So our neighbor went on vacation two days ago, and told us that we could have at her Gulf News newspaper she gets delivered every day.

Today the paper was wrapped in an ad for the Trump International Hotel & Tower Dubai.

Inside was a DVD, this wannabe James Bondian adventure starring, of course, the building. (Luckily Trump himself is nowhere to be found).

I uploaded the video to YouTube so you can check it out:



Apparently it was made by some company called 7th Art.

I have a fun photo to share today. It's from Aquaventure - the water park they're building at the Atlantis hotel out on the Palm Jumeirah.

When the park opens in September they'll have one slide called 'the Ziggurat' that features a 90 foot near-vertical drop which ends in a clear acrylic tunnel ... in a shark lagoon.

Apparently they have the same thing at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, which is where this photo comes from:



Huh.

Aw junk, last night Spain beat Germany in the Euro 2008 Final.

Better luck next year. Or in four years. Or however-often they play.

Seymour Hersh has a scary article in the New Yorker about just what George W. Bush is doing in Iran.

No, not Iraq - Iran.

Yikes.

I just put a few new photos up at my Flickr page, including this one, which might just be my most favorite photo I've taken in Dubai yet.

Last weekend we went to our local watering hole that's all dried up, so I thought I'd give an update.

Yes, amazingly Dubai's Hard Rock Cafe is still open, two full months after reports it was closing (see Hard Rock Cafe Dubai - R.I.P.).

Rumor has it that it's written into every Hard Rock contract that a Hard Rock Cafe can't close unless another Hard Rock Cafe is opening the next day ... in the same city.

That, my friends, is playing hardball.

Of course, the authorities here can also play tough, too. The Hard Rock has no liquor license, and is fresh out of booze. I went about a month and a half ago and they were down to two mixed drinks, guess all they had left was whatever ingredients.

But now they even have this up on their official website:

>Dear Valued Guests,
>
>Please be informed that effective June 1st,
>2008 there will be No Alcoholic Beverages
>served at Hard Rock Cafe Dubai, until further
>notice.
>
>We apologize for any inconvenience this may
>cause.

Judging by the restaurant at about 7:30 pm on Friday night, the only inconvenience this will cause will be the Hard Rock staff having to find new jobs.

The customers didn't quite outnumber the waiters and waitresses, but it was dang close.

Of course, in November we had reports of a Hard Rock Hotel coming to Dubai (see Hard Rock Hotel Dubai). But the official site says it won't be open until 2011.

Can Dubai's Hard Rock Cafe last three years without alcohol?

I, for one, am kind of glad that I won't be around to see what happens ...

So everything is fine now, Liz's visa is okay, and she'll be in the country until August 23.

Me? I'm only here another two weeks, until July 10.

Those of us who grew up in the 1980s didn't have cowboys. The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Davy Crockett were all kind of goofy, and just why was Gene Autry always singing?

Instead we had the urban cowboys - wisecracking rebels like John McClane, Axel Foley, Michael Knight and the A-Team.

Man, I love the A-Team.

If you didn't grow up on it, you probably don't get it. And I can't even explain "it". They had guns but never killed anyone, had interactions with sexy (at least, in a 1980s way) women that were only platonic, and plans that never really came together.

Man, I love it when a plan comes together.

But every week they saved the day, and the next week it was more of the same. In fact, when I moved to Los Angeles after college I felt like I'd already been there, what with the majority of The A-Team and Knight Rider episodes shot around the San Fernando Valley. Driving around it felt like my TV childhood, albeit with fewer car stunts.

Anyway, I've heard rumblings about director John Singleton wanting to remake the show as a feature film for awhile now. That makes sense, what with the slew of Knight Riders, G.I. Joes, Dukes of Hazzards, Transformerses and all. But this article today says they're going to shoot part of the flick in Dubai:

Hollywood film to be shot in Dubai

Weird.

