Category: Information

I came back to Kuwait last night and I have to say I was pretty disappointed with Jordan. The country is very poor which I found very shocking since I was expecting it to be something of a combination of Lebanon and Kuwait. The King and Queen seem very sophisticated and down to earth which is why its even more confusing why things are the way they are there. The Jordanian people are extremely nice, reminded me a lot of the hospitality of Bahraini people. Things I missed and would like to try the next time I am there: the falafels at Hashem, the burger at Lebnani and the Blouzaat store.

The 2nd annual boat show is going to take place from the 29th of April till May 3rd. The following watercraft brands will be on display at the show:

Aicon – Al Mazrooei Craft – Al Waleed Boats – Atlantis – Azimut – Benetti – Bertram – Cabo – Campion – Centurion – Cigarette – Concept Boat – Couach – Donzi – Duretti – Fairline – Ferretti – Fountain – Gulf Craft – Hareb Marine – Hatteras – Hurricane – Itama – Larson – Maritimo – Moomba – Palm Marine – Pershing – Persuit – Polar – Princess – Pursuit – Regal – Riva – Rivarama – Robalo – Sea Master – Seabob – Sea-doo – Sealine – SeaRay – Shiraa Al Khaleej – Silver Craft – Waverunner – Wellcraft – Yamaha Boats

The event will be held at Kout Mall but they still haven’t emailed me the ticket prices or from what time to what time the show will be open. Once they do I will update this post. For pictures of last years boat show click [Here]

I got the following in my email today:

Dear All, Shashati.tv is proud to announce the commencement of pre-production on the first musical short film from Kuwait. We’re looking for actors & actresses to play the following roles:

ZAID: A sarcastic, lovable slob. Mid 20’s, chubby but good looking, charming, creative. ZAINA: A lovable, overbearing, pretty, attractive health freak. Also Mid-20’s. COUNSELOR: An obsessive compulsive marriage counselor with ADD. Early to mid 30’s (but we will audition younger people for the role).

We will also be auditioning for the following non-speaking roles:

POLICEMAN (Male, Age not important) DANCING COFFEE BARISTA (Male, Age not important) HOMELESS PERSON (Male, Age not important)

We are also looking for several EXTRAS (both male & female).

Please note the following:
(1) All applicants MUST be fluent in English, as that is the language of the film. (2) Applicants for the three main roles should be able (and willing) to sing, or at least hold a note. (3) Applicants for the three main roles should also be able (and willing) to dance. (4) This is a PAID production, which means that all those working on the film (including extras) will be given daily compensation. (5) This audition is open to people of all ages and nationalities.

—————————————

Upon attending the casting session, all applicants must provide the following:

(1) Release form (provided by us at the session) to be filled in by the applicant. (2) 2 head shots/photos of any size. (3) A copy of your civil i.d.

—————————————–

The session will take place at Cinemagic’s head office on Salem Al Mubarak Street. The session will be open between the hours of 3 – 7 p.m. on Monday, April 21st.

Please contact us for more information on:

+965 799 6100/ 400
[email protected]

Some people the storm is going to hit at 2PM others are saying at 4.

Nataly should actually be writing this post but since she doesn’t post much anymore I am going to post about it. We passed by LUSH tonight in Central Plaza which opened not too long ago and the place honestly makes The Body Shop feel like McDonalds. They have some really cool soaps that all smell amazingly good and are very natural and handmade. You buy the soaps per gram and although the prices aren’t cheap its kinda understandable why they cost this much. Although there isn’t anything else in Central Plaza to check out its worth passing by just for LUSH. [Link]

I was looking for an ATM machine today morning when I stumbled up this new Alghanim branch in Kuwait City. Its in the mall underneath the new KFH building next to Ahli Bank. The design is very similar to the branch in the Avenues which I’ve mentioned before I really liked. I guess this is their new look which is pretty cool.

What the fuck is going on outside. Suddenly there was super strength wind like a hurricane and its still happening. Fucking DUST STORM WITH RAIN, FUCK. Never seen anything like this before!!

A reader called Mohammad just emailed me this map of the Kuwait City Metro which he scanned from the latest issue of MEED. It looks like there will be a subway station near my home which is pretty cool. The metro is supposed to be completed by 2014.

Here is the larger version of the map. [Picture]

Although Totally Fish has been open in Marina Crescent for two years now I never passed by to try it. It was one of those places I kept hearing negative stuff about mostly that it was too expensive and that the food wasn’t really good. But last night I felt like having seafood and decided to pass by Totally Fish since it was nearby.

I was with Nat and we ended up ordering Salmon Croquette and Prawns Cake for appetizer while for the main course she had a Salmon dish while I had Balloul. The appetizers were pretty ordinary and we wouldn’t order them again. We also didn’t like our main courses that much, Nats salmon had too many flavors, none of which was Salmon while my Balloul was just really forgettable. The biggest surprise was the fact that the prices weren’t expensive at all. The Salmon Croquette was around KD1.500, while the Prawns Cake around KD2.500. The Salmon was for KD6.750 while the Balloul was KD6.500. The portions were also surprisingly big.

Even though we didn’t enjoy any of the dishes I am still going to go back. Its common to order the wrong dishes the first time at a place and since their location is good, the staff friendly and the prices very reasonable, they are worth a second visit.

