Author: Mark

I’ve already posted about the Zinio magazine app on the iPad before (pictured above) and about how great it is and if there was only one app I could have on the iPad that would be it. Sadly though, not all my favorite magazines are available to subscribe to on Zinio… or at least not available yet. So what’s the solution?

You’re going to have to download magazines illegally.

Magazine subscriptions are cheap with the majority costing around $10 a year and I’ve already subscribed to over a dozen but the ones that aren’t available in Zinio I just download pirated copies of the magazines for free.

To do that you need two things, a PDF reader on the iPad and links to sites that post those magazines for you to download.

PDF Reader
I use GoodReader (pictured above) on the iPad to read my PDF magazines. The reason I went with GoodReader over other PDF readers is because it’s cheap, it handles large files extremely well and also because it has a ton of features. Some of the cool features are the ability to upload files into GoodReader directly from your web browser on the computer over wifi, the ability to drag and drop files into GoodReader from iTunes and the ability to download files from the Internet directly into GoodReader via an internal browser. Not only that but you could take a bunch of files, zip them up, upload them into GoodReader and then unzip them within the app. The only downside to GoodReader is the extremely ugly app icon.

Magazine Sites
There a ton of sites but the ones I use the most are the following: World Mags, Get Magazine and Magazines Download. Now just an FYI before you click the links, those sites also have PDF’s of certain magazines that are banned in Kuwait so close your eyes when you see them.

That’s all there is to it. Most of the magazines available in Zinio are also available at those sites as well but, since subscription fees are very cheap on Zinio I would highly recommend you subscribe to them instead.

I just found out Pinkberry will be opening two new locations. They’re opening a second smaller location in Avenues in place were CasaMaroc is, near Pottery Barn Kids. This should help reduce the long lines at their main location opposite Dean & Deluca. The second location is going to make Nat happy since it’s near our house. They’re opening a new location in Marina Mall, in place of the recently closed down Waterlemon branch. That should turn out to be a pretty big location.

Personally, I’m still waiting till they introduce biscuit cones.

Ok so he got the Uruguay vs Germany game wrong but even psychic goats make mistakes (blame it on the humidity). For the final game he’s predicting Spain will win over Netherlands. [YouTube]

I was recommended by a couple of readers to try out the burger at the English Tea Lounge at Avenues phase II. It’s an ostrich burger and supposedly very good so I passed by today for lunch around 3pm to try it out. The place was empty with not a single person there so we had our pick of where to sit. We got the menu and I quickly flipped to the page with the burger on it. My sister was going to have a salad but Nat just wanted to drink tea.

Then Nat noticed the fine print at the bottom of every page which said that the minimum order per person had to be KD6. I told her that’s probably when its packed but not when it’s empty. I called the waitress over and asked her if this KD6 minimum charge was enforced? She said yes. I was like wait, so if me and my sister want to order lunch but Nat just tea we can’t do that? She said no it’s minimum KD6 per person. WTF? The place was empty with no one there!? It’s a TEA lounge! I told her fine and got up and left.

What a very disappointing experience. Didn’t even know restaurants with minimum charges still existed in Kuwait yet alone having it enforced in an empty place.

Our local psychic goat here in Kuwait has predicted Uruguay to win over Germany at the World Cup. [YouTube]

And the psychic dog was wrong. [YouTube]

I was at Sultan Center and spotted two new Ferrero Chocolates, the Hanuta and the Giotto. Both looked and sounded good but of course I can’t have any. The Hanuta was around 350fils while the Giotto 750fils.

In case you weren’t aware of this, Ferrero are the people behind Nutella.

I thought this was odd yet interesting. Found the picture above embedded in an article on Gizmodo about Hitatchi’s new LifeStudio hard drive. The picture above was used to show the Cooliris media browser. [Link]

This is not a bad idea actually, they should probably introduce something similar here in Kuwait.

The list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. However,quiffs appear to be acceptable, as are fashioning one’s hair in the style of Simon Cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe.

[Article]

Paul the octopus has predicted Spain will win the match against Germany. [YouTube]

Thanks John

A guy in Dubai found a lizard in a can of baked beans he bought. That’s super gross. [Link]

Thanks Verushka

A reader sent me this article that appeared in The Guardian a few days ago about the state of Football in Kuwait and the UAE. The article talks about Kuwait’s football achievements in the 80s and the demise of it today.

While middle-aged Kuwaiti men are genuinely proud of the football team their country produced in the 1980s – champions of Asia in 1980, World Cup qualifiers in 1982 and Gulf Cup winners in 1982 and 1986 – the same cannot be said of the current crop of players. Dubbed the “gel team”, these shebab (young men) have been branded prima donnas by the older generation, more concerned with applying gel to their intricately styled coiffures and handing out their phone numbers to doe-eyed female admirers than with training and winning.

The article starts off with the question, “Is it because family riches spoil potential players that these countries’ sporting glories lie in the past?”. Personally I have no idea why football in Kuwait today is not as good as it was in the 80’s and early 90’s, but maybe someone else can answer that question. [Article]

Thanks Pureorama

This picture was taken today at around 4:30PM. Must be a malfunction since no way it hit 55 today. Maybe it’s still stuck at 55 degrees from the last heat wave we got 2 weeks ago.

Pic by Shabzy

On my way to lunch was passing through Souk Al-Kabeer when I spotted a shop that was selling fake Hublot’s. I thought that was a refreshing sight compared to the usual fake Rolexes and Bvlgari’s. If anyone is interested in shutting down this shop it’s located on the ground floor near the middle and it just sells watches.

This “should” be a good movie since it’s starring Michael Keaton, Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson (you need to watch Unthinkable), and The Rock. [YouTube]

A funny movie I recently watched is Hot Tub Time Machine which is about a bunch of guys who travel back to time to the 80’s. Check out the trailer for that below. [YouTube]