Community Community HBK Over the last Contracting two years, Co celebrates a crop of P6the Indian Independence P16 startups has begun off ering Day along with its social media platforms and workers and staff financial services catering to members. right-wing Internet users.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017 Dhul-Qa’da 30, 1438 AH

DOHA 34°C—41°C TODAY LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 11 PUZZLES 12 & 13

Dream Job COVER STORY An increasing number of professionals are going mobile. These digital nomads trade sterile off ice spaces for locations by beautiful beaches, getting the best of both worlds. P4-5 2 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY ROUND & ABOUT

PRAYER TIME Fajr 3.50am Shorooq (sunrise) 5.10am Zuhr (noon) 11.37am Asr (afternoon) 3.06pm Maghreb (sunset) 6.05pm Isha (night) 7.35pm

USEFUL NUMBERS

Richard The Stock journey. Richard is a sparrow who thinks he is a stork and DIRECTION: Toby Genkel, Reza Memari travels all the way to Africa to prove it to his stork family. His CAST: Tilman Dobler, Cooper Kelly Kramer, Shannon newfound pals Olga, a pygmy owl with an imaginary friend, Emergency 999 Conley and Kiki, a disco—singing parakeet with a fear of heights, help Worldwide Emergency Number 112 SYNOPSIS: An orphaned sparrow is adopted and raised the tiniest stork accept that he is a truly great. Even though Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991 by storks. When the family leaves on its annual migration, everybody else thinks he’s a sparrow. Local Directory 180 the little sparrow attempts to participate in the long, arduous THEATRES: Landmark, The Mall, Royal Plaza International Calls Enquires 150 Hamad International Airport 40106666 Labor Department 44508111, 44406537 Mowasalat Taxi 44588888 Qatar Airways 44496000 Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333 Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464 Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 44593363 Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050 Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333 Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444

Humanitarian Services Offi ce (Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies) Ministry of Interior 40253371, 40253372, 40253369 Ministry of Health 40253370, 40253364 Hamad Medical Corporation 40253368, 40253365 Qatar Airways 40253374 Bareilly Ki Barfi and she resigns to being a misfit in this small—town. DIRECTION: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari Under the complexities of getting married and feeling CAST: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon, Rajkummar Rao pressured, impulsive Bitty decides to run away from home. SYNOPSIS: Amongst the cluster of homes in Bareilly, At the railway book stall, she stumbles upon a novel called India resides the amusing Mishra family. The only ‘life Bareily Ki Barfi. Surprisingly the female protagonist of the loving’ daughter of theirs – Bitti Mishra (Kriti Sanon) novel reads exactly like her. Is there someone like her too te Unqu works at the electricity board, is a casual smoker, in this closeted town or someone who really knows and uo ot watches English movies and loves breakdance. Bitti’s free understands her? Q e spiritedness does not translate in finding a suitable groom THEATRES: Royal Plaza, The Mall There is no love without forgiveness, The Mall Cinema (1): Lie (Telugu) Evil: Vendetta (2D) 3pm; Security (2D) and there is no forgiveness 2:30pm; Snatched (2D) 5:15pm; The 5pm; Richard The Stork (2D) 7pm; without love. Man With The Iron Heart (2D) 7:15pm; Annabelle 2 (2D) 9:15pm; Varnyathil Annabelle 2 (2D) 9:30pm & 11:30pm. Richard The Stork (2D) 2pm & Aashanka (Malayalam) 11:15pm. — Bryant H McGill The Mall Cinema (2): The Emoji 3:30pm; Valerian And The City Of Landmark Cinema (2): The Emoji Movie (2D) 2pm; Richard The Stork A Thousand Planets (2D) 5:15pm; Movie (2D) 2:30pm; Richard The Stork (2D) 3:30pm & 5:15pm; Valerian And Annabelle 2 (2D) 7:30pm; The Man (2D) 4pm & 5:30pm; Valerian And The The City Of A Thousand Planets With The Iron Heart (2D) 9:30pm; City Of A Thousand Planets (2D) 7pm; (2D) 7pm & 9:15pm; Bareilly Ki Barfi Security (2D) 11:45pm The Man With The Iron Heart (2D) (Hindi) 11:30pm Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2): 9:15pm; Valerian And The City Of A The Mall Cinema (3): Resident Evil: Pilgrimage (2D) 2pm; Valerian And Thousand Planets (2D) 11:30pm. Community Editor Vendetta (2D) 2pm; Pilgrimage (2D) The City Of A Thousand Planets (2D) Landmark Cinema (3): Snatched Kamran Rehmat 4pm; Bareilly Ki Barfi (Hindi) 5:45pm; 3:45pm; Bareilly Ki Barfi (Hindi) 6pm; (2D) 2:30pm; Youm Min Al Ayan e-mail: [email protected] Youm Min Al Ayan (Arabic) 8pm; Youm Min Al Ayan (Arabic) 8:15pm; (Arabic) 4:30pm; Pilgrimage (2D) Security (2D) 9:30pm; Varnyathil Annabelle 2 (2D) 9:45pm; Snatched 6:30pm; Youm Min Al Ayan (Arabic) Telephone: 44466405 Aashanka (Malayalam) 11:15pm. (2D) 11:45pm. 8:30pm; Snatched (2D) 10pm; Fax: 44350474 Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): Landmark Cinema (1): Resident Security (2D) 11:30pm. Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 3 ROUND & ABOUT COMMUNITY

