2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Compared to our flashy yellow plastic ones I think theirs look a lot nicer.

Architecture of Kuwait have a new article up and it’s about the Shaikh Mubarak Kiosk pictured above. The kiosk which had a lot of important and historical value was turned into a samosa shop back in the 60s with the top floor also rented out to a photographer. Now it’s been renovated and turned into a historical building that looks very similar to the original. You can read more on why this kiosk was important as well as see more pictures on the Architecture of Kuwait website [Here]

So I’m in Lebanon right now and I’ve kinda left my diet back in Kuwait. Yesterday for example I passed by a place in Tabarja (an area near Casino Du Liban) and had some amazing dessert at a place called Al-Antabli. If you’re a calorie counter this is NOT the place for you. Seriously. You have to come in with the understanding that everything you will eat is fattening like crazy. Personally I started off with Halawet El Jeben and followed it with a Ousmalieh. I downed everything with a large jug of jaleb and ended with a delicious scoop of Ashta ice-cream. Amazing stuff. Everything is pictured below in the order listed above.

Two weeks back Salwa al Mutairi proposed that Kuwaiti men should be allowed to have sex slaves and now she’s calling for a law that would also allow Kuwaiti women to buy good looking men from Muslim countries. According to the article on Arab Times “the men should have ‘slave qualities’ and should be ready for marriage”. The article continues with her saying “she is ready to get married to a young good looking European, even if he is poor.”

Personally I think she’s currently hooked on the tv series Spartacus and now wants her own slave as well. By “slave qualities” I’m also guessing she means they need to have the standard six-pack and ripped upper body that the slaves on Spartacus come with. That’s my theory at least. You can read the full article [Here]

A reader passed by Sulayyel Mall in Jahra this weekend for the D.U.B. modified cars event that was held there. He took a bunch of photos and uploaded them to his flickr account which you can check [Here]

Thanks Ahmed

I am not a huge fan of art unless it’s something really strange or different and I think this painting fits into that category easily. Kuwaiti artisit Nawaf Al-Hmeli has two oil paintings based on two Kuwaiti horrifying mythical creatures the Tantal and Hemarat Algayla. I honestly had never heard of these two creatures but this is what the artist says about them:

Hemarat Algayla (painting pictured above)
Half Woman/Half Donkey creature which hunts children and feeds on them “ONLY” at noon when the sun is blazing hot. It used to be the elders way of preventing children from wandering about at noon and keeping them safe so they’re not subject to neither heat strokes nor kidnapping.

Tantal
Tantal is a myth created by the elders in order to keep children from going out at night and ensuring their well-being. More like the Kuwaiti version of the Boogeyman if you like. The stories coincided with the disappearance of a young boy at that time who went out to sea at night and never came back. People immediately blamed it on Mr. Tantal here and the myth grew. 20 years later, this man comes along looking for his family and told everyone his story of how he was kidnapped and sold to a Persian man as a slave when he was a kid.

I really love the artist for bringing these two mythical creatures into focus since it allows me to share it with everyone. I’m not sure if there are any more myths but if there are would love to hear about them as well. I don’t have any information on the size of the paintings or if they are for sale but you can check out the artists deviantART page [Here], the Hmarat Algayla painting by clicking [Here] and Tantal by clicking [Here]

Thanks Safaa

The new Quiznos in Salmiya has finally opened up. The brand is no longer run by the same company that used to have the Baitak Tower branch, it’s now a completely new owner so hopefully the food will be closer to the American counterpart than the previous Quiznos was. They’re open in Salmiy right behind Olympia Mall on Salem Mubarek Street.

Remember back in May I posted about how Paris HIlton’s show My New BFF was being filmed in Dubai? Well the show ended a couple of days back and the contestant that won the competition is Kuwait’s very own Reem Al Alnezi (pictured above). She’s now Paris Hilton’s new best friend which I have no idea what that means. I guess they’ll go shopping together and partying together every time Paris comes to the Middle East? Not really sure… [Link]

Thanks Fatemah

I watched the movie Super 8 tonight here in Lebanon and all I can say is that it kicked ass. If you’re a fan of 70s/80s sci-fi/adventure movies then you’re going to love this. I thought it was a combination of three great classics, ET, The Goonies and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I loved it.

There was no nudity, kissing or anything of the sort so it should be censor free in Kuwait.

