This is it! In my thesis and new project I embark on a journey to discover the Kafiye of today. Starting from the assumption that the Kafiye is the strongest symbol to come out of the Arab world, I uncover the elements that have made it what it is today. By touching on issues like identity and appropriation, I make a powerful discovery filled with original research and never before exposed findings.

al-Kafiye: A Potent Symbol Uncovered is a project that traces back the origins and narrates the path of a design that is synonymous with one of the foremost global political issues, the Palestinian dilemma, and yet has managed to infiltrate high fashion and street wear all around the globe. Arab at its core, the Kafiye manages to be a multitude of things at the same time—traditional, ethnic, practical, stylish, trendy, scary, and revolutionary. Adopted by various fashion designers, commercialized and cheaply produced in China, one would expect the Kafiye of today to have lost any meaning or depth. That is far from the case, as this extraordinary item is still reinventing itself. Keeping the power of this symbol alive depends on the spread of information and the expansion of discourse.

Through a process of analysis and understanding, the story of the Kafiye is uncovered from Ancient Mesopotamia until contemporary times through a novel study of design, identity and material culture opening up the discourse on design in the Arab World. For further information, please log on to www.kafiyelab.org (online soon), a new organic platform, to learn more and promote the social design debate on the Arab World through interaction, dialogue and exchange.

I will be presenting my research findings in the first Design Criticism Conference - Crossing the Line, this Friday April 30, 2010 in NYC. More information here.

Everyone is invited! Please RSVP at dcrit@sva.com to attend. Hope to see you there.

The economy really has hit very hard! I.D. Magazine, America’s oldest and foremost design publication has folded. This is very sad news for the design world as well as all of us followers. What’s next?

Read more on Fast Company.

The apartment was on the fourth floor of a walk-up in the residential 15eme district in Paris. An aged wood staircase creaked a melancholic off-tune melody conducted by my footsteps. Catching my breath at the arrival, I was faced with a narrow and dim passage leading to a worn down once white door.

I entered my friend’s place with anticipation. It was the first time I would visit him there. It was a charming one-bedroom, reeking of typical Parisian charm. What I directly felt was a sense of history, experience and style. He had a blend of rustic matured furniture that was left by the senior landlord mixed with typical amenities of our century: a flat screen TV, laptop, surround system, and an Ipod deck. On the walls were vintage rock and at posters from the 60s. The whole feel of the place was exactly as I would imagine a cozy apartment in Paris to be. Except, that it wasn’t quite so.

On a far wall beside his bed, was something that I had never seen before. Empty red Marlboro cigarette packs were stacked on the wall – starting from one corner to another, almost forming an uneven stair feel. He said: “It started as a joke but now I am addicted to this collection.” It seemed almost sculpturesque, donning a fetishistic impression with the packs, including the brand name and colors (red and white). It brought out a definite clash with the surrounding, slicing the aura of authenticity with a contemporary vulgar exhibit of consumption.

In our current era of over-isms, this blatant literal display came as a surprise but not a shock, more unexpected than unbelievable. Andy Warhol triggered a profound change in the art world based on pop and material culture; this is still true until today. The stacked packs started off as a token or reminder of my friend’s smoking pattern but then also could be viewed as a whole piece.

Part of this could have stem from a rebellion against the public smoking ban; my friend being a heavy smoker found a way to relish his habit in the privacy of his home in an exhibitionist way. He obviously appreciated it, from the aesthetic sense and the conquest end. It felt like a memorandum or trophy of some sort, only available in a bachelor male home. Just like some keep empty alcohol bottles to reminisce of good times in their place or to maybe to portray their party nature, seeing the cigarette cartons felt like he was marking time of his stay in Paris through what he viewed as a core daily routine. Piling the small boxes became a kind of a ritual in themselves that are working in context – Paris, the apartment, the surrounding, the wall and him.

Maybe it doesn’t mean much, but I picked up the signs and found the situation open for interpretation. As Robinson derived and Mieke Bal pointed out, this has occurred because of the interaction I had with the piece and my friend in context. “It looks cool, unplanned. You know, all of these packs were smoked by me.” He mentioned that he smokes a pack a day on average, so there must be around 400 on that wall!