EVENTS Summer Entertainment City WHERE: Doha Exhibition and Conference Summer Camp at TCA Center WHEN: Until August 24 WHEN: During August WHERE: TCA TIME: 5pm TCA has successfully completed the Come and enjoy your summer at the two batches of summer camp and now festival city. Meet your favourite cartoon the 3rd batch is going on. There was an characters and click a selfi e with them. Enjoy overwhelming response from parents as well and cherish each moment. as students. Admission for the forth batch has already started. Grab this opportunity not Summer Camp to miss anything as there is only a few seats WHERE: Ain Khaled are left for batch 4, which starts from August WHEN: Until Aug 31 12. Come and register your kids for Abacus, TIME: 8am-1pm Vedic Math, Rubic Cube, Robotics, Fun Summertime is just memories waiting to with Science, Connectivate (knowing your happen. The Stem Xplorers Summer Camp own inner skills), drawing and painting, and is just the place for your kids to make lifelong calligraphy. So what are you waiting for, grab memories to cherish. your seats at the earliest. For more details, Our camp will be Stem—based wherein we please get in touch with TCA Qatar at mail@ will engage the children in Science along with tca.qa or 66523871. Lego, some exciting Sports, Nutrition, Arts, DFI Presents MIA Exhibition Series Evolution Sports Qatar Crafts and Outdoor Field Trips!! Each week WHERE: MIA Park WHERE: Evolution Sports Made in Qatar Workshop will be a diff erent theme covering an exciting WHEN: Sept 14-15 WHEN: Ongoing WHERE: Katara Art Studio new Stem project making science come to TIME: 7:30pm Evolution Sports will mark its anniversary WHEN: Aug 25-30 life. Call us now on 33996665 or 33120001. Doha Film Institute is inviting people to by hosting a number of exciting events TIME: 4pm their second round of screenings as part of throughout 2017 as well as some amazing “Made in Qatar” Workshop will be held in Camera Kids: Make Your Own Short the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Exhibition promotions, ten years on from when the club Katara Art Studios, building 19 by a group of Film series. The series is dedicated to showcasing was formed on September 1, 2007. The club Qatari artists. WHEN: Until Aug 24 contemporary fi lms that connect to the main has been working with a panel of coaches A well-rounded introduction to the theme of the museum’s current exhibition, and directors to plan the events which will diff erent elements of photography, film and Imperial Threads: Motifs and artisans from be announced over the coming months. fi lmmaking helps young people make their Turkey, Iran and India. All screenings take Members should look forward to a variety fi rst one-minute short fi lms. Applicants must place at the MIA Auditorium. Screenings are of diff erent occasions, suitable for all ages be between 13 and 17 years old. free, but a ticket is required for admission. so the whole family can get involved in the birthday celebrations. To kick-off things off , Qatar Summer Festival Evolution Sports recently launched their 10- WHEN: Until Sept 5 year anniversary logo. The emblem has been WHERE: Across Doha designed by Toyan Greaves, the man behind Summer Festival has just been announced the original Evolution Sports logo and will be and it will run twice as long this year. That used on all documentation, both online and means more family fun, entertainment, offl ine for the next 12 months. Football on Mega Screens activities and promotions across Qatar WHERE: Mall of Qatar this summer. The extended Qatar Summer WHEN: Until August 27 Festival will run from Eid al-Fitr to Eid al- TIME: 1pm Adha. Prepare for more than 100 activities Join us to watch your favourite game on the this time round. Best of all there will be biggest indoor screens in Qatar! Raise your malls full of shopping discounts across voice and get behind your favourite team at Doha. Discounts of up to 50% are off ered the MOQ Oasis. For more information visit: and anybody spending more than QR200 at www.mallofqatar.com.qa Skate Girls of Kabul Exhibition participating outlets will be entered into a WHERE: Katara draw to win a stack of cash or even a luxury Splash & Dash 3rd Edition WHEN: Until Oct 20 car. WHERE: Aspire Dome Doha Award winning photographer Jessica Imperial Threads: Motifs and Artisans WHEN: Until August 30 Fulford-Dobson will present her critically- WHERE: Museum of Islamic Art TIME: 7pm acclaimed series of portraits, Skate Girls WHEN: Until November 4 Aspire Dome is opening its doors for you of Kabul in her fi rst show in the Middle This exhibition focuses on the exchange in the summer to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. East. Presented by Qatar Museums, the of artistic and material cultures between Swimming and running sessions will be exhibition will be at the QM Gallery Katara. the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires. available for all community members The portraits tell the extraordinary story Highlighting MIA’s masterpiece carpets, throughout August in the Aspire Dome of Afghan girls who took up skateboarding, among other artworks, from Turkey, Iran and Swimming Pool and Indoor Athletics Track. thanks to Skateistan, an Afghan charity India, these objects will be contextualised Registration will be available online and that provides skate parks as a hook to get within the historical circumstances of onsite at the Dome’s main entrance. children from disadvantaged families back politics and artistic production of their time, into the educational system. The striking primarily from the 16th to the 18th centuries. images bring to life the hopeful spirit of these young girls that show a new perspective and Salsa Beginners Dance Class dimension to skateboarding culture – one WHERE: B Attitude Spa, West Bay that shows strength in the face of adversity. WHEN: Every Friday Salsa n Candela off ers a variety of dance classes for adults at Beverly Hills Tower West Bay B Attitude Spa, such as Salsa every Friday and other Latin dance during other days of the week. Summer Workshop 2017 for kids WHERE: IAID Festive time WHEN: July-Aug WHEN: Ongoing Summer break is a long-awaited respite for WHERE: Doha Festival City your kids after months of hitting the books. The entertainment off ering has been This is an opportunity for them to hone designed to ensure there are numerous their current skills, pick up a new hobby, or opportunities for physical activities, from simply stay active, whether their interest lies the running track which features exercise in dance, music or arts. This summer, get stations, the bike trail, through to our ‘fi rst- your kids up and going by enrolling them at of-its-kind’ in Qatar, Snow Dunes theme IAID! Starting three years and above, we have park. DFC is excited to welcome fi rst visitors courses to off er this summer such as Ballet in April and to celebrate the best leisure Kids, Strum-A-Long, Bolly Thumka, Music facilities, retail mix and dining options, all Fun, ARTmazing & more. with exceptional service.

Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change 4 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY COVER STORY Work and play go together in Bali With its balmy weather, beautiful beaches and rock-bottom prices, the Indonesian island of Bali is turning into a hotspot for digital nomads. Co-working spaces have sprung up to accommodate their needs — and even Barack Obama has paid a visit

joined by other professionals, including doctors. Bali, which has traditionally been a dream holiday destination – attracting more than fi ve million tourists per year – is now also developing into a hotspot for the itinerant professional scene. In all the main rankings for remote working, you’ll fi nd the Indonesian island holding one of the top spots. Apart from the exotic location and great weather, it also helps that you can get along here on not much more than 1,000 dollars a month. There are two main spots on Bali competing to attract remote workers: the small city of Ubud in the interior, and the even smaller Canggu, about a 90-minute drive further along the coast, which has the advantage of a beach. At the moment, Ubud is still winning. This summer, even former US president Barack Obama, currently writing his memoirs, came to visit. Ubud has any number of WLAN cafes and a half dozen “co-working spaces” – open-plan offi ces with high-speed Internet connections that professionals can rent space in. The largest of them is Hubud, a two-storey building featuring a lot of bamboo. Open-plan is taken to a new level here – if you want to, you can sit out in the open air. Then you don’t even need a window to look out over the rice fi elds. Kintan Ayunda Wisnu, from Indonesia, in the Hubud co-working space. The cafe serves up iced cappuccinos, soya lattes and a lot of raw vegetables. On the bulletin By Christoph Sator board, there are adverts for yoga classes. The message is clear: this is a place for clean living, and lots of arion Kutta doesn’t networking. have far to go to When Hubud was set up in 2013, work. Five minutes around 25 people signed up. Since on her scooter and then, a total of 5,000 have spent she’s there. Then, time in the space, many for just a Mthe producer of advertising fi lm few months. Right now, there are clips from Munich can stare out 250 paying members from more across a rice fi eld while she tries to than 30 countries around the globe. come up with her next creative idea. During the week, the offi ce The 48-year-old set up offi ce on is open around the clock, to the island of Bali a few months ago. accommodate the diff erent time The weather is better, life is cheaper zones that the members are and the beach is just down the road. working in. A day pass costs 20 Kutta owns the production dollars. The internet costs 257 company Global Players, whose dollars for a full month – not clients include carmaker BMW cheap, but guaranteeing the fastest and the energy drink fi rm Red Bull. connections. These clients couldn’t care less Hubud boss Steve Munroe where Kutta opens up her laptop to says that everything has become earn her money. more professional. The 48-year- She’s part of a new breed of old now doesn’t speak of digital itinerant professionals who often nomads, but rather “location spend only a few months in a independent professionals” – a place and then move on. Many of term the Canadian says “sounds them work in the media or fashion more serious.” What has changed is Marion Kutta, a video producer from Munich, in the Hubud co-working space. sectors, but lately they’ve been the transience of the clientele. Only Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 5 COVER STORY COMMUNITY

