Prague: Day 1

We safely landed in the snowy city of Prague, after a comfortable 5 hour flight from Beirut. Leaving Lebanon at four in the morning was ideal – I slept through the whole 3 hour flight to Milan, and through the 2 hour flight from Italy to the Czech Republic.

Our first view of Prague from the plane was what looked like a blanket of snow covering the whole country. Literally it looked like nothing but thick snow…no buildings or anything. We actually couldn’t tell if we were close to the ground or still above the clouds. We soon realized, after flying through the thick sea of whiteness, that it was the fog that had settled over the whole city. The sun that was warming us in the plane could not be seen anywhere from the ground.

And of course it was FREEZING! In Beirut this year, like every year before it, there will be no snow. And it can be warm enough to wear a jacket out sometimes. But here it’s a totally different story. I was definitely not prepared for the -9 degrees Celsius (Farenheit?).

Otherwise we had no problem getting off the plane and catching a tram and metro to our hotel. Well, that is, after we missed a stop because I didn’t know how to work the tram door. Four frozen thighs later we found our hotel and dropped off our luggage before heading out for lunch.

We ate lunch at a homely warm (keyword) restaurant right next to our hotel. By this time we were dead tired and really just wanted to take a nap. However, Alex got it into his head that he wanted to walk down to the Charles River and take a peek. Not being very well dressed for it and a little cranky, I wanted to nap first then do some sightseeing. But Alex was suddenly incredibly hyper, and it was just so cute. So I got some pics of him being silly and looking out at the River.

After a couple hour nap, which turned out to be really refreshing, we layered up and went out for a little stroll. We crossed the river and walked around Wenceslas Square. How fitting, eh?

As we walked it was impossible not to admire all of the beautiful architecture – it’s almost like stepping into a scene from two centuries ago, except everyone is wearing modern clothes. We also did a little window shopping, and found it very nice to be back in a country with outlets and department stores.

Best of all, while walking around an outdoor Christmas market in the square, Alex and I stopped for bratwurst sandwiches and mulled red wine. The wine was pretty strong, but warm and spicy, and the brats (which I cannot find in Beirut, and yes I have tried) were fantastic! We decided we would just buy brats off the street for dinner every night until we leave for Vienna, and go out for lunch instead. Supposedly lunch is the main meal here anyway, so it works out perfectly.

When our fingers told us it was time to get back to the hotel and thaw out, we bought a map and headed back. Now we are spending the rest of the night watching dubbed American movies and planning our adventures for the next few days.

Unfortunately I’m having symptoms of a small UTI so it is putting a damper on our plans for tomorrow. I’m trying to water it out, so hopefully it will just leave me alone for Christmas vacation. But I can’t let such a small thing get to me. To name a few places, we are planning to visit the National Museum, the Museum of Communism, the Jewish Quarter, a big castle (in Alex’s words), and a couple villages outside of the city.

We will try and get as many pictures as possible. Actually today Alex noticed my lack of picture taking, and rightfully pinned it on the fact that it is just too cold. If the sun peeks through tomorrow maybe we will get some good shots. Stay tuned for many Xmas vacation updates!!

December Update

Updates on everything:

*The Thanksgiving dinner went extremely well. All of our guests, and about 25 people came, really got into it and helped out so much. They brought pies, dishes, drinks and we had more than enough for everyone. The two turkeys I made turned out great and so far no one has reported any food poisoning. The stuffing tasted like Grandma’s recipe and that alone made me more than happy. The night turned out to be great, and Alex and I didn’t miss Thanksgiving after all.

*Sayidaty magazine is paying me for my first article. I interviewed a woman, and a friend, who is publishing a comic book and the character is based in Lebanon. So I did an article and the mag is using it! I have also spoken with the editor about a couple of other story ideas and I think that I may be doing another story very soon.

*We began taking Arabic with our new tutor and its working out great. She’s young, smart and a great teacher. We are moving much faster than we were with the other center.

