Dice game concert?

What do you do when you get to the entrance door to a free concert? Well normally you enter- except last night's outdoor "free" concert had a pleasant surprise for us. The story went like this: A polish singer named Timon is singing a free concert near the river. I thought well Polish music concert? Why not, I may not understand a word but it's cool to go to an outdoor event. In Beirut unfortunately most events are indoors, and the summer festival well are summer, and that means you are exposed to sometimes 30 degrees at night with up to 95% HUMIDITY. I had had enough of being in the smokey bar scene in Beirut, so I went. As we got to the door,( well it was more like a fence) ,two girls asked us to toss a dice. The lower you score the better; because it is simply how much you would pay. So the dilemma was that if in general you are an unlucky person, then you know at this particular game you will actually score as high as the max 12 points, and then you will pay 12zł the equivalent of 4$. Which is fair if you thought about the nice spot, and the music. But what itches you is the fact that you were told that it is a free concert. After not having much choice in the matter, and holding the line in front of about 17 Polish people. I tossed the dice on the tiny slippery table where they also had 2 plastic cups one for change and the other had paper money, a piece of paper on which they wrote the score which translated to money, but the dice fell straight to the floor. I go into this to explain that it is not like you are actually gambling on a nice green velour casino table. The next toss I score 3. "HIHAAAAAAAAAA". I pay 1$ for my entrance. Dominika was much luckier, she scored 12, and unfortunately payed the max amount the dice obligated of 12 big ones ( well it was 4 dollars).
Anyhow lovely experience, only to top it with a cherry, the band's van broke down 30-km outside Warsaw. So we waited in the cold for a good 2 hours. By that time the band showed up, quickly unloaded all their instruments, and the concert kicked off, with very little enthusiasm I am afraid. Thinking back about this situation, I believe it is really a great concept to gamble your way in for a concert which the artist is unknown to you, for once if the music was good, and your dice was bad, then it would have been a truly thrilling hand.

The chairman of Centrum.

Warsaw street musicians are not abundant in my opinion, but they are special. There are a few that have their usual spots- for instance there is an old men group who play old polish tunes and they are usually on Nowy swiat street where there are a bunch of tourists , also there is the guy who sits facing the palace who plays the tuba,and he blows fire from the top of its hole, yet none of them are as special as the "chairman" who plays percussion on the main centrum exit of the metro line. The reason this dude is special ,I think, is not because he does not really make any real percussion, or because he does not seem to enjoy what he is doing, but for the very fact that he is constantly coming up with new broken chairs.Why is that special? well I think it's an original kind of recycling, but also a decent way to earn money for someone who I assume is not a musician ( I mean really the guy does not make beats that make you groove). But let me explain for those who never been to Warsaw about this dude. This is a man who so far has not missed a day standing there beating the chair in front of him making some kind of noise to attract people. He is there for hours just beating on the chair. Man it cracks me up. Not that I intend to make fun of this man, it's just that the simple idea of that chair makes it funny. Imagine that this guy keeps beating on a chair until it brakes, because he then gets a new chair from who knows where. So the special part for me is that a chair that's been dumped is no longer an object used and thrown away. It has become a part of the act performed by this man. The chair then is abused by the man's arms for hours before it being replaced by another one. I am not sure why I find this so fascinating, maybe because I once saw a man in New York beating on some plastic pots, and containers, and this guy made amazing music. I mean there are musicians who can make nice sounds out of everything, but our dear chairman's redeemable value in my opinion is that he brings, without intention I assume, an irony to the meaning of a chair. I elect him the chairman of centrum.

Birds to watch dreams go by.

