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“Hollywood & Vines” is the first film directed via Twitter and shot entirely on Vine. For four days, people around the world worked with the director to share in the creation of a single story about travel, adventure and finding your place in the world. This is the result of that global experiment, featuring 100 Viners from everywhere from Kansas to Kuwait.

Kuwait was represented by the super talented Pinot. [Vimeo]

Elysium was one of the movies I was looking forward to watching this summer and it turned out to be a disappointment. Not sure how it scored a 7/10 on IMDB, maybe I just don’t like Matt Damon. The trailer made the movie look really interesting and the story line of two different worlds where people live, a space station for the rich while regular folks lived on a decaying planet earth sounded epic but we just didn’t get to see enough of these two worlds in my opinion.

With movies like this I like to see and explore the worlds, I know a lot of people didn’t like Waterworld, The Postman or even the recent Oblivion but what I liked about those movies was they felt epic because of the amount of exploration we as viewers got to experience. I would have loved to have seen more of the space station in Elysium, how it worked, where they got their food from, maybe a history of how it was built etc.. and same with earth, it’s dying and it’s over populated, what are they doing about water, food, are there still any animals, did we over fish, did we poison all the waters? etc… It’s these kind of questions that I wanted answers to and I never got.

It’s a fast paced movie so you won’t get bored watching it, just don’t expect it to be very deep.

The chart above was put together by Saudi journalist Ahmed Al Omran showing the percentage of foreign workers in different GCC countries. Kuwait falls in 3rd place after UAE and Qatar and that’s really not bad. If anything Kuwait should open up more to expats since based on the chart above you can see that the countries with the highest amount of expats are the most developed while the countries with the least are further behind. [source]

I previously posted that Linda who hosts the morning show on 99.7 had left Kuwait permanently but I got word from a friend who works at 99.7 that Linda will be coming back soon. Not sure if this is good or bad news for people who listen to the morning show, I know no one liked her when she was on but I also know that people prefer her over the new replacements. For now I’m filing this under gossip & rumors.

Ever since Vincent Chase got a silver Quattroporte on the TV series Entourage I’ve been obsessed with the car which is why when the Maserati dealership asked me if I was interested in reviewing the new Quattroporte I was like duck yes!

The review car I picked up was silver just like the one on the show except I had the all new sixth-generation Quattroporte (2013 model). The new Quattroporte looks different on both the outside and inside in addition to having a more powerful engine. The car I picked up was the top of the line model with a V8 530hp engine so I was pretty thrilled once I hit the highway.

I’ve driven a lot of fast cars but I’ve never driven one so quiet. The car is scary quiet and I use the word scary here because you could be driving insanely fast without even realizing. I’m not going to mention what speed I found myself at when I casually looked down at the speedometer while driving on an empty stretch, but lets just say after that incident I turned on the cars speed warning to alert me once I hit 120km/h.

It’s such a smooth and quiet ride that it’s easy to forget you’re really driving a sports car. The interior is super pimped out (tastefully of course) with leather everywhere including all over the dashboard and real suede covering the roof. The car I drove had the optional 15-speaker, 1280-watt Bowers & Wilkins sound system which I could stream my music to over bluetooth. The car has a large touch screen interface with navigation, climate control, music and the car settings all easily accessible. There are loads of compartments to store your stuff in with the two most useful located around the gear shift. In the rear you also have your own set of controls in case you’re being driven around with a driver but still want to be able to control various aspects of comfort.

The car looks fast and slick from the outside even though it’s a 4-door. The rear is probably my least favorite part of the car since I preferred the triangular shaped lights of the previous generation which looked more distinct. I took the car to my favorite spot to take photos but when I pulled out my camera it turned out I had left my memory stick at home. It was the second day with the car and I don’t think I could have kept it for another day so I ended up taking all my photos with my iPhone.

