Search: “video club”

While prepping for my previous post on Pinot, I was going through some old emails and found one where he sent me photos of the old Al-Manara Bookshop that was located in Salmiya next to The Video Club.

Al-Manara was a fairly popular bookstore but there aren’t any photos of it available online. It’s one of those places you never thought about photographing and eventually it’s gone. The photos were taken on March 28, 2008 with a Nikon Coolpix P1.

via Pinot

Vinyl Destination is a curated destination for vinyl lovers in Kuwait that was created by Farah Bishara (DJ Bonita) simply because we didn’t have any record stores in Kuwait. Even though CDs are dead, vinyl is still pretty much alive and no store sells them. When Virgin Megastore closed down we kinda lost our last music store since all our favorite music shops from the 80s and 90s had closed down including:

Bells (got my first CD from there, Paula Abdul Spellbound 1991)
IVC
Soul II Soul
Subway
Swan Lake (got my first tape from there, Ghostbusters soundtrack 1984)
The Video Club
White House

Vinyl Destination started off as a pop-up event back in October and since then it popped up a couple of times before going into hibernation for the summer. But recently, Vinyl Destination launched an online store. There is a pretty decent selection for sale, not too many and mostly one of each vinyl, but not a bad start and they’re also priced pretty reasonably from 10 to 15KD.

So if you’re looking for vinyl this is your best bet unless you want to go rummage through random piles in the antique basement. www.vinyldestinationkuwait.com

It was around 5AM and I was sitting at Johnny Rockets Salmiya waiting for my meal when it suddenly hit me, the place hadn’t changed one tiny bit since it first opened back in 1995. I quickly snapped a few pictures and decided to send it to my high school crush who I used to frequent Johnny Rockets with all the time. A minute later she responds… Memories!!!!

Back in 1995/1996, during my senior year in high school, Fuddruckers was the place to go. I mean there weren’t that many options anyway, none of the restaurants you see on the Gulf Road today existed back then, we didn’t have any malls like we do today except for Laila Gallery, Zahra Complex and Salhiya. So as teenagers we spent most of our time either hanging out at each others homes or the ice skating rink which was honestly pretty cool back then with Snap and Soul II Soul being blasted loudly by the DJ while we played with the arcade machines and watched people skate. So when Fuddruckers opened everyone in Kuwait was there on the weekends. It used to be super crowded and such a fun place to just chill and meet up with teens from other schools. Then Johnny Rockets opened and everyone started going there.

We were around 5 in my group, 2 girls and 3 guys and we started going to Johnny Rockets instead of Fuddruckers like most other teens. I lived on Salem Mubarek Street so my friends would just get dropped off at my place and we’d hang out in my room for a bit before walking down to Johnny. We usually headed to the Video Club first which was across the street from Johnny so we could check out the latest music tapes and CDs. We’d then visit the bookshop next door and flip through the magazines before heading over to Johnny. By the time we’d get to Johnny we would all have spent whatever little money we had on music tapes or magazines so we’d put whatever change we had together and order one cup of tea. I only ever ate there a handful of times as a teenager, and the first time was on a date with my high school crush. Our love affair with Johnny Rockets didn’t last very long though. Since the place was small and Johnny became the “it” place to be, it used to get overcrowded and mostly with teenagers like us who would only order a couple of drinks and then sit there. Forever. So, Johnny Rockets started implementing a minimum order, I think it was KD1.750 per person, so we couldn’t afford hanging out there anymore. Instead we started chilling outside Johnny Rockets, on the sidewalk until a short while later McDonalds opened up above it and it became our hangout spot.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that sometimes we don’t appreciate things until they’re gone, but I want to take this moment and appreciate Johnny Rockets while it’s still here. Thank you Johnny Rockets for not changing and still being here.

I had lunch with two high school friends today, one of which I hadn’t seen in 16 years. We were mostly reminiscing about the past and how lame everything was for us back then. Those of you in high school today don’t realize how lucky you are compared to us kids who grew up in Kuwait back in the old days. I graduated in 1996 and back then we didn’t have any malls or restaurant chains or anything like that. For entertainment we just had a few options.

The only mall in Salmiya was Laila Gallery but we weren’t allowed in on weekends since it was families only. That was pretty common back in the day.

Even Sultan Center wouldn’t let guys in alone on weekends. It was really embarrassing. Until today whenever I go to the Sultan Center in Salmiya and I see a security guy standing outside I wonder if he’s going to let me or not.

There was a cool Hardees where Starbucks is right now in front of Al Fanar. But then they demolished it.

The ice skating rink was pretty decent in the early 90s but started going downhill after that.

Fuddruckers was like the only restaurant open on the Gulf Road back then. The place used to get crazy packed and at one point was the coolest place to be.

Then Johnny Rockets in Salmiya opened and a lot of the crowd shifted there. Johnny used to get super packed as well but most of us would go and occupy a whole table and just order one tea or one shake. So, they introduced a minimum order charge of like KD1.5 per person so everyone shifted outside Johnny to the sidewalk corner and I never saw Johnny that packed again.

Oddly that sidewalk corner became a hot spot where everyone went to meet up with other friends. It used to get pretty crowded so the cops stopped allowing us to hang out there.

McDonalds opened at around the same time over Johnny so some people started hanging out there instead.

But mostly, we just hung out at each others houses listening to music and talking. Every now and then there was a house party but really that was it.

Kinda miss the simplicity of those days now that I think about it. No cellphone, no internet, no car and just enough money to make the difficult but important decision of buying a music tape from The Video Club or having dinner.

It was very strange walking into this store since it was mostly made up of cassette tapes with few CDs laid out in the middle. It reminded me of the early 90s when the market was just starting to get introduced to CDs and so I suddenly felt the urge to pick up a Vanilla Ice cassette.

What helped with this early 90s flashback was the fact that the majority of the tapes were from that era, Color Me Bad, Culture Beat, Dr Alban, you name it and they were all “Thomsun Original” branded tapes similar to the one’s Bells and Swan Lake used to sell for those who still remember. At KD1 for 3 tapes that’s a lot cheaper than the KD1.750 we used to pay for a single tape. Ah, the good old days of The Video Club…

The store is located on the first floor of the parking lot building behind Johnny Rockets Salhiya.

I am lazy, super lazy and there is no way I am going to drive all the way to a gym and work out there for an hour or two when I could be home watching my favorite shows on television. Thats why I decided the only way I would consider working out is if I brought the gym to me.

I went to every place in Kuwait which I knew of that sold home gyms and here is what I found:

Go Sport
They have a handful of treadmills, found a very decent Pro-Form treadmill for KD215. They also carried Weider and Vectra brands of multi-gyms. They only had two small Weider’s gyms with the exact same features, one for KD74 and the other for KD115. What I was interested in was the Vectra gym. Vectra make some of the best home gyms in the world but they are expensive. The Vectra gym they had on display costs KD1,300. Overall I thought their prices were pretty decent specially considering the fact that they’re located in the Avenues.

Sears
Loads of treadmills (Pro-Form and other brands). They had a good selection of multi-gyms (mostly Weider brand) but all of them except for one worked using resistance instead of weights. The only one that worked with weights was the Nordictrack 360. It looked cool but after watching the demonstration video I realized it was just too complicated to work. I also felt their prices were pretty expensive.

Ace Hardware
Not much selection there. I think they had only two treadmills which were over priced and they had like three multi-gyms made by an unknown Chinese brand and the prices were also expensive.

Nasser Sports
I heard they had a building next to their Avenues branch that was dedicated to home gyms so I was expecting to find the holy grail… I didn’t. They had a bunch of treadmills, nothing that stuck out and they had a few multi-gyms of some unknown cheap brand. I didn’t find anything interesting.

Sports Corner
They’re located in the old Salmiya where Boushahri used to be. I found the best collection of Treadmills there, they carry around three different brands but in the end I went with a Reebok Series 3 treadmill. They had a 20% discount promo going on but I was able to haggle and get a 25% discount which brought the price down to KD285. They only had one multi-gym which was of some unknown brand, looked pretty flimsy and was already sold out.

Sportsman
They have two branches, one next to the old Video Club in Salmiya opposite Zahra Complex while the other is across the street in the building where Hald Rock Cafe used to be next to NBK. They had maybe three treadmills and I found them all too expensive. No multi-gym.

Wataniya Mall
I found two stores in this small mall which is also located in Salmiya but opposite NBK and Eureka. If you go down to the basement there is a store on right corner and one on the left. The one on the right caters mostly to gyms and not homes. The cheapest multi-gym they had was for like 4000KD or something. They also are the dealers for Everlast and CCM brands. The store on the left side had maybe two treadmills, one multi gym and a few other items. They carry the Carl Lewis brand you need to definitely haggle with them. The same Carl Lewis boxing bag available at Go Sport for KD90 they were selling for KD150. I managed to bring them down to KD100 and probably could have brought them down to KD90 to match Go Sport. Same with the home gym, they had it for KD150 and I brought them down to KD100. I was actually going to get it until I spotted the gym I really wanted at Sultan Center.

Sultan Center
I first went to the Sultan Center in Al-Rai and really didn’t find anything there. I don’t remember seeing a treadmill and they had one multi-gym that was in terrible condition from the brand Body Sculpt or something. Then by chance I was at the Souk Sharq branch when I spotted the Weider 4870 (pictured at the top of this post). It was pretty full featured and I right away knew this was the gym I wanted. I asked a salesman there how much the price was and he told me 300KD which is less than I had expected. A couple of days later I went back to buy the gym and I noticed they had a price tag of 230KD stuck on the gym which was even better! I quickly purchased it and they are now actually installing it for me while I am writing this post.

So, in case anyone is looking for a multi-gym my recommendation is to hit Go Sport unless you want the gym I got which is only available at Sultan Center. For treadmills I think the Reebok’s were really good value for money and they’re available at Sports Corner who had a very nice collection and their prices are negotiable. The Pro-Form treadmill at Go Sport for KD215 is also a really good value.

How come we don’t have a proper DVD and videogame rental store? I doubt it’s because of censorship because there are a ton of movies that don’t need or have anything to be censored. The last barely decent rental place I remember was The Video Club and that wasn’t anything close to a Blockbuster in the States or Canada. We’ve never had a proper rental place in Kuwait. It’s really strange.

I came across a diary from a woman named Thérèse, who was married to a French engineer working on the construction of the Boubyan Bridge. The bridge was built by the French engineering firm Bouygues—the same team behind major projects like the Channel Tunnel and Terminal 2 at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

According to Thérèse, the French employees lived in a small camp near the bridge construction site, with the Chinese workers in a separate camp nearby. They arrived in Kuwait in 1981 and left in 1982. Each family had its own bungalow, and the camp also included some entertainment facilities like a clubhouse with a swimming pool, game hall, and restaurant.

It was interesting going through all her photos and random stories, since it gave a glimpse into the life of this isolated community in Kuwait.

Even though they lived on the camp, the children still attended the French School in Salmiya. The commute was an hour each way, and at first they used to be transported by bus but later the company got them a more comfortable Suburban. Once a week the mums would be allowed to accompany the children on the ride so they could go shopping or to the hairdresser. Once the kids are done with school, they used to go have lunch at the Le Meridien Hotel, but as customers complained about the commotion the kids would make, the hotel started refusing to serve them.

