RAGMAG The Transition Issue | April 2013 | issue #34

MAGAZINE APRIL 2013

DAVID BOWIE

MUSIC’S HISTORIC HALL OF FAMER IN RETROSPECT

BEIRUT GOES

DIGITAL

LEBANON’S FIRST ANNUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS

GET HITCHED CARTIER REEM ACRA GUERLAIN

THE TRANSITION ISSUE STARRING

ALEXANDRA KAHWAGI

*EXCLUSIVE

APRIL 2013

ROBERT DOWNEY IRON MAN 3 JR. HOLLYWOOD’S MAN OF THE MOMENT

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151 Maarad, Foch Street Downtown, Beirut, Lebanon +961 1 982882 boutique@gemymaalouf.com www.gemymaalouf.com

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MAGAZINE

Publisher Gina Gabriel El-Fady Editor in Chief Fida Z Chaaban Creative Lead Odette Kahwagi Assistant to the Editor Youmna Chagoury Junior Graphic Designer Eliane Elias Photographers Odette Kahwagi Dave Kai-Piper Jason Zamora Selected images BeirutNightLife Selected images Shutterstock

Stylist Jony Matta Public Relations Coordinator Lea El-Alam Marketing Lead Daniella Tayar Administrative Coordinator Teddy Younes Responsible Manager May Ziade

Contributors Lara Ariss Jonathan Cainer Amal Chaaban Rabih Feghali Maria Frangieh Alice Hlidkova Sarah Hourany Leslie Iddison J.E.N. Maria-Elena Kassab Imogen Kimber Chris Lambert Sabina Llewellyn-Davies Maha Majzoub Rani Nasr Nour Obaji Jacques Tchabarian Adam Volk

w w w . r a g m a g . c o

@RAGMAGMagazine RAGMAGMagazine RAGMAG

Opinions expressed are based solely on personal opinion and experience, not reflective in any way of RAGMAG, a division of Raycon s.a.l.

Media Representative

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RAGMAG is a division of Raycon s.a.l.

Copyright RAGMAG 2013 All Rights Reserved

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PER ISSUE 10,000 LBP 6 ISSUES 50,000 LBP 12 ISSUES 100,000 LBP APRIL 2013

ON OUR COVER ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Image courtesy of Disney

Contact us by phone or email to arrange your subscription subscriptions@ragmaglive.com Lea El-Alam +961 9 916 222 / 9 913 777 RAGMAG Alex Gabriel Building, Rue Colomn de Sahel Sahel Alma, Keserwan, Lebanon

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EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES 90 COPYCAT REAL LIFE RUNWAY

110 PRETTY IMPACTFUL OUR FASHION SHOOT

108 BACKSTAGE PASS

GEORGE HOBEIKA SS2013

OUT + ABOUT 28 THE MAESTRO MAKING MOVES

CHOPIN VODKA LAUNCHES IN LEBANON

CULTURE CLASH 58 LEBANESE CELEBS IN TRANSITION HAYDA LEBNEN

20 IN TRANSIT

ON THE MOVE IN LEBANON

40 EXCLUSIVE: IRON MAN 3

HOLLYWOOD’S ROBERT DOWNEY JR. UP CLOSE + PERSONAL

30 SPOTLIGHT: DAVID BOWIE

V & A RETROSPECTIVE ON THE MUSIC ICON

FML 54 REALITY CHECK

SNOWBOARD LIKE A BAWS

YOU + YOUR COUNTRY 18 ORGAN DONATION IN LEBANON LIFE IN TRANSIT

THE ULTIMATE SHOWMAN

HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

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FINAL FRONTIER 24 GOOGLE GLASS TECH

138 NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES SCIENCE

134 135 136 137

SEE, SPEAK + HEAR NO EVIL SOUND CHECK MUSIC READ’EM + WEEP BOOKS PLAY NICE GAMES WATCH OUT FILM

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すぐに来る

APRIL 2013

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EDITOR’S OPINION 14 IT’S ALL A SHAM

LEBANON’S FAKE TRANSITIONS

MON AMOUR, MON AMI 66 PRSD

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BECOME SINGLE AGAIN

68 RESISTING THE CHANGE

WHY I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED

MIND, BODY + SOUL 60 HELP ME NOUR + RABIH ADVICE

65 TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE PROBLEM VAGINAL ATROPHY

MIRROR MIRROR 72 ARCHIE’S GIRLS!

M.A.C DOES BETTY + VERONICA

78 LIVE THE GOOD LIFE DIOR

74 SPOIL YOUR BRIDAL PARTY SPA REVIEW

88 BRIDAL FRAGRANCE FOR HIM + HER

76 BRONZED + BEAUTIFUL GUERLAIN

80 GET THE LOOK BY CHANEL

YOUR BRIDAL COSMETICS GUIDE

110

PRETTY IMPACTFUL

EAT, DRINK + BE MERRY 148 RESTAURANT REVIEW YOUR OWN PRIVATE RESTO

150 GO VEGAN! RECIPES

146 THE ART OF PASTRY CHEF CLAIRE CLARK TAKE ME WITH YOU 140 THE ISLANDS OF CROATIA TRAVEL

STARRING

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BRAINFOOD QUIZZ. DINBATS. CROSSWORDS. SUDOKU.

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We Are Celebrating

Center of Excellence & Home of Hope

A regional pioneer in pediatric cancer treatment affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

At the CCCL, all patients are treated for free; with an amazing average cure rate of 80%!

For your donations and inquiries, please contact us: T +961 1 35 15 15 +961 70 35 15 15 www.cccl.org.lb

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Robert Downey Jr. was my teen crush; I have loved him ever since he starred in Chaplin. This month my ultimate dream has come true and though I know that this is as close as I can get to that crush, I’m very happy to have Robert Downey Jr. gracing RAGMAG’s 34th cover. The feature is comprehensive and it gives everyone an exclusive sneak peek at the highly anticipated “Iron Man 3”. Look for our reader reward with JACK & JONES this month- two of our male readers will win tickets to the avant-première of Iron Man 3 and they’ll be dressed by the JACK & JONES Premium collection!

This month’s fashion shoot features the beautiful world of Cartier haute joaillerie fused with the elegant creations of Reem Acra. The finishing touch? Makeup

by Guerlain, exclusively for RAGMAG. I think that this shoot will make you want to rush to the altar.

Finally, the Social Media Awards are happening this month in Beirut. We’re loving the viral action on our website and all of the social media action related to the SMA. Follow the trend, please head to your Facebook or Twitter accounts and make your voice heard and your vote count. Don’t miss out as #BeirutGoesDigital!

We’re also proud to share that the #SMABeirut has trended twice already as this issue was going ro print.

It has even trended in the United Arab Emirates, now becoming a regional rather than national event!

Send your emails to

publisher@ragmaglive.com and talk back to me

by tweeting @GinaGabriel1.

#ItsYourMagazine so keep talking to us.

Gina Gabriel El-Fady | Publisher

APRIL 2013

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organizing partner

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

EDITOR’S LETTER

THE TRANSITION ISSUE BECAUSE THINGS CHANGE, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

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top! Don’t attack for the terrible pun. I do it almost every issue so you all should be accustomed to my corny sense of humour by now. I want to thank you all for the huge amount of love that came our way: Zeina Daccache on the cover was a big hit and we are pleased that you hopped on the bandwagon with us. My interview with Mr. Nicolas Sehnaoui got some social media commentary and so did our science features last month. Your online feedback also indicated that you all agree with me on censorship in Lebanon, so that’s a relief. My absolute biggest thrill this past month was seeing our readers tweet why RAGMAG is their magazine. You’re all right, for those reasons and more, it’s absolutely, unequivocally, your magazine!

This issue we’ve got the eternal David Bowie for our music lovers. We’ve also got everything bridal going on, but more importantly, we’ve got the reason that Youmna Chagoury, Assistant to the Editor, doesn’t want to get hitched. She’s the anomaly in Lebanon and we’ve sort of forced her to share the private side of her life with you this issue. Read it and let her know if you agree by tweeting at @YoumnaChagoury.

Now for my big news: I am pleased to announce that the RAGMAG Social Media Awards After Party, to be held on April 29th, will be staged in collaboration with BlackBerry Middle East. We are honoured to partner with the tech experts, and seeing as the whole RAGMAG team are BlackBerry addicts, toasting the SMAs with the world’s sexiest device is the only

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way to go! I’d also like to extend my warmest regards to the Vincenti group who will be serving their superb selection of spirits at the event. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with the SMA, head to their website www.smabeirut.com for all of the info!

If there was ever any doubt, I want to remind you that I am always listening: talk to me on Twitter @fidachaaban and follow @RAGMAGMagazine for updates and reader rewards that are meant to thank you for being part of RAGMAG. If you haven’t joined us on Facebook and Pinterest yet, we’re looking forward to seeing you on those mediums as well.

Email me at letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com to send me your thoughts and opinions about this issue. Finally, I want to encourage you to subscribe to RAGMAG and make it a part of your life every month. We are the only magazine in Lebanon that talks back and you can find us on the web too at www.ragmag.co

We’re here because of the support and constant encouragement of our loyal readers.

It’s Your Magazine.

Fida Z Chaaban | Editor in Chief

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FOR OUR MARCH ISSUE WE CONTINUED TO TALK TO YOU VIA OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS- PINTEREST, TWITTER + FACEBOOK. WE THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND PARTICIPATION AND HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO INTERACT WITH US ONLINE.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK AND SCRIBBLE ON OUR WALL TO WIN, WRITE TO US AT LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR@RAGMAGLIVE.COM OR TWEET US ON TWITTER @RAGMAGMAGAZINE!

IF YOU’RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO TAKE A PIC WITH YOUR FAVORITE ISSUE, SEND IT OUR WAY VIA SOCIAL MEDIA OR EMAIL! YOU’RE ALL SO PINTERESTING, SO PIN US. RAGMAG IT’S YOUR MAGAZINE! RAGMAG reserves the right to edit for clarity and content

We’re showing off some of the best images that our readers sent in via email and Twitter.

Thank you to all of the readers who sent us tweets and emails of their copies of RAGMAG.

WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU SO KEEP IT UP!

HALL OF FAME

Here’s one of our readers with his autographed copy of February’s Affinity issue starring Armin van Buuren! Nadim, thank you for the great Instagram shot. IT’S YOUR MAGAZINE!

SPOTTED

TWIPLOMAT IN ACTION!

We’re sharing a picture of British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher checking out a copy of our March Luminance issue starring Zeina Daccache! He’s the coolest diplomat in Lebanon and his engaging use of social media platforms makes us like him even more.

Tweet his way @HMATomFletcher

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WIN THIS WE’RE GOING TO TAKE YOU TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS

This month, RAGMAG is going camping and so are you! The cool peeps at Pinea Campus are rewarding one of our readers with a full package weekend in Haitoura, Jezzine. Located in the middle of a Stone Pine forest, Pinea Campus is giving one of you the chance to win a one-night stay for four people, a traditional breakfast for four, and four activity vouchers that you can use for an ATV ride, mountain biking, or even trap shooting. Check out the images so you know what you’re in for, this is one reader reward you don’t want to miss!

HOW TO WIN YOUR VISIT TO

PINEA CAMPUS

Write to us at letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com with the following information in 150 words or less 1. Why you deserve an eco vacay 2. Tell us what environmental concern you think is most relevant to Lebanon

APRIL 2013

Go Camping With Pinea Campus PineaCampus www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G @PineaCampus

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EDITOR’S OPINION

THE WAY WE WERE LEBANON IN TRANSITION A NATION THAT MAY (OR MAY NOT) CHANGE OVERNIGHT

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or the first time in my life I am residing in a country that “has no government”. It’s a strange feeling. I was born and raised in Canada, one of the most stable and consistent nations in the world. I’ve never lived in a place like Lebanon, a political hotbed. You’ve got the bad guys and the good guys, sort of. It all depends on who you ask, really. They all change teams, some of them more often than others, and they form collation governments. A lot of this team-changing revolves around toppling current cabinets, if I understand the situation correctly.

At a lunch this weekend for the Social Media Awards, I was seated with the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher and the Minister of Telecom, Nicolas Sehanoui.

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My conversation with Nicolas Sehanoui went like this “Are you still the Minister for Telecom?”

“Yes, but we [the government] can’t do anything that requires legislation.”

My conversation with Tom Fletcher went like this “Tom, what’s going to happen now?”

“It’s going to be fine. Keep calm and carry on.”

These were the kinds of reassurances I got from both Sehnaoui and Fletcher.

They seemed cool and collected. I’m not sure if they were being careful with their remarks as they are both aware that I’m a member of the press, or because they are both genuinely unfazed by the turn of events. It stands to reason that both of these men were privy to inside info and that they weren’t wholly shocked by the announcement that the now former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, would resign.

I for one was caught unawares, and I found his Friday evening broadcast calculated and disturbing. When an announcement of this calibre is made on a Friday evening after the “establishment” has closed for the weekend, it is done so as not to threaten the stability of a nation. It’s so the banks don’t see a rush, the currency doesn’t plummet, and (in Lebanon) chaos doesn’t ensue.

It is also so that it doesn’t cause the mainstream media to go into a frenzy, and subsequently propel the public at large into mania. While I understood the reasoning behind Mikati’s timing, I still didn’t like it. Beirut appeared to be business as usual, the people seemed bored with the whole topic.

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UNDER THE HOT LIGHTS | INTERROGATION + INTIMIDATION | CENSORSHIP IN LEBANON

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EDITOR’S OPINION

When I expressed disbelief that we had no government, and incredulity at being without a leadership base, all of the people I spoke to the night of the resignation negated my concerns.

“One time we had no government for over six months. It was better actually. People were so calm,” reflected one woman. Someone else laughed and said, “This is normal for us, it’s happened maybe over 10 times in my life!” One man pointed out that “it’s better without them, they don’t do anything for us,” and several other people chimed in and agreed with him.

“They aren’t running the country,” said one man.

Then who is?

YES, THE COUNTRY CHANGED OVERNIGHT. YES, NAJIB MIKATI STEPPED DOWN. BUT NO, LEBANON IS NOT IN A WORSE SITUATION THAN BEFORE. SAD BUT TRUE 16 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

I really don’t know. How does a country function without a stable government in place? As I write this, Nicolas Sehnaoui tweeted: “Until a new government is formed every step in our plan which does not require Council of Ministers will get executed and stay on track.”

I call Odette (RAGMAG’s Creative Lead) and tell her we have no government.

She is a good benchmark for me usually. She says it’s no big deal and that this happens all of the time. Then she laughs at my reaction.

I guess my reaction is laughable. The idea that the government of this country is actually running the show is a farce and a joke. Last issue I featured Nicolas Sehnaoui because I felt he actually was doing something, anything, to move Lebanon into 2013. Well, he and a few others cannot do it alone. If I am going to discuss efficacy and results, it is going to be really difficult for me to find someone else to quote. So now we have an interim government until the reshuffle happens and then we’ll have the same cast of motley characters all over again, but maybe in different positions.

Since we have no government, and the

people of this belaboured country are tired of the existing establishment, let’s just stay this way. I don’t want to see the same faces and hear the same speeches over and over again. Why bother?

I started writing this article with the idea that the lack of government is a tragic and fearful thing. The more I write and the more I recall my Friday night conversations with Lebanese citizens, the less afraid I am. Sometimes when you start out with a complex concept like the abstract idea of government cogs turning in the background, unseen and unacknowledged, then you realize that is not how it works everywhere. In Canada, yes government cogs turn and make things happen. Here, it isn’t the case, and if it is (doubtful), then the public certainly don’t think so. I started writing this article with the intention of lambasting the idea that we have no government, and now I realize it’s business as usual. In Lebanon, as of Friday March 22nd, we are a stateless state. And it may be all to the good.

Yes, the country changed overnight. Yes, Najib Mikati stepped down. But no, Lebanon is not in a worse situation than before. Sad but true

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YOU + YOUR COUNTRY

SURVIVAL HANGING IN THE BALANCE THE NOOTDT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

BY IMOGEN KIMBER

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arida Younan fielded approximately 15,000 phone calls in 2010, that works out to about 41 calls per day. She’s the National Coordinator for the National Organization for Organ & Tissues Donation & Transplantation (NOOTDT).

DAILY DONATION Theoretically up and running since 2009, organ donation has really been active in Lebanon since 2010. The whole practice represents an enormous logistical feat that Younan and Vice President of the NOOTDT, Dr. Antoine Stephan, began handling alone. Every single day of managing organ transplantation is like completing a mission impossible.

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In 25 different hospitals in Lebanon there are hospital staff who act as Coordinators, they usually work in the Intensive Care Unit or the Emergency Room, because this is where they are most likely to spot a potential organ donor. A potential organ donor is someone with functioning organs who is near to being brain dead, a state when the brain ceases to send signals- the patient’s organs are only functioning due to life support (respirators and the like). Three medical professionals must agree that a patient has reached this state. Then the race is on.

To successfully transplant a heart it must be done within six hours, with a liver you have a 12 hour window, and with a kidney a comparatively relaxing 48.

In this time Younan and the team have

to locate the perfect recipient (a person with the same blood type and who is approximately the same age) from their vast database. The medical staff in the hospital then have to remove the organ and safely transport it, often at great speed, something which the army have been helpful in assisting with. Then the operation must be performed at one of seven hospitals in Lebanon, five of which are in Beirut, hence the push on time and coordination. Not an easy feat.

TO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPLANT A HEART IT MUST BE DONE WITHIN SIX HOURS, WITH A LIVER YOU HAVE A 12 HOUR WINDOW, AND WITH A KIDNEY A COMPARATIVELY RELAXING 48 THE TRANSITION ISSUE

THE NOOTDT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

MANY FEAR THAT THE DEAD BODY WILL BE MUTILATED. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. THE ORGANS ARE REMOVED WITH THE SAME RESPECT AND PRECISION THAT WOULD BE GIVEN TO A LIVING PERSON AND THE BODY IS THEN EMBALMED SO IT APPEARS AS IT WOULD HAVE PRIOR TO THE PROCEDURE RIGHT: NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR ORGAN & TISSUES DONATION & TRANSPLANTATION (NOOTDT) WEBSITE

RED TAPE

None of this is possible if people are not willing to allow their relative’s organs to be donated. Even if a person has been carrying a donor card their whole life, permission must be sought and granted from their parents or closest living relative. This can be as difficult a task as the organ transplant itself.

When they first began organ donation, Younan and Stephan were really facing an uphill struggle. As has been common almost everywhere people are sceptical about organ donations, until it becomes widely accepted and practiced.

Many families cite religious reasons as why they don’t want to donate the organs of their recently deceased loved one. To combat this Younan has met with all the leaders of the major religions in Lebanon. All of them are unequivocally onboard with organ donation; there is not one religion that does not support the practice, in fact quite the opposite, they were all very much in favour of this lifesaving procedure.

Keen to end this misunderstanding Younan has a hotline of sorts- when she is with a family member who is having doubts that their religion permits donation she can make a direct call to one of these leaders and have them explain in person. On several occasions this has worked in persuading reluctant people and therefore has gone on to save lives in Lebanon.

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For many people who have just experienced a loss, the idea of giving away a part of their loved one’s body can feel like it furthers the trauma and exacerbates the grief. Many fear that the dead body will be mutilated. This is not the case. The organs are removed with the same respect and precision that would be given to a living person and the body is then embalmed so it appears as it would have prior to the procedure. It’s important to remember how much one person can give: they can donate a heart, liver, kidney and corneas, which could offer three or four people a chance at life. In fact even if the person arrives at the hospital dead it is still possible to donate the corneas which can give someone the gift of sight.

MANY FAMILIES CITE RELIGIOUS REASONS AS WHY THEY DON’T WANT TO DONATE THE ORGANS OF THEIR RECENTLY DECEASED LOVED ONE. TO COMBAT THIS YOUNAN HAS MET WITH ALL THE LEADERS OF THE MAJOR RELIGIONS IN LEBANON [...]

THEY WERE ALL VERY MUCH IN FAVOUR OF THIS LIFESAVING PROCEDURE Stephan gave the account of a man who donated the organs of his 17 yearold son. The man sadly experienced the loss of both his mother and his son; when his mother died she was buried. When his son passed away he gave permission for his son’s organs to be donated. As the son’s body was to be buried next to his mother’s, her body was exhumed. At this point his mother’s body had decayed. On seeing this the man declared that he was so happy that he’d donated his son’s organs, allowing another 17 year-old’s life to continue rather than give the organs to the earth. For him it gave him comfort to know the organs of his son were helping someone else and there was a father out there who didn’t have to go through what he was going through LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NOOTDT AND HOW YOU CAN HELP www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G www.nootdt.org

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CULTURE CLASH

HITCH A LIFT PUBLIC TRANSIT À LA LIBANAISE

BY IMOGEN KIMBER

”The service is very efficient and the buses come very often, to get onto a bus you must stand at the side of the road and signal with your hand as a bus approaches; the buses will stop anywhere.” http://wikitravel.org/en/Beirut

Sound familiar? Not so much? It’s a description of the Beirut bus system from Wikipedia, and actually, I’m inclined to agree.

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MY ROUTE Waiting by the side of the road it takes around a minute before a bus pulls up. Yelling out my location - “Jounieh” - and using wild hand gesticulations I communicate to the driver where I need to go. He replies with his own hand gestures, and yells out something about Dora. With the wind in my hair (the sliding door is ajar) and the exhaust fumes behind me, we lurch towards Dora. Approaching Dora the driver starts acting as wingman for another minivan; I realize he is negotiating me a place on my onward journey, so with both buses almost still in motion I transfer onto the new bus. Since I am the only passenger we swing around the Dora roundabout twice (possibly three times, I may have

blacked out as my head hit the window). A few more on board and we catapult onto the highway, next stop -two minutes down the road- for a small family on a fishing trip. No problems at all shifting seats for the tackle box, nor for the refrigerator fan that must come in handy. Once we’re in the moving traffic, the journey resembles that of one in a private car – very, very slow due to the copious amounts of traffic, albeit with a soundtrack that I might not have selected and certainly not at that volume.

