May it be -Enya

Ii is one of my favorite songs in this decade: May it be. A song by "Enya", an irish vocalist, & instrumentalist , who had famous songs like " only time" for "sweet November" movie .." May it be" was the song for " Lord of the Rings" movie, I think it is one of the most inspirational songs that makes you shiver when you hear it.

Here is its lyrics:


May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie ut�li� (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alanti� (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadows call
Will fly away
May it be you journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome

You may rise to find the sun

Mornie ut�li� (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alanti� (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

A promise lives within you now

I whispered to the leaves :)

Nature? Should it be really called " NAture". For me it has a supernatural power , a power that makes me just get "magnetically" attracted to it .Why?
is it becaus of it is purity ? its smell? its bountiful colors?..or is it just its simplicity.

But nature is complex!! . For me, i cant explain it. Its a force, it drags me to it . It leaves me in awe. It gives me dreams , hopes, prayers, tears.

I am actually not a "tree hugger" by nature..I dont follow a way of living ( like environmentalist, or pacifist or...etc). But i love to experience everything in this short life.
Today was the third time this year that i plant trees. This would be the last time in 2009! .

When i dig , I put the small baby plant in the whole, i kiss it. I whisper to the leaves :" Let the light be upon you, let the water flow to you.. So when you grow up, and when you turn to the sun, remember me ..remember to pray for me .. that one day i want to grow up like you, i want to turn my head to the sun... to see the light, the truth :)"...

Thoughts, like Spices

Spices have a long history ; they were the most luxurious products and they were widely traded between cultures..Even religious books like the bible, and the poem of king Solomon refer to spices.
Indeed, their function range between adding flavor to food, changing its color and even to preserving food ..


I rememeber a story that my Food Chemistry teacher told me about which is that hot chilli pepper was primarily added in Indian food to cover the bad flavor of the food which is usually of low quality because of poverty. Maybe that's how spices became later essential & inevitable in certain foods.




But the magic of spices is in their blending! This is called " Masala". Actually, mastering the art of cooking is in knowing how to blend different spices.


Primarily, the subject of this post is not about spices. Indeed, just like spices add a distinct flavor to foods, so do my thoughts.
I believe that i just have random thoughts that are sometimes not even related and i blend them all together and come with a personal message or a song or even a paragraph.
Some might say its non-sense, others might say its creativity. But i just say it's me & i love Spicing thoughts!!!!

ITHACA

 Ithaca, written by Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis.
Although Ithaca here is the Greek city visited by Odysseus , but for me Ithaca is that fingerlake city I visited in Upstate NY and where I lived for 3 months. Ithaca holds for me deep memories, sweet encounters and a great  experience that changed my whole life... It was the linchpin that made me decide about many things.

    ITHACA

As you set out for Ithaca
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon – don’t be afraid of them:

you’ ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon – you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbours you’re seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind -

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

But don’t hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you’re old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn’t have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

and this is the meaning of Ithaca.

____________________________________________________________________________

Pandora , the other planet

I watched the premier of " Avatar" movie on wednesday Dec 16 ( a day before it was released world wide). Lebanon was the first to premiere it. That was wierd.
I wont be reviewing it, cause you can google it and read all the millions of reviews about it!! . Neither do i want to spoil anything . I just want to express my awe, my wonder . WOWWWW!! What a great movie. It deserved those 10 years that the director, James Cameron , worked on.
Everything was in such harmony , the characters, the dialogue( though a bit cliche), the music, the colors, the language and the visual effects ---and most importantly the 3D spectacular effects.
Everything makes you believe that it's not a sci-fic movie, that Pandora actually exists, the Navi's are like any native tribe ,that humans can normally travel in speed of light. Throughout the movie you don't have this thought " what are they talking about!! Those things don't exist !! Do you want to believe??" ..hehhe. I guess this was the intelligence of this movie, that this whole imaginary world and people DO exist (well maybe not now but after a couple of years).
I dont deny all the critics that claim that the theme maybe be old too (like Apocalypto or Pocahontas) .
When i left the cinema, i remembered 2012..Well i didnt believe this movie ..hehe Not a single event that occured in it..especially that The world will end! But "avatar" convinced me more, it gave me a vivid REAL imagination ,that someday , humans will invade another planet, out of greed, destroy it and terrorize its natives . That someday humans will loose against nature and its ever-flowing energy.

Something To Think About For 1 Minute‏

A friend of mine sent me this picture in an email : The picture and the story within it speak alot .


I thought i would share it on my blogspot since it's really worth sharing ...It's called " Mindset". Think about it ;)



Here is what's written in the picture :

One guy was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a rope tied to their legs. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away."Well", trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and at the age, its enough to hold them, as they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. they believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." He was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. Their powerful and gigantic creature has limited its present abilities by the limitations of its past.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life holding onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? how many of us refuse to attempt something new and challenging because of our so called MINDSET?

