Discreetly, Little Diamond!
We all have things that grate on our ears – my pet peeve is people saying they are “anxious” when they are really “eager.” I was typing away today, and remembered one of my niece Little Diamond’s pet peeves – Discrete vs. Discreet. I am sorry to say, once again, I had to look it up:
I drank my coffee discreetly, Little Diamond, while counting 20 discrete fishing boats on the horizon.
Golden Eid Sunrise
At 0600 on this second day of Eid, while all of you are sleeping, I am up with the fishermen. At 0600, the sun has just risen and the sky is all pink and gold. Seconds after I shot the sunrise, the colors totally changed – the sky is totally cloudless, the surf continues flat, except for the twitchy water where small fish are swarming. And the temperature is a mere 79°F / 26°C even at 0800.
It is supposed to be hot today, but the rest of the week will be cooler. Wear your sunscreen if you are celebrating outside today.
Flotilla Photography
While you are getting all dressed up in your Eid clothing, and preparing to visit one another, I am still in my nightgown, blogging away, and snapping photos, trying to capture the vastness of the fishing blockade off the coastline. It is too much for my mind to comprehend, and there is too little I can do to get a good photo.
Here is a section of the flotilla – just a section; there are so many fishing boats!
Here is a close up, using the extended zoom (it’s so pixellated that I think extended zoom is not always such a good thing)
And so I asked my photo program – iPhoto – to see what it could do, just clicked “enhance” and this is what my photo program thought would be a better photo:
LLLLOOOOLLLLLLLL!
Statistical Spike
As many of you have figured out, I get online early in the morning, then I get through my day – and sometimes it is a long day – before I can get back to answer any comments, etc. Yesterday was one of those super-busy days, and it was night before I was able to check the blog.
Something strange was happening. The stats were way high . . . and for what?
As it turns out, it was a post written a month ago – Moonsighting, and yesterday, that post alone got 539 hits. 539 – it hasn’t been that long since I would never have thought I would get 539 hits in one day, total. I think a lot of people were trying to find out whether Ramadan had ended, if that tiny thin crescent of a moon had been spotted. It gives me great joy to tell you that I also had a lot of hits, I am guessing from the Seattle area, on the Northgate mosque, and how to get to the Northgate mosque. Maybe this blog is doing some little bit of good in the world, helping just a little. It’s all I ask.
And it remains a totally humbling thought to me that the posts that live on, and on, and on – are posts greatly written by or inspired by fellow bloggers and commenters, in this case Fahad, at his blog Salmiya to whose blog I am totally addicted. He is also a little bit here there and everywhere. 🙂
I am only sharing this with you because it gave me a shock this morning to see the spike in statistics, and because I suspect I will never see the likes of it again.
May your day be full of unexpected blessings, and may you have the eyes to see them!
Eid Mubarak Sunrise!
When I woke up this morning, it was a little after sunrise and the entire room was flooded with sparkling clear light. Grabbing the camera, I rushed to the window – you can’t see in the photo, but there is an entire flotilla of fishing boats about 2 kilometers off the coastline; I love fishing boats, they evoke something so timeless and serene in my heart. It has to be Eid! Such a beautiful sparkling day, it has to be Eid! And sure enough, it is.
This sparkling, clear, low-humidity, relatively low-temperature day is a blessing to us all! Eid Mubarak Kuwait, and Eid Mubarak (Eid Mubarkhom?) world!
How to Help: Animal Friends League
The newest newsletter from the Animal Friends League is out, with many exciting events to help them help abandoned, abused and neglected animals in Kuwait:
Hello all,
Many of you express the desire to do more for us but face limitations on your time. Attending our fundraisers is a great way to support us for one evening while having a great time with friends and family. Below is a list of upcoming events. Please show your support for the animals by giving us a call or sending us an e-mail and booking your ticket!
QUIZ NIGHT
Friday 10th October
6:30p.m. to 11:00p.m.
So you think you?re a rocket scientist?
Well if you are, then you are coming to the wrong quiz night!
Animal Friends is having another fun filled middle of the road quiz night.
Admission is 10KD per person, which includes dinner.