One Christmas they had Santa Claus come down on the roof of the clubhouse using a construction crane that was on site. The crane driver tried to be funny and dropped Santa Clause partially into the swimming pool which caused Santa to let off a string of expletives in front of the kids. The following year Santa refused to arrive by air and instead opted to arrive on a donkey.

I loved reading these random, mundane tidbits

According to Thérèse, social life was fairly calm, but they had a community and they held parties often, and also shared books and videotapes. They seemed to have made the best of their time in Kuwait, with the only complaint being about the violent sandstorms.

There are too many photos to share here so if you want to check them out, here is the link to the page on her time in Kuwait.

The page is in French, so use Google Translate if you want to read it in English.

cinnabon
this is a picture of cinnabon at the Kuwait Airport
2/10/2004 2:39:32 PM

breakfast at the kuwait airport
while waiting i decided to have a zinger supreme combo from kfc
2/10/2004 2:41:02 PM

my new phone
i gave my brother my sony ericsson t610 and got the new t630
2/10/2004 2:41:10 PM

starbucks kuwait
sitting at starbucks at the kuwait airport
2/10/2004 2:43:01 PM

kuwait airport
waiting in the arrival area at the kuwait airport
2/10/2004 2:46:38 PM

playboy kuwait
finally got my first issue of playboy in the mail. dont know how this got through kuwaiti customs but its here now!
2/10/2004 4:20:37 AM

bed moblogging
surfing the web while in bed and watching grace under fire on tv
2/10/2004 4:17:05 PM

4:21pm
4:21pm, still in bed. still bored.
2/10/2004 4:17:09 PM

window view
this is the view from my window…
2/10/2004 5:43:13 PM

dinner time
waiting for my order at hardees
2/10/2004 9:13:24 PM

theyre here
took this pic by mistake. fuck knows what it is…
2/10/2004 9:28:34 PM

b movie
over at a friends place watching a crappy movie
2/10/2004 9:28:39 PM

no one
taken at around 12:30am. all the shops are closed.
2/11/2004 12:36:27 AM

empty souk
souk basically means shopping area… i think
2/11/2004 12:37:43 AM

planet x
planet x is a shop filled with tons of xbox’s all connected together on a network. best place to halo
2/11/2004 12:40:11 AM

hardees
they were cleaning up…
2/11/2004 12:41:04 AM

sony ericsson?
this is the newly designed logo for one of the major arabic record labels called Rotana. the logo though reminds me “a lot” of the sony ericsson logo…
2/11/2004 12:42:26 AM

lunch time
thats the burger king logo in arabic
2/11/2004 2:24:45 PM

burger king
waiting for my order. the big fish meal takes 4 minutes and 50 seconds according to the burger king chick
2/11/2004 2:48:36 PM

bk offer
this is the latest burger king offer if anyone is interested…
2/11/2004 2:48:42 PM

watching tv
over at friends place watching tv again.
2/11/2004 8:10:44 PM

chinese food
kindu chicken, sweet & sour chicken and mixed fried rice
2/11/2004 10:53:39 PM

caught
some kid in the mall who blocked my view
2/11/2004 10:53:42 PM

the one
the one
2/11/2004 10:53:46 PM

marina mall
pic of the mall from outside
2/11/2004 11:02:56 PM

lunch or dinner?
6pm having lunch, could be dinner…
2/12/2004 5:43:41 PM

a shave
waiting for my turn to get a shave. my barber is from pakistan i think. costs me $3 for a shave and another $3 for a haircut. really good deal. i cut and shave once a week now.
2/12/2004 8:37:16 PM

jeita
with a friend who was having dinner.
2/12/2004 9:00:09 PM

ten
10 is the magic number
2/13/2004 2:36:27 AM

28 days later
streets are freakishly empty at 1:30am
2/13/2004 2:39:32 AM

TGIF
lunch at Fridays
2/13/2004 2:56:33 PM

soccer
kids playing soccer
2/13/2004 4:19:08 PM

carpenters
two pakistani workers putting together some furniture
2/13/2004 4:24:44 PM

furnished apartment
furnished apartment still under construction. this is a sample apartment for a furnished apartment project that will be made in iraq.
2/13/2004 5:31:38 PM

pakistani workers
2 pakistani workers putting together a bookcase from ikea.
2/13/2004 5:47:40 PM

trash
trash in the hallways from all the new furniture.
2/13/2004 5:50:52 PM

sbarro
hmmmmm so many choices
2/13/2004 9:44:39 PM

serpico
gonna watch serpico for the first time tonight
2/13/2004 11:19:54 PM

star acadamy
a friend watching star acadamy
2/13/2004 11:20:51 PM

old school
watching old school for the 4th time. fucking funny.
2/14/2004 4:12:57 PM

food court
having lunch at marina mall
2/14/2004 6:13:27 PM

hoop of danger
guy jumps through hoops surrounded by daggers…yay..
2/14/2004 6:47:09 PM

crowd
february is the shopping festival month in kuwait so we get these shows happening…
2/14/2004 6:48:59 PM

guy with sword
february is the shopping festival month in kuwait so we get these shows happening…
2/14/2004 6:51:14 PM

Hala February
february is the shopping festival month in kuwait so we get these shows happening…
2/14/2004 8:16:09 PM

waterlemon
coffe time
2/14/2004 8:17:27 PM

reflect
bartender at waterlemon
2/14/2004 8:23:26 PM

40-Tactical
the most fucking gorgeous thing ever!!
2/14/2004 11:52:24 PM

2:07AM snack
hardees open 24hours
2/15/2004 2:08:08 AM

roast beef
all i have been eating is junk food lately. i’m lovin it.
2/15/2004 2:11:47 AM

IKEA Kuwait
2/15/2004 7:57:23 PM

dinner time
2am in the morning, time for some dinner. hardees and kfc are open 24 hours.
2/16/2004 2:56:25 AM

good food
waiting for my friends to finish ordering.
2/16/2004 2:57:09 AM

Supersize Me
had a supersized KFC combo and won a Radio Alarm clock
2/16/2004 2:57:41 AM

Triva Challenge
after dinner we passed by a pool/internet place. i sat at the bar and played some trivia games. i ended up breaking the record in the World Expert game 🙂
2/16/2004 2:59:03 AM

24hours pool place
this place is open 24 hours. has pool and internet access.
2/16/2004 2:59:24 AM

watching
watching my friend play a game called Peng or something.
2/16/2004 3:00:02 AM

sucks
just woke up
2/16/2004 5:26:41 PM

burrito
dinner time
2/16/2004 7:50:27 PM

customized
having my burrito customized
2/16/2004 7:57:47 PM

movie night
finished watching wonderland, a really good fucjing movie. now have american splendor and lost in translation.
2/16/2004 10:31:17 PM

nacho mucho
burger king has these stupid burgers with nachos in them!
2/17/2004 6:05:36 PM

KFC
dinner at KFC. my moblog is turning into a fast food blog…
2/18/2004 4:22:51 AM

hmmm
soo many choices. ended up having the zinger supreme combo..supersized.
2/18/2004 4:24:05 AM

Sultan Center
24 hour supermarket.
2/18/2004 4:25:51 AM

Sultan Center
on my way up
2/18/2004 4:27:33 AM

dvd player
cheap
2/18/2004 4:32:08 AM

power tools
my weakness
2/18/2004 4:33:07 AM

take me home
strange
2/18/2004 4:33:58 AM

Road Trip!
around 2:30am after finishing from the supermarket i felt like going on a road trip to the north of kuwait.
2/18/2004 4:34:56 AM

kuwait towers
i was cruising, on my way to the north, listening to some pink floyd which was getting broadcasted onto the car radio from my ipod when suddenly my ipod fucking ran out of battery! luckily i had mazzy star and NIN in my car and ended up listening to mazzy on the way and nine inch nails on the way back.
2/18/2004 4:36:57 AM

the kuwait towers
one of the coolest things in kuwait
2/18/2004 4:38:50 AM

3:04 AM
its 3am now
2/18/2004 4:39:59 AM

its cold
10 degrees celcius, pretty cold for february in kuwait
2/18/2004 4:40:56 AM

My Target
Entertainment City is my destination. its like disney land… just not as big.
2/18/2004 4:42:02 AM

Entertainment City
finally got there around 3:30am. It was closed of course. Good trip.
2/18/2004 4:43:28 AM

Kuwait City
the lights are up for the national holiday coming up next week.
2/18/2004 4:44:55 AM

dawn
6:30am, still awake watching tv. the sun is coming up.
2/18/2004 6:30:26 AM

chinese
lunch time. chinese food again. my vacation has been really interesting. sleep, food, movies, food then cycle repeats.
2/18/2004 6:39:20 PM

mango
accross the street from starbucks
2/18/2004 11:13:35 PM

starbucks q8
chocolate cream frapuccino
2/18/2004 11:17:07 PM

geography
i played this geography game at the pool place. i was trying to break the record but could only manage a measly third place. i signed off with the nick “ouwet”.
2/19/2004 1:31:27 AM

pool
after dinner we went played some pool. i was crap as usual.
2/19/2004 1:37:25 AM

subway
dinner time. had subway, maybe the healthiest food i have had in a long time.
2/19/2004 1:40:20 AM

traffic
sitting in traffic…
2/19/2004 9:30:10 PM

mobile phones
people buying and trading in used phones
2/19/2004 9:34:00 PM

phones
some of the used phones for sale
2/19/2004 9:37:15 PM

souk sharq
waiting for a friend to finish work.
2/19/2004 9:39:17 PM

crepaway
crepaway is a lebanese chain of restaurants that recently opened a branch in kuwait.
2/19/2004 11:24:22 PM