Your attempt may fail, but never fail to make an attempt...
CHOOSE not to accept the false boundaries and limitations created by the past...

Wake me up when December ends

I want to wake up when December ends. It's Not that i want to miss all the holiday's season, or maybe subconsciously i do, without mentioning the reasons. Or Maybe I am just eager for 2010!.
This will be the last post for November. And i thought i wanted to share one of my favorite songs here : Separate Ways By Teddy Thompson .
Such a great song , the lyrics are simple and up to the point and the music is soft but makes the words flow in a way they seem strong. i dont know how to explain my feelings when i hear this song , like it speaks my mind, like i want to sing it to the world to hear me , to the people who don't care anymore , to the things that let go away from me..
One part that makes me want to hear it all over again : ♫ I can change my mind not my blood, & not all who love are blind, some of us are just too kind, we forgive too much but never speak our minds ".. True . So what do you think?

http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/teddy-thompson/separate-ways/12041302/lyrics.jhtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weEkzSCllPw

The Epicure Trilogy

Three simple word to describe the title.. My passion is a trilogy around : food , people and a camera :)

Cocaine, Spices, Hormones Found in Drinking Water ?? NAtional Geographic Reports

A New "water product"?? Apparently , Its not a " Vitamin Water"... Its the water we unfortunately drink or wash with ..Yes - Tape water..
And No its no part of a Government plan to supply " SMART water"
That's what scientist from Washington university found out after tracing amounts of substances—from sugar and spice to heroine, rocket fuel, and birth control—that might be having unintended consequences for humans and wildlife alike.

Education and awareness about this NEW problem needs to be raised.

The article Featured on National Geographic shows that what we do on land affects our waters. Check it out , its really interesting :( NOvemeber 2009 issue)


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091112-drinking-water-cocaine.html

Not another Movie Review!

Well, I dont want to be redundant like those outthere on the world wide web& write a movie review that would be number 1,000,000 on the web!!! & Pls make sure that am not also criticizing those movie critics.

But i usually criticize movies in these cases:
1) During the movie, where i get fed up from a scene or more ( or a script )..etc
2) Just 5 minutes after i get out from the theater, which is usually a " discussion" with my friends and involves various point of views.

3) When someone asks me specifically " What do you think of that Movie"?

4 ) i don't consider it a scrutiny but rather a comment that i also wait for the Credits part at then end of the movie just to wait for the "song".. Ya the perfectly chosen song for the movie always make me remember the movie..

So this leads us to the fact that i am a " soundtrack-movie" addict"..Ya i collect all songs of each movie i watch .. not just MUSICAL movies like " Mamma mia or Mary Poppins or Beauty and the Beast" ...etc .. BUT also movies that display a background music .. This music inhabitates my mind and directly after i finish watching the movie , i go back home and download them.

WEll ya ofcorse everyone now will say : Batman soundtrack is obviously one of those moviess.. Some of the movies i liked their soundtracks" Lord of the Rings " , " Twilight" ( sorry guys but it was a hit), Spider man,Sweet November,A walk to remember, Bridget Jones Diaries, The Matrix, 10 things i hate about you, Music and Lyrics and not to forget the soundtracks of TV series like SmallVille,One tree Hill!!

These soundtracks make me listen to new artists and even new kind of music. I consider it a" cultural experience" :)

One of the recent songs i heard was for the 2012 movie : by Adam Lambert " Time for Miracles ".. Good choice for words and music..
The soundtrack was awesome as well.
Here is the link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RheJdXCIjSo

Food tips for Dorm people

hehhe i was frustrated today that the oven was nt wokring and i wanted badly to cook some egggs. The microwave is working ! ahhhaa so i went and googled:" How to cook eggs in a microwave".
WEll disregarding the heath effects. I wanted something to make me happy. Usually happiness is accompanied by guilt. But who cares :
Here are the steps from e-how. com
#Step 1
Fried eggs:
Break 1 egg into a microwave save bowl. Gently poke the yolk of the egg with a knife. Cover the bowl with a saran wrap or a plate, so the egg does not explode. Put in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
#Step 2

Scrambled Egg:
Crack 2 eggs in bowl and scrambled with fork. Cover bowl and place in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stir 1 or 2 times to make sure the eggs cooked thoroughly.
#Step 3

Hard-Boiled Egg:
Break 1 egg into bowl. Gently poke the yolk of egg with a knife. Cover the bowl and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until hard. Gently stir occasionally to make sure the egg is cooked throughout. The egg may not appear pretty, but once you cut it up finely over a salad, all that matters is the taste.
#Step 4

Poached Egg:
Pour 1/3 cup of water into bowl. Break 2 eggs into bowl. Poke the yolks with a knife. Cover bowl and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Let stand until whites are set and yolks are thick but not hard. Pour out the water and serve in bowl or lift egg out onto plate.

