2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Captain Abdullah Bu Hassan from the Interior Ministry pointed out that engaging in this dance challenge could lead to payment of KD100 fine and imprisonment for three months once the case is referred to the court.

In addition, Al-Shahid daily has reported that Director General of Public Relations and Security Media General Department in the Ministry of Interior Brigadier Tawheed Al-Kandari has affirmed that the ‘Kiki’ dance challenge video clip, which went viral on social media, is a violation of the Traffic Law. Under such circumstances, the vehicle will be impounded and a citation will be issued to the motorist, he added. [Source]

Expats, on the other hand, will get deported (no not really, I don’t think so at least).

The story with the Kuwaiti influencer @sondos_aq doesn’t look like its quieting down anytime soon, but, this will probably be the last time I post about her since I’m pretty much over the whole thing.

In one of her most recent videos (watch it above), instead of apologizing and putting all this behind her, Sondos is now claiming that she is being attacked by the foreign media because she is a Kuwaiti Muslim who wears hijab. She then ends the video by promising to reveal the brands that have cut ties with her so that her followers can boycott them.

Brands don’t seem to be affected by her threat, MAC Cosmetics, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Phyto were three more brands to announce that they will no longer be working with her.

I have no idea who is handling her public relations, but whomever it is they’re doing a terrible job…

Screenshot from Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (8.9) ★
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (6.8)

Other Movies Showing Now:
A Prayer Before Dawn (7.1) ♦
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Escape Plan 2: Hades (3.8)
Gotti (4.7)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7.2)
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
Still/Born (5.4)
The Domestics (5.7)
The First Purge (5.5) ♦
The Little Witch (6.3)
The Lullaby (5.8)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

A friend shared the picture above taken from the instagram account @street965. The photo was taken at the port or airport (probably airport) and shows a dark grey McLaren Senna (also pictured below) in the background.

I hope it’s going to go on display at the dealership but my guess would be it’s already been sold and is going straight to the customer.

Thanks Stan!

Update: Here is another better photo (thanks K!)

Just when you think this whole situation with Sondos couldn’t get any worse, well guess what.. it does!

With all the backlash she has been getting in regards to her racist comments on domestic workers, you’d think she would issue an apology. But, instead of apologizing she published another video this time talking about how employers of domestic workers deserve rights.

The video starts of with her talking about how her story has hit the news and how she hopes the local authorities will take action on this and provide employers of domestic workers with rights. After rambling for a minute or so on how she wants rights, she ends the video by stating the subject is now closed and that there are more important matters in life, like the fact that she’s thinking of getting botox. I swear I’m not making this up!! Check out her video above.

Yesterday the makeup brand Max Factor posted the story above on their Instagram account @maxfactorarabia distancing themselves from the influencer Sondos. Over the weekend Sondos had posted racial comments on her social media account which got picked up by news outlets around the world and caused a great deal of controversy locally.

From what I’m aware Max Factor are the first brand to distance themselves from her. Previously a reader had told me that Boutiqaat had dropped Sondos as well, but, that doesn’t seem to be the case since she’s still listed on their website and they’ve refused to comment on the situation when I spoke to them.

Anyway, I thought it was impressive that Max Factor disassociated themselves from Sondos since I didn’t hear of any brand dropping 3bodka after his incident.

Update: The cosmetics brand Etude House posted a story today also distancing themselves from Sondos although they don’t mention her by name. You can check their story [Here]

Recently I found out that we have a suicide hotline number in Kuwait which is great news. Sadly, it’s only available from 9AM to 12PM! (UPDATE BELOW)

I’m actually hoping that isn’t really true and that the conversation between me and the Social Development Office (pictured above) got lost in translation. Having a suicide hotline that was only available 3 hours a day would be pretty ridiculous. In any case, the below information might be helpful to some readers especially if you’re looking for therapy:

Hotline for Police Community (managed by therapists)
94000435 – 94000463

Social Development Office (FREE) and have many therapists
94069304 (Masella Branch)
94082761 (West Mishref Branch)
Main Office
22402409/7
Hotline 22440904/22402401
instagram.com/socialdoffice

Update: They no longer are available for just three hours a day. Here are the suicide hotlines and working hours from the Social Development Office (as of September 24, 2020):

94702266 – 10AM until 4PM (for Teenagers and Adults)

99670675 – 2PM until 7PM (for Adults)

66022448 – 12PM until 7PM (for Teenagers and Adults)

99603997 – 11AM until 8PM (for Kids and Teenagers)

65079596 – 4PM until 10PM (for Adults)

93332007 – 5PM until 9PM (for Teenagers and Adults)

66220282 – 6PM until 9PM (for Adults)

Most of these suicide hotlines are available from Saturday until Thursday. Friday is off.

