So Far Nothing.

Did you hear? The world is ending again.

I read that it's supposed to happen at 6 pm in each time zone.
That was two hours ago for us in Beirut, and so far . . . . nothing.

I took this picture a year ago in Achrafieh. I liked that peeling paint, the pattern of the iron bars, and the poster curling behind it. The walls aren't bad either. 

Tiled Balconies

There's something about these orangy-brown tiled balconies that I really like. The color combination is unusual, but pleasing (I think). And it's kind of cool how the blocks of color are layered, as though the architecht simply spread some color swatches out and thought, "yes, that will work!"

They're different, unlike any other balcony in the city probably. Maybe it's as simple as that. Maybe that's why I like them.

No Take-Backs

At pick-up time yesterday all the kids were excited. School was canceled for Thursday and it was as if Christmas had come early. Thursday, today, was to be an enormous protest day; a burn tires and close schools and shut down the city kind of protest day.

And then, in the late evening yesterday, it was all called off. Except that school had already been canceled and there's a no take-backs clause on that one.

From my corner of town, the city seems quieter than usual today. Maybe that's why this picture from my archives felt right today. It was about a year ago that I stopped at the edge of the highway that leads northward out of town and took this photo.  It's just a street, but the quietness about it contrasted with the roaring highway where I stood and the contrast was a bit mesmerizing and I couldn't help taking a picture. 

The Colors

Tiles seem to have become the latest genre that I've attempted to exhaust. So far, I've really loved the tiled facades that I've shown--they've been kind of retro, a little bit awesome.  Of course, I love a good pattern, especially if it's infinitely repeatable.

But that brings me to today, and today I have to admit that my affection for tiled facades has its limits.

Can't say I'm very fond of this one, for example. Maybe it's the colors?

Costco in Beirut?

Not long ago I started hearing rumors about Costco. I was told that there was one here in Beirut, that it stocked the same kinds of things as Costco in the US and that they even had the Walmart off-brand merchandise.

It's true.

It's not as huge or warehouse-like as it's American counterpart.  In my case that's a good thing since I have mini anxiety attacks in huge stores.  This is where Costco is, just south of Beirut:

The shop is between the Golf Club and TSC Jnah. If you're coming from Beirut, you'll want to get off the airport highway near TSC so you don't overshoot your target.

They're open from 9 AM to 8 PM Monday-Saturday, and they're open Sunday too, 10 AM to . . . I've forgotten. But then, their phone number is on the sign and if you really need to know you could always call and ask.

Pallet

Lately, I've been combing through my archives which include this previously unpublished image. I took it from the apartment where I was living last year. I love the yellow hardhats.

Trucks are a little bit amazing. Consider that one cinder block is a fairly heavy thing and that 12 of them in a regular car would make a noticeable impact on the vehicle's handling. But this truck has just delivered pallets and pallets of cinder blocks to their new home in a luxury high-rise. This truck probably does that every day of the week. It's amazing.

Dotted

I think these tiles are quite cute. I like the dotted look, and it makes me wonder if living in a building with a blue, dotty exterior would change a person. If they're happy living there, would it make them grow fonder of blue?

Would it do that to me, to you?

My Good Fortune

I love this little spot. It's my good fortune to walk past it nearly every day.

It's become a piece of home.

15 x 15 Tile

This building is directly across from one of the Hariri residences. With my back turned to the famous estate across the way, I focused my gaze on this house, and pulled out my camera to take a picture. Still, the security folks were not at all happy about my camera, not happy about its proximity to their domain. No photographs! one of them called out. I called back, pointing at this building with its amazing, unexpected, crazy tile designs. Please, I said. This is what I want a picture of. I promised I wouldn't take any pictures of the other side of the street.

He let me carry on and I kept my promise.

From a distance all those tiny little squares blend into lines and blocks of color.

I decided to post this enlarged section to better show the tiny tiles that also compose the blue facing on the intersecting face. I would have liked to get a clearer picture, but it's been cloudy and rainy and sometimes this is as good as it gets.

Pacific Hotel

Here's another tiled exterior. For as long as I've been in Beirut, the Pacific Hotel has been in ruins. This particular kind of ruination look like war damage.

It sits on prime real estate, so anything could be in store for the place. It's fate isn't known (to me, anyway) and I sometimes wonder if it will be revitalized (which would be awesome) or if it will be cleared out for something new (which might be awesome, you never know).

Whatever happens next, I hope they keep the blue tile and refurbish the yellow lettering. I like the color combination and the composition, the marquee Vegas-like feel of it.