2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Around KD1 million of those fines is from me alone. [Link] (it’s in Arabic)

via Sala6a

Just an FYI, this weekend I started streaming on Twitch and I think I’ll be doing it more often since it really doesn’t take any effort from my side, I’ll just Twitch every time I’m gaming. For those of you who don’t know what Twitch is, it’s a live streaming video platform where you can watch people play video games while chatting with them. If you’ve got a Twitch account follow me on @mark248am so you know when I’m live.

Back in August Grand Cinemas gave me a “VIP Card” that would allow me to watch an unlimited number of movies with a friend for free and for a full year. Yesterday I finally got to use the card and it reminded me on why I hadn’t used it up until now.

Very Big Shot (or Film Kteer Kbeer in Arabic) is a Lebanese film I’ve been wanting to watch for awhile now since the plot involved drugs and I had never seen a drug related Lebanese film. It also seems I’m the only one who wanted to watch it since the movie theater last night was completely empty except for me and my friend. A private viewing I guess. The film is in Arabic with English subtitles and was really fun to watch, it had violence and lots of humor throughout and it never slowed down. The acting was fantastic and the plot absurd but realistic at the same time. Even the ending was great although I’m not sure if anyone other than Lebanese would get it.

My only issue with the film was the censorship. I mean if they were only cutting kissing scenes thats fine but now they’re cutting scenes leading up to the kiss? Why? And then they’re still censoring swear words? I don’t get that and they’re not even consistent with it. Anyway, I hate watching movies locally but this one wasn’t available to torrent the last time I checked. So if you’re looking for a good foreign movie to watch definitely check this one out.

The weather is great at the moment so take advantage of all the outdoor activities taking place this weekend. Check out the list below:

Thursday
Art Exhibition: Complicity
Winter Land Carnival
Book Reading at The Secret Garden
Kuwait National Day Celebrations at Al Shaheed Park
Rooftop Movie: Crimes and Misdemeanors

Friday
Winter Land Carnival
Taichi in the Park
Yoga at the Park
The Hits Market
Kuwait Bibliophiles – Book Club Meeting
A Night of Oud at Al Shaheed Park

Saturday
Winter Land Carnival
The Hits Market
Walks at the Park
Mix-Fit Body Workout
Wellness Workshops with Doreen Bakstad
Bayan Winter Blast Carnival
Madeenah Tour: Flight of the Birds
The Imaginative World II Workshops
Galaxy Rock Band
Rooftop Movie: Warsaw Uprising
Gardening at The Secret Garden

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 double check info with organizers.

The WaterTowers is a new band that was recently formed featuring a super talented all star cast of musicians including Amin Fari (Mr.Fari), Ali Sleeq, Yousef Al Qabandi and Hashim Al Nassir while being produced by Riadh Al Qabandi. They’ve released their first single on SoundCloud called BurnForYou and you can check it out below.

Last week I got an email from the US Embassy asking me if I would be interested in a very exclusive one-day trip onboard a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman. The occasion? In celebration of Kuwait’s 25th Liberation Anniversary. I replied super excited right away saying yes and then spent the whole weekend snowboarding nervously hoping I wouldn’t fall and end up breaking anything so I wouldn’t miss out on this once in a life time opportunity.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 6:30AM and got all my stuff ready so I could be at the embassy before 8:15AM which was our departure time. I originally was planning on taking my big proper camera with a few lenses but last minute decided not to. Last year I decided I was going to spend less time worrying about capturing perfect shots and instead truly take in and enjoy whatever I was experiencing without having to share it with the world. So I decided to pack my small Sony RX1 (which is a legit camera anyway), my Kindle, a battery pack for my phone, motion sickness pills and a small bottle of water.

Once everyone had arrived to the embassy we took off to the military airbase located next to Sheikh Saad Terminal. After a quick safety briefing we headed onto the runway and got ready to board the Navy C-2 Aircraft that was waiting for us on the tarmac. We put on our lifejackets, helmets, ear protectors and goggles and then started boarding the super tiny plane. We were around 10 people in total including the US Ambassador, some members from the ministry of defence and ministry of interior, as well as a few civilians which included myself. We took off from the airbase and headed towards the aircraft carrier which was located somewhere in the Gulf between Kuwait and Qatar. It took us around 35 minutes to get to it and before we landed we were told to brace ourselves because the plane would hook onto the runway we would go from 240km/h to 0 in just two seconds. Thankfully the motion sickness pills worked and the landing wasn’t too dramatic.

Once onboard the aircraft carrier thats when everything became surreal. I grew up watching Top Gun and Hot Shots and wanting to be an air force pilot. I even wore my vintage Porsche Design watch for this trip, the same watch Tom Cruise wore in Top Gun. So walking on the flight deck being saluted by the sailors as we headed into the ship felt like I was on the set of a movie.

