Yesterday they started barricading and fencing up Jleeb and Mahboula as part of an area lockdown in hopes of preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. Nobody will be allowed to leave those areas without permission.
Both those areas contain a lot of unskilled workers and you could notice the effect of this lockdown pretty much right away. The gas station I frequent the most on the Gulf Road had only one worker this morning. Even the mini Sultan Center Express at that station was closed. When I asked the only employee working there about this, he told me it was because the rest of the employees were stuck in Jleeb.
Should be interesting how this will play out and if it will eventually be implemented in other areas.
Along with hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial wipes, one of the hardest things to find right now is gym equipment. Everyone is stuck at home and looking for ways to stay fit so most sports shops are sold out on items like dumbells and yoga mats. But, even larger more expensive gym equipment is impossible to come by nowadays. When the lockdown happened I started considering different options to staying fit, I even considered the possibility of shipping a Peloton bike all the way from the States but in the end, I decided to get a rower since they burn the most amount of calories compared to other gym equipment.
Before the whole Corona thing hit my gym had gotten new equipment and so wanted to sell a few of their beautiful looking WaterRowers (similar to the one on House of Cards) to make more room. Nobody was interested in them and they were just sitting there gathering dust. When the lockdown happened I got in touch with my gym thinking I was clever to have remembered the rowers, to my surprise I was too late. Other gym members had got in touch first and they ended up selling all of them. I then decided I wanted to get a Concept2 rower since they’re considered to be the best rowers you can get (you’ve probably used one at your gym). They’re pretty expensive costing anywhere between KD400-470 in the local market but I figured it would be a good long term investment since they last a lifetime. But, I couldn’t find any for sale. All the local suppliers had not only completely sold out their Concept2 inventory, but some had even sold all the rowers they had coming on their way still to Kuwait. To add to the issue, Concept2 shut down their factory in the States because of the pandemic so they’re not producing any more rowers for the time being making it even hard to find anywhere in the world. They even had to post the notice below on top of their website because of the number of inquiries they were getting:
4/3/20: We are currently out of stock of all Model Ds, all Model Es, the Dynamic RowErg, BikeErgs, SkiErgs and the SkiErg Floor Stand due to high demand and temporary production stoppage to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus. US and Canadian customers can fill out the wait list form so we can keep you informed as we get more information in this rapidly changing situation. If you need to speak to us, please contact us during regular business hours (M–F, 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. EDT) or email [email protected]. We are doing our best to respond to after-hours inquiries within 1–2 business days. Thank you for your patience.
Luckily through a friend, I ended up finding a gym that had one lying around not being used that they wanted to get rid of. I ended up getting it and it’s now sitting right next to my TV so I can Netflix and row.
One cool thing I’ve noticed recently is some gyms now are renting out their equipment since they’re not being used. One of those gyms is Gym37, they posted on their story yesterday they had equipment for rent which is pretty smart. This is a good alternative to buying and in some cases could be your only option. You can contact them on 90911733 to enquire. Another gym that’s also renting equipment is The Burrow. They are renting out spinning bikes and rowers and their prices are as follows:
Over the weekend Kuwait kicked off a sanitization campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Trucks were going up and down the streets spraying disinfectants on the roads but I’ve got two questions which hopefully a reader might explain to me:
First question, why are roads being disinfected? I tried to find an answer online but can’t seem to find any solid answer to why it’s effective, I’ve found articles explaining why it’s useless but nothing that supports it. It’s not just Kuwait doing it, other countries are also sanitizing the roads like China and the UAE. In Dubai, they’re even using drones to do it although that might just be a PR stunt. So if anyone has a theory or an article on this please share it in the comments. I’m genuinely curious.
My second question is, why are they using ice cream truck music? You can hear it in the video above. It’s kinda funny because whenever I heard the music yesterday I ran to my window. It reminded me when I used to spend my summers in the States as a kid because I’d run to the window whenever I heard the ice cream truck music as well.
Interestingly, the baladiya are on my street today cleaning up the area around the garbage bins. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while then you know I’ve had lots of drama with the baladiya and the garbage on my street. This is the cleanest I’ve seen the bins area and I think it’s part of this sanitization campaign which is great!
There is a book I’ve been wanting to post about since September, but I held myself back since I wanted to at least get a copy of the book for myself before I tell everyone about it. The book is called “Aftermath” and was originally published back in 1992 in French under the name “Fait” (which means fact) and a year later published in English. The book is by the French photographer Sophie Ristelhueber who came to Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War to document the traces of conflict. Her series of photographs were then published in her book as well as being exhibited in galleries and museums around the world include the TATE Modern Museum. In the short video below by TATE, Sophie discusses her photographs, her journey to Kuwait and why she captured what she captured.
