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Dhani Tackles the Globe 2

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georgiapeach:
Is this already filmed?? Wonder if the volcano in Iceland affected their schedule at all, or if they were already done filming?

Thanks for sharing!

apskip:
Yes, Peach, the entire season is already filmed and edited. I believe it was done last spring before Cincinnati Bengals NFL  early training camp ope. Once Dhani Jones started the Bengals NFL season in September and finished in early January, there was no possibility of filming this and the same applies to the period between the Super Bowl in the beginning of February and today - there's just not enough time. Besides, a recent news report states that Dhani just returned in mid-April  "from a trek up part of Mount Everest. It wasn't any foxtrot. They hiked seven or eight hours a day for two weeks."  Nobody has made any news releases on this, but I expect it to turn up on Dhani Tackles the Globe 3 next spring: "Everest was the hardest thing I did this (TV) season. It was a real test of your mental and your physical strength."

I don't know what to expect for the Iceland episode next week.The episode summary is "Although small in population, Iceland is home to more champions in the sport of Strongman than any other nation. Dhani will put every single muscle in his body to the test as he trains with elite Icelandic athletes in preparation for a local strongman tournament." Dhani may add a postscript similar to what World Race Productions did with Ping Ping's death. However, I will be taking a look at scenes from next week's episode soon, so I will add to this note if appropriate.

apskip:
DTG2, episode 2 Senegal lutte

The driving force for the second (and probably also the first season too) of Dhani Jones Tackles the Globe is clearly Dhani himself. He is such an engaging character that he could begin a third career (in addition to NFL football and designer and star of this series) as a comedian. I am very impressed by Dhani and other characters such as Alex Boylan and Blake Mycoskie who have extended themselves into new careers. This is going to be a splendid series if the first one is indicative of the quality of the rest. In addition to a shining star in the lead, this series benefits from marvelous editing. The only problem I see with it is its placement in the Travel channel lineup at 11pm and 3am Tuesday nights only.

I recommend that any of you not familiar with Dhani Tackles the Globe 1 go back in the RFF files to look at my posts about all the episodes. I have decided that the level of detail I provided there, while quite adequate, can benefit from more detail for season 2 so that's what you will see in this thread.  Dhani starts with the assumption that "sports is connected to culture, people and communities...Sports is like music, it links people.”  A typical Dhani Jones episode involves some form of athletic competition where Dhani takes on a professionals in a national sport of an interest country. In season 1 he went to these countries (west to east) and did these national sports:

Australia - ocean rescue/lifesaving
New Zealand - sailing
Cambodia - Pradal Serey
Thailand - muy thai boxing martial arts
Singapore - dragon boat racing
Russia - sambo wrestling
Switzerland - Schwingen wrestlign
Spain - j'ai alai
England - rugby
Ireland - hurling

Some of the episode is always training (almost always with a distinguished professional coach)in the sport of the country he is visiting, some is sightseeing and the episodes end with Dhani competing in that sport. Since he is an all-around athlete with diverse skills and the body of a top-notch NFL linebacker, he typically does better than you would expect in a totally new sport he only trains in for about one week prior. Most of us are not very interested in the obscure sports that are on display, but Dhani's take on the culture of each country that he visits ins fascinating. Each hour is as much about a country's culture, food and unique characteristics as its signature sport. "The most important thing is to learn the culture and the sport and introduce it to the viewers," he says. Dhani Jones designs bow ties, writes poetry, plays saxophone, paints with oils and has exhibited his photography in galleries. The former host of ESPN's "Timeless" series and NFL Network correspondent is owner of a full-service creative agency and TV production company   His parents named Dhani presumably because it  means "thinking man" in Hindi and he reciprocates this to his television audience by being engaging and sometimes reflective. Dhani's passion for world travel started early with his parents, who were in the military. "We lived in Japan, and toured around Southeast Asia. The interest in wanting to understand other people and experiencing different cultures has always been in my bloodstream."

I have episode 1 of DTG2 of cycling in Italy on tape somewhere but have not viewed it yet. When I do, my recap will be posted in this thread.

