Eskimo Kisses

Last night as I was eating room service on the last night of our weekend here in Doha and I was looking for something to watch on tv. The choices were limited: news, music videos I've seen 3 or 4 times already, movies from the late 1980's, or sports - and by sports I mean the same Doha Championship Soccer game on 4 channels - the only other sports channel had sailing, so I decided to watch the Soccer match. Don't get me wrong the guys were good soccer players, but I thought it was so interesting that they were having a national tournament in a country that as fewer than 1 million residents total... it would be the equivalent of the Tucson city soccer tournament... but played at a much higher level since most of these Doha players are brought in from around the world as paid professionals (just as they do with olympians and engineers - ha!).

The game itself was well played - and the Al Sadd team won 2-1 behind some excellent goal keeping in the stoppage time. I wouldn't know the details for sure because all 4 channels were in arabic; my iPod serving as the only commentary. The Al Sadd team was presented with the Emir Apparent's trophy and each received an eskimo kiss (ie nose to nose), a cheek kiss, or a hand shake (non Qatari's if I had to take a guess) from the Emir's son - hence the name of the trophy. Needless to say the trophy presentation was a lot more intimate than handing out the Stanley Cup. The tv then cut away to the spectators who were leaving the stadium hanging out of land cruisers and throwing large confetti pieces... I turned back to the channel some 45 minutes later and they still were showing the fans and interviewing players - which confirmed how important this match was. Atleast they take their sports seriously here.

In talking to the guys at lunch they told me that the tv at the villas can be much better if you are willing to pay for it. One of the guys has a SlingBox setup back in Texas, but says it can be a bit choppy depending on the network usage... so I think we'll keep it simple with DVDs (if you have any recommendations please forward them our way)... especially tv shows we haven't seen much or the ones we really like: King of Queens, Arrested Development, the Office - both UK and US versions, Band of Brothers, 24, Long Way Round, etc. I figure when it's 130 degrees in the shade, even the pool might not be worth going outside for!

I don't want anyone to misunderstand my comment about music videos earlier - I rather enjoy music videos, especially artistic ones, that don't just have close ups and shots of busy discos filled with beautiful people. My favorite video of all time? Coldplay - "Scientist", which does include close-ups but done in a way far different than most pop videos. My second favorite is actually a middle eastern classic - Tunak Tunak Tan by Dahler Mehndi (check it out on Utube if you've never seen for youself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZorvKCVl4TM).

3 videos currently rolling in Doha (MTV UK) are creating a new mold: Linkin Park / Good Charlotte - "The River" / Pink. All of the videos are very dark (like My Chemical Romance without the high school feel) and all 3 seem to bombard you with disturbing images of humankind's anti-achievements (Hitler, atomic bombs, starving folks in Darfur). The videos certainly got me thinking, but I am a bit confused by the intentions of the artists. What do you suppose motivates them to share such a dark viewpoint often with loose religious references, but without an obvious response or solution? Anyone can make observations about a war or genocide, but what answers do these artists provide? I'll leave the topic open for comment - since I may be largely overanalyzing the motive$.

Comeback for 2007: Maroon 5 is finally releasing a 2nd album - and for those fans who saw them perform in 500 person venues 4 years ago are anxiously awaiting something special. The first single is quite catchy... I hope the rest of the album meets those expectations.

Clives' Comment of the Day: "We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."

Famous Movie Quote: "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women."