2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Over the weekend I found out that Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah (the owner of Cinemagics), had purchased a Tesla electric car from the States Netherlands and had it shipped to Kuwait. So right away I gave him a call and asked him if he’d let me take it out for a spin and he agreed so I took it out yesterday morning.

Before anyone comments about how useless a Tesla is in Kuwait because gas is so cheap, you need to understand that the Tesla is more than just an electric car, it’s not just about saving on fuel prices. The easiest way for me to explain it might be comparing it to the iPhone, what the iPhone did to the phone market the Tesla is trying to do for the car market. They’re reinventing what a car should be and thats what makes Tesla so great a company and Elon Musk a great innovator. One easy example is with the Tesla’s control panel. If you look at the picture above you’ll see a huge ass screen in the dashboard, that screen is the size of around two iPads stuck together. It’s a gorgeous high resolution display with a very clean very Apple like interface that allows you to control every aspect of the car as well as display a variety of information all at once. In the photo above for example I had my blog opened up in the web browser and taking up the whole screen but you could have it take up half the screen if you want with the other half displaying your radio or maybe the map. My point is if you read my car reviews from just this year alone you’ll notice one of my biggest complaints is how I felt the user interface in most of the cars I drove were so outdated and ugly. The Tesla on the other hand is doing it right.

The first question I asked Nasser and the first question everyone asks him is how does the car get charged in Kuwait? Basically there are two ways, the first is using a regular power plug like the ones found inside your apartments. You just plug the car to a power outlet and it charges at a speed of 7KM an hour. The second way is to have an electrician install a multiphase power plug which will increase the speed of charging to 55KM an hour. On a full charge the car can last over 400KM which is more than four trips from Kuwait City down to the chalets in Bnaider and back. So for regular day to day use you probably only need to charge the car just once a week. That’s better mileage than what I can get out of a full tank of gas on my car. In any case Nasser installed a charging point outside his office building so he could charge it there if he wants to as well.

I only had the car for like an hour but all I really wanted to experience was what it was like driving an electric car and also better understand how the regenerative braking worked. The Tesla as you can imagine doesn’t make any sounds. Only when accelerating really hard can you hear a gentle electric whine like something from Star Trek but other than that it’s a completely silent car. The Tesla I drove is the P85D which is all wheel drive and has two motors with a combined power equivalent to 762HP. It’s really fast and it can hit 0-100KM/h in 3.1 seconds which is insane considering how understated the car looks and the fact it’s a 4-door family sedan. Regenerative braking was also very interesting to experience, it’s an energy recovering mechanism that allows the Tesla to recharge the batteries using the energy recovered while braking. Usually when you want to slow down with regular cars you take your foot off the gas pedal and then press the brakes. With the Tesla when you lift your foot off the gas the regenerative braking kicks in and starts slowing you down without you having to press the brakes. It feels like engine braking, like slowing down by downshifting in a regular car. If you want to use the brakes you can of course but using regenerative braking allows you to recover the energy and make your brake pads last longer. The interior of the car felt premium, lots of leather and suede. According to Nasser he didn’t have any issues with the AC during the summer which is another concern I had with the car.

The Tesla P85D starts at around KD31,000 without shipping to Kuwait which is actually not that expensive when you consider the technology and performance involved with the car. Getting it registered might be a bit of headache although it should be a bit easier now since there’s already a Tesla in Kuwait. When Nasser went to register the car they had the Tesla on the computer as a gasoline powered car so that caused delays. Overall it’s a pretty cool car and nobody should be worried about getting one in Kuwait.

The Star Wars Battlefront Beta just got released a few hours ago and both me and my brother started downloading it on our PS4’s at the same time. I have a 10Mbps WiMD connection in Salmiya while he has a Zain 4G LTE internet connection in Salwa. We started downloading around 9:30PM. By 11:30PM I had more than 5 hours left to complete the download while my brother with his Zain connection had 51 minutes left.

This isn’t a very scientific test obviously but it’s an interesting comparison nevertheless. With Zain’s new 1TB for KD20 a month deal, it might not be a bad choice at all.

Looks more like a staged press event but at least it’s a start. [YouTube]

via Frankom

Not a very big list this weekend but a few interesting events taking place. Check them out below.

