Family Beach
Every now and then, I get a good giggle. Usually it is a European family, and it only happens once . . . they go to our local beach. They are in normal beach attire – swimsuits. And they head for the “Family Beach.”
They haven’t been here long enough to know that “Family” is a little different here, it means mostly women in abayas and scarves, or some form of head covering.Even for those not in abayas, it means body parts are modestly covered, at the very least, with a Tshirt. You will see women swimming in abayas and scarves, floating in inner tubes, fully covered.
There is usually a wide circle of empty space around the European family; people regarding them with fascinated horror. I rarely see them come back. I am hoping they find other beaches, maybe more private.
Best Dates in Kuwait
I often look at the Search Engine Terms part of my Blog stats to see what searches brought people to my blog. Some of them are hilarious, and some of them – I wish I had the answers!
One of yesterday’s questions was “What are the best dates in Kuwait?”
I am not an expert on dates. I remember our first visit in a Kuwaiti house, and how at the end of dinner, the host brought out dates. There must have been ten different kinds, some dry, some moist, one very soft sugary one that I adore) it probably has about 10,000 calories in each date, but oh my, what a taste!) All the dates were from his own trees – he has a date plantation all his own! What luxury!
I remember that when I lived in Qatar, and had a date tree in my yard, the date harvest usually occurred somewhere around now – or maybe July.
So I ask my Kuwaiti readers and fellow bloggers, on this lazy Friday, to help me out. And not just me, but the likes of me, people who read my blog because they are fascinated with life in another country and learning more about different ways of life – What is your very favorite Kuwaiti date, and why?
Donna Leon Crossing Cultures
I’m in the middle of a Donna Leon read-fest. When I wrote the reviews the last time, I saw three books by her I had never seen – and I comb the aisles of Barnes and Noble when I am in the US, and Half Price Books, looking for titles by her. I am guessing some of her books haven’t been printed in the US, but I was able to find them from the UK Amazon.com.
The two latest books I have read by Donna Leon are timely. The first, Fatal Remedies, starts out being about Commissario Guido Brunetti’s wife, Paola’s crusade against the sex tours to undeveloped countries, her outrage against trips that allow grown men to exploit the poverty and need that the poorest of families will sell their own daughters and even young children to satisfy these men’s uncontrolled lusts. Her outrage leads her to a jail cell in her own husband’s precinct.
But just when you think you know where this story is going, it turns, as many of Leon’s books do, and tackles another subject, one very much in the eye of the news – falsified medications. There is a huge profit to be made, and huge wrongdoings in the medical supplies field, as expired medications are shipped to the most needy countries, and prescription and over-the-counter medications contain ingredients that are at best, harmless, and at worst – poisonous!
Guido Brunetti follows the money, and exposes the cheats.
In the second book, The Death of Faith, the issue – corruption in the church – comes close to home, as Brunetti’s daughter gets a low grade from her religious education instructor for asking questions, logical questions, about the dogma of the Catholic faith. Leon also tackles the issue of the order of Opus Dei, the same mysterious order featured in The DaVinci Code, an order that does exist, but about which solid knowledge is murky. What is known is that the order, in jihadist fashion, seeks to establish the Catholic church as the supreme guide to behavior on earth, it’s own version of sharia law to be the ruling principle in every country.
This is an anethema to Commissario Brunetti, and to all thinking Italians who savor the separation of church and state. He asks the eternal question – who decides? Who decides what behavior is acceptable, what questions are allowable? Religious belief, or the lack of it, is so very personal – this is a very timely issue that all nations are struggling with. Religious rule? Secular rule?
Underlying all the Donna Leon books is the sweetness of daily life with Brunetti’s family, his beautiful and principled wife, his teenaged children, the food they eat, the family discussions they have, the flowers he brings home and the strength of the connection they have with one another. The Venetian setting weaves its own magical thread through every novel, as we ride with Brunetti in the vaporetto on the canals, as we sit with him in a local bar for a quick coffee – or something stronger – and as he walks the streets from home to office, or to talk with a witness.
And last, but not least, the utter corruption in the Venetian system reminds us that veniality is not restricted to the United States, or to Kuwait, or to Nigeria, or Italy, or to any one country, but wherever man seeks to impose order, the chaos of corruption must be slowly and surely overcome by the building of an honest bureaucracy, people like you and me, serving in seemingly hopeless situations, but doing our best, day by day, like Guido Brunetti, to build a better world for our children.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
In Alexander McCall Smith’s newest book about Mma Ramotswe, it is a time of transition and unease. Unthinkable things happen. Mma Makutsi quits her job as Mma Ramotswe’s assistant detective, and Charlie, the apprentice, quits to start his own taxi service. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni feels a restless urge to try out his detecting skills and everything is in turmoil.
