2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

An extremely funny campaign, here are 3 parts. It has English subtitles.
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Here is a free activity for the people who were asking. This Thursday the movie The Age of Stupid will be screening at the British Council in Mansouriya from 6 to 8PM. Admission is free but you must book your seats in advance before tomorrow (Tuesday). If you’re interested send an email to [email protected] to book your seat.

Thanks Yara

A friend of mine told me they opened up a small ice skating rink in Marina Mall opposite Baskin Robbins in the food court. It didn’t make sense so I passed by Marina Mall earlier to check it out and to my astonishment there was a mini ice skating rink. There were three kids ice skating and I noticed a small stand on the side which rents out the skates. The place was very cold and the ice looked like ice but when I asked the employee there if it was indeed ice he told me it wasn’t. The floor was a wax like material that resembled ice and worked like ice. Didn’t know there was such a thing.

Sidekick Academy have a self defense program for women called Be-Safe. Nat was telling me there weren’t any activities for women and this is one of the first activities I thought of as a response. It’s indoor and it sounds like something fun and educational. Their lessons are twice a week and are a mixture of striking, Jiu-Jitsu and self defense. They’ve got a newly opened 1000m2 training facility right behind Tilal Complex and their prices are very reasonable. It’s KD45 per month and their lessons are every Sunday and Tuesday Monday and Wednesday from 5 to 6pm. The classes are for women only.

I first found out about Sidekick Academy when they brought UFC legend Royce Gracie to Kuwait for a 3 day seminar. There’s and amazing team behind Sidekick Academy that are trying to do something really great here in Kuwait. Visit their website for more information on all their programs. [Link]

I decided am going to create a new category on the blog called “Activities” or “Things to do”. I was discussing with Nat the other day about the activities available in Kuwait and we were going through the comments left on the blog and she brought up the point that there are more male activities than female activities and that most of the cool activities are outdoor and so pretty useless during the hot summer days. I don’t think that’s true and this is why I want to start gathering activities and start posting them on the blog. I already have a lot of activities in mind but please if you know of an activity that you think I might not be aware of please leave a comment below or [Email Me]

A reader sent me the picture above which he took at Dubai Festival City. Looks like Wendy’s and Arby’s opened up there and hopefully we’re next.

Thanks xeonali

Update: A reader passed by and tried them out. Turns out they opened up yesterday the 9th of May but the official opening will be on the 11th. Both Wendy’s and Arby’s are the same restaurant with one combined menu which is pretty strange. Below are some pictures he took. (thanks mohammed)

[YouTube]

I hate it when people say there isn’t much to do in Kuwait because from my experience there are a ton of cool activities here. One new activity I found out about is Milsim. This has to be one of the coolest things to do in Kuwait and its now going to be something I will do as often as I can.

Milsim is a military simulation that has a lot of strategy and some very cool realistic weapons. Unlike paintball which uses paint pellets, Milsim uses powder pellets. Also unlike the paintball here in Kuwait where you run around hiding behind inflatable balloons, Milsim uses real life locations for their games. I got invited to participate in a game today and I’m now in love with Milsim. Todays location was an abandoned prison in Doha near Entertainment City. They have different locations for different sized groups for example when there are 40 guys they like going and play at an abandoned residential compound that’s around 3 blocks large. Since we were 16 guys they decided on the prison location due to its close combat nature. Judging by the video above it seems they also have a very cool abandoned farm they use.

[YouTube]

First thing they do is split everyone into teams, todays mission involved the Marines and Delta Force vs the Taliban’s. I was placed in the Taliban team. We were then briefed on the mission which was the following… Marine One crashed and it was carrying the President of the United States. The Marines were with the president and the game starts off at their crash site. They have 15 minutes to defend their zone and protect the president before the Delta team reinforcement arrives. After an hour into play they would receive a radio call with the location of the landing in which they then have 30 minutes to get to that point and evacuate. As Talibans, our aim was to capture their president or capture a box that contained nuclear keys, if we captured any of the two we would win. Everyone was limited to just 4 magazines and each contained 20 rounds. There are no refills and although the weapons can fire at full auto its highly discouraged because you will run out of ammo very quickly. We also all had 3 lives, if you get shot (anywhere) you have to put your hands over your head and walk to the medical zone where you have to remain for 10 minutes before you go back and join your team.

How was it? A lot of fun that’s for sure and very exhausting. My team ended up losing, not sure how since we had a ex Austrian military guy, a local special forces guy and the Milsim owner, while the opposing team were made up mostly of newbies like me. We even had flares and smoke grenades! Oh well it was still a lot of fun and its something as I said I’m going to do a lot more of.

I took some pictures which you can check out below. The first video on top is a video they created to show the kind of weapons and gameplay style. Unlike paintball their games aren’t only about shooting but its about accomplishing missions and involves strategy. The second video above is one I shot today when me and some guys were getting briefed on how to use the weapons. This is seriously one very cool activity, and they say there isn’t anything to do in Kuwait…

If you’re interested to participate in Milsim its KD10 per person. That includes the weapon, gun magazines, vests, helmet, goggles, water and pelets. I think its actually pretty cheap for what you get. They cater to groups, individuals and even for corporate outings. For contact information you can visit their website at www.milsimkuwait.com.