Steve Munroe is the founder of Hubud. one-third of the users stay longer they are working in a normal offi ce than half a year. again,” Munroe says. This makes Marion Kutta, a “But still, I wouldn’t say it’s time member since August last year, wasted. Here, you are learning an exception. “I had the feeling I something. And if it doesn’t work needed to try something diff erent,” out, then at least it was a nice long Hubud promises a relaxed environment with everything a digital professional needs to survive online: super fast she says. “Here, people are more holiday.” - DPA Internet. open to other cultures than in Germany. This is inspiring.” In the meantime she has founded another company on Bali, also in film production. But it hasn’t yet paid off financially. Her revenues are still coming from Germany. Kutta also cautions that one shouldn’t believe that life is nothing but eternal sunshine on Bali. “Often, I am working shifts until 11pm, midnight. Here I am working even more than I did before.” Something else she misses: “Reliability. It’s partly because many people here don’t stay around in one place for very long. Sometimes it’s hard to bring a project to an end.” But there are also people earning real money on Bali. One is Clare Harrison, 33, from England. Through her company StartMeUp, she brokers internship positions in start-up companies on three continents. But she also admits: “It isn’t all coconuts and cocktails here. When you’re so far away from friends and family, you can quickly turn into a workaholic.” There is no saying for certain how many digital nomads are currently on Bali. Authorities don’t compile any statistics, especially since it’s diffi cult to offi cially diff erentiate between a tourist and someone who is working. But there are thousands. Most of them only have a tourist visa. Hardly anyone pays taxes. For example, Marion Kutta still reports to the fi nance offi ce of her home city, Munich. As nice as life as a digital nomad on Bali might be, it can also quickly come to an end. “People get frustrated and go home, and soon Hubud is a popular co-working space in the town of Ubud on Bali. The island is becoming a hotspot for digital nomads. 6 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY HBK Contracting Co celebrates Indian Independence Day

BK Contracting Co celebrated the Indian Independence Day along with its workers, staff and senior management offi cials at its various sites in Lusail, Al Khor and Al Wakrah. Cakes were cut by workers and distributed to all who were present. The attendees were also served food. Project Director Niyaz Ahmed said, “Occasions of this nature provide us with an invaluable opportunity to interact more closely and in an informal way with workers hailing from various states in a vast country like India and to further strengthen our relations Hwith workers.”

Oryx Rotana adds new theme nights to the menu of ‘Choices’ restaurant

ryx Rotana has added new “Tokyo” where the night will be special theme nights to dedicated for Sushi and Maki and the ‘Choices’ menu. The other Japanese treats from the famous theme nights has been Japanese cuisine. conceived to provide Every Thursday night, seafood lovers aO unique experience for guests and will be able to savour the depths of visitors throughout the week from 7pm the sea and ocean through the dishes to 11:30pm. prepared in the best possible way which Choices’ famous buff et will off er has characterised “Choices” over the international night every Saturday and past years and distinguished it from all Monday, which includes a wide variety the other restaurants in town. of international dishes and appetisers in And for the lovers of rich and strong addition to the numerous live cooking fl avours, Choices presents the Indian stations. night every Friday, which will include To add a unique and distinctive diverse Indian platters that have become splendour, Oryx Rotana has added the international known. Filipino theme night which is considered Lana Jwainat, Director of Marketing to have one of the best kitchens in East and Communications at Oryx Rotana, Asia. The Filipino theme promises to said: “We always strive to maintain our meet all guests’ expectations starting position as a leading hotel destination from the main traditional dishes to very in Qatar. Through our new theme nights well-known Filipino Jello and special at Choices, we will be able to provide famous delicacies. a unique experience to our guests and Butcher’s Night on Tuesday is another customers who wish to enjoy a rich occasion for the carnivores to indulge meal from various kitchens prepared themselves with all kind of fl avours by our talented chefs, In addition to the prepared in diverse ways and meet the distinctive atmosphere for all members expectations of beef lovers. of the family, and of course all this will Wednesday nights, Choices will be done through specialised services at take its guests to the Japanese capital the highest level”. Choices at Oryx Rotana. Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 7 COMMUNITY McDonald’s Qatar bags second place in annual basketball tournament

McDonald’s Qatar played impressively, securing the second place in this season.

he annual Saleh Al Hamad Basketball court. The team of McDonald’s by their families and friends as they and work together that lifts each one’s morale AlMana Basketball tournament Qatar played impressively, securing the competed for the coveted titles and prizes. and spirit.” organised by the AlMana Group second place in this season. This was Fadi Rezek, General Manager at AlMana During the weekly tournaments, always seems to deliver thrills made possible with the leadership of the Restaurants & Food Co, said: “The initiative employees of each division flocked to the during the final hours of the coaches – Rafael David, Nishad Jayasinghe is part of the organisation’s commitment venue at Arab International School and match.T This year too witnessed the same and Ramon Abdon – and McDonald’s team towards nurturing a healthy work cheered for their respective teams. The frenzy as the 6th edition concluded. players’ boundless moves and will power. environment and knowing the importance AlMana Group basketball series is part of This annual friendly basketball This year, the six teams that competed for of team building in refi ning understanding, internal human resources strategy that competition for employees from all the weekly matches included McDonald’s, co-operation and the overall quality of work aims to promote healthy and strong ties business divisions of the company was The One, GO Sports, AlMana Fashion, Casper and success for everyone. It created a bond amongst its personnel across the entire recently held at Arab International School’s & Gambini and Nissan. They were applauded between co-workers as they support, cheer group. HEALTH Scientists identify bacteria that boosts athletic performance

apping into the microbiome of team collected fecal samples on a daily basis runners and rowers, scientists have from 20 athletes training for the 2015 Boston identifi ed a bacteria that inhabits Marathon, to capture how the microbiome their digestive tracts and may aid changes between performance and recovery. in athletic performance, a fi nding When they compared the pre-race and post- thatT can help develop probiotic bacteria for race samples, the researchers found a sudden applications in performance and recovery. spike in the population of one particular type of The results showed that the bacteria that bacteria after the marathon. inhabits the digestive tracts of the athletes “This bug’s natural function is to break down may help develop probiotic supplements that lactic acid,” Scheiman said. could help them, and even amateur fi tness During intense exercise, the body produces enthusiasts, recover from a tough workout or more lactic acid than usual, which can lead more effi ciently convert nutrients to energy. to muscle fatigue and soreness. This bacteria “We are more bacteria than we are human. could potentially help with that. The bugs in our gut aff ect our energy The researchers are now feeding the bacteria metabolism, making it easier to break down to mice to measure its eff ects on lactic acid carbohydrates, protein and fi bre,” said Jonathan levels and fatigue. Scheiman, post-doctoral student at Harvard In another experiment, the researchers Medical School. compared the bacteria from ultra-marathoners “They are also involved in infl ammation to those found in rowers training for the and neurological functions. So perhaps the Olympics. microbiome could be relevant for applications They found a type of bacteria in ultra- in endurance, recovery and maybe even mental marathoners that can help break down toughness,” Scheiman added. carbohydrates and fi bre – which is key during For the study, presented at the 254th National a 100-mile run – that was not present in the The results showed that the bacteria that inhabits the digestive tracts of the athletes may help Meeting and Exposition of the American rowers, suggesting that diff erent sports may develop probiotic supplements that could help them. Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington, the foster niche microbiomes. - DPA 8 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY TRA In Vietnam, a lifelong Minnesota his mother’s country for the f

