2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Ok so maybe it’s not such a slow day after all. I just found out a few minutes ago that the UK giant supermarket chain Tesco is coming to Kuwait. Can you figure out who’s bringing them? If you guessed Alshaya then you’re right! No location or launch date set or at least my source isn’t aware of them as of now. Will post more information when I find out. Last time I posted about Tesco was back in 2007. I was in London and got to experience their self checkout machines which I thought were pretty cool. You could read about my experience [Here]

Alaa Hegazi – The Human Epic
Egyptian artist Alaa captures the truest moments of humanity, utilizing watercolors to create vibrant monochrome portraits.
Location: Tilal Gallery
Date: April 11th till the 19th
Time: 10:00am to 2:00pm and 5:30pm to 9:30pm
They close on Friday and Saturday it’s by appointment only.

Enzo Manara – Genesis: Informal Universe
Architectural forms, pure vivid colors and curves make an intensive mix that expand in the universe composed of multiple worlds. Each piece is a study, towards an abstract reflection about the Cosmo creation, the primary substances aggregation and the origin of `sensu vitae`.
Location: Kuwait Museum of Modern Art
Date: April 12th till the 22nd

For more information visit our friends at ArtKuwait [Here]

Since it’s a slow day, here is a video of the projection over the Al-Fanar mall main entrance. Looks pretty nice. [YouTube]

A reader emailed me the flyer above, I’m guessing Alshaya sent it out to their employees. I am also guessing the first Alshaya store is the Mothercare branch next to my house in old Salmiya. I remember when they opened up all those stores in my street, Mothercare, BHS, The Body Shop, Oasis, Next, River Island and whatever else I might have missed. It made the street pretty cool and they’re all actually still open here except I think Oasis which became H&M.

I know a lot of people don’t like Alshaya but I grew up with them on my street so I’m a big fan and I love how they’re bringing over American chains now (example Shake Shack). It’s sad though that their 2000th store had to be one that opened up in Dubai and not here in Kuwait. I guess it’s not something you plan… or at least I hope it wasn’t planned that way.

Thanks Joe

I like posting strange and out of the ordinary stuff and I think this falls into that category. Abdulaziz Al-juraib is a 19 year old Kuwaiti special effects make-up artist who’s currently still studying in university. I took a look at some of the stuff he’s done and I have to say he’s not that bad. Keep in mind we don’t have any schools for this here nor do we have proper facilities or shops to purchase special effects products from. If anyone is doing a short movie that requires a bloody and gory scene then he’s probably the guy you should contact. Check out some of his work on his facebook page [Here]

Faisal Al-Salem is a Kuwaiti who lived in Japan for 10 years and is the lead singer for UNITED, one of the biggest thrash metal bands in Japan. He goes by the name Kenshin over there and the video above is for one of their songs. [YouTube]

You can find out a bit more on Faisal Al-Salem (Kenshin) by checking out an interview with him [Here]
If you would like to visit the bands website as well here is the [Link]

In case you missed it here are posts on a Kuwaiti country music singer and here is one on two Kuwaiti rappers.

via 248pm

Thanks Kasia

Phaidon Press (the best publisher in the world, period) uploaded a video to YouTube where the legendary photo-journalist and photographer Steve McCurry shares the amazing story behind the famous picture of the camels in front of the burning oil wells. [YouTube]

People, if you’re going to hold a party don’t put a flyer up in a public place. A reader shot the flyer above and posted on his flickr account and the 248AM Forum. The flyer says:

Gentlemen Club is open on this Saturday. Our club team is organizing an exclusive party for our NON-ARAB friends. This is a special even you should not miss.

Date: 09-Apr-2011
Time: 10:00pm – 3:00am
Venue:
Salmiya, Block 2
Abdullah Bin Masoud Street
Building # 3
Party room
(Keep Salmiya Holiday Inn main entrance and Electrozan electronic store to your right. Come until you see DukKan store which will be on your left. Building # 3 is left side building attached to DukKan).

Entrance: Male – 5 KD (Westerners only) / Female – Free

Here is a link to the flyer on [Flickr]

A reader emailed me yesterday telling me that they had installed strange new devices on the Ghazali Bridge (RD 60) and today another reader emailed me pictures of the actual devices. They don’t look like speed detectors to me, does anyone know what they do?

