MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2013
DUAL DIRECTION
DIRECTOR MARTIN SCORSESE EVERY DIRECTION
BUSKERS THE GYPSY QUEENS
ANOTHER DIRECTION
AUTHOR YANGSZE CHOO
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
starring
NADA ABOU FARHAT
EXCLUSIVE *
ASHTON KUTCHER THE MEGASTAR TAKES BEING IS STEVE JOBS THE APPLE ICON VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 1
2 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
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 BeirutNightLife.com Odette Kahwagi
Contributors Arie Amaya-Akkermans Lara Ariss Jonathan Cainer Amal Chaaban Rabih Feghali Maria Frangieh Alice Hlidkova Sarah Hourany Matthew Hussey J.E.N. Maria-Elena Kassab Imogen Kimber Chris Lambert Sabina Llewellyn-Davies Nour Obaji May Rostom 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.
Selected images Shutterstock
Stylist Jony Matta
Media Representative
Public Relations Coordinator Lea El-Alam
Nada G. Farha | Cofounder-MD Jdeideh Chalet Suisse St 444 Center 3rd floor Tel: 01 87 16 63 Ext 103 nfarha@pinkodsal.com advertise@pinkodsal.com
Marketing Lead Daniella Tayar Administrative Coordinator Teddy Younes Responsible Manager May Ziade Printed by Chemaly & Chemaly
RAGMAG Alex Gabriel Building Rue Colomn de Sahel Sahel Alma, Keserwan Tel: 09 916 222 / 09 913 777 lea.elalam@ragmaglive.com
www.chemaly.com
RAGMAG is a division of Raycon s.a.l. Copyright RAGMAG 2013 All Rights Reserved
Distributor MMO Messageries du Moyen-Orient de la Presse et de Livre Sal
PER ISSUE 10,000 LBP 6 ISSUES 50,000 LBP 12 ISSUES 100,000 LBP OCTOBER 2013
ON OUR COVER: ASHTON KUTCHER BY GLEN WILSON
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
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 3
92 THE WINDROSE ISSUE
28
32
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB
VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY 4 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
48 90
EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES COPYCAT
94
A WHOLE NEW ROUTE
13
GET IT NOW!
58
CULTURE CLASH 3REFTAK MEN 2ASLAK
24
WINDS OF CHANGE
42
STREETS TO SPOTLIGHT
56
UMM THE NEWS, KIND OF
28
SCORSESE’S DUAL DIRECTIONS
32
TAKING IT SERIOUSLY
18
DOLLARS + SENSE BUSINESS IN LEBANON?
52
FML WE HAVE FAITH IN THEE
48
FINAL FRONTIER TOOLS OF NAVIGATION
46
NEW DISCOVERIES
106 107 108 109
SEE, SPEAK + HEAR NO EVIL SOUND CHECK MUSIC READ’EM + WEEP BOOKS PLAY NICE GAMES WATCH OUT FILM
REAL LIFE RUNWAY
OUR FASHION SHOOT
MY OTHER BAG IN BEIRUT
HAYDA LEBNEN
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR YANGSZE CHOO THE GYPSY QUEENS
PAN ARABIA ENQUIRER
MUSIC + FILM MEET IN THE MIDDLE ASHTON KUTCHER IS STEVE JOBS
CARLO VINCENTI TALKS ECONOMY
CRACKBERRY ADDICTS ARE US
TECH
SCIENCE
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 5
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
94
A WHOLE NEW ROUTE
STARRING NADA ABOU FARHAT
6 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
70 70 14
EDITOR’S OPINION SHE’S LOST
68
MON AMOUR, MON AMI CHANGING DIRECTIONS
70
GAY OR STRAIGHT?
64
MIND, BODY + SOUL HELP ME NOUR + RABIH
62
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
74
HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL
78
MIRROR MIRROR HEADING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION
86
DRAMATIC ENTRANCE
85
CLAIM YOUR VICTORY
80
SIMPLY DECADENT
HELP OUR EDITOR COME BACK
FROM BFF TO BF
LOST RELATIONSHIP BEARINGS
ADVICE
MATTHEW HUSSEY HELPS YOU OUT MOMMY BEHAVE!
QUINTESSENTIALLY DIOR
GUERLAIN MAKES US FALL IN LOVE PACO RABANNE’S INVICTUS M.A.C’S TIME TO INDULGE
EAT, DRINK + BE MERRY 120 SWANKY SOUPS RECIPES
119
MOMO AT THE SOUKS
110
OUT + ABOUT #VACAYINLEBANON
112
TAKE ME WITH YOU SALZBURG
RESTO REVIEW
KROUM EHDEN
TRAVEL
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 7
PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Following research on where RAGMAG Magazine is most sought after and enjoyed, we were amazed and delighted to hear the names of some of the areas that were mentioned from all parts of Lebanon. Alley, Baalback, Chouf, Akar, Zgharta, Koura, and Bhamdoun to name but a few! They’re just a sample of some of the places outside Beirut that read RAGMAG. I am happy to announce such news because although the majority of our readers might be in Beirut and its surroundings, we certainly do belong to Lebanon as a whole. We have now made your lives a bit easier by making us more accessible! A RAGMAG app is now available on iTunes and Google Play thus making digital reading easier each issue for iPhones, iPads and all Android devices. You can scan the QR code a few pages in and it will take you directly there. This issue, I would like to thank Cloud961 for their continued support- the online community continues to be an active demographic with us. Big thanks to Make Up For Ever, My Other Bag and the Sunglass Hut for the wonderful rewards- to our valued readers, keep an eye on our social media platforms for how to win! For the fashion fans, we’ve got a specific Twitter account sharing the best runway selections, so join us at @RAGMAGFashion. Look out for our contributor’s new book! Jasmina Najjar talks about a few of her Beirut dating disasters. It’ll be out soon in all major bookstores, and it’s sure to have a little bit of something for everyone. Keep your letters coming to publisher@ragmaglive.com and follow me on Twitter @GinaGabriel1 I’d love to hear from you.
Gina Gabriel El-Fady | Publisher 8 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
Paris, New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Madrid, Beijing, Beirut, Seoul www.isabelmarant.com OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 9
REIGN OF TECHNOLOGY
The ďŹ rst Social Media oriented magazine in Lebanon and the Middle East
10 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
info@cloud961.com - www.cloud961.com
cloud961mag
@cloud961mag
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
EDITOR’S LETTER
THE WINDROSE ISSUE BECAUSE THERE’S A FORK IN EVERY ROAD Regarding the September issue, it seems that I underestimated Helena Bonham Carter’s influence in the Middle East. I knew that the September issue would go viral with European and North American fans of HBC, but I didn’t expect such a positive reaction from readers in Lebanon and the UAE. If our feedback is any indication, she is a damn sight more popular in this region than I expected! We loved all of the interaction with the issue and we hope you guys continue to share it. On to this month, we decided to go with the Windrose theme because it allowed us to explore the world metaphorically and also a bit literally. Yes, it’s Ashton Kutcher and he is Steve Jobs. It was tough deciding whether we wanted our cover to be Jobs-based or not (I’m referring to the film). Since our Twitter timeline was filled with Apple iOS 7 news, and certainly with people applauding the movie, we went with what would make you happiest. Something else cool this issue? Check out our RAGged Facts Column where you can get the lowdown on some very cool compass-related concepts. Global wanderers with little or no direction sense? Buskers are usually the best example of that, so this issue we’re presenting The Gypsy Queens. They’re a fun-loving group of European musicians who have banded together and kind of hit the big time. Since they were in Lebanon for a private performance, we sat down for a chat with the troupe, and you can check out our contributor’s opinion of their first album in the review section. I also like our interview this issue with author Yangsze Choo that focused of the changing nature of Asian myth and culture, in addition to the historic role of women in China. Her novel, The Ghost Bride, was reviewed last issue and you are now able to find it on our website.
OCTOBER 2013
All this talk about direction and where we’re all heading has given me something to think about. Check out my op ed this issue: I’m lost and I’m hoping you can help me find my way back. I need our readers more than ever before, and you’ll see why. When I released this on the web, I was flooded on Twitter with people telling me how much they love the magazine and the staff. Thank you to everyone who emailed me words of encouragement (Kroshka Moya that means you), tweeted at me (tweeps #love) and shared my confession on Facebook. I’m 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
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 11
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FOR OUR SEPTEMBER ISSUE WE CONTINUED TO TALK TO YOU VIA OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMSPINTEREST, TWITTER + FACEBOOK. WE THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND PARTICIPATION AND WE 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!
WANNA DOWNLOAD OUR APP? WE’RE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE ITUNES STORE AND ON GOOGLE PLAY SO GET DOWNLOADING
www.ragmag.co www.issuu.com/RAGMAG RAGMAGMagazine @RAGMAGMagazine 12 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co RAGMAG
#RAGMAG
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CHOOSE
THE ENVIRONMENTALLY
CONSCIOUS ROUTE
For years now we’ve been fans of My Other Bag, but the collection was only available in the US and Europe. It’s finally come to the Middle East and there are a slew of options to choose from, all of which are cool, versatile and most importantly, environmentally friendly. We’re using ours to tote everything from laptops to gymwear, and the sturdy 100 percent cotton canvas makes it ideal for heavy loads. Bonus? Inside the bag you’ll find a metal keyring, much like the higher end (and higher priced) designer bags. The entire collection is hand-printed in Los Angeles, and there are a multitude of designs to pick from. They’re fun, they’re useful and they’re available in Beirut, what are you waiting for? Invest in the eco-conscious line today.
CELEB IMAGES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN TWEETING MY OTHER BAG, PETRA BENOVA CARRYING MY OTHER BAG, JESSICA BIEL CARRYING MY OTHER BAG
WIN THIS
YOUR OTHER BAG!
Email us a link of your fave My Other Bag. You can visit their Facebook page and share a link from there or you can send us a pic of a celeb carrying the eco-conscious line. Three of our readers will be taking home one of these long-use editions. Send your entry to letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com and watch your inbox! MyOtherBagUSA
OCTOBER 2013
@MyOtherBag
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 13
EDITOR’S OPINION
I’M LOST SOMEONE HELP ME FIND MY WAY AGAIN AN OPEN LETTER TO LEBANON
I’M TIRED OF THE POLITICS, THE INSTABILITY, THE CIVIL UNREST. I’M TIRED OF THE LAGGING ECONOMY AND THE CONSTANT CHAOS
T
his issue I’m writing to you from Canada. My parents live here and I was born and raised here, so every so often, Gina is kind enough to let me work remote for a few weeks so that I can reconnect and regroup. If I don’t go home once in a while, I have no issues admitting to all of you that I will go crazy. I call it the Lebanon Detox.
While I enjoy my time in Lebanon and the rest of the region (Dubai and Doha included), I miss Canada’s calm (and sometimes boring) daily life. I always tell myself that living and working in Beirut is definitely a great experience, and I’m learning something new every day. But this time it just isn’t enough. I’m tired. Really tired. I’m tired of the politics, the instability, the civil unrest. I’m tired of the lagging economy and the constant chaos. I’m tired of people shouting at each other car-to-car and I’m tired of the constant negativity and electric violence that permeates the air.
HERE’S THE TRUTH: IF IT WASN’T FOR RAGMAG, OUR STAFF AND MOST OF ALL, OUR READERS, I WOULD HAVE LEFT BEIRUT A LONG TIME AGO
IF I DON’T GO HOME ONCE IN A WHILE, I HAVE NO ISSUES ADMITTING TO ALL OF YOU THAT I WILL GO CRAZY. I CALL IT THE LEBANON DETOX 14 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
Here’s the truth: if it wasn’t for RAGMAG, our staff and most of all, our readers, I would have left Beirut a long time ago. You have made it worth it. Your tweets telling us how much you enjoyed an article, your pictures with the magazine month after month, and your love for the staff that you all demonstrate so often on social media makes it worthwhile. I wake to tons of people giving me feedback (almost 100 percent positive) every day. We’ve had glowing comments from as far away as Russia, the US and the UK. While those comments are nice, it’s not the same to me as hearing from our Middle East readers– those of you that I’ve lovingly nicknamed the #RAGMAGCult. Lebanon has an amazing capacity to love, and on the flip side, a huge capacity to hurt itself.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
SOMEONE HELP ME FIND MY WAY AGAIN
YOUR SUPPORT AND AGGRESSIVE LOYALTY HAS PROVEN ALL OF THE NAYSAYERS WRONG, AND IT’S GIVEN ME A REASON TO WAKE UP AND HEAD STRAIGHT TO MY LAPTOP EVERY DAY
It’s that same hurt that exhausts me day in, day out. I need some motivation to get on the plane back to Lebanon to get this issue to print. I need a reason to keep believing that what I’m doing in Beirut is worth it. In the beginning, the staff of RAGMAG were told by advertisers and PR agencies that none of you would read the magazine. We were warned that we had “too many words”. Your support and aggressive loyalty has proven all of the naysayers wrong, and it’s given me a reason to wake up and head straight to my laptop every day. It’s given me a reason to work harder at giving you strong and varied content. It’s given me a reason to keep RAGMAG on top. I can’t take any of the credit for the simple reason that it’s you that keeps RAGMAG on top, and I appreciate all of our readers every single day. You people (in specific the online community) have made RAGMAG the most relevant magazine in Lebanon and even Dubai shows us constant love. Not bad for a Beirut-based publication, if I may say so.
So now, I need you all more than ever. I need our readers to be the reason that I should come back. Because it’s harder than it’s ever been. Last issue we printed a condolence message to the residents of Dahyeh, Saida and Tripoli. A lifestyle editor should never, ever have to issue letters of condolence. It is horrible that I (as the editor of a publication that focuses on pop culture, social challenges, music, film, fashion, cuisine and art) must issue statements regarding death and disaster. This is not something I ever saw myself doing. But when Lebanon bleeds, RAGMAG bleeds. We are with you, for the good and for the bad. And right now, I need you to be with me. Because I’m torn between my love for our readers and RAGMAG, and my hesitancy to return to an existence of willing the universe to give the people of Lebanon a chance to live a normal life. “Mannik mitarra, don’t come back,” is a variation of the statement I’ve heard so many times in the past week. This is what my friends based in the Middle East say. Yes, it’s true, I am Canadian and I can easily pack up and move back here. After all, my family is here, 30 years of my life has been here. But what about RAGMAG? What about the staff and the #RAGMAGCult? What about all of our readers who are the heart and soul of what it is we do every issue? IT’S YOUR MAGAZINE and now I need to hear that. Because I have exactly nine days until I need to be back to get the October issue to print on time. I have nine days and I need the motivation to get on that plane. RAGMAG is you and you are RAGMAG, and I think that my heart would break if I resigned. It would go on of course, RAGMAG is here to stay, but I would be leaving behind the thing I love most- maybe the only thing I truly care about. So help me. Help me get to the airport, get to the plane, and get back to Lebanon. My Best, Fida Chaaban EIC RAGMAG
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 15
Revealed: Exploitation of Qatar’s World Cup ‘slaves’. That was the headline on The Guardian’s cover Thursday, September 26th. Since then, the web has been flooded with shares, reposts, tweets, articles, comments and analysis. As much as we’re aware of the dismal state of migrant workers in the Arab world (Lebanon included), the thought of Nepalese workers dying “at a rate of almost one a day in Qatar,” -some from sudden heart attacks- the findings of The Guardian’s investigative piece are extremely disturbing. It states that there is “evidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project” and highlights horrifying claims- “some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them [from] running away,” and also states that “employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards” which give workers illegal status. What else is happening? “Some labourers say they have been denied access to free drinking water in the desert heat,” and 30 workers “sought refuge at [the Nepalese] embassy in Doha to escape the brutal conditions of their employment.” As this issue went to print, the investigation led by The Guardian journalists is ongoing and the Qatari government has claimed that they were unaware of the seriousness of the situation with the construction companies. How do such conditions and such a high death rate go unnoticed –does it really or are the officials turning a blind eye?- when an international delegation for a worldwide event is supposed to follow the World Cup process from A to Z?
WHAT’S WITH PAKISTAN’S NEW ISLAND? Tuesday, September 24th: People in Pakistan were able to watch an island emerge from the sea. Literally. A really cool phenomenon if it weren’t for the 300 plus death toll that accompanied it. According to The Guardian, “A 7.8-magnitude earthquake […] struck Pakistan’s thinly populated province of Baluchistan and was felt across South Asia.”
RAGMAG’S VOTE APPALLING
FIVE QUESTIONS THE WORLD IS ASKING
16 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
The earthquake that followed “Pakistan’s worst attack on Christians” killing 85 right after Sunday service “destroyed houses and cut communications with the worst affected district of Awaran, and was so powerful that it caused a small island to emerge from the sea just off the coastline in the Arabian Sea.” As this issue goes to print, the island is still nameless but it’s still there- it might just be a “temporary formation” says NBC News, “resulting from a ‘mud volcano,’ a jet of mug, sand and water that gushed to the surface” after the strong quake. The US Geological Survey is still investigating the new island but some onlookers are already visiting it, unaware that it might be dangerous. According to BBC, “a local journalist, Bahram Baloch” was checking out the island and taking pictures and he could see “dead fish on the surface. And on one side we could hear the hissing sound of escaping gas.” According to National Geographic, the island resembles one that “appeared off Pakistan after a 2011 earthquake there.” Technically, a mud island like this one is created by “seismic waves from the quake [that] likely caused some fluid material under the seafloor to expand. The crust holding that pressurized fluid ruptured, and mud spewed up,” says Bill Barnhart, a research geophysicist with the US Geological Survey. There are stories about another island (60 years ago), but no hard evidence has emerged thus far. The news and images of the island have outshined the actual earthquake and its consequences on the injured and homeless on most major news networks. Is this the first in a slew of natural disasters to strike beleaguered Pakistan? RAGMAG’S VOTE LIKELY THE WINDROSE ISSUE
2022 WORLD CUP: GETTY IMAGES | PAKISTAN’S NEW ISLAND: PAKISTAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OD OCEANOGRAPHY/NBC © NASA | KENYA: SIMON MAINA / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
IS QATAR WHITEWASHING THEIR 2022 WORLD CUP EXECUTION?
FIVE QUESTIONS THE WORLD IS ASKING
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE: ONE MORE CONTROVERSY? On October 11th, 2013, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the Nobel Peace Prize laureate(s) for 2013. The Peace Prize established by Alfred Nobel “is to go to whoever ‘shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.’ The prize includes a medal, a personal diploma, and a large sum of prize money (currently 8 million Swedish crowns)” as stated on www.nobelpeaceprize. org. It’s the accolade of a lifetime but past laureates have disappointed more than once. Looking back at the history of the prize, one can wonder how dictators like Benito Mussolini in 1935, Adolf Hitler in 1939 or Joseph Stalin in 1945 and 1948 were nominated- these nominations only became public in the last three decades as the committee “doesn’t release the names of any candidates and keeps records sealed for 50 years,” reads an Associated Press (2009) article on common misconceptions about the Nobel Peace Prize. In more recent years, actual laureates have created controversy: Rigoberta Menchú in 1992 who was “given the prize as a result of her memoirs, which are widely believed to have been partially falsified” (The Huffington Post), US President Barack Obama in 2009 with a very premature prize (he’d been in office for less than a year), and last year’s winner, the European Union for “[having] over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.” (www.nobelpeaceprize.org) According to Business Insider, the 2012 laureate was vividly criticized for having won the prize “despite the crisis in the Euro zone and the violence that has marred Greece and Spain in recent months.” The prize money surely was a great financial help for a region going through an economical downfall, but is this what the Nobel Peace Prize is all about? RAGMAG’S VOTE CONFUSING
KENYA VS SOMALIA : NOW WHAT? Ever since the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, no African country has made international headlines for more than a day, until the terrorist attack on a mall in Kenya put the country and its neighbor Somalia in the spotlight. A four-day siege of an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, started on September 21st, killing 61 civilians and six Kenyan security forces ultimately ending with the death of five terrorists. The attack was claimed by Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based cell of Al-Qaeda and is allegedly pay-back for the military role Kenya is playing in Somalia –in helping the Somali government hunt down the terrorist groupbut also, “to some degree,” says The New York Times, “because of growing American support for Kenyan security forces. In recent years, Kenya has worked closely with the Americans on military cooperation, hunting Al Qaeda and
combating piracy. The C.I.A. station in Nairobi is among the largest in Africa and the [US] ambassador to Kenya, Robert F. Godec, was formerly the State Department’s deputy coordinator for counterterrorism.” A theory that supports the rumour that “Kenyans may be getting advice or help from American and Israeli special forces or private contractors,” according to The New Yorker. Other rumors are starting to spread that the White Widow (the wife of one of the July 2005 London attacks’ suicide bombers) might have been at the heart of the attack, on the Shabaab side. Kenya and Somalia have long maintained an ongoing conflict ranging from small clashes to ethnic massacres; is this going to stay between the two nations? How likely are other governments to take part in it? RAGMAG’S VOTE WORRYING
IS BLACKBERRY GOING TO PULL THROUGH? BlackBerry has announced massive job cuts (4,500), warned of a loss, and signed “a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence,” as stated on BlackBerry’s site. It looks as though nothing’s really working for them- the Z10, the Q10, the new operating system and even the really cool Keep on Loving You parody. The measures seem drastic, but some analysts believe it’s the right thing to do, and the future of BlackBerry might not be as bleak as we think. According to BBC, “Brian Colello, analyst at OCTOBER 2013
Morningstar, said that taking BlackBerry private would allow the company to reorganize without being under the glare of Wall Street investors. It appears that the end game is going to be whether BlackBerry can emerge as a niche supplier of highly-secured phones to enterprise customers and governments.” Chief of research at CCS Insight Ben Wood believes “a deal with Fairfax would give BlackBerry breathing space to assess its strategic options.” And maybe get them back on the right track? RAGMAG’S VOTE ENCOURAGING www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 17
DOLLARS + SENSE
TEETERING ON A PRECIPICE
THE LONG WAY
DOWN CARLO VINCENTI
TALKS BUSINESS IN LEBANON BY YOUMNA CHAGOURY
Y
ou may not know who he is and you probably won’t recognize the company that bears his family name, G. Vincenti & Sons, but I can bet that every single person in Lebanon has used, is using, or will use one of the products distributed by the Vincenti family. They’re basically everywhere, in almost every Lebanese home. According to Carlo Vincenti, G. Vincenti & Sons (which started with grandfather Giulio) “has become, over the years, by far the leading company in food distribution”. Take Barilla pasta, it’s a Vincenti product, and “two packs out of three of pasta sold in Lebanon are Barilla; it’s a huge achievement.” An even bigger achievement is their brand Maxim’s- they were “the first company to develop our own private label brand, and that’s back in the 60s. My father had the genius idea of creating one single brand for food products called Maxim’s and it’s become by far in Lebanon the leading canned food brand. We did, like seven or eight
18 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
years ago, a door-to-door survey with over a thousand households and our findings were that 99.2 percent of households had at least one Maxim’s product.” Barilla and Maxim’s are only two of the brands Vincenti distribute and their portfolio is quite impressive with “over 2500 SKUs” including household names like Haribo, Kinder, Nutella, Label 5 Scotch Whisky, Chopin Vodka, and Poliakov Vodka. “We think within a year we’ll have around 3000. We have recently acquired, unofficially, one of the leading spirits group in the world and the announcement will be made in two months. This will also be a big jump for our Wine and Spirits department; this will make us lead this market.” I think they’re pretty much already leading it. In less than four years, Label 5 Scotch Whisky “has become number four in the whisky market. In Lebanon, it’s the most competitive market, everyone was betting on us failing to launch another whisky here as there are around 70 brands of whisky monitored in the market.” They’ve also reached the number four position in the
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 19
20 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
DOLLARS + SENSE
THE LONG WAY DOWN | CARLO VINCENTI TALKS BUSINESS IN LEBANON
OPPOSITE PAGE: POLIAKOV EVENTS BELOW: CAR EXPLOSION IN ACHRAFIEH OCT 19, 2012
“THE SECURITY HAS BEEN A GREAT ISSUE IN 2013, AND POLITICAL TENSIONS, UNCERTAINTY WITH THE TRADE, DELAYS IN PAYMENT, THERE’S A LACK OF CASH-FLOW”
vodka market with Poliakov Vodka, which has become “a symbol of entertainment, whether it’s concerts, DJ clubbing events, fashion shows, beach parties. It’s become the fun brand.” It has indeed, becoming the center of the entertainment scene in Lebanon. Remember these large-scale concerts we’ve all enjoyed like Keane, Brit Floyd, Above and Beyond, and New World Punx? They were all Poliakov events and with their Wine and Spirits department, they can have six to eight events per year, each of them taking “three to four months of planning. It’s normal that sometimes we do work on two events simultaneously. Depending on the kind of event, on the artist, the situation.” The situation. The word hits me like a ton of bricks. For a businessman like Carlo and a company like G. Vincenti & Sons, the political tensions and the unstable state of the country greatly affects the business, in more ways than one. First off, the company is having a hard time bringing artists to Lebanon, especially this past year. The problem is not “getting in touch with the artist and agreeing with them. The problem is what happens between the moment you confirm an artist and the date of the event, that’s the toughest part. Unfortunately, bad news sells in media, so a lot of artists have this perception of Lebanon as being a warzone. It’s tougher with American artists than European artists, it’s always easier to get an artist that has already visited Lebanon than an artists who’s never been here. An artist who’s been here actually knows the country and knows that what he’s seeing on TV is not exactly the real situation.” That might have been what happened with DJs Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulzthey still performed even though a car bomb blast had occurred just two days before the event.
