Cultural
Claude Fawaz
Copyeditor - Content Writer - Translator
Lebanon
Lebanon
Cultural
November 22 and some people are already thrilled about the Christmas spirit, and have even put up the Christmas tree and the decoration in their houses. There is no doubt that Christians around the world and people from other religions have special feelings about Christmas time and festivities, being wonderful times of joy and sharing....
"You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." There is a general assumption that the forbidden fruit refers to the physical or sexual temptations to which...
Easter comes in this special part of the world when it is Springtime. This is a great reminder of renewal, with everything around us is chanting the promise of eternal life, through Jesus' death and resurrection. Every aspect of this season has a story of renewal.
Ironically when I read this article "ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts in Mosul" of the Fiscal Times, I was just having a break from diving into the past, digging into the chests in my basement. It was still fresh in my thoughts and feelings how meaningful is this connection to the past and...
The origins of the two different festivities, that we almost similarly celebrate. A tradition believed to be particular to children It is commonly known in Lebanon and the neighbouring countries, that Eid el-Burbara or Saint Barbara's Day, is celebrated on December the 4th with the tradition of making Lebanese sweets such as katayif or...
When a fool rules, it's the time of absurdity. I wonder why do we only celebrate on April the first then? The legend says that on April the first, when Constantine was the emperor of Rome he handed over the reins of the whole empire for his jester, making him a king for one day....
Purely Personal
The story below is a childhood tale. The origin and the writer behind it are both obscure to me. Today, the World Wide Web made it possible to dig in for any quote or saying no matter how old. Nevertheless, my search for it was not successful and I found it too meaningful to be...
When it's right, we ought to write it. Enough Being Fed on Crap, Just Change the Channel or Turn The Box off! It just feels great to watch a social TV show and the first impression you get is that, roles are restored and that things are falling back in their normal position.
I really try to stay away from politics topics, basically because nothing there makes sense and my writings are based on researching and logical deductions. But then when some heavy contents in the headlines strikes me like this article, I just pause dazzled and can't fight the urge of publishing a word about it, asking...
An Arabic post is circulating on Facebook about how a Lebanese citizen describes Lebanon with words of love for his nation. Regardless of the accuracy of the story, I found in it a touchy note about the sense of belonging to our nation, no matter how the diffused news about it and its reputation might...
Look around you, shuffle your TV channels or tune in for news and current affairs. This is the world of examples you need to face and use when you try to teach your children what to be and how to be. How can I talk to them about peace when there is not a crumb...
Bermuda Triangle or what is also known as the Devil's Triangle could be an unsolved mystery of nature, sciences or spiritual causes, but the social vanishing powder is not a mystery at all. We are the community that makes social media and our number is directly associated with their dollars figures, however, ironically we have...
I must say that the fireworks at the opening of Jounieh Festival last night were astonishing. It is more than just a scene of fire splashes in the air, it is the delight of sharing this yearly event with people who have in common the love of this city.
Do the Lebanese women know that there is a dedicated site for them to freely express and exchange their opinions and concerns in Arabic, French or English?
You only realise there is far more bliss in giving than in receiving, when you become a mother.
An article with the captivating title: "200 Million Years Old Dinosaur Egg Hatches in Berlin Museum" and a photo of hatched dinosaur egg has been circulating for around a month now. As any outrageous news, the story quickly spread over social media and reached a large number of people who shared the fake article mistaken it...
Indeed a masterpiece with its extent and worth going beyond the lifetime of any existence.
For me, it really doesn't matter which religious practice we follow and the particular church that guides them, when they are all based on one essence. Doctrine is what we believe in, and my personal view is whenever I feel mislaid in the beliefs and rules set around me, I put it all aside and go...
A commenting post and a reblog of the original "It's a Man's Lebanon" from Gino "http://ginosblog.org/2014/02/17/its-a-mans-lebanon/".
I am not talking about the power of LOVE in making LOVE, but rather in making war. Love has a frightening force for destruction, pain and suffering. It is far more intense than its capacity around romance and sweet feelings. Love is "Rage" Because rage symbolizes both contrast feelings of anger and desire.
Dear 2013, As you fade away with your last hours, I want you to know: I damned your first day of existence for every trouble you put me in I hated the moments of betrayal and disappointments you brought to me You were my worst enemy the day I knew what a loss is You...
Communication Analysis
The revolution of the book as we know it is marked by three of its metamorphoses: The beginning of paper books in the Middle Ages, the notable invention of Guttenberg's printing press in 1452, and lately the emergence of today's technologies of e-books, digital text and digital imagery (Twyman 1998, pp.76-77).
People certainly don't feel at ease when they realise that their information is being used if they don't clearly authorise it. The fine print disclaimer is a legal agreement, and it is binding us users as we tick the box "agree", whether we read it or not.
De Bussy & Paterson paper, "Crisis Leadership Styles, Bligh vs Gillard (2012)" presents a good overview of the microblogging site Twitter and its particular development as a platform for journalists reflecting a worldwide trend. What draws my attention in this study is that it relies on tweets that are not directly sourced by Twitter.
