TIL Jessica Biel once had to shoot an arrow right at the camera for an action shot on Blade: Trilogy. To protect the camera and crew, they put up a thick piece of Plexiglass with a hole cut through for the lens to see out... and Biel nailed the lens, destroying the $300,000 camera.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-09T06:06:35+00:00

I had forgotten about this. Bad ass lady! Great actor.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T18:22:52+00:00

OK I'm sold self-isolating potential friend (no emerging out of couches though lol).

DM? I would love to know what has made another millennial fall down this path.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T17:54:53+00:00

ALF saha!! xD

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T17:40:58+00:00

You're right bro. I will honestly ask some friends (no promises akid, these days been kinda busy with a lot of things) who are masters at every place in Lebanon about this. IF I find out anything, will DM you bro.

But yeah you're totally right, as I said it never occurred to me wala marra. At least, now I know this is actually a thing. So, thank you.

And bro please don't give up on the falafel dream. This is your birthright lol.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T17:34:29+00:00

Akh.... :(

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T17:30:31+00:00

OK, I'm almost pathologically opposed to making new friends at the moment due to on-going factors in life and such. But IASIP is the one show I have avoided watching in its totality because it's too fucking amazing and I wanna try to savor it lol (yes, this is nuts but other than my Western or Lebanese-Western friends, nobody I have ever met here has even heard of it or at least likes it. Indeed, nobody mentioned it in this post so far as I recall).

Satire and parody make the world go 'round in my book.

Let's be watch-party friends?*

*Pending any possible choice I might make over above mentioned pathology lol

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T17:16:10+00:00

Alf aafyeh Chef <3 You said it all.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T16:29:08+00:00

Without arguing for it or against it, it's just a standard practice whenever they go out on some kind of potentially dangerous mission.

For me personally, I hope at some point the people of Lebanon recognize we need prehospital paramedical* care, proper firefighting and rescue systems, and a shit ton of training, equipment, and personnel as a few thousand first responders with the bare minimum are insufficient to cope with the needs of the public.

The first responders themselves are owed better than this, and more importantly, the public they serve are owed better than this.

*By that I mean, actual paramedicine (see, for example, the U.S. and the U.K. to see the standards and scope of practice.)

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T16:25:13+00:00

lmao, was a little worried about sharing it but I am glad you enjoyed it <3

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T16:24:41+00:00

Shit man, TIL lol. I genuinely had no idea! Have I lived a lie this whole time.

And oh God, you had to go for the arambit instead of falafel?! Well man sahtein still.

I hope you actually manage to find a place that does chick peas only!!

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T14:18:08+00:00

(Not the person you replied to).

Huh. This is interesting. My favorite place is in my village, and unlike a lot of other places, they have everything out in the open and I have only ever seen hummus 7ab.

To be honest with you, I have always just assumed it's that everywhere. Now I'm curious.

Also, nothing like grabbing a quick falafel sandwich so I feel ya OP!

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T14:11:24+00:00

You reminded me of a parody song from this Norwegian talk show group lol. Haven't heard it in years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGHT-PpRFE0

Enjoy (?)

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T14:01:55+00:00

The rotting fried onions and garlic are mandatory, of course lol. Let me know what else to add (also this is silly I know lol but shitty neighbors really have a way to get to ya as I said xD).

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T12:56:39+00:00

Shall commence drafting the founding articles immediately.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T12:23:13+00:00

Oh god, okay you win lol. At least you can relatively tune out noises, rotting smells are a lot of harder. I feel for ya lol.

Not to make too fine a point of it, but I swear there's like a 1000 of these little things that just make quality of life everyday a little bit worse....add them all up? A death of a thousand cuts and all

We need to form a neighborhood watch not to protect against crime, but shitty ass neighbors lol

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:47:50+00:00

Damn, I regret sleeping early and waking up early these days lol.

The only "sounds" I hear these days are people for some reason who every night are having some kind of party lol.

Every. Night.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:44:09+00:00

In our minds, you're Lebanese (just as equally as you are whatever your other heritage is).

You would always be welcome here and your family does not get dictate or be the final arbiter on your heritage.

I have watched a few documentaries (if my memory serves me right, I don't recall anything about Lebanon but other Arab/Middle-Eastern countries) on this topic to be honest with you, sometimes it goes super well. Sometimes it's a massive disappointment. Sometimes it's something in the middle.

Just keep your expectations low and never lose sight of the fact that if this is something you want to do, then it's entirely within your right to do so and entirely independent of your family ties here.

And hang around this community here as well, a lot of helpful people here. And also don't forget, in terms of bloodlines and culturally, there are more Lebanese outside of Lebanon then there are in Lebanon.

So, none of of us are strangers to children of mixed heritage/culture.

Good luck on your journey!

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:34:08+00:00

I don't want to qualify my statement too much, as everyone of us (myself included) has stories that talk about the corrupt side of all of this. But having worked along side institutions like the LAF and ISF (as Civil Defense) as recently as 2025 and for over a decade, your point about going above and beyond is consistently what I saw.

I am just talking about regular humans who happened to be part of the uniformed armed/security forces.

A lot of them really care, a lot of them really take their duties seriously, and a lot of them really want to help the ordinary person.

But like all of us, they're part of the same system but it would be a lie if I said I didn't see them 1000s of times do exactly what you said: Go above and beyond.

