Getting married has always been a huge step in a person’s life. It’s also one of the biggest expenses you can have–sometimes costing more than a year’s salary, a home, or a trip around the world.

For Arabs who are getting married, it can be an even bigger expense because its almost compulsory to invite all the people you and your families ever knew, as well as having a big, grand wedding with plenty of food.

Lebanese-American actor Tony Shalhoub has seen it all—from the blinding lights of Broadway, behind the scenes as a successful producer, in front of the camera as various characters, and on stage as an Emmy-award winner.

Most well-known for his portrayal of the obsessive-compulsive detective Monk on the hit TV show with the same name, Shalhoub has parlayed his ability to get underneath a character’s skin to massive success.

His Arab-American roots, however, are what set him apart from the rest of the Hollywood elite. Growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Shalhoub didn’t really have a real sense of his Lebanese roots.

Going out on dates constantly can turn into a bit of a chore, am I right? After a while, all the conversation turn into a blur, all the outfits are the same, the same places, the same kinds of people—it’s like going on the same ride over and over again.

But can that make you immune when you do find someone that you have a real connection with? Have you become so jaded that you become a bore yourself?

Thousands of Lebanese demonstrators—most of them under the age of 30—marched through Beirut last week in an effort to separate religion from politics.

The push for secularism in a region mostly defined by religious identity and religious politics is seen as a mostly younger-generational idea; a campaign where groups were mobilized through social networking sites like Facebook.