Unkept Promises

YOU HAVE ENTERED "THE WORLD OF THE DRAGON" - of your own free will, no less.

This is it. Your final destination. You have arrived, and you may discard your return ticket. Welcome to Dragon Land, picked as best site of 1985; awarded the Bulitzer prize for most realistic fiction, and most fictitious reality; rated as # 1 (during the now famous list-held-upside-down snafu) by our adoring fans. A wealth of literary gems without equal in any hemisphere. The World of the Dragon, 100% natural - well, 85% really, and 15% supernatural.

The intellectual's oasis; the hallowed halls of learning; the Nirvana of knowledge; we've been called by many names, but have yet to be called Carmelita, or Salophina - something with a nice ring to it. A rose, however, by almost any other name is a rose, and this is your one-stop site, with everything you could ask for, and less.

Dragonland, where fans win BIG! That's right: you could win this fine, decorative three-letter-word in capitals, with an exclamation mark thrown in at no extra charge. This and many more wonderful prizes await our lucky readers at every turn. (Certain conditions apply. Not available to staff of World of the Dragon and their families - which explains the mass defection. Offer expires at midnight, on the day prior to your reading this announcement. Allow 6 to 8 years for delivery.)

So hop along as we celebrate 2010 with a Bong (a Bang is precisely what we don't need right now). Throw caution to the wind, along with your savings, and enter the World of the Dragon, a land of fantasy and charm from which you will not want to return.

Here is a sample of what you may expect to encounter while you're visiting.

Featured in the AUDIO section are downloadable mp3 files. Six songs off the "Tannin el Tarab" cd, and "Arab Blues", the definitive response to the tarnished image of Arabs in Western media. The latter has not been released anywhere and can only be heard here. The DIARY presents my deepest inner thoughts (at least those fit to be shared with the general public) in the form of enlightening essays. In the TRANSLATIONS section can be found word-for-word English translations of the songs on "Tannin el Tarab". Reading these while simultaneously listening to the CD should provide for an unforgettable 3D experience (3D glasses optional). The DISCOGRAPHY displays the various releases that shot me to the pinnacle of recording fame. In the PHOTO GALLERY the reader is given the chance to laugh at me as I have often laughed at myself, and the BIOGRAPHY provides a peek into a life still in progress. Inside VIDEO you'll see me perform live, the next-best-thing to having me gyrating in your living room. CLIPPINGS offer tangible proof that I do work in the domain, while the UPCOMING EVENTS section soundly refutes the claim.

All this and more, right here at the pinch of a rat. Enjoy your visit and return soon (if you manage to leave at all).

What you might expect from us in 2010:

The impossible, that’s what ! The year has barely begun and we’re already giving you the world’s finest website in HD. Yes, HD.

That’s HD as in Heures D’or, hours of gold, spent in the classiest confines imaginable. Where wise words flow like Bon Jus, and sweet music fills the air like wafts of Boeuf Bourgignon in red wine.

Expect to be wined and dined like royalty, treated to succulent bits of soul food such as can only be served by a chef of divine talent.

Expect every whim to be catered to, every dream fulfilled, every question answered, and every serve returned.

Expect to be absorbed in a world where the fantastic is everyday fare, where the lion sleeps with the hare, where the sun never sets and flowers bloom everywhere.

Except that all the above was mistakenly posted here, belonging instead on a site advertising another venture, a standby project to keep us afloat should the World of the Dragon suddenly crumble.

You didn’t think all that flowery imagery and all those lame promises fit our image, did you? Bon Jus? Boeuf Bourgignon? Yuch.

Why, just look at that solid brick wall behind me; that’s us: Solid, immovable, dependable, everlasting. Everything you have come to associate with the World of the Dragon, where you expect no-nonsense, hands-on-the-wheel, feet-on-the-ground, head-in-the-oven entertainment.

Where the nitty gritty is child’s play, where the lion sleeps with the hare, where the sun never sets and flowers bloom everywhere.

Oooops. 2010 you say?

What you might expect from us in 2009:

Our list of back promises reneged on having grown to unexpected proportions, we shall strive to promise only that which we may, by the aid of Allah the all-knowing, keep.

You may expect a return to those heart warming essays, not on a monthly basis (as the muse observes no known calendar), but at least each with a clear, informative title, making it ever easier to return to your favorite essay for further research and review.

We plan to add a COMMERCIAL WORK section, wherein we post the numerous ingles (with a J - my keyboard has seen better days, as have I) and elevision (with a T) program music that have catapulted me to the top of the working class heap in this nation of vastly talented individuals.