I thought I looked pretty ballin’ driving around in the Quattroporte with the music blasting high and my friends with me in the car. It’s not just an old persons car which is why it was most likely it was chosen as Vincent’s car on Entourage. Price-wise, the V8 version I drove starts at around KD39,000 with the V6 version costing a bit less. If you’re interested in test driving the car yourself you can pass by the Maserati dealer in Al-Rai (Al-Zayani) and check it out there.

Here is a link to the Quattroporte on the Maserati website [Link]

So last week, Mark got accused of defamation and I just so happened to be working on a case regarding defamation at the office which is why I decided to write about it in this post.

What is defamation?
Defamation is an umbrella where all these other acts fall under: libel, calumny, vilification, slander and traducement (lawyers and their complicated words). Basically what defamation means is the coommunication of false statements that harms an individual/company/product/doggy/sect/book/religion/object etc

I know what you guys are most likely thinking, how can someone be accused of defamation for something written online? Most of you have most likely heard someone say there are no internet crimes in Kuwait. Well, that’s not true. Yes, technically there is no law dedicated to what happens online and there is no law that states anything about what anyone does virtually except for the new commercial law that has one article stating that board members can join board members meetings virtually (which I thought was awesome). But, just because there are no laws that regulate anything that takes place online it does not mean you can not get punished in Kuwait for defamation. So lets look at the law:

Article 209
“Any person who attributes to another, in a public place or within the earshot or sight of a person other that the victim, an event which hurts his reputation, shall be punished by incarceration for a period not exceeding 2 years and a fine not exceeding two thousand Rupees or either of both penalties”

Okay I know the article is not clear, and there was a lot of debate when I was back in law school whether this article can be implemented on someone that is defamed virtually. Thanks to the ministry, they’ve stated that it does apply. Here is a link to a statement by the MOI [Link]. There is even a case where Article 209 was used against tweeps.

There is also a department for cyber-crime in the MOI that falls under the General Department of Criminal Investigation.

So what does all the above mean? Do we or do we not have freedom of speech in Kuwait? Are we not allowed to state our opinions? Well we do have freedom of speech by the constitution and to some extent, we enjoy that in newspapers and on twitter. You can state your opinion but you need to state facts and you have to have good intentions and not harm anyones reputation or be rude.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Note: There is another article for defamation in newspapers under law no.3 for 2006 and other crimes can happen online.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]

The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.

Joe’s Cafe is opening up at The Prestige in Avenues right next to Joseph on the mezzanine floor. I generally don’t care about cafe’s much but this place looks extremely cool.

I was taking a back road towards Rihab Complex when I spotted a group of old buildings with what looked like a garden growing wildly in between them so I decided to pass by and check the place out. There didn’t turn out to be a wild garden just a few trees but the buildings were super old and interesting since it seemed like they used to raise pigeons there since I found cages everywhere. If you’re interested in visiting there are four of these building next to each other, I only visited one of them. Here is their location on [Google Maps]

If you’ve been to The Prestige section of Avenues you’ve most likely noticed the large boxes near the entrance. Every time I pass by the area the boxes would be in different positions with a “Do not move” paper stuck to them. It was driving me crazy trying to figure out what they were for. My best guess was that there was some kind of event that was taking place at The Prestige after hours but turns out the real reason wasn’t as exciting. I found a security guard today standing near a box and asked him what they were for he told me they’re currently replacing the marble near the entrance and the boxes are placed over the sections they don’t want people to walk on. That’s it.

After posting about the Jamaican restaurant last week a friend suggest we should try an Ethiopian restaurant so I found out about one located in Hawalli called Al-Habesha. The place is located behind Bin Khaldoun street and right next to a bunch of other Ethiopian shops.

We walked into the restaurant and were greeted by a friendly lady who told us we could sit anywhere we wanted. There were a few tables occupied by other diners and the place filled up even more when we were leaving later on. They had Ethiopian TV playing music on the television and the place was decorated with bright red, yellow and green stripes. They didn’t have a menu but my friend from previous experience abroad kinda knew what we should get. The waitress asked us if wanted rice or Injera (their flatbread) and we said we wanted flatbread. She then asked us if we wanted vegetarian, meat or chicken. We went for one vegetarian and one meat. For the meat she recommended the tibs which she said we would like so we went for it.

