Salim

And I quote: The first name of Salim creates an intense personal nature. Your feelings and emotional desires are strong and consequently you are an individual, determined, strong-willed person. Your creative nature and ambition drive you to pursue success to the extent that you jeopardize your personal well-being. There is a tendency for you to dominate others. You are too certain of yourself, and you are not open to the views of others or responsive to their desires or needs. Also, this name does not incorporate qualities that enable you to be diplomatic and to compromise. In all your work and activities you are inclined to be rather unsystematic and disorderly. These characteristics spoil stability, progress, and accumulation, even though you may put forth intense effort. Tension and frustration exact a heavy toll on your peace of mind and nervous system. You are often preoccupied with the desires and demands of the moment. Temper and indulgence could become serious problems in your life. Your health could suffer through disorders affecting the nervous system. Tension centring in the head could affect the eyes, ears, sinuses, and teeth.

What's disturbing is that they're not far wrong, especially if you knew me before I became a committed Christian. Apparently this so-called philosophy says that your name dictates your personality. I'd say it's about a step up from reading the horoscope, but on the other hand I can't deny that my own name has had undeniable affects on my life - emphasizing my Lebanese & Jewish roots and perhaps helping to spark an interest in Arabica (yes, it's spelled suchly on purpose; if Arabica isn't a word it should be) from a young age. You can look your own name up at the Kalabarians' website.

On a second look at reading this website I'd have to say that although the material is methodically presented, it's more like a step down from reading your horoscope, at least if you actually believe what they say... "Please call us at 604-263-9551 for advice before choosing a baby name. " "Note: Changing your name or altering the spelling is a serious step. It will affect your personality, health, personal relations, and personal and business success. If you want to make a change of name or would like more information on your current name, please call our Head Office at 604-263-9551." Umm...yeah.

This Just In

The Furth Family has succesfully re-entered the information age; we finally got through all the red tape and have our new DSL connection. We're going to buy a wireless router soon so Polly, the main computer, and maybe the laptop can all use the 'net at once. Speedily? We'll see. What really amused/amazed/annoyed me about getting signed up was the phenomenal problems the phone company (Verizon) has with communication. Honestly, they're completely illogical and have terrible service over the phone! For example, to sign up for DSL you have to enter a confirmation code that they send to you... in an email.

As American As Apple Pie

If you live in Boston, you know that Irish drinkers must be a healthy percentage of the market for alcohol, because you can always find advertisements for Irish alcohol. The average Irish-alcohol-ad touts the authentic Irishness of their beverage and sometimes the strength of "an Irish thirst".

Though I take moral issue with marketing a nation as drinkers, my main objection to the ads is their inanity. I have never seen a single good ad for Irish alcohol. Well, actually there's one. It's for Magner's Irish Cider, and it says "We could have just made beer. And you guys could have just played cricket."

Sympathies

Instant Replay's sympathies are with Julius Caesar after the death of his friend and ally Crassus at the hands of the Parthians. Hopefully this won't destabilize Julius' political situation or threaten the empire.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Baseball won't strike!!! Eleventh hour negotiations came through and Don Fehr is quoted by Reuters as saying that there will be no strike, and details will be released fifteen minutes after this posting, at 1:00.

Every silver lining has a cloud, however. When I buoyantly called the news in to my Dad in the next office he joked "Oh no! That was the Red Sox's only hope". With our recent meltdown against the No-Nonsense Bronx Bombers, he's not far wrong.

Oh, and the headline at RedSox.com is worth a look at.

Color By Number: Palestinian Politics

Ha'aretz reports a poll by "the prestigous Palestinian think tank, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research" which casts some light on public opinion in Palestine. I found it very instructive that many of the important questions found the poll population evenly split, reflecting the lack of concensus within Palestine. Here are most of the numbers from the poll:

26%	Support Fatah.
27%	Support Islamic movements.
70%	Think armed confrontations have helped Palestinian nat'l rights in ways negotiations couldn't.
73%	Support post-peace agreement reconciliation with Israel.
48%	Support gradual implementation of a cease-fire.
50%	Oppose gradual implementation of a cease-fire.
52%	Support bombing attacks against civilian targets.
43%	Support internal Palestinian dialogue aimed at ending above attacks.
53%	Oppose internal Palestinian dialogue aimed at ending above attacks.
84%	Support fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority.
69%	Approve appointment of a prime minister.
44%	Approve giving most now-presidential powers to a new PM.
34%	Like Yasr Arafat.
23%	Like Marwan Barghouti.