Exhibition: Still (Curated by Mark Dean)
Learn How to Illustrate a Story
Eskenderella Concert
That Comedy Show
K’S PATH Quiz Night
Yoga at the park
The Concert KW
Mommy And Me Market
Saturday Brunch Live
Food Festival

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

If you’re planning to buy an iPhone 6s in the next coming days I’d put a hold on that since I just found out that phone is officially launching in Kuwait this coming Saturday. Ooredoo sent out an invitation awhile ago for a midnight launch party this Friday to celebrate the launch of the phone. So if you were going to buy an iPhone this weekend you’ll most likely get a better price if you wait until till next week.

A friend of mine told me about this instagram account that sells fresh home made pasta. I found that different from the usual baked goods people are selling so I thought I’d share it here. They have three kinds of pasta, lemon, pumpkin, and tomato and garlic. Costs KD3.5 for 200 grams and you need to order it at least 48 hours in advance since it’s made to order. The account is @mariarustica

Update: A reader informed me of a professional Italian pastry chef that sells 300 grams of fresh pasta for KD3.5. You can check that account as well by clicking the following link [@italiafoodk8]

There is a website that allows you to generate infographics for causes and risks within a country and also compare it to other countries or the rest of the world using data from 1993 to 2013. The grid above shows the greatest causes of death in Kuwait, the larger the box the higher the risk. Based on the infographic, heart disease (IHD) is the lead cause of death followed by risk of a stroke and then road injuries. Check out all the data in detail by clicking [Here] (Make sure you choose Kuwait as the location)

Thanks Saud

I was at the Kuwait airport before Eid heading to the States and was waiting in line in emigration when I noticed this really good looking emigration officer walk by. He was tall, great body, had a nice beard with great hair, like a super good looking guy. So as I was admiring his looks in the most heterosexual way possible, he does something really messed up. He goes up to a South Asian expat standing in line and yells at him. The expat froze and didn’t understand what the officer wanted so then the officer punches the expat hard on the chest and opens and closes his fist yelling passport passport. I was like WTF?! I was like thats messed up, the officer is clearly all jacked up on steroids and just punched this poor expat. He then gave him back the passport and yelled at him to go to another line. He then sees a group of South Asian expats in line and shoo’s them all to another line like cattle. I thought about complaining to someone in charge but then realized if I did I might not end up flying out myself.

A few moments later I’m still in line still trying to grasp of what I had just seen when another incident takes place. There was an expat at the front of the line waiting for the emigration officer at the desk to stamp his passport and I overhear the officer making fun out of the expat cuz he’s wearing an earring. Not only that but the officer gets the officer on the adjacent desk involved as well so they’re both poking fun out of the expat now. Not quietly or in secret but literally in front of the expat while pointing at his ear and asking the expat embarrassing questions.

To have incidents like this still take place in this day of age is bad enough but to have them take place at the airport by airport employees is just ridiculous. Someone told me recently they replaced the over-maked-up female officers because people were complaining about them but if this is what they’ve replaced them with I’d rather we go back to the female officers again.

For those of you who grew up in Kuwait during the 80s you’ll most likely remember the show Cine Club which used to take place once a week. The show was hosted by Farouq Abdul-Aziz who would choose a film that week to play and discuss it with the viewers.

Well you can now relive the 80s because tomorrow Farouq in currently back in Kuwait and will be hosting a movie night at the National Library of Kuwait. Farouq will be playing the film ‘Nightcrawler’ (a really great film btw) and then hold a discussion afterwards. It’s so random from the fact that he’s doing this, to the venue location to the film of choice.

For details click [Here]

After Failaka (2013) and Kuwait Towers (2014), another local site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list this year, Khaza’al Palace, now renamed to Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jabir Palace.

This site was built in the early Twentieth Century by Sheikh Khazaal Bin Mirdaw, Ruler of Muhammarah (1897 – 1925 ) on a piece of land which he received as a gift from Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Ruler (1896-1915). After Sheikh Khazaal’s death, it was bought by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jabir Al- Sabah who took it as a family residence, thereafter converted it to the first national museum in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf region, after which it remained as the property of his heirs until it was taken over by the State and rated as a high preservation building.

