Big Ramy who started training at Oxygen Gym back in 2010 has become the new Mr. Olympia 2020 Champion. It’s such an incredible feat, basically, the equivalent of winning Miss Universe or the UEFA Championship, but in the bodybuilding world. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was bodybuilding his goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, that meant becoming Mr. Olympia. He eventually won it 7 times.
A few years ago I posted about how Kuwait was the new bodybuilding mecca of the World and Big Ramy just proved this to be true.
I was just thinking a couple of days ago on different people who started in Kuwait and gained worldwide success, the two people that came into my mind were @pinot and @nouriflayhan since I know them, but Big Ramy is now another local success story.
This is super random which is why I find it fascinating. Someone from the roller coaster community (I guess a roller coaster geek?) posted on reddit asking for videos of a roller coaster that used to be in Shaab Park called the Spiral Coaster. Turns out it was an ultra rare roller coaster with only one ever made by Intamin Amusement Rides, a major player in the amusement park attractions industry and based out of Liechtenstein.
The Spiral Coaster was a pipeline coaster meaning the train rides between the tracks as opposed to a traditional roller coaster where the train rides above them. The Spiral Coaster concept was originally designed by the US company Arrow Dynamics and was featured in the National Geographics special on the company. You can actually see the prototype of the coaster in the video above (starts at 16:00). Arrow Dynamics couldn’t produce the roller coaster so Intamin took the concept from them and built it themselves.
Originally the roller coaster was called the Comet and was located inside a recreational complex in South Korea called Sky Plaza from 1996 to 1999. Sky Plaza eventually failed and the building demolished and Shaab Park acquired the roller coaster. Shaab Park renamed the roller coaster to Spiral Coaster and it was active in the park from 2000 to 2005.
Eventually, the ride was marked as SBNO from 2005 to 2017 which is amusement park lingo for standing but not operational. I actually found some pictures I had taken back in 2012 with the ride in the backdrop in poor condition. The area underneath the coaster was used as part of the MILSIM airsoft battleground.
If anyone here has any videos or photos of the ride, please let me know or share it. They’re rare and the roller coaster community would love it.
Kuwaisiana is a New Orleans-based band led by Kuwaiti singer-songwriter +Aziz. Kuwaisiana recently released a new music video called Bara7a which means sandlot. It’s a song about adolescence and dealing with bullies, and is the lead single off their upcoming EP, ‘Chapter 2’. Check it out the track above.
Back in July I posted that I was looking for a copy of the Iftah Ya Simsim vinyl soundtrack (اغاني من افتح يا سمسم), and this past weekend I finally managed to get one. I actually got a lead to a copy for sale back in July and since then been in an on and off discussion with the owner about buying it as well as the price. In the end, the transaction went down like some sort of drug deal and I ended up picking up two other difficult to find LP’s from the guy (شادي الخليج – السندباد and ٢٥ عامًا على الإستقلال).
There doesn’t seem to be much info about the Iftah Ya Simsim record, I know it was produced in 1979 but that’s about it. Supposedly only 100 prints were made and were given out to the staff of the show as a thank you but I haven’t been able to find any proof of that. I do know the record is really hard to come by and those who do have it don’t want to sell it. Because of the limited number of copies and the fact that the show was broadcasted around the GCC and so is very nostalgic, the demand for the record is really high. A couple of months back a friend of a friend sold his copy to a guy in Qatar for KD500. I paid half that for mine which is the average price for it for the condition my copy is in (6 or 7/10).
Even though the record is pretty expensive, it does hold its value due to the fact they’re very hard to come by. That’s why I was ok with spending so much money to aquire one because I figured if I ever got bored with it, I can just sell it to someone else. If anyone wants to get a closer look at the cover, I took some really high-resolution photos which you can check out below:
Since my Arabic Cartoons from the 80s list did so well I wanted to put together a thorough 80s English Cartoons list. The whole weekend whenever I remembered any cartoon I wrote it down but it still feels like I’ve missed some. But the search did remind me of two very important TV channels growing up. Before satellite TV we only had access to Kuwait TV channels (KTV1 – Arabic, and KTV2 – English) but sometimes when the weather was humid we would pick up Saudi Channel 2 (English) and Dubai Channel 33 (also English).
