Mind Soup

My friends and probably people who follow me on twitter probably know that I do not like Apple (probably much more than not liking - perhaps despising). I'm sick of people keep bombarding their Apple products in my face every time I say something, and I am sick of the shameless brainwashed promotions from live conversations to social media to TV programs and ads. Upon the request of one of my friends, I would like to share my reasons for this hatred to Apple as a whole, and not any certain product. The Apple brainwashed culture   It is perhaps what I hate about it the most: the over-zealous fans (or shall I call addicts) who are eating, drinking and breathing Apple and are basically walking billboards for the company. I like Google and Facebook and you don't see me shamelessly promoting them like crazy every chance I get. And it's not even just that, Apple owners think they are better than other people, that they are some sort of super-humans. Let me tell you this: o...

Screenshot from Kyle XY A song that I just discovered yesterday (thanks to @ teressaeid ). I mostly like the song because of its easy-going tune but I also adore the music video because of Jaimie Alexander who is one of my favorite actresses. She used to play Jessie in Kyle XY, a show that I really loved and unfortunately got cancelled because it didn't get such high ratings. Anyway enjoy the song, I've been playing it non-stop since yesterday. Here's the link for this song for those of you following the feed on Buzz.

Yesterday, Mind Soup has turned two years old. I can't really believe it. It still seems like yesterday when I spontaneously decided to start a blog and worried about design layouts and content. Now, after two full years I stand proud of my commitment to my blog and it subsidiaries. This year has brought a lot of accomplishments which include: having the great Daisy join in and continuously post about her experiences and opinions being featured in several newspaper and magazine articles both online and offline. being the first google search for several articles. 300,000 hits on several pages integrating with several social media sites such as facebook and twitter recently creating a supplementary tumblr page giving me the inspiration to establish Online Collaborative and enriching my interest in social marketing. being known as a relevant source of news and opinion articles and a place where freedom of speech is exercised Even though this year has also...

I don't know if its a Freudian slip or absent-mindedness, but if you check the AUB homepage, the photo that is supposed to raise awareness against smoking, alcohol and drugs is giving conflicting messages. "Hash is amazing! But don't do it regularly," it says. I'm glad AUB knows that the stress it puts it students through calls for occasional drug use. Hash is amazing! But don't do it regularly Thanks to Timmy for pointing it out!

Screenshot of " A Separate State of Mind " MIND SOUP :  A Separate State of Mind  is a new blog on the Lebanese blogosphere which discusses life, music, politics, movies and thoughts of a Lebanese youth, Elie, who is one of my best friends. I have been trying to get Elie to start a blog since I created Mind Soup two years ago (2nd birthday coming up on Feb 21 :D) but his laziness and procrastination delayed it. He has had some guest posts here on Mind Soup but now he took the plunge and after some quick trial with tumblr, he started his full wordpress.com blog:  http://stateofmind13.wordpress.com . A few things you might want to know about Elie: He's a huge Carrie Underwood fan that I started calling him a Carrieoholic.So you should definitely expect to see some posts about her. He likes country music and pop (Britney Spears anyone?) He likes to watch movies, and I mean a lot of movies, so he will be posting some movie reviews. His taste in mo...

MIND SOUP : Yet another lawsuit launched against a middle-eastern blogger. But this time, the suing side is not a politician or an official, but a restaurant; a restaurant with very bad PR and marketing skills might I add. Mark is a Lebanese blogger who wrote a review of Benihana Kuwait on his blog 248am  after visiting the restaurant a few days after its grande  opening. I have done a huge deal of research on Benihana last summer for a course and I know well that Benihana distinguishes itself from other restaurants by two aspects: The unique layout where customers sit and watch while a chef cooks their food in front of them in a live display of culinary skills. The quality and freshness of their foods, most importantly their meats. In his review, Mark complains of the quality of the food being served, and I quote: ... [T]he Hibachi chicken which is basically grilled chicken, that was the worst. The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was und...

Photo of me featured on MTV last night part of Save Aya campaign ( www.saveaya.org ). They also mentioned that I am a blogger. So proud! You can watch it on the MTV website (around minute 10) Thanks to @ SalvadorRudy who brought it to my attention :)

What better way to end a great year than to sit down and think about the great memories and opportunities it has brought you. Overall this year was a very good year, perhaps one of the best years I've lived so far. This year has been full of achievements and memories that I would like to share with my readers as a tribute to my readers. January: Though I did not know it then, this month has probably set the ground-stone for my career life. In this month I took one of the major decisions that I will ever make. During a period where all my friends were filling in medical school applications, begging for recommendations and stressing over their grades, I decided, and after three years of premedical studies, that I will not be applying to any medical school and forgo the idea of med-school. This decision has came after a lot of considerations and consultations with family and close friends. It was not an issue of grades nor the issue of time, but I had a more clear vision where I wa...

President Sleiman while delivering his speech (10:30 AM) Mohammad: The Arab Thought Foundation is having its 9th Fikr conference today in Beirut. The event started with the word of Dr. Soliman Abdel Moneim, Secretary General of the Arab Thought Foundation, as well as HRH Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of Arab Thought Foundation and His Excellency Michel Sleiman, President of the Republic of Lebanon. Also attending the event was the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker of Parliment Nabih Berri. (11:50 AM) Eman:   The first speech entitled “Arab’s Role in Shaping the Future”, his majesty Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdelullah, the Minster of Foreigners Affairs in the Sultanate of Oman, was interviewed about his experience in various field concerning the future. The main questions lied within politics, economics and culture. (details follow later.) (12: 35 PM) Mohammad: Parag Khanna, Expert in International relations and Director of the Global Governance Initiativ...

ENERGY DIMENSION:   We have learned much about our bodies through old wives’ tales handed down from our moms and grandmothers and even in school, but not all of it is correct. Here we look at 10 misconceptions that might surprise you. 1. Warts can be caught from other animals like toads Human warts are caused by a virus that affects only humans, the human pappiloma virus. They cannot be caught by animals with warts and certainly not by toads whose bumps are not warts but glands. 2. Sugar makes children hyperactive False! Twelve controlled, double blind trials have shown that there is absolutely no connection between children’s behavior and their sugar intake. One thing was found, namely that parents rate their child’s behavior as more hyper when they thought they had been given a sugary drink. “The studies included sugar from sweets, chocolate and natural sources. Even in studies of those who were considered “sensitive” to sugar, children did not behave differently after eati...