When it was built and for many decades thereafter, the Palace was reported to be the most magnificent structure in Kuwait. Patterned on regional antecedents, it was large, elaborate two storey structure in coral stone and mud brick in a stark contrast to Kuwait’s primarily single storey, austere architecture.

The palace is currently in a very poor state and so UNESCO is proposing the following:

In order to save the property from further deterioration, urgent steps are required to be taken, especially with regard to the original crumbling site of the Palace. This measure should be undertaken in coordination with the operational guidelines of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. This may be followed by considering the addition of a modest Education and Culture Museum building in the surrounding area which may be devoted to fully express the site’s value to present and future generations. Further, the grounds need to be rehabilitated and the ancillary buildings are required to be activated.

For more information check out this link on UNESCO [Link]

Thanks Khaled

Late last month I posted about how some schools are banning the book Harry Potter. Well I now have the full list of books banned which I’ve shared below. This list was created by the Ministry and the Foreign Schools Committee. The list below is for 2014-2015, if there are any spelling mistakes I’m sorry but I had to type the list below manually since I only received a print version not a digital one. In brackets I’ve also mentioned who was behind the ban and you’ll notice the schools have banned more books than the Ministry but that could be because they’re following the Ministry’s guidelines. One thing to note is that schools are recommended to follow this list and not obliged to follow it except for the books banned by the Ministry. Check out the full list below:

Earlier this year Tamdeen announced they were taking over development of the stalled tennis project next to 360 Mall and that they would be completing it as part of their “massive expansion” of 360 Mall. Renderings of the extension are finally available online along with a bit more information on the courts including that it will have a 4,000 seat indoor arena, a 1,500 seat outdoor arena, 6 indoor tennis courts, 8 outdoor tennis courts, and supporting clubhouse with tennis school. Check out more photos and details [Here]

Thanks lovelykuwait

Just finished watching The Martian. After watching Interstellar last year I was really looking forward for another space related film. For some reason I was expecting The Martian to be as serious and dramatic as Interstellar but that wasn’t the case, it’s more lighthearted with lots of humor. It’s not as good as Interstellar or Gravity for that matter, but it was still fun to watch. There was o nudity, no violence, no cussing and no kissing, so you should be able to watch it in Kuwait without any censorship.

Update: I completely forgot there was one scene where you can see Matt Damon’s naked rear so I take back the last statement, it won’t be without any censorship.

I missed my flight to Kuwait a few hours ago because my connecting flight was delayed. I took the picture above as I was stepping off the plane, my flight to Kuwait had just backed away from the gate and was getting ready to taxi to the runway. I missed my flight and was pretty upset. I was supposed to be back in Kuwait later today because tomorrow I was supposed to fly out to Abu Dhabi for a CTS V test drive event at Yas Marina but thats not happening now. The next available direct flight back to Kuwait is October 3rd since the flights for the next two days are all fully booked. So I’m stuck in Washington now for 3 days.

Then it hit me. I’m stuck in Washington for 3 days, that’s not a bad thing. I hear its really humid in Kuwait now so don’t think I’m missing much.

Have you guys noticed how much information your phone knows about you? Back in January while using google maps on my phone to get to my hotel I noticed something weird. Under the hotel name on google maps was my check in and check out date. I was like WTF? How did it know? I then realized that google must have read my booking information when I got it in my gmail inbox and then shared that information with google maps. Impressive.

But now things are starting to get creepy. I’m currently vacation in the States and earlier today I was in Versailles, Kentucky when I got a notification on my phone telling me I should leave and head to my next city if I wanted to check into my hotel on time. I didn’t add anything to my calendar nor did I add a reminder so I figured my iPhone is now also reading my emails and setting up my calendar for me. Not only that but it also reminded me 3 hours before check in and my trip to my next destination was going to take 3 hours by car exactly. Crazy shit.

Later in the day I was telling my friend about it and she asked me what time my flight was tomorrow. I told her 5:30 but I’m not sure and as a joke I was like let me ask Siri. So I ask Siri what time my flight was the next day and she replies telling me 7:27. I was like whaaaaatt… So I open my airline app and check and she was right, my flight was at 7:27.

It’s all pretty creepy the way my phone and google read my emails now but I also kinda like it. It’s the good kind of creepy I guess.