A beach birthday

Looks like Paradise right? I'm hoping its going to be exactly that.
Over the last 10 years, I've spent my birthday at an exotic vacation location. Invariably it ends up being a beach since I'm such a self confessed beach bum. These have ranged from the beaches of Goa and Kerala to the the exotic islands of southern Italy, the privately owned exclusive luxury islands of Australia and the diving hot-spots of Malaysia and Thailand. This time, I didn't have to look far.

Don't let the photographs fool you. This is not some exotic European Island or some atoll in the Indian ocean. This is a man made island in the UAE, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaima. Yes for my beach vacation this birthday are headed to this heavenly looking resort, and I don't even have to catch any flights for it. :)

I'm spending my birthday weekend at the newly opened Marjan Island resort and Spa in RAK. I will give a post stay review so that you can know how it was. A 1 hour drive away from Dubai, this is located in Ras Al Khaimah's first man made archipelago of 4 picturesque coral shaped islands and boasts breath-taking scenic marine views of the shimmering waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Would you like to visit it sometime? Should I run a contest and give away a complimentary stay?

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Middle East Comic Con - Getting my Geek On!

They say you can never get bored in Dubai. And its events like the Middle East Film and Comic Con Festival that bring that statement alive. Dubai has more events, conferences, activities, concerts and things happening that you could get around to enjoying in one lifetime. There's always something new to see, to do, to try to taste and to experience in Dubai.

See All my photos here 

The concept of the comics convention started in the in the late 1960's & early 1970's and has become a worldwide phenomenon. All of us now know superheros, aliens, spaceships, some manga & Anime characters since they have become mainstream entertainment today. Comic conventions celebrate this alternative pop culture and attract thousands of fans in almost every major city in the world. I am so proud to be living in Dubai to witness the Middle east versions! :)

See more photos here 

The Middle East comic con is an annual Event that happens in Dubai and attracts patrons from all over the middle east. Its undoubtedly the regions largest pop culture fest and it features artistes, celebrities and some cool entertainment. Its the place to be if you are a geek like me and especially if you are interested in comics, film, sci-fi, anime, manga, video games, collectible and more. I agree its not for everyone, I know friends who dropped by and were compeltely lost, either because of the enormity of the thing or perhaps because they didnt know the bigness of this alternative culture and the cosplay characters or the exhibitors. Yes its not for everone. Its for geeks.
Its actually a geek's Paradise! And being the geek that I am, I was in heaven! :)

Last year I went dressed up (as a ninja) and like for most cosplayers like me, it's was about forgetting who you are for a moment and being someone else. Some photos from my experince at middle east comic con 2013 are here do check them out.


Here's another photo from last year with my co instructor & fellow practitioner in the martial arts that I train in.





This year of course was bigger, better and crazier. I didnt manage to dress up but got to experience comic con as an exhibitor.

My wife distributes these fantastic vector pop art images made by an Artiste friend from India. The brand is Graphicurry Middle East. We had a stall at the Artistes Galley and managed to put smiles on many peoples faces. The artwork sold like hotcakes and were very popular!  Check out photos from our stall & exhibition here

Graphicurry Middle East Happy Buyers

If you would like to own a Piece of Graphicurry art in the UAE make sure you check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/graphicurry.me  some pretty cool products we have! :)

And btw, in case you didnt know already, comic con was filled with celebs and meet and greet opportunities! :)

Geek King Seth green

Celebrities who dropped by included well known super geek Seth Green, known for his role in Austin Powers films and on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, besides being the creator and voice of Robot Chicken,



I also spotted Max Landis, the writer of the cult supernatural hit Chronicle (he was here last year too).

Giancarlo Esposito with a Fan

And if your a fan of the  hit TV show Breaking Bad you will recognize Gus -  Giancarlo Esposito,


Joining him was Canadian heartthrob Taylor Kitsch, you might remember him as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as John Carter and Lt. Alex Hopper from Battleship. 


Also present was  Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy, who played the wizard Radagast in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit series, and the 7th Dr Who in the long-running British science-fiction series.

Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy

The legendary Stan Lee, the creator of Spider Man, Iron Man, The Fantasitc 4, X-Men & The Incredible Hulk participated in a video conference. It was an open to all forum and he answered everyones questions with his notorious sense of humor. Every nerd's dream come true! :)

Tony Jaa & Micheal Jai White with a Fan

Tony Jaa Doing the Grasshopper pose!

And last but not the least - some of my favorite real life action stars who were there included Spawn’s star Michael Jai White (who also played Mike Tyson) and Thai martial artist actor Tony Jaa, known for the Ong-Bak films.

These stars posed for photographs, they gave away autographs and mingled with everyone who came to say hello. This truly made the event very EPIC!

The Mefcc 2014 was one of the most hyped and anticipated events in the region. This is because of the tremendous publicity that it had. A fantastic job by the organisers for the marketing and promotion of the event ensured that the convention this year attracted around 30000 people. Yes It was crowded but who's complaining. Not the exhibitors at least *wink*. It is definitely the largest popular culture festival in the Middle East.

                                         See more photos here 

 A still from the TV spot promoting the Middle East's first Film & Comic Con shows stormtroopers dressed in traditional arabic costumes wandering Dubai's deserts.

