2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 569 results for your search.
[YouTube]
Brix is another Kuwaiti rapper and up until a few minutes ago I had never heard of him until a reader shared the link with me. I’m curious to why a lot of local rappers seem to be able to produce music videos while other kind of music genres aren’t making them. I know there are a lot of local bands so why aren’t they producing any videos?
You can follow Brix on Instagram @brix_q8
‘Playtime’ is a short film by Kuwaiti writer and filmmaker Hamad Al-Tourah. Last year I posted about him when he was trying to raise funds so he could make this short movie and he ended up getting all the funds and making it. Now the movie will be premiering at the Dubai International Film Festival as one of the 15 short films chosen to play at the festival. The movie is about Matthew, 10, who lives with his mother in Kuwait. One night,when his mother leaves him alone, Matthew finds company in Dalal, a Kuwaiti girl who lives down the street and eventually makes a plan to escape with her. You can watch the film trailer above. [YouTube]
Since the weather is beautiful right now Cinemagic is starting their weekly rooftop movies again. If you’ve never been to them before, they’re held twice a week, every Thursday and Saturday on top of the building that has Xcite in old Salmiya. This month in addition some great movies they’re also hosting a Palestinian Film Festival over a period of two days. The list of all the movies and their timings are below:
Thursday November 7th, 2013 at 7:30PM
Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance
Shot by the visionary director behind Baraka and Samsara, Koyaanisqatsi is a haunting look at our world. It is a visual concert of images tot eh incredible score by Phillip Glass. Like Samsara and Baraka before it, the film is a plotless experimental art piece that has a definite scenario and underlying themes covering nature, movement, man, and the world we’ve built. A moving and powerful experience that will leave you speechless by the end.
Saturday November 9th, 2013 at 7:30PM
Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part)
Named one of the best 100 films of all time by both Time and Empire Magazine, and referred to as “Godard’s most delicately charming film” by renowned film critic Pauline Kael, as well as being the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s production company “A Band Apart”, Band of Outsiders follows two young men with a love for old Hollywood B-movies who meet a young woman living with wealthy benefactors, who happen to keep a pile of 10,000 francs locked in their room. Living out their dream to become the gangsters they see in the movies, the men convince her to help them commit a robbery.
Thursday November 14th, 2013 at 7:30PM
Badlands
Cinematic master Terrence Malick’s first film is a lyrical and sometimes beautiful look at disturbing events. Based on the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree of the 1958, in which a fifteen-year-old girl and her twenty-five-year-old boyfriend slaughtered her entire family and several others in the Dakota badlands, Badlands was the film to launch the career of the multiple award winning filmmaker and is still called by many critics to be his best film.
Saturday November 16th, 2013 at 7:30PM
Encounters at the End of the World
On over 15 top ten lists of 2008, and winner of Best Documentary at multiple film festivals, veteran documentarian and madman Werner Herzog takes his camera to the McMurdo Station in Antartica, looking to capture the continent’s beauty an investigate the characters living there.
Thursday November 21st, 2013 at 7:30PM
Surprise Film of the Month
Every month we’ll be playing a surprise film, where you won’t know what you’re watching until just a minute before the film begins. One thing is for sure, every month the surprise film will be either my favourite film of the list, or the most unique in one way or the other. This month’s film is the winner of over 61 awards worldwide, carrying groundbreaking performances and the work of a visionary director on top form. Unmissable.
Saturday November 23rd, 2013 at 7:30PM
The Devil’s Backbone
From visionary filmmaker Guilermo Del Toro, who brought us the incredible Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone is a unique horror film that is both elegant and heartbreaking whilst also being creepy and nightmarish. After Carlos, a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War, arrives at an ominous boy’s orphanage he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets that he must uncover.
Thursday November 28th, 2013 from 6PM to 10PM
Independent Palestinian Film Festival Day 1
Ajami
Nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film Category, Ajami is a poignant portrait of Palestinian Muslims and Christians living in an impoverished district of Jaffa
Budrus
A worldwide crowd-pleaser, this documentary is a testament to the potency of peaceful resistance & the human spirit. Budrus will dispose of any preconceptions one may have of the conflict.
Saturday November 30th, 2013 from 6PM to 10PM
Independent Palestinian Film Festival Day 2
Amreeka
A strong single mother and her son leave the West Bank to search for greener pastures in America. They are naively unaware however that they have left post-Intifada Palestine only to enter another hostile territory, post-9/11 America.
