Tang Chow and Gulf Road
I’ve written about Tang Chow before. I know, I know, you are looking for something new. But (there’s always that “but”) when Adventure Man called and said “what do you want to do about dinner” and I said “I just have a hankering for Tang Chow”, he said “Me too! I’ve been thinking about it all day!”
It’s great when you are married to someone who likes the same food at the same time. No, it isn’t always instant agreement.
Sometimes, we’ll be going out and he will say “where are we going?” and I will give him three options, and he won’t like any of them. So then I say, “Ok, OK where is it YOU really want to go?” and he will tell me and we will go there. Sometimes it works out OK, and sometimes there just isn’t much on the menu I really like, but we try to take turns getting to choose when we can’t agree. But if one of us really objects, then we go somewhere else.
We never disagree when it comes to Tang Chow. The only negative factor is the traffic on Gulf Road. What a hassle!
Last week we were caught in that horrid traffic (and it’s only August! Not even as bad as when school starts!) and there was a car to our left with the lights on inside, four women primping, literally with compacts, checking their own lips, checking their eyes, clearly ON DISPLAY but pretending to be oblivious to all the attention they were getting from the guys trying to get their attention.
And the guys in front of us, in a great big SUV, trying to get the girls’ attention, HIT the car in front of them, full of a family bringing a brand new baby home from the hospital.
Guys, take it off the road! Court in the parking lots, court at Chili’s, court at the coffee houses or at the Malls – take it off the road.
You have my sympathy, truly. I know it is really really tough here, almost impossible, to get to know the girls. And you have all those raging hormones. Still – take it OFF THE ROAD.
We could see the young men were really really sorry they had hit the family. I am betting they learned from the experience, and, God willing, will keep their eyes on the road when they are driving, but I am afraid to hope for too much.
Hydroplanes in Dubai?
This article is excerpted from the Seattle Times on July 29th. Hydroplane racing is big in Seattle, and when I saw this article, I thought how perfect the Gulf, with it’s smooth, glassy surface, would be for these incredibly exciting races.
In Seattle, people take their own boats to the hydroplane races and tie up at specially designated sites. It’s like one big huge boat party, people dancing, kids floating around in inner-tubes and floats, good food, all in addition to the excitement of the races. Having hydroplane races in Dubai would be amazing.
(Photo from Tacoma News Tribune Sports.
Several people in the pits said Saturday that representatives of Dubai are looking into holding a race.
“They’re very interested in having us bring our boats over there,” said Erick Ellstrom, crew chief of the Miss Ellstrom Elam Plus. “They love hydroplanes over there.”
Apparently, a delegation from Dubai was scheduled to be in attendance at Seafair next week to take in a race firsthand. Ellstrom said that apparently won’t happen, but that the Dubai group might attend the race in San Diego next month.
It might sound like a fanciful notion, but Dubai has gained an increasing reputation as a sporting destination, which was detailed recently in a lengthy story on ESPN.com. That story quoted one Dubai official as saying the goal is “to use sport as a platform to attract global exposure” for Dubai.
While logistics might seem like a nightmare, veterans pointed out that it might not be much different than the days when a race was held in Honolulu, when the boats were transported by ship.
Apparently, part of the connection between Dubai and hydros is the business association with Boeing, which has taken on an increasing interest in the sport.
Read more at The Seattle times: Next Stop on the circuit . . . Dubai?
Draft Law: No Car Talk
From August 4th Kuwait Times (yep, they are back online)
Note: Before arriving in Seattle, my oldest friend warned me that in Seattle you now get TWO tickets if you are seen talking on a mobile phone while driving, one for talking on a phone, and one for reckless endangerment. Each ticket is $101. Ouch! I don’t see anyone here talking while they are driving anymore.
Drive, don’t talk…Big Brother is ‘watching’
Published Date: August 04, 2007
By Nancy Oteifa, Staff writer
KUWAIT: A draft law criminalizing motorists for using mobile phones while driving that was announced recently, has suddenly become a cause for concern among several residents in Kuwait. Officials at the Traffic General Department are said to be taking the issue into serious consideration and seem adamant in penalizing all those who use their mobile phones while driving, claiming that it’s one of the major causes of accidents in Kuwait. The draft law of course has not been finalized yet, and officials claim that it has also not been ascertained whether there would be traffic fines to be paid or jail sentences or even both.
Although it is also not confirmed if this law would be enforced or not many people seem to be against its enforcement, while some others were in agreement – with the hope that this might reduce the increasing number of accidents occurring in the country every day. This Kuwait Times reporter spoke to people on the issue where they expressed different opinions and comments.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
More Souk Mubarakiyya Art
There’s just something about this market that feeds the photographer’s soul! I love the public art . . .
Whoda thunk that the butcher would be wearing glasses? I love the quirkiness of this art.