*Things are starting to look hopeful for Lebanese politics. Since Nov 24, Lebanon has been without a president because the majority March 14 coalition and the opposition March 8 camp could not agree on a consensus candidate and neither one could secure a 2/3s quorum to hold an election. Now, however, the majority has agreed on a candidate that the opposition also agreed on: Army Commander General Michel Suleiman. However, the Lebanese constitution says a grade-one employee, such as Suleiman, has to step down two years before running for office. Right now the two camps are in the process of discussing if and how to amend to the constitution to allow Suleiman to run for president. Also last week there was a bombing in Baabda, where the presidential palace is. A top army official was targeted – Brigadier François Hajj. The assassination has stalled the process once more.

Otherwise Alex and I are doing great. This past week we were a little sick, which put a damper on the beginning of our break. We were worried that our vacation we had planned would be ruined, but we got lots of rest and hydrated a lot and we have both definitely seen improvement.

Alex is now getting published in The Executive, where he has worked as a researcher for a couple of months. I’m so proud of him – he is doing really well. And his boss, Matthias, is trying really hard to convince us to stay longer. Guess he realizes just as much as I do how big of an asset Alex is – in everything he is part of!

Alex and I kicked off our Christmas celebrations last Friday when we attended a Christmas party put on by the American and British ladies of Lebanon. It was held in the ballroom of a really nice hotel. We danced all night, listened to great music, won a raffle and really enjoyed ourselves.

And on Friday morning, at 3, we are getting on a flight to Europe for you Christmas vacation! I’ve never been, and am really excited about experiencing another continent. I will definitely try to update during the trip, and will post our pics as soon as possible. Hope to hear from everyone soon.

Moment of Silence for Victims of Bad Hair Cuts

Today will go down in history as a day of mourning…for all those women who have experienced really really bad haircuts. And I don’t mean a bad experience with a hairstylist who has a few unresolved issues, or a few hairs out of place. No! I mean the kind of haircut that stays bad until it grows out, and nothing less than scarves or a wig will make it remotely cute. Will explain later….

So today was possibly the worst day of my life. It rained all day. Within three hours of getting up I knew that it was going to be one of those days where everything was going to try its hardest to go wrong, and I wasn’t in the mood to entertain it.

Rewind to 7 a.m. Alex had a man date today and went out with one of his new coworkers to Faraya, to ski and snowboard a little. We usually spend a bulk of our day apart and I really wanted him to go out with a guy…you know how women can get after a while. He deserved it anyway. I had a busy day ahead of me anyway. I had to finish up college applications, send out more mail than I have in my life, combined, and I wanted to run a few around-the-house errands.

Alex leaves and I get straight to it. By 9 I’m ready to go out and print extra materials for applications, pick and go to a friend’s house to pick up a bank draft they got for us. Well, right about then it starts to rain heavily so I decide not to take the laundry and just wait until a little later. Luckily, however, my friend is almost right outside my apartment and happens to have the bank draft so I forget about the rain and head out to the shop to print.

I ask the owner how much it will be to print and he confirms it will be 200 Lira. Great! Actually, I used the color printer so its five times as much…and the homemade Christmas cards I printed out in color are now six times more than if I would have just bought hallmark ones. Oh well. At least I had all my college materials.

I’m heading back to the apartment and I realize that almost five minutes after stepping out it had stopped raining, and now I would have to make the trip again when I brought my laundry…and I had soooo much to do!

Trying to be really optimistic, I finally made it home. By that time I was really frustrated because I had to deal with really careless people on the sidewalk. I tried to not think about it, and I was bound and determined to get my stuff done. But it was just one thing after another. First the webpage I needed to get one wasn’t loading…then the computer froze at least four times while I was trying to access Seton Hall’s website…then we had a blackout and our internet connection was out (this happens everyday and our internet goes out for hours at a time). Not to mention me running into things, dropping things and just having to run up and down the stairs every time I forgot something in the room.

I made my way downstairs to use the wireless, which worked for a while….until our server went down and then I couldn’t get any of the college addresses I needed. AND I had no one to complain to because Alex was gone…so I took it out on the door.