A beach in Hoi An, located in central Vietnam.

time to see her dying father. I prepare to feel like a stranger in a A stone face in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. strange land. Looking out the plane as we touch fact the word delicious, or ngon in entrepreneurial businesses selling down at the Ho Chi Minh City airport, Vietnamese (pronounced “nong”), duck, electric fans, pho, Hello Kitty my mom yells out: becomes a common refrain at every pillows, mobile phones and caskets. “It doesn’t look the same. It looks meal. When my mother left more than 40 bigger. It looks like America.” Eating our fi rst bowls of Vietnam’s years ago, her father told her to never We spill off the plane and into the famous beef noodle soup together, I look back. embrace of my aunt and cousin. They ask, “Does it taste good?” When we arrive at the family don’t speak English, so my mom “Ngon!” she responds with a smile. home, two dozen of my relatives translates through the tears. In stark contrast to slurping noodles come rushing out, crying as they The fi rst thing my 63-year-old with Hoang Anh is the War Remnants hug and kiss us. My mom, 66, is the aunt, Kim Anh, says to my brother: Museum, four stories dedicated to the eldest (with her twin sister) of her “You look like your father.” His dad, “American War of Aggression” – and 10 brothers and sisters, but many of a soldier in the South Vietnamese one of Ho Chi Minh’s biggest tourist them look older than her. The house army, died from friendly fi re when my attractions. has no plumbing, and just three rooms brother was only a baby. Inside, the exhibit walls are covered – the largest dedicated solely to two Kim Anh and her daughter, Hoang with graphic photographs depicting wood-carved altars honouring my Anh, 39, both work in cramped, open- Agent Orange’s aftermath. Outside, grandparents and great-grandfather. air markets, selling children’s clothes. the machinery of war – old tanks and We all pose together, snapping They are going to travel with us on this planes – cover the grounds. My aunt photos. They are poor, but as is the 13-day trek north as we explore the and mother seem numb to the whole case throughout Vietnam, everyone entire country. My brother, who is 14 experience. has a smartphone. Several of them years older than me, is funding much “I don’t like to think about war,” my even “friend” me on Facebook. of this trip, which includes hosting mom says, “and how many people got My brother wants to take the our long-distant relatives. Travelling killed. I don’t really care who is the whole family out to eat. So we dine with us is his wife, Heather, and her good side and the bad side. They just on catfi sh, fried rice, salty shrimp, parents Carol and Dennis. My wife killed people.” Heineken and whiskey at an outdoor (bless her heart) is staying back in banquet hall. Minnesota to care for our two small For The First Time They cook the fi sh right at our table children. On the ride to my mom’s in a hot pot. Hoang Anh looks to me A gothic French church in Hanoi, Vietnam. On the rooftop of Hotel Majestic, hometown, I sit next to Nga, another for my take. the city’s fi rst fi ve-star hotel managed aunt whom I’ve just met for the fi rst “Ngon!” I yell out. Home for me is Minnesota. I look a by Vietnamese (only $120 a night), time. We communicate with hand For almost 30 people the bill comes By Tom Horgen bit like my mom, but my dad’s strong we see glass skyscrapers growing gestures and a little translation from to $100. Incredible. One of my uncles Scandinavian blood shows through in right on top of the metropolis’ old my mom. Nga points at my forearm, talks about postwar life under the my height (6 feet) and my complexion colonial architecture. Ho Chi Minh then shows me her slim legs and arms. communists and the re-education felt like I was lying. (a little pale). He was a soldier in is the south’s former capital and still I think she’s saying I’m big, and she’s camps. As my mom translates, he For months, I’ve told friends Vietnam during the late 1960s; she the country’s largest city at 10 million skinny. Soon we pass miles of rice holds her hand and places his palm on I’m going home to Vietnam. But was a peasant girl working on the people. Most call it by its former fi elds. She points to them and then my brother’s back. “going home” isn’t exactly right. army base. They met, fell in love and name: Saigon. to her dark skin, making a harvesting He says he makes $3 a day. I’ve never been to Vietnam. I’ve made a life back in Minnesota starting Below, mopeds and scooters motion. This will be the only day we spend wantedI to visit my mother’s country in 1973. My half-brother, who was 6 at rule the streets, zipping by with a My mom chimes in, telling me she’s in Tay Ninh. My mom has never seen for as long as I can remember. But life the time, came with her. symphony of honks and beep-beeps. been a rice paddy worker for years. the rest of her country, so we’ll travel happens and the next thing I know I’m Fast forward to 2017. Our parents My cousin tells me to quit taking so Tay Ninh is 60 miles northwest north, taking Kim Anh and Hoang a 35-year-old mixed-race Asian guy are long divorced. My big brother, many photos, for fear someone might of Ho Chi Minh, home to massive, Anh with us. who hasn’t experienced the culture Van, and I are on a plane to Vietnam – run up and steal my iPhone. ornate temples and a small concrete outside of eating pho on University my fi rst time and his fi rst since leaving She teaches me the easiest of house where my grandparents Enter the Ancient City Avenue and listening to my mom tell as a child. Our mother, Ninh, has only Vietnamese words, mostly to describe lived. The highway is lined with an A few days later, I’m bartering with her old stories. been back twice in 44 years, the last the delicious food we’re eating. In unending number of storefronts, a street vendor over a pair of sandals Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 9 AVEL COMMUNITY an discovers first time

A busy food vendor prepares duck soup in an alley in Hanoi. The main Cao Dai temple in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.

