The fog is contagious

My friend Gwenn is headed back Egypt for a couple of days and she needed a few US dollars for the entry visa.  I gave her $5 and she handed me 5 Dirhams (worth a lot less).  I chuckled.  Confused, she said, "Oh, that's not right, is it?"

"It's no big deal," I replied.  "I'm happy to see someone else in the same fog I am."

I give up

I tried posting a video several times and it is not working.

I am suffering from one of the longest, most prolonged cases of insomnia I've ever had.  I know it is affecting everything about me (including the ability to post a video, apparently).  Tonight I think a friend basically said I'm a horrible person - but I'm not sure.  That's how much of a fog I am in.

So in my simple post tonight I will wish my father a Happy Birthday!  For the first half of his life his birthday was the same as Memorial Day.  Then it became the last Monday in May.  While I appreciate all Memorial Days for what it represents:  The supreme sacrifice for our freedom... I like Memorial Day best when it falls on the traditional day of May 30.

OK, I am going to turn the fan on high in my room for all of the white noise I can get to hopefully get a good night of sleep.  I have no meetings or classes in the morning and if I'm lucky I'll sleep 'till noon. I'm down to three brain cells and they are fighting with each other.

Watching the earth rotate

I’ve always been fascinated with time lapse photography of stars.  And here’s one:

Watching the stars rotate is interesting but it’s not the stars that are rotating.  It’s earth.

That’s why I like this video with a camera rotating to compensate for the earth’s rotation.  The stars remain where they are (as it should be) and it’s earth you’ll see rotating.

Political thought to ponder

Iowa goes first in the selection of a nominee for president.  That's the way it should be.

In 2008 Mitt Romney spent $10,000,000 in Iowa and got 30,021 votes.  That works out to $333 per vote.  Had Romney said, "I won't campaign in Iowa but I'll pay $200 for each person who comes on caucus night to support me" he would have have 50,000 votes and won the Iowa caucuses.

It is no wonder Mitt's crew is wondering what is the best strategy for this election cycle.

Poor man's facial

A shave here is Dh 10 - 15 (less than $5).  I found a place that does a shave AND a facial massage for Dh 20 ($5.50)  Some people get excited for a lower back massage or a foot massage.  I get excited to have my temples massaged and the back of my neck.  And I can get that plus a shave for $5.50!  Sign me up!

Of course, I liked it enough that I always gave at least a $5.50 tip.  When they found out how much I tip the relaxing massage part went from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.  Now the whole thing takes an hour - a very relaxing hour.  

First comes the shave.  A jelly is applied as a moisturizer and then a straight edge blade does the shave.  That is usually followed by traditional shaving cream and another shave.  That is followed by putting on baby powder and using an electric razor to get anything that is left.  For hours afterward I'm as smooth as a baby's bottom.  They will also shave around the ear and the back of the neck.  

Then they apply some type of oil/hair tonic on my head and massage that in.  Although they speak very little English I made it clear that rubbing the back of my neck is something they could do for hours.  

Then they apply a mild exfoliant and spend 20 - 30 minutes rubbing it in.  That's me in what looks like the clown makeup below.

After that my face is washed off, soaped up, washed off, shampooed the hair and washed off.  Then at least 100 Kleenex's are used to dry my head and face (fortunately, I have little hair or it would take more Kleenex's).  A moisturizer and a whitening agent is then applied.  They don't seem to get that I have absolutely no need for a whitening agent but there's no way I can communicate that easily.

From in the door to out the door it is an hour.  I am getting an hour because I'm paying $11.  If I paid $5.50 I'd be out in half the time.  

This shop has four guys.  One guy sucks.  Another guy is very uneven (once great, another time not-so-good) and two guys who are obviously new to the world of cutting hair - aka saloon as it is called here.  I got one of the new guys on his second day on the job and he basically shaved my head back in January.  The new guys are the best so I have been sticking with them for the past month.

I didn't start the facial wash until March when I decided I needed to start using a moisturizer in this really dry country.  I bought a bottle and never used it.  I realized I'm not willing to put it on myself but I have no problem if someone else does it for me.

For a shave + exfoliant + moisturizer + face-head-neck massage for $11 it is hard not to go every day.  I limit myself to four five times per week.  Oh, the sacrifices.

When I paid per visit I found myself often giving Dh 50 - 60 ($13-15).  It took some explaining but now I pay in advance  Dh 200 ($55) for five sessions.  It saves me money and takes out the hassle.

Spending $44-$55 per week on shaves/head massages is insane; I know that.  I feel much less guilt knowing that I'm paying guys who make virtually nothing so my extra business is literally feeding one of the guy's child back home in Pakistan.  