Finally I reconnected and did speed addressing to get it to the post office by 2 in the afternoon – the time I was told that LibanPost closes. Now I know they close at 1…so I didn’t accomplish that.

I had brought my laundry with me because it was kind of on the way, so I dropped that off. Pretty painless. Here comes the good part. I decided to get my hair cut because I had been wanting to for a while and I finally saw a salon for women (usually I only see salons for men).

I should have known when I walked in and there were only two old women there. I should’ve know…but anyone can say that afterward. But I waited for half and hour anyway to get my hair cut by a man. I showed him a picture of what I wanted. He didn’t speak much English and I didn’t know how to tell him in Arabic exactly what I wanted, so I just pointed it out. I figured he couldn’t mess that up.

Well thirty minutes later, when the cut was only halfway done, I remember thinking that it wasn’t going how I thought it would but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. By then I couldn’t concentrate on the book I was reading because I wanted to see how my hair was progressing. By the end, I was almost in tears. It looked nothing like the picture and is the WORST haircut I’ve ever had. I don’t even know if a stylist could fix this because it’s a little shorter than medium length. And yes, my friends, I cried a bit over my hair. I know, I know it’ll grow out but it just sucks. It’s going to take a couple months to get to the length that it was and I hate having to worry about my hair. All the self-conscious thoughts that I suppress every day had a chance to scream out.

I wore a hood home, and as soon as I could I got on the internet to see if anyone had any advice on how to cover up badddd haircuts. There was nothing that I couldn’t figure out myself, but interestingly one girl had a story uncannily similar to mine. The way she described her awesomely bad haircut sounded exactly how mine did. More importantly her blog entry was dated the same as today, just a few years back. It was an intense moment…so I decided that today was to be the official Bad Haircut Day, where everyone who has experienced it puts a little time aside for remembrance…to remember what its like to be plagued with a bad bad bad haircut.

And this is why I’m taking time from finishing college application essays and blogging. I’m going to be fine, but I just wanted to share my traumatic story with those who may benefit from it. Well actually, it probably more likely because it’s after five and Alex still isn’t home.

To make a long story short, what was supposed to be my most productive day turned out to feel like the least productive….and it’s still raining.

Beginning of the Holiday Season

I think I should see a psychotherapist…I am officially addicted to Christmas music and am getting too excited about the holidays. And we haven’t even had our Thanksgiving dinner yet!

Actually, I’ve been a little homesick this past week. Alex and I went out to get a Christmas tree and some decorations, and I’m really missing the American way of Christmas. What I really love about the season is that everybody knows and loves the same songs, and people just really get into the season.

It all begins with Thanksgiving, when people really start traveling and spending time with family during the season. I don’t think I will ever spend this part of the year away from America, because it’s just so disappointing to be in a place where they don’t have the slightest idea about your traditions. Of course, I don’t expect people here to, but it just makes me homesick.

I remember last year I spent Thanksgiving with one of my favorite families – my boss Clarke from Other Mothers, her husband Tim and her two children Alex and Jenny – and even though I spent it in New Jersey away from family it was still so wonderful! It was all about family and friends sharing time together and just relaxing and enjoying life – and so it doesn’t matter where you are as long as you are surrounded by people who can really enjoy the season.

After putting up the tree, and reminiscing about all those years I put one up with my family and spent the winter break just laying around with a book and some tea, I just wanted to hop on a plane and come home. Its funny how, however ambitious one might be or however busy one becomes, they just can’t get away from the contagious spirit of the holidays.

So I hope everyone is really enjoying the Christmas preparations, and the cold weather. And for all my fellow Christmas lovers, be thankful you are not in a country halfway around the world because it’s just not the same!

This week, I am just running around trying to get a lot of stuff done. I am slowly working toward finishing college transfer essays. I am glad that I have an early start on them, and hope it really pays off.

