Search: “kuwait”

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:

New This Week:
Blood Father (7.0)
Hell or High Water (8.3) ♦
Kubo and the Two Strings (8.4)
Morgan (6.5)
Nine Lives (4.2)

Other Movies Showing:
Don’t Breathe (8.3) ♦
Genius (6.8) ♦
Free State of Jones (6.7) ★ ♦
Mechanic: Resurrection (6.5)
Skiptrace (6.5)
Suicide Squad (8.2) ♦
The BFG (6.8)
The Legend Of Tarzan (6.7) ♦
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)
War Dogs (7.3) ★ ♦

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

A new study has revealed that Taiwan is the best country in the world for expats, while Kuwait is the worst. The results come from a report by the online expat community InterNations, which looks at everything from quality of life and personal finance, to job satisfaction and ease of settling indices. [Source]

Things should improve once Chick-fil-A opens up.

Update: This is the source of the DailyMail article [Link]

According to an email I received, last week Al Sayer signed a deal to bring the fast food franchise Chick-fil-A to Kuwait (and I’m guessing the region). Al Sayer recently brought Five Guys to Kuwait so I wouldn’t be too surprised if this information turned out to be true. A chicken franchise seems to go hand in hand with a burger one, Americana have Hardees and KFC, Alshaya have Shake Shack and Cane’s Chicken, and Al Sayer will end up with Five Guys and Chick-fil-A. I’ve gotten in touch with my contact at Al Sayer to confirm this information but haven’t heard back from him yet.

Back in 2012 there were rumors Alshaya were in talks to bring Chick-fil-A to the region but the deal fell through. Supposedly one of the terms they couldn’t agree on was the fact that Chick-fil-A wanted to close on Sundays (they’re a very Christian company). Alshaya was trying to convince them to change that rule for the region but Chick-fil-A wasn’t backing down and the deal fell apart.

If Al Sayer do manage to bring Chick-fil-A to the region that would be a pretty amazing accomplishment. Not only does Chick-fil-A only exist in the US at the moment but the way they run their franchises is different from others. For example Chick-fil-A franchise owners generally aren’t allowed to own more than one or two branches in the States so that they can give it all their attention. So handing the reigns to another company to open up as many branches as they wish would be an unusualstep for them. I hope they are coming though since I love their food and I’ve had great experiences at their restaurants which were all super clean and had great service.

Update: Just got a pretty aggressive call a few moments ago from Al Sayer Franchising relating to this post. According to the person I spoke to at Al Sayer Franchising, this is the first they hear about a deal with Chick-fil-A. I’ll not go into too much details relating to the phone call, but I will say it wasn’t the kind of professionalism I was expecting from them.

Now just a bit of perspective on this situation. If by any chance the deal with Chick-fil-A was signed last week with Al Sayer, that information would take time before trickling down the chain of command. So it could still very well be true that Al Sayer acquired the franchise or signed some sort of preliminary agreement but have yet to let everyone internally know. In any case, they are denying this information to be true.

Staged in Kuwait are getting ready to start their 5th season, continuing the long legacy of community theatre in Kuwait that started in 1948 out in Ahmadi at The Kuwait Little Theatre. New season means new tryouts and Staged in Kuwait are holding ones for their choir and comedy teams as well as auditions for this years pantomime. If you’re interested to be part of this talented team, follow the links below:

Sing with Kuwait’s Contemporary Show Choir
Come Try Out for the SIK Comedy Team
Panto Auditions

Every now and then I try to invite new writers to the blog to write about stuff which I myself wouldn’t be able to do. Al Busal is going to be a new series of posts by a really creative and funny friend of mine who will go by the anonymous nickname Holla. I met Holla years ago through my blog, he used to leave the most ridiculous comments and I just had to meet him in person. We ended up becoming friends and even worked together for a short while.

Since the moment I met him I’ve been trying to figure out how to put his talent into use and then over dinner last week I figured it out. We were poking fun out of some local stories from the English papers and how some of the stuff sounds so ridiculous they might as well be in The Onion, and thats when I realized, Holla would be the perfect guy to create local satirical posts in style of The Onion. The name Al Busal is the Arabic translation of The Onion and just like The Onion, these posts in no way should be taken seriously. His first post is already up, check it out [Below]

The vlogger highlighting our local cosplay scene is Tali xoxo, a popular Canadian cosplayer who was in Kuwait for the last gaming expo. [YouTube]

Thanks alniniofanclub

The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) retracted its plan to build a nuclear power plant, as Kuwait had planned earlier to obtain a license from the UN in this regard. MEW said its decision to scrap the project was because studies proved it was unfeasible and of high cost, in addition to having alternative projects that are better in production and cost such as solar energy and wind. An official said Kuwait needs water desalination stations, but as for power stations, plans provide for several stations. Some of them will be built soon, and some between 2020 and 2030. [Source]

Back in 2010 the Ministry of Electricity had stated Kuwait was going to build four nuclear reactors and they would be up and running by 2022. But then in 2012 after the Fukushima disaster those plans got scrapped. So no idea why they’ve just announced it again that they’re scrapping their nuclear plans, unless somewhere between 2012 and 2016 they had reinstated the plan.

In any case, solar should have been the priority in the first place and our neighbors UAE are already ahead of the game in the region with their Shams Solar Power Station (pictured above and video below) which is one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

Update: Just a few figures to help you understand why Kuwait looked at nuclear power plants to begin with.