All was well and good until one of the two I regularly go to ripped me off.  I allowed it to happen but it made me very sad.  I tried to teach a lesson but as is always the case with me, the lesson didn't work out quite as well as I hoped... at least not yet.  

More from the cultural night

 A traditional Emirati dance lines up two rows of men opposite of each other (obviously you can't see the opposite row in this picture) and they chant.  They also tap and wave a walking stick.  I took a video of this with my iPhone to give you a sense of what it is like but I held the phone in the wrong way and the video is upside down.  Oops.

The marching band played and the main sound came from bagpipes.  I wonder when bagpipes came to this country.  I've asked and so far nobody's been able to answer.

Different booths displayed various parts of the historical culture of the Emirates.  Decades ago fishing and pearl diving were the main sources of income for Dubai.  Here my guide is explaining the fishing...

 ...and here he is showing the basket the divers would wear around their necks as they'd dive for clams to collect pearls.

 The other Arab countries had clubs with booths representing their country.  Here is one of my more humorous former students Hussein working to set up the Egyptian booth.

And here I am with two of my favorite former students.  Abdulkarim on the left and Khaled on the right.  Abdulkarim is the guy who helped me buy my kandura for National Day last December.  I purposefully did not crop this picture so you could get a sense of the crowd.  See any women?  I don't know that I'll ever get used to that but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.

Cultural night

Earlier in the week I attended cultural night sponsored by the men's campus.  It was great and I have many pictures to post but nausea and life got in the way.  In the meantime, here's a pic I took of the Palestinian group I saw perform last week:

I saw the guys getting ready and I asked if I could get a picture of the group.  I waited as they tied the scarfs around their shoulders and around their waists.  And I waited.  As others came they retied them for each other.  I waited 30 minutes for the picture and I am not exaggerating to say each had their scarfs retied 3x during that time.  It reminded of high school in the 1980's when guys would spend two minutes of the four minutes between classes checking their hair in the mirror.

 After a group photo they invited me to join them.

I have no idea what made me take a wide stance.

As this picture was taken I commented, "I can't wait for my Jewish friends in the US to see this."

That didn't go over so well.

I'm glad to know social awkwardness is something I'll have with me for a lifetime.

Slow motion food poisoning

The numbers of times I've ate something and had to spend the next three days in close proximity to a bathroom is beyond counting.  It's the problem of having been raised very sanitary conditions; my stomach never developed the fortitude to take this.  Fortunately, only a few times has it been bad enough that I needed to go to a doctor for antibiotics.

This week has been very odd:  What started out mild has become worse every day.  Tonight I had three invites to do things and I had to turn them all down.  (I can go a month without three invites so three in one night is like the popularity jackpot.)  I had to decline them all because I'm just plain feeling miserable.

Update:  Behold the power of blogging!

At 4PM I cancelled all evening plans.  At 5PM I was curled up in the fetal position on my bed.  At 7PM I posted the above to avoid paying the Republican Party of Iowa $100.  Rather instantly I began to feel better.

Instead of Reverend Kranz I might become "Blogging faith healer SmK."


Or not.

Winning pictures

Last week a student left my class early because she found out she $13k in a photography contest.  It turns out that she won the $13k for an essay she wrote.  Her winning set of photos won $1300.  

The winning photo set was 4 pictures taken from this vantage point.  It was titled, "Competition to the top."

 I found a couple of her other pictures more compelling.  The picture above and below are excellent.  I have certainly seen worse conditions in Nepal but I can't bring myself to take the picture.  I feel like I am somehow exploiting their condition... yet, really, the story needs to be told.

Dumpster diving in the UAE.

Two animals cuddling wouldn't normally be a hit with me.  There's something about their cuddling in such a poor environment that makes it more interesting.

*****
I spent four hours tonight with the Emirati who goes to Iowa State.  I learned a lot including that there are 26 Emiratis at Iowa State from Al Ain.  I wouldn't have expected 26 Emiratis total in the state of Iowa... let alone 26 at Iowa State from just this city.

Only posting to keep from writing a check to the Republican party

Sometimes insomnia comes in waves.  For the past three nights it's been 3AM, 3AM and last night it was past 4AM.  I really wanted to post about last night's festival but I have no brain cells.  The good news is that I am actually tired and I'm going to bed now.

Men's cultural night

Wow.  There are times that I find myself in disbelief from what I am experiencing.  Tonight I was at a cultural event presented by the male students.  I took a ton of pictures and I will post more in the future but after 3 hours in 90+ degree heat (at night) I am too exhausted to post more.  After drinking some hot water at the event a student went back to his dorm room to get me a bottle of cold water.  I said, "You should charge me!  I'd pay 100 dirhams ($27) for that!"

