News Nonsense

July 27, 2009 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments

1) I read that the Lobster industry suffering from low prices do to the Economic Downturn. Why not turn that phrase around? “Citizens hard hit by the Economic Downturn rejoice in cheap Lobster!”

2) Okay – It’s tragic that ANYONE gets killed in a hit-and-run. But why do I have to read about Alexis Cohen out here in the Kuwait papers?? She was only on American Idol for about 5 minutes! Does that make her a legend? Is she a god now??

3) I read today that the US Military will be hiring a civilian security company to protect our bases in Afghanistan. That’s right – the MILITARY needs CIVILIANS to protect our US bases. Soooo – what is the Military there for…?

Days Off

July 26, 2009 | Filed Under Main | No Comments

I had a long weekend this past – three days and no reason to come into the office. So mostly I slept, went to the gym, slept, ate, watched movies, and slept.

Welcome to Kuwait. Too hot. Too dusty. No activities.

I DID however make it out to the new Mall. Yes – just what we needed out here – more conspicuous consumption. The place is called the “360 Mall” because it is round. It’s out near the airport and I have been watching it grow since I got here. The Mall is not quite done. You first drive into a construction site and they haven’t created a good traffic flow just yet. I think I went through three traffic circles just to go 100 yards. I was worried about finding a parking space as dozens of SUVs were parked in a nearby dirt lot… as well as on curbs, behind cars, in fire lanes and any other bare spot they can find. However, this is just the way Kuwaitis drive. Inside the actual parking area – there were plenty of spaces.

As I said – it’s not quite done. Though it looks nice from the outside, the entrance is surrounded by small, decorative pools of water. The water has been sitting for some time and the mosquito population is beginning to bloom. Inside only a few of the chic, high-end boutiques were open. The rest are still under construction. But most of the food shops were active – from McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme to TGI Friday’s and Wagamama. The lower level has a large supermarket (same old stuff as everyone else) and a Toy’s R Us (which I think is the first in Kuwait). The BIG news is that the Mall sports TWO large glass sculptures by none other than Dale Chihuly! I thought they were his, but there was no mention anywhere near the sculptures. However, a quick buzz of the Interwebs bore me out. It does lend a little class to what would otherwise be just another mall.

However, the purpose of the trip was to go to the movies. This would only be the third time in Kuwait. The new cinema in the 360 has eleven screens – one of them IMAX. Yes – I can go see “Transformers 2” in head pounding IMAX sight and sound (IMAX makes me nauseous). Instead I saw the new Harry Potter. Which was good – not very action-packed, but well done and nice to look at. And censored. Kissing is not allowed on the screen in a Muslim country. Dismemberment? Okay. Love? Bad. Even the puppy-love that comes with a PG-13 flick. I probably wouldn’t mind so much if they hadn’t performed the editing with a dull butter knife. Esthetics and the Ministry have never met.

But at least I got out of the house…. Briefly.

Tarnished Dubai

July 20, 2009 | Filed Under Main | No Comments

Someone sent me a link to a recent article in the London Times about Dubai.

This is the reality out here. For Kuwait – remove the alcohol, most of the prostitutes and the garish architecture. For Abu Dhabi – tone down the excess by more than half and skip the huge debt. All the other factors still exist. The laws, the arrogance, the slave labor, the corruption – that’s what is left after the high times. So whenever anyone tells you about the “free market” – point to Dubai. Because the free market built it and the free market will leave it a rotting carcass.

Added to iPod

July 17, 2009 | Filed Under Music | 2 Comments

While at home, I picked up a few things. First – my issues of Songlines magazine. Two were waiting for me, which meant two discs of new, world music. There were even two of the Duplex Planet’s spoken words CDs for me to upload, including the new “Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time” (thanks David). I also found another Supperclub compilation in the Amsterdam airport. These two-disc sets of ‘club’ music rank right up there with the Café del Mar collections as excellent chill-out soundtracks.