TGIF
went to bed 10am, now having lunch at fridays, its 2:30pm.
2/20/2004 2:24:29 PM

chinese
cousin having chinese food
2/20/2004 4:56:38 PM

spelling bee
a typical site in kuwait. poor spelling.
2/20/2004 6:41:18 PM

Clup
tons of errors here in this flyer for a gym. coffee spelt cofee, Mercedes spelt Mercides and Club spelt Clup. Lesson spelt Lessonse, Jacuzzi spelt Jacouse… unbelievable mistakes..
2/20/2004 6:45:00 PM

carnival 1
2/21/2004 10:10:42 PM

carnival 2
2/21/2004 10:12:54 PM

jarrir
outside the jarrir bookshop
2/21/2004 10:15:00 PM

feres wheel
first time i see this in kuwait
2/21/2004 10:16:46 PM

bookshop
the biggest books/office supplies shop in kuwait. just recently opened.
2/21/2004 10:18:54 PM

titanic
this mall is nicknamed titanic. before the mall opened people nick named it the titanic because of the fact the thing looks like a ship.
2/21/2004 10:20:41 PM

sky lights
really awesom view of the malls lights from above
2/21/2004 10:23:47 PM

elevator
this is the view from the malls elevator
2/21/2004 10:26:33 PM

work
today is my first day back to work after my 2 week off. sucks.
2/21/2004 8:55:09 PM

maxtor
came back to work after my vacation and found a nice fat 120GB harddrive on my desk!
2/21/2004 10:26:24 PM

office space
herman miller delta office system. very cool. thats my work area.
2/22/2004 1:45:11 AM

weather
the weather is terrible today. its windy and very dusty. visibility is bad, but not nearly as bad as last years freaky duststorm where you couldnt see the person standing right next to you.
2/23/2004 2:42:52 AM

reboot
mac crashed, waiting for it to reboot…
2/23/2004 4:19:17 AM

bmw
took this pic by mistake but looks cool…
2/24/2004 2:35:16 AM

kuwait
the kuwaiti flag is up everyone now since the national and liberation day are coming up
2/24/2004 2:35:28 AM

clouds
we get clouds only in winter, the rest of the year the sky is just plain light blue.
2/24/2004 2:47:29 AM

cadillac
not into old cars but i liked the way the exhaust pipes are part of the bumper
2/24/2004 3:07:44 AM

my dog
took my dog to the vet today. turned out he had a fever..
2/24/2004 9:04:19 AM

vet
cool fucking dogs.
2/24/2004 9:04:42 AM

falcons
falcons are popular in kuwait, they costs thousands of dollars each, maybe i could get one on installments.
2/24/2004 9:05:05 AM

hardees rules!
dinner at hardees. i can never have enough!
2/24/2004 9:57:50 AM

lunch.. hardees
hardess for dinner and now for lunch
2/25/2004 6:19:46 AM

view
mushroom and swiss combo upsized plus a roast beef and chedder
2/25/2004 5:20:13 PM

hardees
hardees from outside
2/25/2004 5:20:37 PM

bad view
bad picture of a crowd of under 10 year olds armed with foam cans and spraying any car that passes by
2/25/2004 5:23:28 PM

pigs 2
more cops
2/25/2004 5:26:39 PM

crepaway
crepaway as i was passing by
2/25/2004 5:26:51 PM

pigs
security is tight today because of the national holiday. cops everywhere.
2/25/2004 5:27:05 PM

Kuwait National Day
today was the Kuwait National Day, lots of flags everywhere
2/26/2004 12:09:22 AM

Kuwait National Day
people camping near the side of the road watching the traffic go by
2/26/2004 12:10:34 AM

Kuwait National Day
traffic stops, people get out of their cars and start dancing or spraying each other with foam cans
2/25/2004 1:11:03 PM

Kuwait National Day
a group of kids parked and dancing to music
2/26/2004 12:11:39 AM

Kuwait National Day
kids on the side of the road, most heavily armed with foam cans to spray cars as they pass by.
2/25/2004 1:12:11 PM

Kuwait National Day
keep your windows closed and your door locked. if u dont have your doors locked the kids will actually open them and spray you!
2/26/2004 12:12:44 AM

Kuwait National Day
a car getting sprayed
2/25/2004 1:13:48 PM

Kuwait National Day
a victim with a window open
2/25/2004 1:14:42 PM

Kuwait National Day
a bunch of kids on the side of the road spraying cars as they pass by
2/26/2004 12:16:06 AM

Kuwait National Day
cops closed most of the roads to try to keep the traffic down… didnt work.
2/26/2004 12:16:50 AM

speed camera
a speed camera sprayed with foam
2/26/2004 12:17:07 AM

Kuwait National Day
kids spraying foam on a car as it passes by
2/26/2004 12:17:40 AM

Kuwait National Day
traffic for miles and miles..
2/26/2004 12:18:18 AM

experimental
me and a friend found this mirror in an abandon house. we used a slow shutter speed then waved around a sony ericsson p800 and my sony clie ux40 to get this effect.
2/26/2004 12:20:51 AM

Network
maybe the coolest place to counter strike
2/26/2004 12:21:23 AM

StarBlade
we found an arcade with tons of old classic games
2/26/2004 12:21:38 AM

Killer Instinct
the best arcade game ever, i am gonna try to buy one and put it in my room
2/26/2004 12:21:58 AM

Moonwalker
anyone remember this game?
2/26/2004 12:22:23 AM

Ninja Turtles
i used to play this game sooo much when i was a kid.
2/26/2004 12:22:44 AM

ikea
friend bought some shelves
2/26/2004 5:28:22 PM

ikea
if it wasnt for this huge sign we wouldnt be here right now
2/26/2004 7:37:22 PM

Texas Chicken
went to texas chicken for the first time. not bad food.
2/26/2004 9:14:39 PM

120GB
adding an extra 120GB drive to my mac
2/26/2004 9:14:42 PM

marlboro lights
cool packaging
2/27/2004 1:57:42 AM

All Star
my favorite shirt
2/28/2004 9:26:40 PM

lick
my dog chips just about to lick my camera
2/28/2004 9:27:13 PM

Monster 80’s
GTA vicecity syndrom. am listening to too much 80’s music!
2/29/2004 10:33:54 AM

BK
can never get enough…
2/29/2004 9:52:14 PM

snack
after finishing work i decided to pass by get something light to eat..
2/29/2004 9:52:33 PM

PSX
for some reason i was expecting it to be silverish or champaign in color. something metalic.. but its actually white.
2/29/2004 9:53:46 PM

Pirated Games
i buy all my xbox games original. but, starting this week i will start buying fake games. for the price of 1 original xbox game i can get 20 fake ones. All i need to do is chip my xbox and thats gonna cost me 40$
2/29/2004 9:54:48 PM

PSX
looks pretty sweet. costs 900$ though which is more then i can afford…
2/29/2004 9:56:07 PM

The PSX
its here!!! but costs around 900$
2/29/2004 9:58:06 PM

whats playing
nothing else more to shoot in the office
3/2/2004 12:43:59 PM

white
the t630 is ipod friendly
3/2/2004 12:46:29 PM

work
really busy
3/2/2004 12:48:51 PM

looking up
this is what i see when i look up from my desk.
3/2/2004 12:50:25 PM

xbox
taking my xbox so they can chip it
3/2/2004 7:10:45 PM

BK double mushroom
had a double mushroom and cheese burger at burger king. good food, good mood.
3/2/2004 8:21:05 PM

XBOX
3/2/2004 8:21:28 PM

gameboy advance sp
attractive way of displaying the gameboy advance sp.
3/2/2004 8:22:58 PM

EOD
found these two offroad vehicles next to my office. most probably used for missions in iraq. they are not hummers. they are really big and tall.
3/3/2004 8:23:27 AM

offroad vehicle
found two of these offroad vehicles parked next to my office. most probably used for missions in iraq. they are not hummers. they are really big and tall.
3/3/2004 8:24:22 AM

hardees
my favorite place
3/4/2004 8:01:18 PM

peel & win
its been like 3 nights in a row i have been having dinner at kfc. so far i won 3 small cokes
3/6/2004 10:14:15 AM

dead guy
i keep thinking there is a guy dead in the pool
3/6/2004 10:47:57 AM

Elegance
Nice fork wanna fuck?
3/6/2004 9:50:00 PM

Need For Speed
my favorite car in Need For Speed Underground. The Honda RSX.
3/7/2004 9:18:46 AM

crash and burn
my mac at work crashed for the first time in a couple of months
3/7/2004 11:13:57 PM

Passport
my friends radar detector. i need to get one.
3/8/2004 7:19:57 PM

hasselblad
a gorgeous medium format camera. but thats 2500KD which is around 8000$, toooo fucking expensive :S
3/8/2004 10:50:35 PM

obey giant
my friend has been spray painting these all over kuwait. for more info visit obeygiant.com
3/8/2004 10:52:41 PM

Free Cups
with every upsized value meal mcdonalds is giving away cups for free. compared to kfc, hardees and burger king.. this offer is terrible. the others offer me chances to win cars, plasma screens and xboxes while MCdonald is giving me cups.
3/9/2004 2:21:08 PM

Apple
my mouse pad. apple written in arabic.
3/10/2004 8:26:23 AM

Speed Racer
3/10/2004 10:45:51 PM

Home Sweet Home
too many choices…. i ended up having the XXL double mushroom burger
3/10/2004 10:46:22 PM

Family Meal
should have ordered that! 2.950KD is around 10$
3/10/2004 10:46:50 PM

Nice Day
its rare to see clouds in the sky here in kuwait. today the weather is really good. not too much sun, and a nice cold breeze.
3/11/2004 2:41:55 PM

Lunch Time
decided to have KFC for lunch although I felt like having burger king. i had burger king for dinner last night.
3/11/2004 2:43:04 PM

Pills
since my diet consists of just junk food, i have decided to take multi vitamin pills every morning. i havent noticed any difference. I am not bigger or stronger… yet!
3/11/2004 3:53:25 PM

news radio
watching news radio at my friends place
3/11/2004 6:29:37 PM

Corny
i think its been on the wall since the early 90s
3/11/2004 8:29:49 PM

dinner
hardees for dinner. it was sooo good.
3/11/2004 8:34:20 PM

Largest worldwide
had lunch at chilis. chilies in kuwait is the largest in the world.
3/12/2004 2:44:00 PM

Ace
passed by ace hardware to buy some tools to put into the tool box i bought 2 weeks ago
3/12/2004 4:21:57 PM

Hardees
Dinner again at hardees. had the same thing i had yesterday night.. roastbeef n chedder combo upsized and also a mushroom n swiss sandwich.
3/12/2004 7:28:26 PM

server crash
today morning i came into work and found out our main companies server’s servers hard drive crashed over the weekend. we have no back up. hopefully now the company will realize the importance of a server and replace the old dell desktop currently being used with something a lot cooler, bigger and more expensive!
3/13/2004 8:32:44 AM

dead server
this is our companies server. it died today (hard drive crash) and we dont have a backup. if we had a proper server with an automated backup system we wouldnt be in deep shit. maybe now the management will hear my bigger better faster server request.
3/13/2004 8:57:25 AM

IKEA
passed by ikea to retrieve some gift vouchers they owed me
3/13/2004 11:17:52 AM

Printer Talk
I enjoy hovering around the printer while i wait for it to print out an artwork. its like a timeout from work.
3/13/2004 4:27:40 PM

Swiss Army
the fucking coolest shit. still need to get the swiss army ranger.
3/13/2004 10:19:54 PM

Gas
gas is very cheap in kuwait. i just filled my bmw 330ci with 3$ worth of gas and my car is now over a quarter full.
3/14/2004 7:44:02 PM

Out Of Space
High end B&O speakers
3/15/2004 10:40:14 AM

Bill: $88,750
went shopping today for a B&O set for a client. he wanted B&O and had an open budget. This is what we got: 2 Plasma screens (one for living area and one for bathroom -no bullshit here) for a combined price of $51,000. Purchased 2 main speakers for $20,000. Puchased rear surround speakers for $10,000. Got the “cheap” B&O DVD player for $1,500. Got the 6 CD Changer for $4,500. Finally got a handfull of B&O phones for $1,750. This brings the grand total to $88,750. Eighty Eight Thousand Dollars Thank You.
3/15/2004 9:47:56 PM

Marina Mall
marina mall during the day looks good. rarely come here during the day since i would be at work but today i decided to have lunch here.
3/17/2004 7:43:32 PM

Texas Chicken
had dinner at texas chicken. there is a rumor going around that because texas chicken is called churches chicken in the states, that they actually donate some of their profits to churches. a silly rumor.
3/18/2004 11:02:29 PM

sucks
graffiti in kuwait is pretty boring. this is as cool as it gets.
3/18/2004 11:04:56 PM

