Author Archives: yasmine

The Golden Snitch

So a while back, my awesome friend Phatima made me a snitch necklace (with some modifications by yours truly). If you are a Harry Potter fan, then I don’t need to explain it to you. But for those of you who watched the movies and in old age have forgotten what it is, it’s the little golden ball with wings that Harry follows during a quidditch match.

I got 99 problems but a snitch ain't one.

I got 99 problems but a snitch ain’t one.

Now what has amazed me – if you did not already know about it – is that now quidditch is a real game called Muggle Quidditch! WHAT?! Yes, well it baffled me for all of 10 minutes before I started laughing my head off… do a little search and you can find that there are quite a few teams.

Be sure to check out Phatima on her blog!!!!

Fete De La Musique 2012

It is summer and with summer comes the 1001 concerts and parties that we, as the people of the party nation, need to attend. One that I always look forward to is the Fete De La Musique. My reasons are really simple – it is free, it is outdoors, and you get to see the local talent that you would otherwise would be hard-pressed to see, especially if you are a student without a proper income other than your parents.

To plan your nightly round for the 21st of June, here is the schedule for this year’s concerts:

Roman Baths

20:00-20:30 Marc Nader (Folk)
20:40-21:10 Dida’s (Acoustic Music)
21:20-21:50 Les Artistes (Folk, Acoustic Rock)
22:00-23:00 Les Fils Du Calvaire (Electro-Rock)
23:10-23:30 Segundo Bloco (Samba, Brazillian Percussions)
23:40-00:10 Poly (Pop)
00:20-00:50 The Passive Standouts (Rock)

Beirut Souks (2 venues)

Beirut Souks Platform Venue:
19:00-20:00 Chorale Tania Kassis (Choral, Chants)
20:10-20:30 Nachaz (Rock, Blues)
20:40-21:10 Silverage (Pop, Alternative Rock)
21:20-21:50 Life Line (Rock)
22:00-22:20 Beirut Blues Brothers (Blues, Rock)
22:30-23:00 Soul Sister (Soul, Funk)
23:10-23:40 Butterfly (Rock)
23:50-00:20 The Locals (Rock, Blues)
00:30-1:00 The Fan Dolls (Rock)
Beirut Souks Ajami Square Venue:
20:00-20:20 Elie Sawaya (Variety)
20:30-20:45 Tina Fish (Slam Poetry)
20:50-21:20 Nour Yammouni (Pop)
21:30-22:00 Blue Yeast (Blues Jazz)
22:10-22:50 The Missing Pixels (Folk)
23:00-23:20 Snowslash (Rock)
23:30-23:50 Ashekman (Rap)
23:55-00:15 Zeinedin (Rap)
00:20-00:40 Banely (Rap)

Samir Kassir Square

19:30-19:50 IQEWS (Alternative Rock)
20:00-20:20 Point of View & Bob Arja (Rap)
20:30-20:50 7ta2at (Rap)
21:00-21:20 What’s Your Story (Rock, Pop)
21:30-22:00 Homemade (Alt Rock, Pop)
22:10-22:30 Srai (Rock)
22:40-23:10 Jammit the Band (Reggae)
23:30-23:50 Bandage Group (Pop, Rock)
00:00-00:30 Wata El Lounge (Trip-rock, Dub)
00:20-00:50 The Passive Standouts (Rock)

Martyrs’ Square

19:00-20:00 Gabriel Abdel Nour (Arabic Pop)
20:10-20:40 The Coolcumbers (Alternative Rock)
20:50-21:30 Episode (Prog Rock)
21:40-22:20 Lazzy Lung (Indie Rock)
22:30-22:50 Anixa (Rock)
23:00-23:40 Epic (Rock)
23:50-00:10 The Rakans (Pop, Electro)
00:20-01:20 DJ Andre Rizzo (Electro)

Zaiytuna Bay

20:00-20:20 Abdel Harb (Flamenco Guitar)
20:30-21:00 Rojo Del Libano (Flamenco)
21:10-21:40 Bruno Tabbal (Rock, Pop)
21:50-22:10 Beirut Vocal Point (A capella)
22:20-22:50 Band Audi (Rock, Blues)
23:00-23:30 Blue Band LB (Rock, Reggae)
23:40-00:05 Gilbert Simon and Jebebara (Pop, Arabic)
00:15-00:35 Maher Salame (Electro Oriental, House)

Saint Louis Capuchin Church

18:00-19:00 Chorale Du College Protestant
19:00-20:00 Pastorale De L’USJ

National Evangelical Church of Beirut

18:30-19:15 Chamber Music
19:15-20:00 Classical Chants

Beirut New Waterfront

8:00 pm- Alterra (Deep House)
9:00 pm- Tavarish (Dubstep)
10:00 pm- Ryan K (Deep House)
11:00 pm- The Middle Beast (House)
12:00 am- Jade (House)
1:00 am- Dop [Paris] (Tech-House)
2:00 am- Diamond Setter (Tech-House)
3:00 am- Trix (Deep House)
Supported by Vanclode Jandam
VJ’s: Mosig / TM / Beirut Visuals

A Community to Inspire

A large part of what we were taught as we were growing up was that being a part of a community you have to give back to it. The sense of community service was always ingrained into each of us, my brothers and me. There was always a cause that needed support, someone who needed assistance, an event that needed more hands and we would most often be a part of it.

