---------------------------------------------- Serious satire "Humor is a funny way of being serious" -Thomas Edison -------------------- To have your emails deleted please write to me at renatoobeid@hotmail.com -------------------- Copyright© 2001-2010, Renato Obeid   Archives April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 January 2009 April 2009 October 2012 << current prequel   "Top blog/Renato Obeid's World/Today's pick: This rambling weblog is worth reading not so much for its satirical posts but more for its insight into the minutiae of life in Lebanon, including the etiquette of road accidents and how to hire a taxi.” -Jane Perrone, The Guardian my profile audio

renatoobeidsworld   Friday, August 03, 2007   My cousin, Finance Minister Jihad Azour, recently became a proud father for the first time when his wife Roula gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The delivery went smoothly and there were no complications - in the modern era, the most difficult thing about having a child is naming the child. Modern parents tend to put much more thought into naming their offspring than their parents did. This was no exception. One of the names considered was Karim (meaning generous in Arabic) but the Prime Minister jokingly vetoed it on the grounds that ‘’Abu (father of) Karim’’ was an unacceptable appellation for a finance minister. Finance ministers anywhere are supposed to be canny but even more so in a country that has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world (178 percent). On the subject of names, I know someone who didn’t have so much trouble naming his children. He named two sons from two different marriages a variation of the same name (Michael and Miguel). I don’t know whether this was on purpose or whether he even noticed (maybe he forgot) but it reminds me of Newhart’s "Hi, I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl."* Either way, he must have liked the name a lot and what’s not to like about it? It’s a very likeable name. Too likeable a name to use only once per family per generation. Twice is the bare minimum for such a lovely name. *The Michel's sister could introduce her and her brothers in a similar fashion – ‘’Hi, I’m – (forgot name but it’s not Michele or any other female variation of Michel).This is my brother Michel, and this is my other brother Michel’’. 8:00 pm

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