D2H
the Nikon D2H finally arrived to kuwait. the price.. 1300KD which is around $4000. body only.
3/18/2004 11:07:27 PM

found it!
after searching a few weeks now i was finally able to locate the dickies dealer in kuwait. sadly the shop turned out to be tiny and is run by 2 faggots.
3/18/2004 11:08:24 PM

Starbucks Q8
Now is the best time to sit outside at starbucks. the weather is pretty cool now. once it gets hot in kuwait, it gets REALLY hot. I am talking about temperatures of 55 degrees.. thats like 130 degrees Fahrenheit or something..
3/19/2004 11:01:35 AM

Roomba
my roomba hard at work.
3/19/2004 12:16:19 PM

Ruby Tuesday
had lunch at thelargest rubys tuesday in the world. so now we have the largest chilies AND rubys tuesday.
3/19/2004 4:09:23 PM

Kuwait Towers
this is the most popular landmark in kuwait. these towers are called the Kuwait Towers. There are 3 towers (1 hidden behind the palm tree. each tower has a purpose. 1 of them is a lighting thingy, 1 holds water, and the one with the 2 balls… the big ball has a rotating restaurant and the small ball is like a viewing thingy where u go up and their are like binoculars and u view the surrounding area with. good thing i dont work for the kuwaiti tourism company since i believe this was absolutely the worst description of the kuwait towers ever.
3/19/2004 7:22:50 PM

Pirated DVDs
i was walking on my way to hardees to have dinner when i found a guy selling pirated dvds for 3$ each. so i got 21 grams (was on my amazon wishlist) and hulk which for 3$ i thought was a good deal. so am over at my friends place now gonna watch 21 grams then go have dinner. hopefully hardees would still be open then..

update: ok this turned out to be the worst 6$ i spent. 21 grams turned out to be a crappy copy, and hulk turned out to be the most boring movie ever. didnt even finish it i left before it finished and apologized to my friends for making them watch it!
3/19/2004 10:34:16 PM

Hardees
my favorite hardees employee. also probably the most popular in the world cuz of gizmodo. too bad i dont know or care to know his name.
3/19/2004 11:55:55 PM

Aprilia
this is absolutely my favorite bike ever!
3/20/2004 3:07:37 PM

RX8
coool, the mazda RX8 has arrived to kuwat. a couple of months ago when we asked the dealer if he was gonna get them he said no. guess things changed since then.
3/21/2004 12:16:51 PM

HeMan
was at burger king for lunch. they are giving away heman toys with a kids meal.
3/21/2004 1:43:55 PM

Never Enough
although i had burger king just 4 hours ago, i decided to pass by after work since i had a big craving for a roast beef n’ chedder combo. i can never have enough of this amazing food!
3/21/2004 6:13:49 PM

sub
i need to get myself a decent sub. found this Paradigim Sub for around $600 but it might be too much for my tiny room. but then again the fatter the better..
3/22/2004 4:23:31 PM

DVDs
here is a picture of some pirated dvds being sold on the streets. they sell for 3$ which is cheap since they come in the plastic cover. usually the plastic cover adds around $1.5 extra to the final price.
3/22/2004 11:10:17 AM

DVDs
here is a picture of some pirated dvds being sold on the streets. they sell for 3$ which is cheap since they come in the plastic cover. usually the plastic cover adds around $1.5 extra to the final price.
3/22/2004 11:10:17 AM

HE-MAN
They are giving He-Man toys with every kids meal. Its cool that they still remember him. I am hoping for A-Team toys next!
3/23/2004 11:27:28 PM

Gameworks
we have game works in kuwait. too expensive though.
3/25/2004 3:28:56 AM

Gameworks
we have game works in kuwait. too expensive though.
3/25/2004 2:28:56 PM

Piracy
this is how to buy good pirated dvds. u walk around the computer district until someone asks u if want a dvd. if u say yes he will lead u to a room full of catalogs full of dvds. at 3$ a piece u usually come out with a whole bunch.
3/25/2004 2:34:54 PM

CD CASTLE
my favorite cd store. got my windows 2003 cd for my home server from there.
3/25/2004 2:41:14 PM

Fridays
had a really good lunch at TGIF. They have the best onion rings ever.
3/26/2004 3:58:54 PM

Diet
because of all the comment i got from people emailing me about me having too much junk food. i cant eat now without thinking i am eating too much. so i am officialy going on a diet. I had a Double Cheese Burger Combo.. not upsized today. Thats a big step since i used to have one of the XXL burgers with the coke and fries supersized.
3/26/2004 5:58:40 PM

A-L-I-E-N-S
i bought a beautiful ALIENS model. Its the Alien Queen and the thing is huge!!
3/26/2004 6:00:56 PM

Kuwait Towers
I visited Kuwait towers tonight with a frind.
3/26/2004 8:33:12 PM

Phone Holder
found good use for my Alien Queen.. its now an oversized sony ericsson phone holder!
3/27/2004 9:08:53 AM

HALF PIPE!
turns out the hotel next door to my office has a fucking skate board arena. its in the basement and they have half pipes, ramps, pipes and even rent boards and skates. the hotel and interior has an arabic design so its pretty strange to see them both mix. but fucking cool shit!
3/27/2004 2:14:21 PM

17-Inch Powerbook
installing panther on my friends 17 inch powerbook. he got an error yesterday night when he tried installing it so i am hoping it wont happen with me.
3/29/2004 8:46:40 AM

Fight
i was sitting in the mall having a strawberry milkshake when 2 guys ran past us. suddenly around 200 other guys appeared out of no where and started running after the 2 kids. the whole mall was shaking as if an army was passing by. in kuwait since there really isnt much to do, fights break out over nothing and usually end up to include anyone who is near. everyone is always looking for something to do so when a small fight breaks out they all like to participate. this is a shot of some people trying to see whats going on.
4/2/2004 10:36:09 AM

Cops
i was sitting in the mall having a strawberry milkshake when 2 guys ran past us. suddenly around 200 other guys appeared out of no where and started running after the 2 kids. the whole mall was shaking as if an army was passing by. in kuwait since there really isnt much to do, fights break out over nothing and usually end up to include anyone who is near. everyone is always looking for something to do so when a small fight breaks out they all like to participate. this is a shot of the cops who had just arrived on the scene running towards the action.
4/2/2004 10:37:14 AM

Crowd
i was sitting in the mall having a strawberry milkshake when 2 guys ran past us. suddenly around 200 other guys appeared out of no where and started running after the 2 kids. the whole mall was shaking as if an army was passing by. in kuwait since there really isnt much to do, fights break out over nothing and usually end up to include anyone who is near. everyone is always looking for something to do so when a small fight breaks out they all like to participate. this is a shot of some kids all gathered up outside trying to find the fight.
4/2/2004 10:38:56 AM

Gulf Bank
had to cash a cheque so passed by Gulf Bank at the Fanar Mall. I took this picture while waiting for the bank to open.
4/2/2004 10:39:58 AM

Chilis
a picture from the waiting area of the biggest chilies in the world.
4/3/2004 2:20:00 PM

Lambo
it doesnt get better the this!
4/3/2004 2:41:45 PM

Doom
Finally got doom running on the p900
4/5/2004 2:32:44 PM

Star Acadamy
this is bashar from star acadamy buying some stuff from armani. he came second but many believe he should have come out first since he had a better voice and more talent.
4/6/2004 10:29:14 AM

The Beach
The sea side in kuwait is pretty cool. its all public beaches with only a small percentage private.
4/7/2004 1:50:28 PM

Marina Mall
this is a pic of the fountain in Marina Mall. right behind it is starbucks.
4/7/2004 1:53:18 PM

scientific center
picture of the scientific centers main entrance. the architecture of the place is really cool.
4/7/2004 5:07:31 PM

Le Notre
this is the Le Notre restaurant here in kuwait. sitting inside feels like sitting in a ship.
4/9/2004 1:51:23 AM

Kuwait Towers
this is a picture of the kuwait towers. its not often we get deep blue skies in kuwait.
4/10/2004 4:47:50 PM

rain
this picture was taken on friday while i was having lunch at chilis. it was really windy and there were some strong showers. u can see the kuwait towers behind the palm trees.
4/13/2004 12:38:20 AM

Lord of the Rings
this is a billboard outside a movie theater advertising Lord of the Rings. it doesnt get crappier then this!
4/13/2004 12:40:37 AM

P900
running MAME on the P900 is the coolest thing!
4/13/2004 12:42:00 AM

Hard Cock
this place has the funniest name. its actually called HArd Cook but it looks like Hard Cock. Really funny shit!
4/14/2004 12:24:20 AM

Lotus Exige
Found this Lotus parked outside the office. looks like and oversized RC Racer. really hot though.
4/15/2004 5:33:30 AM

Virgin
a picture from inside the Virgin Megastore in Kuwait. They say its the second largest in the world but I think thats bullshit.
4/16/2004 11:13:05 AM

GUSTO!
had a shooting at GUSTO! tonight. lasted from 8pm all the way till 11. really exhausting…
4/19/2004 2:19:06 PM

indian food
i had indian food for dinner tonight. 2 types of chicken, 1 curry lamb, some Cheese Nan and rice. plus coke for my drink. i am feeling really sick. never gonna have indian food again. its too heavy.. will stick to chinese from now on.
4/20/2004 12:41:41 PM

Nikon F4
this is my dream cam. its the Nikon F4 but at 350KD ($1100 USD) its way out of my budget!
4/21/2004 10:57:36 AM

earth and water
its really dusty today plus it started raining so everything is muddy
4/23/2004 1:35:00 PM

risk
played risk with my friends. lost but it was really fun.
4/23/2004 1:35:03 PM

monopoly
played monopoly for like 3 hours or more. lost again but really badly this time.
4/23/2004 1:35:09 PM

courtyard
sitting having dinner at the courtyard by mariott
4/24/2004 10:26:54 AM

IKEA Bristro
passed by ikea cuz i needed to kill some time. i decided to try their hot dogs. not bad if it wasnt for the psycho chick there. i asked for very little ketchup and mustard and instead she litrally drowns it with them.
4/25/2004 7:58:37 AM

AGFA JET
was at the printers today from 5 to 7 doing a final check on some proofs so they could start printing tonight.
4/25/2004 11:14:12 AM

Cannondale
so i finally decided i am gonna start riding the bike again. this would be my first time since 1996. so i do some research and find out cannondale’s are the best bikes. so i decide to get one. little did i know though that the prices start from 600$. fucking expensive stuff. now i have to save up to get one. this means i will probably end up getting the bike by the end of summer. too bad…
4/27/2004 8:50:21 PM

Gameworks
passed by gameworks tonight. was hoping to play some games tonight but the place was fully loaded with kids of all ages. although i didnt get to play any games it was nice to see all these kids in one place. when i was there age all we had was johnny rockets and fuddruckers to hang out at. now they have a lot more choices. i feel old.
4/28/2004 11:13:57 PM

traffic
12an, stuck in traffic. seems there is an accident up ahead
4/30/2004 1:16:28 AM

fastfood again
got my salary yesterday so now i can afford fastfood again 🙂
5/1/2004 12:13:01 AM

