2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival starts in a few days time (October 13th) and there is only one Kuwaiti movie playing during the festival and that’s the short movie Swing directed by Abdullah Al-Daihani. There isn’t a trailer for the movie online yet but in case you’re in Abu Dhabi on the 14th or 16th of October you can buy tickets from [Here]
Here is the Swing Facebook page [Link]
A Flickr user uploaded two high resolution shots of the British Airways plane that was destroyed at the Kuwait Airport during the Iraqi invasion back in 1990. I had seen shots of the plane before but this is the first time it’s in high resolution. According to the uploader the shots were taken by his boss. [Shot 1] [Shot 2]
LoYAC has started their part-time program. This program is for college and university students and what it does is allow you to work part-time at companies that are relevant to your major. If you’re interested in joining this program check out the LoYAC blog for more details [Here]
I just read about this in Arab Times and I’m kinda concerned since all I drink is mineral water and I drink a lot of it, around 6 liters a day.
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 5: The US Embassy in Kuwait has warned its citizens against drinking a certain kind of mineral water, reports Al-Shahed daily. The report could not be independently confirmed.
The embassy in a statement said this water contains contaminants and materials unfit for human consumption and harmful to public health.
The statement said random samples of mineral water, the type sold in the local market, were sent to a special lab in the United States and the results were not convincing.
Sources say the statement added it is surprising the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Kuwait Municipality laboratories have failed to warn citizens and residents against drinking this water.
Here is the link to the article [Link]
[YouTube]
I posted this video earlier in the week on 248PM but it feels appropriate to post it here today. I’ve been a Mac guy since before the iPod but it’s hard to deny how much the iPod has helped Apple. So I flipped through my photo archive and found some pictures of my original iPod. Steve Jobs didn’t invent the iPod, but he did make it happen and Apple is what it is today because of him.
Below are some shots of my original iPod. The picture taken in front of the Kuwait Towers is actually Nibaq, we took the picture for iPod Lounge back in 2002.
According to an article on KuwaitNews.com, the municipality is going to be closing down some streets in the city and opening them up to pedestrians. The municipality is hoping to make the city a nicer place by doing so. They will be closing down Abdullah Al-Salem Street which is the one next to Liberation Tower as well as Palestine Street which is near Safat Square and the old souk. Both streets will be opened up to pedestrians from the first of November.
Although I find it a bit strange they’re closing down those two streets specifically, I do hope this experiment becomes a success since I want them to do the same to Salem Mubarek Street. Now that’s a street that would make more sense open only to pedestrians. Here is the link to the article [Link]
Thanks Ads2Blog
Update: Looks like it’s not the main Abdullah Al-Salem Street but the smaller branch of it on the opposite side of Safat Square (pictured above). It seems they’re closing the streets in and around the old souk which makes a lot more sense. I’ve highlighted in red on the map below what I understood are the streets they’re closing.
Thanks Barrak
Q8Car, my favorite car site now have an iPhone app. I tried it out and although I found the graphics a bit clunky I found the app fast and practical.
On a basic level you could use the app to simply browse for cars. They have a good car search feature similar to their website where you can browse for cars based on specific options like brand or color for example. Once you submit your criteria get a list of all the cars available in their database.
Now if you are a registered member on Q8Car you get additional features you can take advantage of. Using the app you access your inbox messages for one thing but more importantly, you can also upload a car you’re planning on selling as well as check up on your current listings.
The Q8Car iPhone app is available right now in the Apple store as a free download and you can get it from [Here]
I have a post from back in 2005 where I mention that shipping 4lbs with Aramex’s Shop & Ship would cost KD7. Today the same weight according to their online rates calculator would cost KD11 not including the KD2 customs tax. The total with the customs tax is KD13 which is nearly double what we used to pay back in 2005.
I miss the old Aramex. Back when I joined in 2001 it would literally take 2 days from the time the package shipped from the States for it to be in your hands here in Kuwait and they were much much cheaper.
I just got the following email from Aramex. I really hope they don’t mean from now on I need to pay ANOTHER KD1 on top of the KD1 I am already paying for packages that go to customs.
Hello,
This is the most recent update with regard to Kuwait Customs: As per Kuwait Customs Authority in their directive number 94, effective immediately, all shipments undergoing clearance (Tasfiya) now require a 1 KWD government stamp fee. This stamp fee is being imposed on all Express shipments including Shop and Ship packages pending customs release as of today.
We thank you for your understanding and look forward to your continued support. For more information on Kuwait Customs please contact us at [email protected]
Shop and Ship Team
Update: It’s confirmed, they will be taking KD2 on every package for customs clearance. KD1 which they were taking before and now another KD1 for customs clearance stamp. Now my question is what is the KD1 we were already paying for? I thought we were already paying KD1 for customs clearance.
Update2: The extra charge is in effect starting right away. How do I know? I just got an SMS saying that my package weighing 0.15lb (that’s 68 grams) is out for delivery and the charge including customs is KD5.150. That’s for a package weighing under 100 grams… talk about expensive!
In my previous post I mentioned how the Central Bank of Kuwait was originally designed by Arne Jacobsen. Well I managed to get more information on the Central Bank project in form of a PDF which you could download from [Here]
Update: Found some more pictures of the Central Bank, my favorites are below but you could see them all [Here]
Patrick over at Projekt Cyan posted about the Kuwait Central Bank today. Turns out the Central Bank was originally designed by Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen back in the early 70s, the guy who designed the very famous “egg chair“. The Kuwait Central Bank was actually his last project before he passed away. The picture above is how it originally looked when built.
Below is a picture of how it looks like today.
Finally this is how the new Central Bank is going to look like once completed.
You can read more about this on the Projekt Cyan website [Here]
First two photos via Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
The current Kuwait Airport (pictured above) was originally designed by the legendary Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The British architect and critic Stephen Gardiner wrote in 1985 that this is “the most beautiful airport in the world” because of its “breathtaking simplicity of color and shape.” It is “white sculptured space as cool as an ice-cube, as enormous as a vat intake of pure air, as light as a tent, as canvas hung from cables and sails.”
Below is how the airport looks like today.
Update: If you want to see more pictures of how the airport used to look click [Here]
Since the weather has cooled down now with nice breezy evenings, the Cinemagic rooftop movies are back again and this year they’re no longer charging KD1, the movies are all free! Below is their schedule for October:
Thursday, October 6th at 7:30pm
THE FALL
In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.
Saturday, October 8th at 7:30pm
THE ILLUSIONIST
A French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever.
Thursday, October 13th at 7:30pm
THE VISITOR
A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
Saturday, October 15th at 7:30pm
WINGS OF DESIRE
An angel tires of overseeing human activity and wishes to become human when he falls in love with a mortal.
Thursday, October 20th at 7:30pm
HUNGER
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Saturday, October 22nd at 7:30pm
LA HAINE
Abdel, a local hoodlum, is hospitalized after a riot, where a policeman lost his gun. His friend Vinz finds it and claims he will kill a cop if Abdel dies.
Thursday, October 27th at 7:30pm
BIG
When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight.
Saturday, October 29th at 7:30pm
THE SHINING
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
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]
Update: I just found out that they’ve removed the KD1 charge this year so I updated the post accordingly
That can’t be safe…
Thanks Khaled