Anyway here are some of the most memorable cartoons I used to watch in the 80s, if I’ve missed out anything let me know.
There is a guy on YouTube called hero_ kw who has been compiling videos of Kuwait Police chases and releasing them as compilations. As of this post, he’s got 8 compilations uploaded that are a mixture of new and old footage stitched together. What I find interesting about the videos is that most of them are taken from inside the car of the getaway drivers. Most of the time when you watch police chases they’re from the perspective of the cops, so it’s interesting watching videos from the perspective of the getaway drivers. But, his compilations also include videos from the cops perspective as well as some traffic cam footage.
If you’re looking for a new series to watch this weekend, below is a list of some shows I just recently watched.
What We Do in the Shadows
Based on the 2014 movie with the same name, What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy that came out last year on Hulu. If you’re a fan of mockumentaries like The Office and Parks & Recreation then you’re going to love this show. What We Do in the Shadows follows the lives of three vampires who’ve lived together for over 100 years, on Staten Island, in New York. It’s the funniest and dumbest thing ever, I highly recommend it.
Tehran
I started watching this series with low expectations because my friend undersold it to me but it turned out to be really enjoyable to watch. I think I binge-watched the whole season over two or three days. The show focuses on the conflict between Israel and Iran with an interesting storyline involving Mossad agents living in Iran trying to infiltrate it from the inside. If you were a fan of Homeland then this is for you. Tehran is available on AppleTV+.
The Queen’s Gambit
You’ve probably heard about this show since everyone has been talking about it for the past couple of weeks. The Queen’s Gambit is a mini-series that recently came out on Netflix and is about a young orphan girl who discovers and masters the game of chess. I really liked the show but this one I think was actually overhyped. The way everyone has been talking about the show led me to believe it’s the best thing to come out this year but it’s not. It’s fun to watch, but it’s not the best thing ever.
Ted Lasso
This was another show I think was overhyped. Ted Lasso originally started as a character in a 2013 NBC Sports promo and now turned into a proper TV series. Ted Lasso is an American football coach who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England. Ted has never played soccer in his life, nor does he know the rules so it’s pretty funny watching him get to grips. But, that quickly wore off for me after a few episodes and honestly, the series trailer and the original NBC Sports promo show the funniest bits. Ted Lasso is available to watch on AppleTV+.
The all-new Xbox Series X officially launches today but I was lucky enough to get mine yesterday so I could play around with it and have a post ready for today. I purchased mine from Geekay on September 22nd when they launched the Xbox pre-orders. I was hoping to get a hold of a unit before the launch date by a few days but the Geekay shipment of Xbox’s only cleared customs yesterday afternoon and so only got to pick up mine after that.
Not sure about other local sellers but Geekay will be either delivering all the pre-orders today. They also contacted their customers and arranged a pickup timeslot for today if they didn’t want to wait for delivery. My brother for example is gonna have to wake up early today to pick up his Xbox at 9AM, so it was a lot of fun sending him photos yesterday of my Xbox.
There are a lot of unboxing videos and reviews on YouTube by much better gamers than me, but in this post I’ll go over some of the things regarding our Middle East edition.
