Author: Mark

In case you missed it, a selfie taken by a Kuwaiti couple in Dubai with The Address Hotel in the background up in flames went viral this weekend and not for good reason. Loads of people thought the photo was in bad taste and started commenting about it on social media. Personally I didn’t think it was funny, but I also didn’t find it offensive or anything of the sort. If anything I thought the Burj Khalifa fireworks show next door while The Address was still on fire was more inappropriate but I guess to each his own. The Daily Mail posted an article on the photo earlier today and you can read that [Here]

LEGO have just opened their first shop in Kuwait at The Avenues. According to my friend whom I stole the snapchat screenshot from, he spotted the LEGO Architecture, Star Wars, Friends and Elves series all on display at the shop along with the regular LEGO sets. They also sell LEGOs by the bowl where you get to pick different LEGO pieces and colors like you’re buying jelly beans. If you’re interested, the LEGO store is located in Phase II near the That Al Salasil bookshop.

Thanks @xxmrfarixx

I didn’t think there was such a big comic books community in Kuwait but it seems there is. Below is a list of local online instagram accounts and websites where you could purchase comic books from, if you know of anymore let me know.

Websites
Dragonarab
Games Q8

Instagram
@comics_for_sale
@q8comicscollectors
@q8_superhero
@gtmcomics
@world_of_comics

via Reddit

I don’t follow any “fashionistas” on instagram but every now and then a few appear on my explore page and I usually end up flipping through their accounts just to check them out. Majority don’t really capture my attention or stick out but @theurbananalyst is one of the accounts I actually spend more than a second on just because she has a sort of emo look I like as well as her photos having a great color grading style. So last week I ran into her and asked her what she did for a living and she told me she was a student and that she was only 15. I was like say whaaaaaaaaat?

I don’t think I had any talents or skills when I was 15 so I thought it was pretty cool that she’s managed to create a look and style that separates her from the rest. So if you’re looking for a cool fashion account to follow, check her out @theurbananalyst

No idea if is related to this but the all black Yeezy 750’s that launched world wide 10 days ago didn’t get released in Kuwait. The all tan Yeezy Boost 350’s that are scheduled to launch world wide today also aren’t making it to Kuwait. My guess is that Adidas found out that and got pissed and pulled the brand from them. But this is just my guess, there could be other reasons to why we aren’t getting the Yeezys anymore.

We take our hobbies seriously. [YouTube]

A reader emailed me a few days ago letting me know they had found another Korean supermarket in Kuwait. According to the reader they were trying to find danmuji so they went to Singarea Supermarket and couldn’t find it there. So they asked their favorite Korean restaurant if they knew where they could get it from and they were told about another Korean supermarket in Shuwaikh called Ginza Market. So I passed by over the weekend to check it out. The store is small and seems to be catered more to restaurants than consumers since I was offered a list of all their items to keep with me in case I needed to order anything. But as a consumer you can also pick up whatever you want from their shelves. They’re open from 8AM to 8PM and their phone number is 22205091. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

While looking for Ginza Market I also ended up finding a Chinese Supermarket called Chinese Food House. It’s located in the same building block as Ginza and the store specializes in food products imported directly from China. I couldn’t figure out what they had since everything was written in Chinese but I did find some odd items like century eggs and salt baked chicken feet. They’re open from 8AM to 5PM and their phone number is 97533702. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

Both those stores have very friendly and helpful staff so don’t be afraid to ask them newbie questions.

Update: Ginza Supermarket has moved and the Google Maps link above has been updated.

Infamous Kuwaiti rapper Big D retired earlier this year with a pretty odd resignation letter. The main reason he left music was because he started believing music was a sin and that the rap industry as a whole were advocates of the Devil. I guess he no longer believes that because he’s back out of retirement with a new video. Sadly it’s a pretty boring video, he really should go back and get the guy who produced my favorite video of his that had the trashy looking girls drinking fake wine. At least that was entertaining to watch even if you didn’t like his music.

One of the things that got me excited about checking out The Burrow Life gym was their teaser photos and videos which they shared on their instagram account. They set a very trendy tone to the gym and because the production of their photos and videos were so good I just assumed they had gotten them done outside of Kuwait. Then last week I found out from a friend that all their photos and videos were shot locally by a small production house called Blank Production.

Since it turns out their office was in the same building as mine, I passed by awhile ago to meet up with them and check out their work. They’ve only been around for three months now but already from their small portfolio it’s obvious they’re super talented. You can watch their showreel above or check out their website with more of their work [Here]

A few months ago someone from Midas left a comment under an old Herman Miller post I had. Turns out Midas had become Herman Miller dealers and the reader told me I could have a chair if I wanted one. I didn’t need a chair back then so I just never got back to him. Then a few weeks ago, I decided I needed a new chair for my office. I got in touch with Midas and made a deal where I’d pick up a Herman Miller chair and in return give them banner space on the blog.

