2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Last night I finished watching the last episode of The Idol on HBO and I loved it. It stars Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn and The Weeknd as Tedros, both of which are the main characters on the show. The Idol is also created and directed by Sam Levinson who was behind the other great (and controversial) HBO series Euphoria. He’s the reason why I watched this show since I was a huge fan of Euphoria and wanted to see more of his work.

The Idol is a drama series about Jocelyn, a pop star aiming to reclaim her fame after a breakdown. Her life takes a turn when she meets Tedros, a nightclub owner with a dark past. The show explores her journey in the music industry and personal life.

The Idol is disturbing. It isn’t a show you binge watch since you want time between the episodes to just recharge. The Weeknd’s character “Tedros” is also the worst, a lot of people have said he’s a bad actor but I don’t think thats true, I think they just really really hate his character and it’s The Weeknd’s acting that brings it to life. And I’m not saying that because I’m a fan of his or anything, I actually didn’t care much for him before this show and I even only realized now while writing this post that it’s actually written The Weeknd and not The Weekend.

If you check the shows rating on IMDB it actually has a 5 out of 10 rating which is pretty terrible. But that’s understandable, so ignore it. The show isn’t for everyone and going through the reviews you can easily spot that. If you have the stomach for it and are willing to plow through the shows 5 episodes, I think you’re in for something really different and great.

MrBeast Burger is a burger concept by the super popular internet personality MrBeast. If you haven’t heard of him, he has over 165 million subscribers on YouTube and is mostly known for his extravagant stunts and challenges videos.

MrBeast Burger is popping up in Kuwait tomorrow (July 7) and for one day only. Talabat will be hosting MrBeast Burger and they’ll be going live around 11AM. Delivery will be to most of Kuwait except for Mangaf, Sabahiya and Jahra.

The burger reviews online are pretty mixed, but based on MrBeasts popularity, I’d assume Talabat are going to be pretty busy tomorrow.

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

New This Weekend:
Hidden Strike (N/A)
Insidious: The Red Door (6.3)
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (N/A)

Other Movies Showing:

Elemental (6.8)
Fast X (6.2)
Guy Ritchie’s the Covenant (8.5)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (6.9)
Kandahar (6.2)
Master Gardener (6.2)
Snatch a Bullet (5.9)
The Flash (7.3)
The Little Mermaid (7.2)
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (6.5)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Ocean’s Eleven (7.7)
The Rock (7.4)
Lady and the Tramp (7.3)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

I’m in love with this photo taken by Ian Caldwell of a random phone box on the side of a dirt road somewhere in the north of Kuwait. He took this photo sometime in the last 60s early 70s and if you look carefully you can see a couple of bedouin tents in the background.

The old abandoned buildings on Fahad Al Salem Street near Salhiya are finally getting demolished (everything highlighted in yellow on the map). They’ve been abandoned for years and they were making the downtown area look really gritty so I’m glad things are moving forward.

I was always hoping they’d get refurbished since when you look at old photos of the street the buildings actually looked great when new. But that wasn’t going to happen and keeping the buildings as is wasn’t going to work either.

I’m not sure if that strip is as sentimental to other people as it is to me. After the 1990 invasion there weren’t that many electronic shops open but there were a bunch on that strip that were. I still remember the night my dad took me there to get my very first sound system with a CD player and then later at various points in the 90s I got a second sound system and a couple of Walkmans.

The buildings on that strip have been around since the 60s and were considered really modern back when they were built. So I went through my archives and dug up my favorite photos of the street to celebrate what was at one point in time, a bustling commercial and cultural hub for the country.

Onus is a glass installation by Kuwaiti visual artist Monira Al Qadiri. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the pictures and read the story behind it.

During the Gulf War, dead birds, fish, and animals regularly lined the coastline and deserts because of the massive toxic clouds fed by hundreds of torched oil wells. When images of these oil-drenched animals were shared in the news, many people thought they were fake and just propaganda. Monira learned of this misconception while she was studying at university in Japan and so Onus is her way of breathing life back into her memories by recreating these oil-drenched birds as glass objects.

If you’re in Berlin, Monira’s work is currently on display at the Koenig Galerie. If you want to see more of her work online, check out her Instagram @moniraism or website moniraalqadiri.com

The Armenian national carrier, Fly Arna now flies direct to Kuwait twice a week. The flight from Kuwait to Armenia is only around 2 hours long and ticket prices start at 82KD.

I went to Armenia back in 2020 and loved it although I might be a bit biased since I’m half Armenian. The food was amazing, there was a lot to see, and the city gave off a great vibe. I’d put a travel guide together although I’m not sure it would be accurate since I went just pre-Covid so might have to head there again for a few days again just to revisit some places.

If you’re looking for a new, interesting and close destination to fly to, this is it. To book a ticket or check the prices, visit flyarna.com

Al Kawakeb Sweets, the old ice cream and sweets shop in the city that has been open since 1945 has closed down. The whole building is being demolished and so they had to move out of their location which was across the street from blockat.

According to someone who left a review on Google they’re meant to move to a new location but there wasn’t a poster or a note left at the old location saying anything about it. Their Instagram account @alkawakeb1945 also no longer exists so they could be gone for good.

Update: They moved to Aswaq Al Qurain, here is the new location on Google Maps

GameWorks was an arcade that opened up in Marina Mall back in 2003. It was later renamed to GameWizz and eventually closed down in 2013. While going through one of my boxes the other day I found an old GameWorks recharge card and that triggered some nostalgia which got me looking for photos of the place.

For some reason, I couldn’t find any pictures of the place online. I guess because it was a period of time before camera phones or Instagram were a thing so not a lot of people took photos of the space and shared them online.