The consequences of political unrest are even heavier than what you’d expect on a company like Vincenti. Carlo explains to me how Lebanon “is highly depending on tourism, so basically the Horeca business is quite important for a lot of products especially the spirits. This year has been one of the worst years ever for the Horeca division, hotels are barely on average at 50 percent occupancy, restaurants, clubs, and bars can barely survive, lots of them are really, really about to close down. That’s really been a challenge for everyone. In the off trade, it’s totally different. When the situation is bad, people stay home more, and they consume more. The issue is not with the consumption or the sales, it’s with getting paid. Because of the situation, our clients are delaying payments and that’s become a huge burden on us. Basically, the security has been a great issue in 2013, and the political tensions, uncertainty with the trade, delays in payment, there’s a lack of cash-flow, these are the main concerns that we have this year.
“IT’S ALWAYS EASIER TO GET AN ARTIST THAT HAS ALREADY VISITED LEBANON THAN AN ARTIST WHO’S NEVER BEEN HERE. AN ARTIST WHO’S BEEN HERE ACTUALLY KNOWS THE COUNTRY AND KNOWS THAT WHAT HE’S SEEING ON TV IS NOT EXACTLY THE REAL SITUATION” OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 21
DOLLARS + SENSE
“THE BIGGEST [ISSUE] FOR US ARE THOSE PIRATED DVDS AND MOVIES; WE PAY RIGHTS AND OUR RIGHTS ARE BASICALLY STOLEN AND RAPED BY THOSE DVD SHOPS” Another concern the company has is intellectual property theft. G. Vincenti & Sons, under their sister company Italia Film, are exclusive distributors of Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar and indie films for the Middle East– at least 12 countries in the region. Carlo comments on the pirated-DVD shops with a sour laugh: “Intellectual property is the most important aspect for any owner of said property, and there are different kinds of it. I’m not sure anyone knows about it here in Lebanon. Let’s start with the basis of the basis, the pirated cable dish,” something seen everywhere. “It’s stealing properties that are not owned by the providers. The biggest [issue] for us are those pirated DVDs and movies; we pay rights and our rights are basically stolen and raped by those DVD shops.” The thing is, in Lebanon it’s right there in your face. The issue of intellectual property theft is everywhere, in every single country, but in Lebanon it’s done out in the open and it’s also considered normal. In developed countries it’s a hidden industry, and most of the time justice is served. I wonder why G. Vincenti & Sons doesn’t prosecute the “thieves” and Carlo’s answer disturbs me, as it’s something my anti-conspiracy-theoryself refused to believe. In the past, the company tried to press charges against pirated-DVD shop owners “but then they used to pop out again easily, protected by X, Y and Z. We used to chase every single shop, every single pirate, but then again they
22 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
would put them in jail and the next day they would be out. So we gave up. Let me tell you something: the extent of this business is so wide and so big that I have no doubt that a lot of people within the state (not necessarily within the government), are directly involved and benefiting from this. I have no doubt about it.” How can he be so sure? “Lebanon doesn’t have a fast Internet connection yet, so most of the piracy isn’t done through Internet. It’s done through physical DVDs that are imported, so if they’re imported in a large number, they have to go through either terrestrial ports or seaports or at the airport, and I don’t see how they can go through these three major controlled traffic ports if they’re not backed up.” This all actually makes sense and I’m horrified at Carlo’s numbers. The company estimates their “losses just in Lebanon to be not less than five to six million dollars, that’s our own company. You have a lot of other distributing companies as well.”
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
THE COMPANY ESTIMATES THEIR “LOSSES JUST IN LEBANON TO BE NOT LESS THAN FIVE TO SIX MILLION DOLLARS, THAT’S OUR OWN COMPANY. YOU HAVE A LOT OF OTHER DISTRIBUTING COMPANIES AS WELL” Over the last four decades, Carlo’s company “has been going every year through a different challenge, all related either to political or economical issues. But we’ve learned. Every single business in Lebanon has learned to overcome in one way or another, it’s the same thing as Lebanese by themselves. People get surprised that if we hear something bad has happened, we’re not really affected, we go out, we party, we act normally, because this is a survival mode that we were trained on during the civil war. Same goes on the business side of our lives. We learn to manage our business to overcome every burden.” A burden not all Lebanese people can take, that’s why so many of them leave to become the workforce of another country. Carlo’s been sticking around but he understands “people that give up and leave the country. They spend so much time trying, they’ve been hoping for years that the country’s going to get better, unfortunately it never did, it never does. Lebanese leaders have been busy fighting each other and I don’t see why people who’ve spent years and years in education should pay the price. If they’re going to university, it’s basically to get somewhere professionally, its not to stand still and accept a low-level job be-
“LEBANESE LEADERS HAVE BEEN BUSY FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND I DON’T SEE WHY PEOPLE WHO’VE SPENT YEARS AND YEARS IN EDUCATION SHOULD PAY THE PRICE”
cause politicians are fighting each other and there are no job opportunities. All of the Lebanese abroad, once the situation settles down and the economy goes back, I think they’ll be the first ones to come back. They are attached emotionally and personally to the country, but then again it’s a question of survival. Even animals in the jungle, they strive to survive. If there’s a lack of food or water in a certain part of the jungle, they have to make it out and go to another part of the jungle.” Carlo didn’t leave, maybe because he didn’t “really have a choice, since I was 12 or 13, my summer vacations were basically working at the warehouses with all the workers, and every year my father would basically promote me. I would go from the fourth underground warehouse to the third one and so on. I wasn’t even allowed into the offices until I was 18. So I lived the company, I grew up to love this kind of business, both the [food and beverage] category and the movie business. We used to get stuck in shelters or at home during the civil war and my father had a 35mm projector machine installed in our living room and a white cloth stretching over the living room where he used to project movies, and this was the only entertainment we had.” If some may find this type of hands-on education quite harsh, Carlo is grateful today as he knows “every single aspect of the business. To be frank, most of the employees respect me for that, a lot of them were there and they’re still here today so they know that I’m not just some guy parachuted behind an office. They know exactly that I’ve been through it all.” Maybe that’s the secret path to a successful business and an even more successful businessman. Carlo Vincenti’s reputation precedes him. People both inside and outside the biz say that he’s tough, very impatient and most of all, crazy. Prior to this interview, I’d met Carlo on several occasions but never had an in-depth discussion with him, so I wasn’t sure whether or not the comments were true. After all, there’s a very fine line between being plain nuts and being a business virtuoso. To successfully head a 90 year-old company, to continue to take risks when the country is going through an extremely detrimental political and economic downfall, my guess is it that it takes a little bit of both. It’s the only way to stay on the up and up in Lebanon
“[LEBANESE ABROAD] ARE ATTACHED EMOTIONALLY AND PERSONALLY TO THE COUNTRY, BUT THEN AGAIN IT’S A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL” OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 23
CULTURE CLASH
WINDS OF CHANGE YANGSZE CHOO EXPLORES MYTH + MODERNITY BY AMAL CHAABAN
Yangsze Choo is a fourth generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Due to a childhood spent in various countries, she can eavesdrop (badly) in several languages. After graduating from Harvard University, she worked in various corporate jobs and had a briefcase before writing her first novel. The Ghost Bride, set in colonial Malaya and the elaborate Chinese world of the afterlife, is about a peculiar historic custom called a spirit marriage, and is published by William Morrow/ HarperCollins in North America and Hot Key in the UK. Yangsze loves to eat and read, and often does both at the same time. She lives in California with her husband and children, and a potential rabbit. Yangsze is represented by literary agent Jenny Bent. Yangsze Choo
24 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
@yangszechoo
In the first chapter, you mention the Festival of the Dead [Qing Ming] to honour the ancestors. Is this real? Yes it is. It is called Qing Ming [pronounced Ching Ming]. Qing Ming actually occurs due to ancestor worship. My grandmother would do this every year. Go, sweep out the graves, burn offerings and put out actual food like cups of wine and tea. They had a whole meal on the family alter and some people, many people would go and visit these Chinese graves. The interesting thing about Chinese graveyards is that tombstones are sort of set up so you can do all these little feasts, they are kind of shaped like a horse shoe and they actually have little spaces in front so you can put a table out and burn incense. Ancestor worship has elements of folk religion as well as Buddhism and you are supposed to clean the graves and put out fresh flowers.
marriage’. He said his grandmother had a dream one night in which his deceased uncle appeared to her and said, ‘I’ve met this girl in the afterlife’ –this is a marriage of the dead to the dead which is really the most common form of ghost marriage– ‘I’d like to get married to her and this is the name of the family and this is the street they live on’. His grandmother got up and went to this street and basically knocked on all the doors, discovered there was really a family with such a name, and the mother of that family said she had also had such a dream with her deceased daughter appearing to her and asking for the same. They held the ceremony, and after that, my friend told me that that family is always considered family. It seems to be a very common story because I had also heard this from several other people who had remarkably similar circumstances.
Let’s talk about ghost brides and spirit marriages. In the book, it says that they were traditionally done to appease a spirit. It is a very old tradition. Maybe as long as human kind has been around, this sort of idea has existed. After I had written this, I heard about these tales of ghost marriages and stuff like that and it’s particularly relevant to Chinese because of ancestor worship. After I had actually written the book, I was talking to a Singaporean friend and he said, ‘Oh yes, my uncle had a ghost
“THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS GHOST MARRIAGES ARE DONE. I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE SEVERAL ARTICLES WHERE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY GRAVE ROBBING FOR GHOST MARRIAGE IN CHINA” THE WINDROSE ISSUE
“QING MING ACTUALLY OCCURS DUE TO ANCESTOR WORSHIP. MY GRANDMOTHER WOULD DO THIS EVERY YEAR. GO, SWEEP OUT THE GRAVES, BURN OFFERINGS AND PUT OUT ACTUAL FOOD”
QING MING IMAGE CREDIT, TOP TO BOTTOM: REUTERS, CANTON168
BELOW: QING MING FESTIVAL (TOMB SWEEPING DAY)
Do you think with the advent of modernity and intermarriage, the traditions and festivals you talk about will fade away? They are probably declining to a certain extent because many of these are traditions. You know, the interesting thing is they are practiced among the Chinese diaspora but I talked to a few mainland Chinese friends who came from big cities and I was really surprised, they had never heard of these traditions. I think it is probably because the communist party in China discouraged it. On the other hand, it is coming back in China as well as people are no longer restricted by the government. I think people are starting to burn money again, the number of ghost marriages is on the rise. There are a number of ways ghost marriages are done. I was surprised to see several articles where people are actually grave robbing for ghost marriage in China. This must be a slightly different variation on the practice where they actually need a body whereas I think amongst the overseas Chinese community, it doesn’t feel necessary.
OCTOBER 2013
Why does Li Lan see things differently than the spirit who accompanies her to the Plains of the Dead? For me that is because she is only half dead so I thought to myself [that] if you were only half dead, you wouldn’t quite belong in either world and this is the issue that faces her. When she first leaves her body and starts walking around, she notices that she can walk further and with a sense of direction. I refer back to old Chinese beliefs of wandering spirits. The whole idea of hungry ghosts, they basically become like zombies, always really, really hungry.
I felt like for Li Lan, who is basically still partly alive, she would retain some of this -the Chinese have this idea of positive and negative energy- so she would still have a lot of positive energy but the longer she stays in the ghost world, the more that goes away. Similarly I thought perhaps the ghosts wouldn’t always be able to see her. Sometimes they see her at certain angles and other times they can’t quite see her. I always thought that it was in some ways like the intersection of planes of existence because I was always very fascinated by alternate worlds.
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 25
すぐに来る
26 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CULTURE CLASH
YANGSZE CHOO EXPLORES MYTH + MODERNITY
LEFT TO RIGHT: HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL, TRADITIONAL CHINESE WEDDING
“I THOUGHT TO MYSELF [THAT] IF YOU WERE ONLY HALF DEAD, YOU WOULDN’T QUITE BELONG IN EITHER WORLD AND THIS IS THE ISSUE THAT FACES HER”
HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL © OKUI / CAPTURINGPENANG | TRADITIONAL WEDDING PHOTO CREDIT ALAMY
There is an air of deep spirituality that suffuses the book. Was this intentional to bolster the spiritual myths in the book? I think that I was interested in exploring the idea of other afterlife and what it was like. The Chinese afterlife always seems so mystical to me in some ways, but I thought that what was it like for people who believed in it? What did it feel like? That probably accounts for a lot of it. Do you think that the superstitions spoken of in the book held a great deal of sway in how the locals conducted their lives? I think that is very true and even today (depending on who you talk to) in general, Chinese are quite superstitious people. Chinese divination is popular even today and I think that is another way that people feel there are lucky days or that there are certain things you should do on some days but not on others. Chinese people love lucky numbers. People are probably less superstitious today than they were in the olden days and I also wonder whether that was an attempt to explain the world. Like, ‘Oh, it was because you did this on
such and such a day when the wind was blowing from the northeast’ or whatever. It is possible because when I look at Japanese history, they also have something very similar. They have lucky days, they have lucky directions, they are very similar like that. Do you think that exposure to so many things in The Plains of the Dead and the spirit world awakened Li Lan to the possibilities outside of her marriage prospects? Yes, I think so. You know, when I was writing the book, I did want to keep her as a historically accurate character and I struggled a little with that. Nowadays people tend to have heroines who are kick-ass, running around with machine guns and things. I thought that given the time, and given how she [Li Lan] had been raised, no matter how brave she is, she probably would have been very sheltered. Some of these girls were so sheltered, they would never have even spoken to a man, so I thought I needed to get that in her character so in certain places, I actually let her cry a bit. I do think that
a lot of this is a coming of age story because of the age she is. Going back to the idea of parallel worlds, to me at least, it is very ironic that she is far more free in the world of the dead than she was in the living. The other thing is, in those days, marriage would have been really important to a woman. Not just in Asian culture, you see it in Pride and Prejudice for example. I think it’s natural that she would have been very concerned about how she is going to live. Is an Amah a different version of a nanny? More like a surrogate mother perhaps? The Amahs were a very specific kind of servant. They are very dedicated in their life long role, they are considered above your household servant. They have a sisterhood and have taken a vow not to marry. People still had Amahs up to not too long ago. Although she worked for the family and lived with them and cooked all the meals, she had a lot of respect given to her. She would be the one who raised the children and she had a lot of authority over them. They treat her like family in that sense.
Why does Li Lan’s father have such a dislike of superstition? In my mind, I realized from studying some of the Chinese schools of thought, not everyone believed in ghosts. For example, Confucius actually said, ‘Let’s not talk about ghosts and god’. I thought that was very interesting. So in the book, I let her father be a Confucionist, sort of the modern man of his time; and the second thing, to me at least, he lost his wife and because he feels he hasn’t seen any dreams of her or hasn’t encountered her spirit, he is incredibly disappointed. Combined with his basic Confucian leanings, this makes him not superstitious
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 27
CULTURE CLASH
MARTIN SCORSESE
IN DUAL DIRECTIONS THE SOUNDTRACK OF HIS LIFE BY RANI NASR
“I can’t imagine my life, or anyone else’s, without music,” says Martin Scorsese. “It’s like a light in the darkness that never goes out.” That’s the opening line of Marty’s documentary The Blues: Feel Like Going Home. Scorsese’s love for music is obvious; he’s made more than a few music documentaries, all of which are cult classics in the film and music industries. From Bob Dylan, The Band, The Rolling Stones to George Harrison and the history of the blues, the legendary director has delved deeply into every aspect of contemporary music. Every film fan knows who Scorsese is: he’s the guy that made Italian mobster films violently hip. He’s also the man that presented names like Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Leonardo DiCaprio to the world. “Popular music formed the soundtrack to my life,” he says. At 70 years of age, he’s still making one classic after another, each film a piece of cinematographic alchemy. Here are five of my personal favorite Scorsese music moments that changed the history of cinema.
FILM MEAN STREETS 1973 SONG JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH 1968 ARTIST THE ROLLING STONES Marty’s love for the Rolling Stones is no secret; they’re the subject of his three-hour documentary Shine a Light. He’s known to use their tracks at the most critical times in a movie. Scene: Harvey Keitel sitting at the bar waiting for his savior, surrounded by a red demonic ambient glow. In comes the Italian handsome kid, Johnny Boy in slow mo with a woman on each arm, and he’s greeting everyone. That’s how Martin Scorsese introduced Robert DeNiro to the world, with the Rolling Stones blasting Jumpin’ Jack Flash in the background. He was worthy such an entrance. Marty knows.
28 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MARTIN SCORSESE IN DUAL DIRECTIONS
FILM CASINO 1995 SONG LOVE IS STRANGE 1956 ARTIST MICKEY AND SYLVIA Caught stealing in the casino, Sharon Stone flips all of the coins in the air to create a diversion. The movie pauses on her in the frame and De Niro is awestruck: “What a move!” The song plays conveying infatuation at first sight, like a symphony at its crescendo. Cinema magic crafted so well that Scorsese makes it look easy. Love is strange indeed, Ace falls in love right there and then with Ginger, Vegas’ most expensive girl. This is just one example in this classic that skyrocketed the standards of the movie-making industry.
FILM THE DEPARTED 2006 SONG GIMME SHELTER 1969 ARTIST THE ROLLING STONES “I don’t want to be a product of my environment; I want my environment to be a product of me,” says Jack Nicholson. That’s the opener of The Departed- Jackie’s racist badass speech amidst Boston in chaos with a war between the blacks and the Irish cats. Scorsese combines all these elements together gracefully, sending a shiver up your spine and transporting you to the middle of the melee. His magic trick? Gimme Shelter, the glue that binds everything together. It is simultaneously chaotic, rebellious, evil and good all at the same time.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 29
FILM GOODFELLAS 1990 SONG LAYLA - PIANO EXIT 1970 ARTIST DEREK AND THE DOMINOS Bodies in a pink Cadillac. Bodies in the garbage truck. Bodies in the meat freezer. Bodies everywhere. What did Marty choose for a soundtrack? The delightful nostalgic melody of Layla (Piano Exit). It just makes all that violence seem so effortless and plain normal. With Ray Liotta narrating in a thick Italian accent, “It made him sick to have to turn money over to the guys who stole it. He’d rather whack ‘em...” Authentic, raw and right in your face. No other director comes close to what Scorsese did with this film genre. Yet another cult classic.
FILM TAXI DRIVER 1976 SONG LATE FOR THE SKY 1974 ARTIST JACKSON BROWNE Driven to the brink of madness by loneliness, insomnia and a filthy urban existence, Robert De Niro stares at the TV (a high school prom video is playing) and sings, “Awake again, I can’t pretend, and I know I’m alone and close to the end of the feeling we’ve known”. Suddenly, he shoots the TV down with his big-ass revolver. This scene suggests that TV provides a sort of a basic opiate against the pain of loneliness- and the subsequent disgust at how reliant we are on it. After all, he’s still there sitting, alone, watching, toying around with the idea of suicide. Travis Barker is a name the world won’t forgetacting as a reminder to modern culture of its own failings. The film is layers of great acting, cinematography, soundtrack, writing, emotion, and social criticism all fuelled by a big fucking Italian heart: Marty’s.
30 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
GOODFELLAS STILL IMAGES © WARNER BROS. INC.