– Kuwait consumes around 13,000MW of electricity
– The new Shamal Al Zour Al Oula gas power station in the north of Kuwait that is under construction will produce 1,500MW when complete
– The Shams Solar Power Station in the UAE produces 100MW
– The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the USA is the largest solar station in the world and it produces 392MW
– The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan is the largest in the world and produces 7,965 MW

So one nuclear power plant could supply more than 60% of Kuwait’s power needs while the largest solar station would supply just 3%.

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:

New This Week:
Don’t Breathe (8.3) ♦
Genius (6.8) ♦
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (8.4)
Life on the Line (5.1)
Mechanic: Resurrection (6.5)
Monkey King: Hero Is Back (7.3)
War Dogs (7.3) ★ ♦

Other Movies Showing:
Free State of Jones (6.7) ★ ♦
Jason Bourne (8.3)
Rabid Dogs (5.6)
Riot (5.2)
Skiptrace (6.5)
Suicide Squad (8.2) ♦
The BFG (6.8)
The Conjuring 2 (7.8)
The Legend Of Tarzan (6.7) ♦
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

It’s a tiny list but there are a couple of cool things taking place this weekend. On Friday there is The Comedy Garage featuring some hilarious comedians and then on Saturday you have #IGNITEKuwait hosted by The Burrow in collaboration with Puma. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
The Divan’s Movie Night: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Friday
Hatha Yoga with Rosie
Summer Sunshine – Family Fun Day
The Comedy Garage

Saturday
#IGNITEKuwait

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Sometimes events get canceled or have details changed so always double check with the organizers.

Back in April I posted that Conrad Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn both might be coming to Kuwait as part of The Avenues phase 4 expansion and today this news was officially announced. Conrad Hotel will be part of The Prestige section of the mall while Hilton Garden Inn will be connected to the new section of the mall thats being built called The Forum.

Hilton Garden Inn will also be the brand’s largest hotel in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region with 430 rooms. According to the article, both hotels will be opening in 2019. Here is the link to the article [Link]

The other day I posted about sailing lessons and also briefly mentioned the Kuwait Sailing Club. Well there is also another club related to sailing called the Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association. While the Kuwait Sailing Club is based out of Messila, KOSA are based out of the Sea Club Marina in Fahaheel.

They seem to be pretty active, they have different types of memberships available and they also offer training although they don’t mention the cost on their website. This is their promotional text I got from their flyer:

The Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association is a small but active yacht club offering a range of cruising, racing, training and social activities throughout the year.

KOSA sailing events include racing every Friday much of which is held on the waters off the coast of Fahaheel. Some longer races go offshore to the local islands of Kubbar or Falika.

Social sailing is also held weekly which allows new and seasoned sailors alike to enjoy the waters of Kuwait as well as practise those sailing skills.

In addition to sailing, KOSA has a calendar of social events which include BBQ’s, trips out to the neighbouring islands and sailing traditional dhows.

So whether you are living in Kuwait or just visiting, KOSA has something for you. Membership is open to everybody and with the competitive subscriptions you could be enjoying one of Kuwait’s nicest experiences for as little as KD5 per session.

It seems like a lot of fun and an opportunity to meet new people and socialize so if you’re interested in sailing or learning how to sail, check out their website [Here] or their Facebook page [Here]

Usually I tend to find and share photos of Kuwait from the early days like the 50s and 60s but recently I came across a whole bunch of photos of Kuwait taken in 1980. What I find fascinating with these specific photos is that Kuwait usually tends to look really great in the really old photos I share but in these Kuwait just looks really gritty. I think the early 80s were a transitional period between old and new and based on the photos it’s as if all the beautiful old buildings were just starting to fall apart.

Photos taken from the MIT Libraries

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:

New This Week:
Free State of Jones (6.7) ★ ♦
Rabid Dogs (5.6)
Skiptrace (6.5)
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)

Other Movies Showing:
Alice Through The Looking Glass (6.4)
Cell (4.4) ♦
Finding Dory (7.8)
Jason Bourne (8.3)
Manhattan Night (6.2) ♦
Nerve (7.2)
Riot (5.2)
Suicide Squad (8.2) ♦
The BFG (6.8)
The Conjuring 2 (7.8)
The Fall of the Krays (4.1)
The Legend Of Tarzan (6.7) ♦
The Neon Demon (7.0) ♦

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.

Skeet shooter Abdullah Al-Rashidi raised eyebrows at Rio 2016 on Sunday after opting to wear an Arsenal shirt while competing for gold.

At the Olympic Games this summer, each country has its own uniform, but the 53-year-old is instead registered as an ‘Independent Olympic Athlete’ in Brazil.

With his native Kuwait suspended from competing, he was still allowed to appear in his event, but without the restriction of a specific uniform. [Source]

Like a boss.

Thanks ManU4Life

Adidas is releasing new NMD’s tomorrow (August 18th) at their Adidas Originals stores worldwide. We don’t have an Adidas Original store in Kuwait so we’re not getting an in-store release. But, we do have an alternative option.

The NMD’s will be getting released on the Adidas Kuwait online store. They currently have countdown clocks on all the pairs that will be available and once the clocks hit zero they’ll be available to purchase. So if you’re hoping to cop a pair before they sell out, head to the Adidas website and search for NMD or just click this [Link]

Update: They went on sale and all got sold out right away.