Firstly, the Middle East version of the box is bilingual. The front side is the same as the US version but the rear of the box and all the fine print are in both Arabic and English
Once you open the box there isn’t a manual, but the getting started guide is bilingual
The console works with 220v so no need for a transformer
There is no power brick, just a regular cable from the Xbox to the wall plug (this is the best thing ever)
I have a US Xbox account and it works perfectly fine with the Middle East edition Xbox (well kinda)
I ran into a minor issue buying games from the Xbox store and I think it’s because I have a US Xbox account but a Kuwait-based Microsoft account? I pay the monthly Microsoft Office subscription fee using a Kuwait address but I have my location on my Xbox account set to US so maybe there is some sort of conflict
Because of the issue I had of purchasing games directly from inside the Xbox store I ended up using Amazon to buy the digital copy of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I used a Florida address so I didn’t pay any tax and got the game for the listed price of $59.99 and then installed it on my Xbox using the code Amazon sent me
On starting the console there was a 775MB update I had to install. This was downloaded and installed by the time I was done setting up the Xbox
On my Zain 5G, Valhalla took around 2 hours to download. It’s a 47GB file and was downloading on average at speeds of 45Mbps with the occasional jump to around 65Mbps and drop to 35Mbps. The game was ready to start halfway through the download but because I installed it before the launch date I couldn’t play it
I only installed two games on my Xbox for now, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Killer Instinct. Quick resume worked perfectly when flip-flopping between the two games
The packaging and overall design of the Series X is minimal and smart, I personally love it. I think the new PS5 is ugly (sorry Sony fanboys) while this is a lot less flashy and it fit into my TV cabinet perfectly
The controller feels great, there is a new texture on the backside which gives it a much better grip when held
The official price of the Xbox Series X in Kuwait is KD167 while the smaller Series S costs KD104
If anyone has any questions, let me know and I’ll try to answer it in the comments.
I know it feels weird talking about Kuwait Airways and plane interiors when most of us aren’t planning to travel any time soon (or at least until the 2-week quarantine on arrival rule is removed) but, around a week ago, Kuwait Airways took delivery of the world’s first Airbus A330-800.
This is a brand new plane built from scratch for Kuwait Airways and can accommodate 235 passengers, 203 in Economy Class, and 32 in Business Class. The interior is as current as you can get and the Kuwait Airways Business Class finally looks competitive. Check out the interior yourself in the video above.
It’s been 5 years since I last posted about Big D, probably the most controversial musician I’ve posted about on the blog. For some reason, he used to get a lot of negative comments to the point he had to release a music video in which he responded to some of the hate. Love him or hate him though I like the fact he’s still going and “Open Your Eyes” is his latest track so check it out.
• Pioneer and leader in hybrid electric technology, Toyota has crossed the symbolic milestone of 15 million hybrid vehicles sold since the 1997 launch of the iconic Prius, the first full hybrid mass-produced car
• Toyota’s hybrid electric technology has reduced CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes worldwide
In January 2020, Toyota passed the milestone of more than 15 million hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) sales worldwide since the Prius was first launched in 1997.
Toyota’s decision to develop hybrid electric vehicles started over 25 years ago when Takeshi Uchiyamada led a team to develop a car for the 21st century, one which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful pollutants. The first-generation Prius was launched in 1997 around the time of the Kyoto Protocol signing, which gave new momentum to the environmental movement.
Today, 15 million hybrid sales later, Toyota has made a significant contribution to the environment as its hybrid electric technology has reduced CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes worldwide to date compared to sales of equivalent petrol vehicles. The company’s original vision has allowed Toyota to be the leader in meeting increasingly stringent emissions regulations around the world.
Across this period, Toyota has seen demand for its hybrid electric vehicles soar as the company has combined this innovative technology with emotional design enabled by the roll-out of its TNGA global platforms. Beyond the current 4th generation hybrid system, Toyota is continuing to refine its hybrid technology to achieve even lower emissions and ever-better fuel efficiency. Today, hybrid electric vehicles are affordable, accessible and convenient for customers in the Middle East.
Hybrid naturally leads to BEV and FCEV
While Toyota believes that HEVs are an essential part of the future overall mix of electrified vehicles, two decades of electrification experience also feed into the company’s multi-powertrain strategy. The company provides and will continue to provide various types of electrified vehicles to reduce emissions based on regulations, market infrastructure and ultimately customer demand. Toyota does not see a one ‘winner takes all’ scenario but a future where the different electrified technologies, including hybrids and plug-ins (PHEV), fuel cell (FCEV) and battery electric (BEV) vehicles, all play a part.
