Author: Mark

The Kuwait Writing Club in collaboration with the Cultural Club at GUST will be hosting a literary night next Thursday. Members of the Riyadh Writing Club, Shurooq Amin, Sons of Yusuf and Nada Faris will also be attending as guest performers.

Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013
Time: 6PM to 8PM
Location: Gulf University for Science and Technology, Hall W6-200

For more information visit the event Facebook page [Here]

Yesterday I posted the picture above on my Instagram account of a new tshirt I had ordered online. It took me a month to get the tshirt because it was on backorder and so when a friend of mine pointed out that a local fashion store was selling a locally printed version (i.e. imitation) I got upset for two reasons:

1) If its a good creative idea you support the designer who came up with the idea and you don’t get a local printshop to reprint the design for you

2) The store that was selling the fake tshirts (I won’t mention the brand and any mention of the brand in the comments will be deleted) is actually a very well respected brand and one that I actually liked

So I visited their Instagram account and found the tshirt listed for sale there and in the comments I read the following:

The tshirt was by a local designer and not the official one in NYC so I left the following comment:

To my surprise instead of them apologizing for selling imitation goods they responded with the following comment:

I stayed diplomatic and responded highlighting the fact that they themselves said it was by a local designer and not that they had permission from the official brand to reprint it in Kuwait. I also tagged my friend Fajer the lawyer in the comments so that she was aware of the situation as well. A few moments later they deleted all my comments and blocked me from their account.

I decided to contact the original designer just to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake and turns out I hadn’t. According to the designer who created the orignal tshirt she never gave anybody permission to sell or reprint her tshirts. In fact the local store was sent the following email to cease sale of the tshirts:

VIOLATION OF TRADEMARK – Remove Immediately
We have been notified that you are in violation of our trademark ‘Ain’t Laurent Without Yves’. Please immediately cease sale of all materials with our trademark logo on it; Should you continue to sell these items we will pursue severe legal damages for profits lost.

We never gave you, or any other vendor permission to sell our product with our slogan on it. Your claims on twitter are false and are damaging our brand.

The reason I am pointing this situation out is to discuss how criticism is handled in the region. Even when I was right I got attacked and a lot of other people do too. We should be able to have freedom of speech and criticism actually helps companies (and people) to know how they can improve. People in the region need to calm down and start accepting criticism.

If you’re interested in the tshirt above you can purchase it directly from the original designer at whataboutyves.com

Sami Alramyan, a photographer based in Kuwait was recently featured on the photography blog EyeEm. Sami does a lot of black and white street photography and recently represented Kuwait for the second year running in “The 24 Hour Project“.

You can check out his photos [Here]
You can check out the feature on him [Here]

Check out the interview above of local musician Zahed Sultan by O2 Academy TV in London. [YouTube]

Did anyone feel the earthquake a few moments ago? (around 3pm)

Update: Confirmed, an earthquake hit Southern Iran awhile ago with a magnitude of 6.2 [Source]

I missed it the first time when they held it back in February.

Location: Marina Crescent
Date: April 25 to April 28 2013
Time: 9AM to 1PM and 4PM to 9PM
Cost: KD20

You need to book from now if you’re interested by calling 94004335
For more information visit their Facebook page [Here]

via wainmaaro7

Back in January a challenge race took place in Kuwait and the video of the event just finally got uploaded. I was planning to take part but ended up traveling, glad I didn’t though since the event looked grueling and I don’t think I would have made it anywhere near the finish line. [YouTube]

The car is out of the box and ready to be showcased starting from tomorrow at the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait. The car is #1 of 7 and is currently in Kuwait as a show of support to the Arabian automotive achievements. As I mentioned last night, this car is extremely rare so this might be your only chance of ever seeing one.

For more information visit the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait Facebook page [Here]

Thanks Zak

AGi architects – General Department of Information System, Kuwait from AGi architects on Vimeo.

I honestly have no idea what the General Department of Information System are in charge of but this is the design that got approved for their new offices and I think it looks really beautiful.

The project is based on three principles: representativeness, security and functionality, turning the complex with a total gross area of 135,482 sqm into a strong civil icon representing Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Building design aims for the clear transmission of a conceptual duality it derives from: technology, innovation and transparency on the one hand versus strength, stability and security, which are inherent to the Ministry of Interior Affairs that will occupying the building, on the other.

This concept is driven in the building by two contrasting layers that are superimposed onto one another. From afar the building is perceived as a light volume elevated from the ground floor, becoming a landmark in the urban landscape for the citizens, while a closer approach will show the massiveness of the stone plinth, a lower part of the building that is opened to the public the main gates and lifts from ground to hold the upper levels lighter glass structures that house the offices of the various departments.

You can also check out some 3D renderings of the building on the AGi Architects website [Here]

The Dubai Comic Con was held this past weekend and the Dubai based Brownmonkeys design collective designed some cool posters merging the Gulf culture with Western characters. My favorite was the Beavis and Butthead poster above.

Check them all out on the Brownmonkeys website [Here]

Arabia’s first super car the Lykan is going to be on display at the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait. The car will be on display for only 7 days starting from April 9th to April 16th. It’s a super rare car so this might be the only chance you’ll ever have at seeing one. For more information visit the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum of Kuwait Facebook page [Here]

A new Brazilian restaurant called “Rio” is opening tomorrow in Kuwait City right next to Ubon (in Aljawhara Tower). I haven’t tried it yet but a friend of mine who went to a tasting did and told me the food wasn’t bad and the interior made him feel like he was dining in Manhattan. They’re soft launching the restaurant tomorrow (Monday) and they’ll be opening from 7PM to 11PM.

Thanks Ali
Photo above by @humaidhi

Smash Burger are opening a new location, this time it’s in Salmiya and down the street from AUK. They’re actually opening in the same location where Organica Fish & Chips used to be before they closed it down.

K’S PATH are going to be holding their first ever cat show at the end of this month. There will be a lot of fun competitions, different vendors and great prizes to be won. All proceeds support K’S PATH programs.

Registration Closes: Tuesday, 23rd April 2013
Event Date: Saturday, 27th April 2013

For more information visit their website [Here]

The Kuwait Underground was an event that was recently held at Camp Arifjan. It featured an all star lineup of local rappers and acts, most of whom I previously posted about on the blog. The line up featured: O-Zone, B-EZ, DJ Africa, Big D, Trackdealaz, Hera, I am Jay Jay, Ag D Fox, Doss, Electrik Crew, PK Jagaurs, Gran Milli and Zay Dun. The video is a behind the scenes look leading up to the performances that night. [YouTube]