Reward to Find Runaway Groom
AdventureMan read this aloud to me from the Doha Peninsula News. I can’t help it, we both laughed our heads off:
Raipur: A poor villager of Chhattisgarh has announced a cash reward for anyone providing any information about his son who is missing since April 21, minutes after he was married to a girl against his wishes. Though police had registered a case of “missing” and still looking for the runaway groom, the family members of the bride, as well as the groom strongly believe that the groom was “carried away” by ghosts or some evil forces.
Brijlal, a poor farmer, or village Bhurkuni of Dhamtari district has appealed through local newspapers here Wednesday that he would offer Rs. 20,000 in cash to anyone who provides information about his son.
Good luck there, and hope the ghosts and evil spirits return him soon!
Wacky Weather
Today, as I am checking the blog, I see that the Weather Underground sticker I have shows the weather in Kuwait as being 39°F / 4°C . . . .
I am guessing it is around 107°F . . . but sometimes these statistics go a little whacky.
Searing Heat Vetos Doha Olympics
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Chicago was among the four cities picked as finalists Wednesday for the 2016 Summer Olympics, setting the stage for a high-profile bidding contest between candidates from the United States, Europe and Asia. Also making the IOC shortlist were Madrid, Spain; Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Eliminated from the race were Doha, Qatar; Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.
Doha, capital of a tiny but wealthy Arab Gulf country of about 1 million people, had loomed as the wild card as it sought to bring the Olympics to the Middle East for the first time. It cited its hosting of the 2006 Asian Games as evidence that it can handle the Olympics. Due to Qatar’s searing summer heat, Doha proposed holding the games in October, outside the IOC’s preferred time frame of July or August.
Good News in Kuwait
BIG WOOOOOO HOOOOOO Kuwait!
This is from yesterday’s Kuwait Times, and I don’ t know why I didn’t blog it except maybe I ran out of time:
Crooked Cops Beware
KUWAIT: After publishing several violations committed by police officers, the ministry of Interior has started a campaign to catch corrupt police officers and clean up the name of Kuwaiti law enforcement. The ministry pointed out that it plans to form inspection teams which will supervise patrols and police officers daily.
The police officers on the inspection teams will be undercover, wearing civilian clothes, and will also comprise of male and female members.
The Interior Ministry will also be adopting stricter penalties against police officers who violate the laws. The ministry further noted that complaint reports filed by citizens against policemen and high ranking officials will all be looked into immediately. It also plans to develop the military colleges and police academy’s teaching curriculum and will also give more women an opportunity to be a part of the police force.
In every country in the world, the police force and military forces often attract people who want power, but some few don’t handle it responsibly. It takes a very courageous and determined Ministry of Interior to start a clean-up campaign. I am so impressed. BIG wooo hoooo to the Ministry of Kuwait, and I propose dancing in the streets of Kuwait.
Oh! Wait! Women can dance on the Corniche, and men in front of the Liberation tower. No mixed dancing in Kuwait in public, please. 😉
Light Blowing Dust
Usually when the weather report says “light blowing dust” or “light haze” we are totally socked in, with a visibility of like 100 – 200 meters. Today, I can see almost all the way to the horizon, there is a stiff breeze out of the north creating some white-cap action, the temperature is only 95°F / 35°C and I can imagine people walking happily on the beach, collecting seashells.
Traffic Update
From today’s Arab Times:
Over 200 citations issued: During a crackdown on traffic law violators on the King Fahd Expressway police patrols have issued 202 citations to reckless motorists. The citations also include motorists caught talking on cell phones without using the ‘hands free’ set and not wearing seat belts, reports Arrouiah daily quoting security sources. The same sources said two motorists have been referred to the Traffic Court and their vehicles have been impounded. They were caught speeding.
Comment . . . only two motorists speeding? 😉
Hot Weather Foods
I’ve been making an effort to eat breakfast, and I have finally found something I can like. I have tried to find the post where someone recommends Activia in the comment section, but I can’t find it. Whoever you are, it got filed away in the recesses of my memory – I was looking for non-fat yoghurt to make smoothies with, and my friend handed me a six-pack of Activia and said “Use this.”
I trust my friend, she is all into nature, and being interconnected and fresh fresh food, so when she says “use this,” that’s enough for me. Plus, I remembered someone else telling me about how good Activia was, along with a cheese, maybe called Kiri. I had asked what I could use as a local cheese substitute for Philly Cream Cheese. Kiri isn’t really a subsititute, but it sure is good! 🙂
So here is what I am eating for breakfast:
It tastes SO good! I use one container of Activia (maybe 8 oz.), throw in some frozen raspberries, throw in some frozen blueberries, put in some honey and some cinnamon and blend. YUMMMMM. I am also eating walnuts and almonds, as you can see, because they are good for me, but also because the almonds and walnuts that we buy here seem fresher, they taste more walnutty and more almond-y than the ones we buy in the USA, I don’t know why.
The other thing I make that tastes SO good in this hot weather is tomato salsa. There are a million kinds of salsa, but I use this as a condiment with so many things, I even use it on sandwiches!
I take about:
five fresh Kuwaiti tomatoes, and chop them finely,
one onion, chopped finely,
1/2 bunch cilantro – cut coarsely with scissors,
a sprinkle of sea salt
a big grating of peppercorns (it makes a difference; always use freshly ground pepper)
(the secret ingredient) a sprinkle of lime juice.
