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january 2012 park51 sachiko kodama jamal awar fg1000 renew detox restore feng shui magnet therapy drawing you in pulling you away pushing you forward the magnetic issue magazine 1

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2 ragmag january 2012

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publisher gina gabriel el-fady editor in chief fida z chaaban creative lead odette kahwagi managing director georges yarack photograhers christian harb odette kahwagi jason zamora teddy habib samy harb selected images shutterstock contributors lara ariss liliane assaf stephanie aoun jonathan cainer amal chaaban youmna chagoury rabih feghali alice hlidkova sarah hourany matthew hussey maria-elena kassab imogen kimber chris lambert sabina llewellyn-davies maha majzoub j.e.n nour obaji jacques tchabarian adam volk media representative publishing media representative webmaster youmna chagoury stylist jony matta public relations coordinator lea el-alam marketing advisor daniella tayar admnisitrative coordinator teddy younes nada g farha managing director jdeideh chalet suisse st 444 center 3rd floor tel 01 87 16 63 ext 103 nfarha@pinkodsal.com ragmag alex gabriel building rue colomn de sahel sahel alma keserwan tel 09 916 222 09 913 777 lea.elalam@ragmaglive.com printed by raidy printing group distributor lebanese distributor company hamra axa middle east bldg tel 01 368 007 ragmag is a division of raycon s.a.l copyright ragmag 2011 all rights reserved w w w ragmaglive c o m @ragmaglebanon ragmag opinions expressed are based solely on personal opinion and expericence not reflective in any way of ragmag a division of raycon s.a.l the magnetic issue 3

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issue 90 96 emperor s new clothes copycat real life runway polar opposites our fashion shoot out about vivacious venue ragmag parties at e cafe culture clash opposing poles do ground zero park51 fit jamal awar s magnetic modesty the movie black gold magnetic mantra the fg1000 families stay together compass inconsistencies damage to the gulf of mexico laws of attraction the magnetic art of sachiko kodama demagnetizing debt hayda lebnen fml attracting victory capoeira repels defeat the final frontier magnetic moon rocks science the magnetic mystique of anonymous tech see speak hear no evil sound check music read em weep books watch out film play nice games world vision blogs 116 16 22 26 28 30 68 magnetic 72 appeal sachiko 34 36 kodama sets the laws of attraction 124 125 126 127 128 take me with you 130 magnetic montreal travel brainfood 138 quizz dingbat crossword sudoku 4 ragmag january 2012

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42 46 50 52 restore renew chronicle caffeine-free 5 days essay blackberry-free 2 days diary nicotine-free 10 days photo essay alcohol-free 10 days editor s opinion when you can t resist our editor participates in mass hysteria mon amour mon ami relationships in 2012 restore your outlook via economics for him restore renew getting your diet up to snuff mind body soul therapy with magnets true or false magnetic draining fields matthew hussey help me nour rabih advice using magnetic fields feng shui in lebanon mirror mirror reflexology s magnetic poles za zen spa review attracting intensity chopard s noble cedar hidden agenda dior has it directional diva mufe 12 64 76 56 58 60 78 restore +renew 80 84 86 88 detox missions eat drink be merry 130 restaurant review st elmo s 132 flavorful magnetism chef thor draws you in 134 brunch bests by lara recipes 142 magnetic martinis charbel kayal the magnetic issue 5

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6 ragmag january 2012

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publisher s letter it is a worldwide tradition at the end of the holiday season to make promises to change some of our vices for the better we all have things that affect our everyday life and us at rm are of course no different what we have chosen to do though is to cleanse ourselves in public from what we feel we are mostly attached to for a fresh start and a healthier lifestyle i can only speak for myself i experienced ups and downs and sometimes it was tough a big thank you to all of our followers on twitter who have made the experience fun and challenging read laugh and find out if we managed to free ourselves for rm keep talking to us on twitter and find out what other crazy ideas we might come up with talk to me @ginagabriel1 i would like to thank gaucho za zen spa and emi music arabia for their contribution to our january reader reward it is always interesting to see our fans compete for the prizes we love the reader reward section at rm we feel honored to have them please keep on sending us your thoughts on what you like and don t like to publisher@ragmaglive.com the best of luck in 2012 gina gabriel el-fady publisher the magnetic issue 7

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subscribe to special subscription offer per issue 10,000 lbp 6 issues 50,000 lbp 12 issues 100,000 lbp contact us by phone or email to arrange your subscription subscriptions@ragmaglive.com lea el-alam 09 916 222 09 913 777 ragmag alex gabriel building rue colomn de sahel sahel alma keserwan w w w ragmaglive c o m on our cover photography odette kahwagi stylist jony matta models mila lips agency fadi nammoura mila is dressed by karine tawil fadi is dressed by versace @ragmaglebanon ragmagmagazine 8 ragmag january 2012

