SMS is Dying!!!

Every day I receive like  ten  marketing SMS that I ignore directly and. I am sure most people do the same . I always make sure not to give my cell number to any retail shop but still i am receiving every day the same number of SMS from companies i have never ever shopped at. Apparently these Spam Sms are sent randomly to everyone in the same area , for ex ; if you are a man from 18 to 99 living in the same area  you will receive the same  SMS of a Beauty spa for women! Or another silly SMS :O)
Unfortunately these SMS are waist for the company and they are annoying people so we are not reading them anymore!  
SMS is good when you are targeting people interested in your products or service , for  people who gave you the permission for that...
So dear marketers Please stop wasting your money and stop annoying people. Hopefully SMS will die very soon in the face of social media.

The Seven Sins of Chocolate.

I am a serious Chocoholic, I love to cook as I told you before specially desserts  with chocolate,  when I have time I like to spend it in  the kitchen to make some sweets to  my friends family and of course share it with you

Last Sunday I have chosen my best dessert ever Le fondant au chocolat, it  is a dessert you' ve only eaten at restaurants It seemed like it might be very tricky to make but  It took less than ten minutes to prepare it.  Here's how to do it.

Ingredients

200 g unsalted butter

200 g. black chocolat (Lindt or Poulain)

4 eggs  

120 g. sugar

140 g flour

Melt butter and chocolate in microwave, once melted and whisk.Whip the egg in a mixer with the sugar, when the sugar melt with the eggs add the mix to the butter and chocolate and whisk, add your flour to all the mix and whisk. Finally pour your mix in individual bowls and heat in oven for 7 minutes !!! Bon Appetit!

COPYCHICKEN - Part 2

You remember my first post: The COPYCHICKEN  story dated :15 April 2010 . I have found the video ,comparing the TVC Migros Vs Hawa Chicken!  I  told you everything is click away in this small world!

Special thanks to Antoine Challita for the Link..

on the show "The Live Media Bars" of April 21, 2010 NRJ Paris, George Mohammed Cherif (Buzzman) comments on two identical ads  by Joe La Pompe. 

FoodBox

I love to cook at home , chocolate desserts is my favorite... on this category  I will share with you all my best easy recipes so you can make your favorite dessert as well

If you are Hungry for special sweets come again very soon :O)

On earth as it is in Heaven !

Lebanon is heaven  in the earth and i love that unique place... today I have received amazing pictures taken from the book  “Liban: Sur la terre comme au ciel”. On earth as it is in Heaven- By the Great Photographer Clement Tannouri, it is amazing to discover Lebanon from above  ...  I wanted to share it with you Lebanese readers and Non-lebanese who never been to Lebanon. enjoy it ....

For more amazing pictures you can have this book from all Lebanese Libraries for 100$

"Il Divo" & "Pink martini" in Lebanon

This year best  artists  will perform at the palace of Beiteddine dine between June and August 2010 -this year Beiteddine music festival attains its first quarter century here below the schedule 

• July3 -Pink martini

• July 8 -The pop-opera boy band “Il Divo,”

• July 10 -Abdo Cherif

• July 14 -Max Raabe & The Palast Orchester

• Jully 17 -Ziad Rahbani

• July 21 -22 “Snow White,” a contemporary ballet based on the Grimm brother’s version of the fairytale

• July 27-30- Musical comedy “ZORRO”

• July 31-Krakaw chamber

• August 2- Diana Krall, the multiple Grammy Award-winning Canadian pianist

The Beiteddine Festival will take place June 25 - August 6. For tickets call 01 999 666 or for more information visit www.beiteddine.org.

Vintage Memories.

Last week I had an interesting conversation with an interesting lady working in The Arab Image Foundation as we both share the same interest in photography...

I was so lucky to meet her and discover her great  work . The website is full of vintage photos from Lebanon and almost all Arab country, every time  I browse this great collection and relax. If you share the love of photography you have to log in and enjoy it!

Man posing next to Yvette Pharaon's car. Lebanon/Aley, 1936

The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit organization established in Beirut in 1997. The Foundation’s mission is to collect, preserve and study photographs from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora.
The Foundation’s expanding collection is generated through artist and scholar-led projects.
The Foundation makes its collection accessible to the public through a wide spectrum of activities, including exhibitions, publications, videos, a website and an online image database.
The ongoing research and acquisition of photographs include so far Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Mexico, Argentina and Senegal. To date, the collection holds more than 300,000 photographs.

International Designers at one place!