I'm not quite sure why this is news again suddenly, but it is. In the last day a few of you have written to me asking about the rotating tower that's planned for Dubai. And apparently Moscow. And New York.

You've probably seen renderings of it online at CNN, USA Today or Yahoo! News - it's an 80-story tower with individually revolving floors.

I first heard about it in April of 2007, and actually posted about it last October (see Dubai's Rotating Tower).

Yes folks, I'm a full eight months ahead of the news on this one.

Come back tomorrow to learn who wins the Euro 2008, the 2008 World Series, the U.S. Presidential election, Super Bowl XLIII ...

So I've been following the whole Euro 2008 just like the rest of the expats in Dubai (see My Night as a Soccer Hooligan).

Last night Germany played Turkey in the semi-finals, but with Liz's visa situation and my final final exam, I wasn't really in the mood to be a rowdy soccer fan.

Luckily I'll still have a chance (providing my German friend is still in town) as Germany won, 3-2. They're going to the finals!

Yup, on June 29th Germany will play either Russia or Spain in the final match!

Deutschland! Deutschland!

So in all of the visa craziness (yes, it's still going on) and in studying for my last two final exams of the entire MBA program I totally missed that yesterday was UFO Day!

61 years ago yesterday Kenneth Arnold saw nine objects flying around Mount Rainier in the world's first recorded UFO sighting.

Two weeks later was July 7, 1947. We all know what happened then.

But my favorite UFO sighting was twenty years later, though - October 4, 1967, Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia. It's a pretty amazing story.

Liz and I actually drove by Shag Harbour back in the summer of 2005, too. For real. It was our first trip together. We took the high speed ferry from Maine to Nova Scotia for a long weekend. But in all of the preparation and planning I never thought to check wikipedia about crazy stuff in Nova Scotia that AAA doesn't put in their guidebooks.

Luckily they have a sign. Seriously. On the drive from Lunenburg to Yarmouth we saw a polite little sign on the side of the road. It's blue with an arrow pointing to the bay and the words "Site of 1967 U.F.O. Incident". That's it. Here's a photo of the sign on Flickr.

I so wish I took a picture myself, but it was rainy and we were worried we were going to be late for the ferry home. But it was awesome.

Also, interestingly enough, on that very same trip we were only a few miles (well, I guess kilometers, it is Canada, after all) from Oak Island - the location of the Money Pit.

Nova Scotia is a cool place.

Agitated with the visa stuff, I've spent the afternoon online looking for jobs for when I get home.

I don't think I mentioned it here, but last week I mailed (physical mailed, not the 'e' variety that's so popular with the kids today) fourteen resumes to fourteen companies in the Portland, Maine area.

So today I go to email my resume for a new cool job I just found, and that's when I notice the typo.

I transposed the 2 and the 3 in our Maine-based, pay-as-you-go cell phone number.

ARGH.

argh.

Sorry, not in the mood to post today. We've just had a day-and-a-half of insanity about Liz's visa and how and when she's leaving the country. I don't even have the energy to tell you about it right now, it's just that demoralizing.

At some point, when the dust settles and everything is buttoned up and squared away, I'll tell you the whole story. Which you won't even believe. It's that insane.

But for now, nothing.

I just can't wait to go home.

So remember that story which was the talk of the town the other day? (See Hmm ...).

Well today it looks like we have an answer to that ...

Germany's going to the semi-finals!

Yes, in Euro 2008 soccer news, Germany beat Portugal last night, three to two.

See, last week I tagged along with a German buddy to watch his country play their first game (see My Night as a Soccer Hooligan). Now I'm kind of into this whole soccer thing.

Deutschland! Deutschland!

Apparently Portugal was the favorite to win the game, mainly because they have the world’s top player in Cristiano Ronaldo.

I actually just copied that sentence from somewhere else, I have no idea who Cristiano Ronaldo even is. In fact, I thought I knew him from an episode of the Simpsons from last year but it turns out that episode's guest star was Brazilian football star Ronaldo.

