Been dealing with cabbies since the night we arrived. Caught one in the middle of Najda Street an hour after touching down.
Cabs become a part of your life here, unless you take on the risky/expensive proposition of driving yourself.
What you ought to do is make an arrangement with a cabbie you like and pay him […]

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My daughter Britt sent me an interesting photo. Shot by National Geographic.
It is No. 4 in this group of photos.
What strikes me as interesting about this is …

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I have been given the job of organizing coverage of the local professional soccer league, which is known at The National as the Pro League.
I am impressed by how many UAE nationals play in the league of 12 teams, considering the Emirati population is only around 1 million, which means perhaps 500,000 males and a […]

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Wow. That looked miserable. Actually, it looked scary.
Professional soccer,  and all that running and sprinting and just maximum exertion … in temperatures described by weather.com as “93, feels like 113.”
That was what we had going on here in Abu Dhabi tonight when Al Jazira played Al Nasr on Day 2 of the local soccer season, […]

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This is my one and only entrepreneurial idea of the year.
Disney ought to construct a theme park here in the United Arab Emirates. No. Really.

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Interesting concept, Ramadan. And one I knew about but, clearly, had never experienced.
One full month of fasting during the day. From sunrise to sundown. Nothing to eat. Nothing. And it gets more difficult than that.
No smoking, either. And here is the really tough one: No liquids. Not even water. From sunrise to sundown.

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A friend sent me the link late last night, Abu Dhabi time.
Vin Scully would “make an announcement” before today’s Dodgers game with the Cincinnati Reds.
And, of course, anytime Vinny makes an announcement, considering that he’s 82 … it freaks out all Vinny-o-philes.

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It’s an exchange from the 1974 movie “Blazing Saddles.” Always makes me smile.
Sheriff Bart: “Can’t you see it’s the last act of a desperate man?”
Townsman: “I don’t care if it’s the first act of Henry the Fifth.”
So, in our last social act in Paris, here early on the morning of Aug. 21 … we will […]

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This was the day. The one in your imagination. Or your memory. On your movie screens. When Paris is sunny and beautiful and lively and almost dream-like in it scrumptious goodness and magnetic appeal and all those recreational options, options, options!
For two weeks here, it was mostly cloudy. Even rainy. Which suited a couple of […]

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Yes, I said it about two weeks ago.
“Even I’m ticked off at Brett Favre.”
This was after all the reports, early this month, of him calling officials and players of the Minnesota Vikings and telling them that his ankle wasn’t sound enough for him to play … that he was going to have to retire.
And it […]

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