Gameworks Indy
went back to gameworks today. it was pretty empty which is better. the other night it was too crowded we couldnt play. this pic is of the indy racing game. up to 4 people can play and there is a live announcer plus mini cams on the cars which projects your face onto a big screen.
5/1/2004 9:37:08 PM

National Bank of Kuwait
cash deposit machine wasn’t working so i had to wait for a teller. i hate wait in banks.
5/3/2004 8:39:59 PM

The Temple
decided to have Hardees for lunch today. it totally empty except for me and 2 employees. very peaceful and energizing. i love this place.
5/4/2004 2:15:52 PM

Too Good
since lunch yesterday was incredible i decided to have Hardees again. though today right after i took this picture a whole bunch of people came in and the place just got too noisy. still the food will make up for it.
5/5/2004 2:14:21 PM

Third time
hardees was soo good yesterday so i decided to have it for lunch again today. this time though i had it to go.
5/7/2004 1:24:07 AM

4 times
had hardees for dinner. this is 4 times in a row now. the employees are really friendly now..
5/7/2004 1:25:41 AM

HiTech
found this weird computer/videogame/tv. and for only 60$
5/7/2004 1:27:30 AM

Star Acadamy
the finalists of star acadamy were coming to the building where my office is. i heard later that it got really crowded and the girls were attacking at superstars.
5/7/2004 1:39:53 AM

GameSkin
got my gameskin tshirt yesterday. rocks!
5/7/2004 2:44:27 PM

Skyline
kuwait city from a far. the tower on the left side (right of the building) is the kuwait liberation tower. it was supposed to be the third tallest tower in the world when they built it but now its like the 8th or something.
5/9/2004 4:59:24 PM

Champ
6 days in a row and twice in the same day. thats enough for a long time. gonna cut down on junk food.
5/10/2004 12:06:12 PM

Texas Chicken
ok so i am not cutting down on junk food but no burgers for a while…
5/10/2004 12:12:56 PM

Grendizer
anyone want to get me this for my birthday? its only $199!
5/10/2004 12:19:28 PM

Tivo
went to aramex to pick up my Tivo!
5/10/2004 12:24:02 PM

2600
chiling at jamaica blue during our 2600 meeting
5/10/2004 1:48:48 PM

The Studio
this is a pic from the recording studio where my sis works.
5/11/2004 10:27:06 PM

Ministry of Information
passed by the ministry of information today to get approval from them to let my tivo enter through customs. what a fucking day. they were friendly and all but i had soo many papers that needed to get signed and stamped from one person to the other. 4 hours worth of running around!
5/12/2004 11:46:10 PM

Getting Tivo
this is a picture from the cargo terminal of the kuwait airport. i was waiting to get my tivo
5/12/2004 11:46:19 PM

My Tivo!
finally got my tivo!!!
5/12/2004 11:47:02 PM

1.8 TerraBytes
this is what 1.8TB of hard disk space looks like!
5/12/2004 11:47:57 PM

GTA
been playing Grand Theft Auto for the past few days. Sometimes i dont touch the xbox for weeks and then sometimes i cant keep my hands off it.
5/21/2004 6:23:58 PM

Sears
came to check out whats new at sears. its like located at the other side of kuwait. too far from everything.
5/21/2004 6:26:24 PM

marina world
they opened up the bridge that connects marina mall to marina cresent. the place is huge now
5/21/2004 6:33:16 PM

marina cresent
they opened up marina cresent which is the other half of marina mall. the cresent contains tons of cools cafes. the place is gonna be really cool when it finishes
5/21/2004 6:40:27 PM

Shawerma
the coolest thing about kuwait is that u dont have to get out of your car. u just pull up somewhere, honk and someone will come out to help u. could be grocer, gas station, restaurant.. anywhere. for dinner tonight i had a shwerma and cocktail. .. drive through
5/21/2004 11:41:56 PM

ipod for sale
decided today i would sell my ipod. had enough of mp3s. am going back to cds.
5/22/2004 8:26:05 PM

Franz Ferdinand
my best friend just came back from a trip to Europe and he got me the Franz Ferdinand CD. Pretty good stuff.
5/23/2004 11:49:42 PM

Clean
finally cleaned up my desk at work and found all my missing pens including the cd marker. cant work without my cd marker.
5/25/2004 5:28:01 PM

Printers
had to pass by the printing press yesterday to sign off some proofs. this is a picture of 2 plotters i was sitting and waiting next to.
5/26/2004 11:40:05 AM

Waiting
sitting and waiting. i hate waiting.
5/26/2004 5:29:01 PM

Spray Painting
my friend got me into making stencils and spray painting. Really fun to do and the results can be interesting.
5/28/2004 3:17:00 AM

DIet
stil waiting for the day i start my diet
5/31/2004 7:13:38 PM

Tape Backup
bought a tape backup device from ebay. brand new costs $950. Price i paid with shipping.. $81. thats what i call a good deal!
6/1/2004 3:25:34 PM

Lunch Time
having lunch at my favorite place
6/3/2004 3:14:09 PM

shawerma
had a shawerma for dinner from this place called farah
6/12/2004 11:42:23 AM

Getting bored
i think i am finally getting bored of junk food. i dont feel like having burgers anymore…
6/12/2004 11:49:07 AM

PreEngagement
sisters engagement is tonight. they r still preparing the ballroom.
6/17/2004 4:19:31 PM

Printers
getting a brochure printed at the printers. nice big machines.
6/20/2004 11:18:20 AM

starbucks
i like it when its empty like this
6/23/2004 1:46:18 PM

nirvana
heart shaped box
6/23/2004 1:53:08 PM

TV
came to work today morning to find a Kuwait Television truck outside the building i work at. cant figure out what they were or will be doing here. they use these trucks when they broadcast live but there was no sign inside the building that something took or will take place. strange.
6/27/2004 10:04:49 AM

a limo
on our agencies 9th anniversary we were whisked away in a limo and taken to a nice lunch.
6/29/2004 6:28:07 PM

Q8 Books
found this cool bookshop that sells used books. i bought 2 books for 1.5$. i got Peter and Jane’s Adventure on the island, and Swiss Family Robinson. Both are Lady Bird books. I had them when i was a kid, i learned how to read because of them. i could never get enough of peter and jane.
6/30/2004 11:02:26 PM

Marina Crescent
the Marina Crescent recently opened. its the other half of Marina Mall and contains mostly cafes and restaurants. Of-course there is also a starbucks
7/1/2004 10:19:26 AM

I’m Bored
Mc Donalds has the I’m Lovin Campaign to try and ignite business. i say the problem is lack of variety. we are bored, while competitors like Burger King and Carls Jr (hardees) keep adding new items to the menu but Mc Donalds are still stuck in the 80s.
7/1/2004 10:22:14 AM

the funk
simply the coolest chairs, but at 700$ a pop they arent cheap.. but still “affordable”
7/1/2004 10:22:58 AM

LF Martyr: Ramzi El-Khoury
my best friend past away a few hours ago. accidental death by a stray bullet.
7/2/2004 11:09:13 AM

Breakfast
1 chocolate cream frappucino and 1 chocolate chip cookie please. thank you.
7/6/2004 1:13:18 AM

Fahrenheit 9/11
fahrenheit 9/11 is now out in Kuwait. i noticed recently movies are released in kuwait nearly as soon as they are released in the states. With the Day after tomorrow, it was released in Kuwait 2 days ahead of the states even.
7/6/2004 10:13:22 PM

118.4 degrees
its starting to get really hot here in kuwait. its already early july and the tempreture hit 48 degrees celcius which 118.4 farenheit. sucks.
7/7/2004 6:00:13 AM

Fit for a King
had a wonderful breakfast at mcdonalds today. they seriously have the best value for money breakfast. 2 muffins, 2 scrambled eggs, hash brownies, 3 pancakes, medium pepsi and a sausage all for something like $4.5 (1.450KD)
7/9/2004 2:41:39 AM

Ngage
the new ngage is out in kuwait and is selling for KD99. its still a nokia, its still crap.
7/10/2004 8:51:16 PM

Presentation
we had a presentation for one of our major clients today. i think it went well. luckily i wasn’t asked to speak at any time during the presentation. i am not a people person and i dont enjoy talking in-front of a crowd either.
7/11/2004 6:22:38 PM

Hidden Treasure
Found this place today called Cafeteria Shuwaikh. its a cool place where most of the customers are low wage workers. i should have taken a better picture but i stuck out enough in the place and didnt need the extra attention. anyway the place is full of tables stuck together (like in school cafeterias) and the food is really good and cheap. its located right after city center on the right hand side. i had 2 small pizzas and a cheese thingy..
7/11/2004 6:25:54 PM

Diet
i was at mcdonalds today but i didnt know what to get. after talking to zaydoun (zaydoun.blogspot.com) the other day about fast food and how i am on a diet, i really didnt know what to have anymore. i really hope we get the Go Active meals here soon. For those of u who dont know, McDonalds is introducing Go Active meals which is made up of a burger, salad and juice. A healthier option to the regular combo. Anyway I ended up having a Big Mac SuperSized…
7/11/2004 6:29:04 PM

Sheep
passed by the vet today in al-rai. my dogs vet is located next to a sheep market so there are always sheep on the side of the road or goats trying run front of my car. i also usually slow down and open the window so my dog can enjoy barking at them for a while.
7/11/2004 10:27:20 PM

Poor Dog
my dog is fucked. he had been licking his paws so much he developed lickotosis or something like that. so the vet gave him this satellite dish to wear for the next 2 weeks. sucks to be him.
7/11/2004 11:17:23 PM

Breakfast
the best thing about where i work is we have a cafeteria in the building with hotel standard food. everything looks good, tastes good and i get a 25% discount cuz i work in the building. today for breakfast i had Halloum sandwich and since i am on a diet decided to have salad replace my fries.
7/12/2004 11:26:04 AM

Takecover
passed by and saw my artwork during the day time. looks much nicer then it did at night. i am going to start doing some more spray painting soon but dont know if its illegal to spray paint old walls or not.. this pic i spray painted is a guy with a gun about to take cover.
7/12/2004 6:01:27 PM

LANVIN
LANVIN have a 75% discount. What does this mean? It means a suit that cost around KD600 is now for KD150. I got a really really nice Black LANVIN suit for 116KD after discount and another sports jacket for 57 after discount. REALLY good deals.
7/12/2004 10:58:32 PM

The Dentist
finally got the courage today to pass by the dentist. zaydoun recommended the Bayan Dental Center which i decided to try out since its so close to work. turns out this place isn’t bad at all. definitely better then my previous dentist and more technologically advanced. each dentist chair has a computer screen and the dentist had like a tiny camera and he showed me all my “issues” live on the screen. pretty cool stuff.. the place is located in Laila Gallery Tower if anyone is interested.
7/13/2004 8:03:01 PM

Marina Mall
had lunch with some fellow employees at marina mall today. the place really looks great during the day. very open and clean. souk sharq feel all dark and closed compared to here.
7/14/2004 2:45:48 PM

Hate
i don’t like this guy. he works at my local burger king branch. keeps mixing up my orders.
7/16/2004 5:21:11 PM

