2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Yesterday I noticed Fantasy World was selling the Oculus Rift virtual reality system. I’m not sure they’re being sold anywhere else but the price at Fantasy World is a ridiculous KD399. I say ridiculous because you could order it from Amazon UK and have it shipped to you directly to Kuwait for just KD194 including customs which is half the price. Here is the Amazon [Link]
What a ridiculously packed weekend with a ton of things going on. Personally I’ll be popping in out of the Nuqat event this weekend. I also passed by the Weaving Stories exhibition a few days back and I thought that was cool, mostly because I somehow ended up spending an hour there weaving without realizing an hour had gone by. The Madeenah tours are also back again with their first tour of the season taking place this weekend. Check out the full list of events taking place this weekend below:
Thursday
Exhibition: Ain’t Nowhere to Hide
Exhibition: Poor Image by Khalid Al Gharaballi
An exhibit by Bait Al Sadu: Weaving Stories
A Fifteen-Year Journey: The Art of Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Precious Fragments
The Seventh Nuqat Conference
Friday
An exhibit by Bait Al Sadu: Weaving Stories
The Seventh Nuqat Conference
Tai Chi in the Park
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Mystery Of Shavasana Workshop
Red Bull Bar Bahr
Madeenah Tour: In Place of Democracy
Good Game: Magic – The Gathering
Jam Night
Salwa’ Walk and Socialize Meetup
Blood Donation Drive
Saturday
An exhibit by Bait Al Sadu: Weaving Stories
The Seventh Nuqat Conference
Run Q8
Farmers Trip
Yoga with the 3
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
Yellow Parade
KTAA Bazaar 2016
Pilates by Oysho
Operation Turtles
Q8 Books Literary Night
If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]
Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.
The movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:
New This Week:
Hacksaw Ridge (8.8) ★♦
Operation Chromite (6.3)
Scare Campaign (5.8)
Shut In (N/A) ♦
The 9th Life of Louis Drax (6.5) ♦
Trolls (6.7)
Other Movies Showing:
American Pastoral (6.2) ♦
Deepwater Horizon (7.2)
Doctor Strange (8.0) ★
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (7.4) ★
Inferno (7.1) ♦
Kill Kane (3.9)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (7.2)
Ouija: Origin of Evil (6.8)
The Accountant (7.8) ★
The Great Gilly Hopkins (6.6)
Under the Shadow (7.5)
Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.
Kuwaiti athlete Bashar Alhunaidi will be leading a kayaking expedition from Kuwait to Oman to raise awareness of the environmental issues facing the Gulf. Bashar along with three other kayakers and a small support team plan to kayak along the coast of all 6 GCC countries to highlight the positive and the negative. The journey will take approximately 2 months to complete and the entire expedition will be filmed for a future documentary. Bashar and his team will be taking off today on their adventure and you’ll be able to follow them on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: /kayak4kuwait
Instagram: @kayak4kuwait
Snapchat: kayak4kuwait
So far I’m pretty disappointed with the amount of things they’ve shared on their social media accounts. It sounds like a crazy adventure (and it is) but they haven’t shared anything so far, even though they’re taking off today. No information on what kind of kayaks they will be using, no information on what kind of gear they’re taking with them, no route map, no nothing. If it was me I would have been posting a ton of shit already, like videos showing some of my gear, a video explaining how many hours I would be kayaking, where I would be sleeping, how I will be eating etc.. If they want people to take notice of their journey then it would be nice to share a lot more than just a picture of Bashar at the 99.7RKFM studio. I’ve seen people share more pictures of their dinner then the kayak team has shared about this adventure.
DNA testing will only be applied on convicted felons and no one else, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told Al-Jarida newspaper yesterday. Sheikh Sabah said that discussions on the issue of DNA testing, also known as DNA fingerprinting, were over, stressing that no tests will be applied on ordinary citizens. Recently, HH the Amir directed HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to revise and reconsider the DNA testing law, calling on him and the government to apply constitutional standards on the proposed decree. [Source]
Besides the fact that it would have been invasive to our privacy, testing everyones DNA including tourists would never have been doable, feasible or manageable, so I’m glad thats behind us now.