And wikipedia says that "Cristiano Ronaldo" and "Ronaldo" are not the same person.

Huh.

How uncouth of me.

Would that be like if a European person confused Brandon Moss with Randy Moss?

Clay Buchholz and Cla Meredith?

Chan Ho Park and Fenway Park?

Anyway, here's a good chart of how the quarter-finals and semi-finals of Euro 2008 work, in case you want to follow along at home.

Germany will play either Croatia or Turkey next Wednesday.

Be there, or be quadrat.

The other night Liz and I took a break from our busy schedules to watch a movie - Doug Liman's Jumper.

You probably didn't see it. It's got Hayden Christensen (the young Darth Vader), the chick from The OC, and Sam Jackson.

The plot is quite simple, Darth Vader can teleport anywhere in the world, and Sam Jackson is a normal human trying to kill him.

Part of the reason that we wanted to see it, though, was they really filmed at the pyramids and Sphinx and we were just there.

Overall it's not a great film, although it has some good special effects and some neat location shots (such as Egypt, New York, Toyko, Rome).

Anyway, at one point towards the end of the movie DV (Darth Vader) is being chased by another teleporter. The two have this rigorous chase where they teleport all over the world. One minute they're in San Francisco and then bampf they're running through this desert ... with construction in the background ... then there's the Burj Al Arab ... hey - they're in Dubai!

On closer viewing the background construction is the Jumeirah Beach Residence complex at the Dubai Marina. You might remember it from my cool camel photo.

I'm pretty sure they didn't really shoot in Dubai, though. I bet they combined some background plate shots of Dubai with some special effects.

Why do I think this? Well, for one judging from the state of the JBR construction the footage was shot at least two years ago, I'd say in 2005. Second, the actors look pretty computer-generated when they're running. And lastly the Burj Al Arab is five miles away from where it really is.

Here are some still images from the movie:









The Burj would be five miles BEHIND the camera in the last shot.

Still, it's cool. Not quite James Bond, though ...

Weather.com says that at 7:30 this morning it was 84 degrees, with 74% humidity, so it felt like 92 degrees.

At 7:30 in the morning.

Watch out. It's a scorcher!

Last week I talked about the meteorological condition that we call "widespread dust" (see "Widespread Dust").

It cleared up for a few days, and now it's back, so I had to take photos.

These were all from about 15 minutes ago, when Weather.com said it's 95 degrees but feels like 102 degrees, with a humidity of 44%.

Holy cow - the Boston Celtics are the NBA Champions!! Who would have thought this a year ago?

Not me, for one. But then, I'd be a crummy sports-writer. And I just came up with two reasons why.

The first is my memory - I can't remember squat.

Who won the World Series in 2003?

Had to look it up. The Marlins. Guess I could have remembered that because Josh Beckett was their ace.

But I didn't.

Who won the Super Bowl in 2003?

Tampa Bay. Oh yeah. Thanks Wikipedia!

I have friends who can tell you every Red Sox stat from last year. Or my buddies in LA - between the two brothers they could probably list the majority of Dodgers to play in the last twenty years. Seriously.

Not me.

The other reason I'd be a bad sports-writer is that I like to pick a position and stick with it. It seems to me that most sports-writers these days like to hedge their position and pick why both teams are going to win.

Take the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy. He cunningly wraps reasons why the Celtics are the best with reasons the Lakers are the best. At the end of the article one's left to think, "What does Shaughnessy really think?"

(I mean, besides his hidden hope that the Red Sox falter so he can imagine some new legend like when he came up with the whole Curse of the Bambino malarkey.)

The same's true for ESPN's Bill Simmons, whom I care for a heck of a lot more than Shaughnessy. But this time he's all over the map offering pluses and minuses like he's a Middle School math teacher. Pick a reason and go with it, SportsGuy!

Nope. I'd pick a side and be done. Granted, both of these guys picked the right team to win. On the other hand, they both picked the wrong team, too.