Fifteen Seconds of Fame

My siblings and I got our names mentioned on the radio yesterday, by our top radio voices, Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano. Here's how it happened...

My mom decided to take us on a tour of Fenway Park Friday morning, as we were going to the game with my uncle David later that day. One of the first stops on the tour was Fenway's spacious press section. One of the booths, it was pointed out to us, was for Joe & Jerry's radio broadcast. I don't recall who's idea it was, but we worked together to tape a note to their door, saying "Dear Joe and Jerry, we love listening to your broadcasts! Keep up the good work, Salim, Kez, Polly, and Barney Furth.

That night at the game we were all spread out; Polly and Barnabas with my cousin and uncle in his company's box seats ten rows behind home plate; Kez and I in section 19, up above the Sox dugout, and my parents above the visiting dugout in seats they'd been given for free by someone at the tour that morning! My mom likes to listen to the game on her walkman while she's there; otherwise she doesn't follow all the action. In the first inning, Joe was doing the color, and said they'd received a nice note from some fans that day. He paused to report a pitch, and then said that the note had said how much we loved the games and "I think it's signed 'Salim, Kez, Polly, and Barney Furth'". Mom came running down to tell the littles, who told us, and D & Ali Baba told me today they heard it as well.... definitely a good Red Sox memory, and considering most of you didn't hear it I felt that I ought to brag about it to be sure you all know.

Lugged

I waited on Sunday night for close to an hour at the baggage claim. No baggage. I waited for another half an hour to get to the guy who you do the paperwork with. Then I waited at home. It wasn't a big deal; of everything in there, I most missed my toothbrush and shorts. They promised to call on Monday, and when they didn't, I got just a little frustrated. Then they called -- at 10:20 at night, just as I was going to bed. It was the luggage truck driver, who said he'd be late - maybe 11:30 or so - and asked whether I'd like him to leave it somewhere or to call or ring the doorbell when he arrived. I told him to phone when he got here. Then I sat down with a book. By 11:30 I was very tired - jetlag had me up at 5:30 that morning. By 12:00 I was drooling on my book, and slept for 20 minutes before waking up long enough to get some water and go to bed. I was frustrated again, though mostly tired, and I almost gave up on the driver. However, as an afterthought I brought the cordless phone to my bedside table, in case he ever showed up.

I'm not sure what woke me up; the phone, or my mom running down the hall looking for it. I think it was the phone. I padded downstairs to the apartment building entrance, and thumped and thudded back up stairs while Mom agonized over the noise and the neighbors. I checked my watch before I fell back into bed: 2:00.

Godzilla's Vengeance

The Japanese company with the trademark on the name "Godzilla" is trying to force blogging funnyman Davezilla to change the name of his popular blog. My friends, you can't copyright the language!

Home

I have zero creative energy right now. I have zero luggage too, and Virgin Atlantic had better deliver the goods pretty soon or I'm going to be unhappy with them. I'm home, having a good time getting reacquainted with Keziah as well as the rest of the family, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends. Right now I'm at NU - our house isn't wired until my Dad quits procrastinating...

I had an awesome time in Syria, but I'll leave it at that: there's too much to tell.

Boston rocks my world!!

Contact

For all those who know me stateside, my new address there is:
89 Pleasant St, Apartment #6
Brookline, MA 02446
617.232.6030

Activity on this blog will ensha'allah be limited to your comments for the next 9 days: I'm going to tour Syria and spend a few days in the mountains here with my family. I'll be flying into the U.S. at 4:45, Sunday the 18th, on Virgin Atlantic Flight 11. Looking forward to seeing my Boston posse soon, and my D.C. dogs shortly thereafter!