Last week the cops announced they were going to start removing the license plates of illegally parked cars and they weren’t joking around. Yesterday I had a meeting at Arabica and while I was driving around looking for parking, I spotted not one, not two but at least a dozen cars with their plates removed. Just a whole line of illegally parked cars with no plates on them. Super freaky shit, obviously that deterred me from parking illegally so their plan is definitely working.
On the bright side, I noticed for the first time there is actually a multistory car park on the street behind Arabica so ended up parking there.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when we talked about the different ways musicians can earn a living making music? Well, while I was researching for that piece, I did a little digging on radio in Kuwait, trying to get a better understanding of how it works. Aside from the fact that very little information is actually out there, I did come to find some interesting facts, but I feel like if I just tell you the story about my own experience with 99.7, it’ll make for a better picture. But first, let me give you some background.
On April 20, 2016, I released my EP album, Plastic Desert Roots. Unlike my earlier works, the focus of this album was on the “heavier” social aspects of my world, something I had tried to stay away from in the past, but I’d been living and performing in Kuwait long enough to feel like it was time – I needed to voice some of the things I was going through. With that, it was only natural for me to want to tap into the reggae genre, where, under the mentorship of Fabrice Mareau, who produced the album, I had access to amazing knowledge from someone who’d been in the industry far longer than I.
“Peace in the Middle East”, “Stay for The Night” and “Pull Over”, three of the titles off of Plastic Desert Roots, all tackle issues that, for the most part, we all have had to deal with to some degree. In “Pull Over”, I basically talk about what it’s like to be me whenever I’m at a tafteesh, (Police checkpoint), or when randomly getting pulled over by cops – long-haired, fedora-wearing Amin, who’s Arabic is not perfect. So, you could say the song is a little… charged, and given the tightening of security measures around the country and the general crackdown on expats from the police department, I was lighting a flame way to close to this gas tank of an issue. But In the song, I don’t curse, and I made sure to give the song enough space so as not to offend anyone – mostly PG-13. So let’s start painting this picture.
As I drove up to the 99.7FM studio on that 4.20 day, I thought; this does not look at all like what I had expected, I might be a little over my head. I was actually taken aback by all of it, because like many of you, I’m used to a more, let’s say, “Western” approach, where the radio station looks more like a 5 star hotel lobby than a military training facility. But, if you’ve ever actually, physically, visited the station, you’ll realize that you’re entering some sort of a military compound – barricades, machine guns and all. At the gate, I needed to present my Civil ID, some other paperwork that had been requested of me (and not copies of it on my phone, physical hard copies of my documents), my car had to undergo a security check, (kind of like the ones at the bigger hotel chains in Kuwait but way more intimidating), all to ensure that I was a “welcomed” visitor. Once deemed friendly, I was allowed passage.
I was now driving past the gate with but one thought in my head; “Pull Over” is one of the songs I was about to premier on 99.7FM. But, instead of being naïve and trying to compare outwards, I remembered that one of the things I’d dug up on radio was that the history of radio itself actually comes from a military background. During the times of WWI and WWII, the radio served as a medium to share mass information with the general public so it made sense why there was a need to keep it protected. In our not-so-distant history, when Iraqi forces first made their way into Kuwait, TV and radio were the first things they took over. It’s the modern day version of “Capture the flag”. Ok, I assure you this is the only historical reference I’ll be making in this post. So, back to my visit of the 99.7 studio, at that moment I realized that dealing with the radio of a country, a government or public entity, is not something to play with – it actually has the potential to be extremely dangerous, and I was starting to doubt “Pull Over” was going to make it on the air.
When I made it to the studio, I sat with the host, someone who knows my album, had really taken the time to listen to it, and had interesting questions to ask – we did a general talk-through of how the show would play out, went through the album, I told her a little bit about each song and was really looking forward to her presenting my work. We went on air and everything seemed to be going great; we were getting callers engaging with the show, my WhatsApp was firing up with messages from friends, and I had almost entirely forgotten that I was doing all that from inside a military facility in Kuwait.