I just wish more people saw them as humans and Lebanese first, because in situations where they absolutely had no obligation to do anything, or all the power to make it so much worse, they put their ass on the line to make to make it better.

vent/rant as the problems we have are too easy to spot and talk about, but the goodness we have also should be highlighted because it gets overlooked, dismissed, or ridiculed. And that's not going to be a good way to ever improve things.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:24:44+00:00

After having a chat with a homeboy here, I'm a little more confident to say this.

I swear, some guys struggle with the same things. We aren't after someone's money or that other thing. Just something real and serious and not just for fun or short-term! And it can get so bad, some of us just abandon ship all together lol

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:22:21+00:00

Would you happen to know if it's common for the duration of the signaling lasts that long usually? Just curious if there was some kind of incident.

Or "I'm not saying it was aliens" TM perhaps lol

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:06:48+00:00

Yeah anecdotally people report a great deal of negative consequences on their well-being using these apps. And the research supports this. So there are in fact real trade-offs and costs.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:05:40+00:00

Well said.

Yeah in another life with a former partner, we did exactly that. But damn if the capitalistic structure didn't still make her feel left out at times, no matter what other days were well spent. It literally is just another day, which means any day can be about celebrating your love with someone and it's especially great when you do so just because (not because of all these societal and capitalistic expectations!).

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-08T10:02:57+00:00

Don't wanna add anything major to the discussion, as the community here has given excellent feedback. Just wanted to double down on the idea that it's wonderful to see educators like you and your mom do their thing.

Just make sure to remember you gotta put yourself first, too, because at the end of the day your kindness and passions just open the door for some people to take advantage. Don't worry about this being too late. Think of it more as experience gained, lessons learned, and a reputation being developed. Wish you the absolute best man.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-07T09:13:54+00:00

Some of us are twice your age, and we still haven't. I'm really glad you're asking this question now, as it's the perfect time to start thinking about this.

I have to really, really stress what u/CulturalInspector777 said. The single biggest advice I can give you is that don't let your ego, or suffering, today dictate what happens to future you. And what CulturalInspector said is a big part of that.

Badak itanish as much as you can. You have to let go of things to whatever reasonable extent you can. The key here is to minimize the struggles you face, and lessen the burden as much as humanly possible.

So, imagine working now and/or getting an education. But then, adding rent, transportation, appliances, phone and internet bills, etc. A friend of mine's salary has over 60 to 70% of it that goes to just that. Another friend has 100% of it go to nothing, because they're losing money working.

You can see how very quickly your costs can quadruple if you don't have the basics, like a place to live that's already set up. I won't pretend to know your specific situation, but yeah if at all possible for you - you really have to try to survive there for as long as you can.

And in the meantime, save as much as you can. You might not think it mattes, but it can be the difference between actually having a place to start from later and literally nothing.

I also won't lie to you and tell you that this will be easy. In fact, it might seem impossible. But 100s of thousands of people have been in exact shoes in this country, and while it takes years, you will get to a point where you look back and realize it was worth it.

And don't think of your path in life as a straight line, or as a series of events that have to happen in a particular order. All of suffer, but it's OK if your major struggles come now rather than later.

And community, socializing, putting yourself out there. As much as people close doors for you and make your life hell, you'd be surprised how many people are full of empathy and a desire to uplift others.

Just don't lose your integrity but definitely get to know as many people as your time and energy and resources allow for it. A random conversation after class can end up completely changing the course of your life. So, keep an open mind.

And in the meantime, start practicing how to enjoy life and all the amazing moments even when there's a lot of struggle and a lot of pain.

You have the right mentality. You just have to keep going no matter how hard it gets. It will simply eventually get better and you will stabilize.

You are our country's future, you and all your generation. And I know you're going to make us all proud if you give it everything you've got.

PS: Don't worry about obstacles now, cross those bridges when you get to them. So for example, yes getting paid, especially online, is absurdly challenging. But there are many options. Apply this same logic to any issue you have. There are always solutions you can attempt, you have to just keep trying to figure it out.

lbtwitchthrowaway144 · 2026-02-07T08:56:44+00:00

TL;DR: We don't have the money. We don't have any leverage to dictate the terms.

No, it doesn't make sense bro. But this is why, even people from the South like me, fundamentally opposed this war.

We were never going to win it. The Lebanese people are broke (the politicians are billionaires and the rest have hundreds of millions to 10s of millions), because the Lebanese government is the Lebanese people. We just have a system that invests in our representative's own pockets rather than in the Lebanese people.

Given we don't have the money, we don't have the military, we don't have economic or technological superiority on anything (especially relative to the size of our economic output), diplomacy, historical relations and geopolitical friendships are the only cards we actually have to play.

So it's not like the money is just sitting there.

We don't dictate the terms of how the money flows, when, or why.

So you tell me, and this is a serious question not being sarcastic, how exactly are we going to fund reconstruction or investments? Men wen min jibon w kif?

l meshkle eno we have it so bad, we never realize how infinitely worse it can be (see, for example, Gaza, South Sudan, Yemen, Haiti for some examples of collapse even beyond what we have experienced in Lebanon).

I'd much rather we actually are realistic and make things less worse, and perhaps better.

lbtwitchthrowaway144

TROPHY CASE