Later another student said, "You are a rock star here."  And, well, I was treated like one.  Last week I was the only westerner at Palestinian day.  Tonight I was the only westerner at this event.  Also, at this event were many of the managers I have been training for the past year.  As the students learned that I'm teaching their dorm directors and student services people they said, "Sir, you have wasta (connections)!"

At one point food was served in a majlis (at least I think that's the term for the tent where men gather).  I think the students didn't go in... only the older men - staff, I assume.  I went over to take a picture:

 And they insisted I come in.

Culturally people here only eat with their fingers.  Much of the food in this picture is not what I'd call finger-food.  Fortunately, they passed a spoon to me.  I've lived here long enough to know what I'd be getting and I'm not a fan of most of the food.  It seems pretty dry and tasteless, but, hey, it's cultural.  The picture you won't see because my camera battery went dead:  The women two tents away making all of this food.  I didn't see them until the end of the night and I am seriously kicking myself for not bringing a full battery.  They were dutifully producing tons of food for the men.  Kinda like Thanksgiving back home.

Class of 2011

There's a month to go before the end of the semester but it's never too early to hold graduation!

One of the great things about being a teacher is the opportunity to meet some fantastic young people.  Maryam is one of my favorite students.  She graduated tonight and was the commencement speaker.

She did an excellent job and I was very proud of her.

One of the sad things about teaching is watching your favorite students graduate.  I'm happy for them but also sad.  I've made this comment to other teachers and often heard back, "There's always a new group coming in and there will be good ones in there."  Perhaps, but seeing my favorite students graduate is like losing something special.  It doesn't matter if there are others out there.  Fortunately, I am still in touch with many of favorites over the years and I hope I don't lose touch with Maryam.

Tajine

I've come to like Moroccan food.  Many dishes are prepared in a tajine (shown below).  My friend Gwenn and I bought several at Global Village last December.  I am keeping mine to take back to the states for two friends who are great cooks while Gwenn actually uses hers...

The problem is that they are very heavy and I am scared of breaking them.  Anyhow, in the picture above chicken is underneath the mound of vegetables.  It is cooked slowly in the oven and the taste is fantastic.  This tajine makes a meal big enough to feed six.

Gwenn gave her guests homemade ice cream with fresh berries as dessert.  I am spoiled by my friends' cooking.  It's hard to invite them over to my place because I like to make pork chops or pot roast.  It seems lame in comparison.

Why teach summer school?

As the past two weeks have been insanely hot - 110 - I think I am writing this more for me than anyone else. Quite a while ago (when the weather was cooler) I volunteered for summer school.  Now that walking outside is like walking into a giant sauna I am questioning the wisdom of the idea.  In the end it comes down to two reasons:  Money and laziness.

Money

Two years ago they gave me exactly $5000 to teach summer school.  It should have been more like $7000.  I have no idea how much I'll make this summer but even at $5000 I'm OK.  That's $5-7000 on top of my regular pay meaning I can apply it directly to student loans, mortgage payments, etc.

It's not just the money I earn in summer school, it's the money I save by not being in the US.  Last summer I re-learned that living in the US is expensive.  I didn't do anything extravagant last summer but I still seemed to find a way to burn through money.  This summer I will be here with no friends and nothing to do.  I won't be spending much money.

Laziness

I am teaching summer school as an excuse to be lazy.  A conversation I had with a friend explains this:

Me:  Two years ago I would get up, go teach for four hours, buy a watermelon on the way home, eat half of it, take a long nap, eat the other half watch some TV and go to bed.
Friend:  Can't you do that back in the US?
Me:  No!  The guilt of "I should be doing something more" is too great.  Teaching here in the summer means I have absolutely no responsibilities beyond breathing and showing up to class.  Teaching summer school is better than vacation because I can feel good about working and, well, do very little work.

Would an extra six weeks in the US be nice?  Sure, but a month is long enough.    

Blogger frustration

In the post below I have two video clips.  To insert youtube video clips I need to use a Microsoft product called "Windows Live Writer."  (It is interesting to me that Blogger is owned by Google but I can't insert a Youtube video - also owned by Google.)  So I used Live Writer to make the initial post with the two short videos.  Then I used blogger to insert more pictures and text.  Occasionally it will take a few minutes to update a blog post when changes are made... this time, however, it has been hours.

If you see only two videos with very little narration in the post below that is not the full post...

