1 post tagged “beirut”
You'll need to get the day pass, but today's edition of Salon has a pair of wonderful articles:
1) I love the whole Literary Guide series, especially because today's is about one of the most unique regions in the US, West Texas. As I like to say, Nevada is the poor man's West Texas - if you don't believe me, stop to think about the type of writing that's inspired by either location. Can't think of anything related to Nevada, other than maybe some really awful cowboy poetry, right? Compare that with West Texas and the novels that have been inspired by its geography, people, cultures and history:
[B]est about it is
its unforgettable evocation of the llano estacado, or "staked plain,"
the huge, featureless plateau that takes up much of the Texas
Panhandle, and of the gorgeous caprock canyons at its eastern edge,
such as Palo Duro and Blanco canyons.
2) Anthony Bourdain's firsthand account of being in Beirut to do an edition of his travel show about the revitalization of that city and Lebanon, only to be caught in the middle of that country's revitalization going to Hell. What can you say about Bourdain other than loving his completely smart-ass attitude (even if the schtick of beating up on other celebrity cooks can get tiring after awhile) and wishing that you had his job? More important though is his summing up how he was in a place that for a brief moment, had the possibility and hope of coming back from previous' wars and conflicts, only to see it heartbreakingly fall apart. He also rightly acknowledges that the story isn't about people like him who were priviledged enough to get out, but about the tragedy of it all, for the people who lived there:
