Dusty Wyndow Blog

A couple months ago and right after losing my daytime job, I approached my dear old friends at Deghri Messengers to join them aboard ever since I was drooling to do that ages ago. In no time, I officially became a proud Deghri Messenger, I had my own messenger backpack, my receipt notebook and a whole lot more stationary and accessories that would make one a Deghri messenger, that’s of course besides the bike and helmet. To all those to whom the word “Deghri” doesn’t ring any bell, here’s a snippet: “We deliver things by bicycle. Our service is fast, reliable and good value. Businesses and organisations all over Beirut rely on us to respond to their urgent delivery needs reliably and with a smile.” Deghri Messengers is a bike messenger service in Beirut. They deliver all kinds of stuff around the city using only bicycles and the power of their own bodies. It's hard work and takes a special mix of fitness, passion for cycling, city orientation and pure guts. Bike Messenger...

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...

The Tripoli Film Festival Committee representatives welcomed us at the entrance of the city complex venue, where [ Journey of stars into the dark night ] by Arnel Mardoquio was scheduled to play as part of the film festival that day, Friday November 15 th 2013. The place was packed, friends have come over together in groups, families as well, couples and enthusiasts from all around Tripoli only for the sake of watching that renowned 117-minute movie. It was the free entrance that I found most serviceable, for it was convenient and an added value to the residents of this poor town. How lovely would it be to read this kind of review about the film festival in Tripoli? First paragraph is a lie, oh no wait, I’d better say It was my personal vision of what I had wanted to see, my own aspiration, my expectations toward the event the moment I knew about it, regardless of my frustration at the organizers and the absolute lack of coverage and exposure for the festival. In fact, what happene...

Never thought I'd admit this, but here we go, this is officially the most emotional bday I ever had. I was surprised in the most amazing ways, I was shocked in the loveliest manners, I was moved like never before. From my coworkers' little surprise(s) to Rayyan's messages, I felt like the world was paying me back. A collage of the pics I spent my morning taking :) I love them all, for everything they did. For the rush of Suha printing the poster that last minute after asking me about a photography quote I liked best. For the remembrance and possibly the overwhelming thoughts of what to do that Rayyan went through till she finally sent me those memorable messages and eventually making me weep. For the effort some put into reading my last year's post and more importantly putting more effort into doing any sort of action. I love them all for the initiative they took, for the steps they did, wandering from colleague to another gathering money and thinking of what sor...

I loved the area span of the event's location: A long street (Kataeb street as locals call it) filled with merchandise stands on the sides, two platforms, one at the end (for sporting activities) and one at the middle where bands were playing and various activities were held throughout the day. Gymnasts performing in the center of the crowd I first headed to the "Jesuites Park", first thing that catches your eye once you step foot in Rmeil, where I was supposed to meet with the rest of the free huggers to start our last flashmob for this year. Good thing we chose the car free day for our flashmob, the whole ambiance of joy and calamity, the positive vibes in the air and the whole serenity of the place gave us that push we needed to withstand the whole 6 hours with a smile on our face the whole time. "Le Jardin des Jesuites" has turned into the children's playground Clowns, Clowns Everywhere Children and toddlers were filling the park, while two you...

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist. (Read more about the  30-Day Challenge ) COLDPLAY There is no room for doubt when trying to answer which is my favorite band of all time. Setting aside all the commercial aspect their fame gave them, or the fact that their music imposed their presence in the field of alternative style, I proudly am an old admirer, ever since their first single where actually very few knew of a band called " Coldplay ". Back in those day there were still traces of Metallica and Nirvana fans, also mostly Pink Floyd people and surely the on-going wave of new pop singles. But I chose otherwise, in fact their music chose me. Having spoke of it, how do you choose your favorite band? What are the criterion? Well personally, there is no other band, no other style that I can repeatedly and constantly listen to without ever getting bored nor feeling the itch to switch to the next track. Coldplay have been playing and composing now for more t...

Rushing from the Poetry night in one of Mina's old alleys to the Safadi Cultural Center in downtown, we thought we'd missed on the most extraordinary part of the Soufi Dance Concert ever since we were 40 minutes late. The auditorium was amazingly FULL, all booked. Some VIP personnel were filling the first two rows and photographers (both photo and video) were filling the stair steps, one of them was a friend I recognized instantly. I was kind of stuck in a corner due to the amount angles being covered by all the video cameras recording the concert, but a damn excellent corner it was! I'll leave you with the photos.

Now for the real thrill, the Music Festival, held in the capital on more than 6 stages spread around its streets. The city was shining from afar, many performers took the stages and brightened the night with their chilling music, soft tunes, raging voices and unbelievable ambiance. More than 50 photographs of the event are displayed in the Facebook Album  . All respect goes to the organizers, who succeeded in bringing unsurpassed life to the city like never before. Nejmeh Roundabout was filled all again with the love it used to have. Martyr's Square center had surprisingly more than 400 pair of feet gathered there for a non-political reason. Young and old were enjoying amazing foreign bands taking over Beirut roads filling up the air with extraordinary musical perfume. All was great, even police members were among the crowd every once in a while. In the end I have to admit: Lebanese people? Sometimes you make me proud. ...