There is a new Mexican restaurant that’s opening up tomorrow (Friday) in Mahboula called Lita’s. It’s a small place that’s owned by Khaled Mulla who is half Kuwaiti and half Mexican. From what I understood he wants the local community to experience real authentic Mexican food which currently is lacking in Kuwait. They’ll be making their own flour tortillas on the spot and the Chef is a family member that is coming in from Mexico to run the place himself who’s been in the business for over 30 years. This along with the announcement of a Mexican Embassy opening up soon should be great news for the small (200+) Mexican community in Kuwait.

I’m currently in Lebanon for a few days so I won’t be able to pass by and try it but if you’re interested the place is in Mahboula, Block 1 off of street 210. Here is the [Map]

Thanks Edgar

Back in January I posted about how they dug up the middle sidewalk in the old Salmiya. They decreased the walking space and created new dirt space around the already planted trees to add more greenery. I was against the idea since first of all they shrunk the sidewalk and second of all I knew it wasn’t going to work. The new Salmiya near Sultan Center and Al Fanar has never had a green middle sidewalk and somehow my old Salmiya was going to? A lot of you were against me and said I was being pessimistic, well the picture above is how it looks like 6 months later… very green indeed. It’s always going to be just sand exactly like how it’s always been sand in the newer Salmiya so I hope everyone now understands why I preferred to have a full proper sidewalk instead of “greenery”.

Check out the picture above. Do you know what that is? I think it was back in the late 80s or very early 90s someone decided to build a public bathroom right in the middle of Salmiya. I think it was functional for a month and then got destroyed by vandals and became so dirty that no one was using it and it just got abandoned. That was like 20 years ago, today it’s nothing. It’s not a bathroom, there are no doors, no toilets, no sinks or anything. Just a place to store red cones or whatever garbage is lying around. Recently as you can see in the picture they dug up the area around it to replace the floor tiles with newer ones but they left this abandoned ugly block of cement right in the middle. Couldn’t they have just demolished it?

Another strange thing happened recently, someone realized how much garbage was filling up the streets of Salmiya and so came up with a brilliant solution. They decided to put bright yellow garbage bins all over Salmiya and at around 10 meters apart. Check the video above I shot today. I drove maybe 200 meters and I counted around 66 bright yellow garbage bins! And that only includes the middle sidewalk and some of the sidewalk on the left but completely ignoring the right sidewalk since it was in the video. It’s the most horrifying scene since all you can see on the street now are the garbage bins. Do we really need that many bins in the middle sidewalk? [YouTube]

I’ll say it again, I love Salmiya and I want to be put in charge of it or at the very least Salem Mubarek Street. I’ll seriously make it the most beautiful place in Kuwait. I’ve been requesting this since back in 2006, so what do I need to do to make this happen? I’ve watched enough episodes of Parks and Recreation to know what it takes. Salmiya is my Pawnee.

A video from his recent tour where he pokes fun out of Dubai and Lebanon. Some of it funny but some of it is just so so. [YouTube]

A friend and colleague of mine who’s attending the Cannes Lions right now tweeted some pictures of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa (Creator of The99) on stage presenting. I believe he’s the only Kuwaiti to ever take the stage at the Cannes Lions yet alone present.

The Cannes Lions is one of the largest and most prestigious advertising festivals in the world.

Marzouq over at Z District has just posted a full account on the current internet situation in Kuwait. It’s a pretty long post but a very informative one. You can read it [Here]

The Lebanese store Lama recently opened a new and much larger store near my house in Salmiya. They’re mostly known for importing and supplying the local supermarkets with Lebanon fruits, but if you visit their store you’ll also find other interesting food products. Most of the products don’t mean much to anyone except the Lebanese in the same way strangers to Kuwait won’t understand the obsession with Sunkist and KDD Gold for example. But, if you’re Lebanese you’ll be interested to know that Lama carries some of our favorites including Gandour products like Tarboush, Unica, Pik-One Safari, dry biscuits and more. They also carry BonJus, SMEDS, Picon, Lebanese bread from the Wooden Bakery as well as Taanayel dairy products.

If you’re interested in passing by they’re located in the street that’s parallel to Baghdad Street. Just take a right after Dodo and head down until you reach the main road, the store should be in front of you.

For other In Focus posts click [Here]