for my 3-year-old daughter back The alley packs in fi ve other food home. We’ve moved onto Hoi An, the stalls, a massage parlour and, believe it ancient city of central Vietnam and a or not, our hotel ($50 a night). popular tourist destination. This part of Hanoi is called the The rows of little red sandals Old Quarter, the oldest commercial are laid out on a mat at this night district in all of Vietnam. People have market. Hoang Anh insists she do been selling their wares here since the the bartering for me; her sweet 13th century. demeanour slipping away as the shoe Nearby is the Vietnamese Women’s seller becomes agitated with our off er. Museum, fi ve fl oors devoted to female My cousin is persistent in her quest to war commanders who fought in the protect us from getting overcharged. North’s guerrilla army (their personal The woman swears at her: “Why are pistols are on display). you helping them, they’re rich!” We’re surprised to see another fl oor After a few more instances of these dedicated to the country’s agricultural intense showdowns over $5 trinkets, labourers: Instead of handguns, the I tell Hoang Anh she doesn’t have to harvesting blades of fi eld workers barter anymore. We can aff ord it. hang behind glass displays. Hoi An is a maze of mouthwatering “My sister Nga said she could have street food storefronts, a comforting been dead 100 times!” my mom says, oasis without the incessant honking referring to the danger of working in of the bigger cities. The relaxed nature the paddies during lightning storms. of these cafes give my mom more time We ask my aunt and cousin if they’d to refl ect. She can’t help but reminisce like to see Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, about physical and emotional scars. without a doubt the city’s busiest At an ice cream shop, she tells a story landmark. I expect them to decline, of her father tortured by the Japanese but they seem genuinely excited. in the 1940s. Over lunch, she tells the (Uncle Ho is a bit of celebrity in story of how Kim Anh wanted to be a modern Vietnam.) doctor. My aunt adds to the story: the Arriving at 7:30am there must be communists wouldn’t let her because close to 10,000 people gathered in my mom lived in the United States. lines that snake around the compound My mom didn’t know that until this for blocks. Half of the crowd is grade- moment. school classes. All this simply to see The streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, are dominated by mopeds. “It’s very sad. But that’s life,” my the venerated communist leader’s mom says. embalmed body. He died in 1969. formations rising right out of the sea cousin as if for the last time: Driving to the airport the next Today the communists like that Three hours later, we fi nally make – ancient lore says they were created “Ngon!” day, we prepare to say our goodbyes. we live in the States, Kim Anh says, it to the front of the line, his tomb by dragons to keep out foreign At night, I stand on the deck as My aunt and cousin will take a because we come back as tourists. an ominous granite fortress. Inside, invaders. the ship rushes past those stone domestic fl ight back to Ho Chi Minh They call us “Viet Kieu,” meaning the temperature drops and the line We’re capping off our two-week behemoths. The breeze is cool, the City in the south. Overseas Vietnamese. of people falls silent. Four armed journey with an overnight cruise on waves loud as they crash against the At the security checkpoint, my guards surround his glass casket. a 24-cabin vessel called the Dragon hull. mom gives Kim Anh the last of her The Heart of Communist You can even see his long, darkened Legend (the ship’s bow is actually Minnesota is my home, but money. My aunt will go back to work Vietnam fi ngernails. shaped like the head of a massive Vietnam is – fi nally – a part of my at 5am tomorrow in the markets. Every day in this Hanoi alleyway, a serpent). soul. Kim Anh asks my mom: “When 50-something woman sits on a tiny Paradise Lost This family-owned operation It’s a feeling realised not by this will we meet each other again?” And stool in front of a boiling vat of duck The 220-foot boat glides is impeccable, a true refl ection of amazing boat, the delicious food or they cry together. soup. She cuts the duck meat into through the teal-green ocean Vietnamese hospitality. The food the beautiful hotels. It’s Kim Anh After a fi nal embrace, my aunt small pieces with a scissors, dishing it with ease, the winds of Ha Long is some of the best we’ve had – and Hoang Anh. It’s the joy of seeing and cousin disappear into the huge all into bowls sold for $2 to an endless Bay blowing through our hair. On oversized prawns, succulent fi sh, my brother walk through the streets lines of Vietnamese heading toward line of customers. Vietnam’s northeastern coast, these and my mom swoons when they of the country that bore him. It’s the domestic terminal. We wave and It’s the best thing I’ve eaten here: otherworldly waters are punctuated bring her extra sticky rice. hearing my mom speak her language then scurry off to our plane, walking “Ngon,” without a doubt. by thousands of massive rock With every bite, I look to my with her countrymen. in silence, back to America. – TNS 10 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY INFOGRAPHIC Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 11 LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE COMMUNITY 3 activities to help you move safely after knee surgery

ost patients undergoing knee ways to use leg muscles, engage in aerobic surgery want to know when activity and have fun! Just be sure to avoid they’ll be able to return to abrupt movements or twists that could a pain-free, active lifestyle potentially put your knee out of alignment. and do the things they once enjoyedM before knee pain took over. Three 3. Swim. Once the wound has healed, many months after surgery, most patients have people choose swimming as their exercise of completely recovered and are able to return choice as it’s not a weight-bearing activity and to many activities that were too painful or therefore reduces stress to the joints. If your diffi cult previously. Once you’ve been cleared knee is still a bit tender, opt for water aerobics by your doctor, the safest way to restart or pool walking. activity after meniscus surgery is to fi nd activities that avoid placing unnecessary stress Want to mix it up? You can feel safe on your knee joint. doing many other recommended activities Here are three activities to help you move such as yoga, golf, boating, aerobics or safely after knee surgery: rowing. If you have experience prior to your surgery doing more intense activities, 1. Walk (don’t run!). Experts say walking your doctor may give you the go-ahead outside your home three to fi ve times each to resume cycling, hiking, cross-country day is one of the best ways to regain your knee skiing and doubles tennis. Whichever strength. While you may need to adjust the activity you choose, remember that rushing length of your step and speed, you will be able into activities before you’ve recovered to spend more time walking for exercise once suffi ciently may put you at risk for your muscle strength improves. complications, so be sure to check with your doctor fi rst before resuming any activity 2. Dance. While you should avoid high- after meniscus surgery. impact moves like jumping or lifts, ballroom dancing and gentle modern dancing are great ©Brandpoint

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI March 21 — April 19 April 20 — May 20 May 21 — June 20

Your thinking is clear today, Aries, but it might be hard to take action Your flamboyant approach may not get as much attention today as You have exactly the right amount of discipline and sense of duty to on your thoughts. A restrictive force may seem to be holding you you'd like, Taurus. Don't push yourself to achieve something that accomplish quite a bit today, Gemini. Your thinking should be clear. back. A sense of discipline is welling up within you, reminding you to isn't working. By insisting that something should be done your way, Your sense of time and restriction works in your favour to help you add a touch of conservatism to whatever it is that you have in mind. you'll only create enemies and bottlenecks in whatever task you're figure out any puzzles that present themselves. You have a strong Take the opportunity to pursue tasks that require you to be reserved trying to accomplish. A thoughtful, conscious, reserved approach is will that helps you complete just about every task you undertake. and collected. going to win today. CANCER LEO VIRGO June 21 — July 22 July 23 — August 22 August 23 — September 22

Trying to talk your way out of tasks and obligations probably isn’t Just when you thought you had everything figured out and planned The fire within you may be burning brightly, Virgo, but unfortunately, the best way to win friends today, Cancer. In fact, this is a time to get correctly, another obstacle appears, Leo. Your first reaction may be there isn’t a great deal of fuel available to keep it going. It may seem yourself in gear and take responsibility for your actions. The time to get upset. Rage won't help. You can't always control everything. as if people are trying to rain on your parade, but they're just trying you spend trying to weasel your way out of something is better There are bound to be surprises. Plan for what you can, but know to do their duty. Relax and contemplate what's going on around you. spent just doing the thing that you need to do. Be understanding that there are often unknown forces working against your aims. This may not be the best day to implement change and promote and receptive of other people's objectives. Watch out! new ideas. LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS September 23 — October 22 October 23 — November 21 November 22 — December 21

You may find that other people are the missing variable in the By jumping around from place to place, Scorpio, you may end Make a plan at the beginning of the day for what you want to equation that you seek answers to today, Libra. Don't feel like you up feeling like you're getting nowhere. Instead of tackling many accomplish by sundown, Sagittarius. This is a good time to tackle have to come up with all the details and resolutions yourself. Work diff erent tasks, today is better spent focusing your energy on one. many of the nitpicky tasks that require your attention. Be conscious with those who also have something to contribute to the situation at Start from ground level and work up. Get to the root of the problem of the fact that there are time limits and restrictions on some of the hand. A quiet, disciplined approach is exactly what's needed to plow and many of the related issues will simply dissolve as you work. things you're working on. Keep on task and try not to get distracted through any problem that needs fixing. by other people. CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES December 22 — January 19 January 20 — February 18 February 19 — March 20

You might have to adjust your way of thinking in order to match the Your steady nature will be greatly appreciated today, Aquarius. A It's possible that you're feeling obliged to do something out of a energy of the situations around you. While you may feel a desire well thought out plan of attack is the one that wins approval from sense of duty toward family or loved ones, Pisces. Take this time to to strike out into some new, adventurous activity, there’s a strong the higher-ups. You know the best way to proceed and now all you help someone who's struggling with who they are and what they're resistance asking you to be more cautious and stable. Don't lose need is the confidence to follow through with your ideas. Getting doing in this world. Your concern for others reflects a noble sense touch with your pioneering attitude, but don't fall prey to reckless things started should be easier for you today since your mind is of empathy that you should develop more regularly. We're only as behaviour, either. working in harmony with your heart. strong as the weakest link. Do your part to strengthen the chain. 12 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY CARTOONS/PUZZLES

Wordsearch Adam

Pooch Cafe Come Alive!

