Mind Soup

I was honored to be interviewed on Future TV's English News last week. Check out the video below where I talk about the state of social media in the Arab World , the Lebanese online community, the Social Media Awards and University for Seniors . I'm also very humbled to have been called The Social Media Consultant of Lebanon. Thank you Youmna for the superb interview! For more information about what I do, you can connect  with me on Linkedin. 

Below is an opinion piece written by a good friend of mine, Doaa, who is Sudanese. She talks about the problem of racism in Lebanon, and how the Sudanese are treated. MIND SOUP : Recently, a group of Sudanese living in Lebanon - legally or illegally - held a fundraising event in one of the areas in Beirut in order to raise money for two Sudanese cancer patients who are in dire need for the money. Unfortunately, the gathering was busted by the Amn El-3am or police and the Sudanese were accused of various things. The highlight of this story is not what they where doing or where they were but rather it was the way they were treated by the police. They were verbally and physically assaulted not to mention humiliated and belittled. I am a Sudanese living and studying in Lebanon; I am fortunate to be studying at AUB as it shields me from a lot of the aggression and even racist remarks I sometime get walking down the streets in various neighborhoods in Beirut. I get surprised looks wh...

Below are some articles from renowned newspapers and blogs across Lebanon and the region that discuss the Student protest at the American University of Beirut due to the shift from the 12-credits system to the 15-credit system which increase the tuition for newly enrolled students (as of Fall 2010) up-to 25%. English Daily Star: AUB students hold strike against hike in tuition fees ( link ) Star Scene: AUB students protest against tuition increase  ( link ) Now Lebanon: Strike at AUB ( link ) Demotix:  Students of AUB university in Lebanon protest rise in tuition fees ( link ) This is Beirut:  Empty classrooms a week before finals at AUB! ( link ) iloubnan: AUB students go on strike protesting increase of tuition ( link ) Gino's Blog: The AUB Problem Breakdown ( link ) Farfahine:  Letter from AUB students: Support us to take our campus back. ( link ) Blog Under Construction: AUB Students Boycott Classes ( link ) Sawt Al Niswa: Stike: It is your rig...

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Definitions of  Wasta : Wasta (Arabic: وَسْطة) is an Arabic expression that loosely translates into ‘whom you know’ or 'clout'. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasta Intercession or mediation by people on behalf of others to whom they are connected by friendship or blood en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wasta

During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once. If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a passing St. Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year. It's easy for anyone to land a plane providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down. The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place.  No one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty. You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language.  A German accent will do. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds. If a large pane o...

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Actual concept work from James Cameron that demonstrates Avatar is really just Pocahontas with a few names changed. In 3D.

If you feel like laughing your ass off, watch this :P

Read my articles in the AUB newspaper online on Outlook's new blog. http://outlooknewspaper.blogspot.com

Meet Griffin, the grey parrot, whose astonishing vocal and physical skills are demonstrating just how smart the avian world really is. Griffin has recently begun to play with objects and speaks English in a way that raises fascinating questions about the thought processes going on inside a bird's brain. The parrot will stack different-sized bottle caps in the right order, for example. He will also mix up the English words he has learned, and will say simple phrases, like "wanna green nut". This type of behaviour was once thought to be exclusive to humans, great apes, and monkeys. Griffin suggests Parrots should be added to the list. "Human children start combining their labels at about 22 months," says Dr Irene Pepperberg, who works with Griffin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "So, they start not just identifying 'cookie' and 'milk', but will say 'want milk' or 'want more cookie'. "And they also t...

You can read the full story here . The introduction is below. THE ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT of this story was written with the E type-bar of the typewriter tied down; thus making it impossible for that letter to be printed. This was done so that none of that vowel might slip in, accidentally; and many did try to do so! There is a great deal of information as to what Youth can do, if given a chance; and, though it starts out in somewhat of an impersonal vein, there is plenty of thrill, rollicking comedy, love, courtship, marriage, patriotism, sudden tragedy, a determined stand against liquor, and some amusing political aspirations in a small growing town. In writing such a story, —purposely avoiding all words containing the vowel E, there are a great many difficulties. The greatest of these is met in the past tense of verbs, almost all of which end with “—ed.” Therefore substitutes must be found; and they are very few. This will cause, at times, a somewhat monotonous use of such words as...

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country. الفرق بين البلدان الفقيرة والغنية لا يعود إلى قدمها في التاريخ This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old and are poor. فمصر والهند يفوق عمرها 2000 عام وهي فقيرة On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich. أما كندا واستراليا ونيوزيلندا لم تكن موجودة قبل 150 سنة بالرغم من ذلك هي دول متطورة وغنية. ولا يمكن رد فقر او غنى الدول إلى مواردها الطبيعية المتوفرة. The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products. لليابان مس...

The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets . (right) The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo." There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people. The kangaroo population is estimated at about 40 million. According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction. There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long: eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, jaw, rib, lip, gum . The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.

1. Erinaceous Like a hedgehog 2. Lamprophony Loudness and clarity of voice 3. Depone To testify under oath 4. Finnimbrun A trinket or knick-knack 5. floccinaucinihilipilification Estimation that something is valueless. Proper pronunciation based on Latin roots: flockə-nowsə-nəkələ-pələ-fək-ation. 6. Inaniloquent Pertaining to idle talk 7. Limerance An attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love. 8. Mesonoxian Pertaining to midnight 9. Mungo A dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash 10. Nihilarian A person who deals with things lacking importance (pronounce the ‘h’ like a ‘k’). 11. Nudiustertian The day before yesterday 12. Phenakism Deception or trickery 13. Pronk A weak or foolish person 14. Pulveratricious Covered with dust 15. Rastaquouere A social climber 16. Scopperloit Rude or rough play 17. Selcouth Unfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, wonderful. For example: The List Unive...