Search: “ace”

Does anyone know of a person or a place that sells old arcade machines in Kuwait? I knew a guy who had old arcade machines for sale but his number isn’t working anymore…

I was showing my partner at work the blog uncrate.com when we got to the post on the Obelisk chairs (pictured above and right below). I was telling him about how cool the design was when he told me his cousin has them in her store. So during our lunch break we both headed to his cousins store called Home House which is located adjacent to the Amiri Hospital on the Gulf Road.

Right as we walked into the store which was actually an old Kuwaiti house we spotted the Obelisk right in front of us. It was exactly like the one we saw on uncrate except we didn’t expect it to be this big. We were given a tour of the place and it turns out they have some really really nice stuff. I really don’t know where to start since I literally fell in love with their brands.

I guess I will start with my favorite brand they carry which is Vange. They have some of the most beautiful industrial designs. Just flipping through their website now while writing this is giving me goose bumps. Most of the Vange stuff is by order but they had the K-Baby, the K-Bench and the MAUI console on display. I loved the K-Bench and the MAUI series of shelving is just so hot!

After the Vange we were shown some stuff by Gandia Blasco. Their stuff are mostly for patios, chalets and beaches, they reminded me a lot of the stuff I see on CSI: Miami. Their style is the very modern outdoor furniture which comes all in white, very straight edged with white drapes and they are very very sexy stuff.

Finally we were shown some lighting systems by Tobias Grau. It was another brand I hadn’t heard of before but again they have some really really slick looking lamps. So minimal and so cleanly designed. If Apple were to make lamps this is how they would come out.

I am probably going to go back there and see how much the MAUI console and the K-Bench cost since I would love to have them in my place. I didn’t ask their prices while I was there for some reason so I don’t know how much they cost. The Obelisk costs around KD1,600 which although isn’t cheap, its still cheaper then in the US where they sell for $8,500.

If you want to pass by the place its very easy to find. If you take the right after the Amiri hospital you will find that the first house on the left is called Bait Al Cedra. They are located right inside Bait Al Cedra. Its right next to the Karizma gallery. You can call them on 253 0358 in case you get lost or visit their website www.homehouse.be

Here are the websites to the brands:
Vange
Gandia Blasco
Tobias Grau

update: I made a mistake. The store is called Home House not Bait Al Cedra. Bait Al Cedra is the name of the old house where Home House is located. I just edited the post above to reflect this.

Sumayyah Meehan wrote the following article on online shopping for a local magazine but since the article advertises websites that don’t have ad accounts with the magazine, the story wasn’t published. Since its a good article I asked her if I could publish it here and she was fine with it. Here it is:

‘Cyber Shopping in Kuwait’

As anyone who has tried to order merchandise from online ‘cyber stores’ knows it can be a harrowing experience. It can be a total waste of time in that you surf for a couple of hours tracking down that gorgeous shirt or that must have DVD only to find out that they don’t ship to Kuwait. Or else you find someone who does ship to Kuwait and when your package arrives it is either not what you expected or damaged. No more. Just because you want to buy something online does not mean that you have to cross into another country’s cyber ‘border’ to get it. There are plenty of digital pioneers right here in Kuwait and they are armed with the most cutting edge and interactive online stores around. Are you ready to take shopping in Kuwait to a higher level? Get out your charge card, or even your Knet card, and get ready to do some delectable damage at some of these cyber stores based in Kuwait:

Click N Buy – It takes a team of 9 people to keep up with the orders at Kuwait’s online IT store ‘Click N Buy’ (www.clicknbuy.com.kw). According to Manager Rajesh Chander Singh, “Having an online business is easier in terms of running, but it requires a lot of work in the backend.” Click N Buy is almost exclusively an IT company. They sell different brands of desktop computers, laptops, printers, scanners, iPods and accessories. They have additional items that are not IT based which include contact lenses, mobile phones and water purifier systems. “We have been open for a year and are still a new company,” offers Singh, “we sell exclusively to people living in Kuwait and average about 10,000 hits a month.” In an attempt to keep customers interested Click N Buy plans to offer several more items in the future such as watches, perfumes and handbags. They also plan to extend their ‘cyber-dom’ to include other GCC States. In addition to the cyber store they are taking on a new venture which is a website that will help users create their own sleek website in 10 minutes flat! So, keep an eye out for www.w3monster.com. Click N Buy accepts major credit cards as well as Knet. And they boast the lowest prices for IT products and services anywhere in Kuwait. Delivery is free for orders with a minimum balance of 10KD. And you can expect to receive your purchase within 24 hours of ordering! They also accept trade-ins for old laptops and offer IT rentals. And as if it could get any better there is even a discussion forum for customers!

Banana Republic opened up Friday evening and Kuwait-Style has a post about the place with some pictures. Check it out. [Link]

I hadn’t been to the Avenues for awhile so this is just an update for people haven’t been there recently also.

Carrefour is now open. I was expecting to find stuff there that wasn’t available at Sultan Center but surprisingly they either had the same stuff or less. The cornflakes section for example is a joke at Carrefour filled mostly with their Carrefour branded cornflakes. Their fish section was larger and their bakery seems better but didn’t get a chance to try it. The coolest thing about Carrefour is their electronics section. They have a ton of stuff and its all good brands like Sony, Samsung etc.. plus they have a ton of accessories and gadgets. Problem is you can find the stuff cheaper elsewhere.

Gap is now open. I was never a fan of Gap so I can’t say much about it. Kuwaiti Cosmopolitan has a detailed post on Gap so you can check that out. [Link]

GoSport is now open. The place is huge, much larger then I was expecting it to be. They have a lot of sports gear all laid out very nicely. I think its my favorite sports store at the moment not that they had strong competition.

