Posted by Kanga.
Here is an aerial view of my home town. It is a green gem, nestled in a valley.
This is what the rest of the area looks like.
Sage brush, juniper trees, dry grass and blue skies.
This sunset was so spectacular that I had to pull over and take a picture. My favorite color!
Posted by Kanga
This is the “other Oliver.” He lives with my best friend, with his Mom, his brother, an older male tabby named Angelo and a big dog named Jenny. He is nothing like my Oliver. He is mostly quiet, although he does talk occasionally, but he is actually saying something when he does. He likes laying in peoples laps and he likes running around with his brother. This is his brother (sorry the picture is blurry, but he was in constant motion.)
This is Mouse. He is a foot cat – he likes to lay on your feet or shoes. He likes to chew on shoes, too. It was quite nice to discover there was a warm fuzzy thing laying on my toes, keeping them warm. He also loves to chase and play with Angelo. Angelo was the only cat in the house for a long time and he used to just eat and sleep most of the time. Now, he runs around quite a lot with Mouse and it is very fun to see and very good exercise for a middle aged cat.
I still miss my Oliver and Bert while traveling in the U.S., but I had a lot of fun with these guys.
Posted by Kanga.
I’m in the States presently. I have to say I suffered sticker shock when I saw the gas station sign indicating that gasoline is $3.00 per gallon and up. Ouch! Then I bought a daily newspaper from a vending machine for $1.00. You’d think it was made of gasoline for that price.
I’ve made a small contribution to the local economy buying a few things that are difficult or impossible to get in Dubai. I put the shoe salesman through his paces trying nearly every shoe in my size. I bought two pairs of sensible shoes, unlike these I saw while travelling.
Posted by Kanga.
It’s been a long time since my last toy video. This should make up for it.
Posted by Kanga.
Identity is a bit murky in the United States, however, it is nothing to the confusion in the U.A.E. In the U.S., just being born on the soil makes you a citizen. If you are not born there, it is possible to be naturalized by going through a detailed process or marriage to a citizen. The U.S. is a large piece of real estate, in case you haven’t noticed, so there are many identities within the overall American identity – yankee, southerner, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, African American, residents of 50 distinct states, etc. Hundreds of ways to label oneself. But, when all is said and done, you can rest in being an American. (My apologies to Canadians, Central Americans and South Americans. I admit we are rather arrogant to refer to ourselves as if we were the only Americans.)
In the U.A.E., however, it is a very different story. Citizenship was created in 1971 and was given to many residing here, although not all. Citizenship by birth is given only to those whose fathers are citizens. Very few of the children born on this soil are citizens. Citizenship cannot be attained by any form of naturalization process. Not even marriage to a citizen results in citizenship, although I did read one reference to a citizen male being able to obtain citizenship for his wife (but not vice versa). In addition to being a recipe for a dwindling citizenship, this is also the cause of identity confusion for the many of non-citizens who have lived here all their lives.
Very early on we began to meet young people who have grown up here, but have to refer to themselves as Pakistani, Indian, Canadian, or whatever nationality their parents have, even though they have only visited their “homeland.” Culturally, they are… ??? There is not a word for it, no label. Some have attempted to create a label, like Dubaian, Dubai-ite, but nothing has stuck. They must be considered expats (expatriates – legal alien residents) just like the rest of us who have only arrived a short time ago.
In the video at this link Neither Here nor There a young Sudanese woman talks about the dilemma of being an expatriate both here and in her home country.
Posted by Kanga.
Bollywood Review #4
Silsila, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Rekha, and Shashi Kapoor, 1981.
This begins as the story of two brothers who have grown up as the best of friends. Shekhar (Shashi) is a fighter pilot. Amit (Amitabh) is a playwright and poet. Shekhar is engaged to Shobha (Jaya) and Amit is just falling in love with Chandni (Rekha). These brothers have done everything together (even a shower scene with a “pick up the soap” joke) and when Amit calls to tell Shekhar of his love for Chandni, they agree that they must have a joint wedding. Unfortunately, Shekhar puts down the phone and heads for his fighter plane, never to return. He is shot down and killed in action, leaving both Amit and Shobha grieving. Amit discovers that Shobha is pregnant with his beloved brother’s child and will be shamed when this becomes public. He does a gallant thing and marries her instead of Chandni. He writes Chandni a “dear jane” letter, although not explaining why he is deserting her.
Tragedy and difficult to believe coincidence changes the direction of this tale. Amit & Shobha are in a car accident, she miscarries AND her doctor is none other than Dr. Anand, the new husband of Chandni whom she married after being dumped by Amit. Chandni’s husband is devoted to her, but knows that this devotion is not returned by her. He even complains that she doesn’t fight with him.