ACTIVE MIND BEING PRESENCE BIRTH PSYCHE BREATH SELF CONSCIOUS SOUL CREATION SPARK ESSENCE SPIRIT EXISTENCE SURVIVAL FLAME VITAL

Codeword Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once. Squares with the same number in have the same letter in. Work out which number represents which letter.

Garfield Puzzles courtesy: Puzzlechoice.com courtesy: Puzzles

Sudoku

Bound And Gagged

Sudoku is a puzzle based on a 9x9 grid. The grid is also divided into nine (3x3) boxes. You are given a selection of values and to complete the puzzle, you must fill the grid so that every column, every anone is repeated. Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 13 PUZZLES COMMUNITY

Super Cryptic Clues Colouring

ACROSS DOWN 1. Give a hand to a Scotsman 1. Hint it might be cat fur (6) on the road (6) 2. Stood the wine (4) 5. Not the drinks one longs 3. Drawing the daily fuel (8) for? (6) 4. Put all resources into the oil drilling 8. Lift this out, to find business? (4,4,7) nothing inside (5) 5. In the outset, the dog, Rover, got dull 9. The coin and the little food (6) green ball you put inside 6. When Miss Right turns up, say how (6) wonderful she is (4) 10. Round taken by the meat 7. Guards the ship and the sailors in it (6) man (6) 12. I began breaking the beginner in: a 11. Shot Across and helped foreigner (7) the gardener (5) 13. All those troubles that are little ones? 14. Be dictated to and (7) remove it (4,4) 15. Only the name and number (5) 16. Is to set out round about 17. In my opinion, it’s rising, too (5) six, for a change (6) 19. Is it coddled by the gardener? (3-5) 18. Barking, more or less 20. Hurried by the police, being bad (6) (7,8) 21. Hard to train, is planted in the garden 20. Look after the material (6) and patch it up (6) 23. Delighted by the railway guard (6) 22. Increases when the 24. Go with her, lady: she’s a singer (4) relations get possession 26. Pickle, or where it may be eaten (4) Answers of the cut gem (8) 25. A procedure you may find boring (5) Wordsearch Codeword 27. To cool one after something that’s burnt one’s mouth? (6) 28. Nick is the star performer again in it (6) 29. Mark in a funny way, to start with (5) 30. Pet, that fifty per cent cut will create a shortage (6) 31. Has been poured into the crack, but it’s no good (6)

Yesterday’s Solutions

ACROSS: 1 Full figure 6 Alec DOWN: 1 Facts 2 Leave over 3 10 Charred 11 Glutton 12 Firm management 4 Godsons Steamboat 13 Lance 14 Liven 5 Regatta 7 Latin 8 Converges 15 Searching 17 Forage cap 20 9 Fully conscious 14 Life-cycle Notes 21 Cream 23 Struck out 16 Introduce 18 Cashier 19 25 Chianti 26 Produce 27 Even Parapet 22 Exile 28 Protesters. 24 Tiers. 14 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY POP SPOT