Other notable mentions: Lucky Brand Jeans opened up. Ben Sherman is opening soon. Banana Republic still closed. I was supposed to have lunch at the Noodles place upstairs but there was an hour and a half waiting list. Parking wasn’t a problem at 2PM on Friday.

The Forum on this blog has a “For Sale” section where users place items they want to sell and other users in the forum can bid on them. There have been a lot of good deals in the forum recently for example, a nearly new Xbox 360 with 13 games, extra pads, and even an extra hard drive got sold for KD200, I personally purchased an excellent condition Apple G4 iBook for KD90, and just a while ago someone sold their 1 month old 4GB iPod nano for just KD30.

If you haven’t checked out the forum yet you should. Its a great place to meet people and there are a ton of things for sale there. Here is the link. [Forum]

Since I canceled my Showtime subscription I no longer watch TV, not even the free satellite channels. I don’t have a reason to since I download all my TV shows and movies. But, there are times when I do wish I have satellite TV, for example there are currently important events taking place in Lebanon from the bombings in the residential areas to the battles in the north and because I don’t have satellite TV I can’t watch what was happening…

Until now! I was playing around with CNN Pipeline when I noticed one of their feeds was a direct broadcast of LBC, the Lebanese TV station. I clicked on the link and it turns out because of the events taking place in Lebanon, CNN have given viewers an option to view a Lebanese TV station for latest up to date news. So I decided to sign up to CNN Pipeline for only $2.95 a month and I am currently watching a live feed of the latest bombing in Lebanon. Pretty nifty.

[Link]

I am looking for any kind of info, videos or pictures on the Kuwait City Breakers. If you have any please contact me using the contact form [Here]

The KCB were a break dancing group in the 80’s who used to go and break dance at places like Shaab Park and Entertainment City.

The Portuguese national soccer team (with all their stars) will be playing the local Salmiya Club on the 5th of June here in Kuwait. Ticket prices cost KD30, KD20, KD10, and KD5. There are also places reserved just for families and those ticket prices range between KD10 and KD30.

For more information you can check out the event website:
https://www.alsalmiyaclub.com/portugal/

Thanks Armani_Exchange

Since I arrived to Lebanon I have been asking around for a place where I could rent a scooter from but everyone keeps telling me no such place exits. I figured since I don’t have a car here I could rent a scooter and use it as my primary means of transportation but it seems it might be easier to just buy a used one for like $200. I have a friend though who knows someone who works at an impound lot and he told me they have a lot of scooters there and he might be able to hook me up with one. Hopefully that works out.

The Windows Gaming Championship should have started on May 10th (yesterday) but the custom PC’s the organizers had ordered were not cleared by the Kuwait customs. The event has now been postponed till May 17th and 18th. Here is a message from the organizer:

Dear All, Please accept our sincere apologies but due to a technical problem, we haveto postpone the Windows Gaming Championship Kuwait event until next week. The event will take place on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th May, on the ground floor of Sharq Market Mall, near Zara and Next from 1pm – 10pm on both days.

With many thanks and best regards,
Louise Hickman

For more information visit the official tournament website. [Link]
Here is the website of the Gulf Gamers. [Link]

Thanks Yousef

I just came back from Boubouffe which is my favorite shawerma place here in Lebanon and anywhere else in the world for that matter. With over 30 years experience, Boubouffe simply make the best chicken shawermas I have ever tasted. The price of each shawerma sandwich is KD1 which I guess would make it also one of the most expensive? Maybe, although I hear the shawermas in London aren’t cheap at all.

For some reason when I am in Lebanon I have a very bad habit of lying to taxi drivers. I think its because I feel sorry for them or because I don’t want to seem like a tourist in my own country but whatever the reason is, I always lie to them.

I always make it look like I work in Lebanon for one thing. When I get asked what I do for a living I am honest and tell them advertising but then I complain about how there isn’t much work in Lebanon and how I am considering leaving and that I have offers from Qatar and Kuwait. When they ask me if I know how to drive I say yes of course, how many Lebanese do you know that don’t? Then I either say that (a) I had an accident back in October and totaled the car so until I could afford to fix it I take cabs, or (b) I live with my brother so he drops me off where I want so I don’t see a reason to buy a car.

Cab drivers don’t make a lot of money in Lebanon and the expression on their faces and in their eyes just saddens me. I like giving them big tips, I actually leave big tips to a lot of people here in Lebanon since its like everyone has financial difficulties…

I got the following email from Cinemagic:

Dear All,

You are invited to attend “Short & Sweet”, Cinemagic’s weekly screening event. The events will take place at the Cinemagic Courtyard in Bait Lothan, Salmiya, on Wednesday 9th of May, and will run between 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

This week we will be screening “Children of Heaven“, a 1997 Iranian film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998.

It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes, while also touching upon the more serious subject of the political situation in Iran as well as class differences between the rich and the poor and daily urban life.

In 1998, the film was the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost to the Italian film Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.

It was successfully shown on numerous film festivals and won awards at the Fajr Film Festival, the World Film Festival, the Newport International Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival, and the Singapore International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Jury’s Grand Prize at the American Film Institute’s festival.

For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of filmmaking.

As always, attendance is free of charge and you are encouraged to invite guests. Seating is limited, so make sure you come a little early. Snacks and refreshments will be served.

Yazan Al Ghazzawi
PR & Marketing Manager
Kuwait Cinemagic

Tel: (+965) 574 3253
Cell: (+965) 722 2416

www.cinemagics.com