Posted on May 17, 2013
From the Dubai World Cup horse racing night at Meydan Stadium, Dubai, end March 2013.
Category: Dubai, Irish man in the Middle East, Meydan, Middle East Life, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape Tagged: Dubai, Escape, Meydan race course
Posted on April 18, 2013
Warm greetings to you all lads
Weather improving at home, and getting hotter out here by the day. Late 30s most days at hottest time (bit of weather talk from MB).
In future lads MB will try to introduce some single subject blog posts. MB is attempting to get his blog to appear on a section of the website where good stuff gets posted by the blog site owner gurus for all bloggers to see (it’s called ‘Freshly Pressed’), but its impossible to get onto this with a blog like the HX, as it has too many topics and is just too general. Even though it’s still awesome. As you all keep telling MB lads. Thanks.
So it’s MB’s intention to make one of the blogs just like it is at the moment, and put a single mega sexy topic (if MB can think of something decent) onto another separate post, that just might catch the eye of the mandarins. Maybe every second week lads. MB still mulling it all over in his brain.
Only in this way lads can MB get up to tens of thousands of followers and sit back watching the advertising revenues pour in. MB can then spend one day each week writing, 2 days (if MB really wants to work hard that week) taking photos (in Africa or China) and take 4 days rest, as the good Lord no doubt intended for MB. Inshallah.
So lads, you will all agree that sounds like a plan. We do not know how it will pan out and we just never know what’s around the corner. Best of luck MB. Thanks lads. MB will not forget you all when he is stinking rich. Ya right!
This week’s pics
Still using MB’s pics from Dubai World Cup race night lads. Last 2 weeks MB gave you flavour of the people. This week MB gives you flavour of the occasion & the venue. Featured people hanging from the sky. Aerial display plane doing tricks in the dark of night. Fireworks. The fantastic Meydan stadium. Truly incredible occasion. Get there sometime if you can lads. Big recommend from MB.
Similar to the previous occasion MB attended 3 years ago, it was a real ‘spectacular’, giving great PR to brand ‘Dubai’. MB’s skill with the camera is on full view for all to see. You are really awesome MB. Don’t mention lads.
Wordpress.com
MB wants you all to be aware lads that you are part of the wordpress.com community. This is the website that hosts the HX blog and allows MB to compose the brilliance week after brilliant week. Approx 370M people around the world are reading blogs each month hosted by wordpress.com. We (you) were in the news this week when the site came under a hacker attack which attempted to plant malware on all (your) computers.
Munching
Ok lads. You will all remember the brilliantly witty & amusing piece MB did last week on the Munch painting The Scream. Well lads, be pure coincidence, the website also featured another blog on the artist Munch last week that MB discovered mere minutes after he posted his own.
MB decided he would say hello to a fellow blogger, ‘chew the Munch fat’ so to speak, and left comment in the comment box, complete with link to MB’s blog which MB thought might be of interest to all Munchers.
But just to prove how nerdy the art nerds really are lads, the blogger comes back all high ‘n mighty ‘n all, and tries his pathetic best to insult MB in front of the whole art blogger community. MB’s initial thought was just to tell Art Nerd to f**k off, but decided to take pity on the nerd, and merely explained that MB’s piece was ‘tongue in cheek’. Art Nerd did not have the good grace to reply lads so presumably he did not understand the phrase ‘tongue in cheek’. MB suspects he is American.
Art Nerd also informed MB that he too had written humorous piece on The Scream. What a joke lads. MB made the mistake of finding and reading the ‘humorous piece’ and discovered that there is more humor at a Saudi beheading.
Well, having looked at your blog I’m pretty sure you can’t have seen much of Munch’s work to draw your conclusion, but respect your right to express your opinion.
I have also written a more light-hearted assessment of The Scream entitled ‘The Scream – doesn’t it make you want to scream’ after one version sold for $120 million at Sotheby’s, New York in May last year. (Yes Mr Art Nerd, I mentioned that in my blog which you said you read!)
http://bryanhemming.wordpress.com/the-scream/
You might want to look at that.
So lads, whats the moral of the story? MB does not really have a clue. And is still trying to think of one.
The End lads!
Syria
God rest the victims in Boston and bring some comfort to the families. Three dead and 150 approx injured. Loads of news time. And an inhuman Godless crime.
