Meeting Orlando Bloom!

I was telling Nadine how much I loved musicals, ever since I saw my first in Her Majesty's Theatre: The Phantom of the Opera. It was in London in the summer of 2005 and my parents were booking tickets to go watch it. They asked me and my brother if we wanted to watch it with them. My brother, who was 15 at the time, wasn't in the least bit interested and I was in the middle of yes and no until I thought I'd give it a try. And when I did, I fell in love with it…

Fast forward to 2013, when I find myself on broadway, with a another chance to watch a live musical. I was looking at all the options I would have loved to see... until Nadine pointed out what was playing in Richard Rodger's Theatre: "Romeo & Juliet". Now obviously, R&J isn't a musical and it's a play we've all read and seen a hundred times before. And honestly, I never would have even considered it if it weren't for one tiny little detail… it was starring Orlando Bloom! In. The. Flesh! 

Now let me tell you something about Orlando Bloom. Back when I was in high school, I had a huge B&W poster of him hung on my bedroom wall. In university, I had his pictures taped all over my dorm, I had him as my desktop wallpaper, and I even got him on my surprise birthday cake! THAT is how much I loved Orlando Bloom! So, I forgot all the musicals and opted to watch his debut on broadway... 

Live, he's a brilliant actor. He makes the play, and from the first moment he appears on stage on his motorbike, I just couldn't take my eyes off him. But, not to be biased, the play wasn't all that great. Or maybe we're just sick of Romeo and Juliet. But either way, I got what I went for: Orlando! 

When the play ended, I snapped a few blurry pictures of him and we went outside to find a small group of people waiting with cameras and the play's booklet. There was a metal bar setup in front of a back door and I couldn't believe my eyes that Orlando Boom was going to come out for autographs! It didn't take too long for the door to open and there he was! Nadine and I took about 150 pictures of him in 5 minutes, and here's the autograph I got from him:

P.S. On his way back in, I screamed "ORLADNOOO! CAN I TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU?" He turned around at the sound of my voice, smiled and said "Thank You" before going back in. Oh well, maybe next time? ;-)

Lana Del Rey @ Byblos International Festival 2013

Yesterday was the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. It was also the first day of my TQM summer class at school. It was also the long awaited night of Lana Del Rey in Lebanon for the very first time! I barely had time to breathe yesterday, running from work to school and then off to Jbeil on an empty stomach. But wow oh wow, what a night!

I've always had a soft spot for Jbeil. The old souks, the beautifully cobbled streets and sidewalks, the vibrant night life, just walking through it is magic…

The opening act was for The Wanton Bishops, a local Lebanese band which I really wanted to like but it just wasn't music to my ears. There was then about an hour interlude, but from the moment she came on stage, till the moment she said goodnight, it was the most brilliant I've ever seen of Lana Del Rey. Her electrifying voice, her down-to-earth personality, being with my friends, the night… it was perfect!  Here's the recording I took for Blue Jeans, the song that introduced me to her and my favourite song of her's since:

ATM, I can't help but wonder what performance I'll be looking forward to at next year's festival… Thank You Byblos & Good Night! :-)

Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages

If you asked me what my favorite movie was, I would without hesitation say “Titanic”, and no, not only because my favorite actor stars in it. Oh Leo, you’re so dreamy! :-P Anyway, I found these three “Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages” on Facebook this morning, and I couldn't help but post them, they’re so sweet:

I am also bucket loads exited for Titanic 3D to come out in April! So I’ll leave my Titanic love for when the movie comes out in two months… till then, here's the trailer:

I Will Always Love You...

In Memory of Whitney Houston ... (Aug 9, 1963 - Feb 11, 2012)

Pictures from Tripoli’s Car Free Day!

So, I know this is a few days overdue, but as I’d posted last week, last Sunday was “Tripoli and Mina’s Car-Free Day”, and what a day it was! I spent most of it at our BankMed stand, handing out gapples (organic apples), which were, all bias aside, the best tasting apples I've ever had!

I also got the chance to see Mr. President Michel Suleiman up close in the VIP section, and I got these two shots of him:

All in all it was a wonderful day, and it was beyond wonderful seeing Tripoli actually car-free! And instead of it being an annual event, I really hope it’s done a lot more often than that… :-)

RIP Steve Jobs

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently - they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do..."

- Steve Jobs, RIP (1955 - 2011)

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" :-)

OB for Boss Orange

So I was on my way back from Beirut this afternoon, when I noticed this big poster for Hugo Boss Cologne next to C&F. The model looked attractive, and familiar… then it hit me, Orlando Bloom!

I used to be desperately in love with him since the early 2000s. Then, somewhere along the line, I began to lose interest and my fascination with him eventually disappeared. But when I saw him again in this ad, wow! o.O (L)

ASK-I MEMNU

So last night was the final episode of the Turkish hit TV-Series, Ask-I Memnu (L3ishk Lmamnou3/ Forbidden Love). I cant believe I got hooked on it! I NEVER watch Arabic television series (or movies) but ever since I caught my family watching it almost every night, I started watching it too! *Spoiler*

It tells the story of Samar (played by the beautiful Beren Saat), a young woman whose mother had an affair which led to the death of her father. As an attempt to get back at her, Samar marries Adnan, a much older rich man that her mother had her eye on…. Adnan is a widower, with two young children, Nihal & Mourad. There is also a boy named Mouhanad (played by the beautiful Kivanc Tatlitug) whose parents died when he was a child, and since then, Adnan took him in as his own, and he lives with the family… Mouhanad has a reputation with the ladies, and when Samar moves in to the family, she hates Mouhanad, especially since her sister was one of the women he used to date, and he broke her heart… Eventually, sparks (the good kind) began to fly between Samar and Mouhanad, and they started having affairs, unbeknownst to anyone. They kept cheating and cheating, fighting, making up, loving, and cheating… Several of the servants at the house began to notice, and eventually, Samar’s mother noticed as well. So, to put an end to it, she told Nihal that Mouhanad was in love with her. Nihal was ecstatic because ever since she could remember, she was in love with Mouhanad too. Mouhanad eventually had no choice but to propose to her and it all continued downhill from there… Samar tried to get Mouhanad to leave Nihal, so she could leave Adnan too and they could run away together, but Mouhanad was never man enough… And ever sine the engagement and up to the day of Nihal and Mouhanad’s wedding, Samar was falling apart. The last episode, Adnan and everyone else finally find out the truth, and as he runs to catch Samar and Mouhanad standing together in his room, both of them crying and with Samar a gun in her hand, she kills herself infront of them both… All because of this ASK-I MEMNU… (L)