May 16, 2011

Loreena Mckennit's Magic

This is a post for a special song/poem ,  that I would like to share  for one of my favorite musician,Loreena Mckennit. God bless her . Her songs are an inspiration for me. No words can truely describe her voice and the music she plays.


I am just happy that I was able to see her live when she came to Byblos Festival in Summer 2009 .
That night was magical ; her voice reverberated alone but in the background you could hear  the sound of the waves as they hit  Byblos port .  There was a harmony ;  as if she rehearsed with the sea before she played live. 


Dante's Prayer -Loreena Mckennit  ..


When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me





The official site for Loreena McKennitt and her private record label, Quinlan Road.

May 15, 2011

Taste Spotting

I found an awesome website for all food lovers and food photographers.  A website that shares photos of food but behind every photo is the story/blog/link to it!
So its like a cool display of the recipes , food experiences  and quick access to what you might need!
Here is the link :)  Taste Spotting.

May 6, 2011

British Madness and Tea

The sound of the liquid pouring and the steam flushing in your face. The overwhelming aroma, that bitter taste,  the soothing feeling in your throat..ahhhh Tea ::):)
Surely , tea doesn't belong to a specific country. You have the indian "Chai". the morrocan/arabic "ash-shay", the chinese green tea, the japanese jasmin Tea ...etc  I am not go list them.We have wikipedia for a reason.

 I am not going to be talking about tea and British habits. Tea is a great part of the British tradition,  if you want to argue with a British person about tea, make sure you really know what you are talking about before entering an argument about it.

It happened once with me. I was in a tour in Unilever, New Jersey for the food scientists in Cornell.After touring the whole company and R&D, we finally entered the  "Lipton" area.
Yes, Lipton the most famous and most consumed brand in the whole world. We met the tea expert there who tours the world to search for the best tea leaves and buy them from farmers ( or perhaps buy the whole farm, I am not going to enter in the debate of Fair trade now, lets keep it for later).

And so he made us taste the tea he had prepared and then he asked us what is your favorite tea. My friends who were Americans, dont usually drink tea ....Noooo , Ice tea actually doesnt count.
And when my turn came to answer I told him "Earl Grey".. And the reply was far more  than I expected.
He looked at me with furious eyes :"Earl Grey!!! Anyone can put lemon with tea. That is simple. There is no intelligence. no taste in that!!" .
 At that moment, I thought because I didnt know about other tea types, he was mad at me. So , I went and listed for him all kinds of tea from cammomille to green tea. He was still mad.
I realized later, he was mad because Earl Grey is a Russion made tea , and he being British felt the urge to hate that type of tea. That is one hypothesis.Maybe it is true, maybe it is not :)
So, beware of British madness when you talk about Tea!
Stereotypes in food are always common....

Some "Tea" Quotes:


1- A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt


2- Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.  ~Author Unknown


3-If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you.  ~Gladstone


4-Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.  ~Thich Nat Hahn


English Tea Infographic :




May 5, 2011

The Girl who reads

I have a friend who shared this link on facebook:
"Date the girl who reads" .. SO if you are a girl who reads alooot of books, this one article is for you.
And for every guy who is searching for his girl , you might want to take a notice of girls who read :):)
They can change your world .
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Ebjrc/themonicabird.com/post/3273155431/date-a-girl-who-reads-date-a-girl-who-spends-her



Spoiler : I loved the ending when they said:
....better date a girl who  writes ;)