It was my first day back in Warsaw. I am lying in bed sick and tired. The amount of party, little hours of sleep, one meal a day, and the change of weather, have all finally caught up with me. Beirut can be a really exhausting vacation. Ironically the weather in Warsaw smells like autumn already. You can see tree leafs dead, and yellow blown in many directions by the wind. What I saw from our bed through the window, while half dreaming half awake, were the birds. They are flying back into the city. Dominika says she is never sure they ever left the city. The crows are back, and with them I imagine the months coming. However, I do not fear their arrival this time, nor my sickness, for to me it only means that the cycle is functioning. It reassures me even to fantasize that my health and the weather may have seasonal agreements.
Today,however I felt much better. I went to the center.My mind has not switched between the two cities yet. I like the fact that I feel at home now in Beirut, and Warsaw. Yet, with each step into familiar direction in Warsaw, my mind raced to the next without really being in the moment. For instance everything is there but to me it seemed more like I am watching through memory rather than consciousness. It feels good in a way because it is inspiring.
I always liked a record called " music to watch girls go by", I won't claim to be a music except, neither that I actually recognize all the tracks on this album. I liked it for its name. I've probably used the name in alteration before, but it is the first time when I felt it fits this piece. As the dreams go back to nocturnal stages, and the birds soar over the streets, watching anything at all may be what's real.

Welcoooooooooome:)

To those of you familiar with Le chef in Gemayzeh, I am sure you know charbel and his iconic WELCOME. I just got back from Beirut, where I felt truly welcomed again with all the friends and family. Now, I know this blog had been idle for sometime, but here I am back with energy and fresh new look I hope on warsaw.

Global trap!

About 6 or 7 years ago I got myself into reading a book about the dangers of globalization. It's the kind of books everyone with green conscious, and a big heart must read. There is no fiction story in the book, only a lot of points about why it is bad to be living in a global economy, and how things really work now. It turns out that we don't own much of the choices in our own lives anymore. Also if wealthy men in suits "FART" let's say somewhere in China, their wind will globally cross its way to Alaska, and somehow affecting things there ( this is not in the book). I could not finish reading, nevertheless I was depressed all the same, and ever since I became very confused whether I fully hated globalization, or just a bit. Today I must admit to like it with the same confusion, or even worst I feel trapped. Think of the fresh daily flowers delivered from Amsterdam to London in few hours. Think of traveling inside of schengen european states without borders. Think of something you like from back home and if it wasn't for globalization you won't have it somewhere else in the world ( I am not defending globalization, but why denying some of the good commodities, even for a pessimistic guy like me), long ago trade consisted of basic stuff, now you can buy the same brand all over the world. So what's the point of all of this? The story is that a few months ago I found myself staring at a container of Lebanese made "Tahini"( a very heavy sesame oily paste) on the shelf of Bomi ( A supermarket here in Warsaw). I was impressed to see that a seemingly insignificant product in the daily life of the Lebanese people back home, a Tahini container still manages to sit here "overpriced", and looking awkwardly funny among the coconut milk cans,teriyaki sauce, and other products in the exotic food section. . Now, 3 months ago, I did not buy it. However, as the home sickness increased, and the taste of a good plate of "hummus" lingered on the back of my tongue, I decided to get one today. So now I am thinking that this absolutely necessary ingredient in the making of hummus is available here in Poland, I am off to the next level. I am making my own Hummus. Wow, I wonder what else globalization can permit me to have. Now, I am still confused about the bad things globalization is causing like wars, poverty, starvation and etc, but damn it I got " THE HUMMUS" the most controversial plate on the menu lately between Israel and Lebanon, also I think Hizbullah's weapons is on that same menu, but they seem to have been placed in the desert section. ( The original creators of hummus are yet to be finalized between the two countries, there was even a competition to win the guinness book of world records for the biggest Hummus plate. Honestly, I am not sure how such a stupid controversy can even exist). So I finally understood that trade nowadays is not only with goods, but with cultures. I found the solution for the confusion. If will eat my hummus, and I will not feel guilty.

