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This week I started watching the series Disclaimer. I’m three episodes in and it’s ok so far. One thing I liked without spoiling anything is the fact if you have surround speakers, the series takes advantage of them with one of the main characters inside voice. The first time the voice came on I thought Alexa came on by mistake.

Other than that I started watching the movie Trap last night. I’m more than half way in and it’s entertaining but some of the acting is soooo cringe. But I’m still looking forward to finishing the film later today. I also tried watching Love is Blind Habibi, but I couldn’t make it past the halfway point of the first episode.

Yesterday I also picked up the SVS PB-2000 Pro subwoofer from Xcite to use in my living room. Their website was showing it was out of stock but they actually had a brand new one at their Avenues branch. The past couple of weeks I’ve just been splurging on myself upgrading various tech around the house that I use a lot. Last week I got the 65″ TV, the Marantz Cinema 60 AV receiver, and now this week added the subwoofer to my home theater system. The PB-2000 Pro is definitely overkill for my small living room, and I had a bit of buyers remorse after getting it because I really didn’t want to spend that much on a subwoofer, but I tend to live with my sound systems for a very very long time. I still have my Jamo X870 speakers I bought after moving to Kuwait from uni back in like 2001-2002. So they’ve been with me for over 20 years, and although I’ve now replaced them as my home theater speakers with the KEF R7‘s, I still use the Jamo’s in my gym room. Xcite had other cheaper subwoofers, but I have the SVS SB-2000 Pro connected to my iMac and KEF LSX speakers, and I ] really really love it, so I wanted to get the PB version for my home theater. Both SVS subwoofers will probably stay with me for the rest of my life so not a bad deal when I look at it like that.

The last thing I’m upgrading is my iMac. I’m replacing my M1 iMac with 1TB drive and 16GB ram with the just released Mac Mini. I got the regular M4, not M4 Pro but with 24GB of ram and a 2TB drive. I ordered it from the US Apple Store, but I ended up buying the Apple Studio Display from Xcite since they had (might still have) a sale on them. The Xcite price was pretty much the same price as if I bought it online and shipped it to Kuwait, might be a bit cheaper even. If you’re looking to get a used iMac, I’ll be listing mine on the classifieds page end of this month.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
A Streetcar Named Desire (classic) (7.9)
Canary Black (5.3)
Cricket & Antoinette (6.2)
Monster Summer (6.1)
Piece by Piece (7.0)
Rebellious (6.8)
Red One (6.7)

Other Movies Showing:
Aftermath (6.1)
Cellar Door (N/A)
Elli and her Monster Team (4.9)
Panda Plan (6.1)
Smile 2 (7.1)
Take Cover (5.0)
Terrifier 3 (6.7)
The Silent Hour (6.0)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Venom: The Last Dance (6.3)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

So it’s just been over 6 months since I got the Apple Vision Pro, which is why I wanted to share a usage update.

My AVP usage has dropped considerably since I first got it, which is to be expected since the first couple of months its lots of experimenting, trying to see what I want to do with the AVP. Now I’m more aware of what to use the AVP for, and it’s mostly media consumption.

The #1 use of the AVP for me is watching Formula 1 races. There are two great apps on the AVP to watch the races and both offer similar features. Imagine sitting in a movie theater and watching F1, but it’s me on my couch watching it. And it’s not just about having a large screen, I also have multiple screens all around, one showing the timing screen, one showing an overhead map of the race, and then multiple windows of the different driver views. It’s ridiculous, I love it. Another advantage is I could sit in the living room and watch the races while my wife sits next to me watching TV. Both of us physically using the same real world space, but I’m in a different digital space doing my own thing.