SOPHIE RISTELHUEBER (French, b. 1949) traveled to Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War to record the physical traces of the conflict. Entitled Fait or Fact, the resulting series of photographs—aerial and ground-level, in color and black-and-white—depicts trenches and tank tracks, bomb craters, dense smoke rising from blazing oil wells, battle detritus scattered in the sand. Ristelhueber hangs the large prints in an expansive grid that at first reads as a beautiful abstract field, then reveals itself to be a reconstitution of the battlefield on the gallery wall. –MoMA
The book isn’t that difficult to come by if you’re willing to throw money at it. Right now there are three copies on AbeBooks but with prices ranging from KD150 to KD230, you might find them for slightly cheaper at around KD130 if you look around the web. Personally, I didn’t want to pay so much since I tend to buy a lot of old books and trust me, it adds up. So I waited and waited for the right copy until a few weeks ago a bookseller in Germany put an original French version up for sale for around KD90. I guess due to the current situation I was able to negotiate the price and bring it down to a much more reasonable KD50.
Unlike other books and photographers of the 1990 war, there is something beautiful in the way Sophie captures the scars. You really need to watch the video above to understand why she captured it the way she did but the end result is breathtaking.
The fact it’s the French version isn’t an issue since the book is filled with photos and just has one spread that actually has any text on it. If you have the chance to purchase it, I highly recommend you do. If you don’t want to spend so much for the original, there is a publisher called Errata that has published the book as part of their books on books series. It doesn’t come in the original form factor, but it does contain all the photos and is priced at just KD15. You can find more info on that here.
There are around 70 photos in total but if you’d like to see more then check out Sophie’s website here.
Update: Sorry video wasn’t embedded properly, just fixed it
I’ve been checking Kuwait’s official COVID 19 website daily to monitor the number of Coronavirus cases that get published daily and just a few moments ago they published that there were 0 new cases to report. It had already been on a decline for the past few days and I really hope we continue at this pace. Also:
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday commended Kuwait’s response to the novel coronavirus, especially in view of transparency and reporting.
Speaking to KUNA, Ghebreyesus also lauded Kuwait’s close coordination with the WHO over the fight against the virus, known as COVID-19, pointing out the role of the organization’s regional office in this regard.
He said the Kuwaiti government has a long experience in controlling respiratory malfunctions, citing its response to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) as a relevant unequivocal paradigm. Source
I really hope people don’t start thinking everything is OK now. I’ve noticed a lot more people out during the day and I’m worried this is gonna cause the number of cases to increase again or stricter rules being put in place. The local influencer Concept15 had a funny but serious bit on Snapchat the other day (video above) where he talks about how people are treating the situation like Ramadan, where you can do whatever you want before 5 and then after 5 you avoid Corona. We’re going to end up in a full 24-hour curfew at this rate. Stay at home people it’s not a vacation…
Update: They reupdated the website again and it now shows 13 new cases not 0 🙁
So yesterday was the first day of the curfew and it actually wasn’t bad at all. I live in a commercial area of Salmiya so it’s always busy with people out and about and cars always backed up on my street. It’s generally fairly noisy but not last night. Last night my neighborhood was very quiet which made me realize, this is probably how it feels like living in a normal residential area. I’ve not really experienced that since I’ve lived on the exact same busy street all my life so it was a nice change.
The best part of the evening was getting videos on Whatsapp of cops pulling people over who were out past the curfew. I took a bunch of those videos and clipped them all together so you can check them out above. I also added a funny one at the end.
Another thing I enjoyed doing was watching videos people were taking of the empty streets from their balcony. It would have been cool if we had live street webcams but since we don’t you could use the “Snap Map” feature in Snapchat instead. A few people also flew their drones yesterday to capture video of this never before seen situation like the one below.
I know why they implemented a curfew for us, I think it’s great that they did, but it’s still gonna suck. For someone who is usually constantly out and about, since the public holiday started I’ve spent 99% of my time at home working during my work hours and then playing videogames and watching TV for the rest of the day.
But, whenever I felt like I needed to reset, I’d hop in my car and just go for a long drive. Now I won’t have that freedom anymore. It sounds like something small, but it was my way of coping with the whole thing and it helped me not feel like I was stuck at home.
Like with everyone (I’m assuming), it’s been pretty difficult having to adjust to this new lifestyle. My eating habits have changed, I no longer exercise, I don’t see people and now I’ve got three more weeks of this left at least. I’m gonna end up like Tom Hanks in Castaway at this pace.
How is everyone else coping with all this? Are some of you still going in to work or is everyone now working from home?
I was talking to my friends in Dubai on Thursday letting them know what was going on in Kuwait and to my surprise, life was still normal over there. People were still going to work, going out drinking and partying, going to the gym as if there wasn’t a global pandemic.
