Dusty Wyndow Blog

Noun Someone who is half-black, half American Indian. A pedigree of the human race. Excels at friendship, flip cup and being a magnet for women. A jerk. A jackass. Stupidity sometimes due to alcohol or drugs. – source Verb To have your face randomly and/or voluntarily painted by total anonymous strangers To join a mighty local march started by a group of people who proudly paint themselves in colors among which Black, Red or Blue. To have the fun of your life screaming your lungs out shouting the famous Zambo anthem To enjoy the fact that everybody’s happy around you To be able for a day a year at least, to have everybody stare at your pitch black face going back home and having your parents freaked out the first instant they saw you To add another unforgettable day to your life span of unbelievable facts To see the people of Mina drinking, dancing and singing to the tunes of Zambo all while having an outrageous dose of fun painting the faces of bypassers here and th...

It is not usually that hard to remember the bits and details of an overwhelmingly happy night. Walkabout Drum Circle and friends gathered the night before at EM Chill pub in Mar Mikhael for yet another outstanding African rhythms performance, and to bid farewell to Tom Harris, therapeutic drumming instructor and veteran Djembe player, who came all the way from Atlanta to share along his deep knowledge. It was the night I was at my happiest. Allow me first to break the common rule of spreading out thank yous at the end (don’t get me wrong, I’ll do it eventually), but it’s just that I really feel so grateful at this moment. Thank you Jade and Walkabout Drum Circle for one unforgettable night. I still am not able to remember a single dull moment, a detail that pissed me off, a thing I didn't feel comfortable about. In fact, my day yesterday was so dreadful I couldn't’t smile all day long, yet, there was the night with the Walkabout. You guys made my week! Alright, time f...

On the 21st this month I was invited to the launching of the Media Association for Peace , MAP in short, at the Monroe Hotel in Beirut, by my friend, and one of the organizers, Aisha Habli. Having set up my schedule for the day, I decided to show up and squeeze-in an hour or so for the celebration, in between my work, the parliament protest, and the music festival happening all at roughly the same time. Vanessa Bassil giving her speach The place was packed, the organizers had apparently done a very good job organizing the whole thing. A welcoming lady at the entrance greeted me and showed me the way, a few more at the registration, and a lot more right at the door with a warm smile right before I stepped foot inside the auditorium. I blew a sigh of relief, thinking I was late to the ceremony; thank goodness we were all Lebanese: the organizers apparently sent invitations 30-minutes earlier, knowing there will still be people who would show up late, as always. "It is just...

SMA Awards Trophies. By Nath Halawani It felt somewhat refreshing to be there with both highlights of having been nominated at the awards earlier at the prequal, and being an event photographer, with that shiny Media access tag on my chest. Last night was the night the Social Media Awards held their first awards ceremony on April 29th evening at the Phoenicia hotel, Beirut. Mustapha Hamoui, has the looks of a future PM. By Nath Halawani Hide 'n seek Just as a relatively large number of attendees, I got invited to the ceremony, and therefore didn't have to pay for the ticket. My invitation was through Lebanon Eguide , a start-up online social venue for travel and leisure around Lebanon and recently, the middle east. Upon registration at the doors, I met Rana and then found me a chair to leave my two bags at. I had my gorgeous D7000 with the all-time favorite 35/1.8 (for those who are not into photography, this is the combo gear that produces the beautiful pictures ...