We climbed into the cab and told the cabbie we wanted to go to the bowling alley at Zayed Sports City. (Yes. More good times in Abu Dhabi.) The driver said he didn’t know where that was … and not only that … that this was his first day as a driver … and not […]

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Two days ago on this blog we noted the death of Theyab Awana, a UAE soccer player killed in a car crash here in Abu Dhabi. He was best known for scoring a backheel penalty shot in a game versus Lebanon. One of our news reporters tracked down the 21-year-old player’s father, and in this […]

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Theyab Awana became probably the most famous UAE soccer player in history after he scored against Lebanon in July on a backheel penalty. The goal became an internet sensation. As of tonight, his audacious shot appears to have been viewed more than 10 million times on various YouTube entries, such as this one. Theyab Awana […]

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Back in August, while driving over the streets of San Francisco, we were astonished to see a completely naked adult male walking along on the sidewalk. Here is an account of that incident. Now, a month later, a story comes along that explains to us this astonishing fact:

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I was aware of this, a bit. I clearly remember, X number of years ago (during that short period when the proudly clueless Dutchman Ruud Gullit was coaching the Galaxy), having this pointed out to me. Gullit was talking to a few of us after a practice session, and he just launched into a Jeremiad […]

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I lived for a long time believing that the four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall (as James Taylor would arrange them) began on the same days every year. To wit: December 21 for winter, March 21 for spring, June 21 for summer, September 21 for fall. But now it seems that this year […]

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I may have mentioned that the biggest single population group in the UAE is Indians. They make up about 2 million of the 8 million permanent residents of the country and certainly influence the culture across a wide range of activity. That means lots and lots of Indian restaurants in the country, and in Abu […]

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A notion popped into my head while writing a column for The National about how this looks like it could/should be the best season in the history of the UAE’s domestic soccer league: An imbalance exists in many countries between the leagues those nations deserve … and the league that they have. In both directions: […]

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I’d never had a manicure. Or a pedicure. I just didn’t see the need. Someone messes with your fingernails/toenails for a while … cuz why? It makes you a better person somehow? Healthier? Can’t you just cut your own nails in about two minutes and be done with it? Not getting it. Now, I have […]

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No point in talking about the weather, is there. But we do anyway. Especially at this time of year here in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Not only is it boiling hot, day after day …

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