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.
The intellectual's oasis; the hallowed halls of learning; the nourishing nest 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 (unless you know how roses are manufactured these days), 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 2007 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. In keeping with the Lo Fi revolution, our staff of experts worked hard to design this web page with a typical low-priced Chinese dinner menu in mind, in the process rejecting hundreds of flashy, hi tech alternatives.
Featured in the Audio section are two mp3 files. The first contains short excerpts from the latest CD, released in September 2003; the other is a song called "Arab Blues" which I was comissioned to write in response to the tarnished image of Arabs in Western media. The latter has not been released anywhere and probably will not be, so hear it here. The Diary presents my deepest inner thoughts (at least those fit to be shared with the general public) in the form of an essay presented at the beginning of each month. In the Translations section can be found word-for-word English translations of the songs on the latest CD. Reading these while simultaneously listening to the CD should provide for an unforgettable 3D experience. 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. All this and more, right here at the click of a rat. Enjoy your visit and return soon. P.S. If you have a high speed connection, check out my video clip by clicking
here (you'll have to register with Melody Hits but it's fast, free and painless). And you can buy my CD online from adabwafan.com.
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.
YOU HAVE ENTERED THE "WORLD OF THE DRAGON" - of your own free will, no less.