One of the interesting things about this setup is its metamorphous nature and the fact that grows with my friend’s use and smoking. It is not static at all but rather will change shapes from week to week. Unlike drawing or painting, it is not limited to a canvas but adapts to experience and space. One thought prevails: I just wonder what will happen after the whole wall is filled…

Did you know that the way we eat has changed more over the past 50 years than the last 10000 years? That our modern supermarkets has on average 47000 products, many of which are made with the same ingredients, many from corn! The food industry is at its most powerful state with a “faster fatter better cheaper” ideology. Where do we stand in all of this dichotomy? The power lies in our hands every time we buy something.

Award-winning filmmaker Robert Kenner worked for over six years to help shed the light on all these issues and more in his enlightening documentary Food, Inc. If you haven’t seen it already, then you should definitely do so. I guarantee it will change your outlook on food, or at the minimum become a bit more aware.

I ordered something off the Victoria’s Secret website a couple of months back. That was it. I now live in fear. Every time I go down to my mailbox, put in the key and turn, I have one of their catalogs in there. I mean one if I am lucky – sometimes I get two or three! I can’t escape the mass targeting; I am now under their radar, and it seems for good. This is a recurring thing with many retailers; the list is so long that I wouldn’t know where to start.

As I complained about my suffering mailbox, several of my friends, male and female, had the same critiques. I systematically opened my mailbox and take out a bunch of catalogs, leaflets, and flyers and dump them directly in the recycling bin where all other tenants in the building had done the same. I kept wondering why do these companies even bother? At least online there is a junk folder to contain all the unwanted email bursts, but who is stopping the mail spam?

Suddenly, I became obsessed with the Victoria’s Secret catalog specifically since they were the ones that were ridiculously popping up in my mailbox all the time. I decided to start collecting them to see how many I actually receive. Yes folks, its sick, but I had to do it. I realized that these catalogs came on average four to five times a week and that I even had duplicates arriving sometimes. Also, not all of them were addressed to me, some were sent to tenants that had moved out years ago. (Yes years, I checked with my doorman!!) The thing is they were addressed to me or “current resident” – no one cared if I got them as long as they were showing up in a mailbox somewhere.

I would understand if we were in the mid-80s and companies were just experimenting with direct marketing and over-production, but it is utterly unacceptable today. Or if men did not have access to all the erotica and porn. But, with all the online move and lifestyle especially in NYC, the amount of paper trash used is not only ridiculous but also inexplicable. If Victoria’s Secret had really been interested in targeting me as a consumer, then they would have taken the effort to find out that I do almost everything online – banking, shopping, watching movies etc. I use paperless bills and feel strongly against waste, especially useless paper. But they don’t care that I have never opened one of their catalogs, never leafed through it, even. It is not even worthy of toilet reading. I also thought about the poor designers stuck reproducing variations of the catalog over and over again. It was all pretty boring, a set template with variations of girls laid out in clothes and skimpy underwear. Now isn’t that an effective way to push me to buy? Great consumer analysis, NOT!!

So why are they still doing it? It is not like they are using a targeted specific communication and distribution strategy. If you are entered in their database in any way, shape or form then you are getting those catalogs mailed to you. Congratulations! In this time and age giving out our mailing address is going to become a heavier burden, literally.

According to various anti-junk mail groups like DMAChoice, more than 62 billion pieces of useless mail are produced annually, destroying more than 100 million trees. That is a huge number and a bigger burden in our increasingly environmentally conscious times. While people are becoming more aware and trends pointing towards more paperless options and green solutions, companies like Victoria’s Secret are completely off.

A Forrester study established that only 10% of consumers considered the direct mail they get is relevant. In general, 62% of consumers acknowledged they received too much junk mail. The Direct Marketing Association disclosed that marketers spent $21.3 billion on catalogs and another $35.2 billion on direct mail in 2008 (including cost of postage and production). I, for one, can think of at least ten better ways to spend this budget. So it really is no shock that consumers are looking for ways to cut back all this insignificant communication waste.

As they proudly boast on their website, Victoria’s Secret reaches more than 390 million customers each year through their catalog. Can you imagine the budget spent? Can you think of how many wasted trees cut down? You do the math.

Shocking? Definitely. I tried to stop it. I called and after getting through to one call center after the other, I protested and objected and asked to be taken off the list. Result? None. I still punctually receive the catalogs, and I am collecting them in parallel. Maybe one day I want to mail them back, and just stuff them in their mailbox! I am open to suggestions.

Please sign the petition to Stop Junk Mail HERE

Great copywriters if any agencies are looking! Creativity is not defined to the insides of ad agencies and artistic endevours, it is all over the streets…

Check out these great homeless street signs.

