2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Spotted at Lulu.

Thanks Kasia

Booze Boozz I guess is a new wannabee alcohol but not alcohol drink which is odd in itself but whats even more odd is the striking resemblance to its main competitor, Freez.

Thanks MAR

If you’re heading towards the Sheraton Roundabout the First Ring Road is now open. It’s important to note that the road no longer gets you to the roundabout but passes underneath it. The 1st Ring Road now ends at the Justice Palace.

[YouTube]

So student pays someone to cheat for him, and when he gets cheated himself he goes to the cops?

Thanks Pat

I finally got around to putting together this video I shot last week when I was in Lebanon. I rented a snowmobile up in Mzaar (Faraya) near the ski slopes from a company called Highland Club. It costs $100 for an hour but they have better deals on longer journeys. For example they can take you from Faraya to the Cedars and back for around $400. That’s a 3 hour trip each way and comes to around $65 an hour.

If you’re ever in Lebanon and are interested in taking out a snowmobile you can call them on +9613860867 for reservation and directions or just go up to Mzaar near the slopes and ask for snowmobile rental places. [Vimeo]

Interior Ministry announced on Monday that it has asked the Ministry of Communications to suspend all anonymous accounts on the social networking site (Twitter).

The ministry said in a press statement that such measure comes in order to preserve the rights of citizens and residents of people who were used to slander them and their families under fake names, saying that such is a crime punishable by law.

It confirmed that all public have the freedom of expression guaranteed to them by the Constitution as long as those practices are going according to the law, especially with regard to using the (Twitter) site.

It explained that this step comes within the context of the ministry’s keenness to preserve community values and respect for the law. [Source]

That’s technically not possible. Kuwait’s Ministry of Communication can’t suspend twitter accounts. Sounds like a request from a department that doesn’t understand how twitter (and possibly the internet) works. I’m sure the MOC know that’s not possible and probably just replied to them with “enshallah”.

According to Blushbery, the new Porsche Design Blackberry was available in Sharq (phone street) and got sold for KD900. That’s double the retail price. If the guy actually bought an airlines ticket, flew to London, stayed a night, bought it from Harrods and then flown back he would have saved around KD300! [Link]

The weather is pretty cozy right now with it not being too cold yet so it’s still a great time to catch the Cinemagic screenings next month. I’ve watched two of the movies they’re going to be showing, American Splendor and of course Akira. Both of them were really great and Akira honestly is a classic and a must watch if you haven’t already. Embarrassingly I’ve never watched Grease although I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. Here is the January movie screenings list:

Thursday, January 5th at 7:30pm
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.

Saturday, January 7th at 7:30pm
DON’T LOOK BACK
Documentary covering Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.

Thursday, January 12th at 7:30pm
THE DINNER GAME
Each week, Pierre and his friends organize what is called as “un dîner de cons”. Everyone brings the dumbest guy he could find as a guest. Pierre thinks his champ -François Pignon- will steal the show.

Saturday, January 14th at 7:30pm
THE GREAT DICTATOR
In Chaplin’s satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double… a poor Jewish barber… who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Thursday, January 19th at 7:30pm
THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED
Should Tom (Duris) make like his thuggish father or pursue his dream of becoming a pianist?

Saturday, January 21st at 7:30pm
THRONE OF BLOOD
A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become Emperor.

Thursday, January 26th at 7:30pm
GREASE
Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?

Saturday, January 28th at 7:30pm
AKIRA
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

Thanks to everyone who donated games to the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH). Digumz will be passing the games over to KACCH next month. Will keep you posted with updates once that happens.

Round 2 of the Kuwait Rally Championship is going to take place this weekend. It should be a cool event to take pictures at so if you’re interested and want more details click [Here]

If the Salmiya Park ends up looking anything like the picture above then I’ll be spending most of my time in there hanging out with my dog. I am guessing it’s going to be an animal friendly park since other than the mall, museum, restaurants etc.. there is also going to be a veterinary clinic. For more info on the Salmiya Park follow this [Link]

Racers in Kuwait are getting pretty nifty with their filming. The one above has a 3 camera set up! Here is the video description:

Honda NSX-R 500hp Vs 700hp HPE LS9 Hennessey Camaro…
strocked engine built by SOS (Science of Speed)
with a LoveFab single turbo.
+Race was in K-town on 2Lions St.. Time: After Midnight
MUSIC:Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa – I Wanna Be Your Dog

[YouTube]

A reader emailed me yesterday warning me of the following:

Three employees from XXXXX admitted with contagious Bacterial Meningitis in the last 4 days. Today, another patient was admitted. I was in XXXXX 3 days ago. I went for a vaccine update and took prophylactic antibiotics. I am a surgeon in Adan. I recommend anyone who has been to XXXXX in the last week to go get a meningococcal vaccination and possibly rifampin or ciprofloxacin antibiotic.

Now I’ve replaced the name of the place with XXXXX since I can’t confirm if the information ir true or not but I just saw the article below on Arab Times:

Rumours rife as famous market worker falls dead, 6 sent to ICU
An employee of a well known shopping complex in Al-Rai area died and six others were referred to the Intensive Care Unit of Farwaniya Hospital after complaining of severe pain in the chest and cough.

The cause of the death could not be ascertained through preliminary tests, but some said the victim died of meningitis, while others said it was a swine flu case.

Co-workers of the deceased, who worked in the vegetables section of the hypermarket, said he suddenly felt severe pain in the chest which was accompanied with a bout of cough. The man fell down shortly afterwards and died. This spread terror among other employees and six individuals who complained of similar symptoms were rushed to the ICU.
Sources said the hypermarket’s administration sent employees for vaccination at Kuwait Clinic in groups to keep work going at the shopping center.

Senior officials at the Health Ministry have refused to confirm or refute the incident. Manager of Infectious Diseases Hospital Dr Jamal Al-Duaij, however, said they did not receive any such case and added that the ministry had earlier instructed that all infectious cases be sent to hospitals in the victims’ area of residence. He said he did not receive any call from the ministry on any emergency and added that it did not announce anything about meningitis. [Source]

Picture taken from the Arab Times article.

Update: For those of you posting the name of the shop in the comments I am not allowing it. If you think you know the shop that’s great, just don’t post it in the comments below.

Update2: Arab Times posted an update to the story, looks like it was a false alarm…

“I wish to state categorically that claims about widespread infection in Kuwait are a bundle of lies and rumor by mischievous personalities. I repeat that the ministry only recorded two of such cases”, the health director reiterated. [Source]

Speaking of a smoking ban…

A group of young students surprised shoppers at one of Kuwait’s most frequented malls by shouting anti-smoking slogans and carrying posters asking smokers to stub out their cigarettes.

The stunt, unprecedented in Kuwait where smoking is a major issue, was meant to embarrass those who flouted the law that bans smoking in malls and other closed places, Shuaa Al Qadhi, the head of public relations, said.

Several of the shoppers and people at the mall felt uneasy when they saw the young girls and boys urging them to put out their cigarettes and they complied, she said, local daily Al Qabas reported on Tuesday.

Smoking has been banned in closed areas in Kuwait since 1994, but the rule is often broken.

A field study has found that a cigarette is lit every 58 seconds at Kuwait International Airport and that 20 per cent of grown ups and 11 per cent of teenagers regularly smoke in Kuwait, the daily said. [Source]

Did anyone take pictures or shoot any video of this?