My second favorite thing on the AVP are the immersive videos. These are videos that make you feel like you’re watching a film from inside the film. It’s nothing like you’ve ever experienced, it’s nothing like IMAX or 3D glasses or whatever, it’s an experience you can only have through the AVP at the moment. Immersive videos are 3D 180-degree 8K recordings with Spatial Audio. At first, Apple released a bunch of these, mostly short documentary like films, but a few weeks ago they released a short film called “Submerged” that takes place on a submarine during the World War and is directed by an Academy Award winning director. It was insane, I’ve never experienced a movie like that before in my life. I was left stunned and once I was done I made my wife watch it and I could see from her facial expressions that she was also taken aback by it. You’re IN the movie, it doesn’t feel like a camera is capturing the action, but it’s your own eyes. It’s very hard to explain because it can’t be compared to anything.

While on the subject of immersive videos, Apple has released I think three immersive sports videos, one from the NFL, one from MLS and one from the NBA All Star game. Those are crazy as well, imagine watching a sports game while standing on the sidelines of a soccer field or sitting court side at a basketball game. I’d watch so much more sports if this became the norm. It’s an insane experience, standing there on the court and having an NBA player just walk by you, you really don’t realize how tall or big sports players are until you’re right there next to them. It’s also not just one view, in the 5min or so long videos Apple lets you experience the games from multiple angles and at different times. So when the NFL game ended you’re there on the pitch surrounded by people celebrating, at the NBA game if someone is taking a free throw your view point is from behind the basketball. It’s also all in 3D so when a ball comes flying past you, you duck.

So yeah, that’s my primary use for it. Every now and then someone releases a new game or app that tries something different and I try it out for the experience. The Reddit AVP community is great. Apple hasn’t sold a lot of AVP’s so the community is pretty small. There are a lot of developers active on the AVP subreddit and take feedback seriously and usually make the changes pretty quickly. Many of them are always looking for people to test out their apps and games as well, so it feels like a close-knit community from the old Internet back in the 90s.

Yesterday, Apple released a software update that allows you to have an ultra wide monitor when mirroring your Mac. Lots of people were looking forward to that update since it would help them with their workflow. Some people love the AVP for traveling, especially when staying at hotels. Everyone is kinda finding their own thing of what they want from the AVP which is pretty cool to see.

I definitely don’t think anyone should buy an AVP right now that’s for sure, it’s not ready for the mass, it’s still just for people who are willing to basically be beta testers and have lots of money to buy one. They did announce they’re launching the Apple Vision Pro in the UAE, so the next time you’re there, if you can get a demo I’d highly recommend it, just to get an idea of what the future could be like.

This past week I watched two movies, the original Planet of the Apes from 1968, and Wolfs starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Both were pretty great, Planet of the Apes I originally watched in the early 80s so didn’t really remember much of it. It’s actually had a great storyline and although the special effects are really dated, it didn’t bother me much. Wolfs was also a lot of fun, it has a 6.5 rating on IMDB but that doesn’t reflect the film accurately. It was very entertaining and had some funny moments, and thats really all I ask from a film sometimes.

I also started watching the series Agatha All Along which is meant to be the sequel to WandaVision. First episode was confusing but I’m 6 to 7 episodes in now and it’s pretty ok. I also watched the first episode of High Potential starring Kaitlin Olson from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Wife is loving the show, hopefully by the end of the season she’ll want to see more of Kaitlin and then I can suggest we binge watch It’s Always Sunny which she really hates.

This week I also decided to upgrade my TV life. I’m replacing my 55″ LG B1 OLED TV with a 65″ LG C3 OLED TV. I should have honestly gotten a 65″ back when I got the B1 but I didn’t for some reason, maybe cuz I didn’t want to pay more than I did. The C3 should be brighter and also supports 120hz refresh rate so curious to see how it turns out. I’m also upgrading my AV receiver from the Onkyo TX-NR686 to the Marantz Cinema 60. I was trying to decide between it and the Yamaha RX-A2A but then the Xcite lady offered me a 10% discount on the Marantz and I decided to go for it. Both should be delivered today so pretty excited about it.