We were greeted inside by the commander and commanding officer of the carrier along with other members of the Navy. After a bit of mingling we were geared up again and taken back to the flight deck where we would watch fighter jets take off and land from up close. What a ridiculous experience that was, I was all over the place, I wanted to snapchat, shoot video, take photos and enjoy the moment all at the same time. I was on a flight deck of a US Navy aircraft carrier watching fighter jets take off right in front of me and I wanted that moment to stay with me forever. I don’t think I’ve even taken it all in yet and its been more than 24 hours already.

After watching planes take off and land and then walk around the flight deck a bit we were taken on a tour of the bridge, command center and the hanger bay. The carrier is obviously ginormous with over 5000 people onboard and everyone always referring to it as a floating city which it really is. I usually get sea sick on boats but because the carrier is so huge it doesn’t sway in the water at all, it’s pretty much like being on island. We were pretty much allowed to walk around all the spaces we were in pretty freely without any restrictions. I was told I could take as many photos as I wanted of anything I wanted without having to worry about anything. They were extremely professional so if there were screens with any classified information on them they would just swap them with non classified information before we walked in.

During the tour I tried my best to listen to all the interesting information that was being shared to us but honestly I spent most of the time just aimlessly walking around in awe or just starring out of the window watching fighter jets take off and land or watching the rainbow warriors (aka Skittles) work on the flight deck. It was all so mesmerizing.

For the final leg of the tour we were taken to the hanger bay which is basically their underground parking and garage for the jets. I was actually really looking forward to this part of the tour since I had never seen the hanger bay neither in pictures nor on TV.

You really get an idea of how freakin’ huge this ship is when you’re in the hanger bay, not only is it large enough to park plans on the flight deck, but it’s so large that it can park planes and helicopters below deck as well. Crazy shit.

Once our tour was over we were given some souvenirs to keep and then geared up again to fly back to Kuwait. The takeoff was horrifying, crazy fucking shit and holly fuck all at the same time. Because the aircraft carrier runway is so short, all planes use a catapult system to help them hit 0 to 270km/h in just 2 seconds. To give you an idea of how crazy fucking fast that is, the rollercoaster at Ferrari World which I thought was ridiculously fast hits 240km/h in 4.9 seconds. So I’m not even sure how to describe to you the feeling of being blasted off the carrier at a beyond insane speed while sitting on seats that face the back of the plane. I was wearing earplugs as well as an over the ear hearing protector but once the catapult launches it just sounds like a rocket taking off. For the couple of seconds in which you are accelerating at full speed you’re basically in complete shock at how anything could be so violently fast. And then you hit euphoria. There is a moment when you reach the end of the runway and fly off the edge, everything suddenly goes quiet and you feel like you’re floating in your seat. I swear this must be exactly how astronauts feel when they leave earths atmosphere and reach space. What a ride, it’s killed rollercoasters for me for the rest of my life.

You know, I blog for fun and for I blog a living, and because I’ve been doing it daily and for such a long time, I don’t really appreciate the blog sometimes. It’s just something I do. Then something big like this happens and it reminds me that what I do is somewhat meaningful and it reenergizes me all over again. Over the past 11 years I’ve experienced some ridiculous shit that I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of experiencing if it wasn’t for this blog. I got to spend a day on an aircraft carrier, thats just unreal. Friday is my blogs 11 year anniversary so this was an amazing way to celebrate. Definitely a big thank you to everyone at the US Embassy for hooking me up.

The Prius is Toyota’s Hybrid car (electric + fuel combo) thats pretty popular in the US and surprisingly is being introduced and launched in Kuwait. I say surprisingly because Prius owners usually tend to buy the car to save on fuel costs which we really don’t have an issue with here. The Prius is available now starting from KD8,200 and from tomorrow will be on display at The Avenues for the next week.

I don’t know about you guys, but pre- and probiotics have always been confusing for me. It hasn’t been until recently that scientists and nutritionist have felt that strongly about the benefits of pre- and probiotics, as well as the importance of including them in our diet. Personally, I don’t like taking supplements and always prefer taking in my nutrients from a natural form. Let’s take a look at them in a bit more detail.

– Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria (good bacteria) that enhances our gut flora. These types of bacteria helps protect our digestive tracts from fungi.

– Prebiotics are usually found in the fiber that our gut is unable to digest THAT the probiotic bacteria uses as food.

You might be thinking why it is important to include the probiotics to enhance your gut flora?

– The reason is that sometimes we make food choices that can impact our gut health, which could make us feel bloated or easily prone to getting sick. We already have both good and bad bacteria in our gut, the key point is to enhance or help the good bacteria overgrow the bad bacteria and therefore helping us feel better and digest food better.

– High-sugar and high-fat foods enhance the growth of the bad bacteria in our gut, which could slow down the digestive process making you feel unhealthy and could stop you from losing weight.