CULTURE CLASH
MARTIN SCORSESE IN DUAL DIRECTIONS
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 31
CULTURE CLASH
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB
VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY BY FIDA CHAABAN
32 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
STILL IMAGES OF “JOBS” COURTESY OF ITALIA FILM
WHEN I SAT DOWN TO COMPILE THIS PIECE, I WAS FORCED TO ASK MYSELF IF IT WAS GOING TO BE MORE ABOUT ASHTON KUTCHER THE ACTOR AND TABLOID CELEB OR ABOUT ASHTON KUTCHER AS STEVE JOBS. IF OUR COVER IS ANY INDICATION, I WENT WITH THE LATTER. I THINK MOST OF YOU WOULD HAVE GONE THE SAME WAY, ESPECIALLY AFTER HEARING ASHTON TALK ABOUT THE APPLE MAGNATE. IT STANDS TO REASON THAT YES, ASHTON IS COVER-WORTHY (REGARDLESS OF THE JOBS ASSOCIATION) SINCE HE HAS STARRED IN A NUMBER OF AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTIONS BOTH FOR TV AND FOR FILM. ON THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE EVERYONE LOVED HIM IN HIS COMEDIC ROLE ON THAT ‘70S SHOW, AND ON THE PERSONAL SIDE EVERYONE STALKED HIM RELENTLESSLY DURING HIS MAY-DECEMBER RELATIONSHIP WITH DEMI MOORE. NOW THAT HE’S DATING FORMER CO-STAR MILA KUNIS, THE ARTICLES ABOUT KUTCHER FOCUS ON HIS WORK AND NOT ON HIS RELATIONSHIPS, PROMPTING THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO REMEMBER THAT HE IS ONE HELL OF A TALENTED PERFORMER. LANDING THE ROLE OF JOBS WAS NO MEAN FEATANY ACTOR WOULD’VE GIVEN HIS EYETEETH TO PLAY APPLE’S HEAD HONCHO AND GLOBAL INFLUENCER. ASHTON IS STEVE, ACCORDING TO MOST REVIEWS OF JOBS, AND THIS IS WHAT HE HAS TO SAY.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 33
STILL IMAGES OF “JOBS” COURTESY OF ITALIA FILM
34 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CULTURE CLASH
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY
“A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL HIM AN ASSHOLE; I WOULD CALL HIM AN OBSESSED-HOLE”
I
“
think Steve Jobs was a guy that felt he faced a lot of rejection in his life. He was adopted and then later in life, was rejected by his own company,” says Ashton when asked about the unpredictability of playing one of the most influential men in the world. “It was a little scary to live in his skin.” One would agree, especially since Apple fans are notoriously cultish. When you think of Apple fans, the first thing that comes to mind is how much they adore the man who personifies the brand. This in itself makes it a terrifying role, especially since every Apple fan in the world was waiting for Jobs to be released, some with a mixture of disbelief that Kutcher would be able to capture the essential characteristics of Steve: charisma and magnetism. “I got to a point with myself when I was playing the character where I didn’t know what was going to come out of myself. I found that my own self became a little unpredictable. It’s a crazy thing what happens when you care so much about something that your own behavior becomes unpredictable.” Kutcher, in what is arguably the most controversial role of his career, seemed to adopt method-acting for his stint as Steve, including trying out the offbeat diet that Jobs mostly adhered to. “I did a week where I just ate grapes. And I did a week where I just ate carrots. Then I backed into a slightly more vegetarian diet. I ended up in the hospital because my blood sugar levels got really messed up. My pancreas levels were all out of whack and I was in a lot of pain. Ultimately, I think I gained a level of appreciation and understanding for that control in your life and that level of measured existence,” he says about trying to follow Jobs’ eating habits. Why did he do this? “Steve controlled a lot of his environment, and he was also very controlling about what he ate and what he put into his body. There was a reference to a book that he read written by Arnold Ehret called the [Mucusless] Diet Healing System, that somewhat became his dietary guide. I felt like in preparing to portray this person, I needed to have the
same discipline. It was just one of those disciplines that until you actually exercise it, it’s hard to know it and portray it. I wanted to understand that level of discipline about my diet, food and exercise, that level of control around all the hinges in my life.” The Mucusless Diet Healing System, one I’d never heard of prior to Ashton’s interview, was developed by Ehret in 1922- making me question the sanity of a man following a diet created almost a century ago. Ashton says the diet was “awful” and adds that “it was one of those things that when I was studying who he was and how he was came out as this eccentricity. What makes characters interesting when you play them is highlighting those eccentricities and understanding them.”
STEVE CONTROLLED A LOT OF HIS ENVIRONMENT, AND HE WAS ALSO VERY CONTROLLING ABOUT WHAT HE ATE AND WHAT HE PUT INTO HIS BODY” OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 35
CULTURE CLASH
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY
“I THINK HE HAD SOME TRUST ISSUES WITH PEOPLE. THE WAY THAT HE GAINED ACCEPTANCE AND LOVE WAS BY CREATING PRODUCTS THAT PEOPLE ACCEPTED AND LOVED”
STILL IMAGES OF “JOBS” COURTESY OF ITALIA FILM
Jobs has been called many things, but I don’t recall the mainstream media ever referring to him as eccentric -that said, I think the media was largely under his spell- and it seems that Ashton is as well, since he seems to have found an understanding in regards to this crazy meal plan: “It’s actually really efficient because you don’t have to think about the food that you eat. You have a discipline about the food you eat, so you don’t really have to make any choices about what to eat because there’s only one choice that you’ve given yourself. It’s the same way with his clothing, wearing the turtleneck, pants, and shoes. It was the same every day, he didn’t have to make a choice so it freed up his mental capacity to make choices for the things that he cared about.” How did Kutcher deal with adopting Jobs’ mercurial personality? “It was really hard to get to that place, to just be reactive in that way. A lot of football coaches or soccer coaches just explode at their players; they go crazy and tell them they’re failing. But ultimately, they’re trying to motivate the people around them to make them better and I’ve found a way to relate to it through that.” And does Ashton consider himself “reactive”? “I’m a pretty measured person. I think about things a lot, I internalize things, and then I express,” says Kutcher. How does he interpret Jobs’ outbursts? “He was so determined that, in an effort to achieve his goal, his behavior sometimes became unpredictable.” Unpredictable and thorny, according to people who worked in close quarters with him. He also seemed to have very little in the way of close friendships. “I think he had some trust issues with people. The way that he gained acceptance and love was by creating products that people accepted
and loved. And in turn, he felt like they accepted and loved him. It was a much more safe relationship than with other people.” Did people love Jobs because of Apple or did they love Apple because of Jobs? Despite having never been an i-anything fan, I sort of kept tabs on Steve Jobs. He was just that kind of man- the world watched him whether or not they gave a rat’s ass about Apple’s smartphone business, their laptop business, or anything else they executed. “He had this drive to create products that people loved, and when they loved it, they in turn loved him.” I disagree with Ashton’s opinion, but seeing as how he’s watched thousands of hours of footage to prepare for this film, I don’t think I’m in a place to say so. What kind of perspective did he take on before filming? “One of the things when you play a character, you have to justify their behavior. Steve is a human being and human beings are flawed. Most of the time when we make irrational decisions, we feel like we’re making good decisions. Or we’re justifying the opinions that we’re making. A lot of people call him an asshole; I would call him an obsessed-hole. I think he was obsessed with creating brilliant, simple products, and doing it right, or the way that he thought was right; and trying to motivate other people to care about the results as much as he did. I think that the result was really personal for him, creating something that was beautiful, simple, efficient and effective, something that people appreciated and accepted. It was a way for him to fill a sense of rejection that he had his entire life. I think that people who understood not to take it personally were better because of him.
“HE WAS SO DETERMINED THAT, IN AN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE HIS GOAL, HIS BEHAVIOR SOMETIMES BECAME UNPREDICTABLE” 36 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 37
CULTURE CLASH
STILL IMAGES OF “JOBS” COURTESY OF ITALIA FILM
“IT WAS A WAY FOR HIM TO FILL A SENSE OF REJECTION THAT HE HAD HIS ENTIRE LIFE”
38 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 39
STILL IMAGES OF “JOBS” COURTESY OF ITALIA FILM
40 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CULTURE CLASH
ASHTON KUTCHER TAKES HIS JOB VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY
THIS PAGE, RIGHT TO LEFT: BACK COVER OF THE BOOK ‘STEVE JOBS’ BY WALTER ISAACSON, APPLE CEO STEVE JOBS HOLDING AN APPLE NANO
BACK COVER PHOTO © NORMAN SEEFF | STEVE JOBS HOLDING AN APPLE NANO © AP PHOTO/PAUL SAKUMA
“[HE] FREED UP HIS MENTAL CAPACITY TO MAKE CHOICES FOR THE THINGS THAT HE CARED ABOUT” And people who were a little more fragile and weren’t able to take the criticism, were destroyed by it.” Ashton sounds like an Apple fanboy to me, or a Jobs fanboy, I’m not sure which. As this issue was going to print Apple was named Best Global Brand for the first time ever by the Interbrand report (knocking CocaCola from the top spot), leading me to wonder if the movie had anything to do with it. A BBC documentary about the late Jobs, Billion Dollar Hippy, calls him both a “perfectionist and a tyrant”, and fittingly asks, “How did a drug-taking college dropout create one of the most successful corporations in the world?” The answer seems to be a combination of genius, marketing, and the inner need to prove his own worth, driving Jobs to push and push and push. Ashton says that Jobs’ “ethos of ‘Don’t just be satisfied with the world that other people have given you to live in, but build a world that you can live in and other people can live in’,” resonates with him. “There’s a kindred spirit I have with that.” Are there any other similarities between Ashton and Steve? “I see some of my qualities in Steve Jobs. I don’t think I could have played the character if I didn’t have a relationship that was one of empathy and where I can actually appreciate his joy. We had similar upbringing, pretty humble, middle-class family so we had a similar experience. I went to school for one year, studied biochemical engineering and then dropped out because I wasn’t really getting what I wanted from it. I had an opportunity at a young age to travel around the world and see a lot of different things. I have a fondness for art and technology and the way those things work together. So I think I have some kinship with his spirit in a way.” What about the trademark body language? “This character was unlike playing a fictional character - or even like Abraham Lincoln, because there’s not really any video footage of Abraham Lincoln walking around - so it’s kind of a guess. But with this particular character, there’s a lot of footage. Hundreds of hours of footage online where you can see him walking, talking, behaving, being, and gesturing. I knew because people loved him so much and were so passionate about the things that he did, that people were going to compare my performance to the real life stuff. So for me, it was really essential to emulate that as much as I could, so that people could forget that it was me and feel like they were spending time with Steve.” How did the dynamic between him and his co-stars contribute to the film? “The way that the actors in the film behave towards Steve tells the audience something about Steve. The other characters that are reacting to Steve are just as much responsible for my interpretation. Josh Gad, Dermott Mulroney, Matthew Modine, Ahna O’Reilly, Lukas Hass and all the other actors, they really wanted to honour
OCTOBER 2013
Steve Jobs’ legacy. Everybody worked really, really hard, and devoted a lot of time to make it what we made it,” and what they made was a film that received some love, some disappointment and some very real viral action on every social media platform. Before I finished writing this piece, I asked a few Apple fans what they thought of Jobs the film and Kutcher’s performance. I mostly got biased “I hate Kutcher” responses dating back to his Dude, Where’s My Car? days. I don’t hate Ashton, and I don’t love Steve, but I am fascinated with his Apple success story. I also think it’s commendable to pull off a decent imitation of a man who is larger than life, and that anyone who played Jobs would have faced the same tough crowd. Ashton got as close as he could, whether or not you think he embodied Steve well may depend on your capability to put suspension of disbelief in place. The film is a lot like the story of Jobs: if you’re a believer, it’s tangible enough to be real
HE WAS JUST THAT KIND OF MANTHE WORLD WATCHED HIM WHETHER OR NOT THEY GAVE A RAT’S ASS ABOUT APPLE’S SMARTPHONE BUSINESS, THEIR LAPTOP BUSINESS, OR ANYTHING ELSE THEY EXECUTED
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 41
CULTURE CLASH
FROM THE STREETS TO THE SPOTLIGHT THE GYPSY QUEENS PLAY IT BY EAR BY YOUMNA CHAGOURY
THEY WERE SO GOOD AT IT THAT THEY BUDDIED UP WITH ELTON JOHN, JULIAN LENNON AND BONO AND GOT SIGNED BY UNIVERSAL RECORDS
T
he Gypsy Queens come from the streets, and they’re proud of it. Their story is not a heart-wrenching record-label-finds-amazing-musician story. It’s not a westruggled-but-we-made-it story. It’s just the story of five musicians who played on the street for years just because they liked it. And they were good at it. Actually, they were so good at it that they buddied up with Elton John, Julian Lennon and Bono and got signed by Universal Records. It’s a success story that kept the street spirit alive and kicking. We sat down with them when they were in Lebanon for a private booking, and chatted with Didier Casnati, lead singer and guitarist. HOW DID THE GYPSY QUEENS COME TOGETHER?
We were all in Nice [France] for different reasons. Nice has a very big community of musicians and on top of that, it has a climate that allows any musician to go and play out on the streets, very often for the whole year. That’s how we all met. We crossed each other quite often [sic] and the band was formed as people who would get together to play in front of restaurants or busking in the streets. It wasn’t even a band. I’d be there at 12, then somebody else would come, and someone else, and by the time it’s time to play, whoever was there would play. That was 13 years ago. Two years later it evolved into a band, but at the beginning it was just a reunion of musicians there, just playing.
HOW HAS THE BAND EVOLVED IN ELEVEN YEARS?
I think the band has learned a lot obviously, you know, the streets have freedom and liberty that we can’t have on TV and on the radio, in interviews, the type of performance we do today can’t be as risky, innovative or avant-guardiste as it used to be. The band has evolved into much more quality, but we haven’t changed. We have the same spirit as when we were on the street, we still do what we did back when we were busking. That’s why we never have a set-list or a repertoire, even during our performances we decide song after song what we’re gonna play. So we have evolved into doing better hopefully, but we haven’t changed at all. We have the same spirit and respect for what we do, for our audience, as we had when we played for people who never asked us to be there.
42 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
“WE STARTED AS STREET MUSICIANS, SO THAT’S HOW WE’VE ALWAYS PLAYED AND THAT’S HOW WE’VE ALWAYS EVOLVED” THE WINDROSE ISSUE
FROM THE STREETS TO THE SPOTLIGHT
RIGHT: THE GYPSY QUEENS DEBUT ALBUM, FOR A FULL REVIEW REFER TO OUR MUSIC SECTION
WHEN DID THE BAND LEAVE THE STREET?
Well, never. We still do what we did. We do it in different circumstances, but our mission and goal on a performance is still winning people over. However, and I think it was between 2007 and 2008, we started being so busy that we couldn’t be in the streets anymore. And also, at some point it made no sense to continue being in the street when the evolution was going that way. But we still love it, I mean, we’re able to do it anytime, just go on the street today or tomorrow, we’ll be happy. You know, we always had a choice, of doing this. I think this has made us very humble compared to people who didn’t choose to do this. BELOW: THE GYPSY QUEENS AT THE GREY GOOSE BALL 2012
WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO STAY A COVER BAND AND NOT RECORD YOUR OWN SONGS?
We started as street musicians, so that’s how we’ve always played and that’s how we’ve always evolved, it really was the songs that we relied on. So it was logical that our album would be covers also because, for the industry, it’s always risky to come out with originals right away. We wanted to explore the record industry in this way, which is doing very well so far. That’s why we chose to stay a cover band.
“IT WAS LOGICAL THAT OUR ALBUM WOULD BE COVERS ALSO BECAUSE, FOR THE INDUSTRY, IT’S ALWAYS RISKY TO COME OUT WITH ORIGINALS RIGHT AWAY” OCTOBER 2013
“NICE HAS A VERY BIG COMMUNITY OF MUSICIANS [...] IT HAS A CLIMATE THAT ALLOWS ANY MUSICIAN TO GO AND PLAY OUT ON THE STREETS, VERY OFTEN FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. THAT’S HOW WE ALL MET” WHEN CAN WE EXPECT A PERFORMANCE IN LEBANON?
We’re working with Play For Today to organize a big public concert next year. We’ve played in Lebanon but only for private parties. Next year we’re doing a big massive concert, so hopefully everybody will come and by then know our music, our album and get to know the rest of what we do, because there’s only 11 songs in the album but we play about 200.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO COVER?
We all have a different opinion on this because we all have different taste, different backgrounds and horizons. Things that are generally nice to cover are songs that have a meaning close to what we are, or what we have evolved into, or our journey. I love cover versions of certain songs, for example George Michael’s Roxanne, I find it very sweet, and it works. But not everybody adds to the original by covering them
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 43
RAGGED WINDROSE FACTS 14.1018
That’s the distance in meters that sailors placed between knotted intervals on the rope tied to a chip log thrown overboard and used to measure the speed of their ship. They let the knotted rope pay out between their hands and counted the knots passing through their hands. This is also the origin of the nautical speed unit, the Knot. Pronounced /not/ and abbreviated as Kn by the International Hydrographic Organization, this unit is equivalent to 1 nautical mile per hour, 1.852 kilometers per hour and 1.151 miles per hour.
FLEUR-DE-LIS This stylized lily or iris, symbol of the French monarchy, was used to indicate North on old windroses. These ancestors to the more modern compass rose also used a Christian cross to indicate East, where Jerusalem lies. The modern windrose is used today by meteorologists to study the speed and direction of the wind in a specific location, and shows the frequency at which certain winds blow in a specific direction over the course of thirty years. There are concentric circles representing different frequencies, which increase at the outer circles.
SHIVER ME TIMBERS When a region of the North Atlantic Ocean is called the Devil’s Triangle, you know something fishy is going on there. The Bermuda Triangle paranormal myth first emerged in 1964 and is still a hot topic of conversation today, especially since the World Wide Fund for Nature did not include it on its list of 10 most dangerous waters to sail. To explain the disappearing ships in this area outlined by the Bahamas, Florida and Bermuda, people have suggested everything from UFOs to Atlantis and unexplained forces for the paranormal, and storms, the Gulf Stream, human error, violent weather and methane hydrates for the scientific minds.
44 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
RAGGED WINDROSE FACTS
rose des vents windrose wind rose
BOXING THE COMPASS This expression signifies “to name all 32 clockwise points of a compass in order”. The image that came to your mind when you read that is most probably the figure you see on a compass, a map, a monument or a nautical chart, used to indicate the four cardinal positions (North, East, South, West) and their intermediate points (North-East, South-East, South-West, NorthWest). But that is not the only kind of compass around! The Sidereal compass rose uses the positions of stars in the night sky (Polaris, Capella, Altair, Antares…) to navigate the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
8 - 16 - 24 - 32
This is the number of points represented on a compass rose today, each representing a cardinal direction and/or a wind blowing from that specific direction. The Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs and the Franks all had different ideas and names when it came to represent winds and their directions, and some compasses display 16, 24 or 32 points. However, most modern compasses display the eight main winds (direction/name): North/Tramontane, North-East/Greco or Grecale, East/Levante, South-East/Sirocco, South/Ostro or Mezzogiorno, South-West/ Libeccio or Garbino, West/Ponente, NorthWest/Maestro or Mistral.
THAT’S CATCHY! ONE DIRECTION The direction of astronomical true North is within one degree of the North Star, Polaris, so that it appears that it’s tracing a small circle in the sky each day. In the year 2102, Polaris will make its closest approach to the celestial North Pole. This, however, is different from the geodetic true North, which follows the earth’s direction towards the geographic North Pole. In turn, the geodetic true North differs from the magnetic North a compass usually points to, and from grid North, which is the northward direction following the grid lines of a map projection. And finally, they are all distinct from the baby taking the world by storm, North West.
OCTOBER 2013
When people try to imitate sailors, they’ll say “there she blows” or “shiver me timbers”, not knowing that many expressions we use in our everyday lives have origins in nautical terms. “Son of a gun” is a baby delivered by a prostitute between the guns of a ship (used for support during delivery) and having no registered father. “By and large” refers to sailing by the wind (difficult sailing). “To give a wide berth” meant to leave space between moored or berthed ships to allow space for maneuvering. “To know the ropes” meant being familiar with a ship’s cordage and “a loose cannon” is dangerous because it can crush any sailor, while “the bitter end” is the loose end of a rope or anchor cable, which was tied to the bitts…
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 45
THE FINAL FRONTIER
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: SQUIDWORM, CLONING LIZARD, WALKING SHARK
UNCHARTED GROUND NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE REALM OF FLORA+FAUNA
T
BY JEN
he world is full of many things we simply haven’t discovered yet. In fact every year sees countless discoveries which aren’t really discoveries. To clarify: scientists and researchers are constantly noticing things that have always been there but they have simply never seen them before because these creatures live in remote areas or deep underwater or... This boils down to one thing: our little planet remains fertile grounds for exploration and continues to invite us to navigate towards new frontiers.