The food arrived awhile later and it looked really good. The food was served on a large tray which was covered completely with their flatbread. The food was then placed on top of the bread in various spots. At one end of the tray was the meat dish which came in a small bowl with hot coals underneath to keep it warm. The reason I wanted to try Ethiopian food was because the flatbread is basically the plate and you eat your way through it which is an interesting idea. I also liked the fact that the dish is meant to be shared. Looking around the restaurant it was groups of two sitting and sharing a dish and I loved that.

Our dish was fantastic and unexpectedly good. The taste of the various stews (called wats) kinda reminded me of Indian food while the meat although not very tender was full of flavor. When we were done with our dishes we ordered Ethiopian tea which is regular tea mixed with cinnamon and a bunch of other spices. Finally we asked for the bill which turned out to be just KD5.5 for the meat and vegetarian dish plus two bottles of water and two cups of tea. I really loved the experience and would recommend the place but again, this is a hole in the wall joint so don’t expect much in terms of appearance. Finding Al-Habesha is easy, if you’re on Bin Khaldoun street in Hawalli, keep McDonalds on your left and drive straight until you see Subway on your left. The restaurant is located on the street behind Subway and Zawya Complex.

Back in April I bought the Bang & Olufsen A9 sound system for my apartment. The A9 had looked so beautiful in the store but when it came time to take photos of it for my blog I just couldn’t make it look good which is why I ended up using stock photos from their website instead. I realized I couldn’t make it look good because my apartment looked horrible. Around the same time I was invited by the team at West Elm in Avenues to pass by and check out their store. I had only passed by the store from outside before and had gotten the impression it was an expensive brand so never really went in. But on that day I got shown around the place and I just fell in love with everything since their furniture had a very New York loft feel. Then I found out their prices were slightly more expensive than IKEA but less than THE One and it hit me, I needed a makeover. My apartment was looking outdated and I needed a fresh start anyway with my recent divorce and all so I asked them if they’d be interested in doing a makeover and they liked the idea. Last week I finally had everything done.

My apartment is a beautiful duplex located in one of my favorite places in Kuwait, the old Salmiya shopping street. The apartment has very nice space and a lot of potential but wasn’t getting any TLC. When I first moved in I was broke and couldn’t afford to furnish it properly and then later when I did have money I was spending it all on my apartment in Lebanon. Not only that but the walls had the most horrible colors that somehow seemed like a good idea years ago. The first thing I did when West Elm came over to check my place out was let them know what my issues were with the current setup and what I was expecting from the makeover. For example my living space had enough seating for around 5 people so when my friends were coming over I wouldn’t have enough space for everyone and the space I already had was very focused around the TV. I couldn’t have big lunches or dinners at my place either since my dinning room table fit only 4 people. I hated the lights in my apartment, I hated my kitchen which was an ugly purple and my living space was a bright magenta (it was a phase I went through so don’t judge me) which I honestly couldn’t stand anymore. I didn’t want a TV in my new space because I thought having a TV would be anti social plus I already had a TV room upstairs. I wanted the space to be very social and one that could hold a lot of people. Usually when people come over the groups are divided between the kitchen and the living space so I wanted people sitting in the living space to be facing the kitchen so they’re more connected. Finally I needed to have my iMac downstairs because I do most of my work on my iMac and I didn’t want to take any work with me upstairs. Based on those criteria’s we sat down and decided what we were going to do.

The first thing we decided on obviously was to change the color of the walls. They recommended I go with a dark grey which I was hesitant to at first but now I’m so glad I did. I also ended up ordering really beautiful Orla Kiely wallpaper to add a bit of color to the walls. I’ve loved Orla Kiely’s stem patterns for a very long time and figured it would give a slightly retro feel to the space which it did. I’ve also always loved baby blue walls and thought it would match perfectly with my KitchenAid Mixer so I had my kitchen painted a baby blue. I actually ended up repainting my whole apartment including my bedroom and my TV room since after I saw what a big difference it made to my space downstairs I wanted to change everything.

