It may have been nine years since we made a weekly television appointment with Adrian Grenier when starring in the hit comedy Entourage, but the US actor continued to apply his talents in fields he is deeply passionate about. One of which, as United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador, is supporting environmental causes ranging from sustainable foods to reducing global carbon pollution.
Grenier’s latest initiative, launched as part of his Lonely Whale organisation, is Stop Sucking. It is a global awareness campaign with the aim of reducing the ocean pollution through the elimination of single use plastic straws.
He was recently in Dubai to discuss the initiative with a range of organisations such as Dubai Expo 2020, Tesla and Freedom Pizza with the goal of developing sustainable options to their respective business practices. Speaking to The National on the side lines of these discussions, he also gave us a few insights on his perceptions of luxury.
If you could wake up anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you be?
I have been to a lot of places and nearly all the time, when I get there, I vow to move there. So, it is the same here in Dubai. This is my first time here and there no place right now where I would rather be.
You’re sitting down to the perfect meal. Where are you, who are you with and what are you eating?
My favourite meal is tacos and I am having them in this cool place in Austin, Texas, called Vegan Nom. They make the best vegan tacos. It doesn’t matter who I am with, either friends or alone, if I am eating it then it’s a great meal.
What is your dream home?
It needs to be small, minimal, cosy and with lots of nature surrounding it.
What does luxury mean to you?
Freedom of the burden to have to work.
What’s the most overrated luxury item in your opinion?
The Kardashians.
What was your first ever luxury purchase?
My home in Brooklyn, New York. I got it 15 years ago and it is still there. It is definitely the manifestation of everything I had always wanted to the point of that I built my own music studio inside the basement.
What will you never be caught wearing?
While I am open minded, I don’t like wearing my ties too tight.
Are you a collector?
I am when it comes to music records. I have like 3,000 of them. I DJ too, so a lot of the music I have is also some weird stuff - like speeches for example – that I would like to blend in to my sets.
What piece of advice you would give your younger self when you first entered show business?
It would be to just go out there and do it. Don’t change anything because all the lessons you will learn will be from all the mistakes that you are going to make.
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
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UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
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Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sukuk
An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