The power of laptop

There are many places in warsaw where you can sit outside on a sunny day. The place where I am sitting now is called "Plan B" ( yes! just like this new film out there). Plan B is a place that reminds me of torino express in Beirut. Why? Well it is a place with a kind of service that may seem unpleasant for those who are not regulars, but also because it really seems like the staff and some of the regulars are one big family. I am not a regular here, but I have been frequenting this bar since my first early visits to Poland. What makes today special is that I am sitting on a table outside. Outside means you are on a 1 square meter(roughly), and around you will be a round about. The round about is home to many trams that connect the city from south to north, east to west. We live south of here, and it is a nice walking distance on a warm day. what's more special is that its Friday, which means the day of week when you are almost certain that the week is over. Only since I am not working I have to pretend that Fridays are really special for me. It's only 5 p.m. but I am here anyway. The beer is cold, the sun is shinning and the traffic is irregular. Earlier I was watching the trams go by. It's funny when I am usually going home in one of the trams I get a few seconds to look over to where I am sitting now, but now I have much more time from where I am sitting to carefully inspect the trams. They are indeed a great invention. Just think of having to drive, or be in a car all the time to connect from A to B. Later I was looking at the sky. There were occasionally a few white clouds that hid the intensity of the sun every once in a while, but my skin stayed constantly warm which was and still is great. I am here then, but what is really special besides all the above, is that I have a lap top. So I am playing my own playlist from itunes. I am getting a kick of the music because I am the one man Dj in this square. ( off course only for myself) but hell man that is freedom. That alone can defeat the Idea of communism in a place that may have been only 20 years ago just a normal boring square with no Plan B, cafe Karma, or the many Warsaw youth on their bicycles locking them anywhere they can to gather and talk around this favorite square of mine. But I only mention communism because ironically there is a big white church to which the square " Zbawiciela" takes its name, and just down the street is "plac konstytucji"( constitution square) which was built as I understood by the russians. If you look carefully to one of the statues engraved in one of the buildings, you will see a typical socialist looking worker(Iron forger) with early decades' primitive industrial tools. In a way it will look now like a vintage revolutionary socialist poster. So the connection with torino express is a remote one since I don't know anyone here, but playing my music does make me feel like the many days and nights I stood behind the red glowing sign of torino and played for hours from bags of exhausted CDs.

PS: The picture was taken from wikipedia. The file is licensed under wikicommons.

Babie lato.

Babie lato(pronounced Babyeh-Lato) in Polish are the white puffs that come flying in the air in before the arrival of Summer. They are one of the signs that warmth has arrived, along with birds, and eventually the sunny days which so far have not been many here. However,what I wanted to talk about is in my mind clearly not an environmental subject, I rather call it a first time experience. This may sound ridiculous to people who live around here, and are used walking into clouds of Babie lato. Believe me, not all places have these beautiful things that come flying into rooms without invitation, and brushing our faces like a flirt with a complete stranger(On the fast sidewalk of distant modern life emotion, people tend to connect with the natural elements, animals, and coincidence more than with other people). In the picture you may be unable to guess right away what they are, but I will explain how it felt for me being inside of them.

For once these things from the kitchen window yesterday seemed like snow. The air blew them in all direction,and in corners they gathered forming white patches like clouds, and when the wind was favorable for a twister(small one off course) these white puffs twirled around in a funny little tornado. When I was a kid we went to our occupied village in south of Lebanon,whenever we could go there off course. Around the summer one of my favorite activities was finding these plants with the white cottony heads and blowing them with my breath, and seeing the puffs fly in all directions. Today as I walked through hundreds of them on a Warsaw side walk, I had a piece of childhood. The sentimentality in this story is worth telling for an obvious reason. I am enjoying in Warsaw whatever it is that has become exotic to me, certainly opposed to Beirut where the nearest so-called forests are far,and scarce enough not to carry any white puffs in the polluted city air. I leave you with a recommendation of a film by Federico Fellini called "Amarcord", and it starts with these white funny things, and in the film the kids declare that the winter is over.