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editor s letter magnetic because ragmag is bent on restoring renewing ourselves we hope you all had a great holiday season we got great feedback for our december golden gates issue and we were very engaged this month on twitter and facebook one of our goals is commitment to our readers this is why we hope you continue to test us by tweeting our way and definitely commenting on our fan page we especially enjoy the pictures you send us of your copies or when the mag turns up in unlikely places keep them coming we re kind of glad to get back to business as usual here at ragmag because we were excited to be one of the only magazines to do a january issue in honour of 2012 we decided to do something that every magazine talks about but rarely puts into practise rather than telling you to kick your addictions and lecturing you on the ills of your personal shortcomings we attacked our own it is my habit to tell my writers to write about what they know or else it is not believable and generally it is not well written what good is writing about resolutions and self-improvement if we don t even have first-hand experience i ve read a million articles that tell you how to break your bad habits but i ve seen very few that actually position the writer as the habit breaker i thought to myself so many times that these writers should practise what they preach instead of being all talk no action we chose a few of our core team and had them get restored renewed via detox missions our restore renew section is a special january-only occurrence it has replaced a few of our regular sections but they ll be back next issue gina gabriel our publisher went smoke-free for 10 days to get the nicotine out of her system youmna chagoury our webmaster and contributor went caffeine-free for 5 and that included tea and soft drinks our creative lead odette kahwagi to whom we owe the entire artistic direction of the magazine including photography stopped drinking for 10 days and of course my personal lead-by-example fiasco meant i had to do something so i went offline for 2 full days no blackberry and it was absolutely hideous check out the restore renew section and watch us try to practise what everyone else just talks about don t just follow me on twitter talk to me on twitter @fidachaaban write to me at letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com follow the magazine on twitter for news updates and contests @ragmaglebanon and join us on facebook at facebook.com/ragmagmagazine for those of you who have missed an issue here or there you can download the pdfs or read them online at issuu.com/ragmag fida z chaaban editor in chief we were there to watch hady beydoun s latest mural come to life in hamra at big shot pub the tupac biggie artwork is 4 meters by 4 meters and took 14 straight hours to complete the magnetic issue 9

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for our december issue we continued to talk to you via our social media platforms twitter and facebook we thank you all for your comments and participation and hope you continue to interact with us online join us on facebook and scribble on our wall to win write to us letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com or tweet us on twitter @ragmaglebanon ragmag reserves the right to edit for clarity and content if you re brave enough to take a pic with your favorite issue of ragmag send it our way via social media or email happy new year spend 2012 with ragmagit s your magazine love your face you know what we love even more than letters pictures of you your ragmag copies ragmag reader sarrrahhh masriiiiiiiii you re our big fave this issue we love your fun shot you re curled up with us and if we get your message right you re a slave for shoes sarah you ve got not just one copy in your pic you ve got three we couldn t have done it better ourselves and since you re camera-tastic we want you to enter our gaucho contest pay attention to the rules we re looking forward to your entry congratulations to three ragmag readers ragmag loves reader interaction so we paired up with l occitane and ran a print contest in last month s issue we posted the teasers for the l occitane rewards on our facebook page and twitter a few days beforehand then when it went to print we waited for the emails to roll in due to the high response count we decided to randomly choose the winners as opposed to the first three emails to account for delivery discrepancies in lebanon we did this fair and square so we wouldn t exclude anyone congratulations to three ragmag l occitane loving readers aya halabi rania ghadban and hiba chagoury online escapades emi music arabia gave 5 of our readers the dvd of adele s live at the royal albert hall it s also available on blu ray and features the full 90 minute performance plus behind the scenes footage shots the package also contains an exclusive live cd of the entire show for the first time fans will be able to hear all of adele s hits and best loved songs on one cd plus her stunning covers of bonnie raitt s i can t make you love me and the steeldrivers if it hadn t been for love our 5 winners marie nakhle george zamroud iman imad tania awada and lara zok played with us on facebook and twitter follow @emimusicarabia to keep up to date with the music scene 10 ragmag january 2012

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letters to the editor keeps you coming back again again beirut s magnetic meals we have been big gaucho fans since day one we quickly got addicted to their sumptuous morsels of meat and ceviche and their stellar wine selection after attending an invitation-only masterclass since january s issue really hit home with addictions we re sharing our guilty pleasure with you get hooked on gaucho like we did by attending a masterclass for you and 5 of your guests they ll be serving you a private tasting of their choicest cuts and smooth wines time travel we re gaucho cocktail fans too if you haven t gone there for a drink or two in their chill lounge you re missing out bigtime they got us with their vintageinspired cocktail menu that echoes the golden days of buenos aires from the sexy 30s to the mind-blowing 60s still one of the coolest capitals in the world the heyday of argentina inspired the hospitality business worldwide head to gaucho and try ragmag s cocktail craves the cool cariño with passion fruit and strawberry and the citrus sensation pommelina are at the top of our list win your masterclass you oughta be in pictures baby do you want to take 5 friends and attend a private gaucho masterclass then listen up we want to see your love for ragmag in a visual format this is how you can win 1 get your hands on back issues of ragmag if you don t already have them 2 make like sarah masri opposite page and create a cool concept using copies of ragmag 3 do your own mini photo shoot 4 email it in to letterstotheeditor@ragmaglive.com 5 cross your fingers we will select the coolest pic and the winner will be kicking it at gaucho with 5 of their besties come on get your cameras out and let s see what you can do both professional and amateur shutterbugs are welcome to enter the magnetic issue 11