George Orwell. 1984. Room 101. Inside it lays your greatest fear or phobia, brainwashing to ensure your complete acceptance, ridding you of all doubt.

Room 101 exists today in a different context. As a group on Facebook, it contains raw talent and pure artistic outlet for a community of creatives. By baring their souls and exposing their creations, they are in a way dealing with judgment phobia (which is an artist’s basic great fear) of bringing their works to light. Tony Khoueiry, founder of the concept, loved the idea of a room used to change minds, regardless of the original methods. Anyone can upload pictures or scans of their work and share comments, thoughts and feedback.

Room 101 does change our minds. It makes us realize the amount of brilliant art hidden and buried in various places that never see the light. It touches us emotionally and inspires all of us. We can all forget the prejudices, expectations and prior knowledge and just purely experience passion.

Check out the room HERE (the work will move you I promise!)

Parekour+Graffiti (P+G), a group of friends spraying together since 2006, have turned all the empty walls of the streets of Beirut into potential canvases. They emphasize on a different viewpoint and express themselves while remaining distant from political connotations. They acquire their inspiration from the actual streets and tend to create a visual culture that belongs and interacts with the landscape and the people. Their work is focused less on words and more on characters with an emphasis on bright and vivid colors. Their positive energy is clearly reflected in their art, thus creating uplifting and enriching visuals that help brighten the city. Always trying to enhance their results, this crew is all about self-improvement and getting better mural opportunities by experimenting with various sprays and techniques.

The Red Eyed Kamikazes (REK) are the artists behind well-known key phrases like: “Beirut La Tamout” – Beirut Doesn’t Die, “Beirut Law Hakat” – If Beirut Spoke, and “Li Beirut” – For Beirut. These have become logotypes that have popped up in various places, even on handbags, promoting messages of unity and harmony. Influenced from the utterly chaotic situation in Beirut and trying to reclaim the streets by the average youth, REK are all about sharing the passion and love of this great city. By detaching themselves from political messages, they have reclaimed the streets by expressing a harmonious streamlined theme: Beirut, “the shaab” – its people.  Originally founded by Sari “Fish” Saadeh, Rami “Ze m3allim” Mouallem, and Raul “K-Breet” Mallat, REK are a growing bunch of artists now composed of seven members. In a recent interview with Arab TV station Al Jazeera, REK crew came out of their anonymity and talked to the press for the first time. They explained that they usually work at night to be comfortable and avoid being seen. Their positive vibes and united spirit has certainly rubbed off, beautifying a city whose walls are still covered with remnants of bullet-holes and grey spots. Their style varies from visual icons to a modern Arabic fusion of calligraphy and type. Their work also includes Arabic that is mirrored in successful integration with Latin.

One of the establishers of Beirut street art is Ashekman, a hip-hop Lebanese duo composed of twin brothers Omar and Mohamed Kabbani. As one of the pioneers in Lebanese Arabic Graffiti with around eight years of experience, their work stands out from the crowd because it is based on modern Arabic Typography. They started their street art literally on the streets, in alleys, under the bridges and in abandoned train stations. Now, they are also commissioned to create designs in apartments, on offices walls, canvases and T-shirts. Inspired by Beirut’s rough urban scene, Ashekman’s rap songs are about the mass Lebanese society in general. As graphic designers, the brothers decided to merge this expertise with their passion for hip-hop all within an Arabic context.

Unlike other groups, Ashekman’s work is influenced by the pre-existing political writings. Militias in Beirut used to tag walls with their emblem during the war, marking their territories and today various political leaders have tagged their figures stencils all over the city. Ashekman’s politically influenced messages take certain innuendos and turn them to the group’s benefits. Examples range from “El Sheri’3 Elna” - The Street is Ours, (implying that they control the streets using their art as weapons), “El 3youn 3a Beirut” - All Eyes on Beirut (indicating that Beirut has become a playground for the regional powers) and their recent dedicated graffiti for Gaza, “Gaza fi Qalbi” - Gaza in my heart. While others still work with the Latin type or base their designs on already existing graffiti styles from Europe or America, Ashekman combines Arabic graffiti, urban graphics, calligraphy and Lebanese proverbs. Their street art is derived from the Arabic hip-hop scene. It consists of Arabic Graffiti (merging the common graffiti with Latin type to create a new style that includes Arabic typography) derived from the Kufi, Diwani, and freestyle Arabic fonts.