What will Dhani be doing in Senegal?
1. arriving in Dakar (current capital and largest city) and visiting its huge Sandaga market
2. going a short distance west to the coast to view its Muscle Beach on the Corniche Ouest, meeting Bombardier a lutte champion
3. a brief visit to Thies, 1 hour east of Dakar, its second largest city and already identified as the site of the new capital which will be built there
4. a trip south to M'bour along the coast and 80 km from Dakar, where a large concentration of fishermen live and work; Dhani tries fishing
5. going into the outskirts of  M'bour to find ancient and huge baobab trees, where Dhani learns the lion dance
6. ending up at the Training Camp of Bombardier to learn the sport of lutte wrestling from observation and from a coach and finally fighting a protege of Bombardier

Bombardier grew up as in a fishing family in M'Bour but his size and strength earned him a ticket out to be one of the heroes of Senegal, revered by his fans wherever he goes. He is 6'7" and 300 pounds. Dhani is fortunate that he does not have to fight Bombardier as Dhani is "only" 6'1" and 240 pounds (actually quite small for an NFL linebacker). After meeting Bombardier, the first lesson Dhani gets is "protect your equipment," which in the case of lutte which is had-to-hand wrestling effectively means a loincloth. At the Muscle Beach Dhani observes Lutte competitors arrive dancing with accompaniment by "jungle drums." bombardier tells him that he must have the physical attributes of a lutte champion but also have an appreciation for the culture which underpins it. Dhani discovers during his visit that the country of Senegal that sports and physical fitness are the constant companions of many of its inhabitants. In addition to the attributes which Dhani clearly had before reaching Senegal he must learn the spiritual components of lutte to be really successful. We see Dhani and others doing push-ups, running, weightlifting, head lifts and chin-ups. Dhani demonstrates up on a high bar how to do upside-down pull- ups, which is mighty impressive. He dares the Senegalese to try one, but gets no takers. Part of the lifestyle in lutte involves trash-talking (Dhani is likely to be expert at this from his NFL career)and intimidating your opponent, both verbally and by showing off your strong, lithe body (most of the lutte competitors appear to be about 6 feet tall and weigh no more than 200, so they are not as much of a physical presence as either bombardier or Dhani. After Dhani observed  a competition and sees that it is on Sunday, he stated that "he is used to working on Sundays, "a reference to NFL games in the U.S.

Bombardier takes Dhani to visit a witch doctor. The ritual there involves cleansing the body, putting on a robe and sandals, cleansing the feet and then having Dhani place a foot over the glowing hot coals of an open fire. This is the Senegalese version of "holding one's feet to the fire." Next Dhani watches as the witch doctor uses some technique to dig in the desert for water, probably because he knows where it has been found in the past.  Dhani witnesses a tall man in lion dance costume who demonstrates the lion dance, which appears to be an improved series of out-of-control high tempo movements. Dhani is asked to duplicate it and he puts on the costume and makeup to look like the lion dance guy and he makes a sidebar comment that now he knows how actors use the costume and makeup to get psyched up to play their characters. Dhani does not have to play any character, as he is a natural actor (read ham) almost 100% of the time except when focusing on actual training (not commenting on it) or the national sports.

Dhani visits a baobab tree, later consuming the drink made from the fruit of the baobab tree (which itself is being marketed in the U.S. as the superfruit baobab dried fruit pulp), reminding me of St. Exuperay's "Le Petit Prince," which most U.S. students learning the French language know almost by heart.. These ancient and huge tress are found in the environs of M'Bour. The fruit, which grows up to a foot long, contains tartaric acid and vitamin C and can either be sucked, or soaked in water to make a lemonade-like drink. They can also be roasted and ground up to make a coffee-like drink. The seed kernels are eaten raw or roasted and are a highly nutritious food source and the bark can be ground into a powder for flavoring food. Those are not the only parts of the Baobab that can be used. The bark is pounded to make rope, mats, baskets, paper, string, rope, fishnets, twine, cords, sacks and clothing; the gum of the tree can be used as glue; the leaves can be boiled and eaten; twine, cords, sacks and clothing.

He goes to M'bour to Bombardier's Training Camp to learn from watching and practicing and remaining at the peak of physical fitness with the young Turks in Bombardier's stable of wrestling.

apskip:
The first episode of Dhani Tackles the Globe 2 was in Italy. I have been stumbling across a lot of diverse interesting information recently. As a gourmet who gets great Italian cuisine from my wife when I am lucky enough to qualify, I really appreciate the different types of Italian cuisine. Here is a list of the regional specialty foods of Italy adapted from an article by David Farley:

Pizza, spaghetti Bolognese and eggplant Parmigiana are a few of the dishes we associate with Italy. There are 20 regions in Italy and each has its own unique cuisine. Case in point is a recently published list of pasta shapes featured 141 different kinds; just pasta shapes that began with the letter “C.” 10 regions were selected for summary treatment below:

Piedmont, A Slow Approach
It’s no coincidence the world headquarters for the Slow Food movement, which emphasizes the use of local and organic ingredients, is based in this region in northwest Italy. Thanks to its location near the Alps, the countryside near Piedmont’s capital Turin is awash in mushrooms and truffles. One of the most local dishes in the region is tagliolini with white truffles, a nutmeg-accented pasta dish that is both earthy and satisfying. Wash it down with a glass of Barolo, Piedmont’s best known beverage and one of Italy’s most acclaimed wines.