70,000+ Killed in Syria in 2 years, maybe a million homeless. Disappearing from the news. A few pieces from MB. Irish charity ‘Goal’ is on the ground doing its best.
The whole story got lots of coverage in the Arabic newspapers in Saudi, but MB could not get the full story on any English site. The chucking out of the Religious Police guy is posted on YouTube but MB has not seen.
Only in Saudi Arabia!
Tasty chicken available at the fast food outlet
Dubai Police Cars
The Dubai police will not be outraced by boy racers. No Siree. No way. In recent weeks lads we have acquired a:
Dubai Property
We are starting to see the early stages of a recovery in the property market. 400 queued for the latest bargains:
Coffee/Qawah
Was given to you all by the Arabs lads. From the bbc:
Willie Nelson’s brother was also in attendance
Reluctant Emigrant – Earthquake
There were 2 large earthquakes in Iran in recent days lads and DH is blogging about her experience of ‘the earth moving’ in her Abu Dhabi home. She was probably wondering what next, on a normal day. Little did she realise that just around the corner was – earthquake!http://thereluctantemigrant.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/earthquake/
The End!
Ok lads. Gotta go solve world hunger and other stuff. Have a good weekend y’all. Take it easy.
MB (taking a quick look around the corner!)
Category: camera, Dubai, English arabic words, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, plane, reluctant Immigrant, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tasty chicken Tagged: camera, Dubai, English arabic words, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, Plane, reluctant Immigrant, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tasty chicken
Posted on April 11, 2013
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island. Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland. Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
But one comment caught MBs attention (which he put in his brain to tell you later), when a guy mentioned people who post their ‘issues’ and personal problems up for all to see. His comment was: Face your problems – don’t Facebook them! Pretty clever words (for an American) thought MB to himself!
Why Edvard Munch is not as great an artist as MB
In 1895 the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch painted what would become the most valuable paintings in the world, called ‘The Scream’. http://www.sothebys.com/en/sales-series/2012/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale/overview.html He actually painted 4 versions of the painting over a number of years.
This is Munch’s explanation of how he came up with the idea:
I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.
If you believe the above lads, you have the IQ of the mug that contains the tea or coffee you are presently drinking. Munch is talking complete BS!
MB has a different theory. Herewith:
The diarrhea preventing drug Immodium had not been invented in the year 1895. The guy in the picture seems to be in a state of extreme discomfort. I think we can safely add 2+2 and come up with 4 lads. Munch painted a picture of some friend in a state of diarrhea induced stress. I think we will all agree that this is far more plausable explanation than the BS “infinite scream passing through nature” explanation. Thank you & Sukran lads.
We actually featured pic of RM few weeks back standing in front of a giant mining truck. And I am lead to believe ladies that this 20 something hunk of Irish manhood is still single and available. And if he can write like this ladies you can just imagine the sweet nothings he might whisper in your ear as he took you to Glynn’s Fish & Chip Shop in Bruff village for the 1st date. Emails of interest please to MB ladies, and MB will pass them on.
This is a project I was asked to go on by the company I currently work for. It appealed to me because this was not your typical mine site job. The job involved providing medical care to a group of environmental scientists who are monitoring a breeding program for flat back turtles offshore on an island approx 30k off the mainland…………
The job itself ran over 10 days and was all night-work. This involved getting on a catamaran style boat and traveling 30km to the island. We would anchor off the island waiting on tidal changes to allow us assess to the island via a small dingy with an outboard motor. While at anchor we would eat our dinner looking out at some of the best sunsets and surrounding I have ever seen, and the odd lighting show far off in the distance out at sea……….
I was unsuccessful in finding any hatchlings until the second last night, when I was digging out a nest, and there about 2 feet down – a little hatchling. It was amazing to see this process. When they come out of the shell they have a food source like the yoke of an egg attached to their tummy. They eat this and get the energy to dig their way out of a nest that is 3 feet down in the sand, make there way down to the beach and swim for the next 24 hours for survival. Truly amazing stuff when you see how small there are………
Category: Dubai, Dubai style, Edvard Munch, English arabic words, Flat back turtle, France, gay, homosexual, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, Munch, Photography, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia marriage, Syria, The Scream, uae Tagged: Dubai, Dubai style, Edvard Munch, English arabic words, Flat back turtle, France, gay, homosexual, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, Munch, Photography, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia marriage, Syria, The Scream, uae
Posted on April 4, 2013
Greetings lads
Hope all well with kith & kin. MB arrived back in Saudi on Wednesday after 10 days in Dubai.