Nevertheless I arrive at my destination, we overshoot my stop enough to warrant a small walk back. And all for the bargain price of 2,500 LBP, slightly under three US dollars.

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HITCH A LIFT | PUBLIC TRANSIT À LA LIBANAISE

I VALUE THIS JOURNEY IN NEAR SILENCE AND NO PHYSICAL CONTACT (BY THAT I MEAN THAT I’M NOT SITTING ELBOW TO ELBOW WITH SOMEONE ELSE IN THE BACK OF A CAR THAT TAKES ME ON A SMALL DETOUR BEFORE I GET HOME) My favourite bus route is the one which runs along the Corniche, it’s the number 15. It means I get to travel from Sporting Club to Gemmayzeh with no negotiation on route or price, and I’m usually picked up on the spot without having to move. Treasuring anonymity, I value this journey in near silence and no physical contact (by that I mean that I’m not sitting elbow to elbow with someone else in the back of a car that takes me on a small detour before I get home).

Most trips go without incident, certainly within Beirut. It has happened: on a trip back from the beach, a friend and I thought some other bus travellers who appear to be in collusion with the driver, were behaving in a manner unsavoury enough to warrant us feeling justified in dismounting the bus without payingI’ve seen worse as a result of walking along the street though. Of course a fair few people glance in my direction, but frankly I would do a double take too considering that the demographic on the bus is wide and varied in some senses, but usually differs from myself.

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FOR A MORE COMPLICATED JOURNEY, THE MAKERS OF “ZAWARIB” ARE HERE TO HELP YOU OUT WITH THAT. ALONG WITH THEIR HANDY BOOK OF MAPS, THEY INCLUDE A SMALL MAP OF THE BUS ROUTES

EN ROUTE

Like so many other parts of the infrastructure in Lebanon the public transport system is far from perfect. It does however cover almost all of Beirut, can certainly get you to any major town, and often beyond. The buses operate with regularity and for extended hours (far beyond the public transport of say, London). It also wins on price, less than a dollar can get you across the city and two dollars covers half the country. The buses aren’t always that crowded either, one person to a seat and usually no one standing, there’s no need to stand when there’s always another bus just around the corner.

The city has three transport hubs, which you can use to start your journey around the country and beyond: Charles Helou for Damascus and the coast road, Dora for anywhere North, Cola for anywhere South. This means I can affectively transverse the whole of the country. The “Stop and Hail”

system is a lot easier if you are simply travelling up the coast, the buses run up and down very consistently. For a more complicated journey, the makers of “Zawarib” are here to help you out with that. Along with their handy book of maps, they include a small map of the bus routes. It takes some basic knowledge of the city already and it does not include times, so you certainly can’t be working on a strict schedule, but then you can’t if you are travelling by car either.

The bus system is a dichotomy. A cheap ride that picks you up anywhere, but the downsides are very apparent too, so apparent that a vast number of people are unwilling to use it. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that most people have resorted to private transport and therefore do not feel the need to demand public transport, leaving it to be increasingly side lined with little impetus for improvements

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CAN WE FINALLY CURE AIDS?

The miraculous story of Timothy Ray Brown was first reported in 2010: the Berlin man underwent a stem cell transplant to treat leukemia and his doctors were surprised to find that it rendered the HIV-positive patient “cured”. Up until last month, Timothy Ray Brown was a medical anomaly. In comes a Mississippi baby born with the HIV virus. Doctors administered antiretroviral drugs less than 30 hours after her birth and continued with follow-up treatments of antiretrovirals until the age of 18 months, followed by a rest period of 10 months. She’s now two and a half years old and her blood work results do not indicate her former HIV-positive state.

Scientists say the baby’s “functional cure” -traces of HIV genetic material are apparent under testing- is a result of receiving treatment in the very first days of her life, preventing the formation of viral hideouts.

RAGMAG’S VOTE ENCOURAGING

WHERE IS IRAQ AT

10 YEARS LATER? March 2003: An invasion force led by the United States of America strikes Baghdad, Iraq. March 2013: over 50 people die in explosions marking the 10th anniversary of the invasion. A survey led by Opinion Research Business estimate the Iraq conflict has taken over one million human lives between March 2003 and August 2007, and the numbers continue to climb. According to some, the capture and death of former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was not the best thing to happen to the country. The Telegraph quotes former war veteran Andrew Gilligan: “Life under Saddam under the last 10 years

FIVE QUESTIONS

would not have been pleasant but it would have been better for most people, and a lot fewer people would have died, than it has been under so-called liberation.” Public opinion is still divided with pro-war and anti-war camps still debating hotly whether or not the Iraqi invasion was warranted. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair defends the debacle: “How can you regret removing a monster who created enormous carnage?

If Saddam had still been in power, it’s true there would have been, probably, an uprising amongst his people. But I think it would look a lot more like Syria and probably a lot worse than Syria.”

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

FIVE QUESTIONS THE WORLD IS ASKING

CAN WE TRUST

FOOD LABELS? HOW DID WE MISS THE RUSSIAN METEOR? On February 15, 2013, a relatively small meteor enters Earth’s atmosphere, landing in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. At 15 to 17 meters with a mass of 7000 to 10000 tons, it left over 1000 people injured. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it’s the largest reported meteor since the one in 1908 that landed in Tunguska, Siberia. The question on everyone’s lips is how space control agencies didn’t see it coming, especially since another asteroid, 2012 DA, was tracked just 15 hours later. Scientists claim that the Chelyabinsk meteor was too small to register on radar, but is a mere 13-meter difference between 2012 DA (30 meters) and this one enough to make one traceable and not the other? Moscow daily “Noviye Izvestia” published their survey indicating that 50 percent of their readers don’t believe the official reports stating that a meteor caused the blast.

The readers offered up a number of theories including a secret US weapon test, an alien spaceship crash, and a message from God.

We’re not talking nutrition facts although admittedly that is a problem, we’re talking ingredients. Since January of this year, several European countries have been plagued by horsemeat scandals. Frozen foods labeled bovine meat have been tested and the results came back with various percentages of equine meat, sometimes as high as 100 percent of the product. Vendors and suppliers have been pointing fingers, and no one has owned up to the allegations of fraud or negligence as yet. The issue is not strictly health-oriented as horse-

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RAGMAG’S VOTE SKETCHY

meat can be eaten and some people even like it, but any horsemeat entering the food chain should be tested for bute as it can cause aplastic anaemia.

The bigger issue is that thousands of people have been unknowingly ingesting equine meat, and we’re all wondering whether or not the labeling fiasco applies to other package ingredients.

Allergies, spiritual beliefs, and eating lifestyles are not being taken into consideration. If we can’t trust a label on a store-bought item, how do we know what we’re eating?

IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S 4G ALL HYPE? We were waiting with bated breath for the release of the much-hyped Samsung Galaxy S 4G. Why? Because it looks pimp. We haven’t had the chance to take it for a spin yet, but what’s not to like in a 5 inch full HD screen with a 441ppi? One of the cooler features we’ve seen demoed? The ability to operate the screen touch-free: “Air View”

allows users to hover over content for previews, and “Air Gesture” allows the user to change tracks and even answer a call with a wave of the hand. The best part is that the new device fully supports the 4G LTE networks. We can almost taste the sweet rush of download speeds of 100 MB/s and uploads of 50 MB/s.

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THE FINAL FRONTIER

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS GOOGLE’S NEWEST PROJECT IS ON THE MOVE

BY J.E.N.

T

he word glass has a new definition: it describes a new transitional technology. Something with the potential to be very big…

To change the way we interact with the world around us and the digital world.

Something which could even threaten the prominent place of smartphones.

Google Glass is being dubbed by many as “revolutionary” and you don’t have to be a genius to figure out why. But before we go into the thrilling features and juicy details, you might want to watch “How It Feels [Through Glass]” on YouTube so you can see Google’s idea of how incredible this technology is. You might also want to watch “How Guys Will Use Google Glasses”; this amusing parody shows how irritating this technology might prove to be. Is Google Glass the beginning of something wonderful, or does it mark the start of more tech driven anti-social behavior?

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Google Glass is wearable technology- it looks like sleek yet funky eyewear from a 60s sci-fi show. Despite the name, Google Glass doesn’t really look like glasses as there is no full lens. Instead there’s a thin strip of aluminum and plastic with a small prism-like lens on one side. It’s lightweight and yet very durable. And best of all, it comes in different colors: shale, tangerine, charcoal, cotton (white), and sky (blue). It certainly isn’t the height of fashion but what it can do is super sexy. Glass uses simple voice commands and nothing else (it’s hands-free). All you have to do is say “Ok Glass” to get its attention.

You can then ask it to “take a picture” or to “record a video” and share it live with your friends and family. If you’re walking around a city or are on a hiking trip, you can use it to find your way around and you’ll actually see the directions displayed right in front of you. If you’re on holiday or are an expat work-

ing abroad, you can ask it to translate things for you and to tell you phrases in many languages (“Ok Glass, say half a pound in Chinese”). You can send messages by speaking. You can Google whatever you want while on the go (“How long is the Brooklyn Bridge?”).

It even displays important info such as the departure time of your flight when you’re at the airport. Glass is linked to the web through its own Wi-Fi or by tethering with the 3G/4G on your Android or iPhone. While Glass doesn’t have a radio, it does have GPS.

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THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS | TAKE A WILD RIDE WITH GOOGLE’S NEWEST PROJECT

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SAY “OK GLASS” TO GET ITS ATTENTION. YOU CAN THEN ASK IT TO “TAKE A PICTURE” OR TO “RECORD A VIDEO” AND SHARE IT LIVE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY The Glass project was launched around three years ago by Babak Parviz, an engineer at Google’s X Lab. Now product director Steve Lee and lead industrial designer Isabelle Olsson are two of the key people behind this project.

Lee describes the motivation behind the project: “We all know that people love to be connected. Technology allows us to connect in that way. A big problem right now are the distractions that technology causes [like fiddling around to find the camera option]...We wondered, what if we brought technology closer to your senses? Would that allow you to more quickly get information and connect with other people but do so in a way — with a design — that gets out of your way when you’re not interacting with technology? That’s sort of what led us to Glass.”

Google has a pre-release “Explorer program” in place. It gives people the chance to test drive Glass and also helps Google discover how people will actually use Glass. Lee explains: “What we’re trying to do is expand the community that we have for Glass users. Currently it’s just our team and a few other Google people testing it. We want to expand that to people outside of Google. We think it’s really important, actually, for the development of Glass because it’s such a

new product and it’s not just a piece of software. We want to learn from people how it’s going to fit into their lifestyle.”

Is Glass going to fit nicely into our lifestyle or change it? We’ll all be able to find out once it’s released. But since it’s based on voice commands, we can already imagine the challenges of getting it to understand what you’re saying when you’re in noisy surroundings or if you’re a non-native English speaker with a unique accent

Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 won the “Best of Innovations” awards in design and engineering for 2013 at CES. This device looks similar to Glass and yet is more a companion to your smartphone. In fact CES 2013 featured a deluge of wearable tech (from watches to bands), so the biggest competition for Google Glass might not come in the form of eyewear.

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THE FIRST ANNUAL

SOCIAL MEDIA

AWARDS

#BeirutGoesDigital

RAGMAG IS PLEASED TO STAGE THE OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY IN COLLABORATION WITH BLACKBERRY MIDDLE EAST TO BE HELD APRIL 29TH, 2013 AT MOMO’S AT THE SOUKS ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST ANNUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS IN LEBANON. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR SPONSORS CHAMPAGNE POMMERY, CHOPIN VODKA AND LABEL 5 SCOTCH WHISKY FOR THEIR FORWARD THINKING ATTITUDE TOWARDS SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE ONLINE COMMUNITY.

OUR OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNERS FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS AFTER PARTY TO BE STAGED IN COLLABORATION WITH BLACKBERRY MIDDLE EAST

Voting will commence April 1st, 2013 www.smabeirut.com

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FOLLOWING A ONE-MONTH NOMINATION PHASE FROM THE ONLINE COMMUNITY AND WITH OVER 600 NOMINATIONS COLLECTED ACROSS 32 CATEGORIES, THE FINALISTS FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED BY THE JUDGES DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE PHOENICIA HOTEL.

K R

Organized by the Online Collaborative in partnership with RAGMAG, the Social Media Awards seeks to reward the individuals and organizations that have demonstrated an exceptional presence in the social media space. “Since inception, RAGMAG Magazine has been actively engaged with the Lebanese social media community. A great deal of our focus is maintaining an engaged dialogue with our readership,” said Fida Chaaban, Editor in Chief, RAGMAG. “We’re pleased to stage the official Social Media Awards After Party in collaboration with BlackBerry Middle East. As firm believers in Lebanon’s online community, we look forward to continuing the ongoing conversation.”

On behalf of Alfa, Mrs. Aline Karam, Alfa’s Chief Communication Affairs Officer said, “We as Alfa are playing a major role in fostering a supportive environment that caters to the needs of mobile users and tech-lovers in Lebanon, by providing latest technologies in mobile especially 3G and 4G-LTE.” The panel of judges includes Lebanese Minister of Telecom H.E. Nicolas Sehnaoui who expressed his support and hoped that this event will encourage social media in Lebanon and the process of online content creation, and British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher among other notable personalities from the business, academic and media fields.

Following online nomination submissions from the online community the judges have evaluated the nominations across different criteria and have announced the nominees that will advance to the next round, passing the torch back to the online community that will have a fifty percent say in voting for the winners.

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By making the SMAs an annual event, the Online Collaborative wishes to empower the alternative online medium and its active collaborators promoting and demonstrating the undeniable power the internet has in driving change across all aspects of our lives. RAGMAG, as the Strategic Partner, is joined by the following sponsors for the Social Media Awards: Gold Sponsor Alfa Telecom managed by Orascom Telecom Media and Technology, Silver Sponsor Cornerstone Holding, Bronze Sponsors AddBloom and Eastline Marketing, Venue Sponsor Hotel Phoenicia – Beirut, Exclusive PR Partner MIRROS Communication & Media Services, Media Partners Naharnet, Beirut.com, Communicate Magazine, NRJ Lebanon, Nostalgie, Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal, and Community Partners Ihjoz and AltCity.me Voting will commence April 1st, 2013

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OUT + ABOUT

THE MAESTRO

HAS ARRIVED CHOPIN VODKA LAUNCHES IN LEBANON

We got out and about, and more than a little dazzled, at the launch of CHOPIN Vodka! The opulent event was attended by hundreds of guests in the transformed space of La Magnanerie on February 28th, 2013. We were enraptured by CHOPIN’s entertainment for the evening that ranged from striking mimes to an animated concert violinist, and certainly a DJ that continued to spin dance hits late into the evening. Segmented into several sections, the CHOPIN Vodka launch space housed a lounge adorned with wall to wall chandeliers, settees and impromptu divans, all brought together specifically for the event, in addition to a museum and an ice bar zone. It’s only fitting that CHOPIN Vodka should launch with such grand fanfare since it is an International Spirit Competition winner several times over. The three varieties of CHOPIN Vodka, potato, rye, and wheat, were also awarded the noted title of “World’s Best Vodka” by the International Beverage Testing Institute. Known as the “Celebrity Vodka”, stars such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, and Colin Firth (our favorite leading male), have endorsed the brand as their spirit of choice.

RAGMAG’s favorite part of the evening? Customized cocktails developed for the launch event that were free-flowing all night long! CHOPIN, cheers to you for inviting RAGMAG to a symphony that we won’t forget. Can we do it again next year?

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CULTURE CLASH

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

OPPOSITE PAGE: ALBUM COVER SHOOT FOR ALADDIN SANE, 1973 PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN DUFFY DUFFY ARCHIVE

DAVID BOWIE IN RETROSPECT

BY SABINA LLEWELLYN-DAVIES

L

ast month London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) opened its doors to a much anticipated exhibition: “David Bowie is”.

Considered the face of the 70s glam pop scene, David Bowie redefined pop and live performance; confirming his star status, thousands of fans prebooked their entry to the show months in advance. “David Bowie is” showcases the many personae of the great pop chameleon. Selected by the V&A’s Theatre and Performance curators Vic-

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toria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh, the exhibit features some incredible stage outfits including the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen in 1997 as well as instruments, album cover artwork, photographs, films, videos, and handwritten lyrics.

“We’re uniquely positioned to present this exhibition at the V&A, as we not only cover rock and pop as part of the Theatre and Performance strand, but our diverse collections also reflect the breadth of David Bowie’s artistic output and influence across music,

fashion, photography, graphics, film, theatre and art,” said the exhibition’s co-creator, Victoria Broackes. “Bowie is also unique in creatively directing every aspect of his work from his costume, album covers, tour sets to even the merchandise that goes on tour with him. The exhibition will illustrate how Bowie’s immense creative influence continues to shape contemporary culture in its broadest sense.” Even the creative director of the exhibition’s sponsor, Gucci, cites David Bowie as a major source of inspiration.

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CULTURE CLASH

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTO COLLAGE OF MANIPULATED FILM STILLS FROM “THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH” DESIGN BY DAVID BOWIE, FILM STILLS BY DAVID JAMES, 1975-6 COURTESY OF THE DAVID BOWIE ARCHIVE 2012 FILM STILLS © STUDIOCANAL FILMS LTD

So, who exactly is David Bowie? It would be unfair to assume that everyone born after the 90s outside the Western hemisphere is familiar with him. In 1972, dressed in a skintight Lycra psychedelic onesie and red lace up boots, David Bowie performed “Starman” on the UK music show Top of the Pops broadcast into five million homes across the UK and rock n’ roll gave way to descendant outrageous glamour pop. A visit to YouTube will put you in the picture. But, before he reinvented himself as David Bowie, he was plain Davy Jones living a dreary life in Bromley dreaming of escape. After studying music, art and design at Bromley Technical College he worked briefly in an advertising agency in London, before retreating to a Buddhist community in Scotland in 1967.

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IN 1970 HE MARRIED ANGELA BARNETT WHO FED HIS CREATIVITY AND ENCOURAGED HIS EMBRACE OF ANDROGYNY AND MAN-DRESSING FOR THE COVER OF HIS ALBUM “THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD” In 1970 he married Angela Barnett who fed his creativity and encouraged his embrace of androgyny and man-dressing for the cover of his album “The Man Who Sold the World”. Bowie’s daring approach went on to produce albums “Hunky Dory” and “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” with his surge of ingenuity influenced by the likes of writers like William Burroughs, Bertolt Brecht and

George Orwell, and artist Andy Warhol.

It was his 1974 “Diamond Dogs” album though that brought him mega stardom featuring a cover image that depicted Bowie as half-man, half dog. It led to the first big-budget touring live show of its kind in the States with elaborate sets and mechanical props conforming Bowie as an all round performer: a singer, an actor, a musician and a dancer.

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CULTURE CLASH

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

BELOW: THE ARCHER, STATION TO STATION TOUR, 1976 © JOHN ROBERT ROWLANDS

“DON’T LOOK DOWN THEY’RE MAKING SORTA CRAZY SOUNDS DON’T LOOK DOWN, NO DON’T KNOW WHO ELSE CAME TO KNEEL ON THIS EMPTY BATTLEFIELD” LYRICS FROM “DON’T LOOK DOWN” “TONIGHT” ALBUM, 1984

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CULTURE CLASH

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

OPPOSITE PAGE: STRIPED BODYSUIT FOR “ALADDIN SANE” TOUR, 1973 DESIGN BY KANSAI YAMAMOTO PHOTOGRAPH BY MASAYOSHI SUKITA SUKITA | THE DAVID BOWIE ARCHIVE 2012

A LOOK BACK ON THE GREAT DAYS OF BOWIEMANIA, BOOK YOUR VISIT IN ADVANCE

“DAVID BOWIE IS”

The V&A from 23 March - 11 August 2013 In partnership with Gucci, sound experience by Sennheiser vam.ac.uk

While touring the United States he absorbed the soul of black America and released “Young Americans” in 1975 from which the single “Fame” was released as his first American number one.

But, for all its funkiness, “Fame – puts you where things are hollow…” sang Bowie, reflecting on the dark side of his personal life. Relentless touring and dependence on cocaine were taking their toll and he decided to move to Berlin.

After a reclusive period he came up with “Low and Heroes”, a pioneering

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electronic pop album. “Bowie’s success and enduring appeal is due to a number of reasons. He combines commercial success with critical acclaim; he’s a pioneer not only of great music, but also of rock theatre, videos, internet and digital downloads,” said Victoria Broackes.

“He always responds creatively to new technology and he is and always has been personally and actively in charge of what he creates.” The exhibition coincides with the release of the 66 yearold’s new single “Where Are We Now”

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RAGGED TRANSITION FACTS BALL-AND-CHAIN There are many ways to refer to your significant other, but one of the most widespread pejorative expressions is “the ball and chain”. Historically, the iron ball and chain was mostly used by the British Empire and its former colonies, between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Consisting of a leg iron (or shackle) bound to a 90cm shackle and ending in an 18kg iron sphere, this physical restraint signifies someone holding you back from what you want to do.

LAWFULLY WEDDED

READY, SET, GO! The expression “runaway bride” first emerged in the second edition of “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” by author Stephen Crane, back in 1896 (“I knew this is the way it would be. They got cold feet.”); and while specific scientific research on the actual phenomenon is rare, a UCLA study found that cold feet before a wedding predicted marital troubles and divorce down the road.