Rally for Palestinian Day

On Wednesday night Palestinian students organized an event with speakers, skits and traditional Palestinian dances.  Speakers from Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon all spoke of their solidarity with the Palestinians.  It was all in Arabic so a friend had to translate for me.  Here are two short videos I took of the event:

As you can see their arms are locked together.  During this dance one of the guys moved forward too far and he dislocated his shoulder.  Later that night he was still in the hospital.

This is recreation of a wedding ceremony.  The groom is the guy in the tie.  The others are dancing for him and singing about his strength.  I wish the video of this had come out; it was quite powerful.

The only performance in English was Blue's "One Love."  At one point the two guys stood inches from each other looking in each other's eyes and sang, "Baby, just love me, love me, love me.  Baby, just hold me, hold me, hold me."  It was uncomfortably awkward in this homophobic culture.

*****
The next day President Obama delivered his major speech on the middle east.  He called on Israel to return to 1967 borders with a possible compromise of exchanging territories.  He called for aid to help new democracies in the middle east.  It was a remarkably responsible and sober speech.  The right in the US has fallen in love with the right-wing in Israel.  Predictably, they hated Obama's speech.

Camel pic of the day

This the camel bedroom.  Notice the front legs connected by a rope.  I've seen camels in the desert with this many times.  They can't walk much at all so it keeps them from wandering but it is also sad.

Camel pic of the day

Do you get the idea that camels like to mug for the camera?  I swear they ham it up a bit more when I pull out the camera.

Good day/bad day

Good day:  I found out I get to teach summer school.

Bad day:  A student asked if I was 60 years old.

What makes that even worse?  Yesterday I spent $100 on a chemical peel.

I think I should get my money back.

"Why don't you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself?"

A conservative friend who has commented on here as "Samuel Alito" is also a huge Newt Gingrich fan.  Right after announcing his candidacy for the presidency Newt criticized a plan by Republican econ-guru Paul Ryan to privatize Medicare. The right is not happy and when he came to Iowa to campaign a guy let him know it:

IOWAN: What you just did to Paul Ryan is unforgivable.
GINGRICH: I didn't do anything to Paul Ryan.
IOWAN: Yes, you did. You undercut him.... you're an embarrassment to our party.
GINGRICH: I'm sorry you feel that way.
IOWAN: Why don't you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself?

As the first state Iowa has taken down many a candidate.  This is perhaps the first time a *single* Iowan has taken down a candidate.  Given the news that Newt's wife held a charge account with liabilities of $250,000 to $500,000 for jewelry I think we can stick a fork in this.  Newt's candidacy is done.

I'm so sorry Matthew Samuel Alito.  I don't think I wanted Newt in this race as much as you did but, believe me, I wanted him in this race.

Best excuse I've ever had for skipping class

Before class started today a student said, "Sir, is it OK if I leave now to go to Dubai?"

"You can't wait an hour?" I asked.

"I just found out I won Dh 50,000 in a photography contest."

"Go!" I replied.  "And I won't count you absent if you bring your pictures to class next week."

Dh 50,000 is $13,612.  

Here's lookin' at 'ya!

I couldn't decide which of these picture I liked best so I decided to put both of them in.

These pictures have made me realize why I might have such affection for camels:  I've always been attracted to big noses.  

Trump not running

My first mistake in the 2012 cycle and it certainly won't be my last.  I am surprised.  Yes, his popularity was in free-fall but that's never stopped The Donald before.  I figured he spend the summer blathering on and find some excuse to exit in the fall.

I would love to know who in the inner circle of Trump had the guts to say, "Mr. Emperor, you have no clothes."

Confused camel

This poor camel with a mechanical jockey was not sure what to do when the race began.  This happened almost every race.  The confused animal seemed quite frightened and it was not easy for the trainers to calm him down.

Start of the race

It's camel week here on the blog.  The long story is in a post below.  Each day this week I'll be adding more pictures and more text to what I saw.

The leashes hold the camels close to the gate.  The leash is long and doubled over so each of these guys is holding two ends of the rope.  Just before the gate goes up they let go of one end of the rope.  As the gate rises it pulls the rope through the ring so the camel is completely free (of the rope, at least.)

When wearing a dress it is important to hike it up when you know you're going to have to run.

 Why the guy in pants also feels the need to grab his crotch probably has nothing to do with the race.

 I hope this picture captures the mayhem at the start of the race.

And they are off!  The guy riding this camel has the duty to make sure they all get going in the right direction.  Notice the score of SUV's following the camels.  It's a sight funny enough to be worth getting up at 5:30.

