Discoveries in the Sand – Episode 3
Some more things I’ve discovered since coming to Riyadh to work…including one rediscovery. This will probably seem like the iTunes love affair entry, to be honest.
1. iTunes – I am sure most people who read this blog know about iTunes. A lot of folks who never log onto the Internet know about iTunes. iTunes has been an important element of maintaining my connection with the USA. Although music is the key and most well known category of media available on iTunes, there is so much more. You can get televsion shows, movies, news programs, video blogs, audio books, language lessions…the list continues. Yes, there are things one can criticize about iTunes – the fidelity of the music, the missing artists, the often dismissive and condescending customer support – but, the convenience of it all tends to overcome the limitations. Sort of like PCs over Macs – yeah, the Macs are better quality, but the PCs give me what I need 90% of the time at a much lower cost. I gave up on my love affair with music fidelity when I got married, got kids, and realized the money I was spending on high-end stereo equipment would go a long way toward paying for school clothes for the kids. If I ever get rich, that might change. For now, however, iTunes is more than adequate and offers plenty of ways to acquire legal media. One important note: It is NOT necessary to own an iPod to enjoy what iTunes has available. The desktop client is free and can be downloaded, installed, and run on just about any computer that runs Windows or MacOS. I am unsure if it is available for the various shades of Unix or not.
2. Podcasts – Not everything on iTunes costs money. Among the free content are podcasts covering almost every possible subject in which one might cultivate an interest. Fan of NPR and its various programs? No problem. iTunes hosts nearly every show distributed via the NPR and PRI networks. Want to learn a foreign language? Excellent. A huge number of language learning podcasts exists in all major languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Chinese, etc.), as well as many less prevalent languages (Tagalog, for example). Interested in religion? Plenty about Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism. Sexuality? Yep. Etiquette? Yep. One of my very favorites is America Abroad a monthly podcast from PRI, which provides an in-depth look at the effects and condition of American foreign policy throughout the world. Yes, these podcasts are available at the source, in most cases; but, iTunes provides a central location for acquiring hundreds, perhaps thousands, of podcasts – much simpler and easier than having to go to each website or blog to acquire them. Podcasts are in .mp3 format and can be played on just about any media player, which hosts .mp3 format.
3. iTunes University – I don’t know which I like or use more, the podcasts available on iTunes or the college level courses available via iTunes University. Like the podcasts, the material in iTunes University is free, and there is a treasure trove of material covering practically any subject you might want to know more about from an academic point of view. Currently, I am listening to a complete semester, grad-level, course in Middle East history, taught by Dr. Graham Leonard at East Tennessee State University. The course contains the lecture content, as well as several video lessons associated with the subject. While smaller schools offer a lot material, many of the courses are offered by major universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Stanford, et cetera. These are great to listen to in the car during a commute or a road trip or while working in the shop or around the house. I cannot recommend this material highly enough. The courses are in .mp3 format and can be played on just about any media player, which hosts .mp3 format.
4. I hate being fat. Now, you might be sitting there going, “Well, duh.” Fair enough. Or, maybe not. Some people are more than happy with their weight and physical condition. But, I hate the tight clothes, the belly shoving up against the table top in a booth, the breathlessness after climbing a set of stairs. This is the major motivator behind my current weight-loss and success (48 pounds as of this writing). I HATE BEING FAT!!. While never a very talented athlete, except as a swimmer, I was an athlete during high school, and as an adult I used to swim a strong, daily 1/4-mile and/or run 3 1/2 miles/day. In my late-20s and early-30s, I was in GREAT shape. Then, I let myself get fat. I am responsible for it. No one else. Adverstisers did not force me to eat all the crap they sell. Nobody used a cattle prod to pry me from my chair to go back for 2nds or 3rds or to pile on portion sizes large enough to feed an elementary school. Carl’s Jr. didn’t cram Western Bacon Double Cheeseburgers down my gullet. Nope. I did it. So, now, it is up to me to get rid of it. Nobody else can do it for me. Not my wife. Not my kids. Not Oprah. Not Dr. Phil. Not Weight Watchers (though I use their program and recommend it). Not some personal trainer who helps celebrities stay stick thin and under-nourished. I, alone, am responsible for my physical condition. I, alone, can get back to a healthy weight that will lessen my risk of heart attack, stroke, or diabetes. I, alone, can get up off my ass and move for 30-60 minutes 4-7 times/week. And, that is what I am doing. Because I hate being fat.
5. The Outlaws – This is my rediscovery. No, I am not talking about the platinum country album of the 70s, which included Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Coulter, and Tompall Glaser – though a most excellent offering. No. I am talking about the Southern Rock band of the same period, out of Tampa, Florida. One of my favorite bands from my early adult years, I had sort of forgotten about them until last month when I just happened across them on iTunes. They’re one of those bands whose songs you hear then attribute them to some other band – unless you’re a fan. For me, they epitomize Southern Rock: a blend of the more mainstream sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the edginess of Molly Hatchett, mixed with an overt acknowledgement of the country roots that influenced ALL Southern Rock bands. Some of their better known songs are: There Goes Another Love Song, Ghost Riders in the Sky (their biggest hit), Green Grass and High Tides (the song that first led me to them), Stick Around for Rock and Roll, You Are The Show, Hurry Sundown, and Take It Anyway You Want It. Most folks will be fine with a “best of” album. If you only want to try a couple of songs, go with Ghost Riders and Green Grass. But, I highly recommend giving these guys a listen.