Then – some new things:

Miles Davis – “Round Midnight” This is a two disc set that I managed to miss before. It was hiding in the stacks. I beg forgiveness.
Bat For Lashes – “Two Suns” That is the pseudonym for British songwriter/musician Natasha Khan. I have seen the name around a lot, but never heard or read anything about her, so I jumped on the new album. Not bad. At the moment she is the indie-Diva de Jour and she hits that mark pretty well. On the record, you can hear the influences of Kate Bush (Glass), Tori Amos (Peace Of Mind), PJ Harvey (Sirens Song), Imogen Heap (Pearl’s Dream) and even Cat Power (Good Love). The most fun was a Brechtian number near the end of the record that’s sports backing vocals by *gasp* Scott Walker! Mind you – Bat For Lashes is worth hearing. But if she ever finds her own voice, then we might be in for something special.
Ian Hunter – “Shrunken Heads” Always had a soft spot for British pub rockers like Mr. Hunter. His 1980 album “Welcome To The Club” is one of the best live albums ever put on vinyl. This record came out in 2007 when he was 68(!!!) and it is easily one of the best of his fifty year career. Sure – his voice is a bit weaker. But Ian was never a crooner – more a growler and a shouter, so it works. And certainly, you have to miss his old axeman – the late Mick Ronson. But his band is super tight (augmented by the likes of Graham Maby, Soozie Tyrell and Jeff Tweedy!). His writing is spot on and carries his trademark sense of humor and cranky observations on the world. I mean – honestly – why hasn’t a young band tossed off a song as straight forward as Soul of America? From the opening track Words, everything here rocks as if Ian was still in his 30s… rocks harder then much younger men (like that Springsteen guy)! Grab a beer and listen to an old friend.
The Fireman – “Electric Arguments” Speaking of old guys…. This is the only Paul McCartney album I own. In fact, I stopped liking Paul decades ago. I think right after Silly Love Songs – which I still hate. However, the song of his that got dropped onto Nitin Sawhney’s album “London Underground” sounded really good. So when I happened upon this record, I listened to a 30 second snippet of the opening cut and realized it might not be your normal Sir Paul record. And it isn’t. The first tune – Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight – is the best piece of swamp blues rock from a Beatle since Helter Skelter. From there we go… everywhere. Paul’s alter ego – along with producer Youth – recorded thirteen songs in thirteen days. You have a simple acoustic number, a gospel boogie, a mid-range rocker, an instrumental and a taste of just about everything else including a little techno (Lovers In A Dream). This is very much a modern rock record, mixing tape loops, atmospherics and world music instrumentation into the basics of each song. But these are still songs – complete, not meandering. It’s just that Sir Paul and his lyrics take a back seat to the music. It’s a very good record. I wonder if he’ll play any of this on his tour.

stuff

July 11, 2009 | Filed Under Main | 1 Comment

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Michael Jackson is not News

July 8, 2009 | Filed Under Main, Music | 6 Comments

So every news channel – including Fox – broadcast the memorial service. Why?

I haven’t cared about Michael Jackson for two decades. His last decent album was Bad – and I didn’t like more than a couple of singles off that. Michael Jackson spent some of the past two decades experimenting with video and business, having surrogate children, pseudo-wives, and the rest of the time trying to maintain his inner child as his outer reality got older. He became a traveling sideshow – not an artist. He was surrounded by sycophants and leeches – not friends and family. He was never going to perform those concerts. No matter how much video they show of the rehearsals – it wasn’t going to happen. He was too weak – either ill or maybe crazy. If he had the chops – why was that benefit single for the victims of Katrina never finished?

Michael Jackson became a lost soul and we all know it. And everyone around him let it happen. How did he die? Trust me – we will never know the truth. Michael lived and died in a fantasy land and the media and his fans are quite happy to maintain that fantasy forever. Maybe the weight of maintaining that fantasy – for himself and millions of others – is the real cause of death. But that’s not a surprise and it’s not news.

Gone again

July 6, 2009 | Filed Under Main | 2 Comments

Like all vacations – fun and too short.

It’s back to work. Back to the desert.

damn