Writer's block

The post below is the article I wrote for a local magazine.  The odd spacing is from cutting and pasting it from Word to Blogger.  Trust me, I've tried many times to make it look more like a normal blog post but it won't work.

Anyhow, I was given the assignment at least 6 weeks ago and I did the research:  3 trips to the race track, talked to people and took plenty of pictures.  I couldn't, however, write the article.  I couldn't find a theme to write a 1200 word essay on the topic.

The deadline was tomorrow and I completed the assignment today.  Perhaps I should be happy that I finished it at least 18 hours earlier than I would have in college.

Camel racing

As the camels line up at the gate their trainers stand in front of them holding them in place. The gate pops up in an instant and the men let go of the leashes. The camels sprint forward and the men must quickly get out of the way. Even though many wear protective gear on their chests and head I found myself scared for them.

In the summer the races are run early on Saturday morning to avoid the heat of the day. Races are run every 10-15 minutes. On the days I went the races were 1500 and 3000 meters – which is quite long compared to horse racing. Camels are no longer ridden by human jockeys, having been replaced by a mechanical one that is run by remote control. The owners and trainers drive Landcruisers alongside the track as the camels run. They are able to yell directions into a walkie talkie and the camels respond to the voice of his/her trainer.

On my trips to the races I didn’t see any other Westerners.The appeal of camel racing to Westerners is a bit of a chicken and egg dilemma. Westerners show little interest in the sport and until they do Arabs have little reason to invite them in to their world. 

Part of my interest comes from growing up on a farm in the Midwest of the United States. While I have been around animals my entire life the only time we saw camels was at the fair. The camels in the US had a depressed look as parents would pay $5 (Dh 20) for their child to ride in a circle on the back of the camel. While they were fairly well-groomed these camels were nothing more than circus animals and treated as such.


In my attempt to learn more about the sport I drove to the track in Nabbagh. (To get there take the underpass near Jimi Mall and keep heading to the Dubai bypass road. In years past the road would take a person straight to the track. With construction it is a bit more complicated, but the place can be found by looking for signs for Nabbagh.

On my first trip, in early April, I found a pair of brothers who spoke English. They were on spring break holiday from studying in the US and UK. With incredible generosity they invited me to their farm, offered tea and took my questions for over two hours.


I learned that most farmers in the area raise two breeds of camels:  One is a purebred race whose ancestors were raised in this region for hundreds (thousands?) of years. The second set of camels are mixed breeds from all over the middle east and western Africa.

Racing has been going on in this region for at least 50 years. His Highness Sheikh Zayed loved camels and propelled the sport during his lifetime. In recent years the racing season has expanded across borders. The sport begins in late October/early November in the UAE and then moves on to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Now even Kuwait wants in on the circuit.

I asked about the logistics of the sport. For example, “Is it difficult to transport camels?”  Having grown up on a farm I know some animals don’t take kindly to riding in a truck. My host smiled and said, “Good question. Camels need to learn to ride in a truck in their first year. Otherwise, it can be very difficult.”

Camels start racing as one year olds. They train in the mornings in the summers. (Older camels only race from late fall to early spring.)
 

Camels wear colorful garments that match the tribe and family to whom s/he belongs. While visiting the camel farm, I noticed the camels  were wearing quite a lot of blankets and I asked, “Won’t that make them too hot?”  My host responded that it is like wrestling in the US. “We don’t want them to gain weight.”  Keeping them hot will apparently burn more calories.

The process of discovering which camels have the “right stuff” for racing can take months. At that point maybe only one in ten will go on to be a racing camel. “What happens to the other nine?” I asked. “Are they slaughtered and eaten?”

My hosts’ eyes grew wide like I had just suggested eating a family member. “Oh, no, we let them live and they carry stuff for us.”  They said camels can live for 40 years. The economist in me is still perplexed on how anyone – no matter how compassionate – could afford to keep a camel alive for 40 years when it has long since stopped serving a useful purpose. Then again, I know Americans who will spend $300 (Dh 1100) on a ramp so their aged dog can climb onto the couch.

Once the camel’s racing years are over, they are moved to different farms where they live out the rest of their natural lives.

My visit to the camel farm was at the end of the day when the camels were being brought back for dinner. I mistakenly got between a camel and his dinner and was almost trampled. In a split second I wondered how my parents would react to losing their son that way.

I have seen dogs, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and many other animals eat. None are as graceful as camels. It’s almost as if their table manners are befitting the colorful clothes they wear.

