Fireworks Junkie
In each of us resides the small child that never grows up. You look at me and you think “OLD! Over thirty!” but inside, I am still that kid who loves to see fireworks. Any time. Just tell me where and when, I’ll be there.
I repeat: Just tell me where and when . . .
Did you know there were fireworks on the Corniche last night? I was at Villagio! I would have been downtown, had I known there would be fireworks!
(Photo in the Gulf Times by Jayan Orma. Nice photo, Jayan!)
What is the point of a fireworks show celebrating anything if no one knows ahead of time there will be a fireworks show? I’m so annoyed, I won’t even mention the sponsor’s name. You would think they would be better communicators! Bah! Humbug!
Small Pleasures in the Souq al Waqif
AdventureMan loves to take a quick trip to the souks, any excuse will do. He, like me, likes to wander, and to spy small details that delight our hearts. Here are some recent wanders:
Doha, Qatar Opens Wal-Mart
As seen between B and C ring in Najma when I was trying to find the Garden Vegetarian restaurant:
Mac and Cheese Weather
I was visiting my sister, and our children were all very small. It was a cold day, a very very cold, snowy, icy day in Iowa and I told the kids I would make macaroni and cheese like my Mom used to make.
Their eyes got big and round and all day they went around saying “she’s making Macaroni and Cheese like Mom used to make!”
When I finally dished it out – there was utter silence as they stared at the macaroni and cheese – made from real macaroni and REAL CHEESE in a real, home made sauce!
They didn’t look delighted. They looked horrified, and like they didn’t want to embarrass me, but something was terribly wrong.
My sister started laughing.
“I think they all expected it to be orange,” she said, and I started laughing too – orange is also what my son grew up on, it was so quick and easy.
Mom’s Mac and Cheese was not a big hit.
But with the semi-chilly weather of January, I found this fabulous recipe for Macaroni and Cheese that sounds like it greatly ups the taste factor. I found it on allrecipes.com, one of my favorite recipe websites and it is called Kicked up Macaroni and Cheese:
Kicked Up Macaroni and Cheese
1 1/2 cups rotelle pasta
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons chili powder
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. A little at a time, whisk in milk, mustard, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat and whisk in pepperjack, Cheddar and Parmesan until smooth. Stir in cooked pasta and pour into shallow 2 quart baking dish.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in bread crumbs and chili powder. Sprinkle over macaroni mixture.
Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Gotta go now. My tummy started rumbling when I read the recipe!
Chinese Parents Abort Females; Men Can’t Find Mates
There is a part of me that thinks “What were you thinking??”
Of course, you know by now if you’ve been reading Here There and Everywhere that I don’t hate men, and also that I see RED when women are undervalued because they are women and not men. Equal rights, equal pay for equal work, equal citizenship – my battles to fight.
So what happens when poor people are told they can have only one child, and they all abort their female children – or they disappear shortly after birth – and only little boys who can grow up to take care of their parents are born?
Dearth of Women to Leave 24M Chinese Men Unwed
From AOL News Sphere where you can read this entire article by clicking on this blue type
Terence Neilan
Sphere
(Jan. 11) — More than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without a woman to wed by 2020, and a Chinese proclivity to abort female fetuses is a major contributing factor, a major study has found.
Gender imbalance among newborns is the most serious demographic problem facing the country’s population of 1.3 billion, the study by the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says.
“Sex-specific abortions remained extremely commonplace,” the academy said, “especially in rural areas,” where the cultural preference for boys over girls is strongest.
Volunteer Day at Animal Friends Kuwait
God bless the work of your hands, all you who work to help those who have no voices, who rescue the animals, give them food and shelter, and adopt them.
Animal Friends and K’S PATH will be hosting its bi-annual Shelter Open Day where everyone is invited to come out, visit with the animals and learn all about their rescue and care. Visitors will be able to walk the dogs, cuddle the cats, play with the puppies, brush the donkeys, watch the baboons and so much more. The weather is beautiful, so come and make a day of it.
When: Friday 29 January, 2010, 11:00am to 3pm
Where: Animal Friends Shelter and K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra
Cost: Free, although we certainly appreciate donations
Notes: Please leave your own pets at home and refreshments will be available for sale.
Huge Yard Sale — antiques, collectibles, book worm’s treasure trove, gently used infant clothing and toys, gently used adult clothes and shoes, Indonesian teak furniture, home wares, gourmet kitchen gadgets, dishes, pots and pans and so much more. Come on over and rummage through the goods and you might find a treasure. All funds will go to support Animal Friends.