Memes probably became a familiar expression with the popularity of the humorous images, video, and texts spread over social media, but it was interesting to know that the term relates to a much more complex theory dating from 1976. As defined in the dictionary, a meme is an element of a culture or system of...
There is a substantial increase in the global attention devoted to violence prevention and to the responses of civil society organisations. For example, the World Health Assembly adopted in 1996 a resolution that declared violence a major global public health issue and called for increased action (Krug et al 2002).
Thinking about what printing has brought to the world.
The only good taste and experience one would have about the unknown, and more specifically cultures is to get up close and personal with them. I think that culture is a very unique experience and any attempt to convey such experience through social media is unlikely to be close to reality, whether the intentions are...
This topic and the many raised thoughts about it evidence a recurring interest of researchers in oral culture. Speech typically conveys more explicit information than writing which is why dramatic performances, story telling and reading aloud remain important traditions in today's literate societies. Oral culture's importance goes way beyond the aesthetic sense.
It is unfortunate that the Australian law on the media underwent major changes which released the restrictions that were in place on cross-media ownership. This was what set the grounds for this growing trend of media control, moving towards a global form that includes newspapers, TV stations, publications, magazines and publishing houses labeled 'global media...
Persuasive Speech With the great deal of passion I have for social awareness, I wanted my speech to address the subject of cyberbullying and in specific the role of parenting in the digital age, in dealing with this common issue.
Visual Culture
Ageing cartoon characters "is a double-edged sword".
When Pope Francis gave the blessing to hundreds of Harley-Davidson bikers in june 2013, it was some event to see bikers with their tattoos and piercings gathered in St. Peter's square to attend the Sunday Mass. I think the idea was to mark that bikers who are known for their outlaws image are as faithful...
It is clear that the many interpretations of a sign result from a reciprocal action between the individual being the decoder and the different meanings offered by the sign itself. The image on its own has broader polysemy which could be narrowed down with the use of captions and textual references.
Lady Gaga: the distinctive way in which she was able to combine fashion and music.
Theoretical Analysis
Inspired by a true story or fiction?
Since animation became part of comedies and sitcoms we have gradually and naturally stopped seeing the generic link between children and cartoon.
Any work of art is conditioned by its interdependence with its audience who receives and perceives the work in an undeniable subjectivity. The ways that filmmakers use to involve the viewer are different but there is a certain interesting type, that is surprisingly fairly used in cinematic work, known by the "breaking the fourth wall"....
I actually felt intrigued by Jung's theory after reading about it, mostly because it seemed adjacent to Freud's approach.
I always come across the popular photograph below often captioned "How the media can manipulate our viewpoint" showing a middle eastern soldier held at gunpoint while being given water with an army canteen. The picture is self-explanatory as it points to the different interpretations of the same photograph as a result of a simple crop...
There are obviously common concerns that stop organizations and managers from opting in social media. I can put myself in the place of those managers to adopt an empathetic attitude that is more likely to show the good intentions of the presence of an organization on social media.
Starting from the ancient historical and cultural records to the most recent news and social updates, writing forms are increasingly encountered in our daily life, and are so easily accessible even to the passive reader. When I am simply browsing the internet or using applications on the phone, I come across scrolling or popping up...
Being too careful in choosing our words in a cross-cultural communications can defeat its own purpose, when each culture bears a different meaning and interpretation of certain words or actions. What might seem praising in one culture could be offending in another. I take a visual example about this; the V sign shaped with the...
For the purpose of comparing symbolic interactionism with the face-negotiation theory, I will focus on relevant key points to demonstrate a side of similarity with the much broader latter theory. Symbolic interactionism tends to describe the development process of the constructed self through social interaction. People make decisions and act in accordance with their subjective...
The place of women in advertising has long been a very sensitive subject. In the 50s and 60s, the woman was seen as the housewife and if we look back at that period's advertising, we get the impression that the household appliances were the best thing a woman can have!
Any surrealist work clearly relies on visual shock and ambiguity, seeking to upset the viewer. What is the purpose behind this shock and what is sought from visuals that are illusion-like of a totally modified world? Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel filmed An Andalousian Dog (Un Chien Andalou), with the intention to show bizarre scenes...
Public Writing
Semiotics has its origin from the Greek to designate the study of signs and is considered today a blend of two fundamentals models: the one put forward by Ferdinand de Saussure, and the one elaborated by Charles Peirce (Danesi 2007, p.19). The concept was founded by Saussure, a Swiss linguist, who was regarded as the...
How could words in a child's inbox make him so miserable and desperate that he takes his own life without anyone noticing and intervening? This is a question that always occurs to me when I read stories about cyberbullying victims who committed suicide.
Thinking that the social media and the world wide web is an open space free for communication? think twice...
Don't think about making art, jus get it done!
Shannon and Weaver theory is a simplistic model that ignores many components of the communication process. It was derived from the basic understanding of the term "communication"; being plainly the process of transmitting some thoughts or information from a sender to a receiver through a channel.
The cultural consumption of comics and animated television series from Bourdieu's concept.