Blogosphere: April 1, 2008

Gulf News web editor Adam Flinter plunges headlong into the blogosphere to find out what bloggers from the Middle East and beyond have on their minds.

Pick of the week: Star blog
Art Dubai held at Madinat Jumeirah is only in its second year but has almost doubled in size. How very Dubai!
I think it should really be held at the Trade Centre because it has the feel of a trade conference.

There are around 70 galleries taking part from everywhere but the most memorable was the Korean Pyo gallery which had some wacky and surreal paintings of people in urban interiors that said a lot about the psychological effects of rapid change and the modern weirdnesses of interpersonal communication. I just wish I'd taken photos.

Brazil's Bolsa de Arte gallery had a strange collection of subverted Sotheby's magazine covers, carpet aeroplanes and an image that changed as you walked past it. On the art-meets-science front, the big photos of particle accelerators in the Swiss CERN laboratory by Simon Norfolk were pretty amazing.
http://naturestrikesback.blogspot.com/

Too much of a good thing?
Bernie Ecclestone, boss of Formula 1, must love coming to the Middle East. With Bahrain hosting race three of this year's season and Abu Dhabi lined up for next year, everywhere he goes he must be met with smiles and positive energy.

As he's pressuring Australia and the UK to improve the staging of their F1 races, it must be nice for him to play off the enthusiastic management of new circuits against old customers.

The problem for the Gulf is that it will soon be past its freshest. Dubai's track is already up to F1 standards and Qatar has revealed it is upgrading its Losail International Circuit.

That will make four F1 tracks within half an hour's flying time, all of which are 30 minutes drive from an international airport serviced by a buoyant international airline. You would expect canny Ecclestone to then play one off against the other.
If you've yet to visit the impressive facility in Bahrain, best to get there before F1 leaves town.
http://19thfloordubai.blogspot.com/

Post race
I think the highlight of the night was not that America's top-rated horse won, but the fact that the football results were announced towards the end of the night. I heard "Scunthorpe". Quite a different review to my last post-race post.

It was a really fun night and I would recommend it for next year. Upon official approval, camping outside the night before might be a good alternative: after all, it's the desert.
http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/

Dubai in the dark
The lights went off in Dubai on March 29, 2008. It was only 60 minutes in the dark but this was a big move for a city that wants to be seen as the brightest and glitziest on the planet.

The iconic Burj Al Arab — the only seven-star hotel in the world, with its sail-like architecture — was leading the way in the worldwide Earth Hour blackout. Many other Dubai businesses, shopping malls and municipalities were flicking the switch or dimming the lights.

Interestingly, the Dubai Racing Club was smack bang in the middle of its biggest carnival of the year and the organisers were not prepared to have their 55,000 race goers and their millions of television viewers watching the "richest horse race in the world" in darkness.
http://experiencingtheemirates.
blogspot.com/

I'm on the phone
It'll be interesting to see how the new Emirates' phones-on-flights service works out.

Personally I quite like the fact that you can legitimately be out of contact, but progress marches on.

I'm always amazed at how many people's phones ring when they're switched on after a plane's landed. I often get a beep, telling me a text message has arrived, but lots of other passengers immediately get a call coming through.

Has the caller been redialling frantically for the last few hours, whilst the recipient's been flying around Iraq, down the side of Iran and down to Dubai? I expect these guys are the ones whose phones will be ringing constantly in the air now. I will have to revamp my range of stern looks.
http://blogs.sun.com/christophersaul
/category/Dubai

Arab League with teeth?
Yesterday, the Saudi Foreign Minister came up with an interesting idea: Arab league members who ignore the League's decisions should be punished.

Of course, the Saudi diplomat in chief was not trying to propose revolutionary reforms that would create a stronger, more respectable Arab league. He was just upset with Syria and wanted to find a way to punish it for not allowing Lebanon to elect a President. But don't worry, expect the idea to die soon.

Still, Prince Saud Al Faisal was up to something.

Regulations, and more importantly their enforcement, are the cornerstone of any self-respecting polity that wishes to establish authority and consequently, influence. Imagine an Arab league that can come up with chapter-7 decisions where the erring member can risk a full Arab economic boycott. How awesome would that be?
http://beirutspring.com

Back in Dubai
Yes people, I am in Dubai once again. Surprisingly the weather is amazing! I just returned from having dinner at The Meat Co. at Souk Madinat Jumeirah and the outdoor seating was extremely pleasant.

This time I'm driving myself around, which is kind of hysterical since I do seem to know the directions in which I should be heading and sort of have the roads covered. But I keep missing the damn exits!

I used to hate coming to Dubai but I sort of don't mind it anymore. I still don't see myself living here. But at least I've been enjoying it when I do come here for a few days.

This time I am staying until Thursday and have a full and busy schedule.

Oh… and for those of you who are thinking it, the chances of me missing the flight is extremely slim since my flight back is an afternoon flight. So there is no chance of oversleeping or getting stuck in traffic.
http://www.rampurple.com