46 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE SURPRISE DISCOVERY OF THAT YEAR HAD TO BE A LIZARD IN VIETNAM THAT IS ONLY FEMALE AND REPRODUCES SOLELY BY CLONING. THE LIZARD IS A POPULAR ITEM ON VIETNAMESE MENUS AND YET SCIENTISTS ONLY “DISCOVERED” IT RECENTLY For instance 2010 alone saw the discovery of many weird creatures that could have easily been concocted by Hollywood’s finest. A new purple octopus that looks like something out of a cartoon was found off Canada’s Atlantic coast alongside 11 other new species. A large seven-centimeter leech was found in the Peruvian Amazon and was lovingly named T. Rex. It’s a good thing we don’t have any of them in Lebanon since they cut their way into eyes, rectums and other orifices. Not exactly pleasant. On an expedition to Papua New Guinea, scientists found around 200 species and the most charming is a fruit-bat named the “Yoda Bat” because it looks strikingly like Master Yoda of Star Wars. The high mountains of Borneo revealed the “Ninja Slug” with its impressively long-tail. This sly ninja shoots its mate with hormone infused “love darts” sort of like cupid. Santa Ana
River in Peru had an interesting creature lurking its depths: a wood eating, armored catfish. Its distinctive teeth make chowing down on wood easy. A new toad jumped onto the scene in western Colombia alongside three totally new species. What makes this toad so memorable is that its nose and overall facial demeanor is reminiscent of Mr. Burns of Simpsons fame. The surprise discovery of that year had to be a lizard in Vietnam that is only
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
UNCHARTED GROUND | NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE REALM OF FLORA + FAUNA
ON AN EXPEDITION TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SCIENTISTS FOUND AROUND 200 SPECIES AND THE MOST CHARMING IS A FRUIT-BAT NAMED THE “YODA BAT” BECAUSE IT LOOKS STRIKINGLY LIKE MASTER YODA OF STAR WARS
NEW SUNDEW SPECIES © MIKIO WATANABE
UPPER ROW: THE YODA BAT SECOND ROW: “MR. BURNS” TOAD
female and reproduces solely by cloning. What is super astounding is that the lizard is a popular item on Vietnamese menus and yet scientists only “discovered” it recently. Go figure. A completely new species that’s a perplexing cross between a squid and a worm was found in the Celebes Sea. The 10-centimeter creature swims around thanks to tentacles on its head and paddles along its body, the scientists named it squidworm. The Pink Handfish, discovered in Tasmania, walks on the ocean floor rather than swims. Eight other new handfish were found too. Walking around underwater seems to be the trendy thing to do lately and 2013 saw the discovery of the walking bamboo shark off the coast of Indonesia. This small brown spotted shark (around 68 centimeters long) doesn’t have hands
or legs but rather uses its fins to push it around the floor by wriggling its body. Scientists are happy not only because they found a new fish, but because they suspect that the way this shark moves could shed light on how the first mammals’ ancestors started walking on land. 2013 also saw the discovery of a new mammal. This new raccoon with its cute teddy-bear face is the first carnivorous mammal to be found in the Americas in the past 35 years. Ironically this adorable little critter, the olinguito, has been in zoos and museums for years and yet no one realized what it was. They thought it was simply an olingo (another raccoon which is larger). Even people in the Andes, where the cutie originates from didn’t know there was difference. Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at
EVEN THE PERIODIC TABLE IS CONSTANTLY BEING REVISED. A NEW ELEMENT WAS CONFIRMED THIS SUMMER: ELEMENT 115 (WHICH MAY END UP BEING CALLED UNUNPENTIUM) OCTOBER 2013
the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History started noticing that not all olingos were actually olingos (some were smaller, had shorter tails, rounder faces and thicker coats) and hence started to dig deeper. And this is how this discovery came about. This year sees Little Shop of Horrors in the flesh but on a smaller scale. A meateating (not man-eating) plant was found in Japan. This type of sundew has tentacles with sticky mucous disguised as dew to lure unsuspecting insects. While exciting, it pales in comparison to the discovery of a new dinosaur in China which could be the link between today’s birds and bird-resembling, possiblyfeathered dinosaurs.
ABOVE: A CARNIVOROUS PLANT THAT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AS AN ENTIRELY NEW SPECIES
Even the periodic table is constantly being revised. A new element was confirmed this summer: Element 115 (which may end up being called ununpentium) and is currently going through the long process of being added to the table alongside its fellow recent additions from 2012, flerovium (114) and livermorium (116). There’s a lot still to discover so get your compass out and let your scientific curiosity lead you
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 47
THE FINAL FRONTIER
The HISTORY of
NAVIGATION BY ALICE HLIDKOVA
IT WASN’T ALWAYS A GPS WORLD. THROUGHOUT HISTORY, HUMANKIND HAS NAVIGATED THE EARTH USING BASIC GEOGRAPHICAL CUES LIKE THE POSITION OF THE SUN, THE CONSTELLATIONS, AND EVEN THE WIND. FROM LAND TO SEA, ANCIENT TOOLS OF NAVIGATION HAVE PROVEN EFFECTIVE- SOMETHING TO REMEMBER DURING THIS AGE OF WIDELY ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY
S
eamen from the Pacific used effective and unbelievably simple orientation tools to trace their voyages from one island to the next. Sailors in carved wooden canoes relied on the latitude hook consisted of two bamboo pieces; one of them was split, with a hook at the end. The other, a pointer, was a shorter bamboo stick. The
48 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
two were tied to one another at a right angle to take advantage of the stars rotating around a fixed point in the sky, the celestial pole from which Polaris could be seen. The navigational device measured the angle between Polaris at the tip of the Little Bear constellation and the horizon. The sailors saw the North Star through the hook ensuring them the course of their trip.
Far from the Pacific and across the Indian Ocean, Arab mariners recorded trade routes with the “kamal,” translating to the “guide.” The navigation tool consisted of a small wooden board with a hole drilled in the middle of it, and a knotted string that passed through the hole. The different lengths of knotted string corresponded to different latitudes described by the navigators. It worked on the same principle as the latitude hook, but was more accurate since the string kept the board at a fixed distance from their eyes. The Arabs also took an ancient scientific instrument used by the Greeks, the “astrolabe” or “star-taker”, and refined it into a more sophisticated and highly artistic device. Raising the ring from which a brass disk hung, they aligned the abide so that the star they were measuring by was seen in a straight line. The angle of the line of view was then read by the alidade and converted into latitude.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 49
50 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
THE FINAL FRONTIER
Scandinavian Vikings used the simplest tool to raid and settle on the coasts of the European continent. The sundial, a wooden instrument, kept track of time of sailors’ duty shifts and helped determine ships’ speed. With the discovery of clocks, sundials remained in use to check the accurateness of other clocks on board such as the nocturnal. The old and complex clock consisted of a sight, pointer, and date and hour disks. It used the star’s position to determine the moon’s phase and calculated everything from
holidays and sunrises and sunsets to sea tides and the positions of the sun relative to the zodiac. Because the nocturnal depended mostly on Polaris, the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, it served little purpose to southern sailors until the 19th century when the chronometer replaced the device. The widespread use of the compass relaxed navigation by sea. The common magnetic compass relied on earth’s magnetic fields to point the arrow in direction to the North Pole. The gyrocompass,
THE HISTORY OF NAVIGATION
A GYROCOMPASS ALWAYS POINTED NORTH AND WAS IMMUNE TO ANY MAGNETISM ERRORS THAT A CONVENTIONAL COMPASS SUFFERED
THE SUNDIAL, A WOODEN INSTRUMENT, KEPT TRACK OF TIME OF SAILORS’ DUTY SHIFTS AND HELPED DETERMINE SHIPS’ SPEED on the other hand, was not affected by earth’s magnetism. It used a gyroscope, a device whose axel aligned itself parallel with the north-south line or the earth’s rotation axis. Thus a gyrocompass always pointed north and was immune to any magnetism errors that a conventional compass suffered. Today compasses are equipped with a GPS system that provides information about the device’s location. But the technology only records speed information rather than direction information. Like their predecessors, seamen continue to navigate their way on long voyages into the open sea, and still, some of the simplest tools of guidance point them in the right direction
GET ALL MODERN WID’ IT TRAKDOT This handy device helps you keep track of your luggage by plane, train and pretty much any other mode of transportation. Simply stick the device in your bag and you’ll get an SMS telling you that your stuff is safe and sound. Approved for use throughout Europe and the Americas, no worries about security making this an issue. www.trakdot.com
OCTOBER 2013
TRACKSTICK This tiny GPS device helps track your every move. Dropped your phone? Retrace your steps with Trackstick. With four models to choose from, including one pro edition, you’ll be able to pretty much remember where you were, footfall for footfall. The models boast up to 80 hours of battery life. www.trackstick.com
LOC8TOR Lost your keys? Activate Loc8tor for step by step cues on where to look for your missing items. The Loc8tor Lite comes with two tags and you can order an additional two for this affordable model. The more advanced Loc8tors can track more items. Devices come with adhesive strips so it can be used on things like credit cards as well. www.loc8tor.com
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 51
FML [F**K MY LIFE]
DISORIENTED+ DISCONNECTED BLACKBERRY-FREE FOR RAGMAG BY FIDA CHAABAN
This is a modified version of an article that we printed in January 2012.The staff went on detox missions, and mine was 48 hours of no BlackBerry access. Since the naysayers are out for BlackBerry’s jugular right now and the company is going through major transitions, I thought it was a great time to remind everyone how much true BlackBerry users really love their devices. As this issue went to print, news of a potential acquisition by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. for $4.7 billion had just broken.
T
his is a love story. A story about a true, undying commitment. A story about my BlackBerry. Matthew 19:6 “They are no more two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder,” or woman or RAGMAG staff. Or whoever. Anyway, I could have chosen to stop cigarettes or coffee for two days, but I went with the thing I truly love most- my beautiful CrackBerry. I am never without it. Ever. I am not kidding you. It’s a running joke at RAGMAG that I love my BB like no other entity on this planet. A little bit of background for those of you who do not know me: my sister (a traitor who supported my BlackBerry-Free mission) sent around a YouTube video of Jerry Seinfeld mocking BlackBerry addicts in an email chain dedicated to me. I found it funny because she was (and is) right. I was guilty as charged of all of Seinfeld’s hi-
52 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
larious descriptions! I do the “Slow Head Down” move, my “pupils don’t focus”, I do constantly “hold it in [my] hand because this is what BlackBerry commands [me] to do” and finally I do “listen to what you’re saying and compare it to what’s on the BlackBerry- [and analyze] which is really more interesting here to me?” For the record, what’s on the BlackBerry is more interesting to me- 99 percent of the time. When Alfa couldn’t fix my BlackBerry service (nothing surprising there #Ontornet #Fail) my Twitter feed was all about begging the people at BlackBerry to help. And they did. All the way from Canada! I gave them my PIN in a Direct Message on Twitter and they reprogrammed my BlackBerry remote- it was one of the most amazing things that had ever happened to me. My BlackBerry and I have a long and complex relationship that even crosses oceans and time. I know I am waxing poetic but I assure you this doesn’t do my attachment justice.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
DISORIENTED + DISCONNECTED | BLACKBERRY-FREE FOR RAGMAG
BLACKBERRY Z10 PHOTO © PC PRO BLOG
I WAS GUILTY AS CHARGED OF ALL OF SEINFELD’S HILARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS! I DO THE “SLOW HEAD DOWN” MOVE, MY “PUPILS DON’T FOCUS”, I DO CONSTANTLY “HOLD IT IN [MY] HAND BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT BLACKBERRY COMMANDS [ME] TO DO” AND FINALLY I DO “LISTEN TO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING AND COMPARE IT TO WHAT’S ON THE BLACKBERRY- [AND ANALYZE] WHICH IS REALLY MORE INTERESTING HERE TO ME?” Youmna and Gina thought it would be hysterically funny to have me BlackBerry-Free. Oh yes, I was rolling in the aisles at the thought. By rolling in the aisles I mean mild hysteria and apprehension. I also mean scared and panicky. Not only does my BlackBerry facilitate the issues of RAGMAG that you read every month, it is also the sole reason that I’m sane. It enables me to be efficient and address every problem -large or small- in real time from anywhere on earth. If you are not a BlackBerry user with a high pressure job, you cannot fathom the enormity of this. So what happened? I reduced the number of days for my assignment (it was initially supposed to be 10 days) for several reasons including separation anxiety and
OCTOBER 2013
fear of missing our print deadline. After talking down the number of days, I tried to back out completely. This led Youmna to start a Twitter campaign with Gina’s backing. So I was forced into it by our staff and even our readers. I could not back out. It seemed that everyone was tired of my BlackBerry addiction, even people who had never laid eyes on me. Maybe they were tired of CrackBerry addicts in general and I was their chance for payback.
ABOVE: JERRY SEINFELD, IPHONE & BLACKBERRY PEOPLE, THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 2010-03-03
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 53
54 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
FML [F**K MY LIFE]
DISORIENTED + DISCONNECTED | BLACKBERRY-FREE FOR RAGMAG
I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. I AM AKIN TO PAVLOV’S SALIVATING DOGS WHEN I SEE THAT BEAUTIFUL RED LIGHT FLASH. I AM BEHAVIOURALLY CONDITIONED TO RESPOND TO MY BB NO MATTER WHAT There is a scientific basis for my turmoil- I was able to find studies and articles galore. One such study was reported by Forbes: David Vance and Nada Kakabadse (Rutgers-Camden University and University of Northampton) said that onethird of BlackBerry users display addition symptoms that are “similar to alcoholics”. Are you sick of my whining? It’s a walk in the park compared to my screaming and snapping at everyone who thought this was funny. I nearly jumped out of my skin the first day since everyone who normally messages me on BBM began calling me. Both of my phones would not stop ringing! I was literally chained to my laptop so that I was able to receive emails but the kicker is that I have nine accounts. Try checking nine email accounts simultaneously- it is hell. My BlackBerry pulls all those emails for me without logging in and without any prompt whatsoever. So the inevitable happened- I fell behind and I got even more stressed out than normal. I didn’t get a ton of emails until my
service was restored on Monday (because constantly checking nine accounts is not possible). I rarely tweeted since I had no mobile access to Twitter. I will never do this ever again. I am akin to Pavlov’s salivating dogs when I see that beautiful red light flash. I am behaviourally conditioned to respond to my BB no matter what. For the rest of the time that I continue to be RAGMAG’s Editor, I will “keep moving” with BlackBerry. And I like it that way
CRACKBERRY ADDICTION BY NUMBERS 48 The number of hours I was BlackBer-
ry-Free. That’s 2880 minutes of inefficiency and I mean that.
BLACKBERRY PHOTO © ALI900 / DEVIANTART
67 The number of text messages I sent
before a full hour of my BlackBerry-Free nightmare had elapsed. Yes, over a text per minute.
30 The number of phone calls that I received in one hour out of the 48 due to people not being able to reach me on my BlackBerry.
3 The number of BlackBerrys I own that are active. Two are Lebanese numbers, one is a Canadian number.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 55
IRANIAN COMIC FANS CONCERNED BEN AFFLECK’S BATMAN WILL BE AS HISTORICALLY INACCURATE AS ARGO TEHRAN: The news that Ben Affleck is to play Batman in the upcoming Superman sequel hasn’t been met with universal praise, but the fiercest criticism has come from comic book aficionados in Iran, who are worried the film will feature as many historical inaccuracies as Affleck’s last major film, Argo. “The last time I saw Affleck he was in a plane which was being chased down the runway in Tehran by the Revolutionary Guard,” said Tamer Rahimi of the Forbidden Planet Bookshop in Tabriz. “Given that this never actually happened, I’m extremely concerned that Affleck’s Batman will also be factually incorrect. He might, for example, only know 124 different forms of martial arts instead of 125.”
THE FIERCEST CRITICISM HAS COME FROM COMIC BOOK AFICIONADOS IN IRAN, WHO ARE WORRIED THE FILM WILL FEATURE AS MANY HISTORICAL INACCURACIES AS AFFLECK’S LAST MAJOR FILM, ARGO 56 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
JON STEWART’S MIDDLE EAST FILM REALLY JUST “BIG, BRAINLESS, GUNG-HO WAR MOVIE” AMMAN: The Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s upcoming directorial debut set in the Middle East is nothing but a “loud, bombastic gun-fest”, according to sources in Jordan, where the film recently concluded shooting. Rosewater, which was also written by Stewart, had been billed as an emotional true story based on the memoir Then They Came for Me by Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, in which he chronicled his arrest and imprisonment following 2009’s presidential election. But insiders from the film’s production team have indicated it is more “akin to Rambo”. “Honestly, given the intelligent and sophisticated persona Jon gives off on TV, we’d all assumed that his first film would offer a deep, thought-provoking, narrative,” said a source. “But all I saw on set were a load of scenes in which Arab-looking characters –or ‘ragheads’ as Jon insisted on calling them– were shot to death by high-fiving American soldiers with big guns.”
“ALL I SAW ON SET WERE A LOAD OF SCENES IN WHICH ARABLOOKING CHARACTERS –OR ‘RAGHEADS’ AS JON INSISTED ON CALLING THEM– WERE SHOT TO DEATH BY HIGH-FIVING AMERICAN SOLDIERS WITH BIG GUNS” Others working on the production have suggested that Stewart showed a complete disregard for facts in making the film. “We told him numerous times that Iranians weren’t Arabs, but he just shouted something about them ‘all being the same’,” said one, adding that it took a “concerted effort from everyone involved” to stop him including Osama Bin Laden as a main antagonist. According to reports, Rosewater features an ‘alternative’ telling of Bahari’s story, following a small group of US marines as they successfully take on the entire Iranian army –including a “bazooka-toting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the final scene”– in order to free the journalist from prison
OCTOBER 2013
The Pan-Arabia Enquirer is the Middle East’s second most popular source of satirical news behind Iran’s Fars News Agency. Head to www.panarabiaenquirer.com to see what all the fuss is about. For exclusive* content on its exciting social media channels, check out the Enquirer’s Facebook page (just type in Pan-Arabia Enquirer, you’ll find it) and follow it on Twitter @arabiaenquirer. *Not always exclusive.
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 57
CULTURE CLASH
HAYDA LEBNEN ’S
3REFTAK MEN 2ASLAK!
BI KELME WE7DE BASS, WE ARE CAPABLE OF DISCOVERING PEOPLE’S RELIGION, POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PERSONALITY TRAITS
BY SARAH HOURANY
WE HAVE THE BOOKS AND WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND GUESS WHAT? WE ARE ABOUT TO SHARE THE INSIGHTS WE’VE GLEANED WITH YOU
U
nderstanding people’s personalities is extremely useful in establishing effective relationships with others, yet it has proven to be a difficult and complicated task… but not for RAGMAG. How is that possible? Well, we have the books and we have the experience and guess what? We are about to share the insights we’ve gleaned with you. We’ve outlined a few basic theories below but ignore those because our Lebanese scale, district by district, will give you a better idea! • You can refer to the books of Carl Jung –widely considered to be one of the greatest personality theorists- and focus mainly on the notion of the introvert and extrovert personality types. • You can rely on the Greek Four Temperaments model which posited that an excess of one of the four bodily fluids (yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm) corresponds to irritable, depressed, optimistic and calm personalities, respectively. • You can use the “nine personality” cards which could help you, as its name suggests, in classifying people into nine distinct personality spheres. By adding birthday numbers together then reducing them to a single digit number, you can discover which color personality type this number corresponds. • Or you could just move to Lebanon and see how easy and fast it is to decipher people’s personality traits. Sad2ouna, we don’t need kell hal tfelsof ta nektechif how our fellow Lebanese think or act. Bi kelme we7de bass, we are capable of discovering people’s religion, political affiliation and personality traits. Shou hiye? “Kol li ma hiya mantakatouka, 2akoulou laka man 2anta”!
58 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
YOU CAN REFER TO THE BOOKS OF CARL JUNG WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST PERSONALITY THEORISTSAND FOCUS MAINLY ON THE NOTION OF THE INTROVERT AND EXTROVERT PERSONALITY TYPES THE WINDROSE ISSUE
HAYDA LEBNEN’S 3REFTAK MEN 2ASLAK!
SHATTIB W 2ATTIB
Bi2ebba. Bishattib. Bi2attib. That’s how a person from Tari2 el Jdide is described by his fellow Lebanese citizens. He cannot be educated 2al 3awzou billah (law ma3o PhD 2add rasso). He cannot be polite (law bya3mol khamse merci bil tanke). He cannot tolerate anything that is not defined as a purely Sunna concept (even if he studied at a Catholic school, had a civil marriage, and is an active member of a secular political party). It’s worth noting that our Editor’s family is from Tari2 el Jdide- she’s a great example of this.
“YA 3AMME WALLA ZGHARTA MANNA REAL LIFE COUNTER-STRIKE GAME” -BELIEVED NO LEBANESE PERSON EVER
HE CANNOT BE EDUCATED 2AL 3AWZOU BILLAH (LAW MA3O PHD 2ADD RASSO)
AL GHALIBOUN
Lebanese people ma bishoufo bi 7adan from el Da7ye other than a Shiite Hezbollah supporter (wearing yellow w 7amil reshesh) and thus ma byet3amalo ma3o 2ella men hayda el mountala2. Ya3ne, those who support the hezeb byonghormo bi “7abib el 2aleb” men el Da7ye instantly w bisir deghre “khayye 2el 2asle”; while those who don’t bikesho bi khel2eto, blaming him 3a kel masayib Lebnen, wel Middle East, wel 3alam. Eh ma he told them houwe men wen, fa ma ba2 bihem 2iza mahdoum aw sa2il aw karim aw bakhil, wala bihem iza 2aslan bi7ebb Hezbollah aw el siyesse kella!
AWSO W TLO3!
A person from Zgharta should be really lucky in life since ma 7adan byestarje y2ello la2, well at least that’s how most of the Lebanese seem to portray him. Ma men wara the famous “2awso w tlo3” sit 3a 2ahele el manta2a, people tend to believe that diplomacy and Zgharta don’t mix. “Ya 3amme walla Zgharta manna real life Counter-Strike game” -believed no Lebanese person ever.
THOSE WHO SUPPORT THE HEZEB BYONGHORMO BI “7ABIB EL 2ALEB” MEN EL DA7YE INSTANTLY W BISIR DEGHRE “KHAYYE 2EL 2ASLE” OCTOBER 2013
BISIR BINAZAR GHAYRO WAZWAZ 7ATIT RAY-BAN, DE2I2 SALIB MASHTOUB 3A KETFO W TAWESH EL DENE BI 2AGHENE 2OUWET
ALLAH OUWET A person indicating that he’s from Bsharre bisabbib automatically machekil nazar la ghayro. How? El m3attar bikoun “tiré à quatre epingles” w stylo ktir classic. W ma bikun 7atit sunglasses wala 3amil tattoos. Yet once the word “Bsharre” is pronounced, bisir binazar ghayro wazwaz 7atit Ray-Ban, de2i2 salib mashtoub 3a ketfo w tawesh el dene bi 2aghene 2ouwet. Ma fi y7att Oakley aw Police for example? Ma fi yesma3 el 2aghene 3a sot wate? La2, ma houwe Bsherrane!
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 59
60 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CULTURE CLASH
K-ISLAND
Keserwan is a district in the Mount Lebanon Governorate located to the Northeast of Beirut, btemtad from Nahr Ibrahim to Nahr el Kalb. Its total land area is 342 square kilometers. It has a population of 202,000 w 95 percent mennon Christians. As you see, Keserwan kada2 metlo metel ghayro, except that people from this particular area byenwasafo 3ala 2ennon mesh mentebhin that Keserwan is a part of Lebanon and not an independent island. In other words, w bi7asab el sterotype el mou3tamad ma7aliyan, Keserwanis consider anything barrat 7doud el kada2 kawkab tene w anyone manno Christian, an alien. More than a few of our staffers are from K-Island!