In school we were required to log in hours towards our diplomas in order to graduate, an odd request but something that did not change the fact that we were already contributing towards society. Logging in the hours was a trifle thing. These days you can be a part of many NGOs that are targeted on several different projects.

You have KAFA that works to stop violence against women.

You have IQRA’A that works to help underprivileged children get a better education through relighting the spark for the love of reading.

You have NASAWIYA that works towards women’s rights.

You have GREENPEACE that works towards a better environment.

You have KUNHADI that works towards awareness and safety – Don’t Drink and Drive.

You have SESOBEL that works to assist disabled children lead better lives.


All are amazing NGOs you can dedicate your time to and there are several hundreds more out there. It is really all about giving back to the community you live in. It doesn’t require more than your time and dedication. It is good for the soul and for the benefit of those that need a hand.

For me, this year I dedicated my time to IQRA’A and am a part of TEDxBeirut. Some asked me why these specifically – my reasons are really very simple;

  1. Unlike the saying, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon. I was most likely born with a Dr. Seuss book in my hand. I believe reading is one of the most essential things any child needs to have and love. It is through reading that you can better yourself, regardless of you station.
  2. Inspiration. Nothing is created in this world without it. Like Newton and his apple, people need to be exposed to ideas and thoughts in order to stimulate their own. Granted Newton was physically exposed to his source of inspiration and I don’t think bludgering people would get their creative juices flowing….in the right direction that is.

So if you have an itch to do something, maybe you can dedicate your time to something that gives back to your community look for an NGO in your area that is working towards a cause you feel very strongly about. It always feels good to see smiles after a job well done.

You can check out some pictures of the children we have worked with at IQRA’A here and check out the volunteer email for TEDxBeirut here if you are interested.

The UNDP has also generously compiled the long list of all the NGOs that are in Lebanon. You can check it out here.

#TEDxBeirut Volunteers Letter

Dear friends,

As you already know, TEDxBeirut 2012 preparations have started and you all showed great enthusiasm to be part of the TEDx phenomenon. You stepped forward and volunteered to be a member in TEDxBeirut.

Well, it’s time for our team of titans to meet and discuss the tasks that are waiting ahead.

We already had our first general volunteers meeting, where we asked our new volunteers to choose which team they would like to help out with, depending on their expertise and know-how. And this week and the week after, we are having our separate team meetings with the new volunteers.

Some of you could not make it to the first general meeting and others only connected with us after this first meeting. This is why we would like you to choose now which team you are most likely to join, and write back to us about it. This way, you could join us for our first separate team meetings.

You will find below the list of teams/team coordinators/ team coordinators e-mails/time, date & place of these separate meetings.

Please select the team you are most likely to join and confirm your attendance to the team coordinator of the team you selected (all the team coordinators e-mail addresses are mentioned below)

Team/Team coordinator/ Team coordinator e-mail/Meeting details:

-Finance Team with Patriciapatricia@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Wednesday May 2nd from 6pm to 7pm at Brisk Cafe-Hamra

-Tech Team with Youssef youssef@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Wednesday May 2nd from 7pm to 8pm at Brisk Cafe-Hamra

-Sponsorship Team with Ziad ziad@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Wednesday May 2nd from 8pm to 9pm at Brisk Cafe- Hamra

-Production Team with Patricia patricia@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Thursday May 3rd from 6pm to 7pm at Brisk Cafe- Hamra

-Design Team with Marwa marwa@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting onThursday May 3rd from 7pm to 8pm at Brisk Cafe- Hamra

-Registration Team with Fatimah fatimah@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Thursday May 3rd from 8pm to 9pm at Brisk Cafe- Hamra

-Community Outreach Team with Najwa najwa@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Friday May 4th from 6pm to 7pm at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf -Hamra

-Event Management Team with Aya aya@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Friday May 4th from 7pm to 8pm at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf - Hamra

-Communication (incl. Social Media & Online Help) with Yasmine yasmine@tedxbeirut.com
Meeting on Monday May 7th from 6h30pm to 8pm Place to be determined later

Please select the team you would like to join and just reply to this e-mail (email aya@tedxbeirut.com)

It is very important that you cc the team coordinator of the team you selected as they will be following up with you on this.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!