2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 8,123 results for your search.
The Hummingbird Bakery is coming to Kuwait and the rest of the region but not with Alshaya. Arabian Business is reporting that Daud Arabian, a subsidiary of The Daud Group of Oman signed a partnership with The Hummingbird Bakery and they’ll be opening branches in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt. The first branch is going to open in Dubai Mall on the 25th of this month which is just 20 days from now. [Link]
I had lunch with two high school friends today, one of which I hadn’t seen in 16 years. We were mostly reminiscing about the past and how lame everything was for us back then. Those of you in high school today don’t realize how lucky you are compared to us kids who grew up in Kuwait back in the old days. I graduated in 1996 and back then we didn’t have any malls or restaurant chains or anything like that. For entertainment we just had a few options.
The only mall in Salmiya was Laila Gallery but we weren’t allowed in on weekends since it was families only. That was pretty common back in the day.
Even Sultan Center wouldn’t let guys in alone on weekends. It was really embarrassing. Until today whenever I go to the Sultan Center in Salmiya and I see a security guy standing outside I wonder if he’s going to let me or not.
There was a cool Hardees where Starbucks is right now in front of Al Fanar. But then they demolished it.
The ice skating rink was pretty decent in the early 90s but started going downhill after that.
Fuddruckers was like the only restaurant open on the Gulf Road back then. The place used to get crazy packed and at one point was the coolest place to be.
Then Johnny Rockets in Salmiya opened and a lot of the crowd shifted there. Johnny used to get super packed as well but most of us would go and occupy a whole table and just order one tea or one shake. So, they introduced a minimum order charge of like KD1.5 per person so everyone shifted outside Johnny to the sidewalk corner and I never saw Johnny that packed again.
Oddly that sidewalk corner became a hot spot where everyone went to meet up with other friends. It used to get pretty crowded so the cops stopped allowing us to hang out there.
McDonalds opened at around the same time over Johnny so some people started hanging out there instead.
But mostly, we just hung out at each others houses listening to music and talking. Every now and then there was a house party but really that was it.
Kinda miss the simplicity of those days now that I think about it. No cellphone, no internet, no car and just enough money to make the difficult but important decision of buying a music tape from The Video Club or having dinner.
K’S PATH will be holding their fundraiser Quiz Night at the end of the month at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK). It should be a fun evening with exciting quiz rounds, dinner, and great prizes. Teams can have up to 6 members at an entry fee of KD 10 per team member. It’s a great way to support a worthy cause and all proceeds will go towards K’S PATH’s shelter and programs.
If you’re interested in taking part just email your team details to [email protected] by September 23rd at the latest.
Date: Friday, September 28th
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Australian College of Kuwait (ACK)
Exit is a short film that revolves around a Ministry building in Kuwait. It’s really not that great a video but I really liked the idea of a bored employee making a film at his workplace. [Vimeo]
Playtime Visual Reference Reel from hamad al-tourah on Vimeo.
Hamad Al-Tourah is a Kuwaiti writer and filmmaker who is currently getting ready to shoot a short film here in Kuwait in about 3 weeks time. Right now he’s in the pre-production phase and is currently casting actors/actresses for the roles. He is also raising funds to cover the cost of equipment and production so he’s got a Kickstarter kinda thing going on.
Here is the summary of what the short film will be about:
Playtime is a short film about Matthew, a 10 year old expatriate who’s just moved to Kuwait with his single mother, whose just been hired for a post at an American Army Base. One night, after his mother leaves him alone for the first time, he escapes to track her down. Instead, he quickly crosses paths with Dalal, a teenage Kuwaiti girl who lives next door. Fearing a second abandonment, Matthew convinces her to help him find his mother.
What Matthew doesn’t know is that Dalal needs more help than he and that the only way to combat his own feelings of alienation is to stop depending on the care of others. Having descended far into the depths of the Kuwaiti desert, Matthew must fend off some threatening characters and return the two of them safely home.
