Friday Blog Bites :: Emirates Today

EmiratesToday takes note of the following posts by UAE-based bloggers. My horizons were broadened, and yours will be, too. Pay these a visit, and stay long enough to see what else they offer:

Dubai Sunshine: Cachet - A few weeks ago, I had written about how 6Days had used the expression "Tu pableo Espanol" erroneously. Well, now it seems it's Emirates Today's turn to prove to us why they don't need proofreaders....

Dubai Bigus: Rally Driving - It doesn't inspire good feelings when your significant other says, "be careful going home, remember...you are back in Dubai". I think I held my breath the entire way while driving home from Al Rashidiya to Jumeirah. I am now qualified for Formula 1 or the Dakar Rally.

Dubai's Drama Queen: Kissing with confidence - At a recent party in Jumeirah, the delicate issue of etiquette came up in conversation, particularly when it comes to kissing. Is it one, two or three kisses? The wrong guess can leave a girl lunging into thin air, or avoiding a prematurely proffered cheek. After years leaving here in Dubai, the standard formula seems to be: 1 = Dubai new blood, usually a reserved Brit; 2 = Dubai native; 3 = Lebanese or hot-blooded Spaniard.

[0 = American, ed.]

oasis dubai: Le Grand Voyage - There is not a single (maybe someone will prove me wrong) arthouse cinema/theatre in Dubai/UAE. ALL cinemas are showing mainly Hollywood fare. It will be nice, other than making money, to screen good movies, especially from Europe, Iran, Asia..etc. . . .

Desert Dreams: DAPping - iPod love or hate? Every major city in the world is filled with the blessed things, but Dubai remains an Apple free zone? Is it the price? Maybe it's because the style thing is not that important? Or maybe that we all travel in cars and have radios and things...

a secret arabian journal...: Compounded* - So what does Dubai’s ongoing approach to development tell us about this Emirate? Dubai has an almost postmodern Nietchien quality to it: Ya3ny, this Emirate is reminiscent of Disney Land or Alton Towers; an artificial fantasy built skillfully but flimsy over a desert reality. Its lack of visible and authentic history only serves to magnify the feeling that this city is nothing more than a synthetic façade, especially when it is compared to other areas like the more organic Al Ain, Ajman and even the concrete metropolis of Abu Dhabi. This is a shame really, because Dubai actually has a soul and a culture to it that is far richer and denser than most other 21st Century cities world wide that have a similar stature.