The Kuwait Blogs iPhone app update is now available in the app store. I’ve added three new blogs, Kuwait Exposed, Q8 Black Market and Up Till One. On the other hand I had to remove the Some Contrast blog. Their feed was crashing the app randomly and although I didn’t mind that I was getting a lot of complaints by email and I was forced to remove it. They should be back in the next update once I figure out how to fix their feed. [App Store]

There is an article on CNN about Kuwait and obesity in which they’re blaming obesity on fast food joints and the fact that there is little to do in Kuwait but eat. I personally would have to disagree with that idea since blaming fast food joints and the lack of activities is the easy thing to do.

Fast food joints are everywhere in every country and the only way they play a role in obesity is if you go and eat there. Its people who make the decision to go with fast food when other healthier choices are available. If I can quit junk food ANYONE can quit junk food. I also disagree with the lack of activities part since other than clubbing and pubbing there are a ton of activities to do. Now if it was 1994 then yeah I might agree with that but today there are way more things to do then back then (we only had ice skating!).

Eat healthier people and keep reading Fahad’s post. Here is a link to the CNN article [Link]

Getting an international driving license in Kuwait has to be one of the easiest things to do. It’s a very simple 15 minute process. There is more than one place in Kuwait to get this done but I went to an office that was located in Kuwait City, in the same building as Centro Electronics on the first floor. It’s on the corner right behind Souk Al Kabeer and the office is called Gulf Automobile Association.

All you need is a photocopy of your current Kuwaiti driving license (back and front), your civil ID copy (back and front), your passport copy (photo+name page). You also need two photos (3×6 size) and KD10. The international driving license costs KD8 and they charge you KD2 as a service fee.

Once you pass by the GAA office you give them the papers, they fill out a form and then ask you to wait a few minutes for them to type it up. Ten minutes later you leave with an international driving license. Pretty sweet. They’re open from 8:30AM to 1PM and then from 4:30PM to 8PM. For directions on how to get there, here is the [Map]

This is a comedy I can’t wait to watch.

Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.

[YouTube]

Not bad at all, they were entertaining enough that I watched the full 10 minutes. Would be pretty cool if there was a local dance off against other fast food joints like Burger King, KFC, Hardees etc.. although I think the McDonalds employees would win easily. [YouTube]

After being kidnapped by terrorists, clothing designer Tony Starch builds a high-tech weapon of steel and steam. Realizing his calling as a superhero, he sets out to rid an unsuspecting world of crime and villainy.

Could have been funnier but they put a lot of effort into it. [YouTube]

Here is the calendar for Cinemagic’s rooftop movie nights for May. This month they’ve got movies from the Cannes Festival. Check out the full list below:

Thursday, May 6 at 07:00 PM
Ali Zaoua, Morocco 2000
Director: Nabil Ayoush
Genre: Drama | 99 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Saturday, May 8 at 07:00 PM
Vozvrashchenie, Russia 2003
Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev
Genre: Drama | 105 min | English Subtitle
Rated: 15+

Thursday, May 13 at 07:00 PM
“Winner for Best Director, Cannes 2008”
Three Monkeys, Turkey 2008
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Genre: Drama | 109 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 15

Saturday, May 15 at 07:00 PM
“Winner of Golden Palm 2009”
The White Ribbon, Sweden 2009
Director: Michael Haneke
Genre: Drama | 144 min | English Subtitle
Rated: R 18

Thursday, May 20 at 07:00 PM
“Un certain Nominee 2009”
Precious, USA 2009
Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Drama | 109 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 15

Saturday, May 22nd at 07:00 PM
“Golden Palm Nominee 2008”
Promise Me This, Serbia 2008
Director: Emir Kusturica
Genre: Comedy | 127 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Thursday, May 27 at 07:00 PM
“Opening Ceremony, Cannes 2001”
LOTR: The Fellowship of the ring, USA 2001
Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: Fantasy | 178 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Friday, May 28 at 07:00 PM
LOTR: The Two Towers, USA 2003
Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: Fantasy | 179 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Saturday, May 29 at 07:00 PM
LOTR: The Returm Of The King, USA 2004
Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: Fantasy | 201 min | English Subtitle
Rated: PG 13

Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. There is a KD1 charge for the venue fees which includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their facebook group [Link]

I posted last week about this Crest competition that’s currently taking place and how all of us together could help a random girl who never had a chance to win this competition actually win it. All that needed to be done was for everyone to visit a link and click on a button and that’s it. No signing up or registering your email or anything like that, just one click and your vote would go through. The response was terrible since the girl has only 800 votes. Not enough to come in first.

So take 5 seconds, click on the link at the end of this post and then click on the button “Like” under the girls picture. You can vote for her on a daily basis even. Together we can make her dream come true (do you have tears running down yet?) Here is the [Link]