Unintentionally, I ended up trying two different Herman Miller chairs, the Mirra 2 (pictured on the left) and the Aeron (pictured on the right. When I was originally deciding between the two I couldn’t really find a decent comparison so I figured I’d post my opinion on both in case anyone is ever googling a review.

The Aeron is a classic and has remained mostly unchanged since it was introduced in the late 90s. It was first popularized in Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom and is even featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. The chair has a lot of history but when I first chose a chair I opted for the Mirra 2 mostly because it was one of the newer Herman Miller models and also because the color they had available (the teal) would work well with my office.

I used the Mirra 2 for two weeks and I honestly couldn’t get it setup to where I felt comfortable sitting on it for more than a couple of hours. With the Mirra 2 everything was adjustable from the height of the armrests to the length of the seat, lots of little knobs everywhere to help you personalize the seat for you. Maybe I was just never able to set it up properly and so I never got around to being comfortable in it. Then my office got a makeover and the teal colored Mira 2 no longer fit in with my furniture. So I got in touch with Midas and asked them if I could swap the chair with a black Aeron which they accepted.

The Aeron surprisingly had less customizable features when compared to the Mirra 2 but yet I felt a lot more comfortable in it right away. Setting it up was easier, quicker and the whole experience was less complicated. It’s been over two weeks with the chair now and I love it. According to my contact at Midas, women tend to feel more comfortable in the Mirra 2 while men prefer the Aeron so maybe thats why I also preferred the Aeron.

Price wise, you can pick up the Aeron for KD250 while the fully loaded Mirra 2 costs KD295. To get those prices though ask for Ed or printout this post and take it with you. That puts the Aeron around KD40 cheaper than the price on Amazon while the Mirra 2 around KD10 more expensive. If you’re interested in getting one, here is the Midas office furniture location on [Google Maps]

Earlier this year I posted about how the Bayan Palace now has a Botanical Garden. Supposedly the gardens are open to the public on Thursdays after 4PM but you’re required to get permission to visit them. Does anyone have more details on this or know how to get permission?

The other day while at KIPCO tower I spotted a books donation box by an organization called Raqsh. Turns out they collect unwanted books and then send them to small scale societies such as refugee camps. Right now they only have this one donation box located at KIPCO but they’re looking to set up more of them around Kuwait. For more information on the organization, here is a link to their [Website]

Dizly is a locally produced app that allows you to buy and send a variety of gifts to people. I’ve had the app for awhile now but they’ve recently made some changes to it that have improved the experience dramatically with the most important change being that you no longer needed to create an account just so you could browse the products.

Since Christmas is in a few days I figured now would be the best time to post about the app. They’ve also given me a promo code “Diz248am” to share with my readers which will give you a 15% discount on all the items. The app is available on iOS and Android and you can check out their website for more details [Here]

This video was uploaded back in April but I just saw it now. It looks ginormous. The new hospital should be completed by 2018. [YouTube]

Thanks lovelykuwait

Last week I decided I wanted some of my car parts foiled matt black. Foiling is a process where your car gets covered in a sticker like material, it’s an alternative to painting since its temporary. My FJ Cruiser had some grey colored parts which I wanted to turn black but I didn’t want to paint them incase I didn’t like the outcome. So I called a friend asking for a good foiling place and he instead recommended I get the parts Plasti Dipped at a place in Shuwaikh called Ma-Fra.

Plasti Dip falls somewhere in between painting and foiling since it has traits from both. You apply Plasti Dip to your car like paint (as in you spray it), but unlike paint, when you get bored you can peel Plasti Dip off like a sticker just as you would with foiling.

I passed by Ma-Fra on Thursday and got an appointment for Saturday morning. I had also gotten some new silver colored wheels for my car which I wanted to paint in bronze so I decided to get them Plasti Dipped as well. When dropping my car off at Ma-Fra on Saturday I found out they did detailing so had them go ahead and detail my car as well since I was planning on doing that anyway somewhere else.

Plasti Dip is fairly durable as long as you don’t scratch it or peel it off. It’s supposed to last for at least three years although I’m not sure they’ll last that long on my wheels. So how did it turn out?

I dropped my car off Saturday at 9AM and ended up picking up the car the next day at 2PM all painted and shiny. If it wasn’t for the detailing I would have been able to pick up the car on the same day, that’s whats to great about Plasti Dip, it’s fast to do. The parts I blacked out turned out great and blended really well with the rest of the black plastic parts on the car. The wheels also turned out better than I expected.

If you’re wondering how much it cost, I ended up paying KD150 for everything. Originally they wanted KD60 to paint the 9 different parts of my car black, KD50 to paint the wheels (KD10 per wheel) and another KD60 for the detailing. So I basically got a KD20 discount. They also sell cans of Plasti Dip for KD4 a pop if you’re interested to do the work yourself (it’s fairly easy but the masking process is a pain).

Ma-Fra is located in Shuwaikh behind Abyat, here is their location on [Google Maps]