As most of you probably already know, Marshall Mathers III was born on October the 17th, 1972, in St Joseph, Missouri.
People who are curious to discover more about the town where Eminem was born will find some reliable info here:
Archive for September, 2004
Facts about Eminem’s early years in Missouri
Thursday, September 30th, 2004King Tank: a Detroit underground artist that is really worth discovering
Wednesday, September 29th, 2004Lawrence Parker aka King Tank (formerly known as Young Tank) was born on September the 24th 2004 in Detroit. He is one of those Detroit underground rappers who will impress you with his creativity and his rhyming skills.
King Tank is a man of many hats: he is not only a rapper, he is also a producer and an engineer in training. King Tank produces most of his tracks.
Besides that, Lawrence Parker has a great passion for poetry. He has written short stories and novels. He also writes gospel and RnB songs.
Jumeirah Mosque
Wednesday, September 29th, 2004Of course being an Arab country, there are mosques everywhere, this is the rather nice one on Jumeirah Road. And in case you are curious about the wealth of this country, just outside the picture was parked two Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV’s, one black and one white, and an Escalade had just driven by two minutes before. Oh and a nice red Ferrari, what looked like a 360 Modena, sped by just before as well.
Beach in Dubai
Wednesday, September 29th, 2004This is one of the many beaches in Dubai, but one of the public ones. Many of the hotels own private beaches where you pay for entry etc.
You can get a lovely view of the skyscrapers on Sheikh Zayed Road from the beach.
Sheikh Zayed Road view from beach
Here are the lovely clear, and very warm waters of the Persian Gulf:
Cost of living, Dubai
Wednesday, September 29th, 2004John Kushiner left a comment wondering how far 100 dirhams will go in Dubai. Things like restaurants and food are much cheaper here than in Ireland. ‘Sin’ goods like alcohol and pork seem to have taxes added on, while most other things are tax free. There are also no income taxes here.
Money goes much further here than at home – taxis are extremely cheap, clean and usually have friendly drivers. Though if they know you are new to the city they will drive the longest way possible to your destination, though I guess the same goes for most cities. A bottle of water will set you back about 20 cents, which is a great deal cheaper than Ireland. One would think water in Ireland would be cheaper than in a desert kingdom, perhaps the economist readers can enlighten me on that one?
I took a picture of a price list at the Lebanese bakery I was at last night (quite drunk I was too). This was a fast food place so it is pretty cheap, but some of the higher class restaurants are still reasonable, in many of the 4/5 star hotels a nice meal would set you back about 50 – 70 dirhams, which is alot cheaper than Ireland.
More drinking and cavorting
Wednesday, September 29th, 2004I went to the Madinat Jumeirah/Mina A’ Salam in Dubai tonight. The inaugural concert, in the brand new Madinat Theater was on, with a group of Rat Pack cover singers. It was a great night out, and I am extremely impressed with the Madinat Hotel. I will post photos soon, but needless to say it is the last word in luxury.
I also had a very interesting chat with a Californian just back from Baghdad, who was working for a radio station out there. What crazy stories you here in this place.
Eminem’s political engagement
Tuesday, September 28th, 2004Some of you might not like it, some might even doubt it, but Eminem is politically engaged and has offered a lot of criticism against the Bush administration in The Eminem Show. Eminem has also expressed his disgust of Bush in other albums like Obie Trice’s « Cheers ». In the D12 outro of « Cheers », Marshall says:
Emirates Towers at night
Monday, September 27th, 2004I tried some longer exposure night photos (without tripod), its hit and miss really. This one turned out reasonably well.
Burj al Arab at sunset yesterday
Monday, September 27th, 2004I spent the day at the Wild Wadi waterpark beside the Burj Al Arab yesterday. I managed to take a rather nice sunset picture from the top of the “Jumeriah Sceriah” waterslide. It’s a 4 storey high waterslide. And its pretty scary too.
Oh and I will be going for afternoon tea at the Burj later in the week. Hehe.
Dubai aiport terminal 3 collapse
Monday, September 27th, 2004News today of a collapse at the construction site at the new Terminal 3, with a confirmed 5 people killed. Buildings here are usually built at break neck speed, indeed since my first visit in late 2001, I would guess some 30 skyscrapers are built or are under construction, where before there was desert.
The Dubai authorities have closed down many of the roads around Terminal 3, so it would be an issue to get out there for a look.
Dozens of migrant workers die every year out here, thanks to lack of labour laws, working in extremely hot conditions, and general exhaustion. The men killed were most probably very low-paid Indian or Pakistani workers.
Will Marshall and Hailie be guests to Britney Spears’ wedding?
Monday, September 27th, 2004Guess what? It has been rumored that Eminem and his daughter would be guests to Britney Spears’ wedding. Some of you might argue that pop star Britney’s wedding is over since September the 18th.
We even got evidence that her second « marriage » (that is much more a big publicity stunt than anything else) is fake:
“Lost In Translation” mixtape album review
Sunday, September 26th, 2004Russian Rap: « Lost In Translation » mixtape album review
The « Lost In Translation » mixtape is available here:
Ready for a little taste of Russian Rap?
Saturday, September 25th, 2004-
Who is Eddie?
UAE currency: Dirham
Friday, September 24th, 2004For those of you curious about Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, the local currency is the Dirham. At current exchange rates 100 Dirhams is worth about 22 euros/20 US dollars. Here is a photo of some of the currency:
Financial Services Center, Dubai, UAE
Friday, September 24th, 2004The massive archway on Sheikh Zayed road is taking shape, here is a photo of the Financial Services Center, side view. (165k)