Yesterday, I had to drive on a man-made Island, The Palm Jumeirah. Yup, it’s shaped like a palm tree. Dubai residents call it speed bump island, cause it seems that there’s a speed bump for every 500 meters. The lavish, Atlantis Hotel is located a the top of the unbranched stem. Three years ago I never thought this fake island would come to fruition…but, lo and be hold it did. And it was pretty cool to drive along it. But I still don’t get why one would want to live there? I wouldn’t feel safe, like if it collapse. I wonder what kind of home insurance owners would have to get. According to Wikipedia.org the total cost reached US $12.3 billion. And it took about 40,000 workers, mostly from South Asia, to construct this island.
03
Nov
09
Booze and Dubai
My non-Muslim friend gave me a great gift idea for the people I’d be staying with in Dubai…get them booze. In Dubai, there are no liquor stores. So, for those who want to enjoy a glass of scotch at home will have to drive two hours outside the emirates. Tho, to accommodate foreign visitors, alcohol is served at hotels. So, here I am trying to figure out whether I should buy a couple bottles of vodka at the Duty Free in Frankfurt or Dubai. I decided to ask questions first at Frankfurt’s duty free… one of my questions was how many bottles can I bring? The sales rep got the book and read the allotment…and then asked are you a Muslim? Yes, I am. He replied then you are not allowed to buy alcohol. I felt he was judging me as if I was a rebel and should’ve known that Muslims are not allowed to have alcohol. Oops. But then I entered Dubai’s Duty Free and I was allowed four liters of alcohol. 
01
Nov
09
Be careful on what you tweet.
Twitter drama…is in the mist of BC politics, municipal vs. provincial. A Vancouver city councilor has apologized to BC Housing Minister Rich Coleman for venting her anger on Twitter. Coun. Andrea Reimer disagreed with Coleman’s policy contained in a bill called the Assistance to Shelter Act he introduced in the legislature this past Thursday. The bill gives police the power t force the homeless into shelter during extremely cold weather.
Reimer turned to Twitter to express her rage and wrote “Thinking about introducing a motion requiring police to pick up Minister Coleman next time he’s in Vancouver and drop him off at Jenny Craig.” Cruel. Reimer should’ve known better…seriously, it’s not Grade 4. The tweet quickly went viral and prompted Reimer to apologize. Lesson here is that you should NEVER tweet when you’re angry…it just makes you look stupid.
01
Nov
09
2010 Cultural Olympiad will ROCK
Yes, the people of British Columbia will have to foot a massive bill when the Olympics are over. But, they are coming, so let’s just enjoy it. I’m not a sports lover (tho I’m hoping to get tickets to the halfpipe). But, I’ll definitely be checking out most of the live performances at the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. Earlier this week they announced Indie pop singer-songwriter Feist to join the diverse group of artist. Other artists announced include: Malajube (Montreal Francophone indie-rockers); Dallas Green’s fold project City and Colour; Hey Rosetta! (from St. John’s, N.L); DJ Kid Koala (Montreal hip-hop DJ).
Previously announced include: Broken Social Scene (Toronto rock collective), K’Naan (Toronto hip hop artist); and Steve Earle (American singer-songwriter).
More than 130 music, theatre, visual arts, dance and digital programming projects have been announced for the Cultural Olympiad. A series of festival runs from Jan 22nd to March 21st.
Vancouver is getting ready for the world. The Olympic spirit is starting on Georgia St…as The Bay Downtown (on Georgia & Granville) officially unveiled its new Olympic look with a series of five-metre-by-16-metre banners decorating the building’s exterior. Hotel Georgia building (Georgia and Howe) also joined in the Olympic fun by draping a Canadian flag over its exterior. The Olympic scenery will take on a new level come Jan 4th when Vancouver begins to install more than 6000 street banners along busy areas like the three False Creek Bridges, Granville and Cambie from southwest Marine Drive to downtown. Let the Games begin.
Now, for public relations bonus…readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine have selected Vancouver as the best city to visit in all of the Americas. Making them just ahead of Buenos Aires, while Quebec City was third and Victoria forth.
In February, the City of Vancouver in support of the Federal Government will be hosting LiveCity Vancouver, two massive outdoor party zones (LiveCity Yaletown and LiveCity Downtown). Entertainment line up will include big-name Canadian artists like Sam Roberts, Blue Rodeo, Johnny Reid, and Jully Black. Music is free. And nightly fireworks will all be part of the Olympic celebrations. All of this is for LiveCity Yaletown at David Lam Park. LiveCity Downtown at Georgia and Cambie will be the place to catch Olympic coverage and buy food and drinks. Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robertson, says the daily celebrations will allow locals to connect with visitors from around the world. It’s going to be good times.
Jennifer Stoddart, spokesperson of Canada’s Privacy Commission wants Facebook users to know their personal information could remain online, even after death.
Facebook offers a memorializing service which means no further status updates can be made, contact information is hidden, and only confirmed friends can access the profile. However, Facebook will take down an account only if it’s requested by a deceased user’s family or friends.
In August, Stoddart’s office released a report expressing concerns about how the social networking site deals with the personal information of users, including those who die. Stoddart says Facebook has yet to address some of her concerns about what happens to profiles of users who die.
Facebook has more than 300 million active users worldwide, including about 12 million in Canada.
By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer Eddie Pells, Ap National Writer – Mon Oct 26, 9:47 am ET
Making the U.S. Winter Olympic team is no clear-cut deal. Most athletes earn their spots not at Olympic trials, but based on their performances during World Cup events in the months leading up to the Games.
NBC and its Olympic cable partner, Universal Sports, will bring an unprecedented amount of that action to American viewers — and try to explain what it all means — over the 100 days leading to the Vancouver Games.
NBC and Universal will mark the 100-day milestone on Nov. 4 by saturating programming with Olympic guests, commercials and a one-minute promotional spot for the Olympics across all NBC Universal networks at the start of prime time. Read more.
27
Oct
09
Abu Dhabi Media Co. backs Vevo
The Abu Dhabi Media Co. has made a strategic investment in Vevo, the soon-to-launch online musicvideo and entertainment service powered by YouTube.
The investment, the amount of which was not disclosed, but is roughly estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars, sees ADMC join Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment as a founding shareholder in Vevo, which is scheduled to bow in December.
Plans are to turn the website into a service akin to Hulu for the music arena, a destination that can lure the millions of fans who currently get their musicvids from sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Yahoo. Read more.
You say, what does that mean? I don’t really know, but it sounds ideal.
Mireille Guiliano, the author of the international bestseller French Women Don’t Get Fat is out with a new book. This time, she’s teaching American women on secrets of balancing work life with life-life in Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire.
Apparently, French women don’t check work email on Saturday. More on Guiliano in this Globe & Mail article