Due to this coincidental crossing of their paths Chandni & Amit are “reunited” and Amit can’t let it go. He continues to meet with Chandni in clandestine trysts always having to duck people who recognize them. Their spouses aren’t stupid and soon catch on to what is happening, but try their best to preserve their marriages.
Amit decides to take the plunge and break up their marriages and go away with Chandni. This does not work out as well as he thought it would as they begin to have second thoughts due to society’s dim view of their infidelity. Then tragedy strikes, yet again. Chandi’s husband is in a plane crash. They rush to the site to find out what has happened to him. Shobha is there, too, and attempts to stop Amit from running into the fire to find Dr. Anand by admitting that she is once again pregnant. What will she do if she loses him. Amit rescues Dr. Anand and returns to Shobha declaring his devotion to her. The movie ends with the declaration that “Love is faith and faith is forever.”
I have to say this is the first movie where I haven’t liked Amitabh’s character. He does a very honorable thing and then completely negates it by being a selfish jackass. Once he’s caught by Shobha and others, he gets all whiny and carries on about how this is not his fault. It is one thing to make bad choices and do stupid things and a whole ‘nother level of bad to refuse to take responsibility for those choices and actions. When Chandni says she can’t continue being torn between her husband and lover, Amit says “I’m sick and tired of your fears and your apprehensions!” Wow, how much more selfish can he get? He has a really heinous speech when he breaks up with Shobha where he tells her that for him their relationship is bondage, to which she replies that she has fallen in love with him. Ouch! Shobha is the definition of longsuffering.
Amitabh’s acting is impecable which is probably why I dislike Amit so much. Shobha should have slapped him upside the head.
More info at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083081/
Posted by Kanga.
Here’s another video of the Fujairah bull butting. Explains a little more about how it works.
Gulf News – Bull Fighting – Hooved Gladiators Lock Horns in Fujairah
To see our previous posts on the bull butting – click here.
Posted by Kanga.
This has nothing to do with “living the travel channel.” It’s just what I’ve been thinking about lately.
A long time ago (1992) when I was in graduate school learning to become a librarian, we were shown a short video that predicted the future of information.
First let me set the scene:
The video we were presented with showed a business man getting up in the morning and having a relaxing cup of coffee while his computer generated “information butler” (my terminology) told him verbally about news reports he might find relevant, gave him the stock report on his investments, told him his schedule for the day, and responded to the man’s verbal feedback. All those things that personal assistants do for the rich and powerful. The message for us apparently was that we had just signed up for a profession that would soon cease to exist. I looked on YouTube for this video, but that is like looking for a needle in a very big haystack with my eyes closed.
Happily, 18 years later, the death of the librarian profession has not been realized. We still don’t have artificial intelligence and we still need people to organize, channel and disseminate information. (We still need people to figure out why the computer system isn’t giving us what we want when we want it.)
There are things like RSS feeds that we are supposed to use to glean information we want from the overwhelming mess called the internet, but only a few use them (the info savvy). Even I haven’t taken the time to set this up for myself (mainly because I expect to be deluged with more info that I can possibly handle). I’m a secondary consumer, I suppose. I rely on my Twitter friends who are using their RSS feeds to find out what is happening in the world. They then share the link via Twitter and if their comments catch my eye and I think I might be interested in the information, I follow the link and read for myself. I’ve found some really important information that way.
In a way, the Internet is seriously inbred. For example, someone out there writes something interesting. Someone reads it and channels it in my direction. I find it interesting and useful for others, so I put it in a wiki or a blog for further distribution. Search engines index my wiki enabling others to find it and before long my wiki is linked to someone else’s wiki or website. Etc., etc., etc.
In the spirit of inbred Internet, here is a link I think you might find interesting. The Internet in 1969 via the Huffington Post
Posted by Kanga.
Here is Oliver’s latest feat of entertaining silliness. It is amazing what can be accomplished with a few balls and a laundry basket.
I started filming this because he was looking at the string on the side of the basket and clearly thinking about how to get it off or what to do with it. It quickly turned into a whole different game, however. Notice that it is not really about the balls. He can get to them when ever he wants. Once they are out of the basket they are no longer of interest. It is all about the basket. And, Bert just quietly looks on.
Posted by Kanga.
Somehow, the thought of eating that sweet little chick…
Burfi turned out to be a hypersugar bar.
Ayyy…Mrs. C!
DaddyBird
kangayayaroo
Living the Travel Channel 