In the American state of Delaware, couples filing for a divorce annulment can blame their friends, who dared them to tie the knot! You read correctly: in Chapter 15 of the “Delaware Divorce and Annulment Act”, § 1506, “the Court shall enter a decree of annulment of a marriage entered into under any of the following circumstances… (6) One or both parties entered into the marriage as a jest or dare”. And if you have a crush on your first cousin, don’t fret! In Utah, you can get married –after you both turn 65, of course. Title 30, Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Utah State Legislature allows marriage between first cousins only if they’re both over the age of 65 or if they’re older than 55 if they’re both unable to reproduce.

BOX OFFICE GOLD If Windex has become your choice remedy for ailments, then you’ve watched the highest-grossing wedding movie of all, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. This 2002 sleeper hit, starring Nia Vardalos (who wrote it) and John Corbett, made 368.7 million USD worldwide, followed by the hilarious 2011 Judd Appatow production, “Bridesmaids,” starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy in an Academy Award-nominated performance; the movie grossed 288.3 million dollars. The 2005 comedy “Wedding Crashers,” starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, with 285.1 million dollars ranks third place.

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RAGGED TRANSITION FACTS

FREAKY FRIDAY Wife/mother-swtiching was the topic of the 2004 ABC reality TV show, “Wife Swap”.

The concept was easy: swap wives/mothers or husbands for up to two weeks, but the swapped individuals must come from starkly different backgrounds and/or have impossibly different characters (think control-freak versus free-spirit). The first week sees the swapped mothers/fathers adhering to the rules of the household hosting them, and the second week sees them imposing their own rules, often creating friction and hostility.

$400,000 08-08-08 Opening day of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, breaking the record for the most weddings held in one day.

Another extremely popular wedding date was the preceding year, on the 07-07-07, a date chosen by “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria and her then-beau Tony Parker.

The approximate cost of Kate Middleton’s gown that she wore to wed Prince William. The world sighed collectively at her stunning ivory satin and lace Alexander McQueen gown with a 2.7-meter train. The gown reportedly took months to make and was made with delicate and expensive fabrics: French Chantilly lace, English Cluny lace paired with white and ivory satin Gazar. Other ridiculously expensive wedding gowns included that of Kate’s late mother-in-law, Lady Diana at $115,000, Catherine Zeta-Jones’ $140,000 Christian Lacroix beaded dress, and Victoria Beckham’s $100,000 Vera Wang gown.

SECRET KEEPER Janet Jackson secretly married Qatari billionaire Wissam El Mana in a “simple, beautiful yet quiet ceremony”. Another recent hush-hush celeb wedding is the union of Kate Winslet (her third marriage) and Richard Branson’s nephew, Ned Rocknroll –they reportedly tied the knot this past December. In a top-secret wedding ceremony in southern Italy, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel got hitched in October after a five-year relationship while Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds exchanged vows in mid-September in South Carolina, surrounded by close friends and families.

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THE ULTIMATE SHOWMAN

HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

ROBERT

DOWNEY JR. TAKES YOU FOR A RIDE IN IRON MAN 3

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. SERVES AS A CONSTANT REMINDER THAT YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO BE COOL ENOUGH. NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, THE TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE, BAFTA WINNER, AND ALL AROUND BALLER IS STILL GOING TO ONE UP YOU. GIVE UP. DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS UNDENIABLY WITTY, LIKE SOME MODERN MARK TWAIN OR A STRAIGHT OSCAR WILDE. DON’T TRY AND RATIONALIZE HIS EFFORTLESS PANACHE, AND DON’T COMMENT ON THE KENNEDY-LIKE CHARISMA. DON’T BOTHER TO POINT OUT THAT HE IS A TOP NOTCH PERFORMER AND DEFINITELY DON’T SAY HE’S AS GOOD AS DANIEL DAY-LEWIS (WITHOUT THE WHOLE METHOD ACTOR DRAMA). WE KNOW ALL OF THESE THINGS. AND WE KNOW YOU KNOW. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT ROBERT DOWNEY JR. IS ALMOST FUCKING PERFECT. ALMOST.

BY FIDA CHAABAN

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CULTURE CLASH

“I ABSOLUTELY INSIST ON HAVING FUN”

E

“

xpect to be continually surprised,” says Robert Downey Jr. when asked what you should anticipate walking into the theatre to take in the spectacle that is “Iron Man 3”. Yes, you should walk in and the cryptic face of RDJ will meet you there, and he doesn’t want you to anticipate anything other than the fact that he is going to deliver the performance of a lifetime. And yes, he’s trying to deflect the question: “This is intentionally a mislead into a redirect into a turnaround into a bait-and-switch into a red herring,” he says, bringing out a bit of the rake personality that RDJ channels so well. Just look at our cover, the aristocrat in the frame is RDJ too, and he’s the man about town with a devilmay-care affectation. But, being the gentleman that he is, he isn’t above giving you a meaty slice to chew on: “I think that in some ways that this [‘Iron Man 3’] is the most emotionally satisfying, and the most technically, and [the most] actionwise and superhero-wise entertaining of the three.” Oh and he also wants you to know that, “It’s fun.”

RDJ also has a way of making the implausible sound perfectly plausible. Everyone knows he can really deliver a line, but when he’s donning a suit and actually making you believe in Tony Stark’s alter ego, that’s a whole other story. He even makes it sound factual. “On a certain level this stuff is real and it’s also kind of feasible technologically. So I think that’s what made it successful. We had a group of talented people and we did something that kind of bridged a gap be-

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tween the unfeasibility of most superhero genre movies and the kind of movies like a ‘James Bond’ or ‘Mission Impossible’ that are grounded in things that we think could happen,” he argues. He can even bring abstract concepts in; alluding to the evolution of the technology in the triptych permeating the group mind. On this he thinks that “part of what really made it work was it was tangible. And with Legacy, the human beings who make all the tech in the movie, it’s as if you can reach out as we go from movie to movie and you are feeling more and more like you’re seeing something that’s become part of the collective unconscious.” And then he is straightforward, “At this point, with the first two Iron Man movies and then ‘The Avengers’ and now doing ‘Iron Man 3’, there is obviously this sense of continuity.” Obviously. How could you not have noticed? This is Robert Downey Jr., and this is how we get down to business. “Iron Man 3” is here and in some ways, you might never be the same again, especially if the collective vision (and collective thought) is adopting RDJ as fact. And they are.

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HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

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CULTURE CLASH

ABOVE: ROBERT DOWNEY JR. AT THE 2013 AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE GALA WHERE HE WAS HONOURED WITH THE 25TH ANNUAL AMERICAN CINEMATEQUE AWARD AT THE BEVERLY HILTON HOTEL IN BEVERLY HILLS RIGHT: AT THE PREMIERE OF “IRON MAN 2”, APRIL 26, 2010 IN HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA

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HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

CELEBRATING HIS 48TH BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH, DOWNEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN

HOLLYWOOD’S

BAD BOY “What happened to the fun?” he asks.

Indeed, what did happen to the fun? I ask myself that all of the time, but with RDJ, I mean isn’t it always fun? Fun being him, fun being the coolest actor onscreen today, and certainly fun playing Tony Stark! “That’s the first thing I was thinking, and I always have to remind myself as I absolutely insist on having fun. Why do I forget? Why do I become someone who is just in the slog of the pressure of the schedule? Tony Stark is a joy to play and charity starts at home,” says the several time Oscar nominee. He must be having a ball since playing Iron Man in “The Avengers” was rewarded by audiences globally: it is the third highest grossing film of all time. “The Avengers” also reinforced the idea that good or bad, Downey is one of the biggest box office draws on earth. To the delight of diehard Iron Man fans, he also cameoed as Tony Stark in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”, based on another Marvel Comics storyline. The man, who has done tons of wrong, can do no wrong in the eyes of audiences worldwide, and this is what matters.

Downey, celebrating his 48th birthday this month, has always been Hollywood’s bad boy. Think along the lines of Charlie Sheen, without the ridiculous

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PLAYING IRON MAN IN “THE AVENGERS” WAS REWARDED BY AUDIENCES GLOBALLY: IT IS THE THIRD HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME. “THE AVENGERS” ALSO REINFORCED THE IDEA THAT GOOD OR BAD, DOWNEY IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST BOX OFFICE DRAWS ON EARTH comedic marketing ploys. “Winning!” aside, Downey has struggled with drug abuse issues over the years, widely documented in the media, and unlike many stars of his calibre, hasn’t taken the damage where it counts: his career. A child of show biz parents, Downey’s acting career began at an early age; his cinematic debut was in his producer/director father’s film, named “Pound”, at the age of six. This means that he has been onscreen for 42 years, even with all of the hiccups down the line. Having faced legal repercussions due to his forays into heroin, cocaine, marijuana, other illicit substances and prescription drugs, Downey has been in and out of rehab centers and he’s even been incarcerated.

Detractors of his, and even those who championed him, lamented what they considered the ruin of his lengthy careerjust as he proved them wrong. For any

other actor, this mayhem would have been the end of starring roles (not to mention the promotional leper label). In Downey’s case, the very minute he was released, he was snatched up and cast in the critically acclaimed TV series “Ally McBeal” opposite Calista Flockhart; this role later added a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor to his long list of accolades. Eventually, the show’s producers wrote his character out of the plot due to recurrent clashes with the law involving drugs. Prior to this, many of his pending projects were put on hold during his stint in the pen –producers and directors alike were willing to wait for Downey- despite the fact that he was publicly linked to substance abuse and subsequently, jail time. For someone heavily associated with the Hollywood crash-and-burn scene, Downey continued to be untouchable.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

HAVING FACED LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS DUE TO HIS FORAYS INTO HEROIN, COCAINE, MARIJUANA, OTHER ILLICIT SUBSTANCES AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, DOWNEY HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF REHAB CENTERS AND HE’S EVEN BEEN INCARCERATED

APRIL 2013

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CULTURE CLASH

HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

IT’S [...] LIKE YOU’RE SEEING SOMETHING “THAT’S BECOME PART OF THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

”

Disney, who has a notorious reputation for distancing themselves from their favorite stars facing scandal (think Lindsay Lohan), has firmly stuck by Downey, proof is the Iron Man films. His latest appearance at Comic Con caused near pandemonium, with Downey sporting the Iron Man glove and a dapper tailored suit. He has won a few Teen Choice Awards and a Kids Choice Award for “Favorite Buttkicker”, and parents don’t seem to mind one bit that the actor their children idolize has struggled with addiction reportedly since the age of eight.

But that’s RDJ, nothing seems to stickor nothing negative anyway. He might be better at deflecting publicity than the Teflon Don himself, the late John Gotti Sr., another native New Yorker who made splashy crime headlines yet still managed to keep the public charmed.

It seems that four decades of success hasn’t convinced Downey that he’s here to stay. He thinks everything good must eventually come to an end, negating the idea that he is a perma-fixture on the big screen: “You know, there’s a halflife to an arc of a career, an arc of a franchise or whatever, so I think there’s been a lot of just goodwill this time around because we all feel like it’s a really nice ride, and again, the audience has driven the success. That’s what’s been cool,” he says crediting the cultlike fanbase for the triumph of the Iron Man films. Whether or not that is true, he admits that he feels “the passage of

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time. This is just such a sweet time to be with this group of men and women. So I don’t necessarily feel the whole grief of time is running out,” again delivering one of those contradictory statements that characterize his interviews over the years. It’s quite difficult to nail an opinion of Downey’s, he is the type of person who can state two very different ideas on the same topic in one breath.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Pepper in the Marvel Universe, is brought alive by Downey. Some have called the icy star (like Downey, she is also the child of Hollywood royalty) “remote” on film -not so in “Iron Man”- “I start thinking in terms of what’s in it for my co-stars, and what is it that keeps this interesting for Gwyneth. We’ve addressed that because she has a pretty remarkable arc

for a love-interest, female heroine in this film,” adds Downey. And is there something unexpected this time around?

“That’s probably one of the things that I am most excited about. Without giving it away, let’s just say she has a pretty incredible arc this time.” He also hastens to point out that “Tony Stark is the only superhero who has cultivated and maintained a relationship with one woman over time that doesn’t go south entirely”. His other female co-stars are equally engaged says Downey, “Rebecca Hall, who plays Dr. Maya Hansen, has just become one of my favorite people in the world. The relationship between Tony and a girl from the past that he just shared a night with is also really cool to motivate some changes and drama for him and Pepper.”

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

APRIL 2013

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

CULTURE CLASH

HOLLYWOOD’S BADASS + BIGGEST INFLUENCER

“EXPECT TO BE

CONTINUALLY SURPRISED”

Kind of echoing the Stark/Downey likeness, he points out that “it’s also nice because we always saw Tony as a playboy but we never thought that there was someone he actually maybe would have spent a little more time with. It’s interesting that there is this history between them that comes into play in the story and the theme.” His real-life love is also a partner in Team Downey, a production company created in 2010 with his wife Susan.

Downey himself says that he’s evolved since the first Iron Man film, “I’m five years older, so back in the day, all I cared about was, ‘Have I taken enough creatine? Do my arms look big? How’s the light? and then, ‘Am I kind of charming and funny?’” And now? “This time around the relationship with Pepper is obviously the kind of center of the movie. Contrary to my own designs, it seems like this time I’m much less thinking about, ‘How do I come off?’ and this and that. I am thinking about the other characters. I’m thinking about this kind of a checklist of stuff that we always thought maybe we should do.” This checklist includes some details that fans of the franchise

APRIL 2013

“TONY STARK IS THE ONLY SUPERHERO WHO HAS CULTIVATED AND MAINTAINED A RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE WOMAN OVER TIME THAT DOESN’T GO SOUTH ENTIRELY”

will appreciate like “we always felt like Tony and Rhodey should be at Neptune’s Net because it is up the road from where Tony lives and it’s a biker bar”. He says that “Iron Man 3” Director Jon Favreau (who directed Downey previously in smash-hit “Chaplin”), Shane Black and Joss Whedon have all contributed to this creative process. “We never got to execute [these elements because of] story or time or money or whatever got in the way.

And it seems like, without it being convoluted, a lot of those wishes are coming true”- this time around, Downey says it’s different.

RDJ will bring you back to the Marvel Universe: you’ll fall in love with Pepper and your blood will rush as you live vicariously through Tony Stark. RDJ

thinks so, after all he says that “when [they] started ‘Iron Man 3’, he has quoteunquote perfected a heart without actually dealing with the wound to begin with. So once you have all those things in play you go, ‘Okay, with all of those plates spinning at the same time, what is he supposed to do?’ And I think that there really is only one thing to do, and we tried everything else and wrote everything else and talked about everything else and the one we’ve chosen I think is absolutely delightful.”

With all of these plates spinning at the same time, RDJ has reinvented the juggling act and there is no room left for the competition. He’s the best at what he does- thus far signing an ironclad deal with the devil has paid off many times over. Three times to be exact

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LIVING IT LIKE TONY STARK WITH

MEN DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE OUR IRON MAN? JACK & JONES is hosting the only avantpremière of “Iron Man 3” in partnership with Italiafilm the beginning of May and RAGMAG wants to make sure you’re the first one there! In honour of the biggest movie release of the year, we’ve teamed up with the men’s fashion experts at JACK & JONES to recreate the Tony Stark look with their Premium line. Can you pull off a modern blazer like Robert Downey Jr.? Have you got the style to rock a dress shirt and make it look like a million bucks?

If so, you could be RAGMAG’s Tony Stark!

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

WIN THIS 1

2

3

WHO

MEN WITH THE TRADEMARK TONY STARK CHARM AND IRON MAN EXECUTION. WE WILL HAVE TWO WINNERS OF THE STYLING SESSION AND AVANT-PREMIÈRE TICKETS.

WHAT A FULL STYLING SESSION BY RABIH SALLOUM OF SLUTTERHOUSE AND A COMPLETE HEAD TO TOE PREMIUM OUTFIT COURTESY OF JACK & JONES. WHAT ELSE? RAGMAG’S TONY STARK WILL BE TAKING FIVE GUESTS OF HIS CHOICE TO THE EXCLUSIVE INVITE ONLY PREMIERE OF “IRON MAN 3”!

HOW

STEP 1 Choose ONE of the four JACK & JONES Premium looks shown here, and tell us why you think that this look is more Tony Stark’s style than the others.

4

STEP 2 Email letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com with your choice. Extra points if you add a link to the official Iron Man 3 trailer!

NOW GO! @JackandJonesME

Jack & Jones

JackandJonesME

RULES + REGULATIONS All entries must be male and above the age of 18 years-old.

Contestants must be a resident of Lebanon and have valid government issued identification. Contestants must complete both steps to qualify. Send us your entries as soon as possible, we’ll be choosing the winner at the end of April.

WHY RABIH SALLOUM OF SLUTTERHOUSE? Because this man has got it going on- he can rock a blazer better than anyone we know! He’s going to live tweet your style session at JACK & JONES and he’s also got some legit fashion expertise under his belt: Rabih has done modelling and styling work for a slew of top notch brands, including Paris Fashion Week! @Slutterhouse

APRIL 2013

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FML [F**K MY LIFE]

REALITY CHECK IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

LIFE TRANSITIONS

FEAR FACTOR FOR RAGMAG

BY SARAH HOURANY

I

finally graduated from college and joined the full-time workforce. I’ll admit that I was really excited to work after five years of university. Little did I know that the transition from college life to the professional world would be this depressing. I mean waking up at 6:30am, driving over an hour to work, sitting at a desk for over 10 hours, then spending another hour driving home- five or six days a week!

Why am I telling you all of this gher ta fesh khel2e publicly? It is just to share that particular feeling eno law shou ma kenit ra7 tna2ile Fida for my FML this month, it wouldn’t have compared

to the FML I’m experiencing on a daily basis. Yes, anything that doesn’t include traffic, a desk, and a computer doesn’t scare me at all, even skydiving, paragliding, and bungee jumping!

(3am bemza7, mesh hal2ad.)

“Your FML is snowboarding,” Fida tweeted. On the “Delicate Sarah” scale, it counts as an FML -given that my previous FMLs include dancing, bartending, Capoeira and Aqua Gym classes, which are all relatively risk-free activities. On the new “Working Sarah” scale, mountain and snow sports are equivalent to a relaxing day off; 7atta law ma kharje abadan snowboarding!

EDITOR’S NOTE

Every time there is a physically challenging FML, I send it Sarah’s way. What I get is a good attitude, but little in the way of physical prowess; she always tries her best even if she can’t actually make it happen. And yes, I was aware of Sarah’s new job, it had become difficult to reach her and she’s exhausted whenever I speak to her.

ON THE “DELICATE SARAH” SCALE, IT COUNTS AS AN FML -GIVEN THAT MY PREVIOUS FMLS INCLUDE DANCING, BARTENDING, CAPOEIRA AND AQUA GYM CLASSES, WHICH ARE ALL RELATIVELY RISK-FREE ACTIVITIES. ON THE NEW “WORKING SARAH” SCALE, MOUNTAIN AND SNOW SPORTS ARE EQUIVALENT TO A RELAXING DAY OFF 54 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

REALITY CHECK IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE | LIFE TRANSITIONS

FML 3al Tari2itude

It’s rainy and cloudy but Jason and I insist on heading to complete the assigned FML. We arrive at the Achkout roundabout, where the real (and unplanned) FML takes place. Jason had offered to pick me up from Jeita- I bet he regrets it now! The thing is I have Nebulaphobia (fear of fog), and I didn’t expect the weather to be this bad. As we can’t see anything, I beg Jason to stop driving insisting enno ma bedde mout! I call George, my snowboarding instructor, hoping to hear something like, “The weather is really

bad, let’s postpone the session,” but all I get is, “The weather is clear and sunny on the slopes”. So I have no choice.

“Tayib, let’s go,” I tell Jason in a trembling voice. “Neme w wa2ta nousal, I will let you know,” he says trying in vain to calm me down. “Barke nemet w ma w3it… forever?” is one of the numerous existential questions yalli tawashto fiyon kel el tari2.

“Inte aktar benet khawife shefta bi 7ayete”, he eventually concludes as I made his life miserable bi kel ma3na el kelme.

PHOTOGRAPHY JASON ZAMORA

EDITOR’S NOTE

This is truly hilarious. I don’t know why Jason would be shocked- he should know by now that you are little Miss Delicate from all the FML stunts! You actually asked him what if you never wake up? Sarah, chill!

Snowboarding... finally!

We eventually make it thanks to my nonstop praying and Jason’s driving superpowers. I thought eno hayde hiye: I take the snowboard, slide on the slopes w ou3a tobb 3a wejje. I was very uninformed: before being ready to go, we’ve got several things to do.

George helps me choose snowboarding boots and then checks out whether I’d be a “regular” who uses a lead left foot or a “goofy” who uses a lead right foot. He then magically sets my snowboard stance by adjusting the setback, width, and angle -which I think I will never be able to do, ever. Things already look more complicated than I thought. I can barely walk with the boots and the snowboard is bigger and heavier than I thought it would be.

APRIL 2013

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FML [F**K MY LIFE]

We haul our snowboards and hit the slopes, w ana elet khalas, seret snowboarder. Not yet. I need to become acquainted with the snowboard elements: nose, tail, base, and edge (terms that eventually feto bi rasse). Then I have to do a five minute dynamic warm-up to increase the heat in my muscles and prepare them for exercise. I also have to learn how to strap my boots into the bindings by pushing my heel into the heel cup, buckle the ankle buckle, then buckle the toe strap last. In addition, I have to move the board up and down and turn it left and right. Ok, I

REALITY CHECK IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE | LIFE TRANSITIONS

admit that I cheat and use my hands to move the board, bass 3anjad it was heavy. Ba3den even George tells me that he worked out extensively ahead of the season, as snowboarding requires a lot of leg strength. Once these skills are mastered, I learn how to glide from a place to another (did I mention we were on a flat snow surface?). Finally, George finds a gentle slope, and teaches me how to maintain my balance, push with my back foot and start moving downhill.

Mazbout eno khefet shway but seeing all the 10 year-old girls skiing around me khaletne eskot, eno bala jorsa!

