some guy in lebanon

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A simple update – Life is getting both more and less complex in Beirut – More complex as my job evolves into more and more of a consulting position, less complex as I get to know the city better and settle into a routine… Other than that, there’s isn’t too much to report – I’m [...]

I know I haven’t been good at keeping up this week but things are well. Thought I would share a photo of this amazing car I saw on Gemayze St as well, and a sight of Eckhart Tolle on Hamra St:

This is a great little article I stumbled upon thanks to Reddit – A quote: In my defense, usually what happens is that the thing is described to me in general, vague terms and it sounds great, and I say, “sounds great!” and then I see the thing a little bit closer, and it’s awful, [...]

You’ll find a deck of pictures from my trip to the Cedar Reserve in Shouf, Lebanon, here: http://williamcurtisdonovan.com/photos/?album=1&gallery=10 – the first half of the gallery is of pictures on the way from Beirut to the Reserve, with some amazing pictures of the Shouf area where Karma is from. There will be a second gallery shortly [...]

This afternoon I took the time to import my blog that I kept while I was in Jordan. You can now find all the posts at http://www.williamcurtisdonovan.com/category/jordan This way everything’s in one spot and I should get a noticable boost from the content. It is funny to look back on all those posts – In [...]

Was looking for something more straightforward and utilitarian. This just sort of came to mind – thanks to the guys at theme hybrid for making the transition so easy – Things are well in Beirut. Still waiting for decisions from on high but other things have kept my attention. I have some photos to share [...]

Link to the Original Article, Published December 5th, 2008, Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanon is well-positioned to offer web development, digital marketing, and information technology services to local, regional and international clients, according to several owners and partners of companies in and around Beirut. These experts agreed that Lebanon’s global position for IT services, outsourcing and [...]

Link to Original Article Published in the Daily Star, Published December 3rd, 2008 BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut (AUB) on Monday welcomed esteemed Harvard Business School professor John Quelch for a discussion on the ramifications and theories of his most recent book, “Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy.” Quelch, the senior [...]

I have a lot on my mind, but I have no way to spit it out right now. Instead, I want to share the lyrics of this song that has meant so much to my life: The Bravery – Believe The faces all around me they don’t smile they just crack Waiting for our ship [...]

Hamra pub has weathered 44 years of wars and sieges By yours truly – This is the most fun I’ve ever had writing anything. Ever. Pictures are my own and were not featured in the original article. Click here for the Original Article from the Daily Star, Published December 2nd, 2008 BEIRUT: The speakers filter [...]

Waiting waiting waiting – Patience patience patience. This is my new mantra, and I’m not very good at it. Waiting to see what will happen at the Daily Star with my proposal, waiting for other people to make decisions about various other business ventures, waiting waiting waiting. This weekend I spent Saturday morning finishing Robert [...]

I’ve written and re-written the intro to this post half a dozen times. How does one sum up the feeling of being 9000 miles from home on Thanksgiving? It’s not exactly a good feeling – Actually it’s not much of a feeling at all – More of a sort of nagging non-feeling. I think that [...]

I have not been good about staying in touch (besides the excitement of TWO stories published on international news wires in two weeks…) – I am really awaiting the return of my all important laptop computer from the Apple store so that I can upload my pictures from the past two weeks. I have some [...]

From the Daily Star, November 25th, 2008, by Yours Truly: Click here for the Original Article from the Daily Star, Published November 26th, 2008 BEIRUT: Agreements, not controversy, dominated a discussion at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on Tuesday between Rami Khouri and Michael Young, the former a regular contributor to The Daily Star’s [...]

This time of year can be a little awkward for me, history being what it is. More to the point, given that I’m all the way on the other side of the world, to be fair it’s more than just a little strange this year…! But luckily yesterday gave me lots of reasons to smile! [...]

From the Daily Star, written by yours truly: Click here for the Original Article from the Daily Star, Published November 24th, 2008 BEIRUT: Amid rave reviews and the glow of high-definition television screens as far as the eye could see, the 13th edition of the Levant’s Information Technology Exhibition at the Beirut International Exhibition and [...]

