In six months here, I recall seeing two dogs. Two. (Aside from maybe a half-dozen dogs I saw during a couple of visits to the boardwalk, which isn’t “real” Abu Dhabi. Being walked by their owners. All of whom were Westerners. Those don’t really count.) The two dogs I saw in regular-folks neighborhoods: –A white […]

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Ever been told that at, say, a restaurant by an acquaintance? It’s an old-fashioned way of saying, “I am paying for this” or “we are paying for this.” Get it? Your money is no good here. Like, it’s counterfeit. (Even though it appears to say “This bill is legal tender for all debts, public and […]

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This is getting weird. This ash cloud/flight ban thing. Here in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, nearly all flights go in one of two directions. East to India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia. Or north and west to Europe. The direction most westerners in this country would prefer to go. But have not been […]

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I’m on record with my sad decision that the Lakers won’t defend their NBA championship this year. They don’t beat Cleveland in the Finals. But these Lakers are shaky enough that their fans ought to be worried … right now. That is the Oklahoma City Thunder coming to town, and they have the league’s leading […]

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It was the sort of event that left me thinking, “Wow.” Did that really happen? In 2010 print journalism? An everyone-is-invited, Friday-night newsroom party at a posh new hotel at the nearby (new) world-class race track. Wait. It gets better. Major buffet spread. Lasagna, mini-burgers and fries, fish, samosas, chicken and noodles, hummus, baba ghanoush, […]

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I wrote about this a week or two ago, about the guy who semi-shouts, “Hello, friend!” as I make the 20-minute walk home after work. He is one of the men from the subcontinent who sits on the benches along the inner road/parking lot … on the backside of the stadium where the Al Jazira […]

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Earlier this week, maybe after another close call, I asked our taxi driver, Benjamin, how many accidents he has been involved in since he began working here, in 2008. “Eight, sir. And none were my fault.” Make that nine. Granted, Benjamin spends nearly all his waking hours behind the wheel of his silver Camry, and […]

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Interesting concept. Landon Donovan returning to Redlands for an episode of an ESPN series entitled “Homecoming with Rick Reilly.” Turns out you don’t just go home … you go home with Rick Reilly, the former Sports Illustrated columnist who is now the “other guy” columnist at espn.com. The other guy to Bill Simmons, that is. […]

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I wrote something really lame, about five months ago. (Yes, I know. “Can you be a little more specific, please?”) It had to do with insects. And my observation that … Abu Dhabi didn’t seem to have many insects. I’ve written some poorly thought out posts in my time … but suggesting that any corner […]

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Old guys and their memories. Why don’t they just give it a rest? Because we think our memories are interesting. That’s why. So we just throw some stuff out there, see if anyone cares, and if they don’t, well, go find something else to do, young Mr. Whippersnapper. Thinking, tonight, about two events only a […]

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