Category: Kuwait

Here is the calendar for Cinemagic’s rooftop movie nights for March. This month it’s Oscar nights! Check out the full list of movies below:

Thursday, March 4th @ 7:00 PM
“Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film 2006”
CORPSE BRIDE, USA 2006
Director: Tim Burton
Genre: Animation | 80 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Saturday, March 6th @ 7:00 PM
“Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film 2006”
SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS, GERMANY 2005
Director: Mark Rothemund
Genre: Drama | 127 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+

Thursday, March 11th @ 7:00 PM
“9 Oscar Nominations 2010”
THE HURT LOCKER, USA 2009
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Genre: Drama | 131 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+

Saturday, March 13th @ 7:00 PM
SURPRISE FILM

Thursday, March 18th @ 7:00 PM
“Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film 1998”
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, IRAN 1998
Director: Majid Majidi
Genre: Drama | 89 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Saturday, March 20th @ 7:00 PM
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film 1999
CENTRAL DO BRAZIL, BRAZIL 1998
Director: Walter Salles
Genre: Drama | 113 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Thursday, March 25th @ 7:00 PM
“Best Screenplay Based on Published 2010”
IN THE LOOP, UK 2009
Director: Armando Lanucci
Genre: Comedy | 106 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+

Saturday, March 27th @ 7:00 PM
“Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film 1986”
WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS, YUGOSLAVIA 1985
Director: Emir Kusturica
Genre: Comedy | 136 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. There is a KD1 charge for the venue fees which includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their facebook group [Link]

The headline is taken from an Arab Times article. I had previously read that one person had died because of the celebrations but it seems the actual number is eleven. That’s really terrible… [Link]

Thanks Loza

I’ve been visiting Bayan Dental for over 5 years now. I first found out about them from Zaydoun and ever since me and Nat have been getting all our dental work done there at their Salmiya branch. They were actually featured in my Miskan project back in 2005 as Day 303 which is where the picture above is from. Once every few months I pass by my dentist (Dr Samer Khaddour) for scaling because I know that the longer the gap between my visits the more I am going to suffer during my session so I try to keep the gaps small. My dentist and Nat always seem to team up on me since they find my fear amusing but I’m slowly slowly getting over it.

Anyway I recently got approached by Bayan Dental and got offered veneers for free if in return I could post and explain what veneers were on my blog and also about my experience getting them installed. I didn’t have a clue what veneers were but after a quick google followed by a detailed explanation from Bayan I found these two words the best way to explain them… Hollywood smile. Veneers give you the perfect smile and you get them installed in one hour without any pain or anesthesia and they last forever.

I asked them if my dentist could install them for me and since he specializes in restorative and aesthetic dentistry they told me it shouldn’t be a problem. Since then I’ve already had a couple of visits with my dentist getting a mould of my teeth done so I could see how my teeth currently look and how they will look once I am done. They will be sending me a bunch of pictures of difference cases before and after veneers so I could share them here with some proper information about veneers and how they work. For now I thought I would post this to keep everyone in the loop on whats going on. If you have any questions about veneers (and I guess anything dental related) you can post them below since someone from Bayan will be reading the comments and answering any questions you might have.

Since we’re on the subject of dentistry for those of you who have a fear from dentists you could post what concerns you have below and I could try to answer them from my experience like for example how much pain or discomfort a procedure might have or how long certain things take etc.. I haven’t done all the procedures but I think I’ve done most of the general ones. One thing I’ve learned from my experience is that if you have a dental issue now and you don’t take care of it, it will only get worse tomorrow and the fix becomes more complicated.

Update: If you’ve never been to Bayan Dental before, just mention my blog when you go in and you will get a 17% discount on non cosmetic procedures.

Last month I posted about a drive-through car wash near my house in which they let you sit in the car while it’s getting washed. Well a reader pointed me towards another car wash also nearby that had what he called a LaserWash. So not knowing what exactly a laser wash was I decided to pass by today and check it out.

Turns out LaserWash is a touch free automated car wash which means that it doesn’t contain brushes and nothing except water and soap touch your car. The idea is that since there is no physical contact then there isn’t anything that will scratch your car. I recorded a video of a wash which takes around 5 minutes which you could watch above. My car was just dusty except for a bug stain on the windshield. After the wash the dust was gone and the car was all shiny but the bug stain was still there.

Would I use it again? Maybe, I had to wait an hour and a half today to get the car washed which defeats the whole purpose of a quick drive through. I might have as well driven to Al Falah in Kuwait City, gotten my car washed there properly and gotten back home. But if the place is empty and my car is just dusty why not.

The LaserWash is located at the Oula gas station next to the Jawazat roundabout near Souk Salmiya. The cost was KD1.750 for just an exterior cleaning. [YouTube]

I have two sets of photos to share with you in this post. The first set is taken I think in 1979 on the Gulf Road near the Kuwait Towers. I am assuming they’re taken in 1979 because I was born in 1978 and I think I look like a year old in the pictures. I am not enjoying the fact that I am sharing my baby pictures with strangers but these were the only pictures of a vintage national day parade I could find and I feel its important they be shared.