HAYDA LEBNEN’S 3REFTAK MEN 2ASLAK!
MA CHOUF EQUALS DRUZE EQUALS JUMBLATT, ACCORDING TO THE LEBANESE UNIQUE STEREOTYPING MODEL
SHOUF-O EL BEIK KIFO
“Kifo el beik?” houwe 2awal sou2al Lebanese people ask once they discover 2enno the person they are talking to men 2el Chouf, as if the latter has absolutely nothing to worry about 2ella the wellbeing of Walid Beik Jumblatt. Ma 3ando hamm wledo, wala l career taba3o, wala wade3 el sekkare A-BADAN. Ma Chouf equals Druze equals Jumblatt, according to the Lebanese unique stereotyping model, and we’ve got two Druze writers so you know what that means!
EVEN IF IT TOOK HIM TWO YEARS TO SAVE FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT OF HIS SMALL PICANTO A PERSON FROM BRITAL IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE INTRODUCED AS A 7ARAMEH
SRO2 W JEYB
Even if it took him two years to save for the down payment of his small Picanto, w even if he will be spending the next five years malbous bi car loan payment that would amount to $200 a month, a person from Brital is always going to be introduced as a 7arameh, specialized in stealing Lebanese people’s SUVs and luxury cars as part of his village car stealing business. “Halla2 if some of my village residents 3andon sawebi2, mesh ya3ne el kell hek”, the Britali would try to explain in vain, but yalle byesma3o mesh sheyif bil Picanto 2ella el Range Rover, wel X6 wel Mercedes E class that were stolen from different regions in Lebanon last month. Now that you have read all this, you found it easy didn’t you? Ma the rule is simple: judge people 3al rayi7 wel jeye, ma hayda Lebnen ya 3ayneh!
THE BRITALI WOULD TRY TO EXPLAIN IN VAIN, BUT YALLE BYESMA3O MESH SHEYIF BIL PICANTO 2ELLA EL RANGE ROVER, WEL X6 WEL MERCEDES E CLASS THAT WERE STOLEN OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 61
MIND, BODY+SOUL
RISKY BUSINESS SETTING SIGHTS ON SUCCESS MEANS TAKING CHANCES BY MATTHEW HUSSEY
WE MIGHT SUCCEED IN THAT BUSINESS VENTURE AND FIND IT INFINITELY MORE REWARDING THAN OUR CURRENT JOB, OR GO ON THAT DATE AND MEET OUR FUTURE PARTNER OR FINISH A BOOK AND FIND THAT WE CAN MAKE A CAREER OUT OF OUR PASSION
T
he word “risk” gets a lot of negative press. It often gets associated with something that gamblers do when they make bad decisions. What’s more, as soon as we hear the word “risk” we tend to immediately associate it with loss. Of course there is a time and place for being averse to risk: insurance can be a lifesaver, cutting out cigarettes dramatically reduces your risk of cancer, and deciding not to bet your house on a poker game is probably a wise decision in the long term. But these examples of risk involve massive potential losses. Most of us mistakenly use these examples to convince ourselves that risk is always a bad thing, but you couldn’t be more wrong! There are many areas of our lives where it would be stupid not to take more risks. Let me give you three reasons why we all need to let go of our hang ups about risk.
62 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
YOUR NEW MANTRA: LIMITED LOSS, UNLIMITED GAIN! The risks you should be taking are those when you risk a little and have infinite gain from their success. For example, many of us fear trying to start a new business project in case it’s no good, or we fear asking someone on a date because we risk embarrassment if they say no, or we fear writing a book we risk it being no good. These risks are all tiny! The only think we risk with these ventures is time, and perhaps a little bit of ego. That’s it. No major catastrophe, no one’s going to take our house away if we fail. And now think of the gains. We might succeed in that business venture and find it infinitely more rewarding than our current job, or go on that date and meet our future partner (infinite joy), or finish a book and find
that we can make a career out of our passion (infinite fulfillment). The lesson here is to get perspective on what you’re actually risking. How much is really at stake? Most of the time it’s a risk worth taking. The worst that can happen is you’ll end up where you were before. So really you’re only risking wasting some time (and most of the time you’ll learn something valuable, so it’s not really wasted at all!).
THE LESSON HERE IS TO GET PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT YOU’RE ACTUALLY RISKING. HOW MUCH IS REALLY AT STAKE? THE WINDROSE ISSUE
SETTING SIGHTS ON SUCCESS MEANS TAKING CHANCES
TAKING RISKS IS WHERE ALL THE GROWTH IS If you never risk anything, you’ll never grow at all. It’s that simple. This is summed up in one saying I love to teach in my seminars: “First you do the thing you’re afraid of, then you get the confidence”. It’s the same with risk-taking; you have to take some risk, or you’ll never get the gain. It’s no good sitting and waiting for a sure-bet. There’s no such thing. Any success worth having risks the possibility of failure.
RECALL PAST SUCCESSES – WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN RISKS BEFORE AND SUCCEEDED?
YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLE CAN BE A HUGE INFLUENCE ON WHETHER YOU DECIDE TO PLAY IT SAFE, AND THEIR EXPECTATIONS OF YOU WILL GREATLY INFLUENCE HOW MANY RISKS YOU TAKE listened to those family members who warned them to play it safe. This is why, by the way, it’s so important to surround yourself with people who encourage you to risk failure. Your social circle can be a huge influence on whether you decide to play it safe, and their expectations of you will greatly influence how many risks you take. We all need people around us who encourage us with the same enthusiasm even when you fail, the kind of friends who will shrug off failure and encourage
you to try again and again. Once you cultivate that habit of looking for the gains and shrugging off failure, you’ll start find ing more and more successes coming into your life, until a point where you’ll wonder why you ever worried about risking failure in the first place. Finally, think about the long-term. If you don’t start pushing yourself now, you may just end up wasting your whole life paralyzed by fear. And that’s one risk no one can afford to take
Take a look back on areas of your life where you have succeeded in the past because you took a risk. A lot of the happiest couples I know share stories about how they wouldn’t be together today if one of them hadn’t taken that initial risk. Equally, a lot of successful entrepreneurs I know who are now living their dreams tell me that they would be still working a dead end job today, that is, if they had
IF YOU NEVER RISK ANYTHING, YOU’LL NEVER GROW AT ALL. IT’S THAT SIMPLE OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 63
MIND, BODY+SOUL
HELP ME
NOUR+RABIH
TO ASK A QUESTION send your problems to helpmenour@ragmaglive.com TO JOIN THE READER RESPONSE PANEL 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.
BY NOUR OBAJI + RABIH FEGHALI
I recently landed a very good job, I love the work, I love my colleagues, I even loved my boss... until he started hitting on me. I have tried ignoring it then laughing it off, but it only spurns him on. At first it was a little exciting and I was flattered (he even brought me gifts). I want to keep my job, but I can’t let this progress. It’s becoming scary and to add to the mix he is married with children! What do I do? “Did you accept the gifts he got you? If you did, don’t blame anyone but yourself. If you didn’t, you need to firmly and seriously tell him to stop. If he doesn’t, that’s why you have an HR manager.” Noura, 27
FOR STARTERS, DATING YOUR BOSS IS A NONO. SECOND, DATING A MARRIED MAN IS PUSHING YOURSELF UP A CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE: BASICALLY, THE PROBLEM WITH NO SOLUTION “Your first mistake was in encouraging his behavior by accepting gifts. Regardless of how ‘flattering’ it was, the man was your boss and you knew that. Nothing has changed except that you have suddenly grown a conscience. I am going to assume you are in a country with very lax employment and harassment laws so the best thing for you to do is to tell him flat out to cut it the hell out. If that doesn’t work, then you will probably have to leave the company. Too bad you like your job so much. You made your bed when you started accepting gifts from him so now you have to lie in it. No sympathy from me.” Lina, 25 “Hate to break it to you but things will only get worse from here. If you had more patience and tolerance for this and you think it will eventually go away, I don’t think you would have asked that question to begin with. Therefore, and before the office starts accusing you of seducing him or being the office tramp (perhaps you have started hearing that already), I recommend you leave. Try talking to him to tell him to back off. Now, if that doesn’t work and you still decide to stay, be prepared for things to get ugly. I’m not encouraging you to run away. But I’m saying things won’t be easy. Good luck.” Leila, 33
64 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
ARE YOU A COMMITMENT-PHOBE AND LIKE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ULTIMATELY UNATTAINABLE? ARE YOU ATTRACTED TO THEM JUST FOR THE CHASE? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT IF THEY CHEAT ON THEIR WIVES THEY WILL BE FAITHFUL TO YOU?
NOUR’S VOTE Nour was a little quick to judge here. The first words on my fingers were “sexual harassment” until I felt like you were a participant, in which case it is just plain dumb. I hope, for your sake, you did not accept the gifts (it sounds as though you did). For starters, dating your boss is a no-no unless you want to jeopardize your career and your credibility, not necessarily in that order. Second, dating a married man is pushing yourself up a creek without a paddle: basically, the problem with no solution. You’ve combined the two dilemmas and created a royal mess. Extract yourself from the situation immediately. If you are a victim of harassment and did not encourage this nonsense (did not accept the gifts etc.), see your HR team and be prepared for everything to be documented. Incidentally Rabih’s vote shouldn’t even be printed: “learn to deal with it” is completely inappropriate and full out wrong.
timately unattainable? Are you attracted to them just for the chase? Do you honestly think that if they cheat on their wives they will be faithful to you? You are being delusional.” Mirvette, 24
RABIH’S VOTE
TWO FACTS: MARRIED MEN ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED ATTRACTIVE AND MARRIED MEN ARE ATTRACTED TO ALMOST ANYTHING THAT WALKS
If he’s the big boss, learn to deal with it– you’re not the only woman that works for a married man that continuously flirts with her. Men like that are unhappy in their marriages. Most likely, he’s not interested in anything physical. He’s smart enough to know not to play around where he earns his living and he’s probably only looking for a little attention here and there. If he’s not the big boss, start planning your move to another department.
NOUR’S VOTE You’re a magnet for married men, this is unfortunate. Nour thinks that at some point you were made aware that the man is married. I think everyone has had a FML moment when you meet someone great and find out they’re taken. Most people at this point back off. The old Alanis Morrisette song Ironic comes to mind, “Meeting the man of your dreams, then meeting his beautiful wife.” You sound like you’ve met the man of your dreams a couple of times over. This question is altogether redundant. Full stop.
I seem to always attract married men who don’t wear wedding bands, and in most of the cases I’m attracted to them as well. This always ends up in a disappointment. What do I do? “Don’t date the married man, simple.” Leslie, 26 “Scenario one: you’re young, yet you hang out with older, married people. No wonder you end up liking them and vice versa. Try and go out with people your own age and single people. Maybe that will help. Scenario two: all of your friends are married so you only get to meet other couples. Maybe you’re in the wrong circle. Don’t give up on your friends, but find other activities to do on your own. You will be able to meet other people and widen your circle of acquaintances.” Shannon, 31 “I can’t believe how many times and in how many variations this comes up. It is never ever acceptable under any circumstances, in any way, shape or form to do this. Let’s look at why you are attracted to these men. Are you a commitment-phobe and like them because they are ul-
OCTOBER 2013
RABIH’S VOTE Two facts: married men are generally considered attractive and married men are attracted to almost anything that walks. Either accept the fact that you’re one of these women that entertain married men or categorically turn away all married men from your life and stop flirting with them.
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 65
66 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MIND, BODY+SOUL
I have been dating my boyfriend for approximately six months... He is mid thirties and I’m not far behind. How long is acceptable to wait for a marriage proposal before cutting my losses and moving on? I’m over thirty and you know what that means, my biological clock is ticking, I don’t have time to waste!
HELP ME NOUR + RABIH
IF YOU LOVE HIM AND CAN SEE A FUTURE WITH HIM, MAYBE KEEP THE CHOO CHOO ON THE TRACKS FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER
“There are no rules. Rules in relationships mean nothing. Some people date five years before getting married and end up divorced or depressed. Others date a few months, get married and are happy. Try to find out if you both want the same things out of your relationship. Does he want kids too? Is he ready? You need to talk to him before deciding on staying with him or leaving him.” Youmna, 26 “You probably know that there is really no set time for these things. Some guys propose after three months and others never do unless you give them the ultimatum and I think no girl should go there. But if you’re waiting for a straightforward answer, I suppose you should wait another six months to one year to see whether he will pop the question or not, hopefully in the 21st century.” Sala, 29
YOU ARE BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO HOP OFF AT THE STATION OR CONTINUE ONTO THE NEXT STOP: DESTINATION UNKNOWN
“Don’t you think he’d tell you if he was ready to be in a relationship now? Clearly he’s not, he either just likes you as a friend or knowing you’ve ‘fallen for him’ flatters his male ego. So make him stop calling you if you’re not ready to let him in your life as less than your fiancé.” Alexa, 34
“You have only been seeing this guy for six months, are you sure he is what and who you want to spend your life with? Is this the person you want to have a child with? Or do you just want to get married because your clock is ticking? If you want to get married because your clock is ticking, you are setting yourself up for a world of disappointment. Those little tiny things that only irritate you now will make you crazy later. Why settle for whatever you can get when waiting will likely get you what you want?” Kathy, 31
NOUR’S VOTE Nour isn’t fond of labels. Nor is she fond of timelines. Or deadlines. Or ultimatums. You are between a rock and a hard place. You think your relationship has evolved to the point where you can take it to the next level. He may or may not think so. The train doesn’t seem to be on schedule, you’re thinking. This is your chance to hop off at the station or continue onto the next stop: destination unknown. If you love him and can see a future with him, maybe keep the choo choo on the tracks for a little while longer. That said, if you are just looking to get married, don’t be foolish. Rabih and I are in sync on this one (mostly).
RABIH’S VOTE Your boyfriend already knows if he wants to marry you or not– in fact, the moment he met you, he probably decided. Men in their thirties tend to be quite aware of what they want and what they’re looking for in a woman. If he’s the responsible/switched-on type, he knows already what’s on your mind (biological clock etc.). The question you need to be asking yourself is, ‘Is he really the man for me? Am I deeply in love with him? Can I not see myself with any other man?’ or ‘Did he just happen to be an acceptable option for now, plus I’m 33, so I might as well’? Once you sort these questions out internally, the answer will be crystal clear
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 67
MON AMOUR, MON AMI
FINDING MY
DIRECTION LOVE LOST, LOVE FOUND+ EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN BY MAY ROSTOM
A
| LIFESTYLE EDITOR AT MSN ARABIA
fter a 10-year relationship that fell right in our comfort zone, a reckless six month marriage that only lasted that long because we were trying too hard to “save” what was left of this shitty example of a relationship, and a boyfriend later who moved to China, I was left here in Egypt: 26, divorced, single, and crying on my best friend’s shoulder.
I couldn’t help but wonder when the world turned its back on me? What happened to good ole’ May that had everything coming her way? Prom queen, popular, funny, and outgoing May? From smiles and giggles to sobbing and losing faith in everything I knew; my life seemed to hit rock bottom. Divorce isn’t a walk in the park, let me tell you, but it’s way easier to handle if you have a shoulder to cry on and talk you through it. My “shoulder”
soon turned into the unshakeable mountain; he helped me claw my way out of the ditch I was in. He was there to take me out, introduce me to new people, and he listened to my long, boring stories about how much I hated my life and why I think tabbouleh is a miraculous dish (yes, this guy is patience personified).
WAS IT WRONG TO “FRIEND-ZONE” HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE? NO, BECAUSE TO KNOW WHAT SWEET TASTES LIKE, YOU HAVE TO TRY A LITTLE BIT OF SOUR 68 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
FINDING MY DIRECTION | LOVE LOST, LOVE FOUND + EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
It took me a few weeks to realize that I’d wasted a decade of my life on the wrong man! I let him neglect me and I know it’s my fault not his; I allowed this guy to treat me like shit and I didn’t complain. Everything I was missing in 10 years of “relationshit” suddenly appeared in everyone I dated after my divorce. I promised myself I wouldn’t let anyone mistreat me and I put myself first. I listened to my gut for the first time in so long, and man, it felt good. It feels good to feel pretty, it feels good to be heard and taken care of,
AROUND ALL ALONG BUT HANGING OUT IN THE SHADOWS RIGHT WHERE YOU PUT ‘EM
OCTOBER 2013
FROM SMILES AND GIGGLES TO SOBBING AND LOSING FAITH IN EVERYTHING I KNEW; MY LIFE SEEMED TO HIT ROCK BOTTOM. DIVORCE ISN’T A WALK IN THE PARK, LET ME TELL YOU it feels good to know that someone wants to make you the happiest person in the world. That someone was my best friend. Are we dating? Yes, and we’re getting married next year and I can’t wait! Was it wrong to “friend-zone” him in the first place (and yes friend-zoning is a verb, you do it willingly while you’re fully aware of the consequences)? No, because to know what sweet tastes like, you have to try a little bit of sour. It’s amazing how in such a short time someone can just turn your life around. Someone that has been around all along but hanging out in the shadows right where you put ‘em. Someone who shows you everything you’re missing out on in
life while you’re too busy crying yourself to sleep every night over some prick who didn’t deserve you in the first place. Your shoulder, like mine, will teach you how to be grateful for what you have and he’ll help you through hard times without expecting anything in return. This my friend, is an example of what a good catch looks like: someone who is willing to take you with all your faults and quirks. Don’t be afraid to fall in love and be loved, don’t hate all the “sours” for they’re the ones that lead you to the “sweets”, and when life gets rough, hang in there. If you’re lucky enough you’ll find a shoulder to cry on that can’t wait to dry your tears. I did, and it’s been uphill ever since
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 69
MON AMOUR, MON AMI
I’VE LOST MY BEARINGS GAY OR STRAIGHT? IT DOESN’T FUCKING MATTER BY ARIE AMAYA-AKKERMANS
T
his isn’t Beirut I Love You but it kind of is. With a slight plot twist. In order to mail a birthday gift, I had to make up a story to my editor in New York, who would deliver the carefully packaged envelope to the then so-called childhood friend. That is what happens when you agree to be in a “perfect relationship”. With a plot twist. A perfect relationship in which you were the secondhand plate (or maybe even the third). Of course, and here is where the plot straightens out, I was left to burn alone when the moment of truth came. So I did what all mature adults do when they have problems– escape. Yes, I fled. “But you don’t seem that broken anymore,” is what Derya, a young gallerist, told me three months later as we both stood smoking in the crowded balcony at a party.
70 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
EVERYTHING HAPPENED IN THE WRONG ORDER: FIRST FALLING IN LOVE, THEN GETTING TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER, AND THEN LASTLY AND PURELY BY ACCIDENT, CHECKING IN WITH REALITY. BUT IT WAS A PURE AND UNIQUE LOVE STORY. OKAY, NO IT WASN’T And there truly wasn’t much suffering involved, except the fact that things didn’t work exactly the way I planned. Because I mean, it really was perfect. Okay, no it wasn’t. Everything happened in the wrong order: first falling in love, then getting to know one another, and then lastly and purely by accident, checking in with reality. But it was a pure and unique love story. Okay, no it wasn’t. In fairy tales you don’t lie to your parents and to your friends, and to the person that is obviously in love with you. In come the Ramadan soap opera clichés: it’s a twist of fate and life isn’t fair, if it’s meant to be you’ll get back together… Tears here and there while you disengage from their social media platforms and then surreptitiously switch phones just because you want to be on the side of fate (with a few dirty tricks). When they walk out on you, it really hurts. So you go to a Mashrou3 Leila concert to cry your lungs out. And if you, like me, work in the art world there’s free booze every other day and easygoing (read: promiscuous) people to help exorcise the pain. And no, your story is not unique. You’re not the first person that left everything behind because someone promised you eternal love (even if they actually only meant one week last autumn).
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 71
72 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MON AMOUR, MON AMI
I read a horrible article about how love is expensive and that people can’t afford to love- it was absolute garbage. But don’t think I’m telling you this just because I’m almost thirty and I need to keep the faith, the article really was bad. The point is, fine, you need more than love for a relationship, but there are other things too. I have no idea what they are, but I’m sure there are those other “things”. Being straight or gay doesn’t really change things much. Sure, there are additional challenges on the “straight and narrow” side. For example, a female friend of mine downloaded Grindr to stalk good looking guys at her university library. Say there are five others like her, a few cops, two of your cousins, the people you’ve blocked, and the senior citizens… basically not much variety. And if you’re a straight guy, you also need a bit more cash because we’re not really into equality around here, that and you can be sure as hell that your Dutch girlfriend will not fit in well in Abu Dhabi. Funny how that person who walked out on you also told you that Arab guys are crap. Yes, even that sensitive, artistic, sweet-spoken, angelic… banker. You get the point.
I DON’T BELIEVE IN HOPE OR MIRACLES. PERHAPS WHAT WE NEED IS A LITTLE BIT MORE TRUTH TO REPLACE ALL THAT HOPE THAT VICIOUSLY FEEDS ON FAIROUZ SONGS LIKE A CRACK ADDICT
OCTOBER 2013
I’VE LOST MY BEARINGS
In comes fatalism and hedonism: the fact is we are all going to die soon. I mean, come on, it’s the Middle East, right? So who cares about responsibilities? Who cares about tomorrow? Let go of the past dude, live in the present (and by the past they mean last night). It’s not that it’s hopeless, but it will take a miracle. Actually, I don’t believe in hope or miracles. Perhaps what we need is a little bit more truth to replace all that hope that viciously feeds on Fairouz songs like a crack addict. But it’s not like here you can get ahead much with the whole truth –unless martyrdom is your thing– so a healthy dose of white lies will always be necessary. The road to hell is paved with bad explanations (and yes, bad platitudes). And to unemployment and to family scorn. And of course, there has to be willingness to take on certain responsibilities. You can be the next best thing and still be an asshole. That said, assholes prosper and the good guys go down. Only for a while though. Eventually everybody comes clean. Love happens in weird circumstances and hence my contempt for dating ennui. One day you simply find yourself in love, without realizing that you’ve hit rock bottom. But relationships become more and more difficult each time, there’s less trust and an increasing need to protect yourself, which all in all is a bit pointless. Most of the time it’s all about making up excuses for what scares me, for what compromises my position, my social status and all of that nonsense. Let loose. It might happen you know, even in Beirut. The one thing more frightening, dazzling and burning than relationship failure, is relationship success. But don’t ask me how it feels- I haven’t gotten there just yet
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 73
MIND, BODY+SOUL
HEADING BACK
TO SCHOOL MOMMY MISDEMEANORS
TAKE YOUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION SERIOUSLY BY MARIA-ELENA KASSAB
W
hen I was younger, I was really good with kids and promised my parents they’d have 11 grandchildren- they encouraged me, saying I’d be a great mother. I got along so well with children that it came as no surprise to anyone when I took on the job of substitute English teacher at my alma mater. I was handed the hefty mission of teaching a foreign language to about 200 students, give or take a dozen. Little did I know my perspective on mothers, children, and teaching would drastically change.