As a result of its long hybrid electric vehicle experience, the company has deep transferable expertise in the core electrification technologies which are common across all form of electrified powertrains, putting them in pole position for an electrified future. Over two decades of continuous development of electric motors, batteries and power control units has taught Toyota how to manage and reuse energy efficiently, providing a range of electrified options for customers through HEVs, PHEVs, BEVs and FCEVs.
In Kuwait since launching the Prius HEV model in February 2016, Mohamed Naser Al Sayer & Sons has launched 6 popular Toyota HEV models including the recently launched Toyota C-HR Cross-over and Highlander SUV.
Tareq Almulaifi is a Kuwaiti singer/songwriter who officially launched his new band Cobra Club this past summer with the 80s inspired track “Razor“. They had also previously released the single called Ghost and this past weekend they finally launched the music video for it. You can check out the video above or listen to the track on Spotify. Some really good stuff.
The General Dept of Traffic instagram account @traffic_kw should really be turned into a series of some sort like the show COPS. They’re very active and constantly posting videos of cars usually racing or drifting and then pictures of the cars impounded. In some of their videos, they’ve even had footage from inside the cop cars chasing people and it’s all pretty entertaining to watch.
Local musician and artist Zahed Sultan has a new music video out that is a cover of the old school Bandaly Family song, “Do you love me?“. Here is what Zahed had to say about the track:
Recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown in London, ‘Layl’ is a reimagination of a famous Lebanese disco song from the 70’s by the Bendaly Family ‘Do You Love Me.’ In this song, I reframe the original version as a contemporary cinematic piece; placing it in a more melancholic and sombre space. With spiraling vocals, deep synths, and rich violin textures, I give greater meaning to the song by expanding on its themes of love and loss; particularly fitting in light of the tragic explosion in Beirut and the crippling of its creative community.
I found a personal connection in ‘Layl’ through the original version’s music video which was shot in Kuwait on the Waterfront, a project designed by my late father Ghazi Sultan. The release of ‘Layl’ marks a new path for me as I dedicate myself to rethinking Arab culture through music and multimedia performance.
It’s getting harder to find shows to watch since I’ve basically watched everything on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon video but thankfully, there are still new shows coming out all the time. Here are some recent ones I’ve watched:
Cobra Kai
If you’re an 80s kid you’re going to love this. Cobra Kai is a TV series that is a sequel to the original movie starring both Ralph Macchio (karate kid) and William Zabka (the kid he fought). It’s a series that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is pretty funny at times especially how they keep making the karate kid look like a bully in the original film and Zabka the victim. This series recently became available on Netflix but has been out for two years (it was a YouTube Original) and so there are two seasons to watch.
Euphoria
I had been putting this series off for some time because I thought it was going to be very teenagery but wow, what an incredible series. I think this might be one of my favorite shows I’ve watched this year. The story, the art direction, the music, the cast, everything about it is just so amazing. Euphoria follows around a bunch of young high school girls who are all friends showing us their different stories. It’s dark, it’s shocking, it’s controversial and it’s really entertaining. If like me you’re a fan of Sex and the City and the series Girls, then you’re going to love this. Euphoria does to Girls what Girls did to Sex and the City. I highly recommend this show, I binge-watched it over a weekend and it’s definitely a must-watch. Euphoria is on HBO.
Raised by Wolves
I just finished watching this series last night and I have mixed feelings about it. The show started off great and interesting, but then past the halfway point, I started losing interest. I was then hoping things would turnaround towards the end of the season but it just didn’t do it for me. I know a lot of people loved it and it scored pretty high on IMDB so I don’t know, maybe its because one of the main characters played by Travis Fimmel (Ragnar from Vikings) started getting on my nerves the same way he started pissing me off in Vikings, or it could be because I wanted the show tp head one direction (more adventure) but it took another (more philosophical?). If you’ve run out of things to watch then I’d watch this, it’s also on HBO.