How big of a sport is camel racing?  The best my hosts could tell me is that hundreds of families in the Al Ain area alone take part. One said to me, “It is a hobby - a very expensive hobby, to be sure.”  If one of the camels successfully wins a big race, however, it can also be lucrative. I still don’t understand how this sport pays for itself given that betting on the races is illegal. Companies sponsor races but there was apparent marketing for those companies at the training races.  It is the gambling that funds horse and dog racing in the US. Regardless of how it is funded, the size of the sport is huge and growing.

The training races

In each race one or two camels will become confused and run in the wrong direction. I look forward to returning in the fall to see the older “professional” camels race.

For me, it isn’t a trip to the desert if it doesn’t involve getting stuck. In my three trips I got stuck twice. Perhaps that’s why most people would not drive a Nissan Sunny in the sand.

Back home in the US it is common to get stuck in snow in the winter. The tips for getting unstuck are similar, too. I tried rocking back and forth and slightly deflating my front tires. Neither idea worked. In fact rocking back and forth only seemed to dig me in deeper.

I was fortunate, however, in that each time men came along and helped to get me out. In that way, farmers are probably similar around the world. Where I come from farmers will travel many miles to help a fellow farmer in need. 

So bin Laden liked porn?

The news in itself is not newsworthy.  Finding out a guy likes porn is pretty much akin to saying "a dog was found to like to sniff another dog's butt."

What would be much more interesting - and has not been reported as far as I can tell - is what kind of porn he liked.  Was he into watching pedestrian porn made in California (home of the arch-enemy)?  Was he into bondage?  Was he into kinky Asian chicks who could bend themselves into a pretzel?

The US intelligence services are doing us a disservice by not releasing these details.  I'd much rather know the answer on this than see a picture of his head blown apart.

Am I crazy?

Wait!  Don't answer that.  Here's the expanded question:  Yesterday I posted a link to animals with furry toys (or something like that)... a link sent to me by Adrienne.  I swear I did and I even think my mother commented on it.  This isn't the first or even second time I've had posts swallowed by blogger, but I'm posting this to give notice to the Republicans in my home state:  You're not getting a check from me on this one!

The rise and fall of Trump

Less than a month ago Trump was catapulted into first place in Republican primary polls.  He led all others with 26% of Republicans saying they'd support him.

I commented to a friend, "This is going to be the fastest flame-out in political history..."  I didn't think, however, it would be this fast.  Yesterday, he clocked in at 8% and tied for fifth place.

If I had to bet I still he's think he's going to run.  His ego is too large not to run.  Will he still be running by the time of the Iowa caucuses?  I doubt it.  Then again four years ago at this point the wheels on the McCain campaign had fallen off and Hillary's campaign looked unstoppable...

And a great day ends with...

... my preferred answer would be getting lucky by winning the lottery or just plain getting lucky.

But it's me so neither will happen.  Instead, it was a 90 minute discussion on FB with a guy I deleted because of his pro-bin Laden FB messages.  He's friends with one of the guys who I had deleted before and the brother of the guy who purposefully friended me with the intention of posting a pro-bin Laden picture/message.  

At the end we agreed to meet for coffee.  At least three times I made the point, "bin Laden wanted to see all Americans dead.  I am American.  He'd be happy to see me dead.  Bush did not hate all Arabs/Muslims.  He had no desire to see you dead."  Basically, the guy disagreed with me on both points.  He thinks bin Laden would have no problem with me AND he thinks Bush would be happy to see him dead.  

I think I am the perfect American for this meeting.  I could not stand Bush; I think he's the worst president in at least 100 years.  (Coolidge would be happy to read that.)  But he never he never waged war against Islam or Arabs.  

There's a part of me - a large part of me - that doesn't want to know.  I'd be happy to stick my fingers in my ears and say, "Laa-laa-laa."  Talk to 80% 99% of my western ex-pat colleagues and that is the response you'd get.  

Feeling lucky tonight (but not that lucky)

This morning my boss called to let me know I'm getting a huge pay increase.  Huge, like insanely huge.

This afternoon I stopped by the coffee shop and the women said, "You come here a lot.  You deserve one free."

"Steven!"  Ann exclaimed.  "This is your day!  You need to go to a bar tonight and try to pick someone up."

"Now let's not get crazy," I replied, "but I do wish I could buy a lottery ticket. I may be feeling lucky enough to win the lottery but I don't feel lucky enough to get lucky."

Stuck in the desert

On Saturday I went back to the camel races.  While there I got stuck.  I was alone and couldn't find anyone who spoke English.

The nearest road was 4 miles away and I had no cell reception.  I can't say I was in the middle of nowhere but I did wonder if Jawas would be coming over the hill at some point.

