we are going indeed!!!
Archive for May, 2008
The Lebanese need “reassurances” the militants would not again “turn on the people” as they did last week, he told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. He said almost no progress had been made and that the talks were “still at the beginning.”
That was taken from a story over at the examiner.com
What is encouraging about these talks is that the Saudi’s do have a vested interest in saving Lebanon from heading back into civil war due to all of the resorts, banks and shops that they have dump literally billions of dollars into. How this will play is anyone’s guess and ultimately strong public opinion from the Lebanese people will need to be positive for whatever shift in political happenings to take root and move Lebanon in a new direction.
Some might be wondering on what the status of us going to Lebanon is and right now…. we’re still not quite sure. Our leadership is gong to be taking a long hard look at what’s going on in the city over the next couple of days and make some determinations also based on people on the ground.
It’s still a “wait and see approach” but we’re being cautiously optimistic about things.
Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian *Two thumbs up*
Published 2008/05/17 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Went to go see this last night and I’ll have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Following the book for the most part, the movie moved at a decent pace. Still having the thread of faith based elements running throughout the movie, ableit a touch more suttle this time around.
The battle scenes are a bit more intense from the first one (which I’m okay with) however family members be warned for the kids. There’s also a interaction with the white witch which I’d say would freak the small ones out so be careful.
Overall it was a good ride from beginning to end with action, drama, some romance and good story as well. Definitely give it a view since Indy 4 is coming out next weekend and you’ll need to go see that. 
Beirut, Lebanon 5-9-08
Opening today 5.9.08
So on a lighter note— I’m going to try and go see the Wachowski’s latest offering and somewhat cult classic (for some): Speed Racer.
For those not privy to all the details, here’s a brief synopsis of the story :
The story begins with Speed Racer who is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer. Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops and Mom. Pops designed Speed’s car, the Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries makes Speed a lucrative offer, Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X, seeking to rescue his family’s business.
That was taken from the IMDB.
What grips me about this film is the A.D.D. style of which it was shot and the visual FX. Truly any boys dream of going fast and stuff blowing up should prove to be a formidable opponent to Marvel’s : Iron Man (which btw— Was freaking awesome go see that this weekend too!) at the box office.
Check out the first 7 mins of the movie at the link below.
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/speedracer.html?showVideo=1
Go Speed Racer GO!
So what amounts to an interesting beginnings of political and social struggle, Beirut has fallen into more fighting which has rocked the nation for the last quarter century.
What is so interesting about this is the timing. On the one side of things you have the Shiite and Sunni’s starting to take issue with each other again and their battleground is the streets of Beirut; on the other side, you have the Druze and Pro-Western democratic government not able to do much since in essence this is a gang fight between two factions.
Media in the country has also come under attack. TV and radio stations have been told to remove themselves pending anything that might happen.
Also worth noting that the Airport has been seized and is being blocked which is not ushering in any flights from the outside world which in turn means that this may be a ramp up for something dramatic.
So far 11 people have been killed and more than 40+ have been injured due to the fighting. My hope and prayers are that the people of Beirut, the families and the children are safe during this time.
What’s amazing to me is thinking about this happening in downtown Portland. Imagine if you could for a moment of tanks, militia groups w/ RPG’s and AK-47’s marching down broadway and blowing up buildings and shooting from high rises along the way. Imagine that happening in the Pearl District….. on the east side…. in Beaverton….. and downtown Hillsboro. Interesting thought for some I bet.
I’ll keep you informed of our travels and if any plans change due to these happenings.
May this day find you well.
Day 1
So as some of you know I am going with my wife over to Beirut, Lebanon here at the end of June. What’s so amazing about doing so is that it will be my first time overseas (internationally) and I’m really looking forward to the experience of all of it.
One of the interesting things about it is gaining the world perspective on how life is lived outside of my own little world.
Outside of the media, the cars, the electronics— everything that we value and everything that we find important now and the differences between that.
What will I see, what will I experience— how will I change? I think I’m finally ready for something like this.
I hope after all is said and done the person that you know now will have changed. How will you see that change….. Dunno. But my hope is you will.
Aaron / 0859 / 5.3.08