So, needless to say, this story is the talk of the town today ...

I’m not sure why Tim Russert’s death has affected me as much as it has. Perhaps it’s because Russert—who has written so eloquently about fatherhood—reminds me a bit of my own dad. Perhaps it’s because he was such a good man, such a decent man in the midst of a political system that is often anything but good and decent. Perhaps it’s because he came from humble roots; he personifies the American dream that I am so often cynical of. Perhaps it’s because I, like many, feel like I actually knew him. Having lived overseas for the past five years, I saw Tim Russert more often than I saw my own family and my stateside friends. If it was Sunday, even in Dubai, even if the show came on at dinner time, it was Meet The Press.

John McCain and Barak Obama both commented on the Today show that Tim Russert was fair and tough, and because of that, he had the respect of just about everyone. His many colleagues and friends have commented on his deep capacity for kindness and his eagerness to celebrate the accomplishments—professional and personal—of those people he held dear.

A top-notch professional and person: I admire that in a human. It’s what I strive for as a teacher: to be fair, regardless of the consequences, to be tough, and in so doing bring out the best in my students, to listen, and never to forget our shared humanity. I suppose in some ways, although our professions are different, he was a role model for me.

I like that he was unafraid to take on anyone; to him it didn’t matter who you were or who you knew. There was no special treatment; no one was immune from having to face his well researched questions or from having to “take a look up at the monitor.” No one was beyond accountability; no one was above owning up to the American people.

I like that he cared, and that he did something he was passionate about and believed was meaningful, and that in doing so, he made other people’s lives richer. His questions made politicians have to step up their game, made other news anchors have to work harder to keep up with him, and, as I just heard George Stephanopolis say, through Tim’s tenacious questions, “he made us all better citizens.”

I like that Tim Russert seemed to know exactly who he was. It seems an easy thing to forget in Washington or in life, and I just love it that he never did.

So as I reflect on the passing of this journalistic king, this American moral compass who challenged so many with such integrity, I am reminded that it’s possible to dream big and stay grounded, to succeed and stay sane, to live a life that is both ordinary and extraordinary.

He was a legend. And we’re lost this Sunday without him.

Oh yeah, and Happy Fathers' Day to our dads and dads-in-law, as well as all fathers out there!

By now I'm sure you've heard that NBC News' Tim Russert passed away on Friday.

For the last two years almost every Sunday night (because of the time difference) we've enjoyed watching Meet the Press on Orbit News.

We're going to miss Tim.

I didn't even make this association until today. Weird.

See, today is Friday the 13th, which is a spooky scary occurrence in the US - not sure if it is anywhere else in the world. So for today, let's pretend we're in the States, okay? Good.

Personally I don't really believe in all of that crap, though. But then again my prom wasn't attacked by some machete-wielding maniac, and I never went to a summer camp that was abandoned after a young boy drowned in a lake nearby, nor do I ever say "I'll be right back" or "Who's there?" after nightfall.

However, I do believe in odd coincidences.

Two days ago I brought up a post from a year and a half ago, about why I'm not counting down the days until I leave Dubai (see A month ... and not counting).

The gist of the original post is that back two decades ago I was counting down the days leading up to my 12th birthday, while at the same time my paternal grandfather was in the hospital dying from cancer. I was wishing time away, and I can only assume that he was wishing for more time. Thus I don't count shit down anymore.

So I mention this two days ago, and then here today's Friday the 13th.

And my Papa was born on Friday, June 13, 1913.

I didn't even put that together until today.

Weird.

My favorite weather forecast in Dubai is Widespread Dust. It's going on right now. Here's the Weather Channel logo for it. --->

Personally I think it feels a bit like the bastard-child of a sandstorm and Southern California's June Gloom.

However there's no wind or sand blowing about, so it's not a sandstorm, and although it feels foggy it's redonkulously hot, so it's not June Gloom.

