Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Ramadan in Kuwait and Qatar

As I was taking a look at today’s weather in Pensacola (why do I bother? It’s pretty much the same every day, in the low nineties and HUMID) I glanced up at my favorites bar and sent up a prayer for my friends observing the Ramadan fast in Kuwait and Qatar:

My friends, I am in awe of your sacrifice. I cannot imagine the hardship, abstaining from water, as well as all food, from sunrise to sundown. May God be with you.

July 23, 2012 Posted by | ExPat Life, Faith, Kuwait, Qatar, Ramadan | 3 Comments

The Mediterranean Plus on a Hot and Humid Day

“What can you say? It’s summer in Pensacola!” my Pensacola friend laughed. We had been talking about the week of rain-bursts and thunder and lightning we’ve been having – with more the same to come. I don’t mind, the cloud cover keeps the temperatures down, even if it makes the air more humid and heavy.

A perfect day for lunch at the Mediterranean Plus.

There isn’t any time of the year that is not perfect to eat at the Mediterranean Plus. In the winter, you can have their lentil stews and heavier main dishes. In the winter, their lentil soup and seafood soup (it isn’t on the menu; the chef has to make it as the soup of the day) are wonderful. In the summer, we love the salads and often order a plate to share, like the Vegitarian Plate or the Mediterranean Plate.

We split an order of baba ghannoush to start.

This time I had Chicken Kabob (known in the Middle East as Shish Taouk):

While AdventureMan had a felafel sandwich:

There was so much Shish Taouk that I brought the rest home and we split it for dinner, too. Nice light eating on a hot Pensacola summer’s evening.

6895 North 9th Avenue Pensacola, FL 32503
(850) 469-9225
(Between the liquor store and Rob’s Cameras; around the corner from Four Winds)

You can look at the menu here.

July 22, 2012 Posted by | Eating Out, ExPat Life, Food, Middle East, Pensacola, Restaurant | Leave a comment

Welcome from Ougadougu

I am sharing this scam with you today because it makes me smile. When we had our embassy assignments, one of the Department of State people told me that you had to behave, or you would be sent to Ougadoudu 🙂 Don’t you love that name?

July 21, 2012 Posted by | Africa, Crime, Geography / Maps, Scams | Leave a comment

Closer to Normal

LOL, Saturday is almost always a low stats day. Sigh, guess I am getting back to normal:

 

Image

July 21, 2012 Posted by | Blogging, Ramadan, Statistics | Leave a comment

Nigeria Wants Looted Art Works Back

From AOL/Huffpost

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the governmental body in Nigeria that regulates the nation’s museum systems, is demanding the return of 32 artifacts recently acquired by the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Consisting of various bronze and ivory sculptures looted during the Benin Massacre of 1897, the Director-General of the commission, Yusuf Abdallah Usman, states that the pieces were illegally taken by the British Expedition as spoils of war.

The MFA in Boston acquired the pieces last month as a gift from New York banker and collector Robert Owen Lehman, who purchased the Benin pieces in the 1950s and 1970s. But the pieces were originally looted by British soldiers in the late 1890s, following the Benin massacre of 1897. In a statement made by Usman, the commission stated: “Without mincing words, these artworks are heirlooms of the great people of the Benin Kingdom and Nigeria generally. They form part of the history of the people. The gap created by this senseless exploitation is causing our people, untold anguish, discomfort and disillusionment.”

According to Huffington Post blogger and Princeton art history professorChika Okeke-Agulu, the laws governing cultural heritage in the United States are lenient toward museums holding works like those from the Benin Court. Commenting on the ethical imperatives associated with the looted art acquisitions, he has stated that “calls for the resolution of the problem caused by British looters of Benin royal art collection will not go away — especially now that Nigerian/world-citizen voices have learned to harness the popular power of the Internet to demand action.”

July 21, 2012 Posted by | Africa, Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Cultural, Heritage, Political Issues, Public Art | | 1 Comment

When is Eid 2012?