I NEED TO BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH THE SNOWBOARD ELEMENTS: NOSE, TAIL, BASE, AND EDGE (TERMS THAT EVENTUALLY FETO BI RASSE).

THEN I HAVE TO DO A FIVE MINUTE DYNAMIC WARM-UP TO INCREASE THE HEAT IN MY MUSCLES AND PREPARE THEM FOR EXERCISE EDITOR’S NOTE

Sarah I can totally imagine all of these kids winding around you and you just barely moving the snowboard! At least you tried, that’s what is important. (Sort of)

The funny thing is I really thought what I was doing was actually snowboarding, but it wasn’t. I only completed stage one of the beginner’s lessons, which means that I have to attend a truckload more sessions to acquire snowboarder status. So Jason, will you pick me up?

NEWBREED SNOWBOARDING & WAKEBOARDING SCHOOL 56 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

+961 3 007 346 | +961T 3 H E653 T R A468 NSITION ISSUE NewBreedRiders | wearenewbreed.com

26 - 30 June 2013 BIEL, Beirut www.beirutmotorcycleshow.com

!

The Ride Starts Here > Showcase your latest models, accessories and

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APRIL 2013

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CULTURE CLASH

HAYDA LEBNEN’S

#MAKHARJKON

TRANSITION

BY SARAH HOURANY

O

nce upon a time, magazines were the only tools used by Lebanese celebrities to communicate with their fans (yreddo 3a ba3don el ba3d) and promote their work (their dresses and jewelry collections).

Back then, kenit iza tol3it one of them 3a cover “Jameli” insisting that she wore that yellow dress first, tol3it el tenye bi “Khamse bi 3younkon” magazine and proved her wrong. W iza sarra7it we7de mennon la “Najmet el Noujoum” that she is the best singer in the Arab world, raddet 3laya el tenye in majjalit “La2ale2” accusing her of buying all of her awards. Men el ekhir, they annoyed

us for years bil 2elle ta 2ellak taba3on magazines that we had to read while waiting at the salon (since we had nothing better to do)… But suddenly everything changed: the stars finally embraced social media and we all thought 2enno khalas rta7na! These bala ta3me magazines ra7 ysakro, which will save paper and help Mother Earth. Besides, 2elna that we could get to know these celebrities for real, enno what if the journalists made up all these useless stories? Bass unfortunately, la2 ma 3refna wala rta7na. We followed them on Twitter, hoping to discover who they really were, their thoughts, and what they love doing. W ya ret ma ktachafna!

TALK TO THE HAND Even though she didn’t finish high school, this singer saret 2ettarghil ktir mni7 English all of a sudden. Halla2 ok, she might have learned the “I, she, he” in the English center next door, but her excellent command of English men wen jebeto? We’re not fond of celebrities hiring PR firms to run their twitter accounts. Enno we want to read her own tweets and not those of her English-educated assistants.

PUBLIC RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVES, PLEASE INSTALL A SPELL CHECK PROGRAM FOR YOUR STARS! ENNO MA3LE WE WILL CONSIDER “FREIND” AS A TYPO SHE MAKES ON A DAILY BASIS MRS. LOGHAT If Mrs. Perfect bothered you with her perfect-but-fake tweets (enno wala ghalta, ever!), Mrs. Loghat will drive you crazy by her chronic misspelling (Public Relations representatives, please install a spell check program for your stars)!

Enno ma3le we will consider “frEind” as a typo she makes on a daily basis and we will assume that she is directly talking to God whenever she tweets: “ThankS God it’s raining”, bass “Were are you now dear fans?” or “Wat are you doing wright now?”, kif men2atte3la yehon hol, kif?

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

HAYDA LEBNEN’S #MAKHARJKON TRANSITION

SHAKESPEARE NTA7AR Halla2 we could just Google “quotes” and get more than 700,000,000 results but la2, our beloved star moussera tsa2efna shakhsiyan bi one copy-pasted quote per hour. Her so-called wisdom quotes include: “What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the person who made you cry in the first place”, that you’ve probably read hundreds of times before, or “Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice” yalli zabbalit 10 years ago. Does she ever post her personal thoughts? Biwjoud brainyquote.com, lashou?

KIM MEN WEJJE

SHE PERSONALLY TWEETS W IN ARABIC KAMEN- ARYA7 FOR HER AND FOR US. SHE’S THE ONLY LEBANESE CELEBRITY YOU’D WANT TO FOLLOW ISN’T SHE? WELL, IF YOU’D LIKE TO STAY INFORMED ABOUT ANIMALS, THEIR NAMES W 2ASLON W FASLON, AKID APRIL 2013

ANIMAL KINGDOM She represents what we exactly wanted from the two performers listed above. She personally tweets w in Arabic kamen- arya7 for her and for us. She’s the only Lebanese celebrity you’d want to follow isn’t she? Well, if you’d like to stay informed about animals, their names w 2aslon w faslon, akid. Our star likes to spoil her followers with words such as “ja7sh” w “kalb” -original ma hek?

She constantly shows off her curves, rings, cars, nails, à la Kardashian ma3 fare2 zghir that she doesn’t have Kim’s looks or fame. Enno Kim reportedly earns up to $10,000 every time she mentions a product or brand, bass our ‘star’ mesh reb7ane ella shawfetna! Kim has over 17 million followers, hiye ma byotla3o 10,000, the equivalent of el 7ayy 3and Kim ya3ne. Kim herself is bad enough, and now we’ve got a local version!

But let’s be fair, while some ma ken kharjon transition to social media, others succeeded in it. So unfollow those who annoy you, and vote for those who don’t on the Beirut’s first annual Social Media Awards website! www.smabeirut.com

Ma deyman fi 2el mni7 w fi 2el 3atil, ma hayda Lebnen ya 3ayneh!

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MIND, BODY+SOUL

TO ASK A QUESTION send your problems to helpmenour@ragmaglive.com TO JOIN THE READER RESPONSE PANEL and give feedback to women across Lebanon, send your name, age, and email address to helpmenour@ragmaglive.com subject line: Interactive Panel We will contact you if you are chosen to participate.

help me

NOUR+RABIH

BY NOUR OBAJI + RABIH FEGHALI

At a party the other night, I was helping clean up. When I walked by my friend’s husband, I had to ask him to move so I could get plates.

I happened to look down and saw that he was watching a video on his phone that was clearly not from his wife. Two things I want to make clear to the panel: his wife told us (her best friends) that she thinks he is having an affair and also I only saw a quick glance but it was more than enough. I don’t want to tell anyone. Am I right to stay the hell out of it or should I spill it to her?

MAYBE THE PARTY WAS BORING AND HE WAS BROWSING THE WEB FOR LATER FUN WITH THE WIFE. MAYBE HE JUST LIKES WEIRD STUFF. MAYBE HE WORKS AS A PART-TIME PORNSTAR AND HE WAS CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH? Sarah, 24

“I would never say anything. If I saw my best friend’s husband cheating, I think I would say something, but a fringe friend no way. Even if you see someone in a compromising position, that doesn’t mean your take on the situation is correct, you have to be one hundred percent sure before you open your mouth.

What if it was just porn and not another real life person?”

Rani, 26

“Mind your own fucking business! How do you know that it’s a girl who sent the video?

You know how many times I received videos

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from guys with obscene content? Me neither! And maybe the party was boring and he was browsing the web for later fun with the wife. Maybe he just likes weird stuff.

Maybe he works as a part-time pornstar and he was conducting scientific research? If you had more concrete evidence, I would’ve still told you to mind your own business.”

Najla, 36

“You stay out of it. Firstly, his wife can know herself whether he’s really cheating or not if she decides to investigate. It’s not that complicated. A quick glance? Maybe the guy was just watching porn, and even if he wasn’t and the video featured him and a kinky blond, it’s not your business.”

Nour’s Vote Stay away silly. For starters, it is doubtful that a man who is carrying on a secret relationship would be so careless. If you tell her what you think you saw (not know for a certainty), what would you say? I think I saw your husband watching some kind of scandalous video on his phone for a split second? You have nothing concrete to share.

If she thinks her husband is having an affair, then she needs to pull up her socks and discuss it with him, not rely on second hand information that may or may not be incriminating.

Rabih’s Vote Is the Pope Catholic? Of course you’re staying out of it! Besides, it may have just been a video that one of his buddies sent to him.

We all have guy friends that send “videos” around. Delete this event from your memory and move on.

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

HELP ME NOUR+RABIH

IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE STILL CONFUSED AND A BIT PUT OUT ABOUT YOUR BREAKUP, IF YOU REALLY NEED CLOSURE, THEN I GUESS YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW UP. IF IT WAS ME, I WOULD LEAVE IT ALONE AND WAIT FOR HIM TO ACT LIKE AN ADULT. THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT, AND NOUR THINKS YOU SHOULD KEEP IT THERE. HE NEEDS TO GET A BACKBONE I haven’t heard from my ex-boyfriend in six months, now he’s back in town and he’s passing subtle messages through mutual friends that he wants to “talk”. He’s also saying that he’s scared of my reaction, as though I’m the monster here. We were doing fine in our relationship until one day he decided that we should break up. I didn’t argue the point much, I was too shocked at the time to say anything but the few days before he had been weird. What would you do? Should I initiate the conversation now that he is here? We still have each other on Facebook but he doesn’t use it much so should I send him an SMS?

Tala, 21

“Take it from someone who has been there, forget it and forget him. Six months have gone by and you said it yourself, you haven’t heard from him. Being ‘out of town’ is no excuse not to talk to you. If he really wanted to, he would have sent you a message or something. Plus, it’s been six months, it’s time that you both move on. Talking might complicate things for both of you or bring back unwanted memories and emotions. Why open past wounds, right? But in any case, if you do in fact decide that you want to meet up and catch up, make sure you have someone with you.”

YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF OTHER QUESTIONS LIKE WHAT DOES HE WANT NOW? IS HE JUST BORED? IS HE MISSING THE PHYSICAL STUFF? DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY HE BROKE UP WITH YOU THIS EASILY? DON’T DO ANYTHING. IF HE TRULY CARES AND WANTS TO SEE YOU, HE WILL MUSTER UP THE COURAGE AND ENDURE YOUR PRESUMED WRATH Amal, 24

“Under no circumstances would I reach out to him. If he wants to talk to you, he should man up and call you. By telling friends he wants to talk instead of telling you, he is being disrespectful of you as a person. Unfortunately, you are a bit vague about what you mean by weird so I can’t speak about his motives for breaking up and then deciding that you shouldn’t have broken up. And by the way, delete him from your Facebook account!”

with facing you directly. Why would you want to talk to him anyway? It sounds like you’re still confused and a bit put out about your breakup, if you really need closure, then I guess you have to follow up. If it was me, I would leave it alone and wait for him to act like an adult. The ball is in your court, and Nour thinks you should keep it there. He needs to get a backbone.

Aida, 28

Nour’s Vote

“I don’t really see what the big deal is. If you want to talk, text or call him and just go, ‘Hey, heard you’re in town, do you want to have coffee to catch up?’. If you have nothing to tell him, don’t contact him. He’ll man up and call you himself if he wants to talk.”

He sounds like a coward and a loser. When I want to talk to an ex of mine to resolve some residual problems, I message or call them myself. Why is he passing comments and messages through people? You need to ignore this guy because he clearly can’t deal

You should ask yourself other questions like what does he want now? Is he just bored? Is he missing the physical stuff? Did you ever wonder why he broke up with you this easily? Don’t do anything. If he truly cares and wants to see you, he will muster up the courage and endure your presumed wrath.

APRIL 2013

Rabih’s Vote

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MIND, BODY+SOUL

Have been in a bad marriage for years and even my in-laws know it. They tell everyone that I’m a saint for staying with him and they are really good to me to try and make up for his behavior. He’s not abusive but he’s an addict. I make progress with him then he goes back to his old habits. We’re really in debt and part of the reason I don’t want to leave is because of the financial situation we are in. What would you do? I do still love him but I need to figure out my plan, it’s been five years of this and it keeps going and going. We have kids together and the kids always complain that he’s never home.

IT MAY SOUND EASIER SAID THAN DONE, BUT THERE ARE ONLY TWO ROADS HERE AND REMAINING IN THIS CYCLE IS DETRIMENTAL TO YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN. I SAY IGNORE RABIH

Anna, 35

“Get your shit in order. Get a decent paying job and move on with your life- you need to leave him. Take the kids with you and go to court for this, that’s what I would do.”

Jelena, 31

“Staying in this relationship will only make things harder for you in the long run. You can’t change a person no matter how hard you try. Focus on your future and on your kids, get a better paying job, have your inlaws or parents help you with the kids, and move on with your life. Staying with your husband will only bring you down.”

Nour’s Vote So this is a modern day marriage- for debt and finance purposes you are staying committed to an addict? The basic psychological premise about addicts is thus: if they don’t want to kick their habits, no force on earth including counselling can make a difference. I don’t know why you mentioned the part about your in-laws, I fail to see what relevance this plays in the situation.

HELP ME NOUR+RABIH

The neighbour, the cousin, and his buddy from college all think you’re a saint, and so what? You want to play the martyr forever?

You didn’t mention what kind of addiction(s) your husband is suffering from, so I can’t give you an accurate game plan. About the debt, staying with him is not lessening the debt, but leaving him can reduce the amount you personally incur going forward.

So let’s say it’s $10,000 now, the longer you stay, the higher it climbs. Get divorced and get your kids out of this nasty situation. It may sound easier said than done, but there are only two roads here and remaining in this cycle is detrimental to you and your children. I say ignore Rabih.

Rabih’s Vote Beyond the debt and the financials, is he a good husband in general? Does he love you?

If the answer is yes, then you have to continue doing everything you can to help him and to get your lives straightened out. Remember “through thick and thin, in sickness and in health”? That’s what you promised and committed to five years ago... See it through.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

GUY’S CORNER I really want to get married. I’m kind of religious I guess you can say, so I’m interested in finding someone that matches my morals. The problem is I think I missed the boat here because a lot of the girls in my age group that suit my lifestyle are already married. I don’t want a big age gap between us and the women I am meeting are way younger, that’s all that seems to be available. Any suggestions for a conservative guy with family values that wants someone in his own age group?

Where are all the ladies hiding?

THERE ARE LOTS OF FISH IN THE SEA AND YOU NEED TO BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, ASK FOR INTROS STRAIGHT OUT. THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE 62 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

CMY

K

Nour’s Vote This one is difficult. My initial reaction was to go old school and ask people to introduce you to likely matches. Upon further consideration, I think you need to try harder first before you go the family route. Where are you going to meet these women (girls)? Have you tried taking a class that you’re interested in? Enrolling in a volunteer program? Hanging out with couples that have a common ground with you and seeing who their social group is made up of? There are lots of fish in the sea and you need to broaden your horizons. If all else fails, ask for intros straight out. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Rabih’s Vote What you’re saying is statistically incorrect. Unmarried Gen X women are the fastest growing and widening demographic in Lebanon today. I’m not sure how old you are, but there are plenty of quality conservative and non-conservative women that are no longer in their 20s.

Send me your email address, I’ll have 10 women your way by tonight latest 6pm

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

FREE

PROTECTING COLORS!

Get a FREE Mir Black 750ml with every purchase of any Mir 1.5L from all Spinneys branches.

The offer is valid till May 31st, 2013.

, perfect care for special fabrics APRIL 2013

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١٧٤ ٣٥,٠٠٠ ١

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

SPEAK

UP

VAGINAL ATROPHY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

LAUNCHES IN LEBANON

“Ma Tkhalli Waja3ik 7aki Neswen”

T

hrough their new campaign, launched at a press conference on March 15th, 2013, the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (LSOG) and healthcare company Novo Nordisk call on women and healthcare professionals to address the menopause-related issue and lift the taboo Lebanese women are facing.

Atrophic Vaginitis (or vaginal atrophy) is a chronic condition that usually affects postmenopausal women but is not exclusive to that age group. An intense dryness caused by a decline in estrogen, the hormone produced by the ovaries it creates a thinning and inflammation of the vaginal lining and can affect any woman whose estrogen production drops drastically –any multitude of factors can contribute, from breastfeeding, radiotherapy, chemotherapy to immunologic disorders. Menopause, most often associated with hot flashes and mood swings, can cause painful and unpleasant symptoms and conditions, and vaginal atrophy is one of them. Vaginal dryness, burning, itching, and soreness, leading to very painful intercourse, and multiple urinary tract infections that upset the regular urinary process leading to incontinence, are some of the symptoms a women affected by vaginal atrophy can experience. The real problem is, rather than requesting treatment, women are hiding their discomfort.

According to Rita Sfeir, Novo Nordisk Lebanon General Manager, the taboo surrounding aging and sexuality and women’s reluctance to discuss what they’re going through is not specific to the Middle East, but it is all the more present in the region because of the way we view sexuality. Supporting the point,

APRIL 2013

Zoya Awky, lecturer at Notre Dame University, produced a 15 minute documentary on menopause’s effect on women’s lives.

None of the women featured in the documentary mentioned vaginal atrophy even though some were suffering from it. To Awky, it “only highlights the embarrassment most feel about the […] condition.” A reflection backed up by numbers: according to Dr. Faysal El-Kak, LSOG President, “50 to 75 per cent of women going through menopause suffer from vaginal atrophy and only 25 percent of them speak up.” The problem is a double edged sword: women are reluctant to talk about their symptoms because they’re ashamed and doctors rarely address the symptoms up during routine check-ups because they’re not sure how their patient will react to their questions.

The general malaise created by vaginal atrophy can easily be treated and women now have access to several types of treatments, the best being estrogen therapy- in other words, estrogen hormones are given to the body to counterbalance the decrease.

Studies have shown that Hormone Replacement Treatments can increase a woman’s risk of getting cancer if taken over a long period of time but Dr. El-Kak says there are other forms of estrogen intake. “Local application of estrogen in the vagina is a very simple way to do it. The quantities of hormones in that type of treatment stay below the upper limit from which hormone intake can lead to cancer and other side effects” because of the low absorption level.

The LSOG hope their campaign will make women aware of the risks they’re taking by keeping silent and of the easiness of the treatment. It’s time to speak up women of Lebanon, and not let your pain stay “7aki neswen”

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MON AMOUR, MON AMI

DEALING WITH THE

STATUS CHANGE

LADIES+GENTS YOU ARE NOW SINGLE

DIAGNOSIS

POST RELATIONSHIP STRESS DISORDER

BY MARIA-ELENA KASSAB

A

s much as we try to convince ourselves and others that we lead a zen, stress-free life, we have to face the facts: most of us are under pressure in every aspect of our lives, be it the stress of meeting a deadline, the pressure to provide for our families or people expecting us to act a certain way while drunk! And while sometimes a relationship can be a pleasant way to relieve some of that stress and pent-up frustration (minds out of the gutter, people), it can sometimes add way more stress than we need, leading us to break it off. Under normal conditions, this eases off the pressure, but it can sometimes lead to a condition we like to call PRSTPost Relationship Stress Disorder.

IN THE WORDS OF BREAKUP EXPERT TAYLOR SWIFT, YOU NEED TO TELL THEM THAT YOU “ARE NEVER, EVER, EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER.” LIKE, EVER RIGHT: TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE BRIT AWARDS 2013, O2 ARENA, LONDON. PICTURE BY STEVE VAS

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1. I NEED YOU TONIGHT Ladies, we’ve covered the topic of VMen in the December 2011 issue of RAGMAG, so I’m sure you all know what we’re talking about. Gentlemen, I’ll admit women aren’t perfect and will sometimes exhibit neediness, clinginess and whininess after a breakup. The best way to deal with that is to completely ignore your ex. Do not give into their whining and moaning just to have the

satisfaction of shutting them up, unless it’s a case of force majeure. Acknowledging them and answering their pleas will only give them hope that you might get back together. But in the words of breakup expert Taylor Swift, you need to tell them that you “are never, ever, ever getting back together.” Like, ever.

2. RE: I NEED YOU TONIGHT

So you’ve had a little too much vino and your phone wound up in your hand, suddenly transforming into a Weapon of Mass Destruction that could ruin all your efforts to steer clear of your ex!

When you’re tipsy, drunk or completely plastered, it’s easy –too easy– to dial your ex’s number to moan about your breakup, admit you were wrong (even if you weren’t), confess your undying devotion and even chat about the weather. This is where your best friend should swoop in and snatch that WMD from your hand for the night, just to be on the safe side. You could also change ALL your exes’ names to HE WHO MUST NOT BE CALLED and DON’T CALL THIS NUMBER AND SOBER UP –trust me, it works.

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

DEALING WITH THE STATUS CHANGE | POST RELATIONSHIP STRESS DISORDER

3. DATING GAME Imagine yourself at the movies with your friends when you spot a girl with too much makeup and too little clothing or a guy with greasy hair and a bad case of jerk-itis (a very common disease among men). You’re just about to comment on how ridiculous they are when you see your ex strutting in that direction and planting a wet one on them, right in front of everyone. You must resist the urge to gag and the burning desire to snatch your ex away from that silicone doll/Neanderthal because they could do so much better. Think of it this way: you were so damn amazing, you ruined your ex for all other regular people and they now have to aim way lower. Then again, you might just be seeing their new partner through excoloured glasses.

4. EGO BOOST

Let’s go through the same scenario as number 3, but with a twist: the girl looks like Eva Effing (not her real middle name) Mendez/the guy is as hot as Ryan Ablicious (should be his middle name) Gosling. You soon learn she’s part of Doctors Without Borders and he saves baby seals for a living. This is

APRIL 2013

where you must resist the urge to sink to the floor and sob over how you were replaced by the 2.0 version of yourself and take this as an opportunity to boost your own ego: clearly, your ex has impeccable taste in lovers since they chose you and then moved on to the epitome of perfection. Despite all the other infuriating flaws, your ex sure can pick ‘em!