Hamad is trying to raise $8,000 to make the film and right now he’s at the halfway point with around $4,000. Every donation gets you a perk and you can donate as little as just $10. To find out how you can help click [Here]
The first international airsoft event in the Middle East is going to take place in kuwait on the island of Failaka this November. It’s a huge three day military simulation event that should turn out to be epic!
Location: Failaka Island
Date: November 8 to November 10, 2012
Price: KD35 (includes registration, accommodation and food)
Accommodation: Ikarus Hotel / The Village on Failaka. Registration price includes shared accommodation for 2 nights. Private rooms available at an additional charge.
Transportation: Speed Boat from Marina Crescent leaves Thursday November 8 in the afternoon and comes back Saturday November 10 at noon.
Registration needs to be paid by September 7, 2012.
This is a National Tactical Airsoft Association non-profit event.
To sign up contact MILSIM on +965 65680661
Here is a link to the event page on Facebook. [Link]
This is a public event that is open to everyone but you need to be a MILSIM member. You also need to bring your own equipment. To become a MILSIM member you need to be 15+ and pay just KD5. If you don’t have equipment then you can purchase a starter package from MILSIM for KD290 that includes the following:
1. M4 GBBR CQBR Airsoft Rifle
2. 3 Real Cap GBB Mags
3. Tactcial Goggles
4. Milspec Tactical Vest
5. Green Gas
6. 4000 0.25BBs
For more information on becoming a member click [Here]
To become a member call MILSIM on +965 65680661
If you don’t know what MILSIM is watch the video below.
[YouTube]
This is not paintball. This is SPAAARTAAAA! No seriously it’s really different from paintball. The weapons are very realistic and look like real ones and unlike paintball you don’t fire off a million shots and hope they hit. MILSIM involves a lot more strategy and ammunition needs to be conserved similar to real life scenarios. You can check out my previous post on them [Here]
When I was picking up the Sony NEX-7 last month I spotted the Sony Personal 3D Viewer on display. I had just finished reviewing the Vuzix Wrap 920 which I wasn’t impressed with and was interested in trying the Sony version to see how it would compare. Right off the bat I need to make one thing clear, while the Vuzix Wrap 920 were portable, the Sony personal viewer is not.
The Sony Personal 3D Viewer is big and and also comes with an external processor unit around the size of a small satellite receiver. You need to hook up the processor unit to a power supply, you then run an HDMI cable from the unit to say your AV Receiver, Satellite Receiver, Videogame console or any other device and finally you connect the personal head display to the processor unit with a very long cable. So again this is not a portable head display.
Once you put on the display and turn it on you’re going to be in for a surprise. I really wasn’t expecting it to be this freakin’ good! I was behind on Mad Men and had three episodes to watch and I watched them all one after the other on these Sonys. My regular tv is a 50″ plasma that’s around 3 meters in front of me so it’s a pretty large picture. The Sony personal display made it look small in comparison. Watching Mad Men through the Sony unit felt like I was sitting in a large movie theater. The picture quality was ridiculously good and because the Sony uses OLED screens, the blacks were blacker than my regular tv which was unreal. I then made my brother try them out and this is what he had to say:
Hey, so this is what I thought of the device.
I didn’t expect it to be as good as it turned out to be. This device added an extra level of immersion that made playing video games even more entertaining.
The screen inside feels big, the image is sharp and the sounds coming out of the headphones was better then I expected it to be. The first game I tried out with it was Sleeping Dogs and it looked great, but I felt the strongest point came when I tried games that use a first person perspective. When I put in Skyrim I was blown away by how crisp and beautiful everything looked, I felt like I was there in the world, it was pretty breath-taking. I also tried Battlefield 3 with it and that was another strong point, it’s difficult to explain how good these games look through the headset and it’s difficult to explain how this headset helps with helping the gamer feel more immersed in the game they’re playing.
