Abu Dhabi – Page 4 – Creative Meanderings

Janet Jackson in Abu Dhabi

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Oct 262011

On October 13, 2011, B and I headed to see Ms Jackson at the Yas Island Arena.

Now, I had made a decision that this year I would not go to any concerts unless 1) I got free tickets; or 2) I was willing to pay for VIP seats. Previous concert experiences at this venue reminded me of why I vowed never to go see another fireworks display in Japan. Crowds and rude people – need I say more?

So, when I found out that Janet Jackson was coming, I was torn. Would I pay or not? My decision was easily swayed when B wanted to go as well and was on the same page about paying for the seats.

Thus, we found ourselves at the concert:

Overall, I would say it was worth the money, though I would have preferred if it had been cheaper…. In some ways, I was both impressed and disappointed. Also, at the end, I felt a little bit confused because she paid tribute to her brother, but the crowd went crazier for him than they had the whole concert for her….Wonder how she feels still being in his shadow…?

Anyway, it was a good time and that’s all that matters!

Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 Part 3

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Oct 202011

The last film, I saw at the Fairmont was on Thursday night with my friend, B. We saw Habemus Papam, an Italian film with a different perspective on the weight and responsibility of becoming the Pope.

Despite it’s religious topic, it was not really a religious film. In fact, it was probably my favorite of the three films I saw during the festival due to its very different take on this high-profile religion. The burden of becoming the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church is not one to be taken lightly. Generally, we expect that the cardinals aspire to become the next Holy Father and gladly take on the role with confidence. However, this film shows what it might be like if a cardinal was chosen who did not feel up to the task. What are the implications to the Church? To God? To man as followers?

It was a very realistic film with spots of humor and not at all heavy as might be expected when talking about the Catholic Church. So, I quite enjoyed it.

The film was also preluded by a short film called The Wholly Family, which was an interesting remake of a French story – or so I heard. It had a nice moral and was just long enough to keep it light and interesting. 😀

Thus ends my 2011 Film Festival experience. I’m glad that I made it this year since I completed missed it all last year. This time of year in the city is full of events as the weather begins to cool. So, I hope to be sharing more activities soon!

Next up will be my post on Janet Jackson, which is a wee bit late… 😉

-T

Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 Part 2

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Oct 172011

Back to the Fairmont on Monday to see The Double, which was a typical Hollywood film starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace.

Sadly, I’ve never been a real Richard Gere fan. He’s had his moments in some of his early films, but otherwise I just don’t buy in to his ‘charm’. Also, I find Topher Grace to be too…’pretty’ for lack of a better word. I cannot buy him as an agent or anything resembling a ‘manly’ role. I know that may sound harsh, but it’s just how I view him in most of his roles.

Anyway, this was the second viewing of the film ever and so that gave it some value. Otherwise, it is what R and I call an airplane movie meaning don’t waste your money in a theatre and not really worth a download either. It could have been much worse, but it just didn’t grab me.

One more to come…

-T

Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011 Part 1

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Oct 142011

This week was the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) and to ensure that I would actually make it to some films this year, I decided to make my choices based on location rather than on films. The ADFF had a new venue – the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr – with an outdoor screen, which is only about 15 minutes from my place.

Rather than drive through traffic for a half-hour to get to the Marina Mall or Abu Dhabi Theatre venues, it was an easy choice for location. Based on that, the number of films available to attend were limited, which was great for decision-making. 😀

So, last Friday, R and I headed out to see Stockholm East – a Swedish love story.

It was quite good, though a little too ‘happy-ending’ for my cynical taste. 😛 I really love moments in the film where there could have been drama, like when the heroine goes to the ex-partner’s home to find the hero and though she could have been nasty or rude, she was civil and cooperative. We could still sense her dislike and annoyance with the heroine and the situation, but unlike a Hollywood film, the subtleties of her demeanor and tone said all that needed to be said to express how she felt.

Will write about the other films in coming posts… 🙂

Gardening – the beginnings

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Sep 122011

We tend to not buy a lot of vegetables and then when we do they go bad from sitting out too long or neglect of use. One reason is price, cheap vegetables tend to poor quality and I hate to pay a ton for good ones. Thus, I thought it would be great to 1) have some fresh home-grown ones and 2) force us to use them up as they grow!

My childhood friend is a Master Gardener and so I asked her advice about possible growing a garden in containers on our new balcony. I thought maybe it would add some much needed greenery and also be easy enough for lil’ ol’ me to manage. She has given me a few tips and so I have begun from the beginning.

A couple of weeks ago, I planted just a few seeds for carrots, tomatoes, herb mix and rosemary.

Here’s what they looked like after a week –

Carrots – one week after planting seeds05-Sep-2011 21:45, NIKON COOLPIX S51, 3.3, 6.3mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 100

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