On my first visit to the West Elm store the first thing that caught my eye was an incredible bookcase/sculpture they had on display. I right away asked them about it and they told me it wasn’t for sale and that it was actually built by one of their talented employees out of wood recycled from their crates. It was love at first sight and I knew I had to have it. So after nagging them about it they finally told me I could take it. This was going to be the centerpiece to my living space. It was just insane looking, it wasn’t perfect, it had flaws and it was all over the place but that’s who I was and that’s why I needed this.

For the couch we decided to go with the Tillary 8-piece Sectional. It was comfortable, cozy and it would fit perfectly in my space while holding a lot of people. It came in a bunch of colors but I wanted grey which I thought was very bachelor pad’ish and worked well with the wallpaper and the black glossy floor. For the dinning room table we went with the Parker Dining Table. I liked it because it was minimal while still looking slightly retro like my wallpaper and it was also expandable so it could hold 6 people when closed and 8 when open. To give the table a funky touch we chose the John Vogel designed chairs and got matching barstool versions to use with my kitchen bar. Finally the accessories and lights, they had a ton to choose from and other than the lights I let them decide on the accessories for me and damn what a difference the accessories make. The rugs and the random accessories on my tables all around the apartment just give the place such a warm and cozy feel.

I can’t believe how my place looks so different after the makeover. I still need to buy my dinnerware and a few more accessories from them but the overall look is done. The difference is night and day and I now love spending time chilling on my couch listening to music while browsing on my iPad or hanging out with friends. Friends are also loving the fact that I don’t have a TV in the space since without it all the attention goes on socializing. To think all this started because of my Bang & Olufsen A9. I just wanted it to look good at home and I ended up getting a whole makeover done around it. Now my A9 looks like it was made for the space and the bookcase looks like it was built around it. If you’re interested in checking them out, West Elm is located in Avenues Phase III near Harvey Nichols and opposite Life with Cacao. Here is a link to their [Facebook Page]

Photos of the bookcase and accessories were taken by the super talented @tammyque

Those of you who’ve been following my blog for awhile will remember the story about the old photographer in Kuwait City. If you don’t this old post of mine has links to all the previous posts on him [Link]

On my way to the original Kuwait Bookshop last night I decided to pass by and see if the old photographer was still there. I tried passing by a few times over the years but the store was always closed when I did. Last night he was there. I walked into the store and said hello, right away he made me sit down in the one chair in the store while he stood next t ome. The store was a mess with papers, photos and boxes lying around everywhere. The store was no longer functioning, he wasn’t developing photos or doing photocopies, or selling anything for that matter. He asked me who I was, I wasn’t expecting him to remember me since he’s 92 years old and he as expected he didn’t. I asked him what had happened to his collection of old cameras and he told me they were stolen awhile back. He then proceeded to tell me about how he was robbed of KD15 as well. I was having difficulty trying to understand what he was saying since he was kind of all over the place. While sitting in the chair I noticed some old black and white photos of a fire in the city taken back in what could be the 60s. He had previously told me he had sold all his photos but I guess there must be some random ones lying around the place.

I couldn’t stay long and had to leave but I asked him if he needed anything and he told me if I knew of someone decent who could come and clean up the store for him. Someone who wouldn’t steal from him. I told him I’d get it sorted and come by next week.

I figured I could go to the store with some volunteers and just tidy the place up and throw out the garbage. I wouldn’t want someone else to do it since they might end up throwing out his old photos which I think should be preserved. Now I’m not good at organizing cleanups, I’ve never actually organized anything before (I think) but if anyone wants to come and help me clean up and tidy his store next Sunday or Tuesday evening then [Email Me]

On a side note I have no idea what else can be done to help him out. He clearly needs someone to take care of him and he has no one…

The Ecoxbt is an interesting little speaker since it’s completely waterproof. While I use my Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 on the shore, once I get into the water the Ecoxbt takes over. It’s a small lightweight speaker that not only is waterproof but also floats on the water. I’ve been using it now for three weeks and it’s really made chilling in the sea more entertaining.