Otherwise I am really busy trying to plan a Thanksgiving party. So far I am cooking two turkeys, mashed and roasted potatoes, stuffing, veggies on the side, deviled eggs, chocolate chip cookies and a cheesecake. To participate in the American way of Thanksgiving we encouraged everyone to bring something to the party, and people are really helping out! People have said they are bringing pies and other desserts, beverages, side dishes and helping out with decorations.

We expect 25-30 people, so it should be a lot of fun. At least it will help to diminish the disappointment in missing Thanksgiving in America. Best of all, the rushing around to make sure everything goes well has turned into a kind of high. I really think that I could make a career out of planning and hosting events. I just love everything about it. And Lebanon is definitely the place to do it – the social atmosphere is great here! I will definitely post all the pictures from the event…and for all our dear friends and family, we will be thinking of you during our Thanksgiving Dinner, because we could not be with you this year!


Although I mentioned that the organization I work for was hosting Swedish journalists for a week, I did not get around to the best part! At the end of the week they hosted a sightseeing trip to the Ksara Winery, Baalbek and Anjar.

Our first stop was Ksara. We arrived there at ten in the morning, and we were given a tour of the winery. We were able to see the fields, and their legendary caves dating back to the Roman period. They are not sure what the caves were used for, but they uncovered an extensive underground network of tunnels.

The caves are now used to store wine during their fermentation process and to store sealed bottles that are either being aged, or just kept for historical reference for the winery. The best part, of course, was the wine tasting. We tasted seven different wines, and then had a chance to buy from their store. They also gifted us each a bottle of wine, which happened to be my favorite from the tasting.

So after a little wine tasting at eleven in the morning, we all took naps on the way to Baalbek. Baalbek is a site of Roman ruins, including the only surviving temple of Jupiter. The site, for being through an earthquake and centuries of weather, was in relatively good condition. You could really see the beauty of the architecture. It was surprising that there was little guarding of the site and people were able to just pick things up, or write on the structures. But, it was still a very cool site to see.

And our last stop was Anjar. It’s an Armenian town close to the Syrian border, and it was full of good restaurants. We ate at a restaurant right on a little lake, where they actually got the fish people ordered. The food was really good, and it was the first time I ate a fish that wasn’t filleted for me.

As for our trip this past weekend, it is definitely going to be one of my best memories during our stay in Beirut. We definitely achieved what we set out to do, and that was to get away from Beirut and all aspects of city life.

We stayed in a small ski lodge called Chbat, in the village Becharre and the owner Wadih was great! He made sure that we had a safe trip there, and everything was perfect for us! It may have been because we were their only customers at the time, due to the unstable political situation, but nevertheless it was an amazing experience.

The first day we were there we just walked around the town and visited a museum dedicated to Gibril Jibron, a famous author and poet. The town was really quiet and the weather was chilly, in fact the first layer of snow fell on the mountains only a few days before we got there.

The second day was the highlight of the trip. We went on a half day hike of the Qadisha Valley, also called the Valley of the Saints. On one side of the valley there is a village called Dimone, and it is where the Maronite patriarch stays for the summer. Also in the valley there are numerous monasteries and hermitages, some of which date back to the first century. Given that I have not hiked many mountainous regions, the valley was one of the most beautiful regions I have ever visited. Every kilometer offered a beautiful view – each one very different from the other. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the hike.

http://picasaweb.google.com/alexander.m.adrian/QadishaValleyValleyOfTheSaints

On our last day, we visited the town of Dimone and another town known as the highest village in the Middle East. Also we went to see the Cedars. Although the Cedar tree is on Lebanon’s flag, they are no longer prevalent in the country. Now it is illegal to cut them down and they have small parks dedicated to preserving them. We happened to go to one such park, which was disappointingly small. The trees looked old, and were very pretty. Everyone told us that we had to visit while we are here, because it is what Lebanon is know for…so I’m glad we went.

The weekend was a huge success, and we didn’t want to come back to Beirut on Sunday. We had a chance to sip hot chocolate around a fireplace and just talk about life. We also had a chance to go to a Maronite mass. We went to a short version of mass, but it was much like a Catholic mass except it was in Arabic. Overall, it was nice to get away from the car horns and away from work.

