Monthly Archives: January 2009

Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk

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A group of people took out a procession in support of Palestinians near Grand Mosque on Friday. A few of them carried “Boycott USA” posters which had names of American companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca Cola, KFC, etc. How many among the group would really boycott American products so as to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Gaza? Isn’t it all eyewash? Knowing very well that Starbucks is a Jewish company, how many of us (Gaza sympathisers) would give it a skip to teach Israel/US a lesson? In Oman, Starbucks has been expanding left, right and centre. So much so for boycotting US companies. Need more proof: just walk into one of these American outlets during peak hours and do the crowd profiling.

Last time, I remember, when the Danish newspaper was on the firing line for the cartoon fiasco, all Danish products vanished from local supermarkets, only for a few weeks, that too under pressure from certain quarters. Public memory is short, really short.

I guess, yesterday, after the procession, a few might have sneaked in to the nearest KFC outlet to have a zinger burger and a glass of coca cola to wash it down.

High time we learnt to walk the talk.

(Photo: SM)

Omani blogger’s dream comes true…even after his death

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Sleepless in Muscat aka Ali Mehdi, who passed away at an untimely age of 29 in June 2008, will be a happy man up there. His dream of publishing the third poetry book — In the Dimmest of Light – has come true, finally. Hats off to the people who did it for him.

MUSCAT — A new book of poems, In the Dimmest of Light, written by young Omani poet Ali Mehdi, who passed away in June 2008, is now available in all the bookshops here.

The book’s publication fulfils Ali’s wish of having his third book of poetry published by the end of the year. This volume of poetry resonates with love and loss. But in spite of his long-term illness and suffering, it contains hope and above all, honesty. Like his previous two works, it consists of sections, each one an exploration of emotions and ideas every living being can identify with. In this compilation of recent and earlier unpublished work, the poet speaks from his heart expressing the universal language of desire and joy, sadness and heartache.

Ali’s previous publications Rapidly Blue (2002) and Wonderous World (2005) were raw, intimate and passionate. In the Dimmest Light, his poetry has further evolved to move the soul with greater fluency, maturity and insight. (more)

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Find the odd one out

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Nawras launched the Huawei E180 USB internet modem last month with the above picture. Taking no chances, they decided to give ‘manicure’ for the hand that was holding the modem with the help of photoshop. In the process, the shape of fingernails and its artificial look overshadowed the modem itself. I believe for the potential buyers, product matters, not the hand!

Yahoo! Muscat Festival goes global

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If you thought AGCC summit and Gulf Cup soccer have played spoilsport to this year’s edition of Muscat Festival, think again. Muscat Municipality is leaving no stone unturned in it efforts to lure the global community with a ‘Visit Oman’ campaign in the popular internet services provider — Yahoo.com. It is different story that they have no bothered to release ads in the local papers about the festival which will be on from January 19 to February 12. And, yeah, with all the Gulf Cup-related hysteria they may not want to take a chance till the final gets over. Muscat Festival will be the second campaign to feature in Yahoo.com, the first being Oman Air.

For the first time in four years, Athaiba will not be a venue for the festival this year, and I am not sure of the reason for shifting this location to Naseem Park in Barka. Imagine traveling all the way to Barka to catch a glimpse of festival. It doesn’t make sense to drive so far for amusement, shopping and eating sessions. The remaining two locations for this year’s edition of Muscat Festival will be the usual suspects, Qurum Park and Seeb Beach. Last year, Al Sahwa Park was included and this year the venue has been dropped.

Having witnessed the festival for the last four years, boredom has gotten the best of me and I will have to really drag myself to the venues this year. To sum it up in one line, for me, the show is like “old wine in new bottle”. Only saving grace is that a little bit of life can be found at the heritage village in Qurum Park, where Western tourists go ga-ga over the folklore and tradition on display.

Le Roy’s ‘play football’ sounds like ‘fuck you’ for Macala

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“In my life I have a rule – I never say one bad word to anybody,” Oman coach Claude Le Roy he said.

“The Bahrain coach (Macala) says that I said, ‘fuck you’. I never say that in my life.

“Everything I say in the match is registered. I said these two words: ‘play football’. (read full story)

By the way, what could be the French way of saying “fuck you”? Finally, thank god, ROP didn’t book a case against Le Roy for uttering derogatory word in public. I love these off-field action, makes my day. Thank you, Macala and Le Roy. I feel sad not because Bahrain couldn’t make it to the semis, but because Macala isn’t around anymore. Omani journalists (Arabic press) just hate him and it is no secret that a few editorials against Macala in the largest selling Arabic daily in Oman cost him his job after the last GCC Cup in Abu Dhabi a couple of year ago.

Bader Al-Maymani ripped off his top to reveal a t-shirt bearing the words ‘Our hearts with Gaza’ in Arabic in a show of solidarity with Palestinians caught in the ongoing Israel offensive. He then bowed his head to referee Bernard Link as the inevitable booking for removing his shirt came his way.

Cool, Bader got a chance and he displayed his support for the Palestinian cause. What about other 9 players (minus Fawzi Basheer) who were clad in t-shirts carrying a variety of messages and were waiting in wings to show case their graffiti. No goals, no t-shirt display, oops. Hope they will get lucky in semis.

Still on Bader’s t-shirt, I wonder what would happen if his t-shirt got mixed up in the laundry section of Al Bustan Palace Hotel. It is 4pm and the team management is asking Bader to get ready in a jiffy. He pulls over his jersey along with the t-shit in a hurry to catch the team bus. After three hours, he scores a goal, and pompously lifts his jersey to show his Gaza t-shirt. Alas, that isn’t going well with the fans who jeer him. Perturbed, Bader checks his t-shirt…and is shocked to see Pamela Anderson smiling at him!


PS: Moral brigade, please don’t read between lines. I love the Omani soccer team as much as you do.

Red tide to last for two months…avoid eating fish

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According to a report in the Oman Observer:
MUSCAT: A massive Red Tide outbreak that has been plaguing large stretches of Oman’s northern coastal waters is unlikely to disappear for at least another two months, according to an Omani scientist studying the phenomenon. Dr Adnan al Azri, a marine researcher at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), believes that the algal blooms, which first surfaced last November, are likely to thrive until the onset of the southwest monsoon, when a shift occurs in marine conditions that underpin their current growth.

Since the outbreak in November, the blooms have been responsible for incidents of fish mortality and a pervasive foul odour that has all but driven swimmers and strollers from several beachfront hotspots. Many popular beaches, particularly in Muscat have also been temporarily sullied by copious deposits of foam blamed on the blooms and brought ashore by waves. Worse, the phenomenon has menaced many shore-based installations that depend on seawater intake for their operations, it is learnt.

“Although there is no clear scientific evidence that the species is harmful to human health, my advice to people is to avoid eating fish that is either found dead or stressed in Red Tide contaminated waters. It is also best to avoid swimming in such waters, given the possibility of ingesting the algal microorganisms, or even handling the foam that washes up in areas affected by the bloom,” Dr Al Azri said. (more)

Now, I have all the more reasons to believe consuming fish at this point of time is not a good idea. Last week, one of our family member wasn’t unwell for a couple of days due to food poisoning, and I suspect the role of fish we consumed the previous night. We normally eat king fish, pomfret or mackerel, but I want to stay safe for now, and stick to chicken for another two months. I not pressing the panic button, but it helps to take some precautions.