Yesterday I was invited to the opening of a prestigious Boutique in down town Beirut, I was astonished by this place the architecture the interior decoration of that fine place and of course by the design items imported from all over the world to the booming fashion capital. "Designer's Entourage" its basically a space where international Designer's from all over the world France, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Egypt, Russia and the US present their own design, If you are looking for a new concept boutique you have to visit "Designer's Entourage"

"Designer's Entourage" Saifi Khan Building, Gouraud Street' Lot 725, Shop Number 9.Tel : +961 1 981 772

My Blog On Paper!

This is the first time I see my blog on a Magazine, I was so happy not only because I am listed but because people are listening when you speak out  your mind on a topic that you like or even dislike and when you give your feedback . My blog was listed on the communicate magazine with many other  fellow Lebanese bloggers  very outspoken. the strongest online buzz in Lebanon was about the Exotica Mother day campaign .

Lebanon’s web log community is probably one of the most vibrant digital scenes in the region. Lebanese bloggers are many, dedicated and very, very outspoken. Agencies are now turning to social media and online communities, listening intently to this direct feedback on how their work is perceived. Here is what increasingly influential Lebanese bloggers – inside and outside the country- have to say about local work .

They’re listening and watching. This month the strongest online buzz in Lebanon must be for Leo Burnett’s Exotica series of Billboards for Mother’s day. Having generated and immediate, outraged reaction from disappointed bloggers, the agency and client actually changed its “For the good and the bad, Thank you mom “  into “For the Common and unique, Thank you Mom” They also changed the visual stress to striking features passed from mother to daughter, rather than on common traits initially presented as “ bad”  

Fellow Lebanese Bloggers listed in the magazine:

Raafat Hamze

Plus961

Maya Zankoul

Beirutntc

Livinleb

Special Thanks to Beirut Drive By

COPYCHICKEN!!!!!!

Last Month I saw in a European television great Tv commercial that grab my attention, it is about a chicken walking from the mountain to the city to deliver a fresh egg to the Market! A brilliant idea with great music !!

The advert titled CHICKEN was done by JUNG von MATT / LIMMAT advertising agency for MIGROS SUPERMARKET (MIGROS GENOSSENSCHAFTSBUND company) in Switzerland. It was released in the April 2009.

On Easter I saw the copycat on the Lebanese televisions but this chicken belongs to Hawa chicken was walking the Lebanese streets to deliver the fresh egg to the store.
I really feel so sad when good companies copy others! in a small world when everything is just a click away...
P.S: I called the Marketing manager at Hawa chicken but he refused to give me any inormation about that campaign and of course refused to give me a copy of the ad. Plz inform me the agency name of that copychicken idea -CopyChicken Part 2 .

I love Photography!!

I love photography , Portrait, War, Celebrity, Black and white, travel, Nature and fine art Photography, I can stay all day long contemplating a photography book or even searching the net for some good photographers’ portfolio, but I am an amateur I recently decided to pursue it more seriously and bring my professional camera and take a photography course. After searching hard for a photography workshops in Lebanon some Online friends recommended a course with Toni Yamine Last Monday  was my first session I can tell you it is not that easy , a workshop full of great and complicated information, you have to learn the language of your camera and how everything works  to be a professional photographer from ISO, Focal length, Exposure to Shutter speed I am a bite lost but with practice everything will be fine. I hope to see the hobby grow into a professional level . Hope me Luck. For more info about the Workshop you can visit this website, and if you want to register click Here.

Beirut Motor Show 2010

Most Ugly CD Cover Ever!

If there is a Razzi awards for that category Lebanese singers will take it all..It is horrible how ugly theses covers are, from 1980 till 2010 nothing has changed. Lot of ugly colors as background in the front of course the artist face badly ( photoshoped )  with lot of make up so you have to read the name in Italic sometimes or in flashy colors to recognize the Artist. How they agreed on theses album covers ??

 In my opinion those artists need to be introduced to the concept of art, graphic design and visual importance of album covers before music and even before Botox and silicon!!!.

I was wondering why the album producers  didn’t copycat some international nice  covers yet??! Wired!!

For earth and land lovers.

Last Saturday, I visited the Famous Souk el tayeb in Beirut, it is a weekly market where you can find organic products of high quality and you can have a interesting chat with the farmers and the producers of this market.

Souk al tayeb became a tradition at the end of every week in the center of Beirut, not only to buy organic food but a meeting place when people can share ideas and raise awareness. If you are  hungry for organic food this place is a must!

Beirut Motor show

For all car lovers, you will have the chance to visit the 12^th Beirut Motor show exhibition in Beirut
From 8 to 18 of April, 2010
150000 visitiors estimated.
BIEL Downtown-Beirut