Hope for the Unseasoned Visitor to Beirut?

With "Navigating the streets of Beirut, one landmark at a time," The Daily Star reporter Niamh Fleming-Farrell tells us about  a new process for giving people directions in Beirut  (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle /2011/Oct-29/152506-navigating-the-streets-of-beirut-one-landmark-at-a-time.ashx#ixzz1cMUoGnKb) . We'll see if this navigational tool of design firm PenguinCube catches on. It's a series of seven steps that could even fit on a business card. Some Beirutis have reservations about standardizing landmarks in their city and neighborhoods, since explaining to people where places are in their communities is a matter of identity as much as social conversation. Designer Tammam Yamout says he is trying to honor that, though. Who knows, perhaps there is hope for newcomers like me to be less late for appointments while honoring our hosts' cultural identity! 

Lebanons, USA

Fun facts about shared history: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2011/Oct-19/151605-welcome-to-lebanon--in-the-united-states-that-is.ashx#axzz1b7HTN8tr .

The Lebanese Civil Coalition

The emerging Lebanese Civil Coalition is the first civil society group I have encountered that connects with the "Arab Spring" movements in other countries in the region. Read some preliminary information about the group at http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Oct-13/151155-lebanese-civil-coalition-launch-demands-rule-of-law.ashx#axzz1afBRzXyg and http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=321639 . Unfortunately, I have not yet found a website for the LCC itself.

It's a small, increasingly interconnected world...

... and our diversity is infinite. Because of the Internet and worldwide web, and creative people, including Steve Jobs, those with the money and/or access can learn about and do so much more, minute by minute. With Steve Jobs' passing, I learned about his "halfie" biological connection with a Syrian American (e.g., http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-son-of-a-syrian-is-embraced-in-the-arab-world/, http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/02/28/steve-jobs-is-a-biological-arab-american-with-roots-in-syria-apple/, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44799722/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/arabs-embrace-steve-jobs-syrian-connection/#.TpAzm97nj1Q . But in addition to money and access, when I read these accounts, I think of community, luck, and the power of education. Steve Jobs was lucky to be born into a community that values education and has the resources to nurture children. That kind of culture generates infinite diversity. It's a culture that transcends national or geographical boundaries, yet is profoundly affected by them. I am endlessly fascinated by how we make babies, meaning -- and technology -- from our interconnectedness.