Now that Ramadan has started, people in the Gulf countries are busy making their travel reservations for the Eid following Ramadan, and the big Eid which follows later. These are the dates for the Eids, according to Moonsighting:

Gold prices are also known to spike during Ramadan, so postpone your purchases to a time with less competition 🙂

July 20, 2012 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Ramadan, Shopping, Travel | 2 Comments

Ramadan Statistical Anomaly

Ramadan Mubarak! May God Almighty bless your sacrifices and lighten your burdens during your holy month of Ramadan. May you love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. 🙂

Because I’ve been wishing you well for six years, I had a surge in stats this week, climaxing with what will probably be my all-time high for one day, even if I blog until I am 104 years old, which could happen; my grandmother lived to be 104. Only God knows. 🙂

Here is what my stats look like:

And here are the primary posts:

WordPress gives you an hourly count indicator; the highest was 778 per hour. There have been Saturdays when I would have bee thrilled with 778 total for the day, LOL.

I try not to live by stats. I try not to pander to ratings. I try to write this blog with integrity, focusing on issues and news and goodwill to all. There is a little part of me, however, who stayed up late last night to see if the statistical count for the one day would top 10,000 . . . not a part I’m proud of, but hey, I’m human.

July 20, 2012 Posted by | Adventure, Aging, Blogging, Communication, ExPat Life, Ramadan, Spiritual, Statistics, Technical Issue, Values | Leave a comment

Ramadan Mubarak!

Greetings to my Moslem friends as you begin your journey through the joyful month of Ramadan. May your fasts and sacrifices be pleasing to God almighty.

July 20, 2012 Posted by | Ramadan | 2 Comments

Ramadan Kareem From the “Arabian Bank of E-Mails”

July 19, 2012 Posted by | Blogging, Ramadan | Leave a comment

Awaiting My Donation

This scam – and I am pretty sure it is a scam – intrigues me because it is different. I love it that they assume I will donate.

REV.APOSTLE JOHN MCLAIN
THE MAN AFTER GODS HEART.
revapostlejohnmclain@yahoo.com
recievertogodschildren@yahoo.com

Dear Anointed man of GOD

With all due respect, we here by greet you and your family world wide and the
goodness of GOD in your christian organization.

This message have been approved to be sent to you and how you understand the
impact of this message is very important to our Christian organization as it
will yield to your life proceedings accurate.

Simple,obedience to Gods command draws blessings.

And giving to the levites is GODS command,therefore obeying this diligently
pulls GODS blessing upon the church and its members which is you.

We lose nothing to make the levites smile,that rather makes us smile too.

What ever you can do to make the levites smile,will make you equally smile.

Smile is contagious and reciprocal. so do some thing to make someone smile.

Their welfare, health, employment, education, physical security, and empowerment
are of paramount importance in realizing this vision of the future. To reduce
poverty and inequality, the plan proposes acting on several fronts:

This is because,the found will be used as a stepping stone to reform Levites in
the house of the LORD and for the spreading the word of God worldwide.

My worlds are short but according to my directions,i have deposited this
particular message to you which stands to reach only you for notifications.

Thus, you and your whole organization will be multiplied & blessed. with more
than what the heart expects.

You have been proven worthy of supporting our christian kingdom financially
which you will receive according to your faith, and our (motto) is what is
written in our e-mail id.

We wait for your reply and we will send you a form for your Donation.

Great people of GOD

Yours sincerely

REV.APOSTLE JOHN MCLAIN
THE MAN AFTER GODS HEART.
revapostlejohnmclain@yahoo.com
recievertogodschildren@yahoo.com

From Wikipedia, the definition of Levites:

In Jewish tradition, a Levite ( /ˈliːvaɪt/, Hebrew: לֵוִי, Modern Levi Tiberian Lēwî ; “Attached”) is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners “because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance” (Deuteronomy 18:2).[1][2] The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political responsibilities as well. In return, the landed tribes were expected to give tithe to the Levites, particularly the tithe known as the Maaser Rishon or Levite Tithe. In current Jewish practice, dating from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the communal privileges and responsibilities of Levites are mainly limited to the synagogue Torah reading and the ritual of pidyon haben.
Moses and his brother, Aaron, were both Levites. Notable descendants of the Levite dynasty according to the Bible include Miriam, Samuel, Ezekiel, Ezra, Malachi, John the Baptist, Mark the Evangelist, Matthew the Evangelist, and Barnabas. The descendants of Aaron, who was the first kohen gadol, high priest, of Israel, were designated as the priestly class, the kohanim. As such, kohanim comprise a family dynasty (although people claiming to be kohanim have many haplogroups) within the tribe of Levi, and thus all kohanim are traditionally considered to be Levites, but not all Levites are kohanim.

July 19, 2012 Posted by | Blogroll, Charity, Cultural, Financial Issues, Scams | Leave a comment