To wrap up I want to update everyone on the political situation. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term ended at midnight on Friday, but the election was postponed for the fourth time until this coming Friday. Lebanon, therefore, is currently presidentless. As stipulated in the constitution, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and his government (his cabinet, that is) took over presidential powers for the time being.

For the past few months there have been worries that Siniora would not be allowed to take over in case of no election, because the president and opposition parties (including Hizbullah) sees the government as illegitimate. This is due to all of Lebanon’s Shiite ministers pulling out of the government, claiming to not be represented fairly.

However, power transferred without any objections or violence/rioting. Thus far the political temperature has remained steady, although there are fears that if there is not an agreement soon things may change for the worse. We feel pretty safe right now, and we are just taking it day by day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! So we are not having a lick of Turkey today, but don’t worry we are saving it for our Thanksgiving party next week. However, we are really missing the holiday spirit. Tomorrow Christmas music will start playing on radios across America while dedicated mothers and daughters get up in the wee hours of the morning to go Black Friday shopping….(big sigh) oh how I miss it.

But! It is getting really cold here….definitely coat weather. The air is crisper and the overcast weather is creating that drowsy continuous Sunday afternoon feeling…its such a great feeling! I almost felt like I was back in Jersey. And, in preparation of the coming holiday, we have found an online radio station to listen to non-stop Christmas music. Excuse me if my language seems overly peppy, but this music is putting me in a great mood.

It has definitely been a busy week. We stopped taking Arabic classes at the American Language Center to begin private tutoring. The class we were in has come to a stopping point and Alex and I have surpassed their level, so we hired a tutor to move our studies along. Also the private tutor is almost half of what we were paying at the center, so it works for us!

Also I am working with a magazine as a proofreader and a freelancer. It’s a famous Middle Eastern women’s magazine, called Sayidaty. Their December issue will be the first in English, as it is usually in Arabic. So I’m proofreading once a month, before it goes to print and I am doing an article or two a month for them. I’m very excited because I have a good amount of experience in politics, but not in fashion or girly topics – in writing, that is.

So I just want to say that it is obvious that I’m going places:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/starscene.asp?edition_id=1

This was the dinner party that MER, the media organization I work for, threw for the Swedish journalists we hosted for a week. Although the Daily Star does not mention it, Robert Fisk and some reps from the Arab newschannel Al Jazeera were also in attendance. Actually, Robert Fisk, who just wrote The Great War for Civilization and is considered by some people to be THE expert Middle East reporter, ate at my table. We had an interesting conversation to say the least, and it turned out to be a really fun night.

Please note, however, that my picture is not correctly labeled. Of course that is one step up from Alex and my friend, Matthias, who are only mentioned in the explanation paragraph below.

Concerning the situation in Lebanon, it seems unstable. I say that it seems so because its hard to tell. Where we live things are pretty normal, expect for the obvious increased security. Today was Lebanon’s Independence Day and there were no celebrations in sight. This could be due to the rain, but I don’t think that is the real cause. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term is going to end on midnight Friday and there are no indications that consensus is going to happen between the ruling party and the opposition.

There are rumors that if a president is not elected there will be two governments, a possible civil war, a coup d’etat, or rioting. We are all hoping that something miraculous happens in the next few days. If it gets too bad we have a back-up plan…and we will keep you updated.

To get away from it all, Alex and I are taking a long weekend close to the Cedars, Lebanon's famous mountain region with preserved cedar forests, which double as a national symbol, appearing on the country's flag. Its in a village called Becharre and we are staying at a cute little place that one of my bosses told us about. We plan on just taking walks in the forests, and just loving the fresh snow that just fell. Its going to be a weekend next to the fireplace in a cozy salon with a book and a cup of hot chocolate. What a way to spend Thanksgiving away from home, eh?

