London has turned out to be a fine city to host a modern Olympics. Lots of diversions, plenty of local expertise to make it all happen, good facilities, nice people, easy to reach … London is not new at this, though, having hosted twice before, including in 1948. But that was long ago, before the […]

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Athletes need to give some thought to how they celebrate. Things are getting out of control.Winners are losing all sense of decorum, all sense of style and proportionality. So, a list of things I will not do when I win a big event:

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The National opened for business in April of 2008, and the newspaper had a website from the start. Of course. But in the past year or so, efforts to get readers to the site have intensified, and more people are involved on the web side of things, and page views have gone up dramatically. So, […]

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So, the Los Angeles Kings. They barely qualify for the playoffs, with the No. 8 seed in the West, and then they streak though three rounds, and win the first three from the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals … And then lose two chances to clinch a championship … I think a […]

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So, you, a Westerner, have just landed at the airport to take your job in Abu Dhabi. What would be the first 10 things that would make an impression on you? Yes, this is today’s list. 10. For a dry country, they sure do have a great variety of alcohol on sale at the duty […]

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Just sitting here thinking of where I would go/visit … if time and money were no obstacle. Places I haven’t yet been. A fantasy list, I suppose it what it is, because it won’t happen, except in my imagination. You know the drill: top 10, with my most-like-to-see place at No. 1 10. Lisbon. Remember […]

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The Titanic struck an iceberg 100 years ago tonight, and sunk in the early hours of tomorrow, April 15. This has fascinated me since I was a child and reading those little 16-volume encyclopedia sets that U.S. supermarkets sold for $1 per volume, if you bought enough groceries. And unlike many of my historical fascinations, […]

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Time for a list. And why not some random facts from our home in the Gulf. 1. The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi claims that 5 kg of pure edible gold is used at the hotel per year, mostly on desserts. Five kilograms is 10.1 pounds. At this writing, gold costs $1,648 per ounce. […]

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The concept of “home” is getting a little hazy, considering I’ve been in the United States for only three weeks over the past 28 months … But you know what I mean. We haven’t done a list for a while, and we can do one on food and drink I consume here in the UAE […]

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Seems like time for a list. I’m pretty sure I’ve noted on this blog that I am among a rapidly shrinking fraction of Americans who have seen every Super Bowl. Either in person or on television. Do the math. The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967. Even if we cast a wide […]

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