Hey hey hey – so I moved today from Hamra in West Beirut to Gemayze in East Beirut. I’ll try to find a good map to show where I’m living, given the Newspaper’s office and Nick’s house. Here’s a photo gallery with the trip today across town, plus pics of my new home and my [...]

Today I paid for my new room for the next month, so thankfully I will no longer be sleeping on Nick’s couch…! I’ll be sharing a room in a flat owned by a hostel owner, near the Daily Star’s office Gemayze in East Beirut – It’s small, but decent, with a balcony that has a [...]

I’m sitting here at work, crafting a document which represents the future of the Daily Star’s website, which will be submitted to several of the decisions makers here a the newspaper. I’ve just finished building a mockup for the new “Latest News” section, and I’m jamming out to Linkin Park in Beirut, Lebanon.

In Jordan I was a victim of what Middle Eastern doctors apparently like to call “travel sickeness.” Whatever it is, I’m sure I only exaserbate the problem with my habit of not eating properly or staying well hydrated whenever I travel. Whatever the case, I am now emerging from several days of sleep and feeling [...]

I was the second person to arrive at the Captain’s Cabin at 7:30 PM yesterday, a bar here in Hamra where I’m staying in Beirut. I had been assured by several people that this particular bar had sworn to stay open until an American President was selected, many thousands of miles away… And so it [...]

I have arrived safely in Beirut after a long, long, LONG, flight. If you know me well enough you know I hate to fly. I’m staying with Nick Kimbrell in Hamra near AUB for the next few days, before I move into a place of my own. I’ll be stopping by the newspaper today but [...]

Leaving Portland – headed by car to New York. I fly out of JFK tomorrow evening… I arrive in Lebanon mid-day Monday EST, or around 9:30PM local time. HOPEFULLY, Nick will be at the airport to pick me up (hint hint)… Not really interested in sounding dramatic, so instead I’ll leave you with this wonderful [...]

I know this is a story that is about 48 hours late, but I’m saddened at how quickly its left the airways, so I’m publishing it anyways. The story amazes me. A Texan woman, campaigning for McCain in Pittsburgh, went to the police late last week, claiming that while being mugged by a 6’4” black [...]

If every American could watch this video, this would be a very different country. A very different country indeed. Thank you Dr. Brzezinski for talking some bloody sense into those idiots on the television. Why can’t we vote for HIM for President? If you cannot see the video, (like if you’re receiving this in an [...]

In this little clip, morons (the kind that REALLY give conservatives a bad name) give away bumper-stickers with the words “Obama for Change.” The “C” in change is an Islamic Crescent. The “g” in Change is a Soviet Hammer and Sickle. Fun. Ok, I get the socialist thing. Obviously Obama’s plan to tax richer people [...]

“In this economy, racism is officially a luxury. How is John McCain going to win if he can’t win those voters? – FiveThirtyEight.com has an amazing story out of Western Pennsylvania. A polster, traveling block by block attempting to learn more about working-class America’s election leanings reports: “A canvasser goes to a woman’s door in [...]

Tomorrow I will be writing part 3 of a series I am writing, “The American Diaspora.” So far: The Coming American Diaspora The American Diaspora, Part 2: The Economic Consequences of the Bailout In the meantime, the always informed Christopher Sheeron recently shared this interesting article from the Wall Street Journal (it seems the youth [...]

From the Associated Press today, an article chronicling Alaskan Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s ethics violations: Some examples: She attacked political opponents for giving oil companies and other businesses too much control of state government, while simultaneously appointing the founder of an engineering firm that received $6.8 million in state business as [...]

Update: Please note that this is a follow-up article to a previous post, “The Coming American Diaspora.” This post is now two years old – if you’re interested in the consequences and/or realities of living in the American diaspora, see this post about my life this past year, and this post about the year before [...]