Has-been to perform in Abu Dhabi

Blah.


In the style of Perez

Another pop "star" comes to town. Seriously, can't Abu Dhabi dirhams buy someone better? Plus I thought she was busy with some kid or something.

Voting from abroad

Cost to UPS two letters to Detroit, Mich. from Abu Dhabi, UAE to beat voter registration abroad deadline: $74
Cost to USPS two absentee ballots from Detroit, Mich. to Canton, Mich: $.80
Cost to USPS those two absentee ballots from Canton, Mich. to Abu Dhabi: $36.09
Cost to send ballots back to the US from Abu Dhabi: $74

Two votes AGAINST John McCain/Sarah Palin in this year's presidential election: PRICELESS

Dubai and religion

A good series from the NYT about Dubai, culture and religion titled "Young and Arab in Land of Mosques and Bars". Read it HERE.

An equally interesting slide show to match. Click HERE for the photos.

Extra time off? Thank the barnyard

I just found out I have some extra time off that is in lieu for Ramadan. Some days off here and there for general Ramadan. And another day off for the goat slaughtering I missed.

Serious.

Double :(

I'm in the "process" of flying back now. Just landed in Chicago (because flying backward makes sense). Next stop London. THEN the U.A.E.

No biggie or anything... only about 28 hours of travel. Doesn't even compare to the trip here where we spent around 35 hours traveling.

Man, do I have a bad attitude about returning to the U.A.E. or what?!

UAE v N Korea in World Cup 2010 Qualifying Match

September humidity of 84% means a heat index of 42C/108F. Our bottles of water were not allowed in by the legions of AD Police dressed in purple camouflage fatigues. This was the worst part of going to see the game. We found some seats in the still under construction Mohd. bin Zayed Arena, and sat down to enjoy some football.

The action was there, as the first half went well with the ball consistently by the NK goal. The first half went without a score on either side, and we went to enjoy some AC inside the hallways under the seating area. The juice and refreshment stands were all closing at this time, and so we wandered for a while enjoying the cool air, watching the fans wait for the second half to start.

Finding our way back to our seating area just in time for the kickoff, we settled in for the next half. The chanting of the announcer over the loudspeakers got the crowd into the excitement and ready for victory. The mood shifted suddenly as NK scored a goal. With over 30 minutes remaining many in the crowd started to leave in disappointment. Then, with a surprise kick, NK scored again! The angry fans, who are not the type to keep supporting their team when they are losing began throwing bottles of water and cups onto the pitch. Some members of the UAE team began throwing their hands up at the crowd, greatly displeased at the lack of support when the team needed it most. As the refs began cleaning the pitch of thrown garbage, even the NK team helped kick some refuse to the sidelines to get the game underway again. The announcer grew quiet, with no more chanting and cheering, giving up on the game. Then, the ball shifted to the NK goal and the UAE scored a quick goal, and the crowd again erupted into cheers, and suddenly the game was back on in earnest! The loudspeakers began to boom again getting the crowd back into the spirit. Time was starting to run out and the hopes of victory for the UAE started to fade. The time ran out and more of the crowd made their way to the exits as injury time began. the UAE fought to score again, making drive after drive into the NK goals. At the UAE goal, a NK player laid on the ground and began stretching his leg. It appeared he was suffering from a cramp, and the UAE goalie helped him stretch in a gesture of sportsmanship unseen from the fans. On the last drive, the UAE fought to the goal and made a kick towards the goal which went wide and the game was over.

As we sat waiting for the masses to leave, our clothes damp with sweat and our hopes of a victory celebration gone, we enjoyed watching the crowd pass us by. We saw a kid with UAE painted in bright red down the front of his dishdasha. It was the Emirati equivalent of the fat guy in nothing but shorts painted in team colours! Another painted dishdasha passed by with 'Don't Try or Play with the UAE' The phrasing and spelling was wrong, but the meaning still came thru clearly, in opposition to the now greatly sweat faded UAE colours painted on his face. In the NK section, which was separated by half a section of seating area blocked off by security men, the red was flashing all over the place and the cheering was constant. A N Korean woman's voice led the section in chanting and cheering their victory as we stood up to leave.

I arrived home in good time and went straight away to take a cold shower. I will post some photos of the action when I get copies from everyone who attended with us. I am sorry that we will not be seeing the UAE at the World Cup in 2010.

Officially very tall

There's been some debate around the world as to who has the "world's tallest building" and Dubai's project has been a bit mysterious since they wouldn't announce the final amount of stories/floors/etc.

But, THIS just in from YahooNews.

Looks like Dubai will be taking the record for tallest building as it's reached a height of 688 metres or 2,257 feet and is still growing developers announced Tuesday.