Now I’m contemplating picking up an SVS subwoofer but need to pass by Xcite and see what they have in stock because the website isn’t showing much. I have the SB1000 Pro connected to my KEF LSX speakers and it’s incredible, so thinking of getting the PB1000 Pro for my TV room. Sometimes the Xcite website says something is out of stock but on their in store system it shows units, like my Marantz unit is out of stock on the website but there was 1 new piece in Avenues location according to system. With the subwoofer I’m hoping they only have display models left since they give you an automatic 15% discount on display items which is a nice little discount.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Aftermath (6.1)
Cellar Door (N/A)
Elli and her Monster Team (4.9)
Panda Plan (6.1)
Take Cover (5.0)
Terrifier 3 (6.7)
The Silent Hour (6.0)

Other Movies Showing:
Cash Out (4.7)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Little Emma (6.5)
Robot Dreams (7.6)
Smile 2 (7.1)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Venom: The Last Dance (6.3)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

I thought I posted about @q8knight79 before on the blog but I just checked and don’t think I have. He’s a guy I follow on my cars account and he’s got a super 80s vibe.

Last year he flew to the US, bought a 96 Corvette, then did an epic road trip with the car before shipping it to Kuwait. He uploaded the video a couple of weeks ago to YouTube and I thought it was pretty entertaining.

I kinda need to do the same thing now, fly to the US, buy a first generation Viper, do an epic road trip, crash it, and then fly back.

Last week I mentioned I wanted to watch Sweetpea and I ended up watching two episodes after signing up to the streaming service STARZ. Only two episodes are out yet and third one coming out tomorrow and it’s so good. If you’re a fan of Ella Purnell (Fallout, Yellowjackets, Sweetbitter) then you’re gonna really like her in Sweetpea.

Other than that I rewatched 28 Weeks Later in preparation for the upcoming 28 Years Later. My wife hadn’t watched either 28 Days Later nor 28 Weeks Later so wanted her to watch them. 28 Days Later isn’t available to buy or stream digitally anywhere, at least I couldn’t find it but 28 Weeks Later was on Hulu. For those of you too young to know this but 28 Days Later was pretty much the first to invent zombies that run fast. A super scary idea at that time. Also, 28 Days Later was directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire).

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Die Alone (5.7)
Latency (4.1)
The Wasp (5.9)
Venom: The Last Dance (6.3)

Other Movies Showing:
Cash Out (4.7)
Edward Scissorhands (classic) (7.9)
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (4.6)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Little Emma (6.5)
Never Let Go (5.7)
Smile 2 (7.1)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Wrong Place (3.4)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

Boutiqaat, the largest online fashion and cosmetics platform in the region just launched their biggest Black Friday sales. They’ve discounted over 100,000 items from over 1,000 brands with the discounts ranging from 15% all the way up to 90%.

If you’re looking for a good deal check out boutiqaat.com

Activision has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been banned in Kuwait and so will not be available to download here. Everyone who preordered the game will be getting the order canceled and refunded. Activision released the following statement:

At this time, the title will not be available for release in the region. As a result, all pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase. We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series. source

The Gulf War setting of the game is likely to be the reason for the ban. But, it’s kinda weird since the game hasn’t come out yet so doubt whoever banned it locally got an early release to evaluate the contents. When a movie gets banned it’s usually after screening, Black Ops 6 is getting banned before screening. So maybe once the game is out and the game is screened they will unban it. For now I guess you can download the game if you have a US account which is what I have, or purchase it next time you’re abroad.

I actually wasn’t interested in the game nor did I realize it was Gulf War related until the ban, but now I’m totally getting it. The game is released on October 25 worldwide.

update: Turns out I don’t even need to buy it since it will be available from day 1 as part of the Xbox Game Pass membership.

I started watching the series The Old Man. I had it on my to do list for sometime but didn’t start it until now. I really like it so far and disappointed that I put it off for such a long time that they are now in season 2. The series stars Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun), and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development).

I have another new series I’m planning to start watching as well, Sweetpea which stars Ella Purnell from Fall Out and Yellowjackets. It’s also from the producers of Slow Horses so I’ve got high expectations. But I checked and it’s streaming on Starz or something, so gotta subscribe to yet another streaming platform. As of today I’m current subscribed to the following:

Amazon Prime Video
AMC+
AppleTV+
Hulu
Netlflix
MAX
Paramount+

Depending if there is a new Starwars series or not you can include Disney to the list as well.