I was only stuck for about an hour.  A guy with a truck designed for driving in the sand came along and pulled me out.  I'm 2-2 in getting stuck and relying on the kindness of strangers to get me out.

Later this week I'll post the pictures from the races.

From the Arabic press

I have asked two of my Arab friends to read the newspapers' website from around the region.  The response:  The news is being reported almost exactly the same way it is being reported in western news outlets.  In fact, one Saudi newspaper had the headline of "A bad man is dead."  There are some questions about conspiracy theories but there's not many questions about whether or not he's really dead. (Of course, now even al quaeda has admitted he's dead.) While there's news in western papers about some clerics questioning the burial at sea as following Islamic practice there is no mention of it in the Arabic newspapers.

In other words, they are playing this card to the western media because they know it is not worth playing to Arab Muslims.

Interesting.

*****
Yesterday I was friended on FB by a former student.  He promptly put up a picture of bin Laden and tagged me in the photo.  You may be able to see the picture here.  I removed the tag for me and unfriended him.

I have no use for those who equate bin Laden to Bush.  Whatever misgivings I have about the former president - and they numerous - he never had the intent or desire to kill innocent civilians.  I have been thinking, "Why would anyone who thinks bin Laden is a great guy send a friend request to their American professor?"  Yesterday's friend request was clearly to piss me off but I couldn't explain why someone who friended me last year would have done it.

In the past week I have asked no less than a dozen of my Arab Muslim colleagues and friends.  I was told some bin Laden supporters really hate America and wouldn't be bothered if a lot of us were killed... but every person I talked with stressed that this is a tiny, tiny percentage.  Most believed it is the symbol of bin Laden that was appealing:  A man who came from a rich family and could have easily lived a life of luxury but shunned it all.  In addition to hating America bin Laden stood up to what he saw as dictatorships throughout the middle east. That added to his hero/cult leader status.

I have spent a lot of time in the past few days trolling Facebook to find positive bin Laden comments.  I have spent hours looking at not just the pages of previous students who friended me but their other friends as well.  Fortunately, I have found very few pro-bin Laden comments.

But here's what is weird:  Most of those who are pro-bin Laden have info pages full of the favorite American movies, favorite American music, and favorite American TV shows.

Huh?  That would suggest my friends here are probably right:  Most of the support of bin Laden is not so much anti-Americanism as it is anti-Bush/anti-American government.  (Obama is still seen as a reasonable person here - and that's not bias on my part; I purposefully expressed my disappointment with Obama on other issues to give my friends a comfort zone in criticizing him.  None did.)

Is there a moral or lesson in any of this?  None that I can see now except that the neo-con view of the world as "black-and-white/good-and-evil" is every bit as wrong as those who praise bin Laden.

May 7

I have almost a "Rainman" like fixation on dates.  Five years ago today my dog Gus was born.  My mother now claims him as her own and in appreciation of Mother's day I will allow that - at least for the weekend.  Three years ago today I received the job offer to come to UAEU.  It's been an incredible experience and the most fun I've had at any job.  (Nobody in the US would ever call me the "pest doctor in the university.")

Today, May 7, 2011, I sent an e-mail to my boss with the requests of what would keep me here.  Today is still part of the weekend but given my fixation on dates I wanted it to go out today.  May May 7 continue to be a good day!

TEDx Al Ain

TED started in the US.  The theme is "Ideas worth sharing."  Ezra Klein - whose blog I link on the right - posts many TED talks.  I find all of them fascinating.  The goal:  A person has 15 minutes to present an idea. I have watched literally 100+ of the talks from American TED events.

TED has now spread around the world.  Again, the concept:  Bring in fascinating people and give them 15 minutes to talk.  I was excited to learn a TED event was coming to Al Ain.

Today's TED event had 10 speakers.  Thanks to very deep pocketed sponsors the event was well advertised, the signage was amazing, the auditorium of the event was posh.

The hors devours, however, were indicative of the event:  They looked amazing. I can't believe I didn't take pictures.  I can't remember any event in my life where the appetizers looked better.  The taste?  Incredibly and sadly, bland.

Most of the ten speakers came on and rambled.  Ideas worth sharing?  Two basically said, "Family is important."  No shit.  The idea of being succinct and pushing one main idea escaped them.  I did learn some interesting information about the city and country's history, but it was a serious disappointment.  After the event I was charitable.  I said, "It is a first event... it will get better..."

A friend replied, "Perhaps not.  This was bad enough it may be a first and last."

Blood stone

One of my favorite indulgences is getting a shave.  The price is $2.70 but I usually tip 3-4x that because it feels really nice.  Last week I got cut... pretty badly, actually.  The blood was flowing out.  The guy used two "blood stones" on me and it pretty much sealed up the cut.