I went through my personal archive of photos and found a few, nothing too great and a few that was super low res since they were taken by a Sony Clie PDA, but they’re better than nothing. If you have any photos let me know. Here is a link to all the photos I found.

Kuwait Airways was recently named the “World’s Most Improved Airline in 2023” according to Skytrax, the airline and airport review and ranking site. This was the second year in a row that Kuwait Airways won the ‘World’s Most Improved Airline’ award. Last year, Kuwait Airways moved up from 179th place to 76th place, and this year they moved up to 42nd place.

Singapore Airlines won the top airline award for 2023 while Qatar came in 2nd, Emirates 4th, Saudi Arabian Airlines 23rd, Oman Air 27th, and Gulf Air 32nd.

I’m currently in Istanbul and I’m assuming a lot of people are coming here for Eid so this is a quick guide of all my favorite spots:

Eat
My favorite breakfast spot is Namlı Gurme (@namligurme) which also recently opened in Kuwait. Yeni Lokanta (@yeni.lokanta) is my favorite restaurant here and is based on Turkish cuisine but deconstructed into more contemporary and exciting versions (book ahead of time). Kase No16 (@kase.no16) is a cozy spot located in a trendy neighborhood and has good music, street side seating and great food. Il Cortile (@ilcortileistanbul) is a great Italian place located in a beautiful courtyard. Finally, Borsam Taşfırın (@borsamtasfirin) is a hole in the wall bakery serving probably the best lahmajoun in Istanbul.

Drink
Petra Roasting Company (@petracoffee) is my favorite brand of coffee shops in Istanbul but the one I visit the most is in the Topagci neighborhood. There is another good one in that area called Cup of Joy (@cupofjoy_istanbul) which I usually prefer if I want to sit outdoors. If you’re more of a tea person, Viyana Kavesi (@viyanakahvesi) have multiple locations around Istanbul but really you’ll be going there for their San Sebastian cheesecake. For just tea, Burası Kahveci (@burasikahveci) is my an unassuming hole in the wall option.

See
Salt Beyoğlu (@salt_beyoglu) is my must go exhibition space when I’m here since they tend to have very interesting things happening. The Istanbul Toy Museum (@istanbuloyuncakmuzesi) is located in a large house, a completely random thing to visit but I love toys so I found it fascinating. The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (@istanbulmodern) just opened last month in their new spot by the sea and is worth checking. For fashion, Shopi Go (@shopi_go) is my favorite place with a great sneaker collection and selection of clothes. Wunder (@wunder) is another good spot near it. If you like Aesop, Homemade Aromaterapi (@homemadearomaterapi) is Turkey’s version.

Sleep
This is easy, Soho House (@sohohouseistanbul), I can’t recommend a better hotel. Other than the fact the hotel is beautiful and their Club House next door is my favorite place to end the day, the hotel service is incredible with the staff always going above and beyond. The rooftop of the Club House is also now open for the summer so you can head there to watch the sunset and enjoy the music.

Mo Amer, the Palestinian American comedian known for his hilarious performances in the Netflix show ‘Mo’ and the award-winning Hulu sitcom ‘Ramy,’ is set to bring his comedy to Kuwait this September.

Mo was actually born in Kuwait and lived here till the age of 9. He only left Kuwait because of the 1990 Iraq invasion which is how he ended up in the US. I’m not sure if he’s been back to Kuwait since then, but if you went to a British school in the 80s, I’d pull up an old yearbook and see if I could spot him.

According to the information I have, Mo will be performing his standup on September 8th at The Arena. More information will be officially announced soon.

MyHome is an app that offers a variety of home services you can order ranging from AC maintenance and plumbing work to painting, electrical, and anything else you might require. One useful feature they also offer is their hourly cleaning service.

I know from personal experience that it’s not easy to find a part-time cleaner to come over and clean the house on a regular basis which is why I think this service is really useful. Starting at 18KD for 4 hours, MyHome will send over a small team to your house with all the materials and equipment needed to clean your place. Their service encompasses everyday cleaning tasks such as carpet vacuuming, floor sweeping, surface wiping, and more.

MyHome’s attention to detail is paramount which is why their staff undergo rigorous training and must follow a comprehensive cleaning checklist to ensure a level of cleanliness akin to caring for one’s own home. It’s also why they’re able to offer a “MyHome Guarantee”. If a customer is unsatisfied with the cleaning, MyHome will redo the cleaning job the following day.

If you’re looking for a long-term solution, MyHome also offers a monthly cleaning package ranging from 4 visits a month up to 16. Additionally, MyHome can also provide you with a deep cleaning service that can effectively tackle embedded dirt, stains, and hard-to-reach areas.

As an exclusive deal to my readers, MyHome is offering a 24.8% discount on the monthly packages for 248AM readers until July 15, 2023. Simply use the code 248AM on checkout to apply this deal. myhomeapp.io

The Ikarus Astro group is hosting an astronomy event tonight at AlKhout Mall sea side from 7 to 10PM. It’s a free event and open to the public to observe the moon and planets. Ikarus will be bringing a few telescopes with them including the biggest mobile telescope in Kuwait so you should be able to get a pretty good viewing.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary to do tonight, this is it. @ikarustechnolog

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

New This Weekend:
About My Father (5.8)
Katak: The Brave Beluga (7.2)
Resident Evil: Death Island (N/A)
Sakra (5.8)
Snatch a Bullet (N/A)
The Best Man (3.7)
The Minute You Wake up Dead (4.5)

Other Movies Showing:
Elemental (6.8)
Fast X (6.2)
Guy Ritchie’s the Covenant (8.5)
Kandahar (6.2)
Sisu (7.0)
The Boogeyman (6.2)
The Flash (7.3)
The Little Mermaid (7.2)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (7.4)
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (6.5)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Cast Away (7.8)
Tarzan – 1999 (7.3)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.