A Trip to the North of Qatar

Teresa and I took a trip to the Northern tip of Qatar and there are some interesting sites. This is the fort at Al Zubara - a lonely spot with an old man watching after it that will give you the keys to it when you drive up. Down the coast is the old town of Algamel that is now in various stages of ruin. I posted a few pictures behind Yebisu for those that are interested...

Succession Crisis Averted

I guess I was out of touch. I didn't even know the Princess was pregnant. A boy was born September 5th at 8:27 a.m. and weighed 5.64 pounds according to the Imperial Household Agency. Mother and child are said to be in good condition. Princess Kiko had been under considerable stress last year, said to be at least partially attributable to not having produced a male heir. A 1947 law allows only males to ascend the throne.

This is the 3rd child for the royal couple - a rare situation in Japan today. The average children per couple is 1.25 and the population is dropping. This has led to concerns about labor shortages in future and who will take care of the aging population. Thank goodness that Prince Akishino and Princess Miko are doing their part to avert this new crisis...

Musée du Petit Palais

This last Thursday I had to take a quick unplanned trip to Paris at the last minute for a meeting. I ended up staying Friday night and had a pleasant dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with a Lebanese friend. He is an artist, as well as being a cost engineer, and particularly likes impressionist and late 19th century romantic paintings. He is fluent in Arabic, French, and English. Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening and he suggested that if I had time to go see the exhibits at the Musée du Petit Palais which was within walking distance of my hotel.

The museum was built for the 1900 Paris Exhibition and had a very nice collection. They allowed photography and here is a painting I particularly liked. The subject is the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt and I believe it was painted in 1875. I posted some touristy pictures behind Yebisu but going to the museum instead of work on a Saturday morning was nice. I am going to have to do things like that more often.

I walked around Paris quite a bit that morning. The center is compact and fairly easy to get about. They say that first impressions are important and my first impression of Paris about 25 years ago was not good. When I was younger I felt I could rely on my first impressions but I am a bit less certain now. Anyway, I now find Paris a very interesting place.

I speak no French, but at least I know the alphabet there. I can hardly read Japanese at all, but I can speak it a little. It is embarrassing that my friend speaks 3 languages fluently and I can only speak English. I am resolved to try and improve my Spanish. I think that is my best chance for visiting a non-English speaking country and holding some kind of a real conversation in the local language...

Copy Cats

Today I did a search for "Lost in Japan" and found several other blogs with the same name. One was in Spanish. But there were some disturbing similarities to mine. For example, one had multiple pictures pasted together. There was a picture of a T-shirt with non-sensical English and another story about a cartoon character. So either we are all observing the same interesting things or somebody is ripping off my brilliant observations! I wonder if they think I am ripping them off?

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