Author: K.theKuwaiti

Posted by K.theKuwaiti

GulfRun6 is here! We have had tons of fun putting together the GulfRun events since it all started back in 2005 when we first descended unto the Bahrain International Circuit with just a handful of cars. And with what we have in store for the next event, its only going to get better from here. Following the formula of previous events, GulfRun6 will be comprised of the Carshow in Kuwait and followed by the track event, GulfRun6, at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The confirmed dates for GulfRun:

Carshow: Friday and Saturday, January 14/15th 2011 in Kuwait.
GulfRun6: Thursday and Friday, January 27th/28th 2011 in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit.

We just launched a new website yesterday so be sure to visit it for the latest information leading up to GulfRun6 at www.thegulfrun.com

Posted by K.theKuwaiti

The guys from Kuwait Extreme successfully completed in the Marathon Des Sables, a self-reliant 254km footrace through the Sahara desert over the course of one week. This is the first team from the Gulf to participate the 2009 Marathon Des Sables.

The team members are Zed Alrefai, Reyad Malallah, Khalid Alsayer and Ahmad Almajed. Their participation was to raise awareness and, through sponsorship, to fund The Kuwaiti Association for Learning Differences (KALD). The team was sponsored by: ALSAYER GROUP and Eastpak and supported by Extreme Sports, Caribou Coffee, Pro-Vision Sport Management, Artistic View, Dr. Zuhair ALNasar, AMAC, LOfat and Garmin.

The Marathon Des Sables:

This arduous event known as “the toughest footrace on Earth” takes place in the largest desert in the world Sahara desert over seven days covering a distance of 254 km on foot.In addition all athlete must be totally self reliant, carrying their food, water, medical needs and camping equipment for the entire duration of the race in their backpack. The race itself; which is equivalent to a marathon a day, is in fact broken into various stages, the most extreme of which is a distance of 84 km in a 24 hrs period. The real challenge is the weather which all athlete are exposed to sandstorms, high humidity as well the temperature could reaches 50 C during the morning and goes below -0 C at night.

Link to facebook group: [here]

Posted by K.

Extreme Sports and FISE (Festival International des Sports Extreme) are back at Marina Mall for their third extreme sporting event, and it keeps getting better every year. In addition to having a demonstration by professional riders; this event is also a competition for Kuwaiti potentials participating at the FISE Montpellier in France.

Since its foundation in 1997 Festival International des Sports Extreme represents today the biggest extreme sport context in Europe and the Middle East. With the success we generated in the last two editions. The 2008 event is anticipated to attract between 200 and 300 elite competitors from over 13 countries, this event will attract national and international media and tourists.

KUWAIT FISE 3rd edition will host 28 professionals BMX, Skateboards and Inline skaters (Rollerblade) competing in the State of Kuwait. The event will include a demonstration by pro riders: Street, Dirt, FMX , Flat land and Half Pipe, as well as local amateur competitors (street only), with qualifications for FISE Montpellier 2009 in France. The winners will represent their country on the biggest European extreme sports event, the FISE Montpellier.

Time and Place
Start Time: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 11:00am
End Time: Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 11:00pm
Location: Marina Crescent

FISE Kuwait Website [link]
FISE Kuwait 2008 teaser on youtube [link]

Posted by K.

Upcoming exhibition at The Sultan Gallery:

Beginning in 2005 Aziz + Cucher embarked on an exploration of how to expand their concept of art in order to create all encompassing environments where their dazzling imagery could be translated to a variety of surfaces and mediums. Aziz + Cucher offer now the possibility of not just ‘Living with Art” but of “Living inside Art”.

Aziz + Cucher have developed a highly visual language derived from patterns in the natural world , and with their constant interest in new developments in imaging and rendering technologies, are able to translate their vision to a multitude of materials that include limited edition photographic prints, hand-printed clay coated wallpaper, servo-digital routed and carved polymer panels, digitally printed glass and film for back- lit murals, hand –knotted carpets made of the finest silk and wool, and multi-channel video installations. Each one of these elements carry the distinctive style of Aziz + Cucher, and can be combined and customized in innumerable ways.

Event Info
Name: Aziz + Cucher Studio
Tagline: “Living Insider Art”
Host: Haitham Al-Ghunaim – The Sultan Gallery
Type:Art Exhibit

Time and Place
Start Time: Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 6:00pm
End Time: Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 2:00pm
(Exhibition open from 11am-2pm & 6pm-9pm)
Location: The Sultan Gallery

Here is a map to The Sultan Gallery [Link]
More about Aziz + Cutcher [Link]

Posted by K.

GulfRun is starting off this week with the Carwash and Sticker at Al-Falah Carwash on Wednesday and the GulfRun Carshow (Marina Mall Crescent) on Thursday and Friday. Next week the cars head off the Bahrain International Circuit for GulfRun4.

GulfRun Blog:

GulfRun is going to be taking over Marina mall this weekend from Thursday at 5pm until Friday at 10pm, before they head to Bahrain International Circuit for the GulfRun4.

In addition to having the participating race cars on show; Title Sponsor Al-Fahad Travel and Tourism and Gold Sponsor Magic – Natural Energy Drink- will be having their booths present along several exhibitor booths at Marina crescent. They will be showing off everything from Modified cars (Kromozone), Mitsubishi Evo-X and Eclipse(Al-Mulla), Ford (Arabian Motors Group), KTM/Ducati /BMW Motorcycles (TriStar Motorcycles) and even Tamiya Toy cars (My Toy).

List of participating cars [here]
Schedule of events [here] and [here]

Posted by K.