Lombardy, More than Milan
The most famous dish to come out of this northern region is the breaded veal or chicken cutlet a la Milanese, but Lombardy’s cuisine offers so much more. Risotto and polenta are more prevalent here than pasta; butter and cream are just as popular as olive oil (as someone said recently on a Samantha Brown episode in Bologna, "we don't have any olive trees nearby"). The region’s capital Milan is an optimal place to sample the regional cuisine, as is Pavia, surrounded by rice patties, for risotto rusti: rice with pork and beans.

Veneto, The Taste of La Serenissima
Hugging the Adriatic Sea in northeastern Italy, Veneto is a feast for seafood lovers. Dried cod stewed in milk might not sound delicious, but try it and you’ll be won over. For carnivores the fegato alla Veneziana, calf’s liver and onions, is a true taste of Venice. Like Lombardy to the west, rice is more prevalent than pasta. The area around inland Treviso is famous for its soft, bubbly prosecco, so be sure to indulge in a glass.

Emilia-Romagna, Porky Goodness
If there’s a gastronomic epicenter to this country Emilia-Romagna is it. The region’s fertile land means it produces some of the country’s best dishes. The streets of towns like Bologna and Parma are teeming with porkliscious goodness (prosciutto, Parma ham. etc.) as well as local staples like freshly made tagliatelle and lasagna. Don’t forget to try some Parmagiano cheese in Parma.

Tuscany, Under the Tuscan Tongue
Tuscan cuisine is earthy, simple, and seasonal from olive oil to pecorino cheese to spices like rosemary and sage. Panzanella, a bread soup, and bean soups are traditional dishes. Steaks from the Chianina cow from the sub-region Chianti is legendary among carnivores. Wash it all down with the king of Italian wines, Brunello di Montalcino, which hails from Montalcino in southern Tuscany.

Umbria, The Green Heart
Known as Italy’s “green heart” for its fertile landscape, Umbria is a foodie paradise. The gorgeous hill-top towns are a feast for the eyes and taste buds. Perugia is famous for chocolate and Orvieto for Slow Food restaurants (Trattoria dell’Orso or La Grotta). Off-the-radar Norcia is where sausage is king. For something less meaty, try Umbrian falchetti verdi, ricotta gnocchi and spinach baked with cheese and tomato sauce.

Lazio, Eternally Delicious
With Rome at its axis, this region is a culinary world all its own. Famous dishes that hail from Lazio include the egg-and-pancetta-laced pasta carbonara, tomato-and-pancetta-based spaghetti amatriciana, and the spicy pasta arabiata. Many of Rome’s dishes were created in the district of Testaccio, home of an ancient slaughterhouse where workers were often paid with the “quinto quarto,” or fifth part of the animal.

Campania, Tomatoes and Buffalos
Naples is the heart of this southern region’s cuisine. Locals put their famous tomatoes, San Marzano, and mouth-watering buffalo milk cheese, mozzarella di buffalo, to good use as main ingredients for the world’s best pizza, invented here in the 16th century. Lesser known treats such as bistecca alla pizzaiola, a thinly sliced beef topped with garlic and tomato sauce, are also worth the trek.

Puglia, The Pull of Puglia
Situated in the heel of the boot, the sparse olive-tree spiked landscape of Puglia has inspired a unique cuisine.  Pasta is made without eggs and the shapes are unique. Orecchiette, or “little ears,” originated here. Puglia gets more sun than anywhere else in Italy, which means the region’s wine is delicious. The negroamaro grape, nearly exclusive to the region, produces a smooth, medium-bodied wine.

Sicily, Sun and Sea
The food of this island, the “ball” being kicked by the “boot,” has a legion of influences from the Greeks, Vikings, Muslims and Spanish. The sun and the sea have also played a large role in shaping Sicily’s table. Everything from capers to saffron to wild fennel can be found in pasta dishes (often laced with seafood). Arancini, fried rice balls, cannoli and fried tubular dough stuffed with cream are special. Lemons are ubiquitous here. A true taste of Sicily can be found in drinks like the luscious after-dinner digestivi, limoncello.

apskip:
Dhani is going to Iceland in tonight's episode! Volcano eruption? What volcano eruption? Dhani Jones is headed to the land of fire and ice because it's the home of more champions in the sport of Strongman than anywhere else. Dhani challenges himself to lift the 385-lb. Husafell stone, then rests his weary muscles at Iceland's world-famous Blue Lagoon.

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