Oh, it tastes so good! It tastes so fresh! You can even eat it on crackers.
Committee To Make You Live the Way I Think You Should
From yesterday’s Kuwait Times Editorials is a must read by columnist Shamael Al-Sharikh, one of their most insightful political commenters.
In her column, Dichotomy, she discusses SANPFKS (Committee to Study all Negative Phenomena Foreign to Kuwaiti Society). I have only excerpted the following, to intrigue you enough to click on the blue type above and read the whole article. It is a worthy read, from beginning to end.
Well, unlike these MPs who did not react to the creation of the SANPFKS (the name starts to grow on you, doesn’t it!), I am quite invested in the success of this committee, and as a patriotic Kuwaiti citizen, I will do my utmost to cooperate with the SANPFKS to ensure its success and imminent continuation. There are many things that are foreign to Kuwaiti society and that need to be eradicated from it so we can go back to our roots. Below is a list of issues that the SANPFKS can study, report on, and subsequently eradicate:
1. Bearded men: A post-1991 phenomenon that is clearly the result of influence from other Arab countries. The result is that most Kuwaiti men have become severely unattractive, unapproachable, and mind-numbingly narrow-minded. This phenomenon should be studied extensively and recommendations should be given on how to go back to real Kuwait, where men only wore mustaches.
2. The niqab: same as above. The result is that many Kuwaiti women suffer from the incorrigible heat under layers of black cloth, when in the past, all Kuwaiti women wore an open single layer abbaya, faces uncovered. This phenomenon should be studied extensively, especially in light of the fact that women are not required to cover their face in Mecca during Hajj, making it ridiculous that they cover their face in Kuwait.
This article, from start to finish SANPFKS (Committee to Study all Negative Phenomena Foreign to Kuwaiti Society)
It is followed today by an answering column from Fouad Al-Obaid called “You Must Be Kidding!” where he captures the absurd situation of a country rushing headlong into chaos while the newly-elected ministers discuss mixing of men and women at a hospital party and Star Search instead of using their energies to focus on policies to get Kuwait’s infrastructure moving once again and economic policies to encourage development.
These two columnists make the Kuwait Times worth reading.
White Hot
I’ve overslept the sunrise for the last two mornings (thanks be to God) as I re-adjust to local time. I thank God to have the time and space for it; my sleep/wake schedule has been chaotic.
I was in the Co-op at nine the other morning – usually NO ONE is there but me and the stockers, but this day, everyone was there, and they were pushing me out of the way. As I stood in line, women (women!) would bring their very full baskets and stand sort of angled to get in front of me. Finally, I made friends with the woman in front of me and stuck to her like glue, and got through the check out line. It’s the very first time, ever, I have encountered this in the Co-op, usually everyone is so polite. I can’t imagine what was going on, except that it was very crowded – maybe women trying to get their shopping done before the big heat hit later in the morning.
Ah! I do have a clue! I think it has to do with the current exam schedule. I don’t know how it relates, but as I left, people were picking up their children from school, something that usually happens hours later.
All in all, however, the crowding, the pushing, combined with the jet lag – I felt actually fluttery. I felt mildly disoriented, mildly short of breath, and I really really felt sleepy. As soon as I got home, got all the veggies washed and everything put away, I laid down with the paper – and three hours later I had to force myself out of a drool-sleep, make myself get up and drink some coffee and get started again.
When AdventureMan called, late in the afternoon, I had the computer on. He was complaining about the heat. I checked Weather Underground for Kuwait and it was 117°F / 44°C. It actually hit 118° from 4:00 pm to 5 pm. It is white hot, and I can’t imagine anyone having to work outside in such searing heat – but they do. Street cleaners, construction workers, truckers – they all work in the heat. Officially, work stops at 50°C / 122°F.
Here is what our day in Kuwait looks like this morning:
The Morning Test
Back in May, I published an e-mail I had received about The Law of the Garbage Truck. It turns out, as I learned from a comment yesterday, that it is taken from a book by David J. Pollay who has his own blog at Typepad. No, he didn’t write me a nasty e-mail; I only learned the source from a very nice comment on the original post by a co-worker.
I was intrigued, so I checked out his blog. And found his entry for today has to do with The Morning Test.
Here’s how The Morning Test works. Every day for one week write down everything that you do at night. Jot down what you eat for snacks, the TV shows you watch, the radio programs you listen to, the email you read, the sites you surf, and whatever else you may do.
This is just a snippet from what he writes, so I urge you to read his entry for today to understand fully how it works.
The reason I like it is because it ties so closely with the Garbage Truck entry – how we SPEND our time, what we DO every day with our lives truly determines who we are more than our intentions (although the intentions of our heart are important, too). I believe in the old computer adage: Garbage In, Garbage Out.
I am reluctant to take the Morning Test because I know I would have to face where I waste the most time, and where I seriously need improvement. I know I would be aghast at how much time I spend on the computer, just wandering around. There are other areas where I read books that are not enriching, watch brainless TV shows, participate in low level conversations . . . there are so many areas in my life where I fail to live up to the person I was created to be, and I know it.
And I really admire this man for putting the test out there and making us examine who we are and what we want for ourselves and our lives.
Recent Comments
ExpatAlien on What Country am I Living … intlxpatr on Yellowstone: Old Faithful to C… Michelle on Yellowstone: Old Faithful to C… Cathy on No Grown-Ups in Charge intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 