The first time I took the Ecoxbt to the beach I literally threw it as far as I could into the sea. I didn’t have a specific reason other than the fact I could do it knowing the speaker would still be ok. The Ecoxbt pumps out just 6 watts of sound which isn’t much but surprisingly it’s more than enough when you’re out in the water. It’s a bluetooth speaker and I use my iPhone with a waterproof case to stream music onto it. When I’m home I have the speaker setup in my shower and I could stream music to it from my iPhone which would be charging in the adjacent room. So give or take around 10 meters apart. Out at sea though the distance drastically drops. Water kills the signal so if you have your phone in your back pocket under the water the bluetooth signal won’t get to the speaker.

Another downside is the Ecoxbt floats away if you leave it floating in the water. If you want to just leave it in the water like that then its best to do it in the pool where there are no waves. What me and my friends have been using the Ecoxbt mostly for is listening to music while relaxing and tanning in the shallow waters near the shore. I just dig the speaker into the ground and then dig my iPhone into the sand right next to it and they’ll both stay there until I take them out. These are small speakers so don’t expect any kind of thumping bass but they more than do the job. The rechargeable battery also lasts a ridiculous 15 hours so we’ve never run out of juice.

I’ve really been enjoying this speaker and it now has a permanent spot in my beach bag right next to my Beolit 12. The Ecoxbt costs KD42 and is available to purchase online from [Blink] and [uBuy].

Yesterday I passed by a small Jamaican restaurant that’s run by a Jamaican woman living in Kuwait. I only found out about the place last week from the owner of Caribbean Hut but turns out Taste of Jamaica has been around for awhile now. This is another hole in the wall place that had around four small tables inside an a few outside. The interior was decorated with Jamaican ornaments like flags and photos of Bob Marley while the radio was pumping out some Jamaican tunes. I think everyone who was working at the place was Jamaican although I should have asked just to be sure.

I never had Jamaican food before but one of my friends had before moving to Kuwait so we put him in charge of ordering and we ended up with the following dishes:

Caribbean Shrimp KD3.5
Jerk Chicken KD3.5
Braised Oxtails KD3.5
Curry Goat KD3.5
Spinach Rice KD0.800
Rice & Peas KD0.800
Baked Potato KD0.800

We had also ordered sides of Stir Fried Okras, Jamaican Patty, Corn Bread and Mac & Cheese but we were told they were out of them.

Once the food arrived my first impression was that the presentation of the dishes weren’t as good as Caribbean Hut. The dinnerware were regular looking and the food was just filled onto the plates like you would at home. The food on the other hand tasted a lot better than it looked. I’m not a fan of chicken on bone but my friend who had the Jerk Chicken thought it was pretty good. The caribbean Shrimp was good, nothing special but the Braised Oxtails and the Curry Goat were the two dishes with lots of flavor. Between the two, Curry Goat was my favorite but the oxtails was super tender as well. They both had new exciting flavors I hadn’t tasted before which is what I was hoping to experience by visiting this place.

On the negative side I thought the prices were a bit high especially when compared to Caribbean Hut which I thought was a super good deal. But other than that I found the place interesting and worth passing by just for the experience especially if you’re bored of your regular routine and are looking for something new to try out.

Taste of Jamaica is located in Mangaf, Block 4, Street 19 and Building #1. Their phone number is 67086852 and they’re open from 5AM to 11PM.

No idea what the building used to be but I found the door open and just walked in. It’s located in the parking lot behind Jashanmal in Kuwait City. Like all old Kuwaiti buildings there’s lot of nice open space inside and someone really should take the building over and renovate it.