5. SAY WHAT?!

When your ex isn’t needy or clingy, when they go through the hatred/resentment/raging anger phase, there is no telling what secrets they’re going to spill to third parties. Now if you ignored your mama’s advice to not tell your current sweetheart all your dirty little secrets (especially if you change sweethearts more often than favorite songs), you’re gonna have a bad time.

Now your ex might be telling friends that you’re easy, high-maintenance, dumb as a rock or clinically insane (hey, it has happened), but remember: those people who’re hearing all these stories are no longer your friends! You don’t have to see them, hang out with them or even think about them again.

So let the tongue-wagging happen, you know everyone will be thinking your ex

should never be entrusted with a secret since he’s so eager to spill those of a person he once was in love with.

Now if you think you have PRST, there are a few things you might want to do: change your ex’s name from “Habibi” to “Voldemort”, entrust your phone to your friends when you drink, and listen to plenty of Taylor Swift songs. Just don’t sing along –that would stress everyone else out

WHEN YOU’RE TIPSY, DRUNK OR COMPLETELY PLASTERED, IT’S EASY –TOO EASY – TO DIAL YOUR EX’S NUMBER TO MOAN ABOUT YOUR BREAKUP, ADMIT YOU WERE WRONG (EVEN IF YOU WEREN’T), CONFESS YOUR UNDYING DEVOTION AND EVEN CHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER

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MON AMOUR, MON AMI

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY BY ODETTE KAHWAGI REPRINTED FROM RAGMAG MAY 2010 COMMITMENT ISSUE

I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED...

YET

LOOKING BEFORE I LEAP, DESPITE THE PRESSURE

BY YOUMNA CHAGOURY

“SO WHERE ARE YOU HEADED WITH M.?

“DUDE, I DON’T KNOW!” “WELL, ARE YOU EVEN HEADED SOMEWHERE?”

T

he seemingly stagnant status of my relationship is driving the people around me crazy, and by default, their reactions are driving me crazy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the “When are you getting married?” convo. They don’t get it. When Fida asked me to write about why I didn’t want to get married in our wedding-themed issue, I jumped at the chance. Maybe putting it in print and making my entourage read it will imprint my reasons in their minds (pun very intended). Here is a bit of background for you: I’m 27 years-old and I’ve been in a committed relationship for four years. In Lebanon (and the rest of the Middle East), this situation screams marriage. I’ve never let anyone meddle in my personal life and

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harangue me with proclamations about the future of my relationship, but a few friends and family slyly manage to work their way in. I don’t know how they do it; I just know that I always end up defending not only my views on the subject but also my relationship, over and over again.

MY AUNT

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?” “You went to university, you traveled, you’ve even worked! Now it’s time to build a family.” I usually shrug and mumble something along the lines of, “Yeah, whatever.” But what I’m actually waiting for is figuring out what I really want out of life. Do I want to live in Lebanon or will I move abroad? Because I’d make that decision with my

significant other. Do I want to open my own business? Because I sure can’t deal with a marriage and a start-up at the same time. Am I ready to invest a good part of my income in a house and the expenses that come with it? Because I still didn’t get that Chanel bag I’ve been saving up for since 2009. So Aunty, I’m waiting on all those things and a thousand more. When I figure out what it is that I want, I’ll let you know.

I SURE CAN’T DEAL WITH A MARRIAGE AND A STARTUP AT THE SAME TIME. AM I READY TO INVEST A GOOD PART OF MY INCOME IN A HOUSE AND THE EXPENSES THAT COME WITH IT? THE TRANSITION ISSUE

I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED... YET | LOOKING BEFORE I LEAP, DESPITE THE PRESSURE

FRIEND OF A FRIEND

“SO YOU’RE JUST DATING?” If the only three stages of a relationship are dating, engaged, and married, then yes I’m just dating. However, my notion of a relationship also includes a commitment phase that does not include a ring on your right finger and a lame proposal on the beach. Is marriage all about validating your long-term relationship? Does your relationship cease to count if you don’t end up signing on the dotted line? Because my relationship is very valid. It has always been, and not getting married now doesn’t mean we’re not one hundred percent committed to one another. People that have been together for an extended period of time think they have to get married because it’s what people -parents, fam-

APRIL 2013

ily, friends, society, and the neighbor’s dog- expect from them; it’s the norm.

I’m happy “just dating” my significant other, even though our concrete plans only go as far as next summer, we know we want to really be together at some point (read: plan a future together).

dreams to fit into society’s requirements and later end up taking it out on their children. I do have a type of selfishness in my personality: being in a committed relationship, I take my significant other’s opinion into consideration when making life-changing decisions.

MY (EX?) BEST FRIEND

CAN I JUST DROP EVERYTHING AND TAKE A TRIP? NO. WHEN I HAVE KIDS, CAN I GO A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT TAKING THEM TO MY IN-LAWS? NO. UNTIL I’M READY TO GIVE UP ON THIS TYPE OF FREEDOM, I WON’T GET MARRIED. IF YOU CONSIDER THIS SELFISH, THEN SO BE IT

“YOU’RE LIKE MY OTHER FRIEND, WHO’S ALSO VERY CAREER-ORIENTED. SHE DOESN’T PLAN ON HAVING A FAMILY ANYTIME SOON. SHE’S SELFISH.” Is loving your job and working your ass off because you’re still young and have the energy (and no kids to swallow it up like a giant black hole) considered selfish? I don’t think so. Selfish people are those who let go of all their

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MON AMOUR, MON AMI

A WOMAN NOT TALKING ABOUT HER WEDDING EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY – EVER, IN MY CASE- DOES NOT MEAN SHE DOESN’T WANT ONE AT SOME POINT. IT MEANS SHE’S NOT THERE YET But being married, I’ll have to take him into consideration for most decisions, not just the big ones. Can I invite 10 friends over for dinner without giving him notice? No. Can I just drop everything and take a trip? No. When I have kids, can I go a whole year without taking them to my in-laws? No. Until I’m ready to give up on this type of freedom, I won’t get married. If you consider this selfish, then so be it. I’d rather be selfish while I’m single than while I’m married.

I DON’T WANT TO GET MARRIED... YET | LOOKING BEFORE I LEAP, DESPITE THE PRESSURE

Hiba immediately took on her maid of honour responsibilities. Themed wedding pictures, honeymoon packages… she flooded me with emails and messages, only leaving out the white dress!

Her reaction was actually funny but it got me thinking that they might have been wondering (and maybe, worrying) if my partner and I were ever really considering marriage. A woman not talking about her wedding every second of every day –ever, in my case- does

not mean she doesn’t want one at some point. It means she’s not there yet, or in my case not obsessed with the walk down the aisle.

I do want to get married in the future -I excluded cohabitation from my possible lifestyles a long time ago for several reasons that will have to be explored in another article- but most importantly, I want to decide when and how I will get married. All I know is, the time hasn’t come for me. Yet

MY SISTER

“HEY, I SENT YOU LINKS WITH COUNTRYSIDE WEDDING PICTURES, DID YOU SEE THEM?” And what exactly am I supposed to do with those? Drool over them? My parents and sisters only recently found out that my significant other and I were actually considering tying the knot (someday). It came as a shock to them and my sister

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

APRIL 2013

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MIRROR, MIRROR

Archie’s Girls

BETTY+ VERONICA IN THE FLESH M.A.C COSMETICS BRINGS THE WORLD’S BEST KNOWN FRENEMIES TO LIFE

Remember the retro cool Archie Comics?

Prepare to get excited: M.A.C Cosmetics has brought Betty and Veronica to life! M.A.C’s new limited edition collection, Archie’s Girls, celebrates the iconic comic personas in a limited edition collection that everyone will be lining up to grab!

There are 16 products for Betty and 16 products for Veronica- lipsticks, glosses, eyeliners, loose pigments, nail lacquers, eyeshadows, face powders, and even mascara.

Betty’s range features spring pastel-like colours –peaches and pinks, light greens and frosty yellows- while Veronica’s range is all about deeper hues –violet, red, blackened plum, and dark berry. The only rule to follow?

If you’re blonde, get Betty’s Powder Blush in Cream Soda, a satin light neutral coral. If you’re a brunette, get Veronica’s Prom Princess in a mid-tone violet pink.

KISS + TELL We can’t decide on one lipstick from the Archie’s Girls collection so we’re going with two: Betty’s Betty Bright, a light vibrant peach, and Veronica’s Ronnie Red in bright red for a seductive makeup.

Don’t forget to tone down the eyes if you’re going for the latter, as Ronnie Red is already a statement-maker! If you prefer a lip gloss texture, we recommend Betty’s Stay Sweet Lipglass (a lavender pink) and Veronica’s Strawberry Malt Lipglass (a bright red).

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER This spring, M.A.C brings you the best in nail lacquer colours for both day and night.

We like Betty’s Pep Pep Pep, a light peach nude, to wear with a spring dress at a Sunday brunch. If you’re going out on the town, dress up your nails with Veronica’s Double Trouble in deep navy.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

GO PRO THE ARCHIE’S GIRLS BRUSH KIT 266SE Small Angle Brush 226SE Small Tapered Blending Brush 242SE Shader Brush 168SE Large Angle Contour Brush 167SE Bronzer Brush

IF YOU WANT TO COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION, GET THE JINGLE JANGLE COIN PURSE AND THE JUST A FLIRT MAKEUP BAG! THESE MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR YOUR BESTIES!

APRIL 2013

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MIRROR, MIRROR

SPA SELECTION

THE WEDDING

EDITION

REWARD THE BRIDAL PARTY FOR THEIR HARD WORK For the Transition issue, we suggest you reward your bridal attendants with one of RAGMAG’s top treatments, just in case you’ve been a Bridezilla. Here are our treatment recommendations in Lebanon for your pre-wedding pampering ritual (or post-wedding if you all need a breather!). Gentlemen, we haven’t forgotten you and you shouldn’t forget about your groomsmen- check out our top treatment for men. We hear wedding bells!

WHAT

Zen for Body & Mind Ritual WHERE TAO SPA Le Mirage Plaza Building René Mouawad Street, Verdun 01 744905/6/7 Tao Spa & Health Club

WHAT

Cleopatra Bath WHERE EDDÉ SANDS HOTEL & WELLNESS RESORT Byblos Riviera, Jbeil

09 542222 www.eddesands.com

Edde Sands Hotel & Wellness Resort @eddesandsgroup

WHAT

Hydro Massage WHERE GRAND HILLS HOTEL & SPA Main Road, Broummana 04 868888 www.grandhillsvillage.com Grand Hills Hotel and Spa Broummana

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

SPA SELECTION | THE WEDDING EDITION

WHAT

Volcanic Hot Stone Therapy WHERE LE GRAY PUREGRAY HEALTH CLUB & SPA

Martyrs’ Square, Central District Beirut 01 962885 www.campbellgrayhotels.com/le-gray-beirut

MEN’S MOMENT

THIS ONE FOR THE GUYS CAME HEAVILY RECOMMENDED

BY THE GENTLEMEN AT ADAM LEVANT MAGAZINE!

WHAT

Sodashi Man Maintenance WHERE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BEIRUT SPA Minet el Hosn, Beirut 01 761000 www.fourseasons/beirut Four Seasons Hotel Beirut FSBeirut

APRIL 2013

FSBeirut

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MIRROR, MIRROR

BRONZED BEAUTIFUL

+

GUERLAIN’S NEWEST TERRACOTTA COLLECTION

We don’t really need to introduce Guerlain’s cult Terracotta Bronzing Powder, after all one Terracotta product is sold every 20 seconds somewhere in the world. The fine texture gives you the perfect illusion of a sunkissed skin, with the right balance of colour and transparency. This year, Guerlain aims at catering to women of all skin complexions by releasing the Terracotta 4 Seasons range, four new shades for a tailor made glow year-round. To the existing coordinated shades palettes for blondes and brunettes, Guerlain has created four new harmonies to suit every skin tone: 02 Natural Blondes, 03 Natural Brunettes, 08 Ebony (paired with a red blush for a dark complexion), and 00 Nude (paired with a pink blush for a pale or Asian complexion).

HOW-TO

Winter Sweep the two lightest shades across the prominent

areas of your face –forehead, cheekbones and chin- to redefine its contour Autumn Combine all of the shades and sweep across the entire face, focusing on the most prominent areas Summer Blend all four colours and apply using Guerlain’s “3” technique: with your brush, trace a “3” on each side of the face -from the forehead down towards the cheeks, then down along the jaw line to the chin and down the neck.

INDUSTRY INSIDER TIP

Guerlain’s Olivier Echaudemaison tells you how to add your finishing touch: mix the two darker shades and sweep them across the raised areas of the face, the places that catch the sun most –the forehead, nose, cheekbones and chin.

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SUMMER BRIDAL SCENT AQUA ALLEGORIA NEROLIA BIANCA

BY GUERLAIN

Every year since 1999 Guerlain has introduced a new Aqua Allegoria to its existing opus of Eaux Fraîches permanent collection: Pamplelune, Herba Fresca, Mandarine Basilic, and Lys Soleia. For 2013’s limited edition fragrance, Nerolia Bianca, Guerlain perfumer Thierry Wasser gathered everything the bigarade orange tree has to offer in terms of scent: the fruit with bitter orange essence, the flower with orange blossom absolute and neroli essence, and the branches from which petitgrain essence is obtained. Top notes of bitter orange and petitgrain, middle notes of neroli essence, and base notes of orange blossom absolute and ylangylang essence finish with subtle white musk, white amber and cedar wood notes. This is the fragrance to wear to your summer wedding- a bridal bouquet to remember.

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

STAR PRODUCT GUERLAIN SUN SERUM Guerlain has more than one trick up their sleeve when it comes to getting you sun swept! The Terracotta range also features Sun Serum, which helps you acquire, deepen and prolong a tan. Add two drops of serum to your usual skincare product and four drops to your body care product. Not only will it stimulate the natural production of melanin to give you a long-lasting glow, it will also sooth and moisturize the skin. It’s a win-win situation!

APRIL 2013

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MIRROR, MIRROR

LIVETHE

GOOD

LIFE! HYDRA LIFE BB CREME

BY DIOR

Dior’s Beauty Balms, developed with both their skincare and makeup experts, are a new advancement in luminosity. To add to the existing range, two new shades have been made available as well as the new eye product. You’ll be kissing tired skin goodbye and treating your dehydration is one smooth application! The original shade, the bestselling BB Creme in Golden Peach (02), will be available alongside the two new shades: Luminous Beige (01) and Sunny Amber (03)!

IT’S ALL IN THE EYES DIOR HYDRA LIFE BB EYE CREAM What can you expect from Dior’s newest eye innovation? A brightened eye area in addition to silky hydration! This treatment hydrates and reinforces the delicate eye area and diminishes bags and dark shadows for a refreshed, protected and illuminated look. Dior EYE REVIVAL™ technology treats the major signs of fatigue: dark shadows are diminished, puffiness is reduced. Jisten, from the

Surkhandarya gardens in Uzbekistan, helps to amp up water circulation. Centella from Madagascar firms the eye zone and encourages collagen production, leaving the skin plump and decongested. The preventative Black Rose from Brittany reinforces the defence mechanism of the skin. Hydra Life BB Eye Creme exists in two shades Luminous Beige (01) and Luminous Peach (02).

GOOD TO KNOW

This product is a beautifier and acts as a concealer as well. It also boasts as SPF to prevent harmful sun damage and aging!

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

GET THE

LOOK

CELEBRITY MAKEUP AT THE OSCARS DRESSED BY DIOR COUTURE, STARS CHARLIZE THERON AND BEST ACTRESS WINNER JENNIFER LAWRENCE, WALKED THE RED CARPET FOR THE 85TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS. BOTH OF THE STUNNING CELEBS ARE FACES OF DIOR, SO IT’S ONLY FITTING THAT THEY WOULD CHOOSE TO WEAR THE HOUSE’S HEAD-TURNING DESIGNS

GET CHARLIZE’S LOOK

FACE Diorsnow White Reveal Moisturizing Lotion and Diorsnow Fresh Cream | Diorsnow White Reveal Illuminating Eye Treatment | Diorskin Nude BB Cream.

CHEEKS Nude Tan Radiance Powder #001 Aurora EYES Dior 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow in Incognito | Dior Twin Set Eyeshadow in Beige Ribbon #530 | Diorshow Art Pen Diorshow Overcurl Mascara in #090 Podium Black | Dior Brow Liner #453 Sand LIPS Dior Nude Lip Liner | Rouge Dior Nude in Indiscrete #228

GET JENNIFER’S LOOK FACE Diorskin Forever Foundation | Diorskin Nude Tan Bronzer CHEEKS Diorblush in Peachy Keen #553 EYES Dior 5-Couleurs Designer Eyeshadow in Smoky Design #008 | Diorshow Overcurl Mascara in Podium Black #090 | Dior Style Liner in Black LIPS Dior Addict Lipstick in Beige Casual #222

APRIL 2013

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BRIDES CHOOSE THE

LOOK THAT SUITS YOU BEST WEDDING WONDERS

THE CHANEL SELECTION

*Exclusively for RAGMAG

BY LESLIE IDDISON

This issue, we help you choose your bridal style and we’re also going to show you all the tricks and tools you need to get the perfect wedding day look! As a bride-to-be, you’ve probably pictured all your wedding day details down to the last rose petal, but what about your makeup? No doubt you’ve taken time to plan a wedding celebration that is reflective of your own personal style. Your wedding day makeup should also reflect the ambience of your event. Obviously, the makeup you wear to an intimate beach wedding will not be the same makeup you wear to a black-tie affair. Take a gander at our selection and choose what fits your best.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

MIRROR, MIRROR

BRIDES CHOOSE THE LOOK

THAT SUITS YOU BEST

YOUR BRIDAL STYLE

ROMANTIC WEDDING Pale pink petals and candlelight at twilight

GOWN

Flowing and frilly with touches of antique lace accessorized with pearls

WE LOVE • Chanel Joues Contraste 76 Frivole • Chanel Le Vernis 569 Emprise • Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss 70 Attriance • Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 43 La Favorite

MAKEUP

The key to this look is balanced features. Choose one colour and wear it in varying shades on eyes cheeks and lips. For a spring or summer wedding we suggest coral. Brush a soft shimmering peachy-coral shade across your eyelids. Select a subtle sun-kissed coral blush and build its intensity on the apples of your cheeks for a romantic flush. Finally a kiss of coral on your lips, topped with a sheer shimmering gloss.

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BRIDES

MIRROR, MIRROR

CHOOSE THE LOOK

THAT SUITS YOU BEST

YOUR BRIDAL STYLE

GLAMOROUS WEDDING

A formal affair, with no expense spared. Think crystal chandeliers, glimmering silverware and a work-of-art wedding cake.

GOWN

Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood… Your dress will be a real showstopper! The question won’t be will you have a train, but how many meters it will be.

MAKEUP

For this look you’ll definitely need some added drama! Play up your eyes with a fun twist on a traditional smoky eye. Choose a rich jewel tone, like a warm bronze or plum. Blend it out with a matching smudgy eyeliner pencil and highlight your brow bone with a sheer shimmering shadow. Create contours by brushing the hollows of your cheeks with a neutral blush. Go easy on your lips with a medium-toned creamy lipstick.

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WE LOVE • Chanel Le Vernis 573 Accessoire • Chanel Yeux Waterproof 70 Black Shimmer • Chanel Rouge Allure 114 Précieuse or Chanel Rouge Allure 119 Captivante • Chanel Les 4 Ombres 42 Séduction

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CHANEL

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- Didier

ROY

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CHANEL - Didier ROY

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BRIDES

MIRROR, MIRROR

CHOOSE THE LOOK

THAT SUITS YOU BEST

YOUR BRIDAL STYLE

FUNKY WE LOVE • Chanel Illusion D’Ombre 91 Apparition • Chanel Les Ombres 41 Fascination • Chanel Le Vernis 571 Fracas • Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’Éclatante

GOWN

A clean cut with an asymmetrical silhouette paired with some edgy silver earrings

WEDDING

Crisp white linens with pops of punchy colours, floral arrangements are orange orchids, fuchsia peonies and yellow calla lilies

MAKEUP

This look lets your lips do the talking. Create a perfect canvas of smooth, matte skin. A high quality pressed powder will be your best friend on your big day. Use a liquid eyeliner to create sleek definition that wings out slightly at the corners. Two coats of the blackest mascara and your eyes are ready. Next, choose an intense pink blush and use a fluffy brush to apply two sheer coats to the apples of your cheeks. Finally, line your lips and apply a fun fuschia lipstick and blot with a tissue to really lock in the colour.

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BRIDES CHOOSE THE LOOK

THAT SUITS YOU BEST

YOUR BRIDAL STYLE

HIPSTER WEDDING

An intimate outdoor event with sand and the sunset setting the perfect backdrop for your big day

WE LOVE • Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Prune 30 • Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Taupe 84 or Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Gris 35 • Chanel Le Vernis 167 Ballerina • Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss 69 Merveille

GOWN

CHA

NEL

- Did

ier R

OY

A simple silk sarong will do the trick. Skip the sandals and go barefoot in the sand with an orchid pinned in your hair.

MAKEUP

Bronzed and beautiful, this look is all about showing some skin. Skip foundation and choose a dewy tinted moisturizer. Next, get that golden glow with a sheer shimmering bronzer. Use a fluffy brush to apply the bronzer to your temples, cheeks, chin and down the bridge of your nose. Some waterproof mascara and a sheer bright lip gloss and you’ll be ready to sail off into the sunset!

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MIRROR, MIRROR

CHANCE BY CHANEL

FRAGRANCE

FIRST

WE ARE ALL ABOUT CHANCE BY CHANEL, AND NOW YOU HAVE TWO OTHER VERSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM! THE ORIGINAL CHANCE IS NOW JOINED BY CHANCE EAU FRAÎCHE AND CHANCE EAU TENDRE. YOU CAN ALSO OPT FOR THE EAU TENDRE HAIR MIST OR THE 100ML EAU TENDRE DEODORANT.

