2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Goodbye Kindle, goodbye Nook and goodbye Sony Readers. [YouTube]

It’s available now in the App Store for $8.99 [Link]

A few weeks back a good friend of mine in Lebanon told me he wanted to start a Lebanese blog. I thought that was something I would be interested to be part of so I decided to work with him on it. First thing we had to do was come up with a name. We went through a few names and for awhile we were going with zouzou ebba (you’d get it only if you’re Lebanese) before finally settling on Blog Baladi.

There are a total of 5 writers on the blog (including me) with that list mostly likely to grow in the near future. The majority of the posts will be related to Lebanon in the same way 2:48AM is related to Kuwait. So if you’re in Lebanon or a Lebanese living outside of Lebanon, make sure you check out and bookmark Blog Baladi. [Link]

Canon Middle East are holding a photography competition titled “My City”. If you’re over 18 and live in one of the following countries you’re eligible to enter:

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia.

All you need to do is register and email them a picture you’ve taken of your city and you could win a new Canon DSLR camera and an all expenses paid trip to Dubai and Beirut. The competition already started from last month but there is still time to participate if you’re interested. For more details visit their website [Here]

Thanks SJM!

HSBC Kuwait launched their retail services in Kuwait making them the first international bank to launch retail in Kuwait. I just checked out their site and it seems for now they’ve just launched with their HSBC Premier account. So if you’ve got an extra $100,000 lying around you’re lucky because thats the amount you need to open up an HSBC Premier account. The rest of us will have to hold out until their other accounts become available. [Link]

Thanks Hamad!

I got these pictures by email today. Unlike the drift photos I posted two weeks ago, these pictures are really from 1985. The funny thing is, the cars in these old pictures look newer than the cars at the drift track two weeks ago.

Thanks Fahad!

And the award for the worst designed iPad case goes to [Link]

I found the snippet above pretty gross. Check out the rest [Here]

[YouTube]

I don’t know where in Kuwait this place is or who these guys are but I’d like to fire a round or two with them.

[YouTube]

The international sushi chain Benihana is going to be opening soon at the Avenues. I tried it once in Thailand and liked it a lot so I’m curious to see how it turns out here.

Someone in Kuwait is selling 4 white extremely rare white Asian cubs on Bayt.com. These are Asiatic Lions which are classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ (an estimated 350 left in the world) and classified under appendix 1 of CITES. (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Kuwait has been a fully signed-up member of CITES since 11th November 2002 therefore the local authorities have a legal obligation to act.

I hope someone reading this can contact the right people. I also don’t understand how bayt.com is allowing the sale of these endangered animals on their website. Hopefully they will collaborate with the authorities by helping them catch the guy. Here is a link to the sale ad [Link]

Thanks Andy

Nat was about to leave to the gym when she decided to take little dyski (the dog) for his walk. I sat down in front if the TV and loaded up The Rainmaker to watch. Five minutes later Geo (my other dog) starts barking and someone is banging crazily on my door. I run down and open the door to see my neighbor yelling the dog the dog and pointing towards the lift. I closed the door and ran to the lift and noticed the elevator door slightly open and the dog glued to the door.

I’ve scaringly visualized a scene like that before in my head and it was horrifying just thinking about it, but now, it was happening for real. Turns out Nat got into the elevator with the dog and then just as she was pressing close the dog ran out and the lift closed and started going down. She had a retractable leash (pictured above) which she let go of just as the door was closing. The leash handle got jammed between the doors and when the lift started going down it pulled the little dog which was outside the door. The leash handle was stuck in the lift near the top of the door and the dog was getting squashed outside still tied to the lift which was around a full floor below and trying to take the dog down with it. Then somehow the lift stopped.

Nat didn’t have her phone with her and the dog was screaming in pain and crying. She was yelling and banging on the lift door for help but no one was coming. She tried to open the door and push the leash out but she couldn’t do it, the door wouldn’t budge. Luckily a neighbor on my floor was going to use the lift when he heard the dog and noticed him getting squashed.