in Wild ride for Cardi B brief t’s been a pretty wild ride to music stardom for Cardi B. The girl born Belcalis Almanzar on October 11, 1992, Dusky Grey has found fame via gang membership, exotic dancing, cosmetic surgery, Welsh duo Dusky Grey insist they have great InternetI celebrity and reality television. She faces for radio. This explains why Gethin is now riding high on Billboard’s Hot 100 with Williams and Catrin Hopkins make nothing her breakthrough hit single, Bodak Yellow. more than a cameo appearance in their “I named it Bodak Yellow because the fl ow videos. But they are attracting attention from of the song will remind you of a song Kodak the tastemakers on UK national radio. Their Black did called No Flockin. He liked Bodak new single, Call Me Over, has been playlisted Yellow so had no problem about the fl ow on BBC Radio 1. being based around his track. I did the same This follows the acclaim showered on sort of thing for my song, Foreva. That was Gethin and Catrin earlier this year after their based on Plies’ song, Ran Off On Da Plug independently-released debut single, Told Twice.” Me. The critical adulation saw record labels Although Cardi’s critics say her success is come knocking on their door and the duo eff ectively stolen from the original work of signed a deal with East West/Warner Music others, the New York native is unapologetic Group. about this or any other aspect of her life. See what you think of Dusky Grey by “I might have been inspired by the checking out the videos for Told Me and fl ow of Kodak Black’s song but the lyrics, Call Me Over. The former is posted at www. presentation and performance are all my own youtube.com/watch?v=ZITylXjvjGo while the work. Haters can say what they like. I don’t latter can be found at www.youtube.com/ pay any attention to them.” watch?v=-vwiOxzqglk Like her music, the path of Cardi’s life There is also an Alex Metric dance seems to have been criticised and praised in remix of Told Me at www.youtube.com/ equal measures. While there are those who watch?v=Ve4o8N2GW3I condemn the road she has taken, others are fulsome in their admiration for a girl who has Liam Gallagher dragged herself out of poverty and abusive relationships to a comfortable environment Could Liam Gallagher be about to disappear and acceptance in mainstream America. from the music scene? As a teenager, Cardi became a member of Don’t bet on it but the former Oasis and the notorious Bloods street gang. She has Beady Eye frontman has said he will quit the not replied to any specifi c question about music industry if his debut solo album flops. her initiation but has referred to herself as The album, As You Were, is scheduled for having been a gangbanger since the age of 16. release on October 6. It has so far been Despite her involvement with the Bloods, promoted with three songs. Liam’s debut there was an indication of how her life might solo single, Wall of Glass, peaked at number change when she attended the Renaissance 21 on the UK chart. The follow-up, Chinatown, High School for Musical Theater and reached number 56. Third single, For What Technology. It’s Worth, has just been released. “I used to get cast in the lead parts when Liam insists there would be no point in him we did musicals but usually got kicked off making another solo album if As You Were the show because I got bad grades. I’d go to is unsuccessful. He also says he would not daytime parties in friends’ apartments when consider moving into a diff erent style of their parents were at work. I spent more time music. doing these things than schoolwork.” While this may be true, it is diff icult to believe For a time, she mixed college with work as that he would “rather work at MacDonald’s” a cashier in a delicatessen. But Cardi dropped than reunite Oasis. This is precisely what out of college and got fi red from her job. She he has seemingly wanted to do since the was also the victim of domestic violence. She band eff ectively transformed into Beady claims becoming an exotic dancer saved her Eye following the acrimonious departure of life. Like her music, the path of Cardi's life seems to have been criticised and praised in equal his brother Noel. Perhaps Liam has finally “I was fi nancially dependent on this measures. accepted that Noel has no intention of ever boyfriend who kept beating me. We were re-forming Oasis. living with two pitbulls in a room at his make as much money if I didn’t have big and guest appearances on tracks by other There is no off icial video as yet for Liam’s mama’s house. It was crazy. I started boobs and a big ass so I had surgery to change artists. For whatever reason, they did not new single. However, For What It’s Worth stripping as a way to earn enough money my body. I now know it was a mistake but it prove as popular as her social media posts. is accompanied by a lyric video which to leave my boyfriend and become seemed right at the time.” “I put out a video for my Lick track on the can be viewed at www.youtube.com/ independent. Cardi initially became a social media same day as a rant on Instagram. My ranting watch?v=oAVlZxt1GHU “People think of stripping as a negative thing personality while still employed as an video went more viral than my music video. but it’s not. Most of the guys in the audience exotic dancer. Her Instagram postings, both I don’t want to lose my social media fans but Wolf Alice are very respectful. You’re not their wife or funny and serious, quickly attracted a loyal I felt I had to self-censor myself. Otherwise, their girlfriend, you’re their fantasy or illusion. following and transformed her into what has my personality overshadows everything.” London alternative rockers Wolf Alice hit They understand and respect that. become known as a microcelebrity. She now seems to have found a happy number two on the UK chart with their 2015 “If I have a date now, I would much rather In 2015, she was able to quit exotic dancing medium between music and social media. The debut album, My Love Is Cool. They hope the we go to the club than a restaurant or a and use her celebrity status to earn a living. chart success of Bodak Yellow far surpasses any fan response will be equally positive when movie. I enjoy watching the girls perform Cardi is proud to say everything in her of her previous songs. How much Cardi might the follow-up, Visions of a Life, is released on and will always throw money for them if they apartment was either given to her for free genuinely enjoy her own music is another September 29. put on a good show.” or at a much reduced price in exchange for matter. With a Trinidadian mother and a father With three singles now issued, the new Despite her positive comments about social media endorsements. from the Dominican Republic, she grew up album certainly promises to be an eclectic exotic dancing, there is one aspect of the Her celebrity presence, allied to a love of listening to dancehall, bachata and reggaeton. musical mix. Judge for yourself by viewing profession which Cardi looks back on with music and an ability to create new lyrics to Rap came later in her life. the off icial videos. Lead single, Yuk Foo, is at regret. popular tracks, led to Cardi trying her hand “I love my own music but I also love styles www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_AigNZYZc “Before I started stripping, I was very at rapping. This resulted in a regular spot on of music which wouldn’t necessarily become while Don’t Delete The Kisses can be found satisfi ed with the way I looked. I thought I VH1’s show, Love & Hip Hop: New York, and a a hit. I’ll change my sound if anything I do at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqxE-zppu30 had a nice face and body and the bosses must mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol 1, which hit doesn’t work. You have to follow the trends As yet, there is only an audio posting of have thought so or I wouldn’t have got the number 20 on Billboard’s Rap Albums chart. and be with what sells. I need to make money newly released Beautifully Unconventional. job. But I’d see some of the other girls and Vol 2 was released earlier this year. Singles while I’m hot. I have a passion for music but I This is at www.youtube.com/ started to feel insecure. I felt like I wouldn’t have come and gone, both her own solo work also have a passion for paying my bills.” watch?v=OruEhXEcWLo Tuesday, August 22, 2017 GULF TIMES 15 TELEVISION COMMUNITY Atypical may off end with its take on autism, but does more good than harm

Keir Gilchrist in the show.

Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael By Lorraine Ali Rapaport play Sam’s supportive parents, Elsa and Doug, and the impressive Brigette Lundy-Paine is or high school senior his protective, tomboy sister, Casey. Sam, dating is a deep Together, they are a working-class mystery, like Stonehenge family that has devoted the last 18 or crop circles. years to helping Sam cope. The tacit social cues. Casey still carries his lunch FThe subtle body language. The money and keeps tabs on him at veiled conversation. It’s all Greek school. Elsa makes him separate to the autistic teen who’d rather meals and uses special detergent on talk about the migration habits of his clothes (he wears the same thing Antarctica’s chinstrap penguin every day) to placate his sensory population, but funnily enough, it’s issues and tactile sensitivities. His not the best chick bait. father is still perplexed on how Yet if Sam (played with to speak with his son, and stays humour and sensitivity by Keir at arm’s length until he’s fi nally Gilchrist) ever hopes to have a needed to dispense something mom girlfriend, he must decode this odd can’t – advice on how to get a girl. courtship ritual between humans. This whole family of life-long Complicating things is that he’s protectors is left wondering who like any other “normal” teen on the they are, or what their role should precipice of adulthood – confused, be, now that Sam is seeking some irritated and dismayed. autonomy. Casey explains it best Those who’ve raised, loved or during a college entrance interview cared for someone autistic will when she must take an incoming recognise their story in Netfl ix’s call from her brother: Atypical, a series that understands “Mom and Sam always used the minutiae and big picture of to say neurotypicals to describe living on the spectrum, or living everyone who wasn’t on the with someone that others may see spectrum,” she says. “They called as weird, odd or “not all there” (as them NTs. But I thought they were one student says about Sam while saying ‘empties’ because Sam takes she’s trying to defend him against up so much space, everyone around bullies). him is empty.” But this is not a sob story, or It’s beautifully orchestrated autism explainer, or after-school moments like this that make special about the importance of more clumsy ones in Atypical tolerance. stand out. Sam’s co-worker at The poster for the show. Atypical is a fast-moving family the Techtropolis electronics drama that often borders on store, Zahid (Nik Dodani), is full and-white take on things could encyclopaedic knowledge, stats weird. Being diff erent is a badge comedy. Created by Robia Rashid of cringe-worthy stunts as the prove too narrow for viewers, and on penguins and ice shelves. He of honour in post-everything (How I Met Your Mother), the series stereotypical South Asian nerd his literal take on sayings such as sketches glaciers and penguins in America. Be yourself, right? is as compassionate as it is snarky, who ironically gets the hot ladies. “Go get ‘em!” “Go where and get his notebooks. But most of us have a choice of pairing a deep understanding about He gives Sam bad advice, steering who?” could get annoying, but that When other kids are wearing when to let our freak fl ag fl y, and everyday life on the spectrum with him toward a YouTube video called doesn’t happen. concert jerseys, he’s wearing a when to reel it in. a sense of humour rarely found in “How to Talk to Hos.” Sam’s robotic tone, idiosyncratic T-shirt emblazoned with various Sam doesn’t. He’s odd 24/7, and productions that deal with autism. For a show that’s so detailed and behaviour and social ticks are species of whales. When he will be the rest of his life. Atypical Atypical risks off ending some, but smart throughout, it can be awfully lovable, his unfi ltered comments makes a pros and cons list about a doesn’t attempt to show how Sam it does more good than harm by stupid in spots. refreshingly honest. schoolmate he is thinking of asking is “just like us,” mostly because he’s demystifying a sensitive and painful But Gilchrist’s performance Most charming, or at least to be his girlfriend, the pros column not. And that’s what makes him subject with an unapologetic makes up for it. Sam’s not an easy entertaining, is his obsession with includes: Thick hair like arctic fox. a complex and unique television candour. character to play – his black- the South Pole. He can recite, with We all like to say we’re a little character worth watching. – TNS 16 GULF TIMES Tuesday, August 22, 2017 COMMUNITY Squeezed out, the US far right is creating its own corporate world