It’s not perfect though, the headset started feeling uncomfortable after a while and it felt like there was too much pressure on my nose. I could only really play comfortable for about 40 or so minutes and then it felt like the device was weighing down on my face too much. I wouldn’t be surprised if these kind of devices became a lot more popular, I hope more companies release tech like this and at more affordable prices.
Now I did find issues with the Sony Personal 3D Viewer. The first is something I experienced but my brother didn’t which is I had a hard time getting the whole display in focus. Not sure why but in my case I could either get the center in focus and the far corners out of focus or the outer corners in focus and the center slightly not. The second issue I had was the price. They cost KD259 at the Sony dealer and it’s not because the dealer is expensive, even Amazon sells them for around KD225 before tax and shipping to Kuwait. This is why I had a hard time figuring out who would use or need these. If they were say KD99 I would get one right away but at KD259 its not an impulse buy. There is also the issue with comfort, I found them very comfortable sitting on my comfy chair with my head leaning slightly back and supported by my chairs headrest. My brother on the other hand used them while sitting on his couch most likely leaning forward like he always does and he ended up feeling stress on his nose after a period of time.
I was having difficulty figuring out who to recommend these to but after my brothers feedback I realized this might be great for gamers. With the display on you disappear into this dark space with a large display in front of you and with videogames thats a great way to really immerse yourself. Since these are 3D displays I imagine 3D games would really take you some place else.
So yeah you can tell I really love these but I just wish they were a lot more cheaper. If you want to try them out, they had them on display at the new Sony branch in Tilal Complex. Not sure if they have them on display at their other branches as well. Personally I’m going to be keeping these for a few more days before I give them back since I want to try a view games with these myself.
Kuwaits first MMA and K1 event will be taking place next month at Kuwait International Fairground in Mishref. The event will be organized by the kuwait kickboxing committee and tickets are currently on sale.
There will also be a superfight between Ray Elbe and Ahmed Aly. Ray was an Ultimate Fighter contestant and has a Jiujitsu black belt. He will be representing Combat Athletics, a new MMA focused gym that will be opening in Kuwait soon. On the other hand Ahmed fought in Cage Warriors and won a bronze medal in the World Combat Championship. Here are the details for the event:
Gladiator Fighting Championship
Date: September 30,2012
Location: Kuwait International Fairground in Mishref
Ticket available at the following outlets:
Health Fitness & Weight Loss
Tel 55329494
Wawan Protein Co
Salmiya behind Wataniya Complex
Tel 99239555
Jacket Potato Restaurant
Hawalli, Al-Mothnna Street opposite College of Commercial Studies
Tel 22650509
For more information you can visit the Kuwait Kickboxing Committee’s website [Here]
Update: Turns out this is NOT the first MMA event, check this [Post]
Saturday was the International Cosplay Day and Q8 Cosplayers participated by going to Rehab Complex in Hawalli dressed up.
Cosplay, short for “costume play”, is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea.
Rehab Complex if you aren’t aware is the videogame central of Kuwait. Turnout wasn’t that great with only six Cosplayers showing up compared to the large turnout at the P2BK event early in the year. You can find more pictures and information on the Q8 Cosplayers by checking out their Facebook page [Here]
A couple of months back I posted about how the mangrove stretch in Sulaibikhat was recovering from the pollution and K’S PATH have now posted another updated.
The birds are back at Kuwait’s ‘mangrove’ beach at Sulaibikhat, a key ecologically rich marine habitat protected by K’S PATH’s marine conservation program and Al Yaal. The green stretch of vegetation alongside the mangroves was first spotted early this summer, the result of countless hours put in by volunteers to clear what was for long a ‘river of waste’. Our clean-up at this site on August 24th was highlighted by the first sighting of a flock of flamingos and other bird species since the onset of summer 2012. We have a lot of work to do at this site including shoveling recently deposited top-layer debris. Join in to protect this fragile habitat.
Check out their Facebook page [Here]
I’ve always wanted a waterproof camera which I could take with me to the beach but since I don’t go to the beach that often it wasn’t worth the investment. But with all the waterproof cases available for the iPhone right now I realized that might be my best option. I ended up buying and trying two very different cases, the Aquapac and the LifeProof.