I had to teach a foreign language to kids who A- thought they spoke it perfectly already, B- couldn’t have cared less about languages and C- absolutely loved their old English teacher. I also had to prepare lessons, set exams, correct essays, and reconnect with my old teachers. But all of that would later appear to be a piece of cake compared to my most important task: I had to deal with the dragons- that’s how I referred to a few moms that I had to deal with. They were all different but all of them fell into four categories.
YOU CANNOT COME UP TO ONE OF US AND ASK US TO TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF YOUR SON BECAUSE HE’S THE LAST BOY IN A LONG LINE OF SISTERS, OR ASK US TO GO EASY ON YOUR DAUGHTER BECAUSE SHE’S LIVING HER FIRST CRUSH
THE MOTHER HEN
THE MOTHER-FRIEND
Ladies, teachers know you love your kids more than anything in the world. They also know that coddling your kids in class is both unfair to other students and inappropriate for their job. You cannot come up to one of us and ask us to take special care of your son because he’s the last boy in a long line of sisters, or ask us to go easy on your daughter because she’s living her first crush. Your children at school are no longer your babies; they’re students like all the others and they will be treated the same as everybody else. Don’t worry, it’s good for them; it trains them to believe in equality and not expect any privileges later on in life.
YOUR CHILDREN AT SCHOOL ARE NO LONGER YOUR BABIES; THEY WILL BE TREATED THE SAME AS EVERYBODY ELSE 74 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
Dear mothers, you need to keep in mind that teachers do not hate your kids, nor do they hold a grudge against students and act on it. You cannot call the school every time your kid gets extra homework to make up for a grade or gets called out for talking back. Speaking of which, your kids’ teachers do not have the duty of teaching your 15 year-old manners. Not only are “please” and “thank you” words you should have taught them when they were younger but they also need to realize teachers are a figure of authority- homework needs to be completed, research is to be done and “what you’re saying doesn’t interest me” is not a proper response to an assignment. By trying to be friends with your children, you’ve convinced them they can buddy up to anyone and disregard their authority and that foreshadows tons of trouble for you in the future when they really go wild.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL | MOMMY MISDEMEANORS
THE STICKLER MOTHER
Mesdames, we all know that in your eyes your child is the best child there ever was and ever will be. We know that you expect nothing but the best from him or her and that your children reflect their parents. This doesn’t mean that them getting less-than-perfect grades is the end of your world. Take it from an ex-overachiever with a demanding family, nothing hurts your child more than your disappointment over a score of 95 percent. And nothing embarrasses your children more than you calling them out over their grades in front of their classmates, younger friends, and teachers. Take this conversation somewhere private because you risk making your child feel worse than they already feel. On the flipside, please stop laughing and joking about your kids failing the classes you used to fail in your youth. Encourage them to try harder, help them out or even get some help- it’s a great idea to hire a private tutor!
NOTHING EMBARRASSES YOUR CHILDREN MORE THAN YOU CALLING THEM OUT OVER THEIR GRADES IN FRONT OF THEIR CLASSMATES, YOUNGER FRIENDS, AND TEACHERS. YOU RISK MAKING YOUR CHILD FEEL WORSE THAN THEY ALREADY FEEL OCTOBER 2013
THE BREEZEY MOTHER
I finally had the misfortune of dealing with parents who did not give a crap about their children. One poignant example is that of the mom who snapped at us on the phone when we called to check in on her kid who was absent for school. She yelled at the caller for interrupting her beauty sleep (at 10am), she wasn’t aware that her son hadn’t gone to school and didn’t even bother to check herself- she sent her maid. Ladies, a lot of kids have to make do without a mother, at least try to be a good one to your own children.
GO ABOUT IT PORPERLY, FOR THEIR SAKE AND YOURS Teaching English is an experience that I might never repeat, but will never regret. I was Miss Elena for three months, over the course of which I cried, yelled, laughed and, most importantly, learned from my own students. It made me grateful for the teachers I had growing up, and for the manner in which my parents treated me. Mothers, you are the center of your child’s world, make them the center of yours, but go about it properly, for their sake and yours
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 75
76 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
NEW + NOW
TAKING INITIATIVE Cartier, in partnership with the Women’s Forum, INSEAD business school, and McKinsey & Company, announced the finalists of the 2013 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. The 18 finalists were selected among over 1,000 applications. They will be coached by professionals from Cartier, INSEAD, and McKinsey & Company to prepare for the Jury presentations in October. The Laureates will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on October 17, 2013, at the Annual Global Meeting of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, in Deauville, France. The international business plan competition is in its seventh year, supporting women-run enterprise in the six major world regions. This year’s businesses are making an impact in waste management and the environment; culture and education; healthcare and employment for disabled people. “These women have a will to succeed that is driven by generosity,” said Stanislas de Quercize, President & CEO of Cartier International. “Their businesses build financial, social and human value. We are honoured to accompany them.” Applications for the 2014 edition of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards will open on November 4, 2013 and end on February 28, 2014. The finalists for MENA: Mirna Hamady of KASHIDA, Lebanon | Designs accessories, furniture and corporate gifts based on 3D Arabic typography; Sima Najjar of EKEIF.COM, Jordan | Produces ‘how-to’ videos in Arabic tailored to the Arab world; Noura Saad of TADREESNA, Jordan | Provides online private tutoring services to students around the Arab region.
HOME SWEET HOME The House of Cartier welcomes a new addition to its global stores lineup, choosing Abu Dhabi’s latest luxury destination The Galleria at Sowwah Square, Al Maryah Island. The store marks Cartier’s second boutique in Abu Dhabi and sixth in the United Arab Emirates. Cartier, the King of Jewellers, known for its distinctive and unique style opened its door to the public on August 27, 2013 at The Galleria. Maison Cartier’s 611 squaremeters will offer one level of ultimate magic and elegance with exceptional jewellery creations, cutting-edge timepieces, bespoke fragrances, fine objects and styled accessories. “We are proud to announce the opening of Cartier at The Galleria Al Maryah Island” says Laurent Gaborit, Regional Director Cartier Middle East, India and Africa. “This opening demonstrates again the continued and growing commitment of our Maison to offer the best service to our clients in Abu Dhabi”. The Cartier boutique at The Galleria Al Maryah Island, designed by Bruno Moinard, provides a series of distinct, but interconnected, environments, with a real sense of privacy and intimacy for Cartier clients. “A new expression of the quintessential Cartier brand image and heritage. The new space is much more than just a boutique, more than interior, more than retail. The new Cartier boutique is exactly how French architect Bruno Moinard describes it: ‘a spirit, a state of mind, a decoration, a style and environment.’” added Laurent Gaborit.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 77
MIRROR, MIRROR
QUINTESSENTIALLY
DIOR HEADING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION
The House of Dior is known for their daring floral notes in the men’s scents, eschewing the masculine clichés and redefining “virility” with surprising fragrances, always noticeable without being overpowering. Dior Homme is no exception; Tuscan iris absolute and amber notes are enveloped by spicy top notes -Calabrian bergamot and Guatemalan cardamom- and a woody base -Virginia Cedar wood and Haitian Vetiver notes- making it the fragrance for the contemporary man seeking refinement.
78 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
ON THE BIG SCREEN DIOR’S NEWEST FACE ROBERT PATTINSON
We’re big fans of the new Dior Homme campaign starring Robert Pattinson, he’s elegant and mysterious- a bit like his roles in the movies. Remember the kickoff to his career? Before he took on the part of tortured vampire in the Twilight series, he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potterwe were sad to see him go!
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 79
MIRROR, MIRROR
IT’S TIME TO INDULGE WITH M.A.C
THIS FALL’S SWANKY SHADES PACK A HIGH PIGMENT PUNCH We like decadence. We like impact. What else do we like? M.A.C’s newest range that caters to our dramatic sensibilities: the Indulge collection. Launching this month, this limited edition range includes something every one of you is going to want: their famous Fluidline eyeliner in Guilt Gourmet, a sparkling brushed gold meant to be used with the Small Angle Brush #266. Want the gold rush to continue? Pick up Gilty Morsel eyeshadow, a glittery gold lustre. You’re probably going to want to claim one of their Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash to perfect your overall look- rich and silky, this mascara gives you première lashes with no muss and no fuss.
80 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 81
82 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MIRROR, MIRROR
LIPS +TIPS
IN ADDITION TO KNOCKOUT EYES, THIS COLLECTION’S CROWNING JEWEL GIVES YOU LIPS AND TIPS THAT YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS! RAGMAG’S NAIL NUANCES Are you ready for this? The Indulge lacquer lineup is stellar- so much so that you might want to pick up all of the shades in double to keep spares for the upcoming holiday season. We are alternating between Magnificent Feast, Over Indulge and Sinfully Sweet. For those of you looking for your brighter tips and toes, M.A.C’s limited range has three more shades to give you your fix.
RAGMAG’S LIP LOCK Get the edgiest pout in town with the Indulge collection- they’ve done your lips a favour with five impactful shades in both lipglass and lipstick formats. With M.A.C’s Utterly Tart Lipglass and their Just a Bite lipstick, you’ve got two textures to keep your lips in high gear.
SPOTLIGHT MARIAM KHAIRALLAH
M.A.C RESIDENT SENIOR MAKEUP ARTIST FOR THE MIDDLE EAST Mariam has worked on a number of print editorial features for prominent Middle East publications in addition to work TV spots. Her celeb makeup includes supermodel (and former Victoria’s Secret Angel) Karolina Kurková, Carmen Lebbos, and Sulaf Fawakherji. RAGMAG’s top highlight? Mariam’s work with fashion designer Rami Al Ali. From Mariam’s portfolio, we’re fans of her work with Dubai International Film Festival, Delhi Couture Week, Dubai Fashion Week, Abu Dhabi Bridal Fashion Shows, and Tiffany & Co.’s SS13 event. Mariam’s specialty? “Arabian beauty!”
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 83
84 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MIRROR, MIRROR
VICTORY IS OURS! PACO RABANNE’S INVICTUS
Men who are in search of a fresh and textured scent are in luck: Paco Rabanne has just released his newest olfactory creation. After a lengthy research period of two and a half years, Master Perfumers Véronique Nyberg, Anne Flipo, Olivier Polge and Dominique Ropion developed Invictus as a two-layered entity over the traditional three-tiered formula. The fragrance “straddles the line between biting freshness and animal sensuality,” explains Nyberg, referring to the simultaneously muscular and spicy scent. One layer boasts a marine accord, grapefruit zest and bay leaf, while the second layer is woody amber accord with notes of Guaiac wood, ambergris and patchouli. Invictus is “designed to be surprising, and stand out through the duality of its construction.” What we like most about this daring men’s fall hit? The bottle designed by Cédric Ragot suggesting the trophy of triumph. Well played, sir.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 85
MIRROR, MIRROR
MAKE A
DRAMATIC ENTRANCE FALLING FOR GUERLAIN ALL OVER AGAIN
GUERLAIN PRESENTS THEIR FALL 2013 MAKEUP COLLECTION, VOILETTE DE MADAME, LARGELY INSPIRED BY THE CHIC, FEMININE HALF-VEIL OF AN INTRIGUING FEMME FATALE. GRAPHIC AND STYLED, THE VEIL IS THE GUIDELINE OF THE NEW COLLECTION WITH LIMITED EDITION LIPSTICKS AND GLOSS IN PINKS AND REDS, NEW EYESHADOWS IN GREENS, PURPLES AND BLUES AND A LIMITED EDITION BLUSH LINE.
The House of Guerlain is so detail-oriented that they even adorned their limited edition Rouge G de Guerlain lipsticks with a fine screen-printed dotted Swiss veil to match the overall schema of the collection. The attractive veiled case is not the only plus of the new lipstick- the formula incorporates ruby powder for luminosity, highly concentrated pure pigments for colour intensity and hyaluronic acid spheres for hydration, leaving the lips plumped up. Our favourites? Madame Batifole, an electric fuschia and Madame Flirte, a sparkling red. Wear them alone or pair them with the matching, limited edition Gloss D’Enfer- it has a lightweight, non-sticky texture and gives a bare-lip sensation.
NAIL KNOW-HOW
Guerlain styles you to your very fingertips! For an impactful look, match your lips to your nail lacquer. Guerlain has created the exact same shade as one of their new Rouge Ga limited edition Colour Lacquer, Madame Batifole. Using adhesive resins that optimize colour retention, it has a long-lasting colour and shine and is great for easy application.
86 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
EYE AM IN LOVE
Voilette de Madame presents L’Écrin 2 Couleurs, a two-shade eyeshadow palette with matching colours and different textures- one matte and intense with electric colours and one sparkly, metallic shade to add texture and radiance. There are eight new palettes with perfect-for-fall colours but we have a thing for Two Gossip, a duo of plum and gold for a simple, stylish eye-makeup.
LOOK BOOK
For a colour-block look, go monochrome: choose either the matte eyeshadow (for an intense look) or the sparkly eyeshadow (for a radiant look) in a single shade over the eyelid. For an electric take on colour, play with layers. Apply the matte colour on the eyelid and layer the sparkling colour on top- it will give your eyes more intensity. To achieve a rock-glam vibe, go full on with the shades. Apply the matte shade as a wash (from the lash line to the brow bone), and use the sparkling colour to fill in below the arch of the eyebrow.
CHEEKY ROMANCE
Guerlain releases a limited edition blush with the Voilette de Madame collection. Blush 4 Couleurs Madame Rougit is a compact pressed powder with four stripes of colour- pink to illuminate the cheekbones, coral for a peachy complexion, beige to create a velvety texture and raspberry for fresh cheeks.
INDUSTRY INSIDER For a natural effect, blend the four colours with the integrated brush and apply evenly on your cheekbones.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 87
88 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
MIRROR, MIRROR
TOUT EN FINESSE GUERLAIN’S NEW TAKE ON FOUNDATION Do an even texture, a velvety feel and an incredibly long hold in one product sound like utopia? Guerlain presents Tenue de Perfection, the Fall 2013 foundation that uses absorbent powders and corrective pigments for a smooth, even finish. Two soft-focus micro-powders combine to even out the skin and fill in the fine lines to reduce them and
WELL - OILED MACHINE
Tenue de Perfection’s formula forms a complexionenhancing film over the skin of three oils that evaporate one after the other. The first oil evaporates instantly under the fingers, allowing the product to melt into the skin; the second oil coats the skin and evaporates right after it’s applied, helping the foundation to glide evenly over the skin for a uniform coverage; the final oil fixes the foundation and ensures the long-wear.
correct imperfections, while concentrated pigments and absorbent beads coated in a polymer set the foundation for up to 16 hours. How it’s done? Silica beads capture excess sebum to keep the polymer film intact, while the spherical micro-powders act like a colour stabilizer, ensuring that it doesn’t change or darken during the day.
POW POWDERS! It’s been more than 20 years since the first Les Voilettes powders launched. For the fall collection, both the compact and loose powder get a new look, in line with the season’s theme, with Swiss dot and lace motif features. The lightweight formula incorporates blends of ultra-absorbent powders and beads that set the makeup and gives it a fine, matte finish.
PUFF VS. BRUSH For a matte, perfected result, use the powder puff. Apply by dabbing over the face, starting in the t-zone. For a translucent, evening makeup effect, use a brush. Sweep it in light, broad vertical movements over the face from the center outwards.
PERFECT YOUR APPLICATION DAY Apply with your fingertips. Spread from the center outwards and towards the neck. NIGHT Apply with a foundation brush. Blend the fluid in horizontal movements from the center of the face outwards.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 89
EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES saint laurent fw 2013-2014
COPYCAT
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
90 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
versace v-race watch
stradivarius pants + scarf
LITTLE MISS MESSY versace long-chain necklace
KNOCKIN’ BOOTS
versace studded boots
saint laurent plaid mohairblend jacket
FAIR AND SQUARE
pull & bear plaid shirt
fendi leather jacket
versace fw 2013-2014
I’M TOTALLY WASTED
isabel marant chain-trimmed leather skinny belt
givenchy fw 2013-2014
TANGIBLE TEXTURES versace leather and plaid handbag
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 91
chopard sapphire and diamonds earrings
LA LA LAND ted baker flower print top
COLOURED COLLAR
lanvin fw 2013-2014 marc jacobs fw 2013-2014
salsa scarf
ted baker shirt
ROUND AND AROUND
LET ‘ER RIP
stradivarius round clutch
pull & bear distressed skinny jeans
ted baker phone cover
ONE RING TO RULE THEM agatha jonc maille black swan
RED HERRING
saint laurent red leather stilletos
stradivarius blazer
PINKY SWEAR
louboutin pigalle clutch satin brodé grenadine
92 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
oscar de la renta fw 2013-2014
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 93
A WHOLE
NEW ROUTE STARRING
NADA ABOU FARHAT DRESSED BY DÉPÊCHEMODE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ODETTE KAHWAGI STYLED BY JONY MATTA
MAKEUP BY TONY TANNOUS | HAIR BY ROGER GABRIEL
94 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 95
96 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 97
98 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 99
100 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 101
102 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 103
RAGMAG RAGING RUNWAY TOP CATWALK CHOICES FOR MEN
ETRO FW 2013-2014
104 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
RAGMAG RAGING RUNWAY TOP CATWALK CHOICES FOR WOMEN
GIVENCHY FW 2013-2014
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 105
SPEAK, SEE, HEAR NO EVIL
CHECK
BY JACQUES TCHABARIAN
Franz Ferdinand Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions Shortly after the release of their first album, Franz Ferdinand ventured into experimental sounds on their following two releases, broadening their horizon to incorporate new elements to their initial Alternative sound and, truth be told, leaving some of their fans longing for the direct sharp guitar orientation of their earlier years. Their prayers seem to have been answered as the Ferdinands have come up with (some would suggest) the album that should have logically succeeded their debut back in 2004, as the focus and main attraction is based on the guitar/bass equilibrium.
The band hasn’t abandoned their experimental side altogether, but rather these novelties are used as an ornament instead of being the core musical presence. Right Action, their best first track thus far, includes a sitar section during the song’s bridge. The main theme on Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions seems to be enjoying the moment as often as possible, Evil Eye and Bullet being a prime example of that. Love themes make an appearance on The Universe Expanded and Fresh Strawberries in a weird poetic majesty. Possibly their best work to date.
The Gypsy Queens The Gypsy Queens From their busking days, passing through the different cafés and restaurants in the south of France, to their residency in the esteemed La Petite Maison in Nice (where they were discovered by the music industry), The Gypsy Queens have come a long way and are now acclaimed recording artists with their debut album enjoying global success. Didier Casnati -vocalist, guitarist and the main force behind the bandhas surrounded himself with a group of musicians, all master of their instruments, and together they give a fresh spin to classic tracks on this rich and lively
album. L’Americano, Volare and Sympathique are some of the tunes covered gracefully by the band, with Latin and European flavors being knit together and delivered in a hearty fashion- that would make the album the perfect soundtrack for any joyous social occasion. Major artists have fallen for the charm of the band and have collaborated on some tracks, the fabulous Madeleine Peyroux makes an appearance on L’Americano while Graham Nash and Booker T. Jones bring their clever expert touch elsewhere on the record. A feel-good album for lifting the spirits.
John Legend Love in the Future It’s a little-known story but at the beginning of his musical career, John Legend was a hugely in-demand session player who played and even composed for Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and yes, even the egotistical Kanye West who was the first to sign him on his label. Legend has since enjoyed a great personal success as a recording artist even teaming up with The Roots on his last album, revisiting a classic Soul/R n’ B repertoire from the 60s and 70s. His engagement a while back to long-time girlfriend, model Chrissy Teigen sets the tone for this record: everything, from the title to the
cover art and the lyrical content, flows towards that essence of love and passion. Even the cover tracks, including Anita Baker’s Angel have a taste of said affection. I won’t go through the song list, but the fact that Legend hired an armada of producers (HitBoy, Q-Tip, Doc McKinney and of course Mr. West himself, among others) shows you how far he was willing to go to make each song sound unique, with its personal emotion and feelings. Is the album so love-enthusiastic that it makes you sick, as has happened with other artists showing their love to their significant other? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Goldfrapp Tales of Us I. Just. Love. Alison Goldfrapp. Everything about her is fantastic, from her music (with partner Will Gregory under the moniker Goldfrapp) and her exuberant persona as a New Wave diva, to her energetic way of life as a musician and producer- I would marry her in a second if was she not more inclined towards the feminine sex. Goldfrapp have been consistent in their releases, although all five albums were very different from one another, they were all solid pieces of Electronic/Alternative offerings and their latest sixth album is no exception. Tales of Us could be identified somewhere between the Head First and Felt Mountain albums, with complex Synth Pop sounds 106 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
sometimes bathed in beautiful orchestrated and acoustic sections, while other times you’re conquered by a cinematic grandiose ambiance- Alison admitted in an interview that the movies of Ingmar Bergman and specially David Lynch had a great impact during the creative process of the album. Most of the tracks bear the names of persons -who I suspect must be former lovers or companions- Drew builds up with lovely strings to a great atmosphere, Simone dwells into heartbreak territory with a clever soft electro beat, while Jo leans on a howling melody taken from a Jacques Brel song that would make the toughest man cry. Another superb work by an exceptional band.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
read’em +
weep BY AMAL CHAABAN
What I Had Before I Had You Sarah Cornwell Why you should read this book
The past can dictate the future
Two decades after leaving her hometown of Ocean Vista, Olivia returns with her children to a place full of memories, not all of them good. In this town, Olivia lived with her mother who was bipolar and believed herself psychic. Left on her own, she develops relationships that she realizes were incredibly unhealthy. Olivia’s legacy from her mother is to also have bipolar disorder that she in turn has passed on to her recently diagnosed nine year-old son. With chapters that flit back and forth between Olivia’s past and her present (including a big family secret), a story
gradually emerges with a somewhat tenuous image of Olivia and her life. The template of this story is wealthy in opportunities, and the language used by the author evokes strong feelings and creates some fabulous imagery for the reader. The only real problem with the novel is the jarring leaps in time. It has been this reviewer’s experience that these time changes are normally smooth and organic to the story, in this novel, it can take a minute to figure out which time period you’re visiting. Read this when you want to understand the chaos of bipolar living.