Update (May 2023): The above numbers no longer work, I’m currently trying to find updated numbers.

If you have a Kuwaiti passport you no longer need a visa to enter the UK, all you need is a visa waiver. A friend of mine recently got the waiver two hours after applying for one. It’s cheaper than getting a regular visa and pretty convenient if you’re planning an impulse trip.

The cost for an electronic visa waiver is £15 but it’s only valid for one entry. You can apply for the EVW by visiting the EVW website [Here]

This story broke out over the weekend and it’s been picking up A LOT of media traction internationally. Local Instagram celebrity @sondos_aq recently went on a rant on the new local regulations requiring a weekly day off for Filipino domestic workers. You can watch her rant in the video above. To summarize, she thinks its ridiculous that domestic workers have to get a day off every week and that she doesn’t believe domestic workers should be able to keep their passports. Pretty racial comments and the worst part is, she has over 2.3 million followers.

Last month the Instagram celebrity 3bodka was caught abusing his dog, and now we have another influencer posting racial comments. Looking at how this is blowing up I wouldn’t be surprised if local authorities decide to create new laws or regulations to prevent situations like this from occurring again.

If you want to read more about this incident, check out the articles on CNN, Independent and Buzzfeed amongst other.

Found this show by accident and fell in love with the storyline right away. White Gold is a show about a team of double glazed window salesmen living in Essex, England in the early 80s. The idea of a show that combines Essex, the 80s and window salesmen is so absurd that I couldn’t resist not watching it. White Gold turned out to be such a great show that I quickly became a huge fan and started pushing it to all my friends.

If you have Netflix and like 80s based shows then you need to check this one out. There is only one season and just six episodes so shouldn’t take you long to zip right through it. [Link]

Screenshot from Gotti

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas, Sky Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
A Prayer Before Dawn (7.1) ♦
American Animals (7.6)
Billionaire Boys Club (5.6) ♦
Gotti (4.7)
In Darkness (5.7)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7.2)
Still/Born (5.4)
The Domestics (5.7)

Other Movies Showing Now:
Ant-Man and the Wasp (8.0)
Deadpool 2 (8.1) ♦
Escape Plan 2: Hades (3.8)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (6.5)
Incredibles 2 (9.2)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (6.8)
Ocean’s Eight (6.3) ★
Skyscraper (6.0)
The First Purge (5.5) ♦
The Little Witch (6.3)
The Lullaby (5.8)

The movies below are also now showing at the Scientific Center IMAX theater:

Amazon Adventure 3D (6.6)
Amazing Mighty Micro Monsters 3D (7.4)
America Wild: National Parks Adventure (5.9)
Dream Big 3D (7.9)
Hurricane 3D (7.0)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3)
Tiny Giants 3D (8.0)
Watermelon Magic 3D (7.4)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

I really hope the picture above isn’t really in Kuwait. Fake grass I kinda get but this is just silly.

Thanks Musaed

Update: It’s Saudi!

Last night I spotted a recycling machine at Sultan Center Salmiya. It wasn’t working so I’m assuming they’re still setting it up but from what I managed to find out its a TOMRA Reverse Vending Machine.

One of the benefits of these machines is that it works with a loyalty program, so how I am assuming the way they will be used is when you recycle plastic bottles or cans, instead of getting money back you’ll get points added to your Sultan Card. If that’s the case then it might just get people to recycle.

Things usually slow down considerably during the summer months because of the heat but there are still things you can do and one of them is wakeboarding.

Q8 Balance is a wakeboarding school that charge by the hour. They provide you with all the gear you need to wakeboard and they use one of the best wakeboarding boats available. All the wakeboarding is done inside the lagoons in Khiran which is great especially for beginners since you don’t have waves to deal with. Q8balance charge KD35 per hour which is pricey, but what I usually do is go with a friend or two and split the cost since it’s too exhausting to wakeboard the full hour alone plus, not as fun.

I book my sessions over WhatsApp a week ahead of time since they’re usually super busy. So if you’re interested in wakeboarding, they’re on instagram @q8balance and their WhatsApp number is 66130092.

If you’re in the market for record players I spotted a few for sale at Rocket World in Shuwaikh. They’re carrying the GPO brand which I hadn’t heard of before but going by their website they seem to make a variety of retro products.

I wrote the prices down to share in the post but I can’t seem to find them, so sorry about that. Anyway, if you don’t know Rocket World, it’s a store in Shuwaikh across from Vol.1 that sells random trinkets. They’re on instagram @rocketworldkw