The Aquapac isn’t really a case but more like a bag in which you slip your phone into and then seal with two knobs. Even with the phone inside you can still control it from the outside and since the case is transparent on both sides you can use the camera as well. You can throw in your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phone or whatever else you want since because it’s more of a bag you can just throw different sized devices into it. The case comes with a bright yellow lanyard which you can use to hang the phone around your neck or tie it to your jet ski or whatever. Also depending on how much air you leave in the bag before sealing it you can have it float on water which is handy in case it falls off the boat. But I did have one major issue with the bag and that’s underwater shooting. Because the case is made of soft plastic, once in the water it flexes and if it flexes in front of the lens which with me it kept doing then all the photos come out distorted. I also had a hard time using the volume buttons on the phone because I had to bend the bag to get to them and although you can make and receive calls with the bag on you’re not going to hear your caller well nor will they. But the case costs just KD9 so it’s a very affordable way to waterproof your phone.
The second case I got and tried was the LifeProof. This is a proper hard case that comes in two halves, you place your phone into one of the halves and then seal it by clicking into place the second half. The case is slightly larger than the phone so it doesn’t add much bulk and it allows you to fully control the screen and all the buttons while inside it. In fact I know someone who uses this case as his day to day phone cover. There’s a Goretex material covering the mic and earphone so it stops water from seeping in but allows you to talk and listen with just a slight decrease in volume. There’s also a solid glass piece over where the camera lens is so you can take pictures underwater without having to worry about any distortion. If you want to use waterproof headphones with your phone you can also do that since it comes with a special waterproof headphone adapter you just screw into place. The disadvantage with this case is the fact it only works with the iPhone 4/4s which means if you sell your phone you can’t use it with another one. It’s also more expensive than the Aquapac costing around KD15 on Amazon and it doesn’t float on the water and neither does it come with a lanyard.
Between the two covers I personally prefer the LifeProof. Although it’s more expensive it’s only by a few Dinars and the fact I can shoot underwater or use the case as my day to day case is a huge advantage. But, the Aquapac does have it’s own advantages as well namely the fact you can use it with a variety of phones and that it’s really easy to slip in or take out a phone from the case. Below are links to both products on Amazon where I purchased the cases from. When I ordered my LifeProof case the cheapest price in Kuwait was KD27. After I placed my order Blink dropped the price down to KD22 which is basically the same price it cost me to get my case from Amazon.
I’ve been using BlackBerry in Kuwait ever since Zain introduced it back in 2007 (they were still called MTC Vodafone). My first BlackBerry was the 8700 and although it looked horrible it had a battery that used to last forever.
I was originally just using the BB for work emails but then once BlackBerry’s picked up in Kuwait I started using it for chatting as well. Everyone I knew seemed to have a BB so it was a pretty practical way of communicating. A few years have gone by though and things are not longer the same. Hardly anyone I know chats on BlackBerry anymore and the only reason I was keeping it around was because of our Diwaniya Group. But since we’ve moved the group to WhatsApp there is no longer a reason to keep my BlackBerry. The only person still holding out is Marzouq but he’s caving in as well.
I just canceled my BlackBerry service and I don’t think I’m going to miss it. I just hope BlackBerry released BlackBerry Messenger for the iPhone and Android devices since WhatsApp is really crap compared to it.
I’m currently on vacation in Lebanon and get back to Kuwait tomorrow. While here I’ve been taking a lot of great shots of my activities which you can check out on Instagram [Here]
Will be posting in detail about them once I get back.
I was going to pass by Kout Way this weekend but Me Blogging beat me to the punch. Kout Way is a new restaurant located on Baghdad Street right next to DoDo and La Baguette. They’re sort of a fast food restaurant but specializing in Kuwaiti dishes like machboos and murabyan.
Me Blogging has some great pictures and a bit more info which you can check out [Here]