The relationship between By Matt Pearce America’s far-right and liberal tech world was mutually benefi cial at fi rst. ver and over again, As the alt-right movement those on America’s far gained momentum over the past right have learned that two years, supporters found that the First Amendment advertising-supported platforms doesn’t protect them like Facebook and Twitter were fromO Silicon Valley tech companies. powerful tools for trolling and self- For weeks, neo-Nazis, white promotion. For a fee, crowdfunding nationalists and other far-right sites such as GoFundMe off ered fi gures organised for Saturday’s the possibility for rising stars in “Unite the Right” demonstration the movement to convert their in Charlottesville, Va., which left newfound social capital into actual three people dead and dozens fi nancial capital. injured. But as the far-right’s infl uence But days before the rally, the grew, many of those companies short-term lodging service Airbnb cracked down after liberals and started suspending the accounts leftists accused them of sponsoring of rally attendees who had rented hate speech. houses in the area. Why? The San “I don’t want to patronise Francisco-headquartered company anyone that patronises them,” said requires customers to “accept Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an anti- people regardless of their race, fascist activist who has pressured religion, national origin, ethnicity,” companies that do business with among other things – a deal- far-right fi gures. “They make it breaker for white nationalists, who clear that they want to undermine have been banned by other popular society, that they want to break up companies for similar reasons. society as we know it, that they It was a blow for the organisers, want to be a boot on everyone’s who had “taken over all of the neck. Why should we ignore that?” large AirBnBs in a particular area,” The shutdown of fi nancial according to a user on the message services has cramped Anglin, who board for the Daily Stormer, a has said the Daily Stormer might popular neo-Nazi website, who had shut down if he loses his lawsuit “set up ‘Nazi Uber’ and the ‘Hate against the Southern Poverty Law Van’ to help in moving our people Center. around as needed.” Anglin accused his adversaries This wasn’t the fi rst time the far of “trying to silence protected right had to fi nd someone willing Members of the National Socialist Movement hold flags and shields donning swastikas during a rally outside Pomona speech, and they are able to to provide services for its members. City Hall in November 2011. shut down my access to PayPal, Increasingly, the group’s solution is credit card processors, Patreon, to provide its own. companies, many of them in San and anti-Semitic comments and better protection from lawsuits. advertisers, even webhosts, Over the last two years, a crop of Francisco, setting the boundaries images but also playful memes of One of WeSeachr’s other with threats to defame these startups has begun off ering social on what speech isn’t acceptable on their de facto mascot, “Pepe,” a founders, Pax Dickinson, recently companies in the media,” Anglin media platforms and fi nancial for-profi t platforms, “that’s a huge cartoon frog. “Frog Twitter and the split from the company to start told The Times in an e-mail earlier services catering to right-wing opportunity to sit here and defend so-called ‘alt-right’ – there’s a lot his own crowdfunding site, this year. Internet users. the Internet that I grew up on,” he of life there,” Wilson said. “I’m kind Counter. Fund, with an “explicit As for Spencer, one of the The new companies are said. of happy to help it mutate.” dedication against Marxist political alt-right’s other most prominent small, paling in audience size to Right-wing activists banned Another crowdfunding startup, correctness and the globalist figures, he still has a Twitter their gargantuan, mainstream from the crowdfunding site WeSearchr, has raised more than progressive Left,” according to its account, but he has been banned counterparts. But piece by piece, Patreon can fundraise on Hatreon, $150,000 for Anglin’s legal defence website. from the audio hosting site supporters of the far right are a platform created to counter the in a lawsuit fi led by the Southern Dickinson was the chief SoundCloud. He said three banks assembling their own corporate “inexcusable content policing of Poverty Law Center, the anti- technology offi cer of Business have terminated the accounts of tech world – a shadow Silicon services like Patreon.” extremism nonprofi t, after Anglin Insider until he was forced to resign his white nationalist nonprofit, Valley, one with fewer rules. Hatreon – pronounced HATE- organised a “troll storm” against in 2013 after sexist and racist tweets the National Policy Institute, but After being banned from Twitter ree-on – currently features a woman on his website, the Daily of his were uncovered by the news the group still does businesses during the 2016 presidential fundraisers supporting Richard Stormer. site Gawker. Dickinson since has with online payment-processing campaign, many members of the Spencer, one of America’s most WeSearchr often sponsors channelled his entrepreneurial services such as PayPal. “alt-right” movement of white prominent white nationalists fundraisers for medical bills and energies into creating fi nancial Every now and then, a new nationalists joined Gab, which (who has 34 “patrons” pledging to legal defence funds for far-right infrastructure to sustain the far- company forces him out and describes itself as “an ad-free social donate $362 to him a month), and fi gures who have gotten in fi ghts right. leaves him with fewer options for network for creators who believe in Andrew Anglin, one of America’s with left-wing anti-fascists. It “Counter-cultural content how to advance his agenda, which free speech, individual liberty, and most prominent neo-Nazis (with 50 also off ers “bounties” – money creators are trapped into funnelling includes traveling around the the free fl ow of information online.” donors pledging $869.17 a month). donated by users to meet a certain income streams through platforms country to spread his beliefs. On Tuesday, one of the site’s most Spencer called Hatreon’s objective – seeking the identities owned by their ideological Spencer said he recently popular posts was an image that founder, Cody Wilson, of Austin, of anti-fascists involved in violent enemies,” Dickinson wrote in a discovered that he had been said, “I (HEART) BEING WHITE.” Texas, to praise the service and that encounters. manifesto explaining the need for banned from Airbnb – presumably “The market is owned and he would use it no matter what. WeSeachr’s owner, Chuck C. his new company. “A non-liberal because of his viewpoints, which controlled and operated by the Wilson, who is best known for Johnson, a right-wing journalist on Patreon or Kickstarter is just include calling for a separate oligarchy of Twitter and Facebook his eff orts to produce guns through and provocateur who has been one hack journalist’s hit piece or nation for white people. and Google,” said Gab’s founder, 3-D printing, described himself as banned from Twitter, told the Los progressive cultural campaign away “I just went to my account, and Andrew Torba. an “Internet anarchist” who wants Angeles Times in an e-mail that from being censored from their it was gone,” Spencer said. He “The reality is hate speech is to disrupt the establishment’s it was “good business to allow platform and losing their income sounded puzzled, given how his free speech,” Torba added, citing status quo. He was intrigued by free speech” and that he believes stream entirely.” past hosts had rated him positively US Supreme Court precedent. far-right users on social media, not discriminating against users’ Dickinson declined to be as a customer. “I had all these nice With predominantly left-leaning who sometimes post racist, sexist political views might give him interviewed for this article. reviews.” - TNS