It's also a bit like smog, seeing how everything is covered by a beige cloud bank, but it's naturally occuring and not man-made.

But I guess "natural smog" doesn't have the same ring as "widespread dust" ...

Busy today, no time to post, sorry. But I do want to point out that I leave for the States a month from yesterday.

A month. That's it.

But I'm not counting it down.

Why? Well I'm going to leave you with a Greatest Hit from last year's Newlywed in Dubai - Countdown.

You might have noticed that the United Arab Emirates has been absent from the long, long list of countries getting the iPhone.

I bet you didn't notice that our Gulf neighbor Qatar and tiny Indian Ocean island Mauritius made the cut. You might remember that's where we took our honeymoon (see Going to the Honeymoon Now! and Back from Mauritius!).

Nope, the phone companies in the UAE are too busy doing useful things like blocking Skype to get the world's most awesome phone.

Tragic.

Did you see that Apple released information the new version of the iPhone today?

The best part? It's coming out on July 11 - the same day I get home!

Okay, so you don't really have to check Gulf News for riots in Dubai, there wasn't much hooliganning going on. I just think that "hooligan" sounds better than "footballer" or "socceroo".

Besides, my team ended up winning, and who celebrates a win with a riot?

Oh yeah, Detroit.

Well, they usually do. Which makes last week's Stanley Cup win so newsworthy. Seriously, check out this headline: "Red Wings fans cheer Stanley Cup championship; celebrations peaceful".

Haha!

Anyway, as you all are probably aware, last night began the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship - or Euro 2008, as we in the know call it.

And I am so in the know.

Well, no.

But one of my buddies in the MBA program is German, and he invited me out to a bar with a couple of his German friends to watch the first-round: Germany v. Poland.

The bar itself is worthy of a whole post here, really. It's goal is to be like a local dive bar, but it's in the swanky Al Murooj Rotana hotel. It reminds me of the themed bars in Las Vegas, trying just a little too hard to put on an act. A little too much show. Like those themed restaurants in malls that have surly waitstaff? I never got that.

Anyway, last night the bar was cool as it was packed with wild German soccer fans. (Technically they call it "foosball", or at the very least "football", but I'm going to call it "soccer" here for my own purposes).

The two levels of the bar were ringing with chants of "Deutschland!" and shouted fight songs. One sounded quite a bit like "Oh My Darling, Clementine", which kind of made me want to laugh, but I know better to turn a roomful of any kind of sports fan against me, so I held back. Some of those fellas were big.

And everywhere you looked you saw German flags - the walls, soccer jerseys, even peoples' faces. Yes, I joined in and had my face painted, too. Not the whole thing, just a little patch on my cheek. I'm not a "face painter".

But you know, as I watched the painted crowd singing their songs I got a little jealous. Americans don't do this. I mean, I've been in the zone as a Red Sox fan, but that's not really a 'Nation' even if they call it that. Sure we have a few anthems, but do Sox fans generally spontaneously burst into "Sweet Caroline" or "Dirty Water" when they're watching a baseball game at a bar?

Nope.

Granted, I have seen American sports fans burst into song in 1995 when Boston University won the national hockey championship. But that was just a few thousand college kids in Boston celebrating. We would have celebrated a cupcake.

Maybe Americans did it in 1980?

But I doubt they painted their faces. Sadly, when George Washington and his crew were thinkin' up the whole stars and stripes motif, they didn't plan ahead for facepainting. It prohibitively difficult to paint on all of those tiny stars. Damn you founding fathers!!

Although that's a cop-out, as I've seen South Africans paint their flag on their faces, and that bad-boy has six colors! Those guys are completely nuts though. I love them, don't get me wrong, they're fantastic people. But they're nuts.

Nope, I think Americans have a different kind of national pride. I can't really put my finger on it, I'll have to ponder it some more.

Anyway, Germany won, the crowd was psyched, we all had a blast. I even learned how to say "Cheers" in German:

Prost!