The Troop Nick Cutter (a pseudonym)
Why you should read this book
Sometimes, they most terrifying thing is what you can see, not what you can’t
Every year a Boy Scout troop from Prince Edward Island (Canada) goes out to an uninhabited island just off the coast to camp and complete their level of training. Most years, it runs very smoothly, this is what happens when it doesn’t: five boys and their scoutmaster land on the island and only one returns. What happens in the interim between the drop off and pick up is horror writing at its finest. An unknown man lands on the island bringing with him
a contagion that is so serious, it causes a full military blockade on the island trapping the boys on it and their parents are unable to rescue them. One would think that the scariest thing on the island would be the contagion but it isn’t, it’s the boys themselves and the lengths some of them will go to in order to achieve what they want. This is a new version of Lord of the Flies for a generation of people old enough to remember the horror of the original.
Inherit the Dead Edited by Jonathan Santlofer Why you should read this book
The roots of violence are as varied as the perpetrators
When 20 of the best crime writers of our time team up to write a story, you know worth it will be the read. Pericles (Perry) Christo is a private investigator hired to find an heiress (Angel) who has dropped off of the face of the earth two weeks before she is due to inherit hundreds of millions of dollars. On the surface, it’s a basic missing persons investigation but little things rankle Christo and he’s left wondering just how honest his client (the mother of the heiress) and the sycophants surrounding Angel are being with him. As he digs deeper, his own past
misdemeanors rear up to haunt him over and over again. With so many writers (including Lee Child, John Connolly, Mary Higgens Clark and Charlaine Harris) writing different chapters, the reader might expect some blips in the narrative or writing voice, but the transitions are so smooth that you aren’t able to discern between the different authors. The imagery evoked is noire, the PI just hardboiled enough and the main reason for the investigation is a true femme fatale. This is a book for mysterylovers who enjoy odd endings.
Blood & Beauty Sarah Dunant Why you should read this book
Bad PR is as old as written history itself
There is perhaps no family from renaissance Italy as maligned as the Borgias. Billed by turns as brutal, bloody, incestuous, greedy and corrupt, they have gone down in history as an analogy of what not to do when you achieve power. Sarah Dunant doesn’t set out to rehabilitate the reputation of this family (though she does point out in her afterword that it was a bloody and corrupt time in human history), but she does set out to make humans out of the mythology of the monsters. There is Rodrigo de Borgia (Pope Alexander) in all his
OCTOBER 2013
corpulent greed, Cesare, the son accused of fratricide by his enemies, Lucrezia, called a whore by those her family spurned and all of their many enemies. We open with the investiture of the new Pope being decided on and are privy to the machinations of the Borgias from the word go. If ambition was a crime in that era, then surely the Borgias are guilty but it’s evident that Dunant sees them as people doing what they had to do to live, not what they necessarily wanted to do. Pick this one up for a rare rich and textured version of history. www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 107
playNICE
SPEAK, SEE, HEAR NO EVIL
BY ADAM VOLK
Grand Theft Auto V
Publisher/Developer Rockstar Platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 KA-CHING! That’s the sound of Grand Theft Auto V wracking up a record breaking $800 million dollars US in the first 24 hours of sales. So does the latest entry in one of video games’ biggest franchises live up to the hype? Hell yeah, it does! On the surface, the game doesn’t alter the tried-and-true formula of its predecessors overly much. There’s still plenty of violence, vehicular homicide, open world exploration and tongue-in-cheek humour. What has changed is the fact that this time you control three different characters: a washed up bank robber, a street
hustling used car salesmen and a redneck psycho. You can switch back and forth at anytime and the faux Los Angeles world of Los Santos is staggering both in its scope and its breathtaking attention to detail. GTA V is easily one of the best looking games ever to hit the current generation of consoles. The multiplayer experience also scores major points, letting you join up to 16 other players online in either head-to-head or co-op matches. The result is a game that’s hyper-violent, crass, insane and yes, one of the best video games of the year.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Publisher/Developer Nintendo Platforms Wii U
It’s been 10 years since the original The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was released for the Nintendo Game Cube. To celebrate, the giant mushroom loving minds at Nintendo have created a revamped version of the beloved game and released it for the Wii U. Visually, the game has been given a major facelift, with updated 1080p-resolution graphics, a new lighting engine and some minor tweaks to gameplay that integrate the Wii U controller touchpad. At its core though, it’s
a faithful recreation of the original game, offering the same beautiful cell-shaded animations and whimsical storybook tale as you lead your hero Link on a quest to find both the sacred Triforce and his little sister Aryll, as well as having to defeat the villainous Ganondorf. With its enhanced visuals and next-gen interface, Wind Waker HD is a must-play for both fans of the original and a new generation of gamers, breathing new life into one of the greatest Zelda games of all times.
FIFA 14
Publisher/Developer Electronic Arts Platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii Regardless of your nationality, religion or politics, for millions of people around the world there is one common love: football. Yes, the Earth’s most popular sport is back in one of video game’s most popular series. Visually, the game more or less resembles FIFA 13, which is to say, it’s still pretty sharp, if not exactly pushing the envelope. As with other FIFA entries, the game also manages to license out a ton of real world players, clubs and stadiums. FIFA 14 isn’t just a cash grab sequel though, introducing a number of new
features, including slightly modified controls and new mechanics for shooting, dribbling and first touch. For noobies, it’s a bit tricky to learn the controls, but a streamlined menu system and better AI definitely create a smoother overall experience. Hardcore fans can also still duke it online or build their club from the ground up with a Career Mode. The result is another pitch perfect addition to the FIFA franchise, and a cause for gamers and football fans the world over to join together to celebrate the greatest sport ever created.
World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition Publisher/Developer Wargaming West Platform Xbox 360
If you’ve ever dreamed of cruising around in your own armoured behemoth, then World of Tanks has you covered. The original PC version of the game has become a smash hit, with millions of players around the world duking it outline. Now, wannabe tank commanders can enjoy all the iron clad action on the Xbox 360. The title pretty much sums it up: it’s a world. Full of tanks. You take control of a variety of World War II era vehicles from both the Axis and Allies and then face off against dozens of other players in kill-or-be-killed team-based battles. The original
108 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
World of Tanks was free to play, offering the option to purchase in-game items and upgrades. The Xbox 360 follows a similar model, as a free to download title that lets you purchase additional swag for your tank- although you can still have fun without dropping a mint. Hardcore players can easily get caught up in the minutia as you fine tune your tank and create the ultimate weapon of motorized destruction. The result is a game that offers an incredibly simple yet incredibly addictive formula: World of Tanks + Xbox 360 = awesome. It’s a no brainer.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
watch out BY JACQUES TCHABARIAN
The Family |
110 mins | Action Comedy Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones It’s a joyous occasion when your favorite actors work together on a movie directed by one of your favorite directors- in this case Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones and in the role of director, the larger than life Luc Besson. Add to that a certain Mr. Martin Scorsese as an executive producer and you’re in for a special visual treat. Unfortunately, this high-caliber collab falls short. It’s clear from the beginning that Besson is paying some sort of tribute to De Niro’s mafia glory days with a comedic twist, but the script tends to be more of an average sitcom than
a full-fledged cinematic release, expecting to hear the audience’s laughter and applause. Giovanni Manzoni (typical Italian name for a typical mafioso) has been relocated with his family many times since he snitched on mafia bosses and a bounty has been put on his head. Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones), ends up taking the whole family to the south of France hoping that nobody will find them there, but the Manzonis being who they are soon revert to their roots getting the bad guys back on their tail. Mix explosives and comedy- that’s the idea of The Family.
Closed Circuit |
96 mins | Political Thriller Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent Big Brother is watching us and there is no escape. Or is there? John Crowley, who gave us the magnificent Boy A back in 2007 (not to be confused with Radiohead’s album Kid A), is one of the new directors who are steadily breathing new ideas in how a movie should be handled and directed. After a suicide bombing in London, the mastermind behind this heinous act is brought to justice and appointed a defense lawyer played by Eric Bana. He’s also appointed a special secondary legal representative (Rebecca Hall) who’s here to make sure that evidence
-categorized as ultra-sensitive by the state- is never made public, even to the preliminary defense lawyer. It becomes clear to Bana that the powers behind the scenes aren’t interested in justice being served and would harm (or kill) those who would venture too close to the truth. What follows is a series of secret and danger filled interactions between the two lawyers, who are supposed to have no contact with each other. With a screenplay by the man who gave us the marvelous Eastern Promises, a little stroke of spy genius has been created.
Getaway |
90 mins | Action Thriller Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight Can you imagine Selena Gomez playing a computer hacker? Me neither- actually, I can’t even imagine her as a singer. But this is the part she was given to play in her new cinematic adventure- failing miserably. Same goes, to a lesser degree, for her partner in crime Ethan Hawke. Hawke, a has-been racecar driver, comes home to find that his wife has been kidnapped. He receives a call from an unknown person (Jon Voight) directing him to a Cobra Mustang and advises him to hit the road if he wants to see his wife again. The Mustang is equipped with all kinds of cameras with which the mystery man
can watch Hawke’s every move, especially when he has to deal with a carjacker played by Ms. Gomez- yep, she is a hacker and a carjacker. The problem with Getaway is that despite all the action scenes and shootings and speeding, it is rather… dull. The makers of this movie thought that by combining all of the elements of an action flick, things would be okay enough to have a box office hit- the hitch is that they forgot to add a reasonable plot and character depth. Racing amateurs will find some sort of entertainment here, but for the rest look elsewhere.
Salinger |
124 mins | Documentary John Cusack, Edward Norton, Danny DeVito It’s not a common thing for me to review documentaries in general. If this type of cinematic work gives you the same feeling as having a colonoscopy, please skip this review. If you’re a fan of the film genre, this documentary is highly recommended- even if you’re not familiar with J. D. Salinger, considered to be literature’s Howard Hughes. Salinger’s first novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) became a global phenom especially among teens who identified with protagonist Holden Caulfield, widely considered to be one of the most influential characters in the history of
OCTOBER 2013
American literature. This book that still sells 250,000 copies yearly has been both part of American school curriculums and banned due to its controversy. Some of today’s A-list actors who’ve been invited to bear witness to their love of this literary work include Edward Norton, Danny DeVito, John Cusack and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and maybe by the end of the film, after you’ve become familiar with Salinger’s dark and mysterious persona, you will also be compelled to read The Catcher in the Rye (if you haven’t already). Worth the watch, see this one.
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 109
OUT + ABOUT
ALTITUDE IS EVERYTHING KROUM EHDEN IS YOUR #VACAYINLEBANON BY YOUMNA CHAGOURY
THE VIEW IS MAGNIFICENT: SLIGHT SUGGESTION OF THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS, WITH LIGHTS FLICKERING IN THE DISTANCE HINTING AT VILLAGES WITH POWER THAT NIGHT
W
elcome to your home, Kroum Ehden”. That’s the first thing I read when I get to my room at the new resort in North Lebanon, Kroum Ehden. A charming, minimalistic room in shades of white and gray with a private terrace, overlooking both pools and the surrounding mountains. Breathtaking. I do feel at home, immediately. I unpack my weekend luggage and take ownership of the bed, the coffee machine, and the large wooden armchair on the terrace- my weekend begins. I take a seat by one of the pools -my favorite, with different levels and river-like rocks at the bottom- and try to absorb the atmostphere. The clean, fresh air. The surroundings. The small village nested in the valley, visible from where I’m sitting. The quietude. I spend hours on that pool on Sunday afternoon and only decide to leave after watching the sunset as it got cold all of a sudden- chalk it up to the 1200-meter altitude! A quick shower, another coffee on my terrace (I just love it) and I head to Le Matbokh (peeps from the North, unite in laughing at their pun) for dinner. The restaurant serves delicious mezza and mains, all Lebanese and all served in clay tableware. I forget about my diet and feast on traditional Zgharta kebbe, labneh with garlic, fattoush with pomegranate syrup and potatoes with garlic and coriander. There too, the view is magnificent: slight suggestion of the surrounding mountains, with lights flickering in the distance hinting at villages with power that night.
”
110 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
KROUM EHDEN IS YOUR #VACAYINLEBANON
Le Matbokh is Kroum’s only restaurant so far. With six rooms, four suites and one royal suite that can accommodate up to two families, three pools, a bar, one restaurant and one pool “snack”, Kroum is already considered large for the region, but according to our server, the resort is at 20 percent completion of the entire project. What to expect in the coming three to four years? A theater, a shopping center, a hotel and maybe, just maybe if the feasibility study encourages it, an ice-skating area on top of the swimming pools in winter. I can already see myself taking weekend trips to Ehden in winter and spending my days cocooning in a warm room with a superb view.
The next day, I dread heading back to Beirut- the heat, the traffic, and the noise. I still try to make the best out of my second day enjoying Kroum’s tranquility by sitting at the pool and sipping on an icecold drink. I still feel that I’m in a surreal place, not fully processing how one can perch a pool that high up. Truth be told, I was skeptical when I heard a new project was opening in Ehden- I’m from a village next to it and I couldn’t imagine having a
resort anywhere near me, a day3a should stay just that, a simple day3a. But there is something about Kroum that took me some time to pinpoint: it’s a resort in a Northern village and it has kept that spirit. The staff is ultra-friendly, the atmosphere is good-natured and easy going, and they’re not trying to be what they’re not- a snobbish luxury resort. It actually manages to be your home away from home
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE COMING THREE TO FOUR YEARS? A THEATER, A SHOPPING CENTER, A HOTEL AND MAYBE AN ICE-SKATING AREA ON TOP OF THE SWIMMING POOLS IN WINTER
TAKE THE HIGH ROAD
OCTOBER 2013
Kroum Ehden 06561560 www.kroumehden.com bookings@kroumehden.com www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G KroumEhden
| 111
@KroumEhden
TAKE ME WITH YOU
SET YOUR SIGHTS ON
SALZBURG BY ALICE HLIDKOVA
O
ne of the world’s most renowned composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born in the heart of Salzburg, Austria. Much of the small city dedicates itself to his classical compositions by lending its space to his music. Each year in July until the end of August, the Salzburg Festival, third oldest in Europe, honours “Wolferl” with performances of his work by top-tier musicians. His symphonies are heard beyond the “House of Mozart” hall, reaching outdoors to opulent Baroque volutes and pilasters of the city’s architecture.
SITTING ON BOTH BANKS OF THE SALZACH RIVER, SALZBURG IS PINCHED BETWEEN KAPUZINERBERG AND MÖNCHSBERG MOUNTAINS. A TUNNEL INSIDE MÖNCHSBERG LEADS VISITORS TO THE ALSTADT 112 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
If Mozart’s music is not enough to serve as the heartbeat of Salzburg, indulge in chocolate Mozart balls. The delicious sweets are sold as souvenirs throughout the city bringing delight to the musical element that shapes Salzburg. To add to the rich tastes are the many sharp Alpine peaks. Sitting on both banks of the Salzach River, Salzburg is pinched between Kapuzinerberg and Mönchsberg mountains. A tunnel inside Mönchsberg leads visitors to The Alstadt (Old City). Interconnected squares form what used to be the religious center, around which the major Baroque churches and archbishop residencies are arranged. The Dom (Salzburg Cathedral) is among the finest
ABOVE: SALZBURG ALSTADT (OLD CITY) OPPOSITE PAGE: MOZART’S BIRTHPLACE. THE MOZART FAMILY LIVED ON THE THIRD FLOOR FOR TWENTY-SIX YEARS, FROM 1747 TO 1773
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 113
TAKE ME WITH YOU
TOP TO BOTTOM: MCDONALD’S “M” ARCH IN IRON DESIGN, STATUE OF MOZART ON MOZARTPLATZ (MOZART SQUARE)
SET YOUR SIGHTS ON SALZBURG
OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: HALSTATT LAKE AND VILLAGE, DOM CATHEDRAL INTERIOR, MOZART’S DON GIOVANNI - SALZBURG FESTIVAL, THE STREETS OF SALZBURG
EVEN MCDONALD’S HAS ADAPTED ITS YELLOW “M” ARCH IN ELABORATE IRON DESIGN AFTER THE MUNICIPALITY FORCED THE FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT TO DO SO. FURTHER DOWN THE STREET THE HIGHLYESTEEMED MOZART GEBURTSHAUS, IS THE MODEST CHILDHOOD HOME OF MOZART Italian-style Baroque structure in Austria. Its facade is of white marble with towers reaching 250 feet into the air, and it holds an audience of 10,000. Its simple sepia and white interior, a peaceful counterpart to the usual baroque splendor creates a cozy atmosphere. Be sure to visit the intimate crystal shop round the narrow street bend. With its slanted roof decorated with a medieval gargoyle, the shop is inside the smallest house in Salzburg. Cross into the plaza of Residenzplatz to visit Residenz, a Baroque palace of Mozart’s patrons. Notice the 40-foothigh Court Fountain often visited by violinists who play a Mozart sonata. Next to Residenzplatz is another square of
equal importance. Named after Mozart, the Mozartplatz holds a statue of Mozart who is lifting the folds of his dress as he raises his knee. Nearby in the two cemeteries of St. Peter and St. Sebastian, among the moss- covered graves and wrought iron catholic crosses, members of the Mozart family are buried inside simple, lightly marked graves. The catacombs, or subterranean burial chamber of St. Peter’s, are one of the tourist attractions. Wrought iron decoration, seen at every storefront sign along the busy street of Getreidegasse, are another. Even McDonald’s has adapted its yellow “M” arch in elaborate iron design after the municipality forced the fast-food restaurant to do so. Further down the street
the highly-esteemed Mozart Geburtshaus, is the modest childhood home of Mozart. If not for the flocks of tourists, the yellow house is easily missed. Before crossing one of Salzburg’s many bridges, away from the Old City, take notice of the medieval 19th-century landmark of Hohensalzburg Fortress. Nestled on a hill, above the city’s rooftops, it serves as a valuable reference point in case one is lost. A ride up and down the castle lift, a small train, will grant visitors a spectacular view of the city and its mountain range. Equally pleasant is the view from the Museum of Modern Art, a standalone contemporary structure raised on the Mönchsberg cliffs.
FURTHER DOWN THE STREET THE HIGHLY-ESTEEMED MOZART GEBURTSHAUS, IS THE MODEST CHILDHOOD HOME OF MOZART. IF NOT FOR THE FLOCKS OF TOURISTS, THE YELLOW HOUSE IS EASILY MISSED 114 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 115
116 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
TAKE ME WITH YOU
SET YOUR SIGHTS ON SALZBURG
OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: DOM CATHEDRAL AND THE SALZACH, HOHENWERFEN CASTLE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT HOHENSALZBURG FORTRESS, SCHLOSS LOEPOLDSKRON PALACE, MAX REINHARDT IN SCHOLSS LOEPOLDSKRON, MIRABELL PARK AND GARDEN
Round the horse fountain an elevator provides a lift up to the top, through solid rock! Across the river inside the city’s garden trimmed with rose bushes and gray sculpted baroque water fountains, Austrian women in hand-sewn white gowns enjoy campaign. Mirabell Park and Garden is a hotbed for Austrian weddings. Ugly moss-covered statues in the shape of miniature dwarfs, are ignored by the many brides and adored by small children. Free classical music performances are appreciated by many in the nearby music halls. Rent a bike at Mirabell and take the 14-kilometer bike path along the river. Notice the painted cottages and manicured grass. The city of Salzburg is friendly not just to its bikers but to its animals. Pink flamingos, Salzburg’s rare
OCTOBER 2013
residents, can be found walking unsupervised in the outskirts of the city parking lots. The best bike path is around the man-made lake behind Schloss Leopoldskron, the city’s most beautiful palace. A 10-minute bike ride from Old City, the palace should not be missed. On the main floor, below the library, local musicians perform a Mozart sonata or two on the grand piano. Behind the piano, through the wrought iron gated door, the famed Untersberg mountain steals the view. At its footsteps a curtain of oak trees open to the man-made lake protected by reclining horse statues, marked by decaying rock and soft moss. Graceful white swans and playful brown ducks swim in neat lines near the lake’s center listening politely to Mozart, like everyone else in Salzburg
THE BEST BIKE PATH IS AROUND THE MAN-MADE LAKE BEHIND SCHLOSS LEOPOLDSKRON, THE CITY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL PALACE
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 117
118 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
PHOTO CREDIT: TONY ELIEH
EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY
MEDITERRANEAN TOUR
MOMO AT THE SOUKS BY MARIA-ELENA KASSAB
“W
e’re going to Momo at the Souks,” says Youmna when I asked where we’d be going for resto review. Remembering the kickass Social Media Awards After-Party we held there in May, I walk in expecting it to be so “Beirut”: overcrowded, loud, and amazing. Only the lattermost proves true and we have a drink at the lounge before delving into our anticipated feast. I’d heard about their bartenders before and decide to try their savoir-faire with the minty cool Marrakech O’ Marrakesh and the citrusy Kiss with Passion. When asked for her recommendation, our server knows every detail about the cocktail menu. Looking around, I can’t believe I’m at the Souks: green shrubbery separates us from the bustling street below, but I still know I’m in the heart of Beirut by the surrounding office buildings. The Moroccan-inspired lighting, the sleek couches and more traditional tables blend in a mix of old and new, Western and Eastern, a style that follows us into the restaurant part of Momo, with its indoor seating area and outdoor table on a terrace that encircles the entire venue. The staff is attentive and knowledgeablethe fact that they had just finished taking
OCTOBER 2013
down the extensive art installation for the Beirut Art Fair the very same day didn’t seem to hinder the speed and courtesy one bit. The menu is two-tiered, with an array of both Mediterranean and North African choices. While Momo is known for the latter, its Mediterranean cuisine is also divine. Our server helps us choose a few entrées and two main dishes as we sip on a crisp white wine and wait for our food. We kick things off with the Raviole (al dente) filled with boursin, spinach, pine nuts, and ricotta, and drizzled with a creamy gorgonzola sauce, as well as a warm clay dish of egg, onions, tomato and Merguez sausage, and a squab (or pigeon) Pastillaa mixture of pigeon meat and almonds in a brick pastry, seasoned with cinnamon, caster sugar and a zesty orange sauce. We move on to the next course with a Couscous Momo served with Merguez sausages, juicy chicken slices, vegetable broth (with firm, but well-cooked carrots and zucchini), a mixture of raisins, caramelized onions and chickpeas and an extremely spicy yet irresistible Harissa sauce. We also try out slow-cooked lamb Tajine with prunes and quince- the spicy kick of the sauce is the perfect complement to the sweet fruit. To end things on a sweet high note, we order
the Raviole à l’Ananas -the staff’s favorite, they all recommended it!- a mint-infused pineapple and vanilla white cheese stuffed ravioli topped with an unexpected greenapple-and-coriander sorbet, as well as the Momo CC, a superb cheesecake with a goat cheese twist. Momo is a great place to chill and have a drink downtown. It’s also the place to enjoy a bevy of fine cuisine that you probably haven’t tried before THE + Service Impeccable Day Walkers Pick between a $25 or $30 deal: a choice of two entrées, two main courses and two desserts. The menu changes every week! Drink Menu Red, white and rosé wine, fine cognacs and champagne, from all over the world- France, Morocco, Lebanon, Italy, Spain, Chili and the USA. Talk about selection! THE Squinting The lighting was so dim, I could barely read my menu. This is obviously for ambience purposes. DINE IN STYLE Momo at the Souks Jewellery Souks, Downtown Beirut 01999767 | www.momobeirut.com www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 119 @MomoAtTheSouk MomoSouks
WHERE’S
YOUR SPOON? ONE - MEAL SOUPS 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 entrée and fullmeal soups for a warmer season. For her menu selection, check her out on the web http://www.bylara.me @laraariss
bylara
120 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
laraariss
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY
ROASTED CARROT SOUP PREPARATION TIME 15 MINUTES COOKING TIME 75 MINUTES SERVES 2 - 4 LEVEL EASY
INGREDIENTS • 700 grams carrots, peeled and roughly chopped • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 4 garlic cloves, crushed • Handful of thyme sprigs, plus extra to garnish • Knob of butter • 2 onions, roughly chopped • 700 ml chicken stock • 6 tablespoons double cream • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
METHOD
• Heat oven to 200°C. • Place the carrots, half the oil, and thyme in a
roasting tin. Season and toss everything together. Place in the oven and roast for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender and beginning to turn golden. • Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil and butter in a large saucepan. Add onions and garlic. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until the onions are soft. • Remove the carrots from the oven. Add the carrots to the saucepan and discard any woody thyme stalks. Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. • Blitz the soup with a hand blender, then sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing to get as much liquid through as possible. Add in the cream, heat through and season. Adjust the thickness with a little water. You can chill the soup for up to 1 day, or freeze for 2 months. Reheat before serving.