P.S. Don't worry about the photo of me Grandma. Just because I'm holding a wine glass doesn't mean Alex has driven me to alcoholism!

Thoughts on Diplomacy, and Everything Else

Diplomacy is so funny sometimes. I never realized how amusing it is until I began to read the news everyday. Some of the statements I read by politicians really baffle me. In today’s news Iranian President Ahmadinejad released statements on Interpol’s issue of five arrest warrants of Iranian citizens suspected in the 1994 bombing in Argentina. Interpol can issue warrants, and last year it issued over 2000, but it cannot force the country housing the accused to arrest them.

Iran slammed Interpol’s accusations against five of its citizens, saying that the police force is being dragged into politics. Last August, in retaliation of the warrants, Iran issued warrants for five Argentines, saying they were a threat to Iranian security. I hope this sounds vaguely familiar. After the U.S. labeled Iran’s Qods Force, the elite branch of their army Revolutionary Guards, as terrorists, Iran responded by branding the U.S. army and the CIA as terrorists.

All of this diplomatic discourse gets so tiring. Of course I understand the need to preserve state security as well as maintaining relations with other countries, but sometimes the things states do seem so unnecessary. Would Iran really be seen as weak if they just let the Interpol thing slide? They know they have the choice to arrest them, isn’t it diplomatic enough to just ignore the ruling? Even more importantly, since Iran seems to be hurt that Argentina would implicate them in the bombings, wouldn’t it be a better show if Iran handed over the suspects in a cooperative manner? I guess that just wouldn’t fall in line with Iran’s personality.

I’m sure someone will tell me that I’m missing the bigger picture, but I think it unimportant to spend a lot of time analyzing why Iran wanted to respond in such a way to Argentina. I really think I would be the worst diplomat because I would just dismiss everything as being silly. I’ll leave it to others to handle those kinds of things, haha.

Like most women, I go through little phases like twice a year when I promise myself that I’m going to lose 10-15 lbs. And this month is one of those times. Since winter is coming on, its time for me to do a bit of warm clothes shopping…but who wants to try on clothes with a flabby body? Thus my 10-15 lb goal over the next month, and my subsequent reward of spending Alex’s money on cute clothing! (Shhh, I hope he doesn’t see this!)

So, if anyone has any weight loss tricks up their sleeve, including healthy eating or exercise tricks, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment on the blog. It doesn’t seem like many people do dieting here, probably because the women naturally have great figures until they are old enough to not care anymore, so I won’t be getting any good advice here.

Speaking of clothing, Alex and I happened to take a friend’s advice and go to a little place called Bourj Hammoud. It is an Armenian district in Beirut, and it is basically streets of strip malls. The clothing was the cheapest we’ve found in Beirut, at least for the above average quality of clothing. Alex was able to get a nice black wool suit, tailored and everything, for 100,000 Lebanese lira (approx $65). I didn’t do any personal shopping, but I was impressed with what I saw. Now I’m starting to feel a little more at home!

Also making me feel a little more at home are the plans Alex and I are involved in for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately we will not be able to celebrate the wonderful American celebration of Thanksgiving, and we will miss seeing turkeys made from silhouettes of hands, pictures of Native Americans and pilgrims, the orange, brown and yellow colors of the season, and of course all the great food. But we are going to do our best to have a big gathering for Thanksgiving – co-planned with a German friend. Yes, he is German, but he says that he loves Thanksgiving….it works.

So, I have one more favor to ask. Send us your favorite Thanksgiving recipe to give us some ideas for a buffet variety. We’ve got the turkey and stuffing on the list, as well as a pumpkin pie, and sides like potatoes and veggies. Thinking about it just makes me really happy! Can’t wait to hear from you!

Thank God for Rain!

We had our first winter rain! It’s almost mid-Nov. and we finally had a heavy and cooling rain. It’s about time – we have maintained 80 degrees during the day here and its starting to really take a toll on my body. I just shouldn’t be sweating so close to xmas!