Detroit fans, I submit these links below as a bibliography:

Bibliography

1984 - Detroit Rejoices At Tigers' Victory

1990 - Detroit Basketball Celebration Turns Violent

They also make a good case against Detroit getting an NFL franchise.

One of the most ... interesting things I noticed when I got to Dubai was that there were no addresses. I found that odd for a city with one and a half million people. I guess, in my Western-bias, that I assumed that everyone on the planet had a street address.

Well now it looks like we're getting them. Apparently this new fangled system "will be based on the street names and house or building numbers".

Huh.

Dubai address system revamp will help public locate places easily

Last summer Dubai World, the investment arm of the Dubai government, invested $5 billion in Las Vegas-based casino owner MGM Mirage (see Dubai invests $5 billion in Vegas).

Part of the deal includes half-ownership of MGM Mirage CityCenter.

CityCenter is the new multiuse resort going up on the Las Vegas Strip between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo and across the street from Planet Hollywood Casino, on the site of the former Boardwalk Casino.

In fact, in the southeastern corner of the property is the crazy Disnified CVS store with the neon lights that opened a few years back, if you've been to Vegas you've probably seen it. MGM apparently tried very hard to buy that corner of the property, but CVS held tight.

Anyway, CityCenter was in the news twice this week.

On Saturday a construction worker, Dustin Tarter, was killed on a construction crane. Tarter was the sixth worker to die at CityCenter in the last year and a half. So on Monday workers shut down construction and started picketing over safety at the site. For more see the Las Vegas Sun article:

Workers walk off CityCenter site in protest

In lighter news yesterday it was reported that Apple is building a store at CityCenter, right on Las Vegas Boulevard. It's going to be one of the biggest Apple stores ever, apparently:

Apple plans lavish 20,000-sf Las Vegas mega store

Here are a few images I've found around about the project. You'll see where that CVS is in the bottom left-hand corner of the first two. It's the little non-descript building that's not lit up in the night image.

The Monte Carlo is kind of visible on the left, the Bellagio on the right.

I just turned on our NBA TV Channel and there's no live coverage of the first game of the NBA Finals.

Why am I not surprised?

I mean, it's only an entire network devoted to one league. And for 20-something hours a day they run a show called "NBA Live" ... so why would they actually show the NBA, you know, live?

Instead? We get a corker from the 1980 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Sixers.

Go Magic. Go Kareem. Yawn.

Go back to bed ...

Saw two goofy facts today about the NBA Finals:

First off, this is the first NBA Finals to not feature either Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal since 1998.

Secondly, it's a busy week in Boston - not only is today the beginning of the NBA Finals but it's also Harvard University's graduation. Tomorrow is MIT's graduation, and the American Society for Microbiology is holding its 108th General Meeting at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this week.

Oh, and of course the Red Sox are playing, tonight it's Tampa Bay at 6:05.

Think about that, right now Boston is awash in Harvard parents, MIT parents, Celtic fans, Laker fans, Tampa Bay fans (if they exist?) and microbiologists.

On Sunday there's an American Society for Colon and Rectal Surgeons convention at Hynes Convention Center, too. So maybe a few of them are in town early to see the sights?

Take that joke where you will. I'm outta here.

Ack.

Head ... pounding. Eyes ... bleeding ...

Why the Red Sox should ignore you and sign Barry Bonds

I think I need to go lie down for a bit ...

I had a longer piece written about this whole thing, this whole mess of a Democratic primary, but even I was bored while re-reading it, and I'm generally my biggest fan.

I'm sick of this, but Hillary is still kicking.

We go on.

Granted, I just read from the AP that she'll endorse Obama on Friday. However the New York Times says Saturday. Personally I think it might never end. That she and Bill will complain about misogynists and the media until the day they die.

If you're still reading, and I bet there are some of you who have flipped over to see the results of the Stanley Cup (Detroit won 9 minutes ago), or previews of tonight's NBA Finals, check out these two articles I enjoyed:

She’s Still Here!