As well as a VIDEO section showing actual clips of the dragon hisself, because seeing is believing, if you're one of those who believe what they see.

And, lastly, we promise peace in the Middle East. We owe you that much.

What befell us in 2008?

We participated in a music festival back in September of 2007 and put on a manic show, and from thence all went blank. 2008 seemed to slip from betwixt our fingers, a fleeting vision, mercifully swift. At least we posted some new photos in the gallery, of the aforementioned concert and some more of that inimitable Bob Shenkleesh - probably the highest paid actor of his generation (they pay me to stay off the set while they get some serious shooting done). And the Diary, that miserable, forlorn Diary ? Call it a premature Sabbatical that I took in mid year, for want of a more plausible explanation at the moment. In fifty years, when the information is no more classified, the truth shall come out, and the truth shall set me free - six feet under though I may be.

At any rate, idle we have not been. The baby blue background you are looking at is ample proof. Decades of meticulous, painstaking research has yielded the result that blue is best for easy reading, and there you are. We've ruined many a pair of eyes with our blood red, Chinese Menu style main page, and it burdens our conscience. This is a fresh start for Dragon and devotees, so help us God.

2006 marks the twentieth anniversary of the birth of the Dragon. Yes, it was on a dark and stormy night (to quote Snoopy - you da Dog!) in Berkeley, California, when "Four Years" was penned, followed by "Heik ha Nishtghil?" and "Zit Basleh", in 1986. Who could have foretold that those innocent, simple songs were to spawn a career that would go on to topple governments and ignite a revolution of social change?

A long and arduous career, characterized by relentless struggle against oppression; replete with raucous rants against idiocy of all grades, courtesy of this one man, this larger-than-life figure who shuns publicity and accolades (unless they include gifts - weekend passes at posh spas especially appreciated, thanks in advance), working in humble quietude to provide a voice for justice and common sense, both rare commodities in the world today.

All hail the Dragon on this anniversary of his unheralded, and unpaid for, campaign to clean up the world, with his unique music that feeds the mind, purifies the soul and corrects the posture. Celebrate with us and win a car (four-door sedan convertible by Mattel - minus the box it comes in, my pet beetle likes to use those as bunk beds in his summer home), and cash prizes of up to 1000 L.L. (note the "up to"; and the L.L. stands for Livres Libanais - sorry), divisible among the first 100 winners, over a period of 20 years, with 10 percent disinterest.

And in commemoration of the historic moment, the World of the Dragon is proud to announce the release of a three-DVD set of Munir Khauli as you've never seen him before (in disco thongs and six-inch heels! Ha, just kidding, but don't you wish). Look inside for details (see DISCOGRAPHY), but you won't find any as we still don't know how, or why, we should distribute it.

So help us observe this monumental twentieth anniversary (after all, it comes up only once in twenty years). We will be jubilating all year round, all the way up to the twenty-first anniversary of this trailblazing career (after all, that comes up only once in twenty-one years).

What you may expect from us in 2006:

Well, I haven't the gall to make any more promises. Maybe you could expect us to begin fulfilling last year's promises; at least get the red off the main page (reminds me of a Visine commercial: Gets the red out); or perhaps expect a sudden improvement in our literary style; or more frequent uploads? You can expect a lot more BS, that's for sure. At least that goes with the times in which we live.

But seriously, I have a gut feeling that great things lie ahead. Then again, that may be the Chili Rilleno acting up.

Let's face it: You simply cannot improve upon perfection, so it may behoove us to refrain from tinkering with this magnificently orchestrated site. We shall keep last year's vows right here on the main page, as a reminder of promises still to be kept, and we bid our dedicated readers a safe, healthy ear (make that 'year').

The World of the Dragon, honored to be serving the community since 1953 (give or take 50 years).

What you can expect from us in 2005:

Don't expect too much, that's for sure. Certainly not cash prizes or round-trip tickets to the Caribbean. But God willing, we hope to soften that glaring red color that pervades the main page, in memory of all those faithful fans who have gone blind looking at it for hours upon hours, month after month, year in year out.

You can also look forward to more exciting, mind-tickling essays each month, until I run out of ideas or am claimed by the Grim Reaper, whichever comes first (first come first serve, I always say).

And lastly, I hope to succeed at recording a new CD before the year is over, and that means we'll be staging concerts, and that means we'll have new pictures to feature in our slow-evolving Photo Gallery. SO, if you want to see new pics, pray that I manage to record the CD, and that the Grim Reaper passes me over for some meatier specimen. Chow.

PS. Check the Upcoming Events section every now and then. Events are not coming up too frequently, it's true, but you never know.