After the radio break, up next was; “Pull Over”. Now, getting down to the lyrics of the song, I do make a statement with respect to cops, saying in not so many words, “cops take advantage of their position of power”, because, the way I see it, custodians of the law are honest, or should be honest, but that is too often not the case. With a line like, “some cops stop a car to ask a girl out”, I was in essence singing not-so-sweet songs about one government entity of Kuwait, to another government entity of Kuwait. I was feeling the sweat of the predicament. And, when it came time to play the song, the host, with experience on how to navigate these situations, found an angle from which to present the song, maintaining the integrity of its message, without being offensive, to the public or the government. And that is what good hosts do. I got on the air and simply introduced the song as; “‘Pull Over’, and some of the realities of living in Kuwait.” I did not use the words “cops”, I did not say this is “my” experience – I left it wide open. But, without her guidance, I’m sure I would’ve pissed someone off.
or
So, you see, the image that 99.7 projects of themselves, through the music they play, the hosts they employ, and even some of the topics they discuss, can be quite confusing. And, if you’re thinking; they play all kinds of music from the States, a lot of which promotes, even celebrates, controversial, oftentimes taboo behavior in our culture, (and they don’t always catch censorship-worthy lyrics), you’d be right. But that’s the thing. That just let’s you know the obstacles they must continuously face to be able to bring you that from inside that institution. So when you think, why aren’t there more stations? Why is radio so restricted? Why can’t it be more liberal? Or sometimes, simply; why? This is why. And with that, I want to set some things straight, specifically about the hosts.
Many of the most common criticisms of radio hosts lie somewhere between; “these guys aren’t fit to host a radio show”, (and the list of reasons why varies), and “these guys are too restricted”. What I want to say is; with that type of establishment, and that kind of power, it makes complete sense that there is no tolerance for “malpractice”. The fact that the radio also announces prayer times, and not by simply announcing them either, but by broadcasting the athaan, and has regularly scheduled news broadcasts throughout the day that address issues of high-ranking government officials of Kuwait, is testament to the fact that being a host on a radio that shares these ideals, is a matter much more serious than simply entertaining their listeners. Because of that, I’ve actually grown to appreciate what the guys at 99.7RKFM do a lot differently than I did. Here’s another thing, when on the air, contrary to what some might’ve heard, there really isn’t much room for censorship, I’ve been on some of their shows, I know. There really isn’t some miracle technology to magically reset time. The only thing at their disposal is the 5-second delay in broadcasting (because they’re not actually live to the second), which, through this one “chopper” button on their counter, can be used to rewind, well, 5 seconds of time. But after 5 seconds, whatever goes out there, is pretty much out there. That’s a lot of pressure. And, if you think about it, quite a lot of power. And remember, this is a public entity, designed for mass communication, and, as a side “favor”, if you will, does us this luxury of playing cool hip music. But at its core, it’s only meant to ensure that the public receives correct information. So, as listeners, looking to ease our way through morning rush-hour with some good tunes, we take for granted how high the stakes are for these guys. Yes, they come across neutral, or “vanilla”, but when 5 seconds of what can be considered a controversial opinion has the potential to not only get you fired, but have you staring down a loaded legal situation with the government of a country, you’d probably opt for vanilla, too.
On that note, I’d like to show some overdue gratitude to those hosts, past or present, because, even though you might be listening to their show, not enjoying their vibe, those people are doing a job that is the equivalent to walking a tight rope, with a conditional safety net of the “5 Second Rule”, all while trying to entertain their audience. Do you know how many times I’ve said something, just a simple slip of the tongue, over dinner, that I wish I could take back? Something the repercussions of which were huge, and we’re talking a dinner of no more than 10 people. Now imagine that dinner table was the entire country of Kuwait, and that slip of the tongue was heard by every single person tuning in, all at the same time. It carries a different weight. Take a moment to think about that, and I hope that you come to see them differently, too.