Thats when he decided to call me. I came running towards the dog in my socks and slipped and hit the floor hard. From the immense pressure on his chest the dog pissed on himself while he was getting squashed and I didn’t notice until I slipped. I got up quickly as a second neighbor arrived, they tried to pull the doors apart while I tried to squeeze my hand in between so I could try and pull the leash up or at least disconnect it from the dogs harness. I couldn’t do it. The leash wouldn’t budge and because it was pulled extremely tight I couldn’t even unhitch it from the harness. I quickly decided to try and cut the harness off the dog which wasn’t making a sound anymore and looked like it could barely breath. I ran back into the house and into the kitchen and came back with two sharp knives and a scissor. I tried to cut the harness but it was squeezing the dog so tightly I could barely shove the scissor between his body and the harness to cut it. At that point one of the neighbors went to get the building caretaker. Nat was still stuck in the lift below yelling wanting to know where the dog was and if it was still alive. It was just too crazy, the whole time I was concentrating on trying to cut the leash and thinking I wasn’t going to let this dog die like this. I managed to cut two straps from the leash but had one more which was extremely tight and I just couldn’t get the scissors in. I thought about sticking my hand through the lift door and try to cut the main line but the gap was too tiny and I barely managed to squeeze my hand through the first time and I wasn’t going to risk dropping the scissor which was the dogs only chance of getting freed. I don’t know how long all of this took, it felt like a few seconds but it must have been a few minutes. I just kept trying to cut the last strap off to free the dog when suddenly the leash loosened up, the door opened slightly and I managed to pull the dog towards me and unhitch the leash which fell down the elevator shaft. The lift came up and I could see Nat inside. With the help of the neighbors we pulled the door open. Nat ran out towards the dog which looked like it was in shock but other than that fine. The neighbors had gotten the building caretaker to force the lift up which ended up saving the dogs life.

What a horrifying experience, just really fucked up. We took the dog to the vet right away and they checked him and didn’t find anything wrong. This dog seriously has gone through hell this past 3 weeks. First he gets lost, then Animal Friends rescue him, a few days later there is the big fire at Animal Friends which he luckily survives, he gets adopted by us, he then get neutered and then a week later nearly gets squashed to death!

I’m sitting typing this post with one hand by the way. It seems when I first slipped and fell I landed on my wrist in the same place I had injured it a few years ago when I fell off my motorbike. I have a cast on and need to go back on Monday for another check up. I am very pissed since it means I can’t work out for at least 2-4 weeks. I sooo did not need this right now, I hate wearing casts and I NEED to go to the gym! Its depressing! On the bright side the dog is fine and although Nats a bit shaken up and traumatized by the whole thing shes doing ok. I am glad I’ve got some great neighbors, not sure what would have happened if they hadn’t spotted the dog and called for help. What a day…

Have a secret you want to share anonymously? I guess this is the website to do it. The site looks pretty and neat which is why I’m posting about it. Once it gets filled up with secrets it should turn into something more interesting. [Link]

The 3 Club are going to be organizing the first official triathlon in Kuwait this month dubbed The Flying Start Triathlon. The event will start off with a swim, followed by cycling and ending with a run.

Registration is free to 3 club members while none members will have to pay KD25 to participate. If you’re interested or want more details check out their website [Here]

The other day I posted a picture of two guys in front of the Kuwait Towers while under construction. Turns out they were taken from the Flickr account of KuwaitStar (Ali Al-Houli). He also had one more photo in his account which I’ve posted above. Both pictures are great and hopefully he has more he can scan in and share with us. Here is the link to [Flickr]

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait is sponsoring a blues concert that will be held at the Kuwait University on the 14th of April at 7:30PM. The U.S. Embassy is bringing over the Little Joe McLerran Quartet as part of their Gulf Tour. The event is open to the public and is free of charge. Tickets and seat reservations are not necessary. Here is some info about the bands tour of the region [Link] and here is a link to the flyer [Link]