Finally, last night I rented and watched Alien Romulus. It was surprisingly pretty good, like you keep wondering what else can they do different with the franchise after I don’t know, 6 or 7 movies already? Turns out they can still do quite a bit! There is also an Alien TV series coming out so that should be cool too.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Cash Out (4.7)
Edward Scissorhands (classic) (7.9)
Imaginary (4.7)
Little Emma (6.5)
Smile 2 (7.1)

Other Movies Showing:
Bagman (6.0)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (7.0)
Big Trip 3: Race Around the World (N/A)
Daddy’s Head (N/A)
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (4.6)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Never Let Go (5.7)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Weekend in Taipei (5.9)
Wrong Place (3.4)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

I recently picked up a Benq GV50 portable laser projector and I’ve now been using it for nearly two weeks. I have a cozy living room with a tv, but I also have my main living area that has a large empty wall and no TV by choice, and figured a projector might be fun there. I originally wanted the JMGO N1S projector but it costs around $999 and wasn’t sure I wanted to invest so much in something I won’t use that often. The JMGO also didn’t have a built in battery and isn’t capable of running easily off an external power bank. Then Benq released the GV50 a few weeks ago and it has built in Google TV (so Netflix, HBO, Hulu, AppleTV+ and Amazon Video), built in battery, 1080p and was priced at $599. It also had come out on top in The Hookup’s “2024 Ultimate Portable Projector Comparison“.

So far I’m liking it. Due to the size it’s not that bright but still bright enough to watch on a beige colored wall with ambient lighting on. I have the projector on the coffee table but I can basically put it anywhere and point it at anything and it will automatically adjust the framing so that the screen is the correct shape. My biggest gripe with it is that I wish it was louder. I tend to watch everything really loud and so I find the highest volume on the GV50 not that high to my liking.

Anyway, I got it for the full price of $599 from Benq.com with a free carrying case since it had just come out, but if you wait a bit I’m sure it will drop in price. Here is the Link.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Big Trip 3: Race Around the World (N/A)
Daddy’s Head (N/A)
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (4.6)
Wrong Place (3.4)

Other Movies Showing:
Alien Romulus (7.4)
Bagman (6.0)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (7.0)
Blue Light (3.6)
Joker: Folie à Deux (5.7)
Never Let Go (5.7)
Speak No Evil (6.6)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (classic) (7.9)
The Wild Robot (8.2)
Transformers One (7.8)
Weekend in Taipei (5.9)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

Video is in Arabic but shows you the step by step guide on how to do it. They don’t seem to mention how to get a printed copy of the registration though, only that once you update it you can then refresh the registration in your Kuwait Mobile ID app and it will be updated there. YouTube

If you’ve renewed your car this way, I’d be interested to hear about the experience or if you ran into any issues.

If you’re a fan of cars you’re going to appreciate this video. It was shot in 1982 and is of a car meetup in Blajat Street, Salmiya. YouTube

The first episode of The Penguin is out and it’s great, I’m hooked. Also the latest episode of Industry was amazing, the season just keeps on getting better and I don’t want it to end. I also realized I stopped season 2 of Lord of the Rings mid way through episode 2 and haven’t gone back to it yet. It was such a slow episode along with a slow episode 1 that I don’t think I have the patience for it.