Apologies for all the spelling mistakes & typos in last week’s effort lads. Made the corrections in due course but alas after I published. Also had thought might mention a few small things to you this week that might make the blog reading experience more enjoyable. So please note:
This week’s pics are entirely from MBs visit to the Meydan race track in Dubai last Saturday night. Mentioned to you last week was intending to go there, and al hamdallah was able to attend. Took many pics, but this week I give you pics of some of the style on view. Some very tasty, some not. But all very interesting. Hope you enjoy.
Music – Conor Linnie
The idea with the music every week lads is that you click on the link, let the music play, and continue reading the blog. Got it?!
Ok lads – this week’s music suggestion comes from RQ, who has recommended her guitarist friend called Conor Linnie. Looked him up – he comes from Wicklow in SE Ireland. Happy to oblige RQ. Hope you all like lads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BVNo8EKV4
A camera or a wife?
Met an Arab work colleague in recent days lads and remembered that a few months back he informed MB that he was about to buy decent camera. MB offered words of encouragement at the time and wished him well. On inquiring if he had made the purchase when our paths again crossed, he shocked MB with his answer.
“No MB, I did not buy the camera. Instead I am looking for a wife“.
MB was speechless. Dumbfounded. Stuck to the ground, and momentarily dizzy before regaining his composure. “A wife instead of a camera. Are you serious?“ replied MB, calling the teaboy at same time to fetch some camomile to help the brain relax from the shock. “Yes MB, I am serious.” Some moments of quiet reflection between us followed.
“And are you looking for any nationality in particular?“ asked MB as the camomile kicked in, and the brain suddenly returned to ‘razor sharp’ mode. “Local perhaps?” enquired MB. “I would love to take a local lady MB” he answered, “but for financial reasons I will now go for Phillipino or other“. “Masha’allah” (Praise the Lord) said MB, not exactly knowing what else to say, but added quickly “can you explain further?“.
“Yes indeed MB. To take a local will involve immediate expenditure of 30,000 Dirhams (Euro 6,000) to her family – just to take permission from them for the marriage. Then I must immediately buy her jewelry to value of minimum 10,000 (Euro 2,000) as is the local custom. And that’s before any marriage costs, good accommodation for her to move into, clothes, and many other things. I cannot afford. So that is my reason MB“.
“Well my friend, life is never simple“ said MB, “and you must do what you must do. But can I suggest that you review your original decision to chose the wife before the camera. For fraction of the cost of a local woman you could acquire top of the range Canon. Might I suggest the ‘5D Mark 3’ model, as it has many advantages:
The young Arab lad sat back in his chair and looked to the sky in deep thought. No more words were exchanged between us as he pondered the life advice he had just received. MB stole quietly from the room, and wondered what the coming weeks and months might bring for his young friend. A camera or a wife? Just another of the forks in the road we meet on life’s journey.
Time for another camomile!
Dubai Style (forget Gangnam!)
As I already informed you lads, went to the horse racing at Meydan last Saturday night. Some very fine fillies on view, in addition to the horses. Haha lads!
Will give you some different pics next week, also from same night but with different theme. In the meantime take a look at the Dubai ladies. My personal favourite must admit is the Indian lady in the blue Sari, Nr 65 towards the end. And to make Irish ladies really sick, please note ladies that all the pics were taken between 7pm & 10pm on a beautiful warm Dubai night. No wind, no rain, no sleet nor snow!
Pleased to receive any feedback from female Crossers – what do you like or not like. Have given them numbers for easy reference. To all male Crossers – please keep comments and thoughts to yourselves! Enjoy:
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The End!
Ok lads. Thats it for another week. Enjoy weekend. Regards to all.
MB
Category: camera, Conor Linnie, Dubai, Dubai style, Fashion, Fillies, hats, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, ladies fashion, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, Music, Photography, uae Tagged: camera, Conor Linnie, Dubai, Dubai style, Fashion, Fillies, hats, Humour, HX, Ireland, Irish man in the Middle East, ladies fashion, Meydan, Meydan race course, Middle East Life, Music, Photography, uae
It's a mad HX world!
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