Teams consist of 6 people.
Bookings are essential, please e-mail info@animalfriendskuwait.org or ring Stephanie at 6657 9560 to confirm your team booking.
If you don?t have a team, don?t panic, we may be able to put one together for you!
Attached is a flyer that you can post anywhere!
CHILDREN?S HALLOWEEN PARTY
Friday 31st October
5:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.
Animal Friends is hosting its annual children?s Halloween party! We will have great food and lots of games for the children including a costume contest.
Admission is 5KD. Please call 6657 9560 or e-mail info@animalfriendskuwait.org for further details.
THANKSGIVING DINNER AND DANCE
For the benefit of Animal Friends and Operation Hope
Saturday 29th November
7:00p.m. to 11:00p.m.
Animal Friends is hosting its annual Thanksgiving dinner and dance.
Each ticket will cost 15KD and will be held at the Holiday Inn Downtown.
Please call 6700 1622 or e-mail info@animalfriendskuwait.org to reserve your tickets.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Kind regards,
Ayeshah Al-Humaidhi
Animal Friends League of Kuwait
P.O. Box 26112
13122 – Safat
Kuwait
+965-657-3430 (Kuwait)
+965-244-3859 (Fax)
http://www.animalfriendskuwait.org
Pilot Impostor almost Succeeds in Kuwait
Very scary story from today’s Arab Times
Expatriate impersonates Brazilian pilot, ‘manages’ to enter cockpit
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: In a shocking incident that reflects on the level of security at Kuwait International Airport, an Egyptian expatriate is said to have managed to enter the cockpit of a plane ‘Al-Mottaheda’ impersonating a Brazilian pilot and when he failed to operate the plane, he allegedly tried to fly another, sources told Al-Seyassah. The suspect reportedly wanted to fly a Luxor-bound flight and asked an employee about the plane’s location. This time around he impersonated a Brazilian engineer whose identity card he found in the cockpit of the first plane. The alert employee, however, noticed that there was no similarity between the man on the ID card and the holder and promptly called securitymen who rushed to the scene and arrested the suspect.
Securitymen are investigating how the Luxor-bound passenger penetrated a high-security area and managed to reach the planes’ hanger. Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled is personally following-up the developments in this case and sources say stringent action will be taken against employees who are found to have been negligent in their duty.
By Mizyed Al-Saeedi
Special to the Arab Times
Reflecting Al Kout
AdventureMan is so patient with me.
“Just one minute!” I say to him while he is starving, and I am busy with a photo I can’t resist.
He never grumbles. He just patiently waits while I shoot away.
Last night at the Al Kout Mall was just such a night – when we got there (and got a perfect parking place because YOU were still breaking your fast with family and friends) the fountains were not on, and the pool was a perfect Taj Mahal like mirror for reflecting the Al Kout lights.
“Just a minute!” as I shot from one angle.
“Oh, just one more!” as I see it again, from another.
Same camera. Same settings. Different angle – so why is one so much more golden than the other, which is more sparkly white?
Which to you prefer?
I would feel a whole lot better about my skills as a photographer if I knew how to reproduce the results I get, if I understood better how I got the shot I did. As it is, most of my best photos are the result of being in the right place at the right time with a camera. I hate to say it about myself, but it is a result of being prepared and dumb luck. I give myself full credit for having a camera with me when a shot appears, but making it that perfect shot? I need to learn more.
Prosper the Work of Our Hands
This is from today’s Psalm 90, the very last verse:
17Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!
My wish for you today is that Mightly God prosper the work of your hands, and mine. 🙂
For my non-Islamic friends, in this culture there is a greeting I love – God bless the work of your hands! (Sounds like: Allah ya teek’ ala fee ah) (If that is not quite right, I welcome correction; that is how it sounds to me.)
This verse reminds me so much of that.
Sulphury Saturday Sunrise
Another sweet, clear morning, a whole blockade of fishing boats between me and the horizon, and a totally different sunrise from yesterday – a very yellow, sulphury sunrise:
It’s a mere 77° F / 25° C, a cool September morning, these last few days of Ramadan. Good morning, Kuwait!
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