Breakfast
the best breakfast in the world.. by McDonalds!
7/18/2004 10:43:07 AM

KW61
was parking at marina mall when i saw this sticker advertising a website. i was like pretty cool since i figured the way it was stuck on 1 pillar only meant it was something underground and maybe with luck.. forbidden. so i got back home and checked it out. turned out it was a poorly designed site that talks about kuwait. nothing controversial or anything..
7/20/2004 12:25:22 PM

McArabia
had a McArabia from McDonalds with a bottle of water yesterday. part of my diet is to cut down on fried food and sugar drinks. so no fries and coke for me.
7/21/2004 1:46:03 PM

tooo hot
this is how my car AC is set for the whole summer. always the coldest with the highest fan setting! its toooo hot here!
7/23/2004 1:11:36 AM

send a cow?
huh?
7/23/2004 1:13:57 AM

Pro Kebabers
this is the most active kebab shop in the world i think. its in kuwait and the place is called Kebab el Hejat. The place employs over 20 people. All they have on the menu is Kebab and the place is always crowded. Once a year the place closes down for 2 months and all the employee go to Iran for a vacation. Place reminds me a lot of the Soup Nazi place in Seinfeld..
7/23/2004 1:17:08 AM

Kebab ‘R’ Us
there are like 6 people whos job is just to put the meet on the skewers… a lot of meat.
7/23/2004 1:17:42 AM

New Place
this is a new place that just opened 2 days ago. its called Homes R Us. pretty crappy place to be honest. nothing new nothing special prices expensive.
7/23/2004 1:19:00 AM

Not very “Kreativ”
one thing i hate is when people think they are being cool and witty when they are just really being corny. this brand for kitchenware i saw is 100% corny.
7/23/2004 1:21:40 AM

ripoff
the 20GB 3rd generation ipod is sold in kuwait for KD155 which is 525 american dollars. Compared to the states where the 4th generation 20GB ipod is sold for 299$… people here are getting ripped off like there is no tomorrow.
7/25/2004 11:02:31 AM

Shops
this is a picture of a shopping street during the afternoon. in kuwait shops mostly open from 10am to 1pm, and then reopen again from 5pm to 9pm. recently though some shops stay till 10 while shops in malls usually open from 10am to 10 or 11pm.
7/27/2004 9:12:13 AM

yeah baby
63″ plasma. anything smaller is trash!!
7/28/2004 9:56:31 PM

Clubbing
dance floor, lights, sound system and lots of seating. pretty cool.
7/28/2004 11:14:53 PM

colors
i want a wall like this in my place!
7/28/2004 11:15:13 PM

Gay in Kuwait
While waiting to pick up my brother outside Marina Mall I spotted this Porsche Cayenne parked outside. Nothing unusual since Cayenne’s are as common as busses. What struck me was the Rainbow flag stuck on the back near the right headlamp. You can barely make it out in this picture. For those of you who don’t know the Rainbow flag is a symbol of whats the word.. Gayness. I never ended up seeing the driver so I dont know if it was a male or female. If it was male thats just gross but if it was a female it would have been really cool to see a Local Lesbian Chick… you can’t get anything hotter then that!
7/31/2004 3:26:10 AM

Raver Cops
for those of you outside kuwait.. these r the new colors on the cop cars in kuwait. gone r the black and white old school colors and instead they have been replaced by fluorescent blue and yellow plus some white. the colors look cool on the BMWs and only on them. on the fords and tow trucks they look gastly. for some reason also on some cars the yellow (although a week old) has already faded into a pale yellowish beigh color. Definetly some quality control issue.
7/31/2004 3:49:44 PM

Bird Bridge
had dinner at bour al hamam finally. its a nice cozy place. the service was extremely proffesional and the food was just amazing. everything tasted really good and the prices were really affordable. i had heard the place was expensive but when the bill came i thought they forgot to add stuff. turned out to be cheaper then chilis but similar to TGIF. good stuff, definetly going back.
8/2/2004 10:05:10 AM

Skateboard Arena
I was telling a friend about the Skateboard Arena located in the basement of Ghani Palace in Salmiya and he asked me if it was still there. so i passed by today during my lunch break and yes its still there. Price is 1.5KD for entrance and u can skate as much as you want for as long as you want. good stuff.
8/3/2004 9:15:42 PM

CRASH
was on the way back from kuwait city when i stopped on traffic light and saw this accident. not a strong one but a strange one.
8/5/2004 11:40:28 AM

Baalbak
Yes we have our very own Baalbak here in Kuwait. Baalkbak is a place in Lebanon which has these famous pillars but now we have our own in Kuwait. The Baalbak Sheesha place recently renovated and they built these pillars in the middle of the place. looks pretty good to me.
8/5/2004 1:08:57 PM

My first piece
just got my first piece of furniture for my new place today. i was at The One today and when I saw this cabinet system on sale I couldnt resist. Now i need to figure out where to put it..
8/6/2004 9:37:18 PM

Airport
i had to drop my friend at the airport. I don’t know why they have made checking in too complicated. We went into the airport to check in through the main door. We tried finding the Middle East Airlines checkin but we couldnt find it anywhere. So we asked a security personal and he told us we had to exit the airport and come in from another entrance to the right of the main entance. Ok what the fuck, put some signs up atleast telling us middle east please enter using door #1. Why do we also have to exit the airport, couldnt you create an entrance from the inside also!
8/10/2004 9:55:59 AM

Cannondale
while walking around the airport mall we decided to stop by Eastpak and check out what new bags they had. To my surprise, there was a Cannondale F400 bike on display in the back corner of the store. This is like my dream bike. Extremely light, excellent looks and easily upgradable. Problem though is the price… at KD300 it isn’t cheap.
8/10/2004 9:57:50 AM

My PowerMac for sale
i am selling my powermac if anyone is interested. Its a G4 733mhz, 896MB RAM, SCSI card, Geforce 2 vga card, 8x internal cd writer, 12x external cd writer. Excellent condition. Could later be upgraded to a G4 1.4GHZ and upto 1.5GB of RAM. Price is KD300 only. Email me if interested.
8/11/2004 6:54:02 PM

SVC Chaos
SVC Chaos on the negeo costs $319 which i cant afford. BUT, luckily i was able to get it for my xbox! been playing it all weekend. one mother fucking crazy game. definetly the best 2D fighter ever!
8/13/2004 1:47:48 PM

Simply the best
although i mentioned this before but i have to say it again. the best breakfast in kuwait can be found at mc donalds on the gulf road. open till 11:30 you can have the best value breakfast for the money. 3 pancakes, scrambled eggs, 2 muffins, 1 hash brown, sausages and orange juice for 1.200kd.
8/14/2004 9:50:08 PM

woohoo
the janitor at the office just washed my apple mousepad. its soo white and clean now again. as if its new. for those of u who dont read arabic, the large grey type says Apple.
8/15/2004 6:29:51 PM

FURY!!
i got my Reebok Insta Pump furys in the mail today. these are the coolest sneakers. They are from 1993 and Reebok had some left which they were selling on their website. I was really lucky and got the last size 12 furys!!! now i dont know if i should hide them and keep them all clean and nice or if i should wear them. if i do wear them.. what goes with fluorescent yellow?
8/15/2004 7:26:30 PM

Paint it Black
they started painting my new apartment today. for now they are painting it all white. i still need a few days still to finalize what the final color should be for every room. until i decide though i figured the walls should atleast be white and clean before another color goes on top of it.
8/16/2004 3:12:59 PM

Moleskine
my moleskine plain notebook arrived. it was recommended to me by nibaq (kuwaitblogs.com). i will be using it to scribble down ideas in and other stuff. Van Gogh, Matisse and Hemmingway all used molkeskine notebooks.. and now me! the size is pretty good. i put it next to my phone when i took the pic so u can get an idea of the size. its pocket sized.
8/17/2004 5:08:09 PM

New iPod
just picked up my brothers new 4th generation ipod from aramex. i love amazon.
8/17/2004 6:30:30 PM

NBK 801801
passed by the NBK offices at Al Raya. Turns out this is the NBK call center HQ. I was expecting it to be larger and more hektic. I was actually expecting the offices at al raya to be much larger but i would say they were medium. anyway sorry i couldnt get a better pic but there were 4 security cams over me and u know with the new kuwaiti law and all…
8/18/2004 6:59:24 PM

Al Jazaeera Bookshop
found this street where bookshops named after news stations. this is the aljazeera one.
8/19/2004 11:54:55 AM

CNN Bookshop
found this street with bookshops named and branded after news stations. this is the cnn one.
8/19/2004 12:01:00 PM

BBC Bookshop
found this street with bookshops named and branded after news stations. this is the BBC one. ofcourse non of these bookshops are official.
8/19/2004 12:04:57 PM

Lebanese Forces
it was my birthday a few days ago and i was given this cross as a gift. its not a normal cross its the Lebanese Forces cross, The diagonal cut at the base of the cross symbolizes the strength of the Lebanese Christians’ will and their determination to keep the cross planted in this region of the world. For more info check http://lebaneseforces.com/lfcross.asp
8/24/2004 7:04:45 PM

GAS
the coolest thing about kuwait seriously has to be the gas prices. 2kd worth of gas lasts me a week!
8/24/2004 7:05:18 PM

Pebble Beach Golf
a hobby of mine is collecting vintage video game systems. i am lucky to be in kuwait since there are a lot of old systems that are lying around gathering dust while the owners dont know how much they are really worth. Did u know a brand new boxed Super Nintendo fetches over 300$ on ebay? I purchased a brand new NeoGeo AES system for 60kd. Its sells for $1200 in the states! Yesterday i was able to get a game for my Panasonic 3DO videogame system. Cost me 3KD only. Its such a classic.
8/24/2004 7:06:58 PM

WindRider
past by the wind rider store in muthana complex. it was closed so i wasnt able to get any prices or info. looks like a cool store though but i doubt they have a lot of business. selling only 1 product to a minority group isnt gonna bring the cash in.
8/24/2004 7:08:10 PM

Adventures of a Video Game Addict
since it was my birthday and i got some cash, i decided to go shopping for a gift for myself. i decided i wanted to get a vintage gaming system to add to my growing collection. (i got tons of stuff from commodors and collecos to atari jaguar and a boxed neogeo). this time i was hoping to find a Brand New Super Nintendo system which fetches for 300$ on ebay, a boxed Sega Saturn system which fetches 150-200$ on ebay, and a Sega Nomad which also fetches around 150-200$ for a new one on ebay. I started off at Rehab complex but didnt find them there, i went to the old souk in Kuwait city, i found the original first generation gameboy but they wouldnt sell me cuz the guy incharge of the videogame section was on vacation. i then passed by souk al kabeer, muthana, the street between muthana and sheraton.. and nothing, couldnt find them there also. Seems the left over vintage game systems are being bought by people who cant afford the new systems not knowing the infact these vintage systems could sell for a lot more then an xbox or ps2.
8/24/2004 7:16:49 PM

CSI: Kuwait
Yesterday we had 2 laptops stolen from the office. so we called the cops at 9:30AM yesterday so they could come and investigate. today at 12:30PM they finally came. took them over 24 hours to come! anyway i think i have been watching too much CSI and CSI: Miami. Actually I know i have been because i was watching CSI: Kuwait collect forensics and i was going in my head “why arent they wearing gloves?”, “no don’t do that, you are contaminating the evidence”, or “where are their flashlights?”. they didn’t even have a proper tool kit!
8/25/2004 7:40:28 PM