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editor s opinion mass hysteria i t s a bit of cliché to be nostalgic at the end of the year i almost get teary listening to auld lang syne yes i m listening to it as i write this our january 2011 old vs new issue was partly inspired by auld lang syne but we resisted the urge to jump head first into that theme because it is overused and underappreciated like auld lang syne another enduring song greensleeves is played during the holiday season both in instrumental and lyrical forms while both of these historic pieces are used to generate feeling and a yearning for days of old they aren t much used for manipulation purposes by official bodies i have often talked via my op-ed about the power of symbolism and the savvy wielding of that power to hypnotize a populace it is a somewhat common thing to use iconography and music to sway things in your favor look no further than governments for the clever use of song and image to get your patriotic hearts beating this new year my op-ed is about revisiting some of the campaigns that permeated the public consciousness and are now nostalgic relics of times past propaganda is usually considered to be a bad thing maybe i can change your views on that if you keep reading the way we were groupthink the lessons we should learn from those before us was straightforward be strong in the face of adversity and don t dishearten those around you by being a debbie downer the poster was unearthed in 2000 found in an unlikely bookstore by the owners who then began distributing it on request soon a craze for the nostalgic and poignant message overtook london and spread like wildfire in a tongue in cheek economist 2010 article a nod was given to the keep calm generation bagehot began his piece by saying that if you are to visit any british office you stand a good chance of seeing a postcard mug or other trinket bearing the message `keep calm and carry on beneath the crown of king george vi there is little mystery about the craze for this bracing injunction crafted by the ministry of information on the eve of war in 1939 it taps directly into the country s mythic image of itself unshowily brave and just a little stiff brewing tea as the bombs fall crowd control keep calm and carry on is one of three posters that was issued by the british government to encourage resolve and a stiff upper lip in anticipation of the difficulty british citizens then british subjects would experience in the second world war the first two posters had similar wartime jargon the first advised freedom is in peril defend it with all your might and the second counseled that your courage your cheerfulness your resolution will bring us victory note i have kept the original capitalizations of the slogans as presented at the time of original issue the point of this movement 12 ragmag january 2012

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the magnetic issue 13

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editor s opinion 14 ragmag january 2012

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it is easy to see why this message perseveres haven t you ever rallied your staff or colleagues or given a motivational speech to a buddy who s down and out i have and i do all the time keep calm and carry on isn t the message of my generation hell my parents weren t even born then it is however an enduring sign of a stoic bravery that everyone should revisit loose lips sink ships was another popular wwii poster but this one is originally american it basically means that confiding secrets and sharing information can land you in hot water it originated with the idea that idle chatter about a ship s direction could potentially be overheard by the enemy via covert agents and the like discretion was deemed a very important part of the war effort and out of the closet good citizens weren t expected to be forthcoming with information that could potentially compromise their country s aims i ve always had a fondness for the slogan and i was recently pleasantly surprised to see a reproduction of the poster at st elmo s zaitunay bay it seemed that i was meant to share it this issue as an associated press article about hexagon an old covert operation came to my attention a few days before my deadline in the telling piece the now declassified mission has been called the most successful space spy satellite program of the cold war era from 1971 to 1986 a total of 20 satellites were launched each containing 60 miles of film and sophisticated cameras that orbited the earth snapping vast panoramic photographs of the soviet union china and other potential foes the article has comments from former hexagon operatives and their families that give insight as to what kind of secrecy was put into practice we were born into the world war ii generation we all knew the slogan `loose lips sink ships said linda bronico bronico is a wife of on one hexagon s surviving operatives who was told by her husband that he was building test consoles and cables by way of explanation i do believe that loose lips sink ships i try to keep idle chatter to a minimum and i think that is one of the principal reasons that i don t have a facebook account it s just too much information about too many people i don t think my contact list needs to know that gina likes my t-shirt and that odette is waiting on my article no matter how droll and harmless you might think this sort of conversational banter is it is bound to one day come back and bite you in the ass in today s super-transparent world we are almost compelled to discuss everything exposing our dirty laundry to mere acquaintances talking over our problems with perfect strangers next time you are kicking yourself for saying too much too often think about this poster and the generation it influenced it was a different time and maybe in some respects a better one so here is my salute to 2012 here s to a generation that six decades ago thought before they spoke and was strong and calm in the face of pending disaster it s okay to be nostalgic once in a while i guess especially when we could stand to learn a thing or two in today s supertransparent world we are almost compelled to discuss everything exposing our dirty laundry to mere acquaintances talking over our problems with perfect strangers the magnetic issue 15

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