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MEN WE HAVE A

WINNER! Eau pour Homme

by ARMANI

“With Eau pour Homme, I wanted to give an olfactory signature to my idea of masculine elegance: strong, serene and luminous.” Giorgio Armani

Eau pour Homme indeed represents masculine elegance, and that’s why the RAGMAG staff picked it as the wedding day fragrance for men in the know! Citrus fruit –bitter orange and tangerine- and peppery coriander top notes make way for neroli and spicy middle notes of nutmeg and cumin, all warmed up by woody aromas of cedar and patchouli. If you’re a real Best Man, get Armani’s Eau pour Homme as a pre-wedding gift for the groom –and pick one up for yourself too (the Maid of Honour won’t be able to resist you)! Your other option? Eau de Nuit, the latest Giorgio Armani fragrance for men with a touch of iris. Eau de Nuit by Armani is presented in a streamlined bottle, a sure hit for both scent and sensibility!

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MIRROR, MIRROR

CACHAREL’S PLAYFUL PERSONALITY

FOR YOUR SPRING WEDDING CACHAREL HAS ALWAYS HAD A THING FOR SENSUAL AND SUBTLE FRAGRANCE, AND CATCH ME IS NO EXCEPTION. WHILE ALMOND MILK BRINGS FORWARD A SMOOTH FACET, FRESHNESS IS EMPHASIZED BY PETITGRAIN AND MANDARIN NOTES. THE AMBER WOOD BASE NOTES MAKE IT A WARM AND ENVELOPING FRAGRANCE THAT CONVEY A SIMPLE AND ENCHANTING INTIMACY.

RAGMAG SAYS YES We like the dynamic and fresh Catch Me campaign by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. With an engaging sense of humour and tenderness, he portrays the power of seduction of the young, independent woman.

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prada ss 2013

MIX N’ MATCH REAL RUNWAY RAGMAG SHOWS YOU HOW TO REPLICATE THAT RUNWAY TREND! SEE OUR TAKES ON HOW TO MAKE THE READY TO WEAR, ACTUALLY WEARABLE

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IVORY

INTIMATES PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE KAI-PIPER

ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL MCKELVIE | HAIR BY NIKKI B | MODEL OHLA

LINGERIE BY FRED & GINGER | LONDON

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NEW + NOW

HOME

WELCOME HOME The first Versace Home boutique in Lebanon was lanuched at a ceremony attended by H. E. Mr. Fady Abboud, the Lebanese Minister of Tourism. Located in Downtown Beirut, the new boutique exemplifies the Italian designer’s contemporary style, featuring white and neutral shades of luxurious materials including marble and crystal. The interiors collections showcased at the Versace Home boutique are displayed in settings designated of either “Living” or “Dining”. In addition to furniture and furnishings, the store houses Versace’s sumptuous collection of textiles and magnificent services of fine porcelain and exquisite giftware in precious crystal.

“Beirut is often referred to as the Paris of the Middle East and there is good reason for this,” said Ziad El Chaar, from DAMAC Luxury, the Middle East franchisee of Versace Home. “People living in Lebanon are extremely stylish and are familiar with global fashion houses and luxury goods brands. The Versace Home boutique will provide an avenue for those wishing to extend their love of the fashion brand to their home décor”. Versace CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris said, “The new Versace Home boutique is an exclusive journey through the pure Versace lifestyle; a world of luxurious, innovative and contemporary living spaces. There are already successful Versace Home boutiques in Milano, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai and Hanoi, and Beirut is a natural next step for us”. The Versace Home boutique is an ideal complement to Lebanon’s first Versace Home-branded residential tower, located in the fashionable Solidere development. The 28-storey “DAMAC Tower” is currently under construction, a collaboration between Versace Home and luxury Middle East developer DAMAC Properties.

SMOOTH MOVES Saad and Trad, the exclusive agent for Jaguar and Aïshti held their 9th consecutive draw to award the lucky Lebanese winner, Mrs. Helen Warde, with a brand new 2013 Jaguar XK 5 liters coupe in the presence of Mr. Michel Trad and Aïshti’s CEO Mr. Tony Salamé. The announcement was made at an outdoor ceremony held in front of Aïshti’s flagship store in Downtown Beirut; the event is regarded as the reiteration of a long term cooperation between two of the most elegant and trendsetting nametags in the fashion and automotive industries and a celebration of the Lebanese sense of style, finesse and glamour.

“We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Aïshti, the exclusive retail seller of some of the most fashionable brands in the world”, said Mr. Michel Trad, CEO of Saad & Trad. “Through such alliances, we allow our mutual esteemed customers to benefit from exclusive promotions that truly reward

APRIL 2013

their sense of luxury and refinement. Our sincere congratulations to the lucky winner of the 2013 Jaguar XK 5 liters coupe,” he added. The sleek red two-door Jaguar XK Coupe was on view when the winning ticket was picked by a representative from the Lebanese National Lottery. The annual joint

sweepstake entitles customers to enter the draw for a Jaguar, a vehicle that embodies the opulent lifestyle that Aïshti has come to symbolize. The 2013 Jaguar XK coupe represents the excellent balance of performance and comfort; undeniably a very pleasurable motoring experience.

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EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES

BACKSTAGE PASS

GEORGE HOBEIKA SPRING SUMMER 2013 MOVES US George Hobeika’s newest collection for SS13 has our hearts all aflutter. The Georges Hobeika range for this season is mainly pastel and gentle shades of blue, pink, white, and grey, while the fuschia and green elements are impactful. With custom sequin-work, inlaid pearls, and crystal embellishment, the flattering lines are created with crepe georgette and organza. The inspiration for Hobeika’s latest triumph? The globetrotting damsel spreading a nirvana-like message of peace and hope.

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PRETTY

IMPACTFUL THIS IS THE WAY WE JIVE STARRING

ALEXANDRA KAHWAGI ROUND TRIP

BY MEYAR AL ROUMI

ALEXANDRA KAHWAGI

AMAR HAJ AHMAD

JEWELRY BY CARTIER DRESSED BY REEM ACRA MAKEUP BY GUERLAIN 110 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ODETTE KAHWAGI STYLED BY JONY MATTA HAIR BY ROGER GABRIEL | MODEL RIGAS ZAFEIRIOU

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EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES

RAGMAG

RAGING RUNWAY TOP CATWALK CHOICES FOR WOMEN

VERSACE

SS 2013

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RAGING RUNWAY TOP CATWALK CHOICES FOR MEN

LANVIN

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SS 2013

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2013 Dockingew at the N

ion t a c o L h s i Lav n Downtrouwt Bei

Come Discover the New Yachts & Boats on Display

15-19 MAY

PORT OF BEIRUT I PIER 1

FROM 5 - 10 PM www.beirutboat.com

BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW! T: +961 5 959 111 F: +961 5 959 888 E: beirutboat@ifpexpo.com

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Official Car

Official Watch

Official Magazine

Official TV

Official Insurer THE TRANSITION ISSUE

NEW + NOW

ATA

EVENTS & PROMOTIONS SARL

DESIGN DAZE Talented designers in Lebanon have found the ultimate address to showcase their creations with the launch of the first edition of Beirut Designers’ Week (BDW).

Organized by GATA Events & Promotions s.a.r.l., the professional event and exhibition organization company, BDW comes as an ideal platform for creative designers looking to bring their talents to light. More than 60 fashion, jewelry, and interior designers will gather at Zaitunay Bay from 23 to 26 May 2013, showcasing their SS13 collections to thousands of visitors. “What truly distinguishes Beirut Designers’ Week is its unique setup on the lower promenade of Zaitunay Bay with stands placed between the restaurants and the cafes, ensuring maximum visibility to our exhibitors,” said Sandra Ghattas, Managing Director at GATA Events & Promotions s.a.r.l. Guests are expected from all over Lebanon to enjoy the sunny outdoors and discover the latest design trends for the summer sea-

son. In addition to the designers stands on ground, Beirut Designers’ Week will include an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, an evening bash featuring VIPs, fashionistas and fashion presentations by international models, and also a fashion conference by a leading Lebanese fashion designer. “We believe that the Lebanese people have an exquisite and refined taste when it comes to all design aspects. Lebanese designers have penetrated international markets for decades, and with the launching of Beirut Designers’ Week, we truly hope to provide a serious boost to local designers by giving them access to an ideal platform that allows them to showcase their latest creations and meet thousands of potential buyers,” added Ghattas. BDW is a splash of creativity hitting Zaitunay Bay this May 23-26. See the latest updates by visiting GATA Events & Promotions s.a.r.l.’s official website www.gata.pro and Beirut Designers’ Week Facebook Page.

WE’RE IN LOVE The Mother’s Day C&F campaign by Impact BBDO was awarded the Pikasso d’Or trophy as the Best Creative Outdoor Campaign of 2012 in the presence of H.E. Minister of Environment Mr. Nazem El Khoury. Les Affichages Pikasso staged its annual Pikasso d’Or 2012 ceremony at the Pavillon Royal at Biel, on Friday, February 22nd, 2013. The campaign was held throughout March 2012 on the occasion of Mother’s Day. C&F, being one of the leading beauty chains in the Lebanese market, announced the occasion as “Happy Father’s Day”. The campaign introduced a tongue in cheek play on words approach to promote Mother’s Day at C&F. The Pikasso d’Or is a prize that rewards the best creative out of home advertising campaigns, according to internationally recognized parameters. For the 20th edition of the Pikasso d’Or 2012, 176 visuals (78 campaigns) were presented by 20 agencies. This year, C&F has been nominated as the most creative and innovative campaign, a model of what should be considered excellent advertising. C&F LOVE YOURSELF!

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SPEAK, SEE, HEAR NO EVIL

CHECK

BY JACQUES TCHABARIAN

Jimi Hendrix PEOPLE, HELL AND ANGELS Since Jimi Hendrix’s death in 1970, hundreds of releases have seen the light, ranging from compilations to rarities, to demos and unreleased tracks.

The bulk of these releases leave something to be desired with the exception of a few interesting songs and recording sessions. On “People, Hell and Angels” most of the material is being released for the first time and it is unlikely that even the most devoted fans have heard these recordings before. The album is comprised of different versions of previous releases and songs that were works in progress when Jimi died. The sound

quality of the songs, really quite amazing for demos and early outtakes, allows you to feel that you are listening to finished, properly mixed compositions. This good quality helps emphasize the different versions of some known tracks: “Earth Blues” has a more powerful guitar section and different lyrics, “Hear My Train a Comin’” -which can be heard in the movie “Jimi Hendrix” in an acoustic version- has a faster and more electric rhythm in this rendition. All the other tracks with their different arrangements and additional instruments bring you back to this genius’ glory days. Hendrix still hasn’t had his last word, apparently.

Atoms for Peace AMOK Radiohead enthusiasts are cheerful now that Thom Yorke, the band’s revered vocalist, has released a (kind of) second solo album under the moniker “Atoms for Peace.” The first solo album “The Eraser” was released under Yorke’s name back in 2006, but he chose the Atoms name for this project, enlisting the help of longtime engineer/producer Nigel Godrich (who was monumental in Radiohead’s worldwide success) and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ weirdo master bassist Flea, along with session drummers and percussionists.

“Amok” continues where “The Eraser” left off, this time the concept of sounds rather than songs being

pushed a little further. Yorke’s vocals work here as another element in the overall soundscape, more than as a lyrics dispenser, and Flea’s agonizing low bass lines add warmth and drives the music to fascinating places. Do not try to distinguish between the clear passages from the mutated ones: the production and recording techniques are so intense that everything seems to come from a cosmic scenery. The latter being part of the appeal when submerging yourself in this exotic and experimental Electronic/Rock world.

Make sure you have some respectable headphones before embarking on this journey; you’ve been warned.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds PUSH THE SKY AWAY Nick Cave’s work on movie soundtracks for the past few years with Warren Ellis, his eternal faithful acolyte, left many of his adoring friends wondering when the slim devil was ever going to work on a proper new Bad Seeds album again. Those fears were put to rest when Nick announced a new album in the works. True to his promise, “Push the Sky Away” saw its release amid enthusiastic reception from fans and critics alike.

Eerie pianos, 12-string guitars, and Ellis’ soul-cutting violin, with their trademark sound, blend perfectly with Cave’s razor-sharp, dark humor lyrics. At first the compositions seem very fragile and vulnerable, their true

form lying underneath the framework where moaning and sharp biting teeth slowly emerge. Stories of both human qualities and despicable dramatic behaviors suspend the listener on a heartrending tightrope, which at times seem like the logical continuation to the work they’ve been doing for a while. These tales of sociological scrutiny can best be heard on tracks like “Water’s Edge” with its reference to the death of romance or in the humorous “Mermaids” which talks about the disappearance of naive spiritual myths in the Western world. Business as usual for the Seeds, and we love them for it.

Madeleine Peyroux THE BLUE ROOM When Madeleine Peyroux exploded on the Contemporary Jazz scene with her first album “Dreamland” in 1996, she was dubbed the Billie Holiday of the 90s due to her passionate personalization of Classic Blues. Holiday pioneered this over half a century ago, paving the way to a new approach to music by female singers. Peyroux, raised between SoCal, New York, and Paris, was submerged in the diverse approaches these different places take with Jazz and Blues. She began singing at the age of 15 and surrounded herself with great musicians including Cyrus 134 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

Chestnut, Vernon Reid, and Leon Parker. This time around, for her new album, Peyroux revisits Ray Charles’ groundbreaking 60s work- it goes quite well on “The Blue Room”, collaborating once again with luminaries of the modern Jazz world. Using her Billie Holiday influenced phrasing to brilliant effect, Peyroux navigates through the tracks of late giants and still breathing contemporaries, giving a new twist to Charles’ “Take These Chains”, Buddy Holly’s “Changing All These Changes” and even taking on Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire”. A bold move by an ever-evolving artist.

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

read’em +

weep

BY AMAL CHAABAN

The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius

Kristine Barnett

Why you should read this book It acts as a reminder that strengths and weaknesses go hand in hand

This is the story of a family whose oldest child was diagnosed with autism at an early age and were seeing no gains from therapy. When Kristine Barnett decided to take matters into her own hands and remove her son from formalized therapy, she knew she was taking the biggest risk of her life. The result of that single risk was something she never could have imagined. It turns out that the whole time her son was unresponsive to therapy, he was responsive to light and shadows. While

Whyology

his behaviours made little sense at the time, when his parents find out the scope of his capabilities, things come together. Kristine Barnett’s son Jake is 12 yearsold and in line for a Nobel Prize in Physics because he may have developed an entirely new theory. While autism wreaks havoc with the most basic of social skills, Jake is in fact a mathematical and scientific genius.

This book will make you re-examine your preconceived notions about achievement and disability.

T.J. Jomha

Why you should read this book Understanding behaviour is just as important as how you behave In the lexicon of self-help books, very few are geared towards not just examining your own behaviour and the behavior of others, but also examining how your behaviour interacts with the universe around you. “Whyology” seeks (and mostly does) to fill this void. The book starts out with a background on the author and how he discovered his true passion for behavioural psychology and moves forward to how his perception grew in pace with his passion. The author goes on to critique noted names in

the psychology world such as B.F. Skinner and Freud, but offers little in the way of scientific evidence as to why he feels the way he does. Jomha also posits that the debate between nature and nurture is all but over though it likely never will be. The book is tremendously useful in breaking down how addictive behaviours can occur and how to apply your newly acquired methods of perception to your everyday relationships. As far as self-help books go, this is one of the better ones.

The Dinner Herman Koch Why you should read this book

People will do the unthinkable to protect those they love

Two couples agree to meet in one of the tonier restaurants in town for dinner. Each is aware of why the other wants to have dinner but also wants to stay away with every fiber of their being. Each comes to the table with thoughts, feelings, and secrets though we’re only privy to the thoughts of one person specifically. His thoughts are wild, scary, and damaging and aid in building the wonder and suspense of this novel. This is no ordinary dinner as the men in the

couples are brothers and the four are meeting to decide about what to do with their children. Their children have committed a horrific crime and as dinner progresses, the cracks and strains in the couples’ relationships start showing through. Our narrator is in turns perfectly reasonable and then clearly not altogether normal. There was a great deal of buzz about this book when it first came out, especially about the ending and it is all true.

This is a jaw dropper of a novel.

Touch and Go Lisa Gardner

Why you should read this book

Every family has secrets, especially from each other One cold, clear evening, a family is kidnapped from their home and vanish seemingly into thin air. To make the case more perplexing, all of their valuables are left behind in a pile on the kitchen counter. When the police and a private investigation firm are called, there are few clues and no ransom demand. As they race against the clock to find the family, the investigation is akin to peeling back layers of an onion – each level leads to a new one.

Meanwhile, the victims are learning some stunningly APRIL 2013

uncomfortable truths about themselves and about each other, leading to the why and the how of the kidnapping. Under the tutelage of anyone else, the kidnappers might become caricatures but with Gardner steering the pen, they are menacing, and just a wee bit crazy. Prior to this book, this author was very much in danger of becoming formulaic. She has taken back her title of number one suspense author with a bang as the plot in this book is multilayered, complex, and somewhat startling. www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 135

playNICE

SPEAK, SEE, HEAR NO EVIL

BY ADAM VOLK

Tomb Raider

Publisher Square Enix | Developer Crystal Dynamics Platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 With her trademark short-shorts and - ahem - dangerous curves, Lara Croft has become a prime example of the sexist attitude the video game industry often takes when it comes to female heroines. Fortunately, that outdated attitude has been thrown out the window - along with the short-shorts - in “Tomb Raider”, a reboot of the popular genredefining series that was first launched in the mid 90s. With a razor sharp script from writer Rhianna Pratchett, the game follows a young and inexperienced Lara after she ends up shipwrecked on a

deserted island and fighting for her life against a bizarre cult. More than just eye candy for lusty geeks, the new Lara is smart and nuanced. The gameplay, however, doesn’t quite live up to the solid narrative, but there’s still plenty to love, with the game offering a third-person blend of action, exploration and puzzle-solving. There’s also the inclusion of a brief, yet satisfying multiplayer experience, not to mention some incredibly polished visuals. The end result is a more grown up Lara Croft who’s less about looking good in a tank top and more about kicking ass.

BioShock Infinite

Publisher 2K Games | Developer Irrational Games Platform Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 The BioShock series has cemented its mark on gamer culture with its inspired first-person gameplay and novel storytelling. Originally set in the underwater city of Rapture in an alternate 1950s, the first games in the series combined the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand with solid superhero shooter mechanics.

Now, the third-entry in the series has finally been released. This time out the game takes place high above the clouds in the city of Columbia. Set in an alternate version of 1912, players take on the role of Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent who is sent

to retrieve the daughter of a wealthy industrialist.

Of course, Booker has a few tricks up his sleeves, not only in terms of being quick with a gun, but also being able to use a variety of powers, including shooting electricity out of his hands and summoning swarms of crows to engulf his enemies. Like the previous games, Infinite offers a nuanced and wellcrafted story. Unfortunately, the gameplay follows the same run, gun and superpower formula of its predecessors, resulting in a shooter that’s fun to play, but still overly familiar despite its high-flying concept.

Gears of War: Judgment

Publisher Microsoft Studios | Developer Epic Games | Platforms Xbox 360 If you’ve ever sliced an alien in half with a chainsaw bayonet, then chances are you’re familiar with “Gears of War”. The ground breaking thirdperson shooter series has sold millions of copies, thanks to its blend of blood, guts and sci-fi. Now the inevitable fourth entry in the series has been released. As a prequel, Judgment follows the exploits of several fan favorites through a series of flashbacks as our heroes battle both their own military and the slobbering subterranean aliens known as the Locust Horde. Unfortunately, most

of the drama has been sucked out of the story, since you know everyone’s going to make it out in one piece.

And while all of the mechanics and visuals of past entries are there, Judgment doesn’t feel like it has quite the same level of polish or heart. The multiplayer is also fairly shallow, with the promise of more downloadable content coming in the near future. That being said, Judgment does offer plenty of action, some crisp visuals and solid level design. If nothing else, it gives “Gears of War” fans a chance to fire of the old chainsaw bayonet one more time.

SimCity

Publisher Electronic Arts | Developer Maxis Platforms PC and MAC It takes a lot to keep a city running. Just look at Beirut, what with the traffic jams, power outages and general day-to-day insanity. If you think you could do a better job running things, then “SimCity” might just be your chance to put your taxes where your mouth is. A reboot of the popular series (which was first published waaaaay back in 1989), the game offers some noticeable improvements, including new 3D graphics that let you zoom in and out to an insane level of detail.

The game also lets you control a number of elements, including traffic, air pollution and garbage collection,

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law enforcement and public transit. With an interface inspired by Google Maps, the game is surprisingly easy to jump into, despite the level of complexity that develops as you build you burgeoning burg.

“SimCity” also offers a rich multiplayer experience.

Unfortunately, a number of bugs at launch got the game off on the wrong foot, and even if you want to play the game alone, you’ll still be required to play online. Still, those issues aside, “SimCity” offers up plenty to keep would-be city planners building the metropolis of their dreams.

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

watch out

BY JACQUES TCHABARIAN

Oz the Great and Powerful James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz

| 127 mins

Author L. Frank Baum’s tales of Oz - forever immortalized by the 1939 musical “The Wizard of Oz”- are being given not one, but three makeovers this year. Two animation features will appear later this year: the first one, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is a direct adaption of the book, while the second, “Dorothy of Oz”, will be a 3D musical based on Dorothy’s character making a second trip to the fantasy land. The third, “Oz the Great and Powerful”, is based primarily on the character of the Wizard in the original story and tells the story of how he became the ruler of that land. Oscar Diggs (James Franco),

a shady illusionist who performs tricks to mesmerize audiences at a local Kansas circus, is mysteriously transported to a strange and wonderful land where he meets three witches: Theodora (Mila Kunis), Glinda (Michelle Williams), and Evanora played

by Rachel Weisz. The witches entrust him with a challenge: fighting an evil force that is decimating the kingdom. Flying monkeys, talking dolls, and creatures of all shapes and sizes are on the roster, directed masterfully by Sam Raimi with an army of first rate digital and special effects masters creating the most wonderful of worlds. Don’t miss it.