Kufi was the dominant priestly script around 8th century A.D. It has specific proportional measurements accompanied by prominent angularity and square shapes. Kufi has extended horizontal lines contrasting low verticals making it considerably wider than it is high. This gives it a unique dynamic momentum, which is the reason why it’s often chosen for use on four-sided figures. Because the Kufi script was not subjected to strict rules, calligraphers had virtually a free hand in the conception and execution of its ornamental forms.

Diwani script was an Ottoman development that was a favorite for writing in the Ottoman chancellery. It is excessively cursive and highly structured with letters that are not dotted and unconventionally joined together. It uses no vocalization marks in contrast to modern Arabic writing where various letters are dotted and vowel marks are an essential part of the script. Diwani was also highly favored for ornamental purposes.

The obvious ornamentation of calligraphic influences coupled with modern freestyle type derived from Arabic typography has led to appealing results on street walls in Beirut. In no way is this process stagnant; more and more experimentation with letters, shadows and type is evident. This is a mirror of the typographic development of today where it is no longer dominated by the few intellectuals for the intellectuals but rather by all for all. Street art is a prominent way to reflect the advancement in Arabic typography and in turn have the freestyle nature to inspire more developments from the street.

Lebanon’s civil war imparts a complex situation where confessional, cultural and economic regional and local conflicts have characterized various opposing ideological frameworks and distinguished numerous militant groups. This has consequently produced a complex and rich basis of street visual iconography and aestheticism. This new generation is expanding all of this image culture even more. Changes are systematic and intertwined – designers are being integrated in society, artists are being respected for their work and opportunities for creativity are growing. The days when esteem and value of society was channeled through classic métiers like Doctors, Engineers and Lawyers are finally gone. This is very evident amongst the youth that are creating change the fields of art, design, film and music. All this emerging graffiti is a reflection of this migrating society. They portray on one hand the artistic vision of an individual or a group, and convey on the other, the spiritual, social, political and economic aspects of that individual’s society at a particular point in time. One proof that this has been extremely appreciated and admired, is the fact that the police in Beirut do not stop these graffiti artists, they just leave them to it. Beirut really will not die!

It was 1989. I was a 10-year-old Arab who had fled the Lebanese civil war with my family and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Not only was my name unfamiliar and virtually unpronounceable (Hala pronounced Ay-la in the south) by almost every American I interacted with, but I was the only Arab in my class, possibly even in my school. Students stared and pointed, and the brave sometimes ventured over to quench their curiosity with numerous questions about the far away land of Arabia. Do you ride on camels? What about magic carpets? What is the desert like? Have you ever seen rain, winter, snow? Do you own guns? Shoot people? Are you like a billionaire? I was shocked; not only had I never seen a camel in my life, I had just come from a country on the Mediterranean Sea with no sand or desert whatsoever! What were all these kids talking about?

Arab stereotypes have tainted American popular culture for more than a century. According to Dr. Jack Chahin, “Arabs are the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood. They are portrayed basically as sub-humans.” In his book Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, Dr. Chahin goes on to explain that after looking at more than 1000 films with Arabs in them he could draw a dangerously consistent pattern of hateful Arab stereotypes that have been so normalized that most people don’t even notice them or see them anymore. He goes on to emphasize that a few images have been repeated over again and again, those of the Arab villain.
Where did this constructed Arab image come from? Europeans passed it on to Americans centuries ago – British and French travel writers and artists who traveled to the Orient and came back with an exotic notion of a mystical pace. Edward Said introduced this concept in his book Orientalism.  He goes on to explain further that all information about the Orient was based on the idea of the superior, natural, rational Western Self versus the inferior, deviant, irrational Eastern Other, thus opening room for the justification of the exercise of political power from the self over the other as a matter of principles and duty.

In films, historically and until present day, Arabs have been portrayed as these Others in Hollywood. The Arab world has been consistently shown as inferior to the West with Arabs being hostile and a hazard to Western values.
In Hollywood, Arab world was introduced in old black and white films and always represented with some recurrent basic elements – menacing tunes, intimidating desert, harem women dancing for a sultan, long swords, flying carpets, snake charmers to name a few – a classic Ali Baba kit.

The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926) seemed to color the path for the examination and harmful depiction of Arabs in Hollywood films. Both these films characterized Arabs as barbaric thieves, charlatans, murderers –  simply pure monsters. Other old movies of the 1920s all share a common theme of tyrannical, vile Arabs eventually vanquished by Westerners.

100 Years of Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim stereotyping by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh specifies what is known as the 3-B syndrome: “Arabs in TV and movies are portrayed as either bombers, belly dancers, or billionaires.” The trend has shifted over the years starting with a lot of exotic, skimpily clad dancers in the early days and then the billionaires’ stereotype prevailed in the 70s fueled especially with the oil crises. This craze has shifted again and reached more of a mono-track where today, and over the past 30-40 years, most Arabs as portrayed as bombers or, dare I say, terrorists.

A film that has successfully recycled the older Arab stereotypes and pushed them strong was Disney’s Aladdin (1992). The film starts off with the song Arabian Nights -
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear
If they don’t like your face
It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home
Millions of children have seen this film. In the summer of 1993, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) protested to the Walt Disney Company, asking to have the lines removed from the song. Disney then replaced only the third and fourth lines with
Where it’s flat and immense
And the heat is intense

The absurdity in the film does not stop there – the evil characters including the Sultan’s grand vizier, Jafar, and a bandit thief, Kazim, have beards and a thick accent. Palace guards kill, chop off hands for stealing and have no problem wielding their scimitar swords over a bread thief! There is even a scene in which an Arab wearing a clothespin on his nose is shoveling droppings into a cart that has the sign Crazy Hakim’s Discount Fertilizer on its side. Of course Disney did not give any Middle Eastern features to any of its three key main characters – Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and her father the Sultan all look of Western descent. Aladdin’s face is even said to have been modeled after Tom Cruise! Of course the temperament and actions of the three heroes were the complete opposite of their violent Arab counterparts, creating once again a rift between the Self and the Others -
The Sultan is nothing more than a kind loving jolly old man, perhaps even a tad naïve, who unsuspectingly is taken advantage of by the evil Jafar. Aladdin is a misinterpreted street beggar who is just trying to survive; yet he still has a golden kind heart and a sense of charity, often helping children – in a very Robin Hood-ish way. Princess Jasmine is portrayed as a charming woman whose only dream is independence and life experience outside the palace walls. Even the clothes reflected all of this with Jafar in dark brooding colors and the three heroes in light, white peaceful garbs.

Arabs are always too rich and stupid to know the value of money, especially with the introduction of the Sheikhs in thobs. Never satisfied with the countless females in their harems, they are oversexed, lewd, and uncontrollably obsessed with the Western blond woman. This is another apparent pattern in movies. In the Bond film Never Say Never, Again (1983) Kim Basinger is molested by the most sordid looking Arabs possible. She’s tied to a pole, stripped to her underwear and auctioned off to primitive looking Bedouins. And in Sahara (1983), Brooke Shields is also kidnapped and presented to the lecherous Arab sheik for his own perverted pleasure. In Jewel of the Nile (1985), Omar Sherif tricks Kathleen Turner into going with him to Arabia and then imprisons her. The same theme recurs is Protocol (1984) where an Emir is infatuated with the fair, blue-eyed Goldie Hawn.

Although Arab men are much more frequently used in films than Arab women, there is a certain female type projected over the years as well. Stereotypes of highly sensual belly dancers wearing see-though chiffon and harem pants, baring their belly and showing off- cleavage were the earlier images.  Heavy jewelry decorated their arms, necks and heavy makeup heir faces. This was inspired by early images of the orient, as the place of exoticism, fascination and passion. Yet, although very sexy, these women never seemed to be able to hold down their men who always preferred their American counterpart. But in recent years this image has dramatically changed and the more modern depictions show Arab women in one of two categories – terrorist or bomber de-feminizing her or a black veiled covered backdrop in the background of scenes, in the shadows.

With the end of the eighties came an age of political correctness, when more accurate or at least toned down portrayals of Arabs might have been expected. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In a movie like True Lies (1994) they are not even worthy opponents – too stupid to be successful villains even. Arnold Schwarzenegger portrays Harry Tasker, who works for the top secret Omega Sector to protect US national security. Tasker is of course the all-rounded super federal agent - remarkable bodily skills, absolute aptitude, and the capability to confront armies of the enemy single-handedly. On the other hand, his main foe is Selim Abu-Aziz, head of an Arab terrorist group who is not only dangerous, but also highly incompetent. The stereotyping in this film was insulting, emphasizing the terrorist Arab even more.

