Dusty Wyndow Blog

Well, I got this pretty darn bad habit of not doing the birthday dues on time, and I've been lately avoiding birthdays all in all. Yet, for one of my brothers, I’m willing to make an exception. On April 15th 1998, I was bending over my grandma’s balcony waving goodbye to my teary mom who was waiting in front of the open door of that car, while everybody else was already inside. For a moment, and regardless of my young age at the time, it hit me. My mom was utterly sad. She felt so bad for having that baby and now that it’s about to deliver, she never felt worse. My smile for a split second turned into a frown and somehow I managed to get it all. This pregnancy was totally unexpected. Flash backward in time, there was that home in Azmi street with a mom and two boys who lived their life day by day, and felt supreme joy around each other and most importantly whenever they were visited by their aunts, mom’s side’s aunts. Ever since we, the boys, knew we’ll be having an ad...

Takbeerat March, Photo by Ahmad M. Halawani I would never forget her when she followed our trail when leaving the khankeh, begging us for some diapers for her child, thinking we were some sort of an association, and not knowing that every lira was either donated by people who never knew each other, and by our own pocket money. That was more heartbreaking than anything else that whole time. I'm talking about the time we visited the "Khankeh", a place well known to old Tripolitans. It's the place where widows gather and are sorted out in a room each with her children, and sometimes more than a family need to fit inside the same room. I was explaining to my dear friend Soha, who came all the way from Beirut to Tripoli to celebrate Eid our own way, and cheer up the kids of Khankeh. I was explaining to her the history of this place, and how it was established and treated during the ottoman empire, and how it eventually ended up a worn out shelter for a bu...

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...

Little did I know that my night would be so fruitful. Who would expect to meet a stranger on the street, seeing him pull over with that wonderful smile on his face only to tell you his story with that passionate dreamy look in the eyes of a 40-year old man. I never knew I would meet a person whose story was a perfect match to mine. How would I have known that we’d meet a bunch of dreamy and glamorous guys wanting to join efforts and having so much bright ideas to share with us. This, and much much more, had happened on the night of December 19th. Free Huggers chose that date for a second round of the “ Tell me your story ” initiative, the first is the one I missed. Everything was new to me, the way we should hold the signs, the way our answers should be wrapped and the limit we should abide by. Thankfully Sandy and Bilal were courteous enough to give me a heads-up of what they thought was best to do, as a result to the first experience . PS: I really had a hard time tak...

This post is to talk about Lebanese humans, nothing more, nothing less. And for your information, Humanity STILL exists in my country, whether you've seen it or not, whether you agree or you don't. A few minutes after 2:30PM yesterday Friday OCT 19th 2012, a huge explosion shook the building I work at and of course, the whole area, to the point that I thought glass was going to break all over. It was easy to see from my window people in the street looking towards one direction, that is of the nearby Ashrafiyyeh. My colleague thought it was the nearby gas station that exploded, but going to the building's roof, it was more than clear. Sassine was on fire. I had so many friends over there, Reine worked in the Hotel Dieu Hospital, Maryam lives there, Navia and Riwa also live/work there, Chris also, and they were all one minute away from the explosion. Lines were down, both fixed and mobile, congestion prevented anyone from calling any person that was there. I mana...

My presence at the salon was originally to volunteer with the team members to record the salon on video throughout its duration. It was usually in such cases, numerous cases, where I'd put all my concentration in framing my footage and taking the best shot, as much as possible, which obviously stands in the way of grasping the freshness of the location, the sparkling falls of colors among the visitors and the props around the set, thus eventually limiting my presence over there to an inside observer much more than a normal visitor. This time, it was not the case. Courtesy of Nadim Kamel, TEDxBeirut Team Ever since the first of July, I've been carrying around the most wonderful activism project, the child of a long story, as long as my own year count. I could never imagine we'd become more than 200 supporters of the cause, and more than 4 dozens of people physically present at the Free Hugs Flashmobs we do every other week, holding their signs, withstanding the humidity a...

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you. (Read more about the  30-day Challenge ) To start with today's challenge, let's try to define the character that shall give inspiration to the person I am today: he (supposedly it's a he) must be of an enormous value, an indescribable presence and an irreplaceable impact in his surrounding. He must possess the highest levels of morals there is, an incomparable amount of intelligence and wisdom, an utter height of compassion and the absolutely least portion of anger and hatred. He shall not be weak, never pessimist nor downbringing. He is a leader, a father and a husband. He is the true image of a man we all dream of. He holds the most exalted title of wits and intellect, while at the same time never condone his soft side. He must be a romantic person, a fair player in the field of husbandry and a role model to both his wife and his children. I bet most of my personal friends already know where I'm heading, and to al...

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die (Read more about the  30-day Challenge ) Join the Circus, even for a single day. Photo courtesy of  Steve Taylor Such an irrelevant errand I have today, having already launched my  Bucket List  mentioned up above. There must be enough errands and wishes for a whole lifetime already, but as far as I know Natheer, the list will keep growing on and on. Which gets me to my next question: looking back at the summit of my existential crisis, I can't but admire the way we are born with no expectations, no hopes and no dreams at all. This very fact turns out to evolve and alter with time that we reach a level where all the hours we spend breathing are mere anticipations with a fluctuant intensity of aspiration, until we eventually realize the universal divine wisdom in creating such a powerful human being, that happens to be futile all at the same time. Stay Silent for a long time, starting with one da...

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without. (Read more about the  30-day Challenge ) Enough Said...