Beirut Report XV

Barring any unforeseen changes in plans (like being turned back at the Syrian border), this will be the last Beirut Report. We wrapped up the class today with an informal half-class, and then joined the High Intermediate class to watch "In The Shadow of the City", a Beirut war-time movie with a palatable plot and excellent footage. It's really hard to comprehend that when I was born this city was occupied by Israelis, and when I was growing up it was divided into two warring sides. Now it's peaceful, as cities go, and even with bullet holes all over the place it's difficult to imagine a fifteen-year war happening in this place. People are willing to talk politics and history here, but mostly the adults. Political debate is alive and well - the country is on the verge of economic crisis, everybody knows it, and a lot of people don't think the Hariri-Lahoud government can pull the strings to save the country. Young people don't talk war or politics much, they look only to the present; the past was awful, the future is scary. In the forty-three days I've been here I've watched the city, as well as the villages where I've been, and I've tried to understand the national psyche at least a little bit. How does a country cope with a horrific, generation-long civil war that ultimately failed to resolve the economic discrepencies it was started over?

A lot of people - the excellent film "West Beirut", for instance - like to blame it on outsiders. "The regional drama was played out on the stage of Lebanon", I've heard. Sure, regional rivalries - Israel v. PLO and Israel v. Syria - were played out here, but that's not what divided the Lebanese into splintering, sectarian factions. Christians especially, as well as Sunnis, don't like to face the reality of economic disparity along sectarian lines, both in 1975 and (more troublingly) now. People seem to get along now, and I honestly think that most of the nation understands that there were just too many wrongs perpetrated during the war to try and rectify each; there has been a national amnesty of sorts, or at least it seems that way on the surface.
-- my apologies, the rest of this post was killed by Blogger/AUB and I don't have the time to rewrite it... it wasn't very well-thought-out anyway, so don't lose sleep over it.

Notes

Welcome to "Semicrazy" - you have the honor of being the first Arabic language blog I've ever linked to (or seen)... keefa naqool "blog" fii al-arabia? La astatia an aktub hon fiha, wa fi al-haqiqa la astatia an iqra' "bloguk"... In any case, ahlan wasahlan! I don't know if your text will be legible to my readers at home, but here at AUB it comes through fine... like I said, the Arabic is too complicated for me, but I might sit down for an hour and puzzle through a post of yours when I have the time. Oh, and I responded to your question on the previous post.

Another note... Praise God for news I got from South Africa via Norway today. An out-of-touch old friend, I heard from an in-touch-with-both-of-us friend, was healed of a cancerous brain-tumor today... "So I don't know much details yet. The only thing I got a chance to hear before the connection was cut was that, with the condition she was in with the cancer, she shouldn't have been alive now. The doctors are confused and don't know what's going on!" So I guess that cancels the prayer request she mailed out this morning...

Finally

Phew. Finished the final exam. I think I did very well, especially on the oral interview. Now it's unwind time...

Oh, and I was able to tell the story of my accepting Christ for the first time in Arabic... our "Composition" section was 10 lines about the hardest and most important decision in your life, so I took it and ran with it, and I think I did an OK job of telling the story, at least on a 2nd-grade level or something.

Beirut Report XIV

Classes are done!!! Our class today threw a little party, and invited the High Intermediate class from next door (which they did for us post-midterm). I love free lunches... Anyway, it's been quite a 6 weeks... or 22 days of class, however you want to look at it.

The Sunday trip to South Lebanon is off, but we're probably on for Tripoli or something on Saturday. I may be going to Syria alone, but I'm ok with that. The final exam is tomorrow, and the only part that I think needs real preperation is a five-minute oral interview for which we have been given the opening questions.

Last night I took a long walk down south of here, across Ras Beirut, along the crowded Corniche through Raouche overlooking the illuminated Pigeon Rocks, along the water's edge where there's a very dirty public beach with very nice sand, and through a beachfront market/carnival in the mostly Shia UNESCO neighborhood. Then I swung back through the chic Verdun shopping plazas and across a quiet neighborhood, through bustling Hamra, and back to the University.

Today it's off to the beach for studying, swimming and sun, and I'm going to take my photos in to be developed - it's cheaper and quicker here than stateside!