The second group of photos below were taken in 2005 in Salmiya, Salem Mubarek Street near Sultan Center. The whole street starting from Central Plaza down to Eureka was closed and made pedestrian only. It was like a big carnival mixed in with a parade. Lots of fun and as you can see from the pictures it was pretty packed but not chaotic.

So my question is why have these parades stopped? How did National Day celebration turn from a wonderful event into something that’s gotten completely out of control with foaming. This year I heard a lot of reports of actually spray paint being used instead of foam and I actually saw a car that had been spray painted. Kids and teenagers are still opening your car doors and spraying you and whoever else is inside with you. Many people decide to travel during this holiday so they could avoid this chaos while other people like me try to spend time indoors to avoid being attacked on the streets. And yes I am calling it attacked because when you get foamed against your will that’s harassment. No one has the right to foam you, foam your car and they definitely don’t have the right to open your doors and spray you. I am not even talking about spray paint, urine or any other chemical some kids use.

Can this year please be the last year National and Liberation Day turn into a horrifying foam fest and instead can we please go back to fun for the family street parades?

update: A reader sent me this link to news article on Arab Times, it seems there were 200 injuries and 1 death due to foaming this year. [Link]

update2: Tonight (Sunday 28th) Nat was on her way back from the gym, she was driving on the Gulf Road casually when suddenly just before Texas Chicken a kid jumps out into the street and sprays her while another kid throws a can of foam at the car scratching the paint job. WTF?

Yesterday a skyscraper in Kuwait City caught on fire at around 3PM. Judging by the video it seems the short building to the right of the skyscraper caught fire first and that contributed to the skyscraper catching fire. [YouTube]

Thanks mabkw!

Update: Below is a picture taken from q8blackmarket.com showing the small building on fire.

Even Pinkberry was celebrating with cute little Kuwaiti flags. [YouTube]

Here are two videos I found on YouTube, one was shot from the bridge at Marina Mall the other in Bnaider.

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

Although this year I’ve noticed a lot more cops on the roads than the previous years, I don’t think its making much of a difference. Gulf Road is still jam packed and the inside roads parallel to the Gulf Road (like Baghdad Street) are also packed.

Picture by Pretty Point of View

Don’t forget to STAY OFF THE GULF ROAD!

The Kuwait International Rally will start on March 4th at 3PM under the Kuwait Towers. It will be a ceremonial start for the event with the first race day held on March 5th and the last March 6th. It will be two days of gravel special stage action taking place in the Kuwaiti desert. For more information on this event visit the official site [Here]

Thanks Wyn!

I got an email awhile ago that went something like hi, I have a bakery and I would like you to try our food. I get soo many of those emails daily that I could have a blog dedicated to just food in Kuwait (hmmm that gives me an idea runs to buy foodinkuwait.com… damn you nibaq you already bought it!). So anyway, I was about to hit the delete button save under important button when something caught my eye. They had freshly made, thirst quenching Faloodha AND they delivered it!

Currently the only places I know that serves Faloodha ice cream is Baba Taher and the little shop under it on the ground floor called Marafie (I think). Now we have another option and they deliver so if you’re interested call them on 55521207 or 55521208 to order.

The persian bakery is called Toosi Delights and you can check out their Facebook group [Here]

Update: Here is some more details regarding the price and delivery

Faloodha is 250 fils per cup and 1.5 Kd per kilo. They have the following toppings: fresh pomegranate, pistachio or pieces of fresh lemon. As for the iced water its made of rosewater or the option of saffron milk (400 fils per cup).For the sauce you have the choice of strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate or almond sauce.

If location is close to Jabriya or Mansouuriya there is a 4 kd minimum order and 250 fils delivery charge. If location is very far then 7 kd minimum order with 500 fils delivery charge.

I was at the Toyota dealer today and noticed they had an option to install an upgraded navigation and ipod head unit with a rear view camera. It’s installed locally by them (not factory installed) but the salesman didn’t know what brand the head unit was just that it used Magellan maps.

I was planning on getting the Alpine iXA-W407 (video above) since it comes with widgets, has an amazing iPod interface, you can connect a rear view camera and has an iPhone like “flick through menus”. I was just curious if anyone had the Toyota version because I would be interested to hear some feedback. The Alpine W407 costs around $600 without the navigation and rear view camera while the Toyota dealer installed unit is KD550.

Also one more thing, those little kids and grownups that hang around the entrance to the Al-Rai car dealerships asking you if your car is for sale, what’s their story?

Actually one more last thing, while there I noticed a couple of people using the Toyota recall as a bargaining tool.

Update: Found it, the head unit Toyota installs for you is made by FlyAudio and the interface looks horrible. [Link]

A friend of mine told me that the Japanese show Takeshi’s Castle will be coming to Kuwait and they’re looking for contestants. Supposedly they have a stand at Marina Mall and they want at least 3,000 people to sign up. If it’s true than I’m in! [YouTube]

Update: It’s true! Here is a link that contains the flyer [Link]

My in laws are in town and I was going to take them and show them the Kuwait Towers today after lunch but there was some kind of event taking place there. Not sure what exactly but it was packed with people. Anyone know what it was for?

Update: Turns out there was a Special forces military show [Link]