Taking a look at our food:
Prebiotic Foods (foods that feed good bacteria):
Foul (broad beans)
– Chickpeas
– Bananas
– Berries
– Garlic
– Onion
– Oats

Probiotic Foods (foods containing the good bacteria):
– Kefir
– Fermented  Cheese/yogurt (soft cheeses)
– Miso
– Non-pasteurized pickles
– Kombucha
– Kimchi

As you can see, getting probiotics from your diet is a bit difficult, while getting prebiotics is much easier. This is were probiotic supplementation could come into play. When looking at supplements, make sure they label the number of live bacteria available per dose (20 billion should be your target),  as well as the type of bacteria being used, and the expiry date (live bacteria can’t live on forever). I hope this helps!

Post by Hyatt Al Sayegh, a Clinical Dietitian and Dr. Sears Health Coach.
Founder of Fork Fed.

Image Source

I won’t be posting anything today because I’ve been invited to fly out and spend the day on a US aircraft carrier thats currently somewhere in the Arabian Gulf. I’m not allowed to share any more details for security reasons but I will have my camera with me to take photos. I’m obviously super excited and I’ll be posting all about it once I get back to Kuwait.

The Jazeera Airways 2015 Report is out and amongst all the financial data they have a section dedicated to future plans. Here are the ones that caught my attention:

Remote Check-in
Jazeera are building a check-in facility two minutes away from the main airport terminal (pictured on top). You arrive at the facility where parking valets will meet you, unload your baggage and then park your car for you. You then check in your baggage at this facility and get your boarding pass before being shuttled to the main terminal where you can head straight to immigration. The idea here is that you’ll bypass the airports congestion by skipping the whole parking and check-in process at the main terminal. They’ve already started construction on this facility and it should be operational by the end of this year.

In-flight Broadband
Jazeera Airways will be the first airline to be connected with Rockwell Collins PAVES™ Cabin Wireless and next-generation Global Xpress connectivity. It’s a new technology I previously hadn’t heard about that will give passengers fast, reliable and consistent coverage while also having access to the same high quality broadband that was previously only been available on the ground. According to a press release by Rockwell Collins, this service will be active by end of the year but in the Jazeera Airways report it says winter 2017 so it could be a typo.

Jazeera Airways Introducing Long-Haul Flights
Starting 2018 Jazeera will be flying long-haul flights. They don’t mention which countries specifically but they have a little map with a bunch of countries on it including popular destinations like London and Paris.

One thing the report fails to mention is the dedicated Jazeera Airways terminal which I’ve been hearing about for ages. My guess is the rumored terminal is actually just the new remote check-in area and not a separate terminal similar to FlyDubai. Check out the full report [Here]

Update: Just got a couple of clarifications. A dedicated Jazeera Airways terminal is still planned, it was just left out of the report. Also in regards to broadband on flights, by Winter 2017 they mean January 2017.

There are several steps which might develop Kuwait and make new national income for the country, and one of the ideas it to make Kuwait a touristic city where people visit to try high standard quality and ingredients. Creating the world’s food capital within 2030 in Kuwait is the main goal. And this video is the first step toward the main goal.

I have mixed feelings with this idea, on one hand Kuwait does have some really great local food concepts but I don’t think we have enough of them. The majority of the local food concepts basically lack any creativity and are just clones of one another. Plus, the lack of alcohol will definitely be an issue for elite chefs as well as the food tourists coming here. And what about the elephant in the room? Dubai like it or not is more of a GCC food capital than Kuwait is right now. Just thinking about Dubai is making me crave the warm chocolate mousse at La Serre. Yum. [YouTube]

Blue Zone is a juice bar that just opened up a few days ago at Sultan Center Shaab. For those of you who’ve been to Sultan Center Shaab, the juice bar opened up near the main entrance once you walk in where the sliced fruits used to be on display.

I was at Sultan earlier tonight and spotted a friend sitting at the bar. Turns out the place was for a relative of his, Khalidah Alessa, a former health coach was behind the bar busy baking a hemp seed and date protein bar. She’s managed to turn the little corner into a cute space serving healthy cold-pressed juices, smoothies and small treats. She even has wheat grass shots and will start serving healthy breakfast options soon.

If you’re interested in trying Blue Zone out, they’re open from 8AM to 8PM and you can check out their instagram account @bluezonekw

The National Assembly yesterday passed in the second reading the commercial agencies law, but after introducing a crucial amendment that allows more than one agent or dealer for commodities in the country, officially breaking the monopoly of agents over imports. [Source]

Does this mean what I think it means? Does this mean there can now be more than one BMW dealer or more than one Nikon dealer in Kuwait?

Have you gotten your loved one a Shani today? [Link]

Even though there were huge lines at passport control, this officer at the Kuwait Airport still found time for Farmville. Seriously you can’t make this shit up.