Dirty
i was just flipping through my pics on here and i noticed that my old pictures were sharper and more vibrant. so i realised my lens had gotten so dirty that the camera was having a hard time focusing and adjusting the brightness. as u can see from this pic, i cleaned my lens now so the pics should come out better again.
8/27/2004 5:44:27 PM

Worst Shawerma
i am the biggest shawerma fan u will ever meet. i have tried it all and have never been disappointed by any shawerma… until now. I had shawerma at a place called Famous Shawerma. Its a popular Lebanese franchise.. i dont know why. the place offers shawerma in international flavors ranging from chinese, mexican, italian, indian and more. i decided to try the chinese which is sweet and sour shawerma and the indian which is shawerma with curry. i had a bite from each and decided no way i was gonna force myself to finish them. they tasted terrible. i quickly trashed the shawermas and headed to the nearest burger place which was mcdonalds. never gonna have famous shawerma again. and they are not cheap at 400fils for a small shawerma.
8/28/2004 10:21:17 PM

Knet
you saw it here first! this is a pic of the new knet machines. they look a lot cooler then the older beigh machines and more compact.
8/29/2004 1:22:32 PM

used phones
sooo many used phones, even stuff that just came out. this place is the best place to trade in your phone since they buy used phones and sell used phones. which means u pay a small difference and u can upgrade your phone to a new version. place is located right across from Al Raiya mall in kuwait city. the shop is green from the inside.
8/30/2004 11:28:18 PM

Aramex
i love getting packages in the mail. today i got my Exabyte 33/66gb firewire backup tape drive. The previous one i purchased used SCSI instead of firewire and turned out to be a big hassel for me so I got the firewire version which makes things a lot easier. The box it came in was huge. I got it off ebay, guy really knows how to pack stuff!
8/31/2004 11:25:49 PM

Exabyta
this is the Exabyte backup drive i got yesterday. someone emailed me asking me it does. basically u back up your computer data on tapes that fit 33GB worth of info. These tapes are very reliable and will store the information on it for decades, unlike cds which last an average of 2 years.
9/1/2004 1:29:24 PM

Choose a number
was down in the city when i passed by a couple of phone shops. seems the latest trend is to plaster all the available cellphone numbers they have onto the display window. this guy had a cool bunch of numbers though.
9/7/2004 9:34:43 PM

Maybach
finally was able to take a picture of a maybach. was on the way to the office when i spotted it and decided to fall it to take a pic. they are pretty fast and i could barely keep up. it was the size 57 and it was driven by the owner. right after i was done i saw the new bentley GT coup and it was driven by this blonde chick. will post pic later.
9/9/2004 1:33:00 AM

BMW
past by the BMW showroom this week. i think its like the biggest BMW showroom in the world? Anyway its really cool, they have a starbucks inside and the whole place made me feel like i was in an airport. very cool.
9/9/2004 1:59:14 AM

BlueWhale
they r nearly done with my new apartment. today they finished my entertainment room. vibrant blue walls and dark wooden floor. it matches this sweater i have. i realized the easiest thing to do when choosing colors is to match them to stuff i like. my Art room color matches that of my favorite website for example.
9/11/2004 3:46:06 PM

Washy Washy
finally after 3 months i went and washed my car. thing is the building janitor washes the cars daily, so my car is always clean on the outside. the inside on the other hand was really dusty and i am to lazy to go wash the inside of my car.
9/12/2004 12:36:29 PM

Corny
having dinner at johnny rockets. they brought us the ketchup with a smile.
9/14/2004 10:26:11 AM

Entertainment
was shopping at this mall for some household items when i decided to check out this arcade that was on the top floor. figued it would be a small crappy place but instead the place turned out to be huge and even had a rollercoaster inside.
9/14/2004 6:53:41 PM

SBARRO
this is a pic of fanar mall and a nice range rover. was having lunch at sbarro when i took it. sbarro have the best pizzas.. the stuffed sausage and pepperoni pizza is the ultimate.
9/16/2004 10:42:54 AM

Firefox
Get FireFox from FireFox.com
9/16/2004 1:07:32 PM

Moving
today i started moving to my new apartment. i was planning to store everything in my Art Room at the new apartment but after a night of moving i realized that my books and stuff took up the whole fucking room. need to get more shelves thats for sure. i have magazines from the early 90s that are tucked away which i would like to display now since i got the room.
9/18/2004 2:06:12 AM

Entertainment City
went to entertainment city yesterday. its like disneyland except smaller. i was worried since it was a national holiday the park would be full. when we got to the parking the can fit thousands of cars, turns out there were only 3 cars parked. the place was empty. got on each ride like 4 times in a row!
9/19/2004 1:56:08 PM

Giant Stapler
found this really cool stapler that would allow us to staple brochures and booklets when we present them to clients. the thing is huge though.
9/21/2004 11:24:56 AM

Magical Kingdom
I found this tiny shop in the shopping center under my building. they sell items related to hair. all for chicks. anyway the place is like ultra packed with thousands and thousands of items crammed next to each other. its the strangest place. feels magical when u enter. its like something out of a fairytale where instead of the place being built out of candy and sweets its built out of these colorful hair items.
9/26/2004 8:49:39 AM

McArabia
tried the new Kofta McArabia yesterday. was good. i prefer the chicken one but this wasnt bad. would probably have it again.
9/29/2004 9:12:05 AM

Kei
havent had sushi for like 3 years maybe then suddenly i had 42 pieces. actually me and my fiancee had 42 pieces together but still, i am the one who did most of the eating. now i can spend another 3 years without sushi!
10/2/2004 3:10:05 PM

Formula 1
was at marina mall this weekend when i spotted the MTC-Vodafone competition. Teams made up of 3 people competed to see who could change the cars tire the quickest. sounded like a good idea except this weekend was REALLY humid. there were maybe a total of 20 spectators and the majority were under 18 which was the minimum age to enter the competition. at one point it took them like 10 minutes to find a third person to make up a team.
10/2/2004 3:12:39 PM

tire
i noticed one of my car wheels was losing air, turned out i had a tear on the side. so i had to go get a new wheel. since i got 17inch rims i get a lot of flats and rips, so i am like a good customer at this one place. now when i visit i get like VIP treatment with drinks on the house and a nice clean chair to sit in.
10/4/2004 10:48:00 AM

Bread
To an untrained eyed this person might be mistaken for a terrorist. In reaity he is just a baker.
10/6/2004 10:51:37 AM

Bentley GT
the Bentley coup is becoming more popular. i have already seen a couple in different colors. now all we need is to see more Maybachs.
10/6/2004 3:23:09 PM

Panasonic
was walking in Salmiya when i passed by the Panasonic shop. its being renovated and there was a small gap in the wall where you could see inside. so i took a quick pic.
10/9/2004 9:20:38 AM

Paradigm CC370
got a new center speaker, a Paradigm CC 370. My older cernter speaker was too small and was being overpowered by my left and right channel speakers. now the 3 compliment each other.
10/9/2004 11:05:50 AM

Fishy Fishy
yesterday i drove down to Fahaheel to check out the new mall called Kout (i think thats the old name for Kuwait). i heard the mall had opened up but when i got there tuned out only the fish, meat and vegetable markets were open. the actual mall is still closed. this is a picture of a fish seller.
10/11/2004 11:25:12 AM

VW Launch
am sitting at the moment at the VW Golf launch party. its too humid tonight.
10/12/2004 10:02:26 PM

VW Golf Launch
Here is another pic from the VW Golf Launch party. It was a pretty lame event except for one incident. They had a fire jugglers show at the end of the launch, they messed up and ended up setting fire to the stage and surrounding greenery. that was definitely the coolest moment of the launch.
10/12/2004 11:35:01 PM

Villa Moda
Passed by villa moda yesterday. they were suprisingly open but the place was totally empty. it felt like in the movie 28 days later where the whole city was empty. really cool.
10/16/2004 12:35:07 PM

Fridge
a really cool fridge. a rerelease of an old model. classic edition. cost.. 750kd. thats like nearly 3000$
10/17/2004 1:37:35 PM

28 Days Later
for lunch i passed by marina mall today. since its ramadan its opens at 5pm. so i got there as they were opening the parking gates. i got into the mall and the escalators werent even on. there was nobody there also. the mall was empty. no employees or anything. felt really weird. only till i got to the food court did i see anyone. it so reminded me of the movie 28 days later.
10/18/2004 3:57:10 PM

Moon Landing
look mum and dad, i am on the moon!
10/20/2004 11:38:48 AM

Artsy Fartsy
a landscape picture of the marina cresent.
10/20/2004 11:41:16 AM

Cookie Monster
the best chocolate chip cookies in town. a dozen for 1KD at Fudruckers. really they are th best.
10/20/2004 11:44:24 AM

No one… again
back at marina mall during iftar. once again no one there. totally empty. wish it was always like this. no more waiting in line at the chinese place.
10/21/2004 10:27:13 PM

Bosch Siemens
i think the new Bosch – Siemens home appliance store in Sun City is the coolest appliance store in Kuwait. very trendy.
10/21/2004 10:27:51 PM

The Landing
anyone know what this is? is it a modern light house or something? some people told me there is a diwaniyeh located at the bottom which can only be accessed by sea. i checked it out from up close and it didnt seem so.
10/21/2004 10:29:26 PM

Deformed Sheep
passed by the Educational Science Museum in Kuwait City. Was expecting to pay like 3KD atleast for entrance but it turned out to be free.. what a deal. So i was checking out the place when i came accross this section which was totally out of place. the weirdest things really. They had deformed animals in large glass jars. This is a pic of a Sheep with a deformed face. there were goats with 8 legs, there was a “rabbit-cat”, deformed chickens, faceless goats… just really strange stuff. This deformed sheep looked kinda cute though, like something out of a cartoon.
10/21/2004 10:32:33 PM

Kuwait Times
todays issue of kuwait times (23-10-04) has an article about blogging in kuwait and my moblog was mentioned. it was a cool article except for a misprint… the qhate url is actually www.qhate.com
10/23/2004 11:37:31 AM

Bookshop
i was going on a random walk in kuwait city when my girl friend spotted this old bookshop. at first i didnt think they had any english books but turned out they had tons of them. actually they only have english book. the guy there was very nice. told me the book shop is over 35 years old and that he has been working there for over 20 years. i was in a bit of a rush so i couldnt spend too much time browsing but from what i saw he had some interesting stuff.
10/24/2004 12:05:17 PM

Bony
i was at the zoo today, it was pretty cool. so we were walking and we kept seeing signs that point towards a Bony. I thought that was a funny name for an animal. later my girlfriend realized that they actually meant Pony! ALL the signs in the zoo pointing towards the pony were spelt with a B. I thought that was pretty funny.
10/25/2004 2:33:51 AM

Planetarium
I passed by the Planetarium today. Haven’t been there since I was a kid. Its the large grey dome you see on the way to Kuwait city on the sea side road. Its a really nice place and i was very suprised it was open. The whole museum looks deserted except for the Planetarium and the Heritage Museum which are open. Everything else seems to still be closed since after the iraqi invasion.
10/26/2004 10:40:53 PM

