Author Topic: felix rex moves to Cairo (Read 319866 times)

felix rex · « **Reply #2700 on:** March 18, 2015, 02:25:18 AM »

Quote from: Kat Kid on March 17, 2015, 12:55:36 PM

Quote from: felix rex on March 17, 2015, 12:44:16 PM

Quote from: Kat Kid on March 17, 2015, 07:31:48 AM
Are the old Cairo rich families going to laugh at the New Cairo rich?

It's a weird paradigm. Imagine an epilogue where East Eggers built a super elite southeast egg.

Fascinating. Will there be gullies that convince themselves that it is important to have a new Cairo flat in addition to their Dubai, London, Paris and NYC flats?

Almost certainly. There's a very elite, very rich but very thin crust of Egyptian society that will have to have one as a status symbol (and to show support for the Sisi regime). Patrick Kingsley (maybe the best foreign correspondent in Egypt) wrote a very good piece on this and this history of Egypt's other failed satellite cities, which are just weird ghost towns out in the desert with hundreds of empty upper class apartment buildings and villas. Surrounding one giant mall.

felix rex · « **Reply #2701 on:** March 18, 2015, 02:31:47 AM »

Quote from: 42 on March 17, 2015, 01:39:35 PM

Quote from: Kat Kid on March 17, 2015, 12:56:49 PM
I hope that the old Cairos attempt to smear these Habibi come latelys in the most demeaning possible terms.

"Did you hear how those savages live? I heard they put sriracha on their McArabias. What is society coming to?"

Odd note here, KFC is viewed as a luxury item here (a bucket is called a "Kentucky meal"). There's also lots of conspiracy theories about KFC in Egypt (and the entire Muslim world), which is why they were one of the main foreign firms getting blown up and burned down ahead of the conference last weekend.

slackcat · « **Reply #2702 on:** March 18, 2015, 03:49:26 AM »

KFC is a luxury item here too. Seems SEK and Cairo have a lot in common. Keep us posted.

CNS · « **Reply #2703 on:** March 18, 2015, 09:32:01 AM »

So weird.

Kat Kid · « **Reply #2704 on:** March 18, 2015, 11:48:14 AM »

Yes, but what is the Egyptian carpetbagger, Johnny come lately term?

felix rex · « **Reply #2705 on:** March 18, 2015, 01:23:02 PM »

Quote from: Kat Kid on March 18, 2015, 11:48:14 AM

Yes, but what is the Egyptian carpetbagger, Johnny come lately term?

I'm working on this. Sheesh.

michigancat · « **Reply #2706 on:** March 18, 2015, 01:23:57 PM »

felix, how much longer will you be in Cairo? Aren't you about due for an assignment in Paris or something?

CNS · « **Reply #2707 on:** March 18, 2015, 01:34:42 PM »

Are we going to have an embassy/need spies in New Cairo?

felix rex · « **Reply #2708 on:** March 19, 2015, 08:21:02 AM »

Quote from: michigancat on March 18, 2015, 01:23:57 PM

felix, how much longer will you be in Cairo? Aren't you about due for an assignment in Paris or something?

Through next summer. Might be headed to Jordan next.

felix rex · « **Reply #2709 on:** March 19, 2015, 08:21:56 AM »

Quote from: CNS on March 18, 2015, 01:34:42 PM

Are we going to have an embassy/need spies in New Cairo?

Well, they're supposedly gonna have a fancy mass transit rail system, so maybe we could commute?

felix rex · « **Reply #2710 on:** March 21, 2015, 05:25:38 AM »

Quote from: felix rex on March 14, 2015, 10:58:01 AM

I pretty much internet exclusively from my phone now, and tapatalk won't let me upload photos. So, via Twitter, here's what happened when we went bar hopping last night carrying our own jug of sangria (the secret ingredient is too much Grand Marnier): https://twitter.com/the_felixrex/status/576745960249884672

Turns out, if you tell Egyptians you're from the Cairo Zoom blog, you can get them to do lots of ridiculous crap while photographing them.

Six degrees of separation/awkward brunch related update: https://twitter.com/the_felixrex/status/579226412357419008

(He didn't appear to recognize me)

Cire · « **Reply #2711 on:** March 21, 2015, 07:58:23 AM »

Waffles huh

felix rex · « **Reply #2712 on:** March 21, 2015, 09:09:05 AM »

Yes. The biker gang runs a waffle place by day, just like SOA.

felix rex · « **Reply #2713 on:** March 21, 2015, 09:12:24 AM »

They're very good with kids

michigancat · « **Reply #2714 on:** March 21, 2015, 09:29:19 AM »

Cairo is a small world

felix rex · « **Reply #2715 on:** March 21, 2015, 10:47:29 AM »

Quote from: michigancat on March 21, 2015, 09:29:19 AM

Cairo is a small world

Appropriately, mrs rex got the waffles w/ fruits

420seriouscat69 · « **Reply #2716 on:** March 21, 2015, 10:48:27 AM »

Are you ever coming back, felix?

felix rex · « **Reply #2717 on:** March 21, 2015, 11:25:40 AM »

Quote from: WackyCat08 on March 21, 2015, 10:48:27 AM

Are you ever coming back, felix?

felix rex · « **Reply #2718 on:** March 21, 2015, 11:26:47 AM »

I mean, they have waffles now.

michigancat · « **Reply #2719 on:** March 21, 2015, 11:36:39 AM »

Is Jordan better or worse than Cairo? Cairo seems like a pretty boss city, minus the near-constant threat of being burnt to the ground.

Kat Kid · « **Reply #2720 on:** March 21, 2015, 11:49:16 AM »

Jordan seems like Middle East Western Kansas

felix rex · « **Reply #2721 on:** March 22, 2015, 12:27:46 PM »

Egypt explained today that the female protester killed in January died b/c she was "too thin," and didn't have the extra layer of fat for which the police shotguns are apparently calibrated: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125838.aspx

"It was her fate"

That is a real thing that really happened in real life.

michigancat · « **Reply #2722 on:** March 22, 2015, 12:29:17 PM »

Quote from: felix rex on March 22, 2015, 12:27:46 PM

Egypt explained today that the female protester killed in January died b/c she was "too thin," and didn't have the extra layer of fat for which the police shotguns are apparently calibrated: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125838.aspx

"It was her fate"

That is a real thing that really happened in real life.

Whoa

felix rex · « **Reply #2723 on:** March 22, 2015, 12:34:24 PM »

Quote from: michigancat on March 22, 2015, 12:29:17 PM

Quote from: felix rex on March 22, 2015, 12:27:46 PM
Egypt explained today that the female protester killed in January died b/c she was "too thin," and didn't have the extra layer of fat for which the police shotguns are apparently calibrated: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125838.aspx

"It was her fate"

That is a real thing that really happened in real life.
Whoa

There's an American citizen on hunger strike in prison who weighs like 80 lbs, but this is the one that died from lack of body fat.

felix rex · « **Reply #2724 on:** March 22, 2015, 12:36:01 PM »

If nothing else, it's a good reminder for protestors to eat their Kentucky meals.