Now, because there is actual information I’d like to share, here are some of the things I found while researching this topic. There are currently 9, maybe 10 radio stations in Kuwait; one of which is an independent US military station, another, 88.8FM, a private station, the former director of which, before the recent purchase, had his beginnings with the 99.7 team, and of course, 99.7 – so essentially, we’re talking about the same vibes. So, let’s see what opportunities this new purchase of 88.8 will present. In the meantime, be nice to our hosts, it’s a tough job.
Does anyone know any secrets of what went down with 88.8FM? We’re looking for more info for our upcoming posts.
Love, Music and Peace
Amin FARI
Post by Amin FARI
Are you a musician looking to perform? On the flipside, are you a host looking for musicians to book? Or maybe you’ve just got an awesome idea you’d like to share? Get in touch [email protected] / Instagram: @xxmrfarixx
When I first started putting this list together it was because I was planning to visit them all and maybe review them. But I didn’t think there were this many already and so I don’t think that plan is possible anymore. Below is a list of all the speciality coffee shops I’m aware of, let me know if I missed any:
Speciality Coffee Shops
Amo Cafe
Arabica
ASPRO + PRO Coffee Bar
Awake Coffee
BLAKK Coffee
Bon Coffee
Boost Cafe
BRW
But First Coffee
CAF
Caffeine
Caveman Coffee
Cova Specialty Coffee
Cropped Coffee
CRL Bar
Days*Cafe
Dose Cafe
Etsi Kafe Lab
Force Bar
Grace
His Majesty
Jumo
Keys Coffee Shop
Kôfē – Espresso Bar
Let’s Coffee
Majnoon Qahwa
Mood Coffee Bar
Muse Coffeesphere
Muse Espresso Bar
New Brew Coffee
Not Just Coffee
Pause Coffee
Perhaps Some Coffee
Pirate Cafe
Richard’s Coffee
Savage Coffees
Seven Grams Coffee Lab
Shots
Shuwaikh Coffee
SIP
Street Cafe
The Breeze Cafe
Three and Barista
Toby’s Estate
Vibes Coffee
Vol 1
Wish Cafe
Speciality Roasters
48 East
Earth’s Roastery
Coffee Villains
The Lab Roastery
On a side note, anyone know where I can find the Rattleware coffee shot glass in Kuwait? Got it!
Update: I’ve updated the list
If you missed the fireworks show this past Saturday, you can now watch it online. [Vimeo]
A reader just let me know there is a huge new parking lot that was recently constructed very close to the airport. Could this be our new long term parking lot where they shuttle passengers to the main terminal and back? I can’t imagine it being anything else since there is no building next to it and the lot seems huge, more than double the size of our current long term parking lot.
My theory is they’ll most likely convert the current long term parking lot into a short term lot since the current short term lot isn’t big enough. They would then completely move the long term parking lot away to this new location if it is in fact the new long term parking lot.
Does anybody have any information on this?
Here is the location of the new lot on [Google Maps]
If you haven’t already registered for Nuqat this year then you should hurry up and do so. It’s one of the largest creative events in the region and it’s free to attend. Nuqat includes interactive talks, discussion panels, roundtable sessions, workshops, cultural tours, galleries, live performances and more. There are two ways to register, the first is to download the Nuqat app and registering through that, the second option is by signing up online using this [Link]
For those of you who’ve never attended a Nuqat conference before and not sure what to expect, below are two flashback videos, first one from the 2014 Nuqat conference and the second from last years. It’s a fun and very chill event, you can attend as many talks as you want or just hangout in the open courtyard socializing with friends. You could have burgers all day or take part in a workshop, it’s really up to you and thats one of the things I love about the event. So check out the videos below and then sign up for the event.