Discoveries in the Sand – Episode 2
Some more items of epiphany and realization on this journey of self-discovery…
1. Asian Pears. – Mmm…Mmm…Good! At least to my palate. A mix of savory and sweet. And from a WeightWatchers point-of-view, they are a fruit serving, packed with a lot of nutritional value, which doesn’t cost a single point! (Multiple servings may cost points, though.) They’re a tad more expensive in the US, but worth it. A real bargain!
2. Not all British television shows are great TV. – For every Masterpiece Theatre or MI:5 (Spooks in the UK – obvious why they changed the name in the US) there’s an The IT Crowd or Teenaged Kicks…truly awful shows clogging the crowded airwaves like election year campaign commercials without the passion – and even less intellectual honesty. Then there are the marginal shows like Mumbai Calling, which have some truly marvelous moments mixed with inanity. Then, of course, there are the niche shows, such as Dr. Who and Torchwood – both of which are among my favorites. I also recommend you take a look at Hei$t should it come on in the US; although, I understand Amercian TV has pretty much stolen it and turned it into Leverage, which I hear is pretty good, too.
3. Hello, my name is Greg, and I am a bookaholic. – I love books. They are comforting to me. I’ll buy books no matter where I am…proven by the close to one hundred (am I past that number, now?) I’ve acquired since coming here to KSA. Some of them I actually read. Some of them are for reference for my job. Some…well, I really don’t know why…other than the sense of ease they provide me when they surround me. Keep your fracking Kindles!!
4. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are as popular in the Middle East as they are in the US. – The political humor of these two seems to transcend cultural barriers. Their shows, during the last year, have become staples of the Showtime satellite network, one of the largest providers of satellite television throughout the region. Where they struggled to fill the 9pm – 10pm timeslot the first year-and-a-half I was here, these two fake news shows have found their home and made the programming manager in Dubai very happy.
5. Battlestar Galactica is great television even if it’s not in English. – Throughout the week, I can watch BSG in German, Russian, Arabic, and English. I have seen the first three seasons (in English), which comprise most of the episodes available over here. Even without the English, I have found myself captivated by the intense drama of the scenes unfolding on-screen. How many TV shows can make such a boast? Sure, I am biased. I, along with Rolling Stone magazine, consider it the best show on TV. But, any show where the acting doesn’t require a language to be conveyed is a show worth watching. I can’t wait to watch Season Four! Thank you, Cristina. 
Books I Like
I’ve been thinking about books the last couple of days, and I thought I’d mention a few that I like. I wouldn’t necessarily say these are my favorites or the greatest of all time…though a couple of them would fit into both categories…they’re just books I’ve read that I liked, and I thought I’d throw them out there.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/bxcgx
I’ve never been a huge fan of Westerns, when it comes to books. I like the movie genre, and I like the television genre. For some reason, though, I never could quite connect with the literary genre that inspires both movies and television. That is, until I picked up this Pulitzer Prize novel by McMurtry (currently hot due to his screenplay for Brokeback Mountain). Not only is this the best Western I have ever read, it is one of the best books I’ve ever read — period. Not quite a saga, not quite an adventure yarn, the characters in this book spring to life, grab you by the scruff of the neck and don’t let you go until the ride is over. McMurtry creates characters that are hard to forget, and I have not forgotten Gus or Call or Newt or Blue Duck or Laurie in the nearly 20 years since I read this book. Neither will you.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/bakwu
I’d be hard-pressed to identify a book that better represents that tenuous passage from boyhood to manhood. Those odd questions that come up…the strange situations that must be reconciled even if they’re not fully understood, the realization that things will never be the same — that it’s impossible to return to childhood once the threshold to the adult world is crossed…Holden Caulfield observes the world with a cynicism ignored by adults before J.D. Salinger forced the world to look at some of the open sores in American society and culture. This book is important for so many reasons. Well-written and engrossing, this book influenced books, movies (think Rebel Without A Cause, and culture in general. An astute observer might have predicted the roiling decade of the 60s after closing the covers on Catcher in the Rye.
The Secrets of Harry Bright by Joseph Wambaugh
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/a5mgz
The Secrets of Harry Bright transcends the cop book genre in which Joseph Wambaugh found so much success of the years. The book centers around a cop whose son is killed in the PSA aircrash that occurred in San Diego back in the 1970s, who is called to the California desert to investigate the murder of another man’s son, forcing him to deal with all those demons seething just beneath the veneer he presents to others. Solid read.
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/7g7pg
It may be necessary to visit the library to find a copy of this book, but the trip is well worth one’s time. This is LeGuin’s transcendent novel — where she writes a masterpiece that cannot be bounded by the genre in which it is categorized. The greatest thing about the novel is the simplicity with which she communicates the themes of human arrogance, ignorance, and realization. Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, one could do a whole lot worse that to pick up this short book and read it through some Saturday afternoon.
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/897b4
Simply the most important Science Fiction novel of the last 40 years. There would be no Matrix if not for this book. Gibson completely revolutionized Science Fiction and introduced the masses to the sub-genre of Cyberpunk. That, in itself, would be enough to make this an important book, but the ripple of influence Neuromancer and Gibson have brought to literature, movies, and television make this a book that should be read by anyone interested in pop culture at all. This is the book from which all the current cliches in Science Fiction came.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/avtje
If someone is only going to write one book in their lifetime, this is the one to have written. Not because it won the Pulitzer Prize, not because it was made into an Academy Award wining film, not because it’s still in print after 40 years — but, because this book is what fiction is all about: Humanity. I closed this book and cried.
If you haven’t read these books, yet, any one of them is worth the effort. If you do read them, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did (and still do).