According to Alhamour.com; Bassam Al-Ghanim has submitted his official resignation as the Chairman of the Gulf Bank. Gulf Bank still has not announced his replacement, but they expect it to be someone from the Al-Ghanim family. This is a result of the Gulf Bank Shipwreck; which has resulted in a total loss of US$ 1.2bn (KD 313 mm), an amount that represents 70% of Gulf Bank’s Tier 1 & 2 Equity.

Update: Kutayba Al-Ghanim is the new Chairman of Gulf Bank.

Posted by K.

I decided to stop by and check out some of the Gulf Bank branches yesterday; there was a long queue at every location. Customers almost caused a riot trying to withdraw their money. Gulf Bank were limiting the amount a person could withdraw, but the customers still managed to withdraw over 4 million KWD in cash from the bank!

The aftermath of this issue is going to result in some major overhauls at the Gulf Bank. For an explanation of what happened to Gulf Bank check out the article Gulf Bank of Kuwait Shipwrecked.

Posted by K.

I have been trying to follow this year�s ‘Ramadan Season’ television; however, most of our beloved shows have given up on originality and are just trying to add a new taboo to a recycled story line.

My family actually looks forward to the commercial breaks more than the shows themselves. You know there is something wrong when advertisements are more entertaining than the content itself. [YouTube]

Posted by K.thekuwaiti

As of yesterday, the E71 has officially been announced by Nokia. While being successor to the E61i, the best phone I have ever owned, would make it worthy enough to be a great phone. Nokia have sealed the deal by throwing in longer battery life, 3.2mp (AutoFocus) camera, HSDPA, a faster processor in a package much slimmer than any previous Nokia offerings. [Link]

While the apple fanboys will be fumbling about trying to find a unlocked 3G iphone, you can catch the E71 at your local reseller next month for a little over 130KD.  (It also comes in white/stainless)

Posted by K.

With voting set to start in less than 8 hours, it all comes down to 4 (or less) ticks on a piece of paper to choose the next batch of politicians to lead our country for the next 4 (or less) years. I am personally going to be voting for Tahalof, as their views echo mine (in respect to the other candidates).

For those of you who are heading to the ballot box tomorrow, I leave you with a fitting quote from Thomas Sowell:

“If you have been voting for politicians who promise to give you goodies at someone else’s expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves”

Posted by K.

(No more sms messages in the middle of the night, lost friends stuck at a maqar, surprise meetups in diwaniya, or endless phone calls demanding you vote for their cousin/brother/father.)

I got a chance to check out G-FORCE Auto Worx in the Free Trade Zone yesterday; as they were having a photo-shoot to get ready for their launch in July. The owners have gone all out putting together an unbelievable garage (4wheel dyno, Ferrari-approved prep/paint booth) that is levels above the current offerings in Shuwaikh. In addition to the garage, there is a showroom on the first floor that is going to have some very interesting sports cars for sale and a store carrying racing memorabilia (sadly, the signed Schumacher racing suit is not for sale), gear (shoes, racing suits, helmets) and aftermarket parts (rims, exhausts, etc).

One of the biggest issues with modifying cars in Kuwait is the lack of a capable garage; and GForce is looking to fill that void. They are setting up to be a car-lovers haven and I will be getting more info on the garage, showroom and shop as they get closer to launch.

More pictures below.

Posted by K.

In addition to the 3g iPhone, here is a short list of the upcoming phones I am looking forward to:

SE Xpreia X1:
After the release of the iPhone, Sony Ericsson have thrown out their usual styling and gone back to the drawing board with their Xperia X1. How different is this phone from its siblings? Considering that only thing SE about it is the logo, as the X1 is powered by Windows Mobile and manufactured by HTC; it should be a significant shift from previous phones. Which could result in a good thing for hardcore SE fans, as they are throwing in every imaginable concept (multiple panels and navigation) into a fairly cooling looking phone. Truth be told, I honestly have no idea what the phone is capable of (outside of dialing/sms), but it looks pretty cool doing it. And with a name like the Xperia X1, it better live up to the hype.

More info [here]

Google Phone (et al):
Now this isn’t really a phone as much as it is the brains behind it.. Late last year, Google launched Android, their open-source (anyone can tinker away) platform for telephones. Android is the basis for the OHA (Open Handset Alliance), which is also in collaboration with 30 mobile/technology companies (which will bring the Gphone to life).

What this means for the actual consumers? We are getting a phone powered by Google; in which any inspiring programmer can change/add/create applications for the public. In essence, you would be able to buy a compatible android phone, and put together your own phone system (or download one) .

One of the first phones rumored to be released is the HTC Omni/Dream..  And seeing how HTC made the Xperia X1 (above) for SE, it should be a very interesting first attempt at a Google Phone.

More info [here]

Nokia Liam (e71)
Saving the best for last, the Nokia e71 is the successor to the e61i; the best Nokia phone I have used since the days of the 6110/6310i. In addition to having the same reliability, extended battery life and qwerty keyboard of its predecessor, its also rumored to have GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, and 3.2 megapixel AF camera in addition to a faster processor in a slimmer case.

More info [here]

Posted by K.

The people from FASTtelco have responded to our post ‘FASTtelco hates bloggers’; We have included FT’s response (and our reply) below. As it is a fairly long post (contrary to usual 248am postings), you will need to click ‘Continue reading‘ for the rest of the post.

Before Kuwaitina .. I would have considered that one of the weirdest sandstorms I have ever seen. The dust went from maroon to orange to yellow to white and then decided to leave altogether.. Apparently it rained, which in turn brought the dust down.

Posted by K.

Kuwait city was just hit by a major sandstorm; the view from my office is starting to look like the ‘Armageddon’ poster.. Where is the rain we are supposed to be getting?