And underneath, amazing things happen. When you think differently, there is room for change, and forgiveness.
With Mma Makutsi back in her usual place, the heavy atmosphere that had prevailed that morning lifted. The emotional reunion, as demonstrative and effusive as if Mma Makutsi had been away for months, or even years, had embarrassed the men, who had exchanged glances and then looked away, as if in guilt at an intrusion into essentially female mysteries. But when the ululating from Mma Ramotswe had died down and the tea had been made, everything returned to normal.
“Why did she bother to leave if she was going to be back in five minutes?” asked the younger apprentice.
“It’s because she doesn’t think like anybody else,” said Charlie. “She thinks backwards.”
Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, who overheard this, shook his head. “It’s a sign of maturity to be able to change your mind when you realize that you’re wrong,” he explained. “It’s the same with fixing a car. If you find out that you’re going along the wrong lines then don’t hesitate to stop and correct yourself. If, for example, you’re changing the oil seal at the back of a gearbox, you might try to save time by doing this without taking the gearbox out. But it’s always quicker to take the gearbox out. If you don’t, you end up taking the floor out and anyway, you have to take the top of the gearbox off, and the prop shaft too. So it’s best to stop and admit your mistake before you go any further and damage things.”
Charlie listened to this – it was a long speech for Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni – and then looked away. He wondered if this was a random example siezed upon by Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, or if he knew about the seal he had tried to install in the old rear-wheel-drive Ford. Could he have found out somehow?
In another place, Charlie has just told Mma Ramotswe of his plans to start the No. 1 Ladies Taxi Service:
For a minute or two, nobody spoke. Mma Ramotswe was aware of the sound of Charlie’s breathing, which was shallow, from excitement. We must remember, she thought, what it is like to be young and enthusiastic, to have a plan, a dream. There is always a danger that as we went on in life we forget about that; caution – even fear – replaced optimism and courage. When you were young, like Charlie, you believed that you could do anything, and, in some circumstances at least, you could. . . . .
“I will tell all my friends to use your taxi,” she said. “I am sure you will be very busy.”
And oh yes, in the midst of all this, three mysteries get solved – a case of inventory gone missing, a case of a string of inexplicable hospital deaths, and a case of a husband potentialy gone astray.
GREAT summer reading, deceptively simple. You find yourself mulling over the situations, the responses and the outcomes, and trying out new ways of thinking. Give it a try – you don’t have to read the whole series to enjoy each volume.
This eighth book in the series is available from Amazon.com for a mere $12.70. It makes great summer reading.
Today in History
First, congratulations to all our Kuwaiti friends on their Independance Day. 46 years. I hope you have a great celebration.
There is a wonderful website Today in History where you choose any date and you can see all the births, deaths and major events in history. Pretty cool!
Isn’t it amazing what is out there? People have taken so much time and energy to offer information and services to the world community.
Kinan’s Tag
1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
2. What book are you reading?
Currently: Donna Leon, Through a Glass Darkly
3. Favorite board game?
Board games are too slow. Hearts. Bridge. Poker!
4.Favorite magazine?
New Yorker
5. Favorite smell?
Jet fuel
6. Favorite food?
Italian and Japanese
7. Favorite sound?
Call to prayer
8. Worst feeling in the world?
Making a careless decision that causes harm to others
9. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Gahwa!
10. Favorite fast food place?
Ivar’s (seafood chain in the Pacific Northwest)
11. Future child’s name?
Morgan. Douglas. Megan.
12. Finish this statement. If I had a lot of money:
I’d join Bill Gates Foundation and find ways to make the money work hard making the world a better place.
13. Do you drive fast?
Yeh.
14. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Husband? Cat?
15. Storms cool or scary?
Very cool.
16. What was your first car?
An ancient Mercedes
17. Favorite drink?
Bordeaux
18. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would…”:
I have the time . . .
19. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
In soup.
20. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Red
21. Name all the different cities/ towns you have lived in?
Alaska, Seattle, Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Tampa, Tunis, Monterey, Amman, Riyadh, Leavenworth, Doha, Kuwait
22. Half empty or half full?
Mostly Full
23. Favorite sports to watch?
College football
25. Morning person, or night owl?
Morning
26. Over easy, or sunny side-up?
3 minute
27. Favorite place to relax?
Zanzibar
28. Favorite pie?
Blueberry or rhubarb
I tag Fluent Thoughts, Magical Droplets, Skunk, Swair and Little Diamond.
Souk Mubarakiyya Art Fun
It’s no secret. I love the Souk Mubarakiyya, and I love all the handicrafts shops, the jewelry shops (it’s no sin! It’s also a handicraft!) and the food stalls. I even love the fish market, and the dark, seedy shisha place that looks like it is out of some bad movie.
Here is one of my favorite pieces of public art in the market. Not because it’s good, it isn’t. but it is a lot of fun. When you take guests to the souk, you can position one of your guests in front of the woman, and it looks like he/she is part of the market scene.
Magical Droplets says she is inspired, and has grabbed her camera to start shooting.
It’s summer. Not a lot going on . . . so here is my challenge to you, Kuwait Bloggers. Grap your camera. Show us the beauty you see, the beauty of your community, show us the beauty of Kuwait, even in the scorching, crispy heat of a Kuwait summer.
And please come back here and tell us when you’ve posted, so my non-Kuwaiti readers can also click through to take a look at what you see. Keep your camera handy – you never know when a perfect photo will come up.
Kuwait Beauty (2)
Public art in the Souk Mubarakiyya parking:
Mubarakiyya Market:
The Marina Crescent:
FBI Tries to Fight Zombie Hoards
The title got my attention. This is from BBC News and you can read the whole story here.
FBI tries to fight zombie hordes
The FBI is contacting more than one million PC owners who have had their computers hijacked by cyber criminals.
The initiative is part of an ongoing project to thwart the use of hijacked home computers, or zombies, as launch platforms for hi-tech crimes.
The FBI has found networks of zombie computers being used to spread spam, steal IDs and attack websites.
The agency said the zombies or bots were “a growing threat to national security”.
Signs of trouble
The FBI has been trying to tackle networks of zombies for some time as part of an initiative it has dubbed Operation Bot Roast.
This operation recently passed a significant milestone as it racked up more than one million individually identifiable computers known to be part of one bot net or another.
The law enforcement organisation said that part of the operation involved notifying people who owned PCs it knew were part of zombie or bot networks. In this way it said it expected to find more evidence of how they are being used by criminals.
“The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited,” said James Finch, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Many people fall victim by opening an attachment on an e-mail message containing a virus or by visiting a booby-trapped webpage.
Many hi-tech criminals are now trying to subvert innocent webpages to act as proxies for their malicious programs.
Many bots are used to send out junk mail or spam
Once hijacked, PCs can be used to send out spam, spread spyware or as repositories for illegal content such as pirated movies or pornography.
Those in charge of botnets, called botherders, can have tens of thousands of machines under their control.
Operation Bot Roast has resulted in the arrest of three people known to have used bot nets for criminal ends.
Check Your Labels
On May 24, BBC reported on fake toothpastes found in Panama and the Dominican Republic. Today’s news has them found in four states in the United States. The boxes LOOK like Colgate, but have spelling mistakes that give them away. They claim to be made in South Africa, but they include diethylene glycol, the same compound found in the fakes earlier, and it is believed to be coming out of China. This is one time you REALLY REALLY want to be sure you are not buying a knock-off.
Colgate finds fake toothpaste in 4 states
Company says counterfeit products may contain poisonous chemical; fake products can be identified by misspellings on label.
June 14 2007: 6:19 AM EDT
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) — Fake “Colgate” toothpaste that may contain a poisonous chemical has been found in four states, Colgate-Palmolive said Thursday.
Colgate said the fake toothpaste may contain diethylene glycol, which the company never uses in its toothpaste. The company said it is working with the FDA to locate the source of the counterfeiting.
The fake toothpaste has been found in discount stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, the company said.
The fake products aren’t manufactured or distributed by Colgate-Palmolive (Charts, Fortune 500) and can be identified because they say they are manufactured in South Africa or have misspellings on the label.
Comment: If this is happening in the US, where the Food and Drug Administration is careful about what is allowed to be sold, then we had better be doubly careful in Kuwait, where so much is imported from China. China appears to be cutting corners on quality across the board, and their short cuts could kill us.
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