21 & Over | 93 mins Miles Teller, Justin Chon

A lot is riding on the success of “21 & Over”, mainly the credibility as first time directors for duo John Lucas and Scott Moore, best known as screenwriters for megahit “The Hangover”.

The plot is very simple: two college friends arrive at a school where a third friend is a medical student and about to turn 21, which of course is cause for celebration. It’s decided that Jeff Chang -who is referred to by his full name during the entire movie- must get drunk as hell to ring in his passage to adulthood. The main problem for the three pals is that at some point

Jeff Chang is passed out drunk after consuming enough alcohol to hospitalize a small hippo and the two others don’t have a clue where he lives on campus. The problem? He has a major careermaking interview early in the morning. Borrowing a lot from movies of the same genre, mainly “American Pie” and “Old School”, the directors succeed at keeping the standard (if there is such a thing with these movies) high enough to pass the first test, but I could do without the throwing up from a mechanical bull scene. For amateurs of this genre.

Dark Skies

| 95 mins Josh Hamilton, Kerri Russell, J. K. Simmons

I feel bad for Scott Stewart, the unfortunate director of “Dark Skies”. His two previous works, 2010’s “Legion” and 2011’s “Priest” were not greeted with much enthusiasm by both critics and movie-goers alike, due to the fact that both movies lacked consistency and coherence. Ditto for his third feature- aside from a few palpable improvements and some good acting, the same issues resurface. One such concern comes in the form of the best scares taking place halfway through the movie, delivering a big blow to the

momentum, a disappointment enhanced by the fact that no other powerful scene occurs until the end. Even then it can’t be compared to the mid-movie intensity. Josh Hamilton and Kerri Russell play a couple with two kids who experience strange events taking place in their house. When their son develops a connection with whatever is visiting them, the couple sees a specialist (J. K. Simmons) to help them out with what turns out to be an alien visitation. Another near-miss for Stewart.

Escape from Planet Earth | 89 mins Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Ricky Gervais, Jessica Alba You would think after reading some reviews for “Escape from Planet Earth” that the critics who wrote them seem to be encouraged by Pixar to negate this animated feature, because having seen the movie, in my opinion it was quite enjoyable -to some extent. Perhaps one of the reasons these critics didn’t take the movie seriously is Weinstein giving the lead role to an actor who plays secondary roles in general.

Rob Corddry (“What Happens in Vegas”, “The Heartbreak Kid”) voices an alien in a mission control center who is always looking out for

APRIL 2013

his dim but famous astronaut brother Scorch (Brendan Fraser). Scorch’s mission to the Dark Planet (Earth) gets him captured by the military, and Gary (Corddry’s character) runs to his rescue and ends up a captive in Area 51. Yes, a lot of the visual elements and the plot are taken from animated flicks like “Monsters vs Aliens” or “Despicable Me”, but so are all animated features these days. As long as the comedy is generated by funny, loony characters, there’s no reason not to enjoy it. A computerized Ricky Gervais, who can resist?

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THE FINAL FRONTIER

SCIENCE EXAMINES THE SHIFT TOWARD THE LIGHT NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES FACT OR FICTION?

BY J.E.N.

W

hat happens when we transition from life to death? Do we see a glowing light at the end of a tunnel?

Does our life flash before us? Do we get to peak into heaven? Are we faced with nothingness? Can near death experiences provide us with some intriguing answers? Maybe. Near death experiences or NDEs have been attracting attention since ancient times and now even scientists are keen to learn more. The “experiences” range from seeing things (loved ones, a light, a show reel of your life…) to feeling euphoric and having an out-of-body experience. Despite the interest there is still a bit of vagueness surrounding the term. How close to death should a person be to have a NDE? What causes them?

“THE CLAIM OF ENHANCEMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS DESPITE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT BRAIN FUNCTION HAD PROBABLY BECOME DISTURBED AND POSSIBLY DIMINISHED, DESERVES FURTHER INVESTIGATION” 138 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

In 1975, doctor Raymond Moody described the term as a sudden and impactful realization experienced by someone who would’ve passed away if it weren’t for medical intervention. Not exactly the clearest definition. Science has moved on since then and several attempts to better explain it have emerged. These include Bruce Grayson’s NDE scale that poses several questions that explore what the person experienced. And this lack of total agreement is where one of the biggest catches to scientifically explain NDEs lies.

Three percent of Americans have reported having a near-death experience.

Many have shared personal accounts of the experience. For instance neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander fell into a coma and found himself in a place that was full of clouds, “shimmering beings”, and a woman sharing words of love and hope. A scientific survey on 58 participants who had near death experiences was conducted by the University of Virginia’s Health Science department (Division of Personality Studies). The abstract sums up interesting findings: “all [participants] later remembered unusual

experiences occurring at the time... Patients who really were close to death were more likely than those who were not to report an enhanced perception of light and enhanced cognitive powers. The claim of enhancement of cognitive functions despite the likelihood that brain function had probably become disturbed and possibly diminished, deserves further investigation.”

Neuroscientist Dean Mobbs (University of Cambridge’s Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit) believes that “many of the phenomena associated with near-death experiences can be biologically explained.” A paper Mobbs published alongside Caroline Watt explains his view more clearly: NDEs “classically involve the feeling that one’s soul has left the body, approaches a bright light and goes to another reality, where love and bliss are all encompassing. Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that there is nothing paranormal about these experiences. Instead, near-death experiences are the manifestation of normal brain function gone awry, during a traumatic, and sometimes harmless, event.”

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES | FACT OR FICTION?

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT NDES VARY TO A CERTAIN DEGREE FROM CULTURE TO CULTURE. SO WHILE SOMEONE IN FRANCE MIGHT SEE ANGELS, SOMEONE IN THAILAND MIGHT SEE A BUDDHIST MONK. THIS SCORES POINTS FOR THE SCIENCE CAMP Dr. Sam Parnia from the School of Medicine at Stony Brook University studies people whose heart has stopped and were successfully resuscitated. He hopes that this will pinpoint what actually causes NDEs. Stay tuned for his findings soon. But what are the factors that scientists believe are causing NDEs? One could be loss of blood flow. Dr. Kevin Nelson, author of “The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain” says “one of the most common causes of near-death experiences is fainting”. This would explain NDEs that happen when a person is actually nowhere near death (and this surprisingly happens more often than you’d think). When the blood flow and hence the oxygen to the eye stops, tunnel vision kicks in. Since the loss of oxygen which happens when we faint is just like the loss that occurs during death (death obviously being a far more permanent loss), NDE-like experiences occur for some people.

APRIL 2013

Another is the release of chemicals.

The potent mix of adrenaline, epinephrine and steroids (and possibly ketamine) that the body naturally secretes in times of distress can also prompt NDE-like experiences when someone is not actually near death. A third explanation could be that NDEs are actually a form of REM sleep, the part of the sleep cycle most strongly linked to dreams. In other words, our brain still knows it’s in peril even though we’re asleep. So we’re caught in lucid dreams where you are asleep and yet are being affected by a fight-orflight response. The last possible cause is our memory. According to Nelson, research shows that our memory goes

into overdrive when we’re in danger.

This could explain the NDE scenarios that involve seeing loved ones or your life flash before your eyes.

Needless to say, there are skeptics who frown upon science’s attempt to explain NDEs. They see NDEs as proof of the afterlife and the existence of the human soul. But it is interesting to note that NDEs vary to a certain degree from culture to culture. So while someone in France might see angels, someone in Thailand might see a Buddhist monk.

This scores points for the science camp.

Scientific explanations to NDEs seem to hold more ground. This doesn’t mean that heaven doesn’t exist, it just means that NDEs aren’t proof that it does

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

TAKE ME WITH YOU

TRAIPSING ACROSS

CROATIA’S ISLANDS

BY ALICE HLIDKOVA

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RICH TO ENJOY A LUXURIOUS MOMENT ON THE ADRIATIC COAST. BOASTING THOUSANDS OF MILES OF SEAFRONT AND MORE THAN A THOUSAND ISLANDS, CROATIA’S COASTLINE, WITH ITS HUMBLE STRETCHES OF ROCKY SHORES AND INVITING NOOKS THAT OVERLOOK COUNTLESS OF NATURAL MARINAS, IS KNOWN AS EASTERN EUROPE’S RIVIERA.

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TAKE ME WITH YOU

PREVIOUS SPREAD: DUBROVNIK OLD TOWN AND THE LOKRUM ISLAND

C

OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: DUBROVNIK TOWN HARBOR OF ROVINJ TOWN

roatia attracts the landlocked Europeans on a budget with an appetite for island hopping. On holiday-sailing adventures in white or blue motorboat rentals they scout the many islands for skinny dipping, isolated beaches and 24-hour parties. For a good buck these luxuries are supplemented by the ferry service which accommodates inter-island transport serviced with a fun crew and inexpensive entertainment. Unlike hopping between the Greek islands on numerous ferries, catamarans and taxi boats that halt service during nationwide strikes, the adventure along the Croatian islands never stops.

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TRAIPSING ACROSS CROATIA’S ISLANDS

During balmy summers, hordes of European families set up camp on the many free, nude, and straight or gay beaches pebbled with rough shells and sheer limestone that scrub the heal clean.

Since the coast is mostly rocky with protruding cliffs, caverns and crevices, the visibility is great everywhere. There are plenty of spots for small fish and various underwater animals, like the octopus, to hide and live. Renowned for its longest shoreline and its delicious sheep’s milk cheese, the northern island of Pag has become Croatia’s top summer beach club destination. Since 2007, Zrce beach, near Novalja, is the only place in the country where night-

DURING BALMY SUMMERS, HORDES OF EUROPEAN FAMILIES SET UP CAMP ON THE MANY FREE, NUDE, AND STRAIGHT OR GAY BEACHES PEBBLED WITH ROUGH SHELLS AND SHEER LIMESTONE THAT SCRUB THE HEAL CLEAN. life establishments are granted 24-hour licenses. Long summer days end with after hour beach parties hosted by international DJs like Tiësto. The all-night dancing extends to the nearby island of Krk. Here exhausted travellers bed down in boutique hotels supplied with organic wines and later settle in basic cottages with no running water or electricity once their holiday cash expense accounts are depleted.

Hooking around the islands of Krk, Cres and Rab is the peninsular of Istria, the largest in the Adriatic Sea. The unique topography of gentle green slopes roll by tacky tourist towns with its share of seasoned campers. The town of Rovinj, surrounded by water on three sides, serves recreational campers year-round who would rather retreat to their tents and caravans than rent affordable apartments in the city center. In the main square, a bell tower with a rickety wooden staircase looks like a souvenir from the Medieval era. From the top, a patron saint boldly faces the direction of women in scarves pushing grappa and homemade fruit bandies. Along the backstreets the cart pushers hand out free walnut samples but along the main drag a high price is set for the produce and everything else.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

TAKE ME WITH YOU

TRAIPSING ACROSS CROATIA’S ISLANDS

THOUGH ISTRIA IS QUICKLY GAINING A REPUTATION AS A HOT SPOT, THE FAME SETTLES ON ITS SOUTHERN RIVAL, THE DALMATIAN COAST, HOME TO CROATIA’S TOP TOURIST DESTINATION OF DUBROVNIK

Though Istria is quickly gaining a reputation as a hot spot, the fame settles on its southern rival, the Dalmatian coast, home to Croatia’s top tourist destination of Dubrovnik. Jutting confidently into the sea, the city is ringed by thick medieval walls containing a no car zone within sections of the Old Town. From the jumble of cobbled back lanes- a warren of marble and stone-paved narrow roads, miniature shops and open air cafés- it’s easy to recognize the wealth the city amasses. The perfect postcard moment: fishing boats laden with shells for sale rock in their fairy tale harbor next to polished yachts arriving from the nearby island of Hvar. The fishing village as enticing as Italy’s Venice across the Adriatic Sea has developed a mature taste for an upscale-ritzy Croatian Riviera. But the fashionable island destination warrants exploring beyond its 16th century architecture positioned along the seafront. The charm, in fact, takes place along the rugged landscape of lavender and rosemary fields and hillside

APRIL 2013

vineyards with enough production of Plavac to fill the country’s wine cellars.

The boxed wine is excellent and served with bread that when hardened tastes good. It’s common for wine and sports enthusiasts to crave the natural setting of South Dalmatia. The Mediterranean vegetation on the island of Mljet lends hikers a respite in vineyards and tiny, old villages. Any lover of stark and unspoiled nature, limpid waters and solitude can be found trekking along the hiking trails of the Kornati National Park.

The heavily forested islands of Elaphiti is more green per cubic square than other places in Croatia, and also gives visitors the option of sea-kayaking.

There are endless opportunities for exploration on the contour of the Croatian coast. Its pebbled shores afford inexpensive travel to magnificent islands that range from tiny, verdant and unpopulated to massive, arid and sporting ancient towns and villages. What is truly magical are the hundreds of mostly uninhibited islands and reefs, carved with cracks, caves and cliffs, and dotted with tufts of unspoiled evergreen forest

LEFT TO RIGHT: WOODEN PIER ON THE ISLAND OF HVAR AERIAL SHOT OF DORCULA OLD TOWN, DUBROVNIK

OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: KORNATI ISLANDS, NATIONAL PARK BOATS ON BRAC ISLAND

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EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY

WHIMSICAL PASTRIES FABERGÉ EGGS

+

AWARD WINNING UK CHEF CLAIRE CLARK GETS SET TO BAKE UP FANTASTICAL CAKES IN BEIRUT

BY SABINA LLEWELLYN-DAVIES

S

he never dreamt that one day she would be conjuring mini Fabergé eggs, complete with hand painted pictures, trellis work, butterflies and gold leaf for a New Year’s Eve party. Or, baking a dreamy wedding cake for Gwen Stefani. British chef Claire Clark actually wanted to be a musician, “but I wasn’t good enough so [I] chose cooking instead,” inspired by the French pastry chef Pierre Hermé, who made headlines for conjuring up fancy macaroons. Her choice paid off big time.

FOR GWEN STEFANI SHE CONJURED UP A MASSIVE WHITE CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND CAKE WITH APRICOTS, FINISHED WITH HANDMADE CHOCOLATE CURLS AND BACK TO BACK PIPED WHITE CHOCOLATE “G” INTERLOCKING FOR GAVIN AND GWEN 146 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co

Today she is regarded as one of the top pastry chefs in the world. After baking in some of London’s top spots, including Claridges Hotel and The Wolseley, she moved to Napa Valley California in 2005 to take up the position of Head Pastry chef at The French Laundry, voted “The Best Restaurant in the World” in 2005, where she worked under double three-star Michelin chef

Thomas Keller. More recently, she ran a pop-up tea restaurant at Harvey Nichols department store in London. In the UK she is also in huge demand when it comes to baking exclusive wedding cakes. For Gwen Stefani she conjured up a massive white chocolate and almond cake with apricots, finished with handmade chocolate curls and back to back piped white chocolate “G” interlocking for Gavin and Gwen. “I had to make everyone an individual replica of the cake for dessert.”

This month she will be in Lebanon to showcase her pastry skills at the 20th edition of Horeca hospitality trade fair at BIEL (Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center). “I have had the pleasure of working with [Lebanese chef] Joe Barza twice cooking for charity dinners in Dubai and Amsterdam.

He is a super guy and he was kind enough to invite me.”

LEFT: GWEN STEFANI AND GAVIN ROSSDALE’S WEDDING

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

WHIMSICAL PASTRIES + FABERGÉ EGGS | AWARD WINNING UK CHEF CLAIRE CLARK

This will be her first visit to Lebanon and she admits that she is really looking forward it, “if everyone is as lovely as Joe Barza then I am going to have a very special time,” she says. “I am fortunate that I do travel a lot for my work. I love to visit different countries and meet new people and experience their culture. I normally make everlasting friendships along the way.”

Always up for a new challenge she entered the chef competition “Meilleur Ouvrier de la Grande-Bretange” (MOGB) and became the first person in the UK and the only female recipient of this award coveted by chefs all over the world. “MOGB was the hardest competition I have ever entered, it remains my biggest achievement to date. I was the first person and first female ever to be awarded the MOGB in England. One for the girls!” She

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was also awarded the title of “Best Pastry Chef” by “Restaurant Magazine”, has won medals for the British Olympic culinary team and was one of the youngest examiners for City and Guilds advanced pastry.

Her book “Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts”, published in 2010, showcases her repertoire of delectable desserts, cakes and puddings from around the world, from classic baking to gorgeous patisserie. If you can’t tackle the baking just admire the amazing images that give a visual account of just why she is considered one of the top pastry chefs in the world. Her advice for a new generation of chefs? “Be creative but at the end of the day it’s food so it has to taste as good as it looks.” Lebanon, get set for some seriously good looking and delectable puddings www.claire-clark.com

HER BOOK “INDULGE: 100 PERFECT DESSERTS”, PUBLISHED IN 2010, SHOWCASES HER REPERTOIRE OF DELECTABLE DESSERTS, CAKES AND PUDDINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, FROM CLASSIC BAKING TO GORGEOUS PATISSERIE

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EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY

YOUR OWN PRIVATE RESTO INTIMATE DINNER DIY FOR TWO

BY YOUMNA CHAGOURY

F

or this month’s wedding-oriented issue, I thought of all the couples out there celebrating their anniversaries. Rather than review a fine dining restaurant as an option for those of you who like to celebrate, I thought I’d share my own idea of a meal celebration: DIY -Do It Yourself. I went for easy, hassle-free recipes because I’m not a chef and I don’t have a lot of free time on my hands. I planned and executed a cohesive Italian meal with a little help from my friends at Google and The Food Network.

AMUSE - BOUCHES

PARMIGGIANO REGGIANO

If there’s one thing I learned from all these hours spent watching the Food Network TV channel when I was still a college student, it’s Ina Garten’s idea of an amuse-bouche, those appetizers you munch on while having a pre-dinner drink: you have to keep it simple. Get a nice Parmigiano Reggiano block or good quality parmesan and cut it in chunks. Serve with a selection of cherry tomatoes presented in bowls. For drinks opt for white wine or champagne. It’s your call.

YOUMNA’S TIP

I have a hard time finding dried tomatoes in regular supermarkets in Lebanon but if you can get your hands on a jar, use them instead of the fresh cherry tomatoes.

ENTRÉE

DECONSTRUCTED INSALATA CAPRESE METHOD The easy/tasty ratio is perfect for this entrée. It’s fresh and won’t fill you up before the main course.

INGREDIENTS • 4 medium-sized tomatoes • 150 grams buffalo mozzarella • 8 basil leaves • Olive oil • Balsamic vinegar • Salt

Slice off the tomato tops. They will serve as lids. Scoop out the pulp. You won’t need it. Dice the mozzarella and the basil leaves.

In a bowl, mix with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Stuff the tomatoes, replace the top to act as a lid, and serve!

YOUMNA’S TIP

Instead of the olive oil and balsamic dressing, you can make a pesto sauce in a couple of minutes using an unorthodox but winning recipe: in a food processor mix one garlic clove, a small handful of pine nuts, a big handful of fresh basil leaves, a big handful of parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper. While mixing, gradually pour olive oil until you are happy with the texture.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

DIY | AN INTIMATE DINNER FOR TWO

MAIN DISH

CREAM + MUSHROOM TAGLIATELLE

Your main dish will literally take minutes to prepare, and like the appetizer, the entrée, and the dessert, it can be made in advance.

INGREDIENTS • 200 grams tagliatelle pasta • 200 grams fresh mushroom • 1 garlic clove • 120 ml fresh cream • Butter • Salt and pepper

METHOD

Cook the pasta following the instructions on the box. You want them al dente. Reserve. Dice the garlic and the mushroom and cook them in a teaspoon of butter, until the water from the mushroom has evaporated. Add the cream, the salt and the pepper and stir until you get a creamy texture.

Serve with the tagliatelle, topped with some fresh parsley.

YOUMNA’S TIP

When you’re grocery shopping, pick the nest-assembled tagliatelle. Cook them following the instructions –DO NOT STIR!- and remove them individually with a large slotted spoon. Pour the sauce over them and serve three nests per person or four if you’re hungry!

DESSERT

CAFÉ GOURMAND

I cheated on this one. Initially, I had a tiramisu in mind but after preparing all of the other recipes (and because I’m really bad at making desserts), I decided I’d create what I think the French do best: a café gourmand. Basically a coffee served with a selection of mini desserts. I served an espresso lungo with a chocolate muffin, a pistachio macaron and a Chantilly cream with strawberry sauce but you can basically get any mini treats you like.

THE EXTRA TOUCH

The CD with music you both like to listen to – create ambiance. The candles –this will make it more romantic. The flower arrangement –a table arrangement always looks better with flowers.

This month RAGMAG readers, forget about celebrating publicly. Make it a private date and get your apron on!

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VEGANOPIA NO MEAT + GOLD PEAS

BY LARA ARISS

Each edition of RAGMAG Lara Ariss will present a meal in several courses that you can try at home. Lara trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London, England.

For this issue of RAGMAG, Lara has compiled a selection of vegetarian recipes for those of you who are going meat-less this spring.

For her menu selection, check her out on the web http://www.bylara.me @laraariss

bylara

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laraariss

TTHHEE TLRUAMNI SNIAT N I OC N E ISSUE

EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY

WHITE BEAN

+GARLIC DIP PREPARATION TIME 10 MINUTES SERVES 8 LEVEL EASY

INGREDIENTS • 2 x 400 grams cans white beans (cannelloni or butter beans), drained and rinsed • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • Juice 1 lemon • Large pinch smoked paprika + extra for garnish

METHOD

• In a food processor, blend all the ingredients to make a smooth but thick mixture.

