Monday, June 18, 2012

NTSC@1000!

The above says: “1000 congratulations Tarek” (a typical Lebanese expression which is fitting for the 1000th post), a spoof movie produced by Beirut/NTSC


Welcome to the 1000th post of Beirut/NTSC.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
I am a “critic” so I don’t count. I also point to “where the doer of deeds could have done better.” So I deserve no credit.
On the other hand, I certainly am “in the arena”, my face is “marred with dust and sweat and blood”, I “err”, I “fall short again and again” – “great enthusiasms” and “great devotions” I do know, and I believe this to be a “worthy cause”.
What is “this”? The one I dub a “worthy cause”? I have no idea, its shape, function and scope keeps changing, I went into realms which were not intended, I skirted media formats which were alien to me at base, eventually between 7Upstairs Publishing and the blog what started out as mere experimenting continued as mere experimenting even if by now it takes itself seriously enough to recognize it has an audience somewhere.
Audience? I always hated using figures and numbers of viewership and clicks and whatever all else, a video of a grandmother dancing to late Whitney Huston’s vibes can go viral, a silly news item about some d-list starlet can become a media sensation, so it’s not the numbers that drive me, it’s knowing I tried, not once, not twice, but a 1000 times. And if this “failed, at least (it) fails while”… making you laugh.
“Smart critiques, stupid creates” said the iconic Diesel ad. I am a lot of both I suppose, only the dosage keeps varying.

7 comments:

M.II said...

1000 Mabrouk :)

lboodl said...

1000 MABROUK Tarek. (that you can cash in the "1000 mabrouk bank" ;-)))

Anonymous said...

3ama hal website shu feshil

Unknown said...

إن ألّفت.. فسوف تؤلّفان
w alf b3ayn l 7esdin ;)

Tarek said...

100 mabrooks and 3i2beill ill alff!!

Tarek Chemaly said...

Tarek that WAS post number 1000... not 100!!!!

Tarek said...

JESUS... I was being cheap... Tayyeb, 1,000 Mabrook and 3i2beill ill 10,000!!!