Food markets 1 : Ithaca

Here are some photos that i took in the farmer's market, Ithaca, NY , USA almost a year ago.

It was there that I tasted Apple Cider drink for the first time.A great place if you want to buy organic vegetables.It also has an "artistic" side where artists come and sell their paintings,vases, ceramics, jeweleries,leather designs...etc

Farmer's Market-Entrance

Farmer's Market-Leaves

Honey

Even More Herbs!

A living Dish

Wow i found this video showing how a restaurant is displaying his menu.
I find this very creative :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwxq-CNfQC0

Turning Points

I was reading an article in the National Geographic featured in August 2009 edition, titled: "Vanishing Venice". As the title sounds, Venice is under the threat of being submerged with water,its population declined from 120,00 to 60,000 in 5 years only ,even its places are changing into a more business materialistic type away from its original romantic atmosphere. ..

Here is the link if any is interested to read it :
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/08/venice/newman-text/1


But the whole point of this note was a particular paragraph that caught my eye most that opens a different kind of interpretation- simple yet powerful word:

" Romance triumphs; reality intrudes.


Kisses end. Dreams vanish, and sometimes cities too. We long for the perfect ending, but the curtain falls along with our hearts.


Beauty is so difficult."

A Burnt Tongue

The tongue..the most simple organ yet the most influential organ in food tasting! It has has about 10,000 taste buds!!! Can you imagine its senstivity to the different flavors??

For me, as ridiculous as the idea might seem, but i love my tongue! It gives me a special feeling of comfort when i am eating .Why? Because its like the warning sign for any undesirable food..No i wont consider my tongue as the " control" agent but rather as the signal light!
It makes me be a connoisseur of food..& i like this when tasting food : to distinguish the ingredients used and to evaluate them!!

But then why is the title " burnt tongue", well obviously , i burnt my tongue with the hot coffee.
Unfortunately, i have a bad habit of eating and drinking everything at 100*C !
But i hated the feeling that i have a burnt tongue..I couldnt taste anything and worse my food and water tasted badly tooo..i dunno y? heheh

Anyways, i thought at that moment that my heart is burnt too because of many things..& i am tasting life so differently.. I am feeling numb to things that are around me just like i was tasting food numbly!!

To be continued...........

& We come from Soil ...

Soil, dirt, land..whatever name you might call it..it's a reality that we all come from it..& we shall return to it eventually.
As real as this might seem, I have always considered it as a filthy material, disgusting to touch and hold..
But that's because i have never touched it . & well as i always say, If you never try , you will never know!!
So, once you hold it between your hands , it gives you a cushy feeling! You can feel its indulgence...You can feel its purity...exactly like the white snow that fell from the skies..

But what gives a better feeling is giving life to this arid soil.. I had the opportunity last week to volunteer in a campaign for trees planting in Lebanon. The Campaign is IBSAR and they intend to plant 50,000 trees till year 2010.

Indeed, it was one of the best days of my lives..I felt so powerful that day when i planted 16 small tree shrubs out of 650 in Mayfadoun district.Why powerful? because as i said before, i was giving life to an arid land..I felt the land needed me and i was able to help her..I felt it was thankful ..I felt its warmth as i was digging the soil....I digged it with my bare hands to enjoy it even more :)

At that moment, i realized why farmers stay all day in their fields, why do they stay attached to their land ..& why they wont give it up..no matter what !

I am just happy because i had a memory with a land.....a land that after few years will become a forest ..and i would have engraved my name in its soils...

The Rain is Jealous!!!

It was new years Eve In Broumana, a Lebanese Village in Lebanon. We were coming up from Beirut and the snow storm started..I walked out of the car and i was besieged with snow falling. I never felt something so light , yet so overwhelming!


Pure, untainted,Pristine, white..falling from the skies. I thought at that moment that the rain would be so jealous from it...Who wouldn't be? from such perfection?

I held my hands to the skies in an attempt to collect as much as i can... Mirielle saw me and exclaimed: "Loulwa, we will wake up tomorrow morning and make a snow man.."

Ok i mumbled.i wasn't quite satisifed..why should i wait for tomorrow morning. Who can gurantee that the sun would melt them, steal them away ..as part of a conspiracy plan to help the grudged rain?

But i had to go back because it was 15 minutes away from midnight..Yes it's going to be year 2009.

Frankly,i didnt want 2008 to end..It was my best year ever.So many things happened, i had the best semester in AUB and the best summer..the best birthday..met the best people..

I felt 2008 made me more mature ..It ripened in many feelings and way of thinking !


How can i let 2008 pass @ 12:00 am?? I felt frustrated about the idea that i cant change an inevitable thing.


But as this snow brought me smiles and surprises as if to sooth my pain and assure to me that 2009 will be as good as 2008..I soon realized that we should put high expectations on the Skies above but rarely on the people around!



Maybe this white fluffy powder will be in my recipe for the year 2009…