Is this what it is like to live in New York? In a tower, scant feet from other people … and no one talks to anybody? An almost aggressive “keep away from me” vibe? We know people in this building … but we know them from the newspaper. By coincidence, or more probably word of […]

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The modern Abu Dhabi has never lacked for street names. It is not at all unusual for streets on the island to have three names. And those that did not? They now have a third. Or a second, at least. How can a street have three names? Like this:

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Perhaps this represents some sort of breakthrough. Maybe I have now seen enough soccer that I know a bad game when I see one. Nah. Ten years ago I would have known this was a bad game. Twenty. Al Jazira 4, Al Wahda 3, in the Capital Derby, and an abominable performance by two Abu […]

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Yes, weather is boring. But sometimes we have to share. Like this morning, when the UAE awoke to a storm (!) hovering over the country, one thick enough to 1) block the sun and 2) lead to a temperature at daybreak that amazed those of us who have lived here for any length of time. […]

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The UAE has soccer “derbies”, in the English sense — rivalries between neighbors. Al Wahda and Al Jazira, for instance, located only a couple of miles apart, here in Abu Dhabi. Sharjah’s two teams, Al Shaab and Sharjah, have a strong rivalry, too. But the country does not really have rivalries involving teams from different […]

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The Dubai Airshow began today, and the first day was an orgy of spending. Or at least an orgy of commitments to spend. It apparently was the biggest day in the history of the aviation business. Boeing and Airbus, the world leaders (and rivals) in building big passenger planes, were the major benefactors of the […]

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It takes a typical westerner a long time to become accustomed to the work week here. Sunday is Monday. Tuesday is hump day. Saturday is Sunday. And for most people working in the Muslim world, the restaurant chain TGI Friday’s really ought to celebrate a day earlier in the week.

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The UAE uses scads of energy. Oodles. Just lighting up the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is like lighting up a small city, in much of the world. A story today in The National notes that the country’s demand for energy is rising at 9 percent per year, which is three times the global […]

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Some threshold has been crossed here. I have swapped Sunday football for Sunday futbol, and I hardly notice the difference. Were we still in California I likely would have seen all of part of games like Denver at San Diego and Dallas at New Orleans. Instead?

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November is deep into Fall, in most of the northern hemisphere. Though it is a bit hard to tell, here in the UAE, where really only two seasons exist. Summer, and Not Summer. The first runs from May through October, though often it begins more in April and extends into November. Not Summer is the […]

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