What a nice weekend we had. It was cloudy, even a bit rainy, which was just fantastic. Sure, that might sound a little nuts, but after seventy or eighty days of straight blinding sunshine a cloudy day or two is a fantastic respite. I remember my first summer in California being positively giddy one day when it rained. And that was after I had to walk a mile to work. Yes, I had no car the summer I interned in California. I'm pretty sure that I was the only person in Los Angeles County without a car. But I digress.

Of course I had other reasons to be giddy this weekend. We went on a beer run. As you know, Dubai is a pretty dry town, so we hit up the old Barracuda Beach Resort in Umm Al Quwain for a few cases of beer and bottles of wine. It's pretty much the same as last year, just as magical as ever (see The Barracuda a/k/a Rum Running in the 21 Century).

Now for a quick Dubai news round-up. Yesterday I read that our neighbors in Abu Dhabi are getting a Ferrari theme park. What will one do at a Ferrari theme park - other that sit around and be arrogant? I'm sure it has something to do with vanity. Can you imagine waiting for a ride at a Ferrari theme park? All around you there are cries of, "But I'm too important to wait in line!" Talk about an afternoon of conceitedness. As much as I generally love theme parks, I'm pretty sure I'll never go to this one. I mean, not like I'd get in past the bouncer, anyway.

In other news former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was in Dubai the other day, hoping for some rest after the whole bombing thing in Pakistan last week. Then there was this ... political transition ... in Pakistan and she had to go home. Seems General Pervez Musharraf seized emergency powers and abandoned their Constitution.

Oops.

Waitaminute, isn't he supposed to be the friendly military dictator in the Muslim world?

And, doesn't Pakistan have nuclear weapons?

Oh boy, another nut with a nuke.

Yet a new Zogby Poll says that 52% of Americans would support a US military strike to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

For a little context, here's map of all of these countries in relation to the UAE:

Yay! Monkey in the middle!

Keep in mind that Osama bin Laden is probably somewhere in the mountainous border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well. Not that, you know, anyone's even looking for him these days.

On a lighter note, I read that our friend Tiger Woods is building a home in Dubai on his Al Ruwaya golf course he's designing. But the article says that his house won't be the biggest or fanciest of the property's homes. His 16,500 square foot house will only be half as big as two dozen of the mansions. With only 16,500 square feet how will he fit his gym, theater, library and pool?

The private Al Ruwaya course is scheduled to open in late 2009. Act now, supplies are limited.

Oh, and oddly enough musician / personality Boy George was in Dubai this weekend for a club date. In this rigid and conservative culture it's odd that someone thought to book Boy George. Like, if I had to list musical acts I thought I'd never see in Dubai, I think Boy George would be up there with George Michael, RuPaul, the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, um ... see where I'm going with this? Oh yeah and also Adam Sandler, the Beastie Boys, David Lee Roth, Captian Kirk and Mr. Spock. (Do I have to draw a diagram?)

And lastly, now that the States have gone to Daylight saving time (or is it "ended Daylight saving time"? I always get confused by that.) we're now 9 hours ahead of the East Coast and a full 12 hours ahead of the West Coast.

Thank God the World Series is over, I don't think I could handle first pitches at 3:30 am ...