• Drizzle with additional extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the extra paprika.

• Serve with your choice of chips or toasted pita bread.

ASIAN SALAD PREPARATION TIME 15 MINUTES SERVES 4 LEVEL EASY

INGREDIENTS • 4 cucumbers, sliced • 6 spring onions, sliced • 300 grams soya beans • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds FOR THE DRESSING • 3 tablespoons soya sauce • 2 tablespoons honey • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated • 1 garlic clove, crushed • Juice of 2 lemons

METHOD

• In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

• Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

• Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss and serve.

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EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY

VEGETARIAN

CURRY RICE PREPARATION TIME 15 MINUTES COOKING TIME 20 MINUTES SERVES 4 LEVEL EASY

INGREDIENTS • 400 ml semi-skimmed milk • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 2 onions, roughly chopped • 300 grams basmati rice • 1 tablespoon curry powder • 3 cardamom pods, split • ½ teaspoon turmeric • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in 2 • 250 ml vegetable stock • 3 medium eggs • 175 grams peas • Handful coriander leaves • Lime wedges, to serve

METHOD

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions for 5 minutes until soft.

• Stir through the rice, curry powder, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon.

• Pour the milk and the stock over the rice. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the rice is tender.

• Meanwhile, place the eggs in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 6 minutes. Peel the eggs and quarter them.

• Stir through the rice with the peas, coriander and eggs.

Continue to heat for 2-3 minutes until warm.

• Squeeze over the lime to serve.

PREPARATION TIME 5 MINUTES COOKING TIME 15 MINUTES SERVES 4 LEVEL EASY

INGREDIENTS • 50 grams light brown sugar • 400 grams dried apricots • 1 teaspoon rosewater • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 400 ml yogurt • 50 grams pistachios, roughly chopped • 4 teaspoons dried coconut

POACHED APRICOTS +ROSEWATER

METHOD

• Put the sugar into a medium saucepan with 150 ml water. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves.

• Add the dried apricots and simmer for 15 minutes until soft.

• Remove from heat, add rosewater and set aside to cool.

• In the meantime, add the cinnamon to the yogurt and whisk until smooth and silky.

• Spoon into glasses. Serve topped with 100 ml of yogurt, the pistachios and the coconut.

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

M ea ls s erv ed all da y APRIL 2013

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BEIRUT

Happy Hour at its finest!

Find yourself at the highest point in Hamra at our Top 21 bar & restaurant enjoying the happy hour-50% off on all beverages from 6:00pm till 8:30pm including free Wifi access.

CROWNE PLAZA BEIRUT TO BOOK 1 754755 OR VISIT CPBEIRUT.COM 154 | RCALL A G M A G 961 | www.ragmag.co

THE TRANSITION ISSUE

BRAINFOOD ROUND #1

ROUND #2

Sports + Games

ROUND #3

ROUND #4

Science + Technology Trivia

1. In which sport would you find the centre of the target at a height of exactly 5ft 8 ins. (172.72cms)?

2. The Marquis of Queensbury rules were introduced to govern what sport?

History + Geography

1. Red, white, blue, yellow and green are the colours on a Rubik’s Cube. What colour is missing?

2. What timing device, found in the kitchen, has the most moving parts?

3. What is the most commonly used expression in any language in the world?

4. Where in the world would you find Friday coming before Thursday?

5. How many spices are mixed together to make the spice known as “All Spice”?

1. What car was voted European car of the 20th century?

1. By what other name is the “Red City” better known?

2. Who walked the Via Dolorosa on the way to his execution?

2. What device, found usually in the office, was voted as the 3. What is the only city in the greatest product of the 20th world that is still split in two by century? a wall?

3. How many spots, in total, are there 3. In computers what does on a pair of dice?

4. Which famous Russian monk BIOS mean? was shot, poisoned and finally 4. Where is the US Masters Golf drowned in the river Neva in 4. In what country is the Nokia competion always held?

1916? company based?

5. What is the fastest creature that is 5. What is the only country in the raced for sport?

5. On a pencil what do the Middle East that does not have letters HB mean?

6. What sport uses a ball that is a desert?

6. What gas is usually used in a 38mm in diameter and weighs 6. What is the only European refrigerator? only 2.5 grams?

6. How many times can the number

place where you can find wild 7. What sport is generally associated 7. What is the SI standard of 5 be subtracted from 135? monkeys?

measurement for resistance? with Santa Pod in the UK? 7. In 2012 some months will have 7. Where was Keanu Reeves

8. In which computer game would 8. A computer does a POST 31 days and some will have 30. born? when switched on. What you play with Michelle, Ben, and How many will have 29?

8. Mumbai, in India, was previously does POST mean?

Pauline?

known as what?

What, on the human body, gets 8. bigger as the day progresses?

9. In F1, what does the black flag 9. Nitrous Oxide is also known 9. Who supposedly dictated the as what? mean?

9. Which country makes the most

Koran to Mohammed?

10. What sport, according to its rules, 10. What was the first production films in a year?

10. What river flows through car to have a transverse must be played using only the right

10. What is the name of the Hong Baghdad? engine? hand?

Kong stock exchange?

EASY

6

9 2 8

1

3

4 1

3 7 8 4

5 4 7 4 2

3 1 9 7 4 4

8

ROUND#1 ROUND#2 ROUND#3 ROUND#4

6 1 5 3 9 1 6 2 8 8 2 4 4 7 5 3

5 3 9

9 6 8

2 7

4 1 6 3

5 8

7

1 9 4 3

4 2 1

5 2

2 8 7 4 5 9 1

7

3 8 1 9 1 7 9 2 7 1 6 2 5 3

3 8

7 2

2

5 4

6 1

3 5 2 6 3

3

1. Darts 2. Boxing 3. 42 4. Augusta, Georgia 5. Pigeon 6. Table tennis 7. Drag racing 8. Microsoft Hearts 9. Cars to go into the pits 10. Polo 1. Mini 2. Paper clip 3. Basic Input Output System 4. Finland 5. Hard Black 6. Freon 7. Ohm 8. Power On Self Test 9. Laughing gas 10. Austin mini 1. Orange 2. Egg timer 3. OK 4. An English dictionary 5. None. It is a single spice 6. Once, because it then becomes the number 130 7. All of them 8. Feet 9. India 10. Hang Seng 1. Petra 2. Jesus 3. Nicosia 4. Rasputin 5. Lebanon 6. Gibraltar 7. Beirut 8. Bombay 9. Angel Gabriel 10. The Tigris

6 4 2 7

7 5 8 8

2 3

4 1 5 9 7 4 3 2 6 1 9 2 6

6 4 7 5 1 9 3 1 9 8 8 5

APRIL 2013

9 9

7 4 3 5 4 1 8 2 6 1 5 3 2 6 8 7

7 5 1 5 8 6

3 3

4

6 9 2 7

6 1 5 4 8 7

7 3 9 9 2 6 2 8

6 1 2 7

3 5 6 9

4 3 1 4

5 1

2 8 3 6

1 8

4 2

4 1

9 2

7 2 9 5 6 4

5 6

7 1

8 2

3 8

3 3 7 7

9 5 1 7 8 4 1 3

9 5 6 2

9 4

4 8

5 1 4 8

9 6 2 7

9 3 8 5

3 5 9

7 2 8

1 3 8

4 6 5 4 1 9

2 7 6

9 3 7 6 8 4 5 2 1

6 1 2 5 3 7 9 4 8

5

2 9

1 4

3

6 7 5

1

8 7 5 4 9 3

6 3 7

1 6 2

7 5 4

8 4 9 2

8 1 6

2

8 9 3

6 8 1

9 5 7

9

3 2 4

5 7 3 2 4

6 8 1

3

8

2 4 6 8 1 9

6 9 1 7 5

5 7

3 2

4

2 4 3 8

9 6 1 7 5

7 1

5 9

5 4 3 2

6 2 1 8

8 9

7 4

6

3

1 3 2

4 7

7 4 9

8 5 6 3

5 6 8

2 1 9

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DOWNTOWN ABC Achrafieh ABC Dbayeh KASLIK JAL EL DIB LE MALL Sin el Fil CITY MALL ZAITUNAY BAY VERDUN HAMRA City Center Soon in RABIEH

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

ACROSS 4. Mix the cards.

6. The worst type of filling?

7. He has a sting in his tail.

8. Small ones are sometimes

pickled.

11. Sum or goal! {Anagram}.

12. American whiskey?

16. A place for kids or flowers?

18. Ten Charms. {Anagram}.

19. Up it Mom. {Anagram}.

22. A dragon or a dress?

23. Talk quietly.

27. A lethal projectile.

31. A type of radiation device?

32. Make longer.

33. We all need this.

37. A sharp jerk!

39. Adding a sound track.

40. A long story?

42. Can be used as an anaesthetic.

43. A bullet is one type.

44. Part of the neck.

46. A Bishop’s hat?

47. American taxi!

49. Was she a French executioner?

50. A good lubricant can reduce this.

51. Another term for height.

53. Backwards tea?

54. Is this being tied up?

56. There’s a place available.

60. A bad break?

61. Or nice rush. {Anagram}. [NB.

Spelling Error]

1. Is it a wild dog?

2. Almost a sergeant

or a form of punishment?

3. A special type of bag?

5. Annoying little creature.

8. More sides than a square.

9. One of the King’s gifts.

10. Spread around!

13. An argument?

14. A water horse?

15. Sha? {Anagram}.

17. The girls like a bit

of this.

20. A reward.

21. Do they care for the

orphans?

24. Live out no.

{Anagram}.

Am I this?

GOOD

1000000 c h a n c e

What are the odds of winning?

CAR

25. The study of the

JACKT O N A child’s toy?

planets.

26. It’s no good!

28. A makeshift boat!

29. The finish.

30. FTC is in ice. {Anagram}.

34. Employ.

35. Confirm.

36. Artwork in stone.

38. Round Topic {Anagram}.

Used for advertising

KNEE LAMP | TORCH | FLASH

Nice to eat!

BAN ANA

XMASCARA Do this after an argument?

41. An old fashioned

slimming garment?

44. Not in the affirmative.

45. Can be hard to do without the picture.

48. A volcano’s hole?

52. Grade men turn. {Anagram}.

55. Heads or tails on a coin?

57. A golfer’s servant?

LOST words words words words

58. Tutu is iron. {Anagram}.

59. Writings about

prostitutes?

61. A wedding party?

62. Is it for one or all?

69. Part of your family.

71. Belonging to.

72. Elm Mba. {anagram}.

75. Not You! 78. In no danger.

81. Exercise to keep this.

I don’t know what to say!

ETUNIMANI

I won’t be long

HO

ROBO D

Prince of Thieves?

GOOD LOOKING - NEON LIGHTS - LOST FOR WORDS - CHANCE IN A MILLION - BANANA SPLIT - BACK IN A MINUTE JACK IN THE BOX - KISS AND MAKEUP - ROBIN HOOD APRIL 2013

ACROSS 4. SHUFFLE - 6. ROOT - 7. SCORPION 8. CUCUMBER - 11. GLAMOROUS 12. BOURBON - 16. NURSERY - 18. MERCHANTS19. OPTIMUM - 22. KIMONO - 23. WHISPER 27. ARROW - 31. RADIATOR - 32. EXTEND 33. EDUCATION - 37. JAR - 39. DUBBING 40. SAGA - 42. CHLOROFORM - 43. PROJECTILE 44. NAPE - 46. MITRE - 47. CAB - 49. GUILLOTINE 50. FRICTION - 51. ELEVATION - 53. EAT 54. BONDAGE - 56. VACANCY - 60. FRACTURE 61. RHINOCERUS. (NB. Spelling error. RHINOCEROS) - 63. AXE - 64. JUDO- 65. CADBURY - 66. WISE 67. YALE - 68. BOX - 70. CATHODE - 73. YEARNING - 74. FUMIGATE - 76. BOOM - 77. CAT - 79. SILT 80. HYSTERIA - 82. ODD - 83. ART - 84. SADIST 85. VAN - 86. MAXIMUM - 87. OYSTER DOWN 1. COYOTE - 2. CORPORAL - 3. DIPLOMATIC 5. FLEA - 8. CUBE - 9. MYRRH - 10. SCATTER 13. ROW - 14. HIPPOPOTAMUS (NB. Spelling Error) 15. HAS - 17. ROMANCE - 20. PRIZE - 21.

GUARDIANS - 24. EVOLUTION - 25. ASTRONOMY - 26. USELESS 28. RAFT - 29. END - 30. SCIENTIFIC - 34. USE 35. PROVE - 36. SCULPTURE - 38. PRODUCTION 41. GIRDLE - 44. NEGATIVE - 45. JIGSAW 48. CRATER - 52. UNDERGARMENT - 55. FLIP 57. CADDY - 58. NUTRITIOUS - 59. PORNOGRAPHY61. RECEPTION- 62. UNISEX - 69. SIBLING 71. OF - 72. EMBALM - 75. ME - 78. SAFE - 81. FIT

DOWN

63. A woodsman’s tool?

64. A Martial art?

65. A famous chocolate maker!

66. Is an owl this?

67. A lock or University?

68. For storage or to fight?

70. Opposite end of the anode!

73. Any Reign. {Anagram}.

74. Done to kill unwanted pests.

76. The noise of an explosion.

77. Our feline friend.

79. A river’s deposit?

80. Mass panic!

82. Strange!

83. Painting is one form of this.

84. A masochist’s friend?

85. A small truck!

86. The most available.

87. A fishy aphrodisiac?

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

RAGMAG

ASTRO

Zodiac FROM JONATHAN CAINER

April.2013

THE ANCIENTS BELIEVED THAT DURING A LUNAR ECLIPSE, A GIANT INVISIBLE SPACE DRAGON SWALLOWED THE MOON. THE ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ‘LUNAR NODES’ ARE STILL SOMETIMES CALLED THE DRAGON’S HEAD AND THE DRAGON’S TAIL. THE PARTIAL ECLIPSE ON APRIL 25 WILL BE BRIEF AND BITE-SIZED. IT WILL LOOK MORE AS IF THE DRAGON IS HAVING A NIBBLE THAN A GOBBLE. BUT IT SHOULD BE VISIBLE FROM EUROPE, AFRICA, ASIA, AND AUSTRALIA. LIKE ALL ECLIPSES, IT SYMBOLISES A CHANCE TO REBOOT YOUR LIFE. REMEMBER THAT RESOLUTION YOU COULDN’T QUITE KEEP IN JANUARY? MAYBE IT’S TIME TO GIVE IT ANOTHER GO.

TAYLOR KITSCH JENNIFER GARNER

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21 As you enter April, you feel unsure about whether you are winning or losing. You are facing changes that you never really expected to have to deal with. These are causing you to re-evaluate your relationships with various people and situations.

Old aspirations no longer appeal to you as they once did, yet you are nervous about giving wholehearted commitment to new plans and possibilities. It may take you some while to adjust to changing circumstances but you will end the month feeling happier and more secure.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

ARIES

March 21 - April 20

APRIL 2013

GEMINI

The Sun’s passage through Aries this year is accompanied by a visit from Mars. Venus also passes through your sign, until the middle of April. That is a clear indication of your potential to manifest great power and influence. You can make people sit up and take notice. You can encourage them to see things from your point of view and you can rightly consider yourself safe from any apparent threats to your emotional or material well-being. Strength will come easily to you but you may have to strive for some sensitivity.

May 22 - June 22 They say, ‘If you seek success, it often comes down not to what you know but who you know.’ There is an element of truth in this at all times - but this month, it is very much the case. You are better connected than you realise. If you wish to change a situation, you really just need to have a delicate word in the right ear. Make sure that the word is delicate and that you have carefully thought through your requests before you make them. The question in April is not, ‘Can you get what you want?’; but, ‘Are you sure that you want it?’

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

August 24 - September 23 The world is full of people who keep having new ideas. ‘Why don’t we do this?’

Why don’t we try that?’ Yet, the world is also full of people who resist innovation.

‘That will never work.’ ‘We don’t want that happening round here.’ That’s why most changes are hard to achieve. What should you do this month? Struggle to introduce the new in the face of resistance? Or surrender to the naysayers? Your vision is so bright that you simply must pursue it and, though it won’t be easy, you will slowly start to succeed.

June 23 - July 23 April brings a partial lunar eclipse in the part of your chart that governs risk-taking. It is not due to be the most spectacular phenomenon that the world has ever witnessed but, for you as a Cancerian, it has great symbolic significance.

It speaks, not of some gamble that you may be about to make, but of your concern about a choice that you made some months ago. Was it wise or foolish? You fear the latter. Here comes much-needed reassurance that you have already chosen the best possible path.

July 24 - August 23 When you wake up in the morning and look out of your window, what do you see and how do you feel about it? Events, this month, are inviting you to reconsider some key aspects of your domestic situation. If it isn’t time to think about moving, it is time to think about strengthening your sense of connection and commitment to an existing arrangement. One way or another, April brings your chance to swap a nagging sense of insecurity for a lasting awareness that you are fully safe and at home with your surroundings.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

September 24 - October 23 When other people want things from you, you are usually keen to comply if you can.

You take pride and pleasure in being helpful. But sometimes you start to feel as if you are being pushed too hard and too far. Where should you draw the line this month? What constitutes an unreasonable request? Will you be ultimately helping someone more if you stand up against them, than if you just meekly allow them to bulldoze their way past your doubts and reservations? Don’t let a fear of conflict drive an unwise choice.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

CAPRICORN

October 24 - November 22 Towards the end of April there will be a partial lunar eclipse in Scorpio. That’s interesting. Where a total eclipse implies the need to let something go completely and embrace a significant change, a partial eclipse speaks of a chance to renegotiate a vital aspect of an arrangement, adjusting the one thing that has proven hardest - and creating a future in which a commitment is easier and more rewarding to keep up. Even if it seems now as if you face a problem, you will soon see the big opportunity that is hidden within it.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

AQUARIUS

December 22 - January 20 We don’t always realise just what a powerful effect some situations are having on us. We do our best to shrug off intense experiences and carry on. Only some while later, do we see how they have subtly (or not so subtly) affected us. April brings you the chance to look at a habit you have fallen into or a problem that you seemingly can’t escape, and to think again about what really lies behind all this. One joyous moment of revelation will bring enough enlightenment and inspiration to start dramatically improving your future outlook.

January 21 - February 19 You keep hoping that something will happen, something in particular, something special. You can see that it’s possible but you also see that to some extent it doesn’t matter how much effort you make, you are going to need a degree of good fortune.

What if you don’t get it? Then how will you feel? Do all that you can this month, to make it easy for luck to help you. Try as hard to be as wise as you can. Then don’t worry. However things turn out, you will eventually benefit greatly from the story that unfolds in April.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

APRIL 2013

November 23 - December 21 Think back to the way you were feeling at the start of the year. How hemmed in and held back did you seem to be? How much fear and frustration was colouring your view of the world? You have to admit that things are looking a lot better now. If, as you read these words you think, ‘No, I don’t.’ It can only be because April’s most important astrological influences have yet to bring you their full benefit. It is not just your own view that will alter for the better this month. Someone else will form a more encouraging opinion.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

PISCES

February 20 - March 20 Why does life sometimes seem unfair?

Why do bad things happen to good people and vice versa? You and I are not really qualified to say what is ultimately good or bad. Nor should we pass judgement on other individuals. Success, this month, depends on you rising above old entrenched ways of looking at the world. Be positive, even about what seems negative. Where faith is being challenged, find yet more faith. Despite your fears, you are travelling down a road that can only lead to a more peaceful and prosperous tomorrow.

FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM

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NEW + NOW

GETTING TOUCHY For the first time in Lebanon, media members can take advantage of a 50 percent discount on their postpaid mobile lines for local talk time and local text messages thanks to the newly-launched “Syndicates’ Offer” by touch, the leading mobile telecommunications company in Lebanon managed by Zain Group. This special plan offering 800 minutes and 80 SMS for only 49 USD was officially announced March 7th. Commenting on the dynamic relationship between mobile technology and journalism, the Corporate Communications & Relations Manager at touch, Ghada Barakat, said: “It was inevitable to introduce a procedure that accounts for the journalist and media’s constant use of telecommunications to complete their work in general. Based on the need of the

Lebanese media, touch devised a new offer exclusively for the people working in the domains of journalism.” Minister of Telecom, Nicolas Sehnaoui, stated: “We stand here today not in the name of touch and the Ministry of Telecommunications but rather in the name of the Lebanese people’s support to the press and freedom of expression. We are very well aware of the importance of phone calls for journalists in their daily work especially during this phase of technological advancement, as communication is becoming their main working tool overall.” The “Syndicates’ Offer” is the latest release from touch and comes on top of a whole new range of customized products giving customers the opportunity to experience great cost efficiency on their mobile phones.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE Boggi Milano, a symbol of Italian style and elegance since 1939, has renewed its agreement with the Red Devils team. Today, Boggi Milano is recognized as one of the Italian leading menswear retail brands with more than 120 stores all over the world.

Michel Fabrizio will be the rider of the Team Red Devils. Fabrizio, 29 years-old, is an accomplished motorcycle champion, competing in the top five of the strongest riders in the World Superbike Championship. He lays claim to an excellent record of important results and attendance from the Moto GP to Superbike having raced with all brands. “I am very satisfied with my new position in a team that is a source of great pride for me,” said Fabrizio. “I’m back on an Italian bike that is going to defend the world title won in 2012 and I believe that our potential is to play for the top positions in every race. I am very happy and confident for the presence of a sponsor elegant and important as Boggi that will allow us to give an image of Italy, which is the one we like most.”

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THE TRANSITION ISSUE

APRIL 2013

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