Gulf News web editor Adam Flinter plunges headlong into the blogosphere to find out what bloggers from the Middle East and beyond have on their minds.
Star blog: It’s never time
I haven’t watched a news channel in a very long time, I usually stick to reading the news online. But today my dad had the TV on Al Jazeera, and I couldn’t believe how much more horrible the situation in Lebanon looked than it did in photographs.
Masked gunmen… Blockades in the middle of the streets… It’s really horrible.
I can’t believe that Lebanon is still heavily divided — “Sunni living quarters”, “Shiite living quarters”, “Christian living quarters”, “Druze living quarters”… they seem to have a million divisions. And I cannot relate to that.
I was young when the Lebanese civil war ended, but the thought of it still really scares me. Beirut still has bullet wounds in its buildings… it isn’t time again for another civil war. It’s never time again for that. Let’s hope this passes “3ala kheir”.
http://andfaraway.net
Exciting taxi plan
With the UAE population consisting of 80 per cent expats, I was frothing with excitement to make friends with people from parts of the world I have relatively zero familiarity with. I turned my nose up at expat women’s groups because I can make friends with Americans any time I want back home. No, this was my chance to meet exotic people with exotic tales of lands I have much ignorance about.
But it was not so easy as I expected. Though I was surrounded by exotic faces when out on the street or in the shops, I felt a disconnection between us I did not quite understand. Although people were friendly, there was a polite distance that felt difficult to close. Not one to give up easily, I devised a brilliant plan.
It came to me as I drove by a busy taxi stand, one of many stationed throughout the city. I would transform our trusty rental car into a taxi! I planned to fashion a sign out of cardboard and carefully write ‘taxi’ in English and Arabic on it just like the real taxis have, tape it onto the top of our car and offer people free rides in exchange for stories about themselves. With enthusiasm out the roof I told John of my exciting plan and watched his face turn from interest to horror. He said he didn’t like the idea of me getting kicked out of the country so soon. Game over.
http://birdsnack.blogspot.com/
That new car smell
Yesterday, my boss got a new car. Or rather, he would have gotten a new car if he wasn’t on vacation — instead, I got his new car to drive around. There have already been jokes about how he will have to pry the keys from my cold, dead hand in order to get his car back.
And it had that lovely new car smell. Notice the word “had”, meaning past tense? It now smells like coffee, since my coffee travel mug leaked and spilled in the car. Oops...
http://dragongirl76.blogspot.com/
Free ipod
I attended an event hosted by my principal vendor last week. The good thing about these events is that you get lots of free stuff.
So they gave away five iPod Nanos to the lucky ones. Needless to say, I was not one of them. I have seen so many iPods given away for free at so many events that by now almost everyone should be a proud owner of an iPod. Except for me, of course, ’cuz I have never won one. But I want to win one.
I have made a decision that I will never, ever, purchase an iPod. If I ever own an iPod I will get it for free.
Whether I win it in an event or somebody donates it to me or one just falls on my lap from nowhere, I will not spend a penny on it.
Is there a free iPod in my fate? Only time will tell.
http://umarsiddiqi.com/blog/
Darkness in gaza
It’s dark in Gaza again (not that it really stopped being dark in the first place). There is no fuel. They’ve been using cooking oil to run their cars. The toxic fumes from the exhaust have sent some people to hospital. They can’t get proper treatment, because hey, there’s no fuel to keep the hospital functioning. No fuel, no transportation, no medical treatment, no food.....but hey, Israeli incursions are plenty. (see here, here, here and here)
And here I am complaining about finals and term papers — while students in Gaza have to study in the dark and struggle to get to university.
Meanwhile the whole world sits back in silence — as if they are the ones sitting in darkness unable to see, hear, or feel.
http://alfalasteenyia.blogspot.com
Fire, fire
On a recent trip to Dibba I mentioned that my friend mesmerised the campers with an evocative display of fire. I do not think I really gave it the justice it deserved and I wanted to share the experience a little more. I took a video of one of the displays and my hat goes off to Ursula who despite performing for a crowd for the first time and getting burnt at one point, does not flinch at all and pulls off some stunning moves. Certainly this is not something for the kids!
Here it is “straight out of the camera”.
I was sitting next to the stereo and the soundtrack fits really well.
http://englishmanindubai.com/