When: Saturday 6 February, 2010, 10:00am to 3pm
Where: Fintas, Block 4, Street 11, House 29
Notes: Refreshments will be available for sale.
Today’s e-mail: Why athletes can’t have regular jobs
WHY ATHLETES CAN’T HAVE REGULAR JOBS
1. Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model: “I wan’ all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all the kids to copulate me.”
2. New Orleans Saint RB George Rogers when asked about the upcoming season: ”I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.”
3. And, upon hearing Joe Jacobi of the ‘Skins say: “I’d run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl,” Matt Millen of the Raiders said: “To win, I’d run over Joe’s Mom, too.”
4. Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, on his coach, John Jenkins: ”He treats us like men.. He lets us wear earrings.”
5. Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann, 1996: “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”
6. Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh : “I’m going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes.” (now that is beautiful)
7. Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: “You guys line up alphabetically by height.” And, “You guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.”
8. Boxing promoter Dan Duva on Mike Tyson going to prison: “Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter? He went to prison for three years, not Princeton ..”
9. Stu Grimson, Chicago Blackhawks left wing, explaining why he keeps a color photo of himself above his locker: “That’s so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my clothes.”
10. Lou Duva, veteran boxing trainer, on the Spartan training regime of heavyweight Andrew Golota: “He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning, regardless of what time it is.”
11. Chuck Nevitt , North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice: “My sister’s expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.” (I wonder if his IQ ever hit room temperature in January)
12. Frank Layden , Utah Jazz president, on a former player: “I told him, ’Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?’ He said, ‘Coach, I don’t know and I don’t care.'”
13. Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D: “Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.”
14. Amarillo High School and Oiler coach Bum Phillips when asked by Bob Costas why he takes his wife on all the road trips, Phillips responded: ”Because she is too damn ugly to kiss good-bye.”
15. These are right in the ballpark with Mike Tyson’s answer to what he will do when he retires…”I guess I’ll just fade into Bolivia .”
Doha Food Festival – WOOO HOOOO!
Doha Food Festival from Feb 3
From today’s Gulf Times
As part of a cultural calendar celebrating Doha as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2010, Qatar Tourism Authority will host the first Doha Food Festival from February 3 to 6 at Doha Exhibition Center’s outdoor tent.
Organised under the slogan of ‘Taste and Fun’, the event will offer family entertainment. Hotels and restaurants operating in Qatar will showcase a wide variety of dishes.
As many as 50 exhibitors will prepare food on-site.
Live music and raffle drawings are scheduled. A grand prize for a restaurant, determined by public interest, will also be announced.
Qatar Traffic Department says NO New Traffic Fines
Traffic fine rumours squashed
Web posted at: 1/12/2010 5:13:28
Source ::: The Peninsula / BY MOHAMMED IQBAL
BY MOHAMMED IQBAL
DOHA: As rumours continue to circulate about a steep hike in traffic fines, a senior official of the Traffic Department has clarified that such reports are totally baseless and there is no change in the traffic law.
Over the past month, e-mail messages have been circulating about a new “traffic violations law” with a detailed list of new fines for different violations. Though the messages appear to be a fraud at the very first look, they have been widely circulated, causing confusion among the public.
“The Traffic Department is dealing with all violations as per the current traffic law, without any change or amendment,” said Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director of the Traffic Department, while denying the reports spreading through mobile phones and the Internet.
The email message about the “New traffic violations law — October 2009” gives a comparative list of the “new” and “existing” fines. Anyone who is aware of the current law would immediately realise that the message is fake, since many of the existing fines mentioned in it are incorrect.
For instance, it says that the “fine for using a mobile phone while driving” has been raised from QR3,000 to QR10,000, whereas the existing fine for this violation is QR500. Similar is the case with most of the other violations.
Only a naïve person would believe this message when it says that the fines for most violations have been raised from QR10,000 to an incredible QR50,000.
Despite all this, the message has been circulating fast as people forward it to others without thinking much about the content. The Peninsula has received a number of calls from people seeking a clarification on this matter.
A resident said he had seen the same message displayed prominently at a work site in the Industrial Area a few weeks ago.
An expert from the Traffic Department told The Peninsula yesterday that he had been receiving a number of queries from people about the issue.
“It is surprising that people go by such rumours. Anyone would know that if there is a major change in the traffic law it would be announced through the media by senior officials,” he added.
It has been pointed out that many residents don’t have easy access to authentic information about the traffic law since an official English version of the law is still not available.
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