Beirut Report XIII

Perhaps it's a bit presumptuous of me to write about plans for the future here, especially given the way the Middle East is in regards to anything in the future. However, since I'll probably be almost completely out of contact for ten days before I arrive at home, I might as well tell you all my hopes, if plans is too strong a word.

Thursday is our final exam, and Friday our ending ceremonies/party. I'll wrap up my life here and get myself organized, and enjoy being a free man for the first time since June 30th. Saturday is Charlie Brown's birthday, and a group of us may go to Tripoli to see the castle, the city, to wish Charlie well, and to celebrate the end of the program. Unless plans fall through, I should be going to the south of Lebanon with my family on Sunday; one of my uncles is married to a woman from the South, so we'd have a family day trip to the still-rural and semi-stable south.

After that, I'm off to Syria for five days, ensha'allah. I'm hoping to find travel partners for at least part of the time. I looked through Charlie's "Lonely Planet" guide to Syria last night, and the sights that I most want to see are Aleppo, ancient ghost towns near there, and Palmyra. On the "B" list are Dura Europus, Mari, and the Iraqi border (all very near each other), Hama, and Deir az-Zur. I'd like to see, but will probably have to save for another visit, Damascus and the world's #1 crusader castle, Krak de Chevaliers. If I go alone I have greater flexibility and mobility. However, I'd much rather be with at least another person, since staying in sketchy hotels, taking five-hour bus trips, fighting off wild dogs, and meeting locals are generally less fear and more fun when you know that at least you won't die alone.

I should be back in Lebanon by the 16th, and I ship out of here early on the 18th, to spend a grueling 12+ hours in airplanes before getting home.

Beirut Report XII

What with being dumped and all, it was quite a fun weekend. Seriously, though, I did have a good weekend, up in the mountains as usual. Friday we went to the kickoff of the "Emigrants Festival", which is an excuse to have an event and is supposedly held to honor those who've emigrated back to Lebanon, of which there are quite a few. It culminates with the "Miss Emigrant" contest, though I'll be away for that (if you recall, I did see Miss Lebanon, who is from D'hour). The organizers were so desperate for performers at the well-attended event that my cousin and her friends were putting their heads together to see if they could come up with something -- halfway through the evening!!

Saturday we had a pleasant lunch at Dalia's house, with the whole crowd in attendance. Afterwards I got dumped, played some "Crazy Eights" and taught Dalia and Nassib "Beat Your Neighbor Down The Stairs" aka "Egyptian Rat War" aka "Birdo". Dalia won that game despite having only a vague idea of the mechanics of the game. Then I got dumped, and after talking amicably with Dalia for a while went down the street to Nassib's place, where I helped him and his father pot geraniums. They have a small farm, and when they're not in Winsor, Ontario, they're making things grow over here. Working with soil is quite therapeutic; it was just what the doctor ordered to get my mind off of second-guessing Dalia and onto something tangible. Nassib and I went out to water the broccolli after the geraniums were potted, and he pointed out that the next field on their small plot - which was overgrown and unplanted - was a minefield. They'd cleared the land a couple years ago they currently used using a massive tractor, which could take the blows of the anti-personnel mines. It hadn't gotten all of them, though, and one blew up in Nassib's father's face when he swung a pickaxe into it last summer (his face was burnt, but thank God he was alright otherwise). Anyway, the tractor thing worked pretty well until they hit some anti-vehicle mines, which sent the front of the tractor ten feet into the air. I asked if they used to throw rocks to try and trigger mines in the other fields when they were younger; he said that they still do, though without success. All in all, I was fascinated.

Today we got up bright and early and took a day trip to the nearby Beqaa valley. For me, the drive across the mountains was a high point. D'hour-alShweer seems to be the end of Beirut's massive suburban sprawl; after it, the land gets empty and seems much less marred by the nondescript concrete monstrosities so popular in the Middle East. The Valley itself is almost like a different country - most people are poor, Muslim, and farmers, and the functioning government in much of the Valley is Hezbollah. However, we stayed on our own side, the western edge of the valley, and it's quite peaceful now anyway, though supposedly last week's shooting in Beirut sparked some sectarian tensions. We visited the two large wineries - Kefraya and Ksara - and tasted eight very diverse wines at the first, much calmer, venue. After that, we prayed briefly below a statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking Zahle (the cult of Mary is very strong here, and the Lebanese like icons in general). Then we went to Araaby, one of Lebanon's best-known places and the culinary center of the Arab world. I'd eaten there before with school, and with just eight of us this meal was less glamorous, but the food was excellent nonetheless.

