2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Yesterday Vodafone released the following press release:

Vodafone today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten of its markets around the globe. Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network.

Hopefully Zain will also sign an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in their markets which would include Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. I doubt Wataniya would get the rights to the iPhone since they are not located everywhere.

Varouj is an incredible Armenian restaurant located in a tight backstreet of Bourj Hammoud in Lebanon. The place is tiny on the inside with only 4 tables and the restaurant is run by a father and son, the son cooks while the father takes care of the guests. Anyone who’s watched the Seinfeld episode with the soup Nazi will feel right at home in Varouj because the father is Lebanon’s version of the soup Nazi.

What makes Varouj unique other than the really good food is the character of the father. We were five people having lunch and we were ordering the cold appetizers when the father decided we had enough appetizers and walked away. He wouldn’t let us order any more. Then when he felt it was time he came to us and asked us what hot dishes we wanted and while we were ordering he again told us that he thought we had enough and walked off. We wanted frogs for example but he refused telling us we already had enough dishes. Then later he even decided to cancel one of our other dishes. So we ordered frogs again and again but he kept telling us we didn’t need it. The table behind us called the father and told him they wanted some soujouk and makanek (kinds of sausages) and he told them not now later. Its crazy. He also wouldn’t remove a dish from the table unless it was wiped clean.

The food was delicious, we ordered: hommos, moutabal, fattoush, loubyeh, batata harra, labneh, tongue, spleen, kibeh neyeh, sheep balls, little birds, chicken liver, chicken wings, basterma, soujouk and makanek. All the dishes were the best I have ever tasted.

The way everything is priced is also interesting. Basically nothing is priced and there is no menu. You go in, you order what you want and in the end he will tell you how much you need to pay and you don’t even get a receipt. Our bill came out exactly 100$ but according to my friend if we had ordered less or more the bill would have still come out the same. If you are planning a trip to Lebanon this is a place you need to try if you want a taste of local cuisine. The best way to find the place is to ask a taxi driver in Bourj Hammoud to take you or give the father a call on 03-882933

I got the following in my email today:

The November Boutique is proudly announcing its first Charity Toy Drive! On the 9th of May (Friday) we will be accepting old* and new toys and books you may donate to benefit those families wishing to share toy joy with their children, who haven’t the fortune to afford such luxuries. This is our chance to share the joy and teach our children the value of sharing and the gift of giving!

There will be music at the event and all the children that contribute to the event will be given treats from The November Boutique.

We are looking forward to sharing this generous occasion with you.

GOD BLESS YOU

* please make sure all donated toys and books are in good condition.

11am – 6pm on Friday, 9th of May @ Karizma
for any questions please contact 7313310

I just wanted to congratulate Mahmood and Bahrain for ranking #8 on the sinful capitals of the world list. There was a lot of strong competition this year but they managed to do pretty well, even better than Dubai which didn’t even make the top 10 list surprisingly. The criteria to enter the sin cities list is pretty simple: The country needs to offer a strong presence of gambling, sex, drinking, drugs, and/or partying. For the full top 10 list click [Here]

Office Snapshots is a website the has snapshots of offices of famous companies like Digg, eBay, Flickr, Adobe etc.. The one above for example was taken from the Digg collection. Tons of offices to flip though all listed on the left hand side one you visit the site. [Link]

One of the most annoying things with the camera on my Nokia E61i is that I can’t turn off the shutter sound. With cCam I think I solved that issue. cCam is a image capture software that runs on Nokia’s and features not shutter sounds and no flash meaning you should be able to take pictures without anyone noticing. [Link]

A forum member called Kuwait posted about what looked like to him new speed cameras that were being installed on Beljaat Street. The new kind of cameras are overhead and there were three of them, each covering a car lane and each would be facing the rear of the cars as they passed by. He didn’t have time to take a picture so if anyone could take one and send it to me that would be great. Send the picture to [email protected]

To me they don’t sound like speed cameras, I mean why would they put one for every lane when currently they put one camera for all the lanes? But it does sound like some kind of license plate tracking system maybe?

Here is a link to the original post in the forum. [Link]

update: I didn’t notice this but Some Contrast actually posted about this today and has pictures. Turns out its not new cameras but a new traffic light system. More info on their blog. [Link]

A friend of mine sent me this picture by MMS. He found this store in Muthana Complex in Kuwait City.

Thanks Saleh!

In addition to the 3g iPhone, here is a short list of the upcoming phones I am looking forward to:

SE Xpreia X1:
After the release of the iPhone, Sony Ericsson have thrown out their usual styling and gone back to the drawing board with their Xperia X1. How different is this phone from its siblings? Considering that only thing SE about it is the logo, as the X1 is powered by Windows Mobile and manufactured by HTC; it should be a significant shift from previous phones. Which could result in a good thing for hardcore SE fans, as they are throwing in every imaginable concept (multiple panels and navigation) into a fairly cooling looking phone. Truth be told, I honestly have no idea what the phone is capable of (outside of dialing/sms), but it looks pretty cool doing it. And with a name like the Xperia X1, it better live up to the hype.

More info [here]

Google Phone (et al):
Now this isn’t really a phone as much as it is the brains behind it.. Late last year, Google launched Android, their open-source (anyone can tinker away) platform for telephones. Android is the basis for the OHA (Open Handset Alliance), which is also in collaboration with 30 mobile/technology companies (which will bring the Gphone to life).

What this means for the actual consumers? We are getting a phone powered by Google; in which any inspiring programmer can change/add/create applications for the public. In essence, you would be able to buy a compatible android phone, and put together your own phone system (or download one) .

One of the first phones rumored to be released is the HTC Omni/Dream..  And seeing how HTC made the Xperia X1 (above) for SE, it should be a very interesting first attempt at a Google Phone.

More info [here]

Nokia Liam (e71)
Saving the best for last, the Nokia e71 is the successor to the e61i; the best Nokia phone I have used since the days of the 6110/6310i. In addition to having the same reliability, extended battery life and qwerty keyboard of its predecessor, its also rumored to have GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, and 3.2 megapixel AF camera in addition to a faster processor in a slimmer case.

More info [here]

Posted by K.

These new sneakers from Nike to commorate the 2008 Olympics look very very comfortable. But at 130€, they aren’t cheap. [Link]

Who knew there were so many different kinds of ice cubes. The one pictured above is called the Orchid Ice and actually contains an orchid flower inside. When you get to the page just click “next” on the top to flip between the different ice cubes. [Link]

A 60 meter wide crater that is 20 meters deep and has been burning since the 1950’s. In some of the shots it really does look like a doorway to hell. Creepy. [Link]

This corner is just ridiculous! [YouTube]

A bunch of interesting and funny tree illustrations. [Link]

Cinemagic’s screening of The Kite Runner has been postponed till next week due to bad weather.