The flag the man is carrying says “Kuwait” (for my non-Kuwaiti readers).I think this one has to do with the liberation of Kuwait, but I am not sure . . . anyone? I remember from reading Jihan Rahab’s book on the Invasion of Kuwait that the market was totally trashed and at least partially burned, and a lot of damage was done out of sheer malice.
I have this thing about ships!
Just look how CLEAN this place is. Every time I go into any of the markets, I think of France. These markets in Kuwait are cleaner!
Glitz, Bling, Flamboyance and Glam
Today when Adventure Man called at lunch, I was telling him I bought some bling for fun gifts. He said he didn’t think my family did “bling” and I said we didn’t, but this was just a little glitz, just for fun.
“What’s the difference between ‘glitz’ and ‘bling?’ he asked.
I said ‘glitz’ is like a little decoration, a little frosting, but ‘bling’ is ostentatious.
“I consider myself ‘flamboyant.’ he said.
“Oh no!” I protested. “Flamboyant is over the top, it’s that color that is just a little too bright, the gesture that is a little too large, the voice or laughter just a little to high, a little too loud.”
Then it nagged at me until I had to go look it up. As it turns out, bling MIGHT be expensive, but it has the origination of new riches that the owner is afraid he might lose, so he turns it into jewelry that he can keep close to his person, as well as showy and ostentatious. So, I was wrong.
As it turns out, all the following words have a connotation of excessiveness, ostentation and a little over the top.
glitz (glts) Informal n.
Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: “a garish barrage of show-biz glitz” Peter G. Davis.
tr.v. glitz·ed, glitz·ing, glitz·es
To invest with an ostentatiously showy quality: “have started to glitz up their shows with filmed backdrops” Bill Barol.
[Back-formation from glitzy, flashy, showy, probably from German glitzern, to glitter, from Middle High German glitzen, to shine, from Old High German glzan; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
glitzi·ness n.
glitzy adj.
From The Free Dictionary.
Bling
“Bling-bling” (usually shortened to simply “bling”) is a hip hop slang term which refers to expensive jewelry and other accoutrements, and also to an entire lifestyle built around excess spending and ostentation. In its essence, the term refers to the exterior manifestation of one’s interior state of character, normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli.
The first apparent use of the term ‘bling bling’ in mainstream culture was in reference to the L-3 badge (real gold) and also a hip hop track of the same title, by rapper B.G., along with Baby Birdman, Juvenile et al [1], celebrating their wealth (as many of their tracks do). “Bling Bling,” released in 1998, led later in the 2000’s to the term proliferating through mainstream hip hop and eventually spilling over into popular culture as a sarcastic term used to mock the perceived vacuousness of hip hop culture. Comedians such as Ali G in the UK, exploited this for humour.
Bling can also be plastic, or fake, jewelry. Many people who cannot afford, or do not wish to buy, real diamonds, gold, etc, opt for fake glass or plastic jewelry. This makes them look big, and bling-bling.
In 2005, the rapper B.G. remarked that he ‘wished he’d patented the term’ so that he would have profited from its extensive use. In interviews, he has stated that the term refers to the imaginary sound that light makes when it hits a diamond. However, the term was in use for several years prior as a reference to getting rich quickly inspired by the sound made when collecting gold coins in popular Nintendo video games such as Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers and when collecting gold rings in Sega’s Sonic Hedgehog.
The culture of ostentatious display of wealth was ingrained in street culture long before the 90’s, however: it is thought that wearing expensive jewelry was the one way in which young previously impoverished men, who had acquired riches through crime, could be sure of holding on to their wealth by keeping it about their person. This marks out the wearer of such jewelry as a person with ghetto roots, as it shows that the source of their wealth or their personal prejudices prevent them from investing in more stable assets such as cash in the bank or property. Hence ‘bling bling’, while widely regarded as a faddish slang phrase, has been seen by some as manifestation of a deeper socioeconomic problem in the US, trivialised by mainstream media and hip hop. For comparison, see chav.
Related meaning
In the Middle East, counterfeit brand-name goods (such as Rolex watches) may be known as bling bling specials.
From The Free Dictionary.
flam·boy·ant (flm-boint)
adj.
1. Highly elaborate; ornate.
2. Richly colored; resplendent.
3. Architecture Of, relating to, or having wavy lines and flamelike forms characteristic of 15th- and 16th-century French Gothic architecture.
4. Given to ostentatious or audacious display. See Synonyms at showy.
n.
See royal poinciana.
[French, from Old French, present participle of flamboyer, to blaze, from flambe, flame; see flame.]
flam·boyance, flam·boyan·cy n.
flam·boyant·ly adv.
From The Free Dictionary.
Aren’t these great words?