Inside the dome
I passed by the Planetarium today. Haven’t been there since I was a kid. Its the large grey dome you see on the way to Kuwait city on the sea side road. Its a really nice place and i was very suprised it was open. The whole museum looks deserted except for the Planetarium and the Heritage Museum which are open. Everything else seems to still be closed since after the iraqi invasion. This is a picture of the projector in the dome. Creates a very, very realistic starry night.
10/26/2004 10:41:40 PM

Planeterium
I passed by the Planetarium today. Haven’t been there since I was a kid. Its the large grey dome you see on the way to Kuwait city on the sea side road. Its a really nice place and i was very suprised it was open. The whole museum looks deserted except for the Planetarium and the Heritage Museum which are open. Everything else seems to still be closed since after the iraqi invasion. This is the pic of the dome from the outside.
10/26/2004 10:42:04 PM

Cannondale
A couple of months ago i fell in love with a Cannondale bike. Well it seems like i might finally be getting one. Passed by them yesterday and they gave me a really good deal on an F400, so now i am seriously contemplating on getting one. I have gained 3KG since i moved to my new apartment and i need to find a way to lose some weight.. WITHOUT cutting down on the food intake.
10/28/2004 1:44:37 PM

Ostrich
went to the friday market this weekend. while i was there i found ostriches for sale. only 100kd. i thought that was pretty cheap. would be cool as a house pet. imagine u walk in to your house and this 6 foot beast comes running to you happy to see you. it would feel like Jurassic park.
10/31/2004 10:22:31 AM

Shownet
my internet subscription is with show-net. i believe they are one of the fastest internet providers in kuwait which you can afford. a couple of days ago my internet stopped working. 2 days later it was still not working. so i call them up and they were like oh yeah, your internet hardware doesnt work anymore. we decided to use a new system and the hardware we gave you doesnt work with the new system. you have to come down to the workshop to replace it with the new one. i was like what the fuck, atleast call me ahead of time, email me, someone fucking tell me. not out of the blue after 3 years of use you decide to change the system and disconnect everyone without warning. anyway the new hardware is a lot faster. my download speed test at bandwidthplace.com hit 1.1Mb. That means i can download a 1MB file in 7 seconds. good stuff.
10/31/2004 10:27:44 AM

Lord of the Rings
This tree is so out of place in the store. it kinda looks like one of these talking trees from the movie Lord of the Rings.
11/3/2004 2:50:19 PM

Hard Rock Cafe – Kuwait
went biking today near marina mall. i passed by hard rock cafe, seems its gonna open soon since it was nearly done and i think the waiters/waitresses are training.
11/3/2004 8:04:43 PM

Fire Fire
Was listening to some music at home when i heard sirens outside. so i looked out of my window and i saw a large fire in the parking lot near my house and a fire truck on its way. Just when you think the night is over some excitement pops in. love it when that happens. spent the next 30 minutes hanging outside my window watching all the action. oh and before that earlier in the night there was a large fight under my building. around 30 kids were beating the crap out of each other with blood everywhere. This is Salmiya, never ending entertainment!
11/7/2004 10:49:51 PM

Double Decker
i took my camera with me when i went biking yesterday. while i was biking i found this old abandoned junk yard where i went in and found these 2 double decker busses. Haven’t seen those since I was a kid. Dont know why they stopped using them.
11/9/2004 11:06:07 AM

Ghost Town
this is another picture i took at the junkyard. the whole place looks like a ghost town with abandoned housing units. it seems the place is a military dump because i found containers that had toilets built into them, and another container that was a kitchen. thats what the military uses, the US military atleast. I also found an old Radar vehicle. Cool stuff in a strange place.
11/9/2004 11:09:08 AM

Pimp My Ride
i biked past the hard rock cafe yesterday and decided to take a picture so that everyone can see how its gonna look inside. i dont understand how this place has soo many windows. Didnt they know it gets really sunny and hot here?? I am sure these windows must be the new ones where they can dim them during the day. if they arent they must be really stupid. so anyway they have this old car hanging from the ceiling, looks like something that was on “Pimp My Ride”.
11/9/2004 11:10:51 AM

H2 Stretch
the H2 limo, i keep seeing it everywhere.
11/14/2004 1:45:37 AM

Shepherd
went biking in ahmadi today. had to wake up at 6:45 am to be there at 7:45.. and its a fucking friday. an hour into the ride and i get a rear puncture, no spare tube meant i had to get back to the cars and go home. thats when i spotted this shepherd standing next to our cars. so i took a picture of him. it was cool because i pretended i was a tourist who couldnt speak arabic, after a couple of hand signals and me pointing at my camera then at him, he got the point that i wanted to take his picture and proceeded to pose for me infront of his herd. cool guy.
11/19/2004 11:21:53 AM

The largest and most prestigious cat show in the Middle East is taking place this weekend in Kuwait. The 2024 K-Cats Show is taking place at the Boulevard Ballroom tomorrow Friday, February 16th, and on Saturday February 17th.

The show is held in association with the prestigious Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) with judges coming in from the US and Europe for this event.

The show starts at 1PM tomorrow and 10AM on Saturday. If you’re looking for something random and unique to do this weekend, this is it.

For more info, click here.

I went to the show back in 2016 and thought it was fun, so definitely not going to miss it this year.

This week I basically spent it binge watching the TV series 1923. It’s the prequel to Yellowstone and the sequel to the series 1883. It’s starring Harrison Ford and it’s really really good, like I think it’s my favorite of the three Yellowstone shows.

Other than that I rewatched the movie Se7en for the first time since the 90s. I originally watched it on VHS so rewatching it like 30 years later in HD was fun, and the movie has held up really well. A lot of now really famous people starred in the movie back then including Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow. It was also started the career of David Fincher who’s behind movies such as Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl and the Dragon Tattoo and the series Mindhunter. I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t, it was pretty shocking when it came out in 1995 and still pretty dark today.

Let me know if you’ve watching anything new and interesting.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Weekend:
Butcher’s Crossing (6.1)
Five Nights at Freddy’s (6.2)
Freelance (5.3)
Headspace (5.4)
How to Save the Immortal (5.2)

Other Movies Showing:
57 Seconds (5.3)
Elevator Game (4.2)
Killers of the Flower Moon (8.6)
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (6.1)
Saw X (7.2)
The Canterville Ghost (7.6)
The Creator (7.3)
The Equalizer 3 (6.9)
The Exorcist: Believer (5.1)
The Island (4.3)
The Nun II (6.3)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Coraline (7.7)
The Addams Family (6.9)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

Last night I finished watching the last episode of The Idol on HBO and I loved it. It stars Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn and The Weeknd as Tedros, both of which are the main characters on the show. The Idol is also created and directed by Sam Levinson who was behind the other great (and controversial) HBO series Euphoria. He’s the reason why I watched this show since I was a huge fan of Euphoria and wanted to see more of his work.

The Idol is a drama series about Jocelyn, a pop star aiming to reclaim her fame after a breakdown. Her life takes a turn when she meets Tedros, a nightclub owner with a dark past. The show explores her journey in the music industry and personal life.

The Idol is disturbing. It isn’t a show you binge watch since you want time between the episodes to just recharge. The Weeknd’s character “Tedros” is also the worst, a lot of people have said he’s a bad actor but I don’t think thats true, I think they just really really hate his character and it’s The Weeknd’s acting that brings it to life. And I’m not saying that because I’m a fan of his or anything, I actually didn’t care much for him before this show and I even only realized now while writing this post that it’s actually written The Weeknd and not The Weekend.

If you check the shows rating on IMDB it actually has a 5 out of 10 rating which is pretty terrible. But that’s understandable, so ignore it. The show isn’t for everyone and going through the reviews you can easily spot that. If you have the stomach for it and are willing to plow through the shows 5 episodes, I think you’re in for something really different and great.

I always imagined it would be crazy expensive to play golf at the Sahara Kuwait Golf Club but turns out that’s not the case. Earlier this week I got in touch with the golf coach there and after a bit of back and forth I managed to figure out the cheapest way to have fun at the golf club.

If like me you just want to go alone or with friends and hit balls at the driving range, then you can do that for just 13KD. The cost to use the driving range for a non-member is 10KD for 2 hours and that includes 150 balls. If you don’t have a golf club which I’m assuming you don’t then you can rent a 7-iron for 3KD. If you want more balls, its 3KD for an additional 150.

Another great option is booking a 30-minute lesson with a professional PGA coach. The lesson costs 35KD and once you’re done with it you then get 2 hours of practice at the driving range with 150 balls to hit. The golf club is included at this price.

I went yesterday to the driving range to try it out and it’s definitely a very fun thing to do. I went just before sunset and the place was very chill. The range can hold 11 people but there was just one person when I was there. 150 balls lasted me nearly an hour of basically non-stop swinging.

If you want to play at the driving range you can either go as a walk-in or book ahead by calling them up on 22203411 or 22203410. There is a basic dress code, for guys, it’s like no jeans or shorts, no flip flops, and wear a top with a collar. When you call them they’ll fill you in. When you get to the Sahara Club, head downstairs to the golf shop, that’s where you pay and go in from.

At 13KD, this could be one of the most affordable and fun outdoor activities in Kuwait.

Photo on top from @itsgee98

Back in 2017, I posted about the eSports scene in Kuwait and since then it kinda took a dip in terms of activities at one point but it looks to be gaining momentum again. Al-Bayan Bilingual School (BBS) now even has an eSports Club which is pretty cool but probably the biggest thing happening right now is VO’s X-Kuwait Esports division.

X-Kuwait is trying to develop athletes as well as set up sporting competitions like The Fifa Winter Games which is going to be held at the end of this month. The 1st place winner will get a 5,000KD cash prize, while 2nd place 3,000KD and 3rd place 1,500KD. Registration to the competition was meant to close yesterday but they’ve extended it by a day. If you want to try your chance at winning 5,000KD, it’s 10KD to register for the tournament and you need to do so today. Here is the registration link.

Also make sure you follow X-Kuwait on instagram to stay posted on other competitions that come up@xkuwait.esports

The 1976 movie “The Message” is one of the classics currently playing at Cinescape’s 1954 movie theater. What not a lot of people know is that the star of the film, Anthony Quinn came to Kuwait back then because of the movie. Kuwait, Libya and Morocco had originally promised to support the making of the film financially, but when it was rejected by the Muslim World League in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait still kept its financial support which is why I think the press conference was held here.

Above is a short clip from the conference which starts with Anthony Quinn and then is followed by the director Moustapha Akkad. If someone knows where I can find the full video, let me know.

Sitting two seats down to the left of Anthony Quinn is also Farouq Abdul-Aziz, the creator and host of the Kuwait Television cultural show “Cine Club” which aired from 1977 to 1992. According to a recent interview I found with Farouq, turns out he was later hired to document the making of Anthony Quinn’s movie “Lion of the Desert“. You can watch a short clip from that interview above.

And completely random but related, I just found out while researching the info above that Farouq was also responsible for the Kuwait scenes in Ron Fricke’s award-winning movie documentary “Baraka”. He had researched and produced those scenes which you can view above. If you haven’t watched “Baraka” or the follow up film “Samsara“, then you’re missing out.