I have restarted the process of filling out university applications. I’m starting to get that senior year (of high school) giddiness all over again. The first time I applied to college, however, I only send in my application to one school – Seton Hall. Fortunately I got in, but this time I’m playing it a bit more safe. Thus far I’ve begun applications to American University, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, University of Virginia. University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, and possibly Drexel University.

Also Alex and I have finalized plans for Christmas. Instead of spending it at home, which we will miss terribly, we are going to vacation in Eastern Europe. We just bought the tickets two nights ago! We will fly to Prague and spend Christmas there. Afterward we will go to Vienna for a few days, and then onto Budapest where we will fly back. On the way back, we have a one-day layover in Milan! Four countries in one vacation! Not bad, eh?

Lately we have just been working, studying, working and studying some more. Everyday I am missing the rigors of college even more, but I am still learning a lot. My Arabic is 2000x’s better than ever, and I could hold a pretty decent discussion on a variety of subjects related to the Middle East.

For some light reading this past month I picked up a book by Robert Greene called The Art of Seduction. You may have heard of his other book, The 48 Laws of Power, which also happened to make the Harvard Review. It was definitely a great read; he was a classics major so he infuses the analysis with examples from old and modern history which makes for an interesting layout.

Although, after reading halfway into the book, the chapters can get a little repetitive the anecdotes of historical figures are always fresh and entertaining. It is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction.

Much like his book on power, The Art of Seduction illustrates how a person can be sexually or politically admired by manipulating situations – including the environment, material goods (clothes, gifts, props, etc) and people.

He first defines the kinds of seducers, depending on what the person’s objective and personality are. Then he defines the victims of seducers, particularly what the person is missing in their life to make them succumb to a seduction. Finally he elaborates on the phases of seduction and their respective components. That is, what you want to achieve during the first phase, the second, and so on. He further outlines the qualities of the “anti-seducer,” and in the end how to either break clean from a seduction or keep the seduction alive.

Greene’s analysis of human psychology is right on, although put in simple terms and more common sense than science. More than anything I enjoyed it for the analysis of the human mind, because it always good to know how a person ticks. Even if you have no desire to seduce someone, in any form, I would still recommend the book.

The only problem I have with the author is that both books, on power and seduction, he makes it seem as though the person who employs these tactics achieve their goal(s) is above the people who are the victims. Yes, he admits that the seducer can fail in his task, or that she can be counter-manipulated by her chosen victim; but he does not address the fact that the seducer can wind up in a worse state than his/her victim.

A seduction or power-play is fine, but when someone becomes dependent on it, as did the libertines in Greene’s book, they wind up becoming detached from their victims. That is to say, they are now always in charge and have lost the fantasy of seduction or of being in love. Then the seduction becomes a job and not a pleasure. When one becomes disenfranchised then they are more apt to be the victim, than the seductor. He, although making it seem as if it is quite normal, does not talk about the effects of what I would like to call “chronic seduction”.

Now I am reading The Story of Philosophy by William Durant. I have always been interested in the topic and Alex suggested the book to me, as a good survey of philosophy.

For a brief update:
There are already rumors that the Lebanese parliament’s third attempt at electing a president, on Nov 12, is going to be postponed – again. So far there has been no violence here between group loyal to the majority or opposition. Lebanon is becoming increasingly popular among Western and Mid Eastern states, especially the last few months, so we will see how things pan out.

The same old discourse is being passed around – The majority says it will elect with a simple majority if there is no consensus. Hizbullah and opposition parties threaten to create a second govt, and now President Emile Lahoud is making really immature comments saying that if the majority elects with a simple majority that the opposition will elect with a “50 minus one” vote – trying to signify that both moves are unconstitutional. Who knows what will happen.

Interestingly the US just placed sanctions on two Lebanese and two Syrian politicians, claiming that they were undermining Lebanon’s sovereignty. That didn’t go over too well with Hizbullah or opposition parties in general. Actually, I didn’t know a state could do that, or did that. Amusing!

Hope to hear from everyone soon! And hope that everyone in America is enjoying the fall weather for us!