Phew, it's late and I have a headache and class in the morning... I'm just glad I slept in the car on the way down to Beirut. Hey, it's not funny - you try sleeping in a car on a road that's all switchbacks!

Let's Be Friends

I kid thee not when I say that I'm just as happy now as I was before it happened. She laid awake for a whole night, but I guess that's the price you have to pay when you want to break off a relationship abruptly. I was surprised, don't get me wrong. But once I understood what she meant, I was fine with it. Curious as to why - a sentiment she understood and tried to satisfy - but really, truly fine with it.

Of course, I don't want to deprive you all of the God-given right to make fun of your friend when he gets dumped, so have at thee. But really, I was fine with it, I have no regrets, and that's the way I was hoping it would end up. We are still friends, though it was a little odd today when we were in the back seat of Genie's SUV for hours of driving and saying much, much less than we would have a week ago.

So why did she do it? I'll tell you: I don't know. Her English wasn't quite up to the task of explaining; or perhaps she didn't really want me to know; I dunno. It had to do with her freedom, and I got the feeling that it was ultimately because she didn't enjoy being "together", and dearly missed her singleness. I was surprised, because with two weeks left to go, I'd have expected her to wait it out even if she wasn't having the time of her life. But I'm just as happy to be single - honestly, having one less thing to worry about is a relief, because I've got a lot on my plate the next two weeks.

On one point I'm still undecided: the theme song. Is it "Summer Lovin'", or "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover"?

Adios, Amigo

El Guapo esta un "Red Sox" no mas. El equipo...um, como se dice, "designated for assignment"? That's my latest attempt at multilingual blogging, but El Guapo's girth will be missed as much as his effective pitching has been missed for the last year or so...yo siento, amigo gordo.

Beirut Report XIa

This is going to be shorter than the original XI I wrote early this week (and the computer lost). One adventure from last weekend:

After spending Friday afternoon at the beach near Sidon, I wanted to go up to the mountains for the evening, and then return early the next morning to go on our Saturday day trip to Byblos and the phenomenal Jeita Grotto.

I got on the road Friday evening at 7:30, walked the half mile to Barbar Snack, and caught the #2 bus to Antelias. The bus was fun - at 33 cents it's the cheapest tour of Beirut you'll find. The route goes south of Downtown, on the crosstown Avenue d'Independence, and then winds through heavily Armenian suburb of Dowra and up into Antelias. There I caught a bus going up the mountain, and I when I called out "D'hour", he told me to get in. We drove up through Bekfaya, the main town of the lower mountain, but about two miles past there, the driver called me forward and told me in half-Arabic, half-English that I was supposed to have changed buses in Bekfaya, and I had to get out and go back! It was 9:00 by this time, and I knew there weren't going to be many buses going down the mountain, so I jogged down the mountain until a passing car responded to my outstretched hand (the equivalent of a thumb here) and picked me up. He took me to Bekfaya and pointed me to D'hour. Buses weren't showing themselves, so I started walking and hitchhiking. Thank God, I was picked up on the first block, and the young guy driving took me as far as Douar. From there, I started walking again, with only a directional road sign to go on. Nobody picked me up this time, and I had walked a mile when I entered the municipality limits of D'hour-alShweer and then reached an intersection with unclear signage. Fortunately I was able to flag a passing car down for directions, and I found that I was just a minute's walk from the D'hour "Saha" (town square). It's a short walk from there to my cousins', and when I rang the doorbell at 10:15 the door immediately opened, and about a dozen friends and relatives all started clapping as I walked in. They were very worried; I guess the mountain's not really safe at night, with disreputable Syrian soldiers and bandits or something. I don't know about all that, but I certainly had fun, even if it took over two and half hours to go a half-hour's drive!