NOODLE SOUP PREPARATION TIME 5 MINUTES COOKING TIME 5 MINUTES SERVES 1 LEVEL EASY
INGREDIENTS • 330 ml vegetable stock • 1 teaspoon chilli paste • 2 teaspoons soy sauce • 1 sheet straight-to-wok noodle • Handful stir-fry vegetables (onion, mangetout, Napa cabbage…) Crushed peanuts
METHOD
• Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan. Stir in the chilli
paste and soy sauce. • Drop in the noodles and simmer for a few minutes until all the noodles have separated. • Add the stir-fry vegetables, reserving any leafy bits until later. • Simmer for one minute until the vegetables are just tender. Stir in the leafy parts if any, then simmer for an additional minute. • Serve in a deep bowl and scatter with crushed peanuts.
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 121
122 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
EAT, DRINK+BE MERRY
CHICKEN + GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP PREPARATION TIME 30 MINUTES COOKING TIME 45 MINUTES SERVES 6 LEVEL EASY
INGREDIENTS: • 4 chicken thigh cutlets, excess fat trimmed • 1 large brown onion, halved, finely chopped • 1 large carrot, peeled, finely chopped • 1 celery stick, trimmed, finely chopped • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley stems + extra for serving • 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked • 2 liters water • 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns • Sea salt flakes
123O |C RT O AG MRA G BE 2 0 1| 3www.ragmag.co
METHOD
• Combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, thyme, water and peppercorns
in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil. • Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. • Transfer the chicken to a clean work surface and cut the chicken meat from the bones and discard the bones. • Finely chop the chicken meat and add to the soup. Taste and season with sea salt. • Ladle soup among serving bowls. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve immediately.
www.ragmag.co | RO AG | E123 THE WIND SM E AI SGS U
Zodiac FROM JONATHAN CAINER
October.2013
WE ARE STILL MORE THAN A MONTH AWAY FROM THE NEXT IN THE SERIES OF SEVEN SQUARES BETWEEN URANUS AND PLUTO. THE FIRST WAS IN JUNE 2012. WE’VE HAD TWO MORE SINCE THEN AND THE FOURTH COMES UP IN NOVEMBER. SO WHY MENTION IT NOW? BECAUSE IN ASTROLOGY, THE WEEKS JUST PRIOR TO AN ALIGNMENT ALWAYS PROVE MOST POWERFUL. IF OCTOBER SHOWS YOU THAT YOU CAN NO LONGER TRUST PROMISES AND PRINCIPLES THAT ONCE SEEMED SACROSANCT, THE ALIGNMENT IS WORKING ITS MAGIC. AROUND THE GLOBE, PEOPLE ARE ESCAPING REPRESSIVE ASPECTS OF THE PAST AND REDEFINING VALUES IN GLORIOUS WAYS.
NE-YO
CAMILLA BELLE
SCORPIO
October 24 - November 22
A helpful conversation will soon do much to put your mind at rest. Someone knows something about the issue you are trying to resolve. The information is not secret, nor is it being deliberately withheld. All you have to do is ask the appropriate question to the appropriate person. Or maybe, you don’t even have to go that far. It may well be sufficient, this month, merely to raise a particular topic. What ensues quite naturally and easily from a series of crucial conversations will prove very useful and revealing. FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM
OCTOBER
September 24 - October 23
SAGITTARIUS
November 23 - December 21
’When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ So said Sherlock Holmes. You may not be a detective, but you are on the trail of a mystery - and this month, if you keep on asking the right questions, you’ll get answers that make proper sense. You face a perplexing dilemma. There’s no obvious easy way to solve a problem. But if you keep your wits about you, you’ll see a brilliant way to proceed. The impossible is... impossible. But the improbable? That’s more feasible than you think!
Do you seek enlightenment? Here’s how to find it this month. Go straight past the door marked Doubt, along the Corridor of Confusion. Turn down the Hallway of Hope and then look out for the Revelation Room. Light shines brightly through the curtain that hangs in front of it. When you first go into it, you may need a while to adjust. Don’t be put off by the darkness. It’s very common to feel that you can see nothing just moments before you suddenly realise that actually, you can see almost everything! Have faith.
FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM
FOR YOUR DAILY FORECAST AND MORE FROM JONATHAN, VISIT WWW.CAINER.COM
124 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
There are battles to be fought this month. None of these, though, involve other people. They are inner struggles. Deeply personal conflicts between conscience and desire or fear and inspiration. It is all too easy to be overwhelmed by a negative impulse. If you suspect that the worst may be about to happen, do not let go for an instant of your belief in the best. As soon as you overcome the enemy within that seeks to undermine your sense of self-worth, you will conquer every other obstacle in your path.
You have become conditioned to compromise. You have cut your coat according to your cloth and have set your expectations reasonably. Usually now, you try to be practical. All this is very laudable, but it is not necessarily appropriate under the current cosmic climate. It is very important to indulge in far-fetched practices and explore some wildly ambitious dreams. There’s a genuine chance that, if you do this, some of these hopes and wishes will be fulfilled. Don’t play it too safe this month. Be honest about what you want.
What makes life truly worth living? What’s the best, highest, most wonderful thing a human can aspire to? And, how good does it have to get... and for how long? There are some who believe that if you can manage to spend just a minute of your life, in a state of deep and true enlightenment, the richness of the experience will compensate for decades of darkness. There are others that say that one good idea can profit you for a decade. This month brings a rare and delightful reminder of just how good ‘good’ can get.
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
December 22 - January 20
January 21 - February 19
February 20 - March 20
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
You have natural resilience, an impressive ability to put up with the kind of pressure that others simply can’t cope with. This allows you to accomplish great things. But it also means that every so often you exhaust yourself. You’ve been through a lot lately. You now have good reason to be tired. But you will soon also find that you have a good reason to feel elated. Despite all that you find worrying both in your personal world and in the wider world too, life for you is about to get much easier this month.
Don’t look at where you have been. Never mind where you are going. Where are you right now? Look at your circumstances in isolation. Forget what led you to them or where you would like them to lead you to. Now, either you are somewhere that is entirely untenable without an explanation, a justification or even an aspiration... or you are somewhere that’s just fine, just as it is. If it’s the latter, why go any further? If it’s the former, why stay any longer? As you become clear and decisive this month, many problems will fade away.
People believe what they want to believe, which is why they see only what they want to see. How then, can they ever be persuaded of anything? That’s easy. Just find out what it is that they want to believe and show them something that seems to support this - but also suits your purposes. Now you know the secret, here’s a question. Who has recently been subtly manipulating you? This month, it’s time to look again at some of what’s been recently suggested. It could all mean something much more positive.
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
CANCER
LEO
VIRGO
A great deal is possible this month. You can allow yourself to be ambitious, adventurous and enthusiastic. You won’t find out how much you are capable of unless you try. If you do try and, despite your very best efforts, you run into some insurmountable obstacle, you will still gain from making the attempt. You will shift something. You will open at least one locked door. That, in itself, will constitute highly worthwhile progress. And it will mean that your next attempt is far more likely to succeed. Just keep going.
There are a hundred different roads you can go down. At least ninety-nine of these, though, lead nowhere that you would especially like to be. They look attractive only because your own path is now taking you through tricky territory. You’re starting to regret a particular choice; yet you always knew that it would not always be easy to stick to your plan. Diversions and distractions will only lead you round in a circle. This month brings you a chance to see why you first made a commitment and then a real opportunity to renew this.
What’s the difference between stress and excitement? Enjoyment! If something is fun, it’s not a problem - no matter how busy it keeps you or how much energy it takes out of you. If something grates on you, it will tire you out and wear you down - even if it’s minor, momentary, imaginary or irrelevant. In your life now, there is an issue that seems daunting or a hurdle that seems insurmountable. But this month, you are going to find a way to feel much happier about this situation and thus to become much more successful.
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
March 21 - April 20
June 23 - July 23
OCTOBER 2013
April 21 - May 21
July 24 - August 23
May 22 - June 22
August 24 - September 23
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 125
7 - 9 NOVEMBER 2013 11 am - 8 pm -
PROUDLY A PARTNER OF
126 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
CHEF’S KITCHEN GOLD SPONSOR
MEDIA PARTNER
JOIN THECONVERSATION
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
DD/BCF13/024
PLATINUM SPONSORS
BRAINFOOD ROUND #1
General
1. In 2003 which female pop star
released a children’s book titled “The English Roses”?
2. In volleyball how many times can a team touch the ball before it must be put over the net?
3. In which city were the 2002 Winter Games held?
4. What is the length of the pole
used by a Pole Vaulter. Is it 14, 16 or 18 feet?
5. How many people were there in the Village People?
6. What was the title of the fourth
book in the Harry Potter series?
7. Which writer created the character of Dracula?
ROUND #2
Trivia
1. What is the name of the maid in
1. How many continents are
2. What is Sukleen’s “hotline”
2. Same film. Who played the part of
2. Where is the largest desert
3. According to Scottish law can
3. In the film “My Best Friend’s Girl”
3. As of 2011, which
4. According to a survey carried
4. In the 2002 film “Scooby Doo” who
in1994?
number?
a man marry his widow’s sister? out by Cosmopolitan Magazine, what is a woman’s least favourite place to make love?
5. What drink’s name, if translated literally from Spanish to English, means “Aunty Mary”?
6. What colour are the geography questions in Trivial Pursuit?
7. In psychology, what is heliophobia?
8. How many claws does a
9. What was the name of author
9. What is tattooed on Popeye’s
Mary Shelley’s monster in her famous book?
10. Which team came third in 2010 FIFA World Cup?
ROUND #4
Geography
1. Who founded Sukleen
8. In the “Austin Powers” film Dr. Evil had a cat. What was it called?
ROUND #3
Movies in the 2000s
domestic cat have? arm?
10. In the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel which hand is God using to give life to Adam?
the film “Maid in Manattan”? the maid?
who plays the girl?
plays the part of Shaggy?
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the
part of Prince Hapi in which classic film’s remake?
6. In the 2007 film “The Hitcher,” in which state do the students pick up the murderous hitchhiker?
7. The film “Avatar” is set on what planet?
8. What was the name of the film
released in 2010 that had the tag line “Still armed, still dangerous, still got it”?
9. Back to “Avatar”, in what year was this film supposed to take place?
10. Which film is loosely based on the life of the dictator Idi Amin?
there?
in the world?
country has the smallest population?
4. What is the largest ocean in the world?
5. By area, what is the largest country in the world. Is it Canada, Russia or Australia?
6. What is the name of the
waterfall near Tannourin?
7. Australia has how many states?
8. The island of Madagascar is in which ocean. Pacific, Indian or Atlantic?
9. What is the capital of Pakistan?
10. Des Moines is the capital of which US State?
EASY
ROUND#1 1. Madonna 2. Three 3. Salt Lake City 4. 16 Feet 5. Six 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7. Bram Stoker 8. Mr. Bigglesworth 9.No name, Frankenstein was the creator 10. Germany ROUND#2 1. Maysarah Sukkar 2. 1551 3. How? He is dead 4. In a car 5. Tia Maria 6. Blue 7. Fear of sunlight 8. 18 9. Anchor 10. Right hand ROUND#3 1. Marisa Ventura 2. Jennifer Lopez 3. Kate Hudson 4. Matthew Lillard 5. Around the World in Eighty Days 6. New Mexico 7. Pandora 8. RED 9. 2148 10. The Last King of Scotland ROUND#4 1. Seven 2. The Antarctic Desert 3. The Vatican 4. The Pacific 5. Russia 6. Baatara Gorge 7. Six 8. Indian 9. Islamabad 10. Iowa
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 127
130 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co 128
U RSO I OS N T H ET H WEI NF D E ISSUE
DOWN 1. Long tailed lizard. 3. In the middle of. 5. Anatomical word, part of a hemal arch. 6. An African buffalo. 7. Chinese cooking pot. 8. The final demand. 11. Technical name for Mother-of-Pearl. 12. They like flowers. 14. Wait! 15. Feeling extremely happy. 16. Made by our breath. 18. Scientific instrument for observing the temperature of liquids. 21. Annoys. 23. A fluoride of aluminum and sodium. 25. Private loudspeakers? 30. Jewish prayer. 31. Brittle like some types of cake. 32. A historic dance formation. 34. A person that throws something is called this. 37. Became weak and feeble. 38. Sections in a university? 39. Used for cooking? 43. Keeps your style! 44. God is this. 45. It constricts the pupil of the eye. 48. Not the primary! 49. Homes for cows? 51. Had a grand feast. 52. A doorman? 55. Belonging to tropical, deciduous trees. 58. Milky. 60. Stupid. 63. Greatness? 64. A Scotsman’s ewe. 65. The most tired. 68. Not helped by anyone! 69. Not smooth. 71. To peel of, like human skin. 75. A special type of coffee? 76. Underwater listening device. 81. An artist’s support? 84. The court’s final judgment. 85. An ancient Roman priest. 87. Aware! 89. An Asian ox? 91. A mud volcano. 93. A type of heavy cape. 94. Old Slovakian currency.
ACROSS
LO VE
Chandavarkar. 57. A time limit. 59. A sort of brown algae. 61. An expert. 62. Amazing. 66. Approves. 67. A jester. 68. Not worried about things. 70. A type of acid. 72. Used for weighing small boats on a canal. 73. Never ending. 74. A small piece of armor. 77. Marijuana.
78. Heart shaped. 79. Not correctly positioned. 80. Worked together. 82. A baby’s car? 83. No longer shiny. 86. A type of sword. 88. The tallest and thinnest. 90. Lecherous. 92. A type of shoe. 95. The act of whipping. 96. Loses colour. 97. Fringed. 98. Was alongside. 99. Beat severely. 100. Fortified with a wall. 101. Told a story.
1000 Kms
IT JACCUZI - RECORD BREAKER - IT’S RAINING MEN - HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE - SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW A BRIDGE TOO FAR - STONE AGE - PUT A LID ON IT! - BLACK BETTY
OCTOBER 2013
ACROSS 2. XYLOPHAGAN - 4. SAHIBAH - 9. FACILITATION 10. BANDANA - 13. MIRTHLESS - 17. ANECDOTE 19. UNALIST - 20. XANTHATE - 22. HACKER 24. NASALIZE - 26. FANTASIZE - 27. VYCE 28. VULNERARY - 29. SANGUIFEROUS 33. QUICKSILVER - 35. GADITANIAN 36. ATTENUATING - 39. KARAGANE - 40. ZEROING 41. YAKSHA - 42. PREPENSE - 46. GALLOWS 47. CONTIGUOUS - 50. ZILLIONTH - 53. ZOOPHYTIC 54. JOCKEY - 56. QAIDS - 57. DEADLINE - 59. FUCI 61. DABSTER - 62. FANTASTIC - 66. RATIFIES 67. RAILLEUR - 68. UNCONCERNED 70. UNDECYLIC - 72. WEIGHLOCK 73. UNCEASING - 74. FAULD - 77. GANJA 78. OBCORDATE - 79. MISALIGNED 80. COOPERATED - 82. PERAMBULATOR 83. TARNISHED - 86. SABRE - 88. LANKIEST 90. LASCIVIOUS - 92. GAITER - 95. VAPULATION 96. FADES - 97. FIMBRICATED - 98. BORDERED 99. BEMAUL - 100. BULWARKED - 101. NARRATED
29. Able to carry blood, such as arteries etc. 33. An old form of mercury? 35. Associated with Cadiz? 36. Reducing a signal. 39. A Russian fox. 40. Do this to shoot in the right place. 41. The Hindu god of wealth. 42. Premeditated. 46. Used for execution. 47. Shares a boundary. 50. A huge number. 53. Like a sea sponge. 54. Horse rider. 56. 1975 film starring Leena
DOWN 1. AGAMA - 3. AMID - 5. HAEMAPOPHYSIS 6. ZAMOUSE - 7. WOK - 8. ULTIMATUM - 11. NACRE 12. BOTANISTS - 14. HANGFIRE - 15. JUBILATED 16. HALITUOUS - 18. EBULLIOSCOPE 21. ANTAGONIZES - 23. CRYOLITE - 25. EARPHONES30. KADDISH - 31. CRUP - 32. QUADRILLE 34. JACULATOR - 37. LANGUISHED - 38. FACULTIES 39. KITCHENWARE - 43. HAIRSPRAY 44. OMNIPRESENCE - 45. MIOTIC - 48. SECONDARY 49. BYRES - 51. BANQUETED - 52. JANITOR 55. ULMACEOUS - 58. LACTESCENT - 60. IDIOTIC 63. AWESOMENESS - 64. YOWE - 65. WEARIEST 68. UNASSISTED - 69. JAGGED - 71. DESQUAMATE 75. DECAFFEINATED - 76. HYDROPHONE - 81. EASELS 84. DECREET - 85. HARUSPEX - 87. ALERT - 89. YAKS 91. SALSE - 93. TABARD - 94. HALER
2. A beetle whose larvae live in wood. 4. A lady or a mistress? 9. The act of making it easier. 10. Cowboy scarf? 13. No feeling of happiness. 17. A short account? 19. A priest who has only one means of income. 20. A type of salt from an acid. 22. He gets into computers? 24. Make noises from the nose. 26. Dream. 27. A tool used in barrel making. 28. Used for treating wounds!
www.ragmag.co | RO AG | E129 THE WIND SM E AI SGS U
NEW + NOW
TROIKA It is a time of significant expansion for Porsche in Lebanon, as the brand launches its exclusive second generation Panamera in the country’s third state-of-the-art facility located in Dbayeh. The brand’s new home in the eastern suburbs of Beirut features a seven-bay workshop area as well as an in-house training center, whilst offering sufficient space to showcase the entire Porsche product range and a selection of preowned cars. It is also the first center in the region of Porsche Middle East and Africa completed in line with the brand’s new interior Corporate Identity introduced worldwide recently. Assaad Raphael, Chairman and General Manager of Porsche Centre Lebanon s.a.l., said: “We are extremely proud to open our third establishment in this country that will serve as the area’s new hub for Porsche enthusiasts. It represents the latest sign of our continuous commitment and will allow customers from Dbayeh and surroundings to have improved access to the latest models, customizing options and authorized service.” In conjunction with the new facility opening, the luxurious Panamera –Porsche’s four-seater sports car for every day– is expanding further with the introduction of its second generation. Three debut models : the Panamera 4S Executive and Panamera Turbo Executive, with an extended wheelbase. They take the sporty saloon into the luxurious Executive segment. The third new model, the Panamera S E-Hybrid, marks a new technological benchmark as the world’s first plug-in hybrid in the luxury class. Furthermore, a
130 | R A G M A G | www.ragmag.co
completely new three-litre V6 engine that features biturbo charging for the Panamera S and Panamera 4S is introduced. Traditional values and pioneering design come together to form an accomplished unit. Visually tighter lines, more pronounced contours and newly shaped body elements all combine to enhance the Panamera’s Gran Turismo character. A widened rear windscreen gives the car a visually lower stance, whilst a wider spoiler and optional LED lights make the new model stand out. Lee Newton, Marketing Director of Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, says: “This is a great moment for our brand as we extend the Panamera range to an unprecedented nine models in the Gran Turismo segment. Each model offers a unique and individual experience, but all bring luxury and comfort together with sporty driving performance.” The new Panamera is available at all three showrooms in the country.
THE WINDROSE ISSUE
OCTOBER 2013
www.ragmag.co | R A G M A G | 131