Thanks Babar

Update: This most probably is a non-intrusive detector that records vehicle count and then wirelessly transmits the data. [Link]

This has to be one of the coolest gadgets I’ve purchased in a while. I was looking for a camera I could set up in my apartment back in Lebanon so I could monitor my place while I’m here. Originally I had a budget of around $200 and started my search on Amazon. Within a few minutes I found out about the Foscam pictured above which had some pretty good features. The camera connects to your home network over Ethernet or WiFi, pans horizontally 300 degrees and tilts vertically 120 degrees, it has IR-LED for night vision, two way audio, remote viewing via a web browser and most importantly… it cost only $99! There must have been a catch but after reading the reviews I couldn’t find anything wrong with it and I placed an order for one.

The camera wasn’t that difficult to set up, I just plugged it into my network via Ethernet and ran an application that came with the camera that showed me what IP address the camera was using. I double clicked the IP address, it launched the browser and that was it. I could then watch a live video feed or change the settings. First thing I did was create a username and password and then set up the camera to work via my WiFi network. It was flawless.

Another cool thing is the fact there are a bunch of iPhone apps that work with the camera, I downloaded one called Foscam Surveillance which costs $4.99 and allows me to control and view the camera from my iPhone from anywhere in the world. It’s amazing and even the night vision mode works perfectly. It turns on and off automatically depending on the light in the room but you can also turn it on and off manually.

I’m going to purchase a few more of these cameras so I can place them all around my apartment in Lebanon and even in the garden. It can be used as a security camera and has the option to automatically take snapshots when it detects any movement and then email the shots to you. The night vision mode works at a distance of up to 8 meters which is also very cool.

If you’re interested in this camera it’s available for around KD27 on Amazon. Here is the [Link]

I was at Geant in 360 Mall and noticed they’re now carrying the brand Dyson. Dyson make some of the most beautifully designed products and I’ve always wondered why no one had brought them to Kuwait. I didn’t spot many products, just two actually but hopefully they will be getting more. I spotted the Dyson 10″ Desk Fan (pictured above) and it was selling for KD93 (costs KD82 on Amazon). I also saw the Dyson DC19 Vacuum Cleaner (pictured below) and it was selling for KD114.

As I mentioned the other day, if the Shake Shack beef patties aren’t as good as the patties used back in the US then we will end up with just a fake Shack. But I just found out via Buz Fairy that Shake Shack will be using the same beef they use in the US. Buz Fairy is currently in Dubai and while there she got to meet and speak to Shake Shack’s culinary manager Mark Rosati and he told her they were getting the beef from Creekstone Farms which is the same source from which LaFrieda (their US supplier) get’s their meat from. Now because its the same source but a different supplier I don’t think it’s going to be 100% the same but I doubt it would be different enough for me to be able to tell the difference.

Luckily Shake Shack Kuwait isn’t even close to opening yet so I won’t have a problem sticking to my diet.

Update: Here’s Buz Fairys review [Link]

Local movie maker Abdulrahman Alaskar emailed me saying he just found out his short movie titled TOKAI just got banned by the Ministry of Information from being screened at the Kuwait International Film Retreat that’s being held tomorrow. They haven’t given him any reason but if you search YouTube for “tokai kuwait” you can find and watch the movie (it’s in two parts). Once you watch the movie you can kind of develop your own theory on what their reasons for banning it might be. I would have embedded the videos or links in this post but I got worried if I did that then the MOI might ban my blog as well. Here is the synopsis for the movie:

TOKAI (street cleaner) is a short documentary that offers a glimpse into the lives of thousands of street cleaners who sweep the streets of oil rich Kuwait. In a country of abundance and wealth, these men earn menial salaries, as low as $50 a month and eventually regress into the forgotten inhabitants of the Middle East.

It’s a sensitive topic that’s for sure but do you think it merits a ban? I hope it all turns out to be just a misunderstanding.

Update: The Kuwait Film Retreat will still screen all banned films at the Hilton Hotel in Mangaf on Friday during the day. The Kuwait Film Retreat supports Kuwaiti filmmakers and will keep supporting them no matter what obstacles arise.

I thought this was a joke but it seems to be real. [Link]

Thanks Satish