The Tiger Tiger popup is back again, this time in a new location in Shuwaikh. Tiger Tiger is a pan-asian restaurant by the guys behind Ora and they’ll only be there till the end of the week. Similar to last time, their menu is small and composed of three starters and three mains:
Starters KD2.5
Duck Spring Roll
Shrimp on Toast
Cream Cheese Wonton
Mains KD4.5
Orange Chicken
Thai Chili Beef
Kung Pao Shrimp
I passed by last night and loved the location and atmosphere, so much so that I think Tiger Tiger should never be a permanent restaurant and instead popup like this every now and then. We don’t have a lot to do in Kuwait so an event like this brings people together. Last night was an invite only evening and I kept running into people I hadn’t seen in ages.
If you’re interested in passing by, they’re only going to be there until Thursday November 10th, starting 6pm until late. Make sure you get there early, when I got there last night around 7:30 I was able to find seating easily but when I left at 9:30 there was a long waiting list. I heard at one point the waiting list had over a hundred people. But, Jumo Coffee also has a setup there so you could have a coffee and socialize while you wait.
Here is their popup location on [Google Maps]. They’re located in a complex thats still under construction but you’ll be able to spot Tiger Tiger from the red glow. They’re also on instagram @tigertiger.kw
Ever wondered where the airport valet park you car? I never did but a friend of mine with a dashcam recently gave his car to their valet, and the dashcam recorded the journey to the airport valet parking spot. It took around 7 minutes to get to the parking spot without any traffic, which explains why the wait to get the car back can easily exceed 20 minutes.
One thing this video made me realize is that the airport can build a large long term parking away from the airport and shuttle people back and forth. This would solve the current problem with not enough long term parking spots. I found the location of the valet parking on google maps and as you can see in the picture above, there is a large plot of land thats currently empty right next to it. That could easily be turned into a long term parking spot if they wanted to.
Just an FYI in case you’re curious, valet parking at the airport costs KD2 a day.
This past Saturday, Elevation Burger launched a new breakfast menu at their recently opened Seif strip location. It was my first time at their new location and I loved it. The weather was great, they had live music playing outside and lots of outdoor seating. They were also serving Jumo Coffee but right next door is also Richards Coffee, so you could pick and choose who to get coffee from.
According to Elevation, they’ll be having a similar setup with live music once every couple of weeks so if that happens, the location should end up being a popular Saturday morning chill spot. So keep a look out for it during the weekend events list.
Here is the location on [Google Maps]
Although I think drivers in Kuwait can be the worst sometimes (people stop driving while whatsapping!), what I’ve also realized because of my Vespa and Datsun 240z is that there are a lot of drivers out there that can be pretty nice. When I used to have the Vespa and I’d be stuck in traffic, people always moved their cars a bit when they saw me so they could let me ride all the way to the front in between the standstill traffic. It felt like everyone was rooting for me to get out of the traffic that they were all stuck in.
With my 240z I’m now experiencing a lot of niceness as well. Because the car is so low, usually the headlights of other cars (mostly SUVs) is higher than my car as you can see in the picture on top. So if their lights are on it pretty much reflects off my rear view mirror and into my face. Nearly all the drivers who pull up behind me at a traffic light turn off their lights so not to blind me. It’s a small gesture but I love it since its from total strangers.
I’ve also gotten so many compliments on the car from total strangers. For someone like me who doesn’t like attention, the amount of attention I get because of the car is so uncomfortable. On Friday I was heading back home on the Gulf Road and listening to my music loud while driving like a nutcase when I get to a traffic light. So I’m sitting there checking my phone when I here a beep of a police siren. I ignore it. Then I hear it again and I look out my rear view mirror and can’t see anything so I continue to ignore it. Then I hear the quick siren burst again the third time so I look to my right and there is a cop car right outside my window with a cop inside it trying to talk to me. So in my head I was like shit I’m screwed either because of my erratic driving or the fact my music was loud or because I was on my phone. So I quickly pause my music and yell out “Sorry?” cuz I couldn’t hear anything he had said. The cop then points at my car and says “very nice very nice” while giving me the thumbs up. I say thank you! and in my head I’m going wtf this is all so weird.
I feel like I’m in bizarro world sometimes.