New York columnist Russell Baker stated, “Arabs are the last people except Episcopalians whom Hollywood feels free to offend en masse.” Why is this so? Nothing really runs skin deep. There is a whole political agenda behind all of this. Dr. Chahin affirms: “Politics and Hollywood are linked, they reinforce one another. Policy enforces mythical images, mythical images help enforce policy.” WWII was a turning point, and certain events tainted Arab image and propaganda. First and foremost the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in which the US has undeniably supported Israel through and through. Second was the American oil embargo in the 70s, which angered a lot of people, especially, that gas prices shot up exponentially. Third the Iranian revolution when Iranian students took American diplomats hostage for more than a year, which increased Arab-American tensions. It’s worthy to note that Iranians are not even Arab. Lastly, the events of 9/11 moved Arab terrorism to the primary evil and foremost fear in the States.

The outdated, limited and judgmental idea of the Arab created clear links with their dress. Hollywood has placed so much emphasis on the two elements of traditional Arab male costume as the identifying symbol of Arabs – the thob and the kaffiyeh. We have reached a point in association where anyone wearing these elements, regardless of features, skin color or language is identified as Arab. The process to reducing Arabs to mere attire – produced the disguising of westerners as Arabs. But they always stand out in remarkable ways because they are constructed to be naturally superior to Arabs – intrinsically become the super Arabs that actual Arabs can never be.
Arabs don’t even deserve a face or a shred of humanity. This is further explored in the film Rules of Engagement (2000) where viewers are not allowed to keep any sympathy for Arab men, women and children and made to feel justified to kill them all. But are they really real people with lives, families and feeling? Or are they just bodies hiding behind fabric?

The kaffiyeh is the face of every Arab terrorist and villain in Hollywood and has been so for decades and yet it has still managed to infiltrate high street fashion. Kaffiyehs or their derivative can be found on every street corner in NYC and are spotted on a wide array of movie stars. I guess the feelings of danger have resonated from on-screen to off. I now understand my schoolmates when I was a child, they knew no better. But there is no excuse for the adults today in America wearing kaffiyehs to their Sunday brunches and still stereotyping and dehumanizing the people.

I remember many years back in one of the Miss Lebanon competitions, one of the contestants who then went on to carry the title, was the biggest mockery in the country. She got asked a question of “What would you talk about Lebanon to those who do not know it internationally?” Her answer was something along the lines of “Lebanon is a beautiful country, we can go to the beach and ski in the same day, and we have… shopping!”

Lebanese identity under the umbrella of Arab identity (for marketing and financial benefits and purpose) has been a big dilemma ever since the creation of the country. Are we more connected to the West or the Arabs? Who do we identify with? Are we an open society or a traditional one? What is our society about, culture, values? How do we deal with a divided image internally let alone what we project on to the rest of the world? We do not want to be linked to any negative terrorist connotations yet part of our society follows and belongs to Hezbollah… You get the picture.

Today, I just stumbled upon someone who apparently seems to have solved these issues - a wannabe pop Lebanese phenomena called Jad Choueiry - oh no wait! He now spells his name Jad Shwery. He has just summed it up in his new “hit” Funky Arabs.

I don’t know where to start here but I will encourage you to see the song and video clip first - FUNKY ARABS

This is the end of the world, the Lebanese world at least. Every single one of us should be hanging their heads in shame over this blatant show of superficial bling and apparent pride over it!!! I do respect personal expressions and opinions but this guy has singlehandedly summed up the Lebanese, no wait, Arab identity and transitioned it into the modern times through a vulgar cheap repetitive non-original style. What looks and sounds like a random vomit of a bad copy of a Pop and R&B video is done by an all-Arab cast, as is stated in the disclaimer at the beginning of the song. Let us all give a big cheer for all those Arabs who have perfected the art of copying and plagiarism. Where is the creativity, the uniqueness, the Arabness?????

Jad wants to correct all those (Westerners) who view Arabs as terrorists. Please stop! We are not bombers, we are shallow botox-infused fake tanned skimpily dressed Miami-wannabe cool hip high drunk modern Arabs. Our women are whores and our men loaded! We can also even sing in Ingleesh!!!

In a country of fusion of various religions and cultures with a long and deep history, we should be coming out with something that is really special and out of the ordinary. Maybe I am asking too much, maybe this is really what we have become. But I still refuse to believe it and definitely let it represent me. This ridiculous shit needs to stop coming out!

This post is dedicated to Rasha who asked the great question: “Can’t we just be educated open minded peaceful career-oriented intelligent funny Lebanese with LOVE HANDLES?”