It made me realize how on top of things Kuwait is right now. We were one of the first countries to shut down schools, we were given a public holiday not because we have an emergency but because they were being proactive in avoiding an emergency. Over the weekend cops were blocking off access to the beach so people don’t end up hanging out there and last night they announced the closure of malls and hair salons.
Things aren’t perfect for sure, but I can’t think of any other country I’d rather be in right now during this pandemic.
So, as with my films of the decade, here are according to my not so humble opinion, the best shows of the decade. Since I can only limit it to 20, it’s likely that a lot of your favorites aren’t on here. It’s also important to note that I am nowhere near as well versed in TV as I am in cinema, so maybe I’m not even the right guy for the job. Finally, some of these are still running, and they’ve been amazing so far, but if they ruin themselves near the end (ahem GOT ahem) I might have to publish a retraction. Oh, and before you throw a fit, I haven’t watched Bojack Horseman or Mr. Robot, so they’re not on here due to ignorance note preference. So without further ado, here they are:
10) Girls
There may be certain shows that are more deserving of this slot than Girls, but in writing this article I wanted to keep in mind the shows that weren’t just great but also defined the decade for me, Girls introduced us to the kind of female led storytelling that brought us a new voice in the form of Lena Dunham (let’s keep her annoying public persona out of this), the creator and star of this little gem. Filled with moments both hilarious and heartbreaking, the show wasn’t afraid to explore some darker edges of relationships, and most importantly gave us unpolished insights into the lives of millennial women, warts and all. Ad to that the bragging rights of discovering and launching Adam Driver’s career, and ending the show with some of the most emotionally satisfying final episodes, and you got yourself a winner. Let’s just hope this isn’t a fluke in Dunham’s career, and just the first of many greats.
9) Ramy
With just one season under its belt, Ramy already made its way into TV pantheon status for me. It’s smartly written, wonderfully performed, and most importantly it introduced the world into the life of a modern Muslim trying to make it in a western world without whitewashing or hiding any of our cultural quirks and flaws. The show depicted its characters as real humans, full of all the complexities that came with it, while hilariously pointing out all the extremities we deal with in our families (conspiracy theories, male chauvinism, hypocritical religiousness,etc). The first season of Ramy was an almost perfect 10 episodes of comedy drama and character building, and I can’t wait for season 2.
8) Game of Thrones
A few years back, and this might have landed in the top three. It’s first 4 seasons were utter perfection, and after a slight drop in season 5, it started to gather itself up for an excellent if flawed season 6. Seasons 7 and 8, however were a different story and are the sole reason this show was pushed down so low. Looking back, however, no show defined the decade and collective experience of an international audience as much as Game of Thrones. Marked with the impossible task of creating an adult fantasy genre, risking alienating most of the audience, it ended up being the most successful show in HBO’s amazing history. This all comes down to excellent source material, incredibly deft casting, unprecedented set design and VFX for a show, and creating year after year of heart stopping memorable moments from Ned on the chopping block, the Red Wedding, the Red Viper, and of course The Battle of the Bastards.
Last week Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre organized a private music performance in Vienna called “The Sounds of Kuwait”. I saw bits and pieces of the performance on instagram but a friend just sent me the 10-minute long video above.
If I get my hands on a better quality video I’ll update this post with it, but for now this should do.
It’s starting to look like one of those abandoned Soviet parks. On the bright side, they’re building a new Entertainment City soon in its place although as a nostalgic person I just wish they keep the park as is and just refurbish it.
While preparing my obligatory year-end list for the best films of 2019, I figured it only relevant to reflect on the past decade as we entered 2020. In doing so, I decided to do a little extra work this year and give you guys a few lists leading up to my “best of 2019” , starting with the 15 best films of the decade 2010-2019. Before jumping in, let’s just state the obvious and say that this is an impossible task as every year brings us tons of great films, so take ten years and select this handful was way more stressful than I imagined:
10) Inception
Every decade or so comes a film that catches the audience off guard and breaks what they think is possible with cinema. In the 90’s, it was watching Trinity escape the agents in the opening of The Matrix that made us all realize we were in for something we’ve never seen before (and the rest of the film just got more incredible). In the 00’s, it was watching Sméagol have a conversation with his alter ego Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. And now in the 10’s, it’s watching a zero-G fight happening in a rotating hallway in Christopher Nolan’s Inception that defined the shift in cinema. From the bombastic trailer (which launched a genre of horn blasting Bwaaam trailer soundtracks), to the incredibly complex plot, the vast visuals, and the notional core in the film, Inception became one of the most unforgettable movie-going experiences for all who watched it. Some can argue there are better films that deserve this slot, but none were as effective or influential as this.
