New Year's on the Beach at RT

New Year's Eve at friend Jefferson's house near the beach at Ras Tanura, a nuclear family Nu Year's Eve it was, watching movies (the guys watched the first umpteen episodes of Battlestar Galactica while Barb watched that and at the same time watched Downton Abbey on the computer screen), playing card games, and at 12midnight, walking out to the beach. It was surprisingly empty, little noise, only a very few houses had party lights on. The weather was in the 60s, gorgeous but breezy.

Then on New Year's Day (no photo evidence of it?) Chris and I went swimming. The water was probably 75 degrees, chilly but not too cold. o.k., yes, I wore my Christmas present: a shorty wetsuit. It certainly made the chilly water more comfortable.
Happy New Year 2013!

Comments

Fleeing Trump, Americans go to Portugal

Fleeing Trump, Americans go into exile in Portugal. “I'm afraid to go back” Not only minorities feel threatened by the Trump administration. Three couples, a mother and an academic tell us why they chose to live in Portugal. Some say: the American dream is over. The above is today's headline article in our favorite trusted newspaper in Portugal, O Publico . It's a centrist newspaper, owned by a big supermarket corporation. Let's combine this with the recent news that Portugal's Air Force is now shifting away from its planned purchase of F-35 jets. Even though Trump has not even mentioned Portugal in his various diatribes against former allies, Portugal and the rest of Europe are reeling from the attacks. We hope it has the ironic effect of freeing Europe from American dominance and improving the chances for centrist leadership (against Trump-like parties that have been gaining prominence). The original text follows: Em fuga de Tru...

EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico . There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver. Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government. As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time. I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government? And what will it take to recover from the damage? Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever? Only ni...

Seoul Lantern Festival 2014

The Seoul government spends a lot on cultural and tourist events, to the great joy of locals and foreigners alike -- and to the businesses that sell to them. The Lantern Festival has grown into an art display: no longer small lanterns floating on a stream, but rather large hollow paper sculptures lit from within by electric lights, fixed to the streambed. Thousands of people flock to the ChangyeCheon stream (a waterway analogous to the San Antonio Riverwalk in that it was renovated into a public walkway) to see the dozens of sculptures on a cold November night.

Thomas journals

Search This Blog