Besides the excitement of just being there, what addedd to the epicness were cosplayers, workshops, movie screenings, celebrity gift lounge, performances and fantasic exhibitions for collectors. One of the highlights of the weekend was Metropolis Collectibles, and the world’s largest vintage comic book dealers and online vintage comic auction house ComicConnect.com. The co-founder, Vincent Zurzolo, brought with him the first Superman comic, Action Comics 1, and the first Batman comic, and the first Spider Man, all valued at more than $1 million (Dh367 million) each. I doubt if anyone had the dirhams to spare though! |

This is the third year that MEFCC is running successfully. The team behind it is Extra Cake PR and they deserve a special  mention for organizing this massive convention almost flawlessly. The dedication and foresight with which they executed the conclave is commendable. Here's congratulating them and wishing them all the best for next year and the years to come.
                                     See more photos here 

Here's a photo taken by Seth Green and it definitely does show you the EPIC-ness of Middle East Comic con 2014. As the years go by, Middle east comic con only promises to be bigger, cooler and geekier. Long Live and comic con!
I cant wait for MEFCC 2015. Its gonna be insane for sure! Im going to be there for sure ... what about you?

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"Radio Heads" at the Dubai Hercules Trophy

Over the last weekend I got the good fortune to represent my company "Gulf News Broadcasting" at a super fun corporate gaming event called "The Hercules trophy". I was participating on behalf of Radio 2 - (Sister station of Josh 97.8) Our team consisted of a few of my colleagues who are super fit and the "sporty" kinds. With my martial arts and fitness background, I guess this was right up my alley too and so I signed up! :) Plus it looked really happy and fun and that's what we are all looking for right? Multiple ways of finding happiness! :)

Team "Radio Heads" Taking stage at the Dubai Hercules Trophy - March 2014

Once we had got kitted up in our team costume (courtesy Adidas), the day started out with some brain labours - simple puzzles that we solved together as a team. We were so tired exercising our grey cells, we had a really huge breakfast, and then to burn it off, a fantastic group warm up session. The thrill of moving in a synchronized way with 1000+ fit people is something that has got to be experienced. It was really heartening to see all the participants from the 80 odd teams do the warm up drills.. man what a rush!  
Post that we had a little impromptu parade kinda routine where each team took stage, waved their team flags and posed for the camera! Some photos are on the hercules trophy facebook page

Team "Radio Heads" - Rochelle, Joanne, Anjaan, Barry, Emma (standing from left), Vicky, Bella (Kneeling from left)
at the Dubai Hercules Trophy - March 2014

Right after that we moved into the first set of Labours. 

A  labour is one of the 12 team activities/challenges that all teams must compete in. Its called a labour, after the 12 tasks the legendary Greek hero Hercules had to carry out to please the Greek god Zeus. The different labours require varied levels of stamina, strength, problem solving abilities and skills. Descriptions and photos of the 12 Labours we had are here - On the Hercules Trophy Facebook page

Posing with the Dubai Hercules Trophy Mascot

Team "Radio Heads" Rochelle, Barry, Joanne, Anjaan, Hercules Trophy Mascot, Emma and Vicky (left to right)

What is it?

The Hercules Trophy is a super-charged inter-company teambuilding event that helps enhance relationships between employees, customers and suppliers through the camaraderie of sport. http://www.herculestrophy.com/ 

When & Where was it?

It was on March 22nd, 2014 at the Sevens Stadium, Dubai

Aeriel view of the Dubai Hercules Trophy at the Dubai Sevens Stadium

Got more questions?
Check out Hercules Trophy FAQ 

My Gorgeous Colleagues Emma & Joanne from Gulf News Broadcasting :)

At an event like this, one could truly feel multi-cultural nature of Dubai, with more than at least 30 nationalities embracing this highly competitive, intense full day of fun activities. Yes, some of the labours were tough, while the others a breeze. Taking part as a team teaches you patience, respect and a deep rooted civility towards other beings. I feel these values resonated across every team that took part and brought about a sort of communal happiness. I had a blast. Perhaps you should convince your company to take part next year? 

Hercules Trophy Team #Selfie - Mandatory right?

It was well organised, full of energetic happy people who work out and really lots of fun. The carnival kind of atmosphere also ensured that even though you were physically exhausted, you were mentally rejuvenated. I even made some new friends and got to know some colleagues better. Though we didn't win it (we came within the top 20) we did come out as winners. 

After all winning always doesn't mean being first, winning means doing better than you've done before, or doing something you've never done before! ;)

Fooling around with the Dubai Hercules Trophy Mascot

Happy Festivals - Holi & St.Patricks Day

I love it when 2 festivals from completely unrelated cultures land up on the same day. Even though these festivals have absolutely no cultural or religious relation with each other, their underlying theme seems to be the same. 

St Patrick's day (also known as the feast of St. Patrick) is an Irish traditional festival which commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. People wish each other love luck and Happiness. 

Anjaan in an Irish Leprechaun hat

The most famous Irish beer

Holi is a spring festival also known as festival of colours, and sometimes festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities. It is the Indian festival of color, joy and happiness.

Notice the common thread between these 2 festivals? Yes you are right - It is happiness. 

Wether it is Bhaang or Beer, Bhangra or Tap Dancing, Gujia or Guiness... the final destination is always happiness. No matter which festival you are celebrating, here's wishing you lots of love, luck and happiness. Spread the joy! :)