And last but not least:
Definition:
Glam
Glamorous; wearing fashionable clothes and make-up, particularly when done to excess.
Example:
1) She’s so glam that people think she’s a model.
2) I love David Bowie and all of those glam rockers.
Etymology:
‘Glam’ is short for ‘glamorous’. Glam and glamorous refer to the magical attraction and excitement produced by celebrities.
From English Daily – Slang
Gulf History Source
Thank you, Kinan, for bringing this website to our attention yesterday on the Kuwait boats blog entry. I had been to the site before, while looking up information on Gulf Architecture. The blogger writes from a particularly Qatar point of view, but what he learns and documents applies greatly to all the countries along west side of the Arabian Gulf. And I am adding him to my blogroll.
I love this man’s attention to detail. I have lifted a photo from his page on Arab Gulf boats. This is the typical toilet on the bigger old boats. It is called a zuli. Ugh!
The website is catnaps.org and if you click here, it will take you to his fascinating and fairly thorough website on Arabian Gulf boats. If you click here, you will find a long article on Gulf Architecture but he has an entirely separate entry for Islamic Architecture. It is not easy reading, but it is not something you will be tested on at the end of the hour, either. It’s just a great opportunity to learn more about a subject you never considered.
On his About page, the author tells us his name is John Lockerbie and:
In addition to working in the areas of project management, architecture, planning and urban design I have taught architecture, graphic design and presentation. I have had a wide scale of design involvement ranging from the exciting design worlds of crockery, cutlery, glass and napery, rising in scale through other aspects of graphic, interior, architectural and urban design to strategic planning. I have also been lucky enough to have worked in change management and primary education.
On a hot, lazy day when you have nothing better to do, you can spend a couple hours getting lost on his website, and come away a more knowledgable person for having done so.
Again, thank you Kinan, for a truly GREAT weblink.
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?
Kuwait Beauty
“If you but have the eyes to see . . .”
There is great beauty in Kuwait. Here is the spire of a mosque I found in Hawalli when I got lost. (Yes, people look at me like I am out of my mind when I stop and take photos of these things they see everyday.)
Here is detail from the spire:
Here is an old-fashioned meshrabiyya window at the home standing over the Tarek Rajab Museum. Who can believe that such a museum treasure is open to the public for free, thanks to the graciousness of a private family, who sees the beauty in the Gulf Heritage, collects and preserves it.
Here is the globe near the entrance to Kuwait University, reminding us always that we are all connected in this world:
Dusk is my favorite time in Kuwait – the glare of the sun softens, and the colors glow:
Just another reason to love Q8
Kuwait Times, 10 June 2007
Camel Found
A Kuwaiti man reported to Naeem police that when he got out of his house, he saw a camel lying before his car and he tried to move the camel but it did not move. Police moved to the scene and discovered that the camel belonged to another Kuwaiti man and it fled its den recently.
My comment: I used to see camels all the time in Qatar. I have NEVER seen a single camel in Kuwait. I know they are around, just not in any of the places I have been. I haven’t even been to the camel races here!
But camels are BIG, and they are nasty-tempered. You gotta love a guy who sees a camel “before his car” and tries to move the camel. I am guessing the paper meant to say that he tried to MAKE the camel move, but the vision I have is this be-thobed, be-gutra’d guy trying to shove a camel away from his car. It just gives me a huge grin. Very brave man!
Kuwait Cool Spell
When I checked Weather Underground this morning for Kuwait, I learned we are going through a little dip in the temperatures. From the damp, excruciatingly humid heat we have been having, the dry weather has returned.
And today, a cool spell. The anticipated high today will only be 111 degrees F. (44 degrees C.), but tomorrow it will go back up to 116° F. (47° C) and Wednesday it will be 118°F (48° C). Thought those of you suffering “heat” in the US might enjoy the comparison. 😦
The heat is dry, though. When you go out, you reall really need to have water with you; you lose water through evaporation, and often, you don’t even sweat, it just evaporates right off you.
Here are signs of dehydration:
The following are the most common symptoms of dehydration, although each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
thirst
less-frequent urination
dry skin
fatigue
light-headedness
dizziness
confusion
dry mouth and mucous membranes
increased heart rate and breathing
In children, additional symptoms may include:
dry mouth and tongue
no tears when crying
no wet diapers for more than 3 hours
sunken abdomen, eyes or cheeks
high fever
listlessness
irritability
skin that does not flatten when pinched and released
This is from The University of Maryland Medical Center website.
In Kuwait, and other Gulf countries, religious individuals, mosques and cities provide drinking and washing water as a courtesy to the public. You will find water stations everywhere, and people filling up their bottles for drinking later or drinking from a tin cup attatched to the sabille by a chain. They come in all shapes and sizes. When we spot a new shape, we try to get a photo. This one is a very common shape:
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