Thirst for change trumped Clinton's experience

I love the beginning of this second article. Sums up Hillary perfectly, in my book. Although Maureen Dowd's image of Hillary with her teeth in Obama's ankle is amusing, too.

Amazingly Hillary outlasted the hockey season. Who wants to bet that she'll still be fighting when the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy is given out?

Lots of little stories today, nothing of any big note but worth mentioning ...

Brad Pitt builds in Dubai - Apparently Mr. Angelina Jolie is helping to design an 800-room, five star hotel, on behalf of Dubai-based Zabeel Properties.

Dubai: Next music capital - Oh no - Sting is coming! On December 12 Sting will be in town to open the new Palladium. This is partly to do with American concert-Behemoth Live Nation buying Dubai's Mirage Promotions, and partly to do with evil forces beyond our control. (I really can't stand Sting).

Shortage Linked to the Boom in Dubai - Now Dubai is even being blamed for the New York City crane accident!! Note that the president of the Building Trade Employees Association uses the "25 percent of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai" falsehood. Ugh. We've been over this already! (see How many cranes are in Dubai?).

Aishwarya, Abhishek buy home in Dubai - Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai (the one Richard Gere kissed awhile back) bought a house in Dubai. Well, paid for a house - it won't be ready for two years. (Seriously).

Move over Dubai, Ajman is the new emirate on the block - Neighboring emirate Ajman is "is smaller, quieter, more authentic, and not as bustling as Dubai." Huh.

Dubai retail market could see saturation - So wait, you think opening the world's largest shopping mall later this year, then opening an even bigger one in 2010 is a bad idea? Hm.

It's times like this that I really miss the States.

Have you seen this DEWmocracy thing?

No no no, this has nothing to do with Obama or Hillary - not "Democracy" it's "DEWmocracy". As in Mountain Dew. Yes, the fine people at Mountain Dew are giving Americans the right to vote for something that really matters ... the next Mountain Dew flavor.

They can pick from:

BLUE
Voltage - raspberry citrus and ginseng

RED
SuperNova - with strawberry, melon and ginseng

SILVER
Revolution - wild berry fruit flavor and ginseng

Hmmm, I'm noticing a trend here ... did the president of Mountain Dew just inherit a ginseng farm or something?

Anyway, I hope this promotion is still running when I get home on July 11th, as I've always wondered what Revolution tastes like.

Ginseng, no doubt ...

Hmm, you know, I think that they used this title too soon:

Auerbach can’t fault Jackson any longer

Personally I'd wait until after the NBA Finals are over to make outrageous claims like this ... and only if the Lakers win.

Early last week (before Thursday, in the very least) I found an article and some cool artwork for the new Atlantis hotel and resort they're building at the tip-top apex of the Palm Jumeirah.

It's insane.

The article said the resort cost $1.5 billion ... which seems a little steep. Well, I guess there are 1,539 rooms. That's pretty big. And yeah, it's also on a freakin' artificial island. Land was probably a little pricey.

They also brought in 65,000 marine animals "from the Gulf and beyond" - meaning the whole dolphin trouble. I guess we never talked about that here - see last year these guys found some sketchball company in the South Pacific to go out and capture 28 wild dolphins and ship them to Dubai. Classy. It was all over the news here:

28 dolphins on way to Palm hotel

Dubai dolphins not mistreated, firm says

How Are The Dubai Dolphins?

Anyway, the article about the resort goes on to say that they have a 17-hectare water park, which would be impressive if I knew what a "hectare" was.

I assume it's big. And expensive.

Although rooms are only $454 a night, which isn't bad considering it took $1.5 billion to build. Let's see, estimating 90% capacity of 1,539 rooms, all paying $454 a night, it'd only take six and a half years to make $1.5 billion!

Well, they'll also need some cash to keep the dolphins happy ...