9) Amour
Moving on from the gigantic Inception, my number 9 is the tiny and intimate masterpiece from Austrian auteur Michael Hanneke, Amour. A heartbreaking and harrowing tale of love under the worst circumstances, Amour was one of the few foreign films of the decade that crossed over to the mainstream due to nothing more than its cinematic perfection. Equally shocking and moving, it’s a landmark in foreign cinema and the best film in a filmmakers impressive career.
8) Moonlight
Another small film, made famous for being the actual Oscar winner in 2018 although La La Land had been mentioned by mistake first, Moonlight bring the introduction of an entirely new voice to cinema, Barry Jenkins, The film is beautiful, touching, cool, stylish and different than most other films out there, the cinematography is gorgeous, but it’s the raw and real emotions on display that elevate this film and makes it one of the very few Best Picture winners that actually deserved it.
I knew we had at least one automated parking facility in Kuwait (at The Palms) but I didn’t know we also had the largest one in the world. The parking lot of Al-Jahra Court Complex is fully automated and provides 2,314 parking spaces.
The automated parking facility provides 3 times as many car parking spaces as it would in a regular car park of the same volume – and only takes around 177 seconds for car retrieval (source). If you want to see how it works watch the short video on top. Pretty random tidbit for you guys today.
I haven’t been this excited about a new place opening up in quite a bit but last night I passed by Smash Hub and I had a blast. So much fun that I’m actually headed back there tonight again.
Smash Hub houses two games:
Smash Therapy
This is why I basically dropped by. Their Smash Therapy section is composed of two rooms where you go into and destroy stuff. You have different packages you can choose from, I ended up choosing the Troublemaker in which they provided me with 12 glass cups and 1 electronic item to smash. I could choose between a receiver or printer and ended up going with the printer. You can also destroy other items like a TV but at an additional cost. Once you select your items they set it up in the room and provide you with disposable overalls and protective gear to wear. You also get to choose two weapons of choice, I ended up going with a sledgehammer and a baseball bat. I was tempted to go with an axe but figured with my clumsiness I might not leave the room in one piece. Finally, I also got to choose my on smash playlist which was a nice surprise. I didn’t have much time to think but I think I made the right choices:
Once inside the room they take you through some basic rules and then leave you to it. I have to say, this was so insanely fun. It didn’t take long to smash 12 glass cups and a printer, in fact, I didn’t even get past my first song on the playlist, but damn it was fun. After I was done I told the guys they should create a monthly membership package since I’d love to drop by once a week just to vent out on a flatscreen TV. Below is a video I shot of the guy before me smashing some glass cups. Even smashing something so small and fragile like a glass cup was fun. I also have a short video of the guy smashing a TV with an axe, it’s a vertical video though and you can watch that here.
Axe Throwing
The other activity Smash Hub offers is axe throwing. I was just very recently having a conversation about this with a friend since it’s an activity thats gaining popularity in the States right now and I was telling them someone should bring it to Kuwait. Well it’s here now. It’s similar to throwing darts except you throw an axe.
I tried it out and it wasn’t as much fun as smashing a printer, but maybe if you’re with a group of friends it’s more enjoyable. Also maybe with lots of beer and loud music.
So lets talk prices. They currently have launch prices which are as follows:
Smash’n’nGo: 6KD for a dozen glassware or a dozen axe throws
Specials:
Smash Special (for 2 people): 35kd = Therapy Box + Smaxe (50% off yard sale)
Smash Hero: Hit Bullseye 3x in a row = Free TV (valid when purchasing a Therapy pack)
Yard Sale:
Glass pack = 5KD
Small electronic = 10KD (receiver/printer)
Glass panel = 10kd
TV = 20KD
I went with the Troublemaker and Axe Pack so my total came out to KD20. In hindsight, I would have taken the Troublemaker pack and added a TV to it for an additional 20KD. And maybe a glass pack on top of that as well. In case you want to bring your own items to smash you can, but they would have to approve it first.
If you want to try out Smash Hub they’re located inside Sirbb Circuit in Shuwaikh (go all the way to the left once you walk in). They’re open daily from 6PM to 10PM and you can check them out on instagram @smashhubkw
The ice skating rink which has been around since 1980 will be closing down tomorrow to get demolished. In its place I’ve been told they’ll be building a concert hall which will be used to hold the Hala February concerts.
It doesn’t make sense I know, and whats worse is that I don’t understand why they can’t just keep the ice skating structure and just turn the interior into a concert hall. In any case, the decision has been made and this historical site will be demolished in the same way many other significant structures have been demolished in the past.
Today (Monday) from 4PM to 6PM there will be a last skate at the ice skating rink as a way of protesting this decision. So if you want to experience the ice skating rink for one last time this is your chance. See you there.