Last night I started watching the second season of Monsters on Netflix, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Only watched the first episode but I really like it. I remember the story when it was happening in real life back in the early 90s since I was in Canada and it was on the news and papers often back then. The first episode had a Milli Vanilli soundtrack which I loved since I was a huge fan back in the 90s.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Bagman (6.0)
Never Let Go (5.7)
The Wild Robot (8.2)

Other Movies Showing:
Bad Genius (7.4)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (7.3)
Classified (3.6)
Despicable Me 4 (6.4)
Inside Out 2 (7.9)
It Ends with Us (7.2)
Ozi: Voice of the Forest (4.4)
Reagan (6.5)
Speak No Evil (6.6)
Transformers One (7.8)
Trap (7.2)
Weekend in Taipei (5.9)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

Yesterday the Ministry of Interior announced they’ll be installing new intelligent AI-powered traffic cameras. The new cameras are meant to automatically detect seat belt violations, and drivers using their phones while driving. This isn’t the first time the MOI announced automated monitoring. Back in January 2023, the MOI announced they were installing new smart cameras that could detect both those violations, but that never materialized for some reason.

Although not much information was shared yesterday regarding the new cameras, based on some research I did there are a couple of companies that provide these traffic cameras, including Acusensus and VITRONIC. VITRONIC recently installed AI cameras in the UAE and have a Middle East office so it’s very probable those are the ones we are getting.

No matter which brand we are getting, they all work similarly:

• The traffic cameras capture high-resolution images of approaching vehicles.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) software filters the images to detect possible mobile phone use, or failure to wear a seatbelt by the driver and front seat passenger.

• If AI does not see a potential violation, it will reject the image.

• If AI detects a driver who may be using a phone or not wearing their seatbelt, it flags the image for further review.

• Images which are flagged for potential violations are then checked and verified by an officer.

So AI won’t be issuing tickets automatically, violations will still be double checked by a real person which is good news. These new AI cameras are also really effective. In Australia they trialed a similar AI traffic camera and in the first month alone, 1,500 drivers and 225 passengers were caught not wearing seatbelts, and almost 1,200 drivers were caught using their mobile phones.

Not sure how bad seatbelt violations are, but I’m really hoping this will stop people using their phones while driving since they’re the most annoying drivers.

I spent most of this week rewatching old Denzel Washington films. I don’t think I have a #1 favorite actor, but if I did he’d most likely be in one of the top 3 spots. I managed to watch, Man on Fire, American Gangster, Flight, and both The Equalizer 2 and 3. All really great films.

The new series The Penguin comes out tomorrow on MAX and I’m REALLY looking forward to it.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Bad Genius (7.4)
Classified (N/A)
Diamonds Are Forever (classic) (6.5)
Reagan (6.5)
Transformers One (7.8)
Weekend in Taipei (N/A)

Other Movies Showing:
AfrAId (6.3)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (7.3)
Blink Twice (6.9)
Despicable Me 4 (6.4)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (5.7)
Hounds of War (6.1)
Inside Out 2 (7.9)
It Ends with Us (7.2)
Lee (6.5)
Ozi: Voice of the Forest (4.4)
Speak No Evil (6.6)
Subservience (4.6)
The Cleanup Crew (4.3)
Trap (7.2)
Unit 234 (6.9)
Wake Up (6.0)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

This week I started tapering off House of Cards since I’ve kinda gotten over it. Instead I’ve started watching Mad Men since it’s another great series my wife hadn’t watched before. It kinda makes me miss the days I used to work in an advertising agency, it’s such a good show and stills holds up really well since it’s based in the 60s anyway.

I also just watch the trailer for the new Hugh Grant horror, Heretic. It’s by studio A24 who are behind a lot of great films so going by that and this trailer, I feel this is going to be a really good movie. It’s been a really long time since I’ve cared for any horror, maybe not since Blair Witch Project or SAW.

Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.

Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:

New This Week:
Lee (6.5)
Speak No Evil (6.6)
Subservience (4.6)
The Cleanup Crew (4.3)
Unit 234 (6.9)

Other Movies Showing:
AfrAId (6.3)
Alien: Romulus (7.5)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (7.3)
Blink Twice (6.9)
Deadpool & Wolverine (8.3)
Despicable Me 4 (6.4)
Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue (6.3)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (5.7)
Hounds of War (6.1)
Inside Out 2 (7.9)
It Ends with Us (7.2)
Ozi: Voice of the Forest (4.4)
The World Is Not Enough (classic) (6.4)
Trap (7.2)
Wake Up (6.0)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.