As some of you might have read on SomeContrast, Mishary posted pictures and information about the availability of new gasoline and diesel introduced at the Bayan Station. The prices are 120fils for pink gasoline and 100fils for orange diesel.

I initially thought that this would be a step-up from the current green gasoline, ultra (98 octane). It turns out that someone (insert big name) requested that Kuwait should introduce Euro-Spec petrol (environmentally friendly); and KNPC agreed. Afterwards KNPC realized that their refineries are not ready for producing Euro-Spec petrol, so they imported it from the Q8 system in Europe; hence the higher costs.

The pink gasoline (Ultra-Euro) is 95 octane (lower than green) and the orange diesel is most likely the same as the Kuwaiti garden variety. The only unproven benefit if used on our engines is lower emissions.

Link to SomeContrast. [Here]
Link to Al-Watan (arabic article). [Here]

Posted by K.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about Cinemagic’s weekly film screening so in case you don’t know about it, here is the latest film they will be showing:

Cinemagic is delighted to announce the return of our weekly screening program. Screenings will continue to take place at our new location in Old Salmiya, above LG Electronics.

This week, we will be screening “Children of Men”. The Screening will take place on Thursday, April 10th, at 7:30 p.m.

Y Tu Mamá También and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón returns to the helm to tell this futuristic tale in which society is without hope since humankind lost its ability to procreate. The year is 2027, and women can no longer give birth. The youngest inhabitant of the planet has just died at the age of 18, and all hope for humanity has been lost. As civilization descends into chaos, a dying world finds one last chance for survival in the form of a woman who has become inexplicably pregnant. Now, as warring nationalistic sects clash and British leaders try to maintain their totalitarian stronghold on the country, a disillusioned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) is brought back into the fold of activism by his guerrilla ex-wife (Julianne Moore). Reluctantly, he takes on the daunting task of escorting Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), the refugee who represents humankind’s last hope for survival, out of harm’s way and into the care of a mysterious organization known as The Human Project. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, and Michael Caine co-star in this adaptation of author P.D. James’s gripping 1992 novel.

For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of filmmaking.

As always, attendance is free of charge (but seating is limited). Snacks and refreshments will be served.

Nat’s MacBook Pro arrived to Kuwait but got held up in customs so today I woke up early and headed to the cargo terminal outside the airport to clear it. I was expecting the process to be long and difficult but surprisingly it was pretty easy. The hardest part was knowing where to go first after that everyone just points you in the direction you have to go next. These are the steps I had to take, click on the map for a larger version:

1) I headed to the NAS building (National Aviation Service)
2) Once you go up the steps into the NAS building you will be greeted by a security desk where you have to exchange your civil ID card for a pass
3) You then have to walk through the cargo bay and head to the back offices
4) Once you enter the office head to the counter marked on the map. I paid KD3 here.
5) After paying the KD3 fee and getting a print out I was sent to an adjacent window to get another stamp
6) I then had to go back to the cargo bay where I gave my papers to a worker who went and got my package from inside their warehouse. Once the package comes out a customs officer has to check it. After checking, the package was taken away again and I got another paper which I needed to take to the building across from NAS.
7) When I entered the building across from NAS I headed to a window at the far end corner where I presented my papers. I had to buy a stamp for KD1.
8) After getting another paper with the stamp I had to go to the window in front of him where I handed in my papers and paid KD1.
9) I then headed back to the NAS offices and back to the window on the far end where my paper was stamped one more time.
10) I then had to take that paper into the cargo area and get another stamp from this small desk in the middle.
11) They sent me to a window in front of them where I got another paper printed out
12) I finally went back to the middle desk where I got my last stamp and they told me to pick up my package.

All in all it took me around an hour to clear my MacBook Pro and only paid KD5 in total. Now that I know what I have to do I think I could clear a package a lot quicker next time around. Everyone there was pretty helpful and it was very crowded. I was there around 9:30-10 but the earlier the better I guess.

A full list of local online stores. I will keep updating this post in the future whenever I find something new.

All in One
7arai
Kuwait Mall

Books
Ketaaby
Q8 Book Shop

Cars, Bikes and Boats
GCC Motors
Gulf Ride
Kuwait Cars
Q8 Boom
Q8 Car
Q8 HP
Q8 Showroom
Q8 RPM
Sell 11
Seyayer

Computers & Electronics
Click N’ Buy
Q8 Cost

Dessert
Dessert Kuwait
Choco Bite
Choowy Goowy
Little Treats
Pop Up

Fashion
3arabana
7ata 7eet
CASHART
Catalog Express
Catalog Plus
H&H Fashion
Fashion Addicts
La Merletto
Nafnofy
Nizaka
Oleana Boutique
Pink Moon Boutique
Powder Talk
Pret-A-Souk
Q8 Fasion
Raveena
She Style
Verona

Flowers
Q8 Flowers
Ward Q8

Food
6alabat
I Eat Online

Supermarket
Dekkany
Food Kuwait
Taw9eel

Thanks Half.Dead

Just updated the blog to WordPress version 2.5 and so far I’m loving it!

The owner of Slider Station just posted the following comment under the Slider Station burger review:

mark i’m gonna make this burger a bit more accessible to readers. All mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com readers could get the black widow for 8.5 KD till July 31st. All they have to do is mention the site when they order.

Thats definitely a good deal (as in better than KD11.750) especially if you are curious to try what probably is the most expensive burger in Kuwait. If you haven’t read my Black Widow review yet here is the [Link]