

Below are a few posts I have enjoyed reading this week. Shoot As You Walk "Plug Into E-Cycle Movement" Pictures (NourSpot) Photo by NourSpot Futurist Project (Joe's Box) After five years of hard work and research my sister made a nice final project for her diploma, a nice creative project that i personally loved and i guess we need those kind of projects as Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented boom in shopping malls. A museum of archeology and history In Byblos as the city is a tourist destination visited annually by many tourists. [...] Where are the tourists? (Blog Baladi) In June 21, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said that the number of visitors to Lebanon has increased by 26.6 percent compared to this time last year, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday. Since then, we haven’t heard any updates on the number of tourists in Lebanon and to be honest, i think the numbers are going down and drastically. [...] Why Not? (Independence ...

DAILY STAR : Mashrou3 Leila's concert spoke for a generation Lebanon’s indie-favorites are not afraid to confront social and political issues in their music Analysts might have missed it, but anyone who went to see Mashrou3 Leila’s concert at the Byblos Festival on Friday could not fail to observe that a new divide of sorts has come to separate the Lebanese – a cultural isolation between generations. Hamed Sinno, the band’s lead singer, could not keep himself from shouting “We’re in Byblos!” throughout the show, leading some to wonder whether he was reassuring his audience, his band or himself that this was truly happening. Mashrou3 Leila’s meteoric rise to notoriety, culminating in this festival booking, does not stem simply from its unique fusion of musical elements. When the band set out to conquer the Lebanese indie scene in 2008, it brought with it a solid fan base recruited from their fellow students at the American University of Beirut . Through word o...

Majida El-Roumi, the famous Lebanese singer, held a concert in my university AUB. I was the official photographer of the event for the AUB campus yearbook. In this video, AUB President Dorman introducing Majida El Roumi during the AUB Concert in July. You can watch the full concert on youtube by following the sequence of videos. Below is the news article I wrote about the event and some photos of me and my friends. A night of rose-filled terraces مساءٍ وردي الشرفات After receiving an Honorary Doctorate degree from AUB on commencement day, Majida El-Roumi, the famous Lebanese icon and singer, returned to AUB on Sunday, the fifth of July for a concert which was long awaited for by her fans in AUB and all over Lebanon. It is worth mentioning that profits from this concert went to the AUB scholarship fund. In an interview contacted with her after the concert, El-Roumi said that this concert was dedicated to the students of AUB who would like to continue their education. Moreover, s...