Do we have these in the US?  I've never heard of it or seen it before.

When the guy saw my fascination with it he insisted I take it with me.  That's what happens when you leave large tips in a culture where most don't tip.

*****
Several have e-mailed asking about the job situation.  Today was a long day and tomorrow will be a really long day so I won't have time to write until Sunday.  One way or another I will find the time to get a post on the blog.  I'd rather not give the Republican party in Iowa $100!

Delayed Easter dinner

On Easter I posted on FaceBook:  "Millions of Americans are having a fantastic ham today.  And I am jealous of each and every one of you."  My friend Christine saw the post and decided to recreate a traditional Easter dinner:

Ham, au gratin potatoes, scalloped corn and homemade apple sauce.  Who makes homemade applesauce?!?  Really good cooks, that's who.

After my third plate full I thought I would explode.  You know you've eaten too much when bulimic thoughts seem reasonable.

Decisions, decisions...

I am facing a career decision and I can't make up my mind.  I'm not going to lay out the whole story on the blog but if you are interested e-mail me at stevekranz@aol.com and I will send it to you.  I need opinions.  I need someone to read my analysis and see if anyone can tell if I subconsciously leaning one way!  One day I'm thinking, "Go for the new job!  You have no reason not to..."  The next day I think, "Stay with a job you love, you idiot..."

I need some guidance.

No new sales tax in Cedar Rapids

In 2008 my home city was devastated in a flood.  The rebuilding has been slow - painfully slow.  After the flood the city elected a Republican mayor who had previously been speaker of the Iowa statehouse.  As a legislator he was very conservative.

As mayor he's come out in support of unions and proposed the largest tax increase in the history of the city.  His proposed 1 cent sales tax to be in place for 20 years was voted on yesterday.  It lost by a couple of hundred votes out of over 30,000 cast.

I'm glad I was not able to vote.  Never have I been more conflicted on an issue.  There was much to like and dislike about the proposal and I have no idea how I would have voted if I lived in CR.  What makes me angry is that my city's leaders are constantly throwing out "all or nothing" plans.  There are reasonable plans that I think could have passed that would not have required a TWENTY YEAR tax hike.

Ben Rogers in Pakistan

Ben Rogers is a Supervisor in Linn county (an elected position).  I've met him a couple of times and he is friends with friends of mine.

Two weeks ago Ben headed to Pakistan to meet with everyone from government officials to college students.  He returned on Sunday.  He has a blog about his experiences and this morning he was interviewed by NPR.

*****
I am reading what I can in the English newspapers here and my friends are reading the Arabic papers.  Tomorrow I hope to post about the reactions here.

Bin Laden

There are some days you just feel like the world is a better place. Today is certainly one of those days.

I asked two of my Arab friends to read the Arab news websites for the next couple of days. I want to know how this plays in the Arabic press.  The English language newspapers here cover events quite a bit differently.

I was appalled that a former student who friended me on FB wrote, "RIP bin Laden :((((("  I engaged him and learned that he considers bin Laden a hero.  I unfriended him and wrote on my wall:

Please unfriend me if you think bin Laden was a good person.
Reading "RIP bin Laden :(" on a status update made me want to throw up.  Seriously, unfriend me if you feel this way because we have nothing in common.

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of May 1 to me, but I think the world events are maybe a tad bit more important:

May 1, 1945:  Hitler dead
May 1, 2003:  Bush declares "Mission Accomplished" on an aircraft carrier
May 1, 2011:  Obama declares Osama dead

Not that's mission accomplished!

Getting back in the saddle

This past month I found it was easy to stop blogging and harder to get back at it.

Here's how I will change that in May:  Any day I do not make a post I will make a $100 donation to the Republican party of Iowa.

May Day!

May 1, 1991: The day I called Flunk Day.  In the morning the air was crisp and the sun was shining.  Where it went from there I can't remember... I have successfully blocked all memories after 8AM.

May 1, 2011:  My boss called to ask if there was anything the college could do to keep me.  Specifically, would a raise in my salary be enough?  I said I didn't know because I hadn't thought about it.

*****
In my life I have been a lifeguard, sold electronics, managed weather offices, taught, worked in a bookstore and detassled corn.  I enjoyed all but the last job.  Each job was taken as matter of economic necessity:  I had little choice but take the job.  I'm just lucky I liked them.

It is a completely new experience to have a job I love and consider moving to a different job.  To have my current employer offer higher pay to keep me?  Wow, I feel all warm and tingly.