Tiny Planet

It has been confirmed that water exists on the Red Planet. The elements required for life as we know it were found a few weeks ago, but this is the first definite evidence of water. Well, I’M excited.

Also, the presence of water automatically makes any manned mission easier, as the astronauts can make their own potable liquids on site rather than transporting them in bulk.

After much humming and speculation, Robbie Keane has signed for Liverpool. Will he go on to leave a legacy on a par with the likes of John Aldridge? We shall see. I hope so. Seven years after his move to Inter Milan went sour I think this will be his last chance to prove he can make it at the highest level (even if Liverpool have been reasonably poor over the last few seasons). Playing alongside the likes of Fernando Torres will do him, and by extension the Irish team, a world of good.

The birthday breakfast of champions

Happy birthday to me. So that’s one more circuit around the sun – fingers crossed I’m in for quite a few more.

On another note, I’m three weeks from departing the Middle East. Expect me to overdose on shawarma and hummus over the following days…

… Wanted and The Dark Knight. I saw both of these films this week and they were both excellent. Wanted had great pace and originality, while The Dark Knight was close to awe-inspiring. Heath Ledger was very, very good, as were Gary Oldman and Christian Bale. See them as soon as you can.

(This guest post was written by my friend Sarah, who is on a shopping expedition to the UAE capital)

If for some extraordinary reason you enjoy spending your hard-earned cash in a matter of minutes then Abu Dhabi is the place for you. As a budding materialist and capitalist I have become accustomed to frequenting the delights of designer shopping… yes, I am a label junkie and I love it. So far my shopping experience in AD has been financially crippling but I don’t mind. I think I have proved myself at least a middleweight shopaholic with the potential to become a heavyweight (if only I had the financial backing to do so). The rich Emirati women may have to wear abayas but they certainly know how to shop! Shopping here is a cultural phenomenon I never thought I would observe outside the States. I’ve been to many of the world’s finest shopping destinations and left my mark on them. So, what does Abu Dhabi have to offer the serial shopper?

We Irish have become desensitised to being ripped off. Abu Dhabi offers tax-free shopping but that’s only the beginning. Whatever your shopping pleasures, you will be able to indulge them here. If, like me, you love designer goods at a steal then welcome to my version of heaven. The malls offer the finest shopping experience. Everything you could possibly need and more importantly want can be found in the comfort of gigantic malls that put places like Dundrum in Ireland to shame. It is quite fitting that Abu Dhabi holds a shopping festival in the spring, no doubt my fellow shopaholics descend on the city hunting for that necessary adrenaline rush that comes from buying things you don’t need!

Shoppers can expect to find bargains in just about everything, be it sunglasses, handbags, clothes, food, make-up, toys, electronics and furniture. I shall leave Abu Dhabi the proud parent of six designer handbags. These precious commodities cost a fraction of what I would have paid for them back in Ireland. If you are familiar with designer handbag prices in Ireland you will know that a small Guess bag costs about 99 euro… not here. Expect to find fabulous medium to large Guess bags for those prices. The prices in AD are not the only thing to attract international shoppers; the sheer volume and variety of shops is enough to tempt any die hard shopper. Even the smallest of malls have a lot to offer but once you have whet your appetite head for Abu Dhabi Mall and Marina Mall.

Marina Mall is the second biggest mall in the UAE, but if you do come to this part of the world to test your strengths as a shopper then I would suggest you plunge into the deep end with a visit there. You will know your shopping capabilities after a short time; if you last the day, my hat off to you! If you break under the strain of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani and my personal favourite, Guess, then you are not worthy of my praise

Abu Dhabi is this shopper’s delight and I will be leaving it with a heavy heart and suitcase.

Over at Dark Roasted Blend there’s a gallery of Tsarist and Soviet ads, including the above one for juice. Any juice. Some of them are for products and not brands — demand more!

Over on his blog, Paolo Coelho posts snippets of writing, usually involving a lesson or life advice. There’s a nice one up today about doing the most with the time you have on this planet.

On his tombstone, he had the following epitaph engraved:

“A life which ends with death, is a life not well spent.”

I like the piece because it does not necessarily preach about what one should do to ensure future generations remember them, it just gives an example of one character. Coelho will live on through his writing — The Alchemist in particular — much as Shakespeare has. It’s also important to note that Abin-Alsar, the character in the blog posting, does not achieve world fame or glory, but rather makes life better for the people of his town. A local but beloved immortality.

The latest additions to UNESCO’s World Heritage List include a healthy number of sites in the Gulf and wider Middle East.

Saudi Arabia makes its debut on the list, with the Al Hijr archaeological site (also known as Madain Saleh) deemed worthy. The complex of about 100 tombs is an important Nabatean ruin (the Nabateans built Petra in Jordan, perhaps best known as the location of the Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

The Socotra Archipelago in Yemen was one of the natural sites added to the list. It is a location of great biodiversity and home to many unique plants.

Other new inscriptions on the list include Armenian monastic sites in Iran, which the UN agency said represented “the last regional remains of this culture that are still in a satisfactory state of integrity and authenticity”.

UNESCO also inscribed the Bahá’i Holy Places in Israel as being of cultural significance. These include houses as well as tombs and modern buildings.

Bill and his commenters have had some fun condensing classic works of literature into six words. Go take a look!

CVG reports that Cryptic may unveil a Star Trek MMO on July 27. Which is nice in its own right, but which I’m only commenting on as that’s my birthday. My brain is on holiday so I’m not going to figure it out, but it may actually be unveiled on July 28. Either way, there’s a countdown on the Cryptic website.