Promises
Of all the countless films revolving around the Israel-Palestine conflict, none are more compelling than this Academy Award nominated documentary. The resin being that Palestinian children, who of all others are affected the most by the war, are rarely provided the luxury of expressing their thoughts and emotions in front of a world audience.
Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Xcite and LG and there is no entrance fee. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]
The second mezzanine floor at Salhiya Complex is getting a makeover. The floor which has the Maki Restaurant is getting the ceiling height raised and a lot of clothing stores were closed down and instead restaurants will be opening up in their place.
A video of youngsters kissing in a car went viral yesterday and controversy followed. Information on the youngsters names, job positions and even stuff about their families started spreading between people. I am bitter, I think if you do see something that might harm a person’s reputation or get a person in legal trouble then DO NOT SHARE!
Lets look at Article 198 from the Kuwait Penal Law,
“Any person who makes an indecent sign or an act in a public place in such a manner that he is seen or is heard by whoever is in a public place, or he imitates the other sex in any form of forms, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period that shall not exceed one year and a fine that shall not exceed one thousands Dinars or by either of the penalties”
The Article is very vague and includes a variety of acts as crimes. Let us break it down:
1) “an indecent sign or an act in a public place” – this means anything from making out, to giving the middle finger, to writing a swear word, seriously who decides what is indecent?
2) “in such a manner that he is seen or is heard by whoever is in a public place” – so it doesn’t have to take place IN the public place as long as it could be seen/heard FROM a public place, so basically in your car, your office if the windows are open and your not private twitter account are all applicable.
3) “he/she imitates the other sex in any form of forms” – and who decides this too? Its 2013, products are turning unisex, seriously me and Mark have the same purple shorts.
What they did was not smart but let us just hope that they just get fined, and I quote Mark – “that’s excitement in Kuwait for ya”
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
Biggest thing going on today is the video that went viral of the guy getting kissed by the two girls in the car. That’s excitement in Kuwait for ya. The video above is a hilarious spoof of it that’s also been making rounds on whatsapp. [YouTube]
1- Caribbean Hut Restaurant
2- Tatami
3- Mais Alghanim
4- Al Boom Steak and Seafood
5- Edo
6- The Chocolate Bar
7- Fish Market
8- Solo Pizza Napolitana
9- Maki
10- Slider Station
That top 10 list is based on Trip Advisor and even though I don’t think I agree with it, I’m having trouble putting together my top 5 list yet alone top 10. My #1 would be Open Flame Kitchen but after that things get blurry. Whats your top 5 list?
[YouTube] Warning: Graphic video of dogs being shot
About a year ago, I was asked by Mark to post on his blog from time to time on issues related to animals in Kuwait. I don’t get a chance to post very often, and when I do, it’s usually on an issue that’s particularly important to me or K’S PATH, the organization where I work. This particular post was prompted by what is certainly the most prolific case of animal abuse I’ve yet witnessed during my tenure in Kuwait.
On Friday, the 2nd of August 2013, a three-year-old girl was attacked by a pack of at least six stray dogs in Khairan area. The victim incurred serious although not life-threatening injuries, and has been reported to be recovering well. While the management of K’S PATH holds the victim and her family in its thoughts and prayers and extends its heartfelt condolence in this difficult time, the ensuing inhumane and brutal massacre of more than 80 reported stray dogs (to date) perpetrated by a group of individuals must not be condoned.
This statement questions the nature and objective of actions taken in retaliation to the attack, offers an insight into the nature of Kuwait’s stray dog overpopulation crisis, discusses the shortcomings of official animal control methods adopted to date, and concludes by proposing a long-term, safe and effective alternative successfully tested by K’S PATH.
The mauling and risk of assault of an individual by a pack of stray dogs is a serious concern that warrants definitive action by the relevant authorities to safeguard the community through humane measures – which in this case is incumbent upon the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR). PAAFR currently lacks the funding, equipment, or expertise to implement and enforce preventive and remedial measures. In most cases of such nature, members of the community approach K’S PATH as it is presently the sole organization with demonstrated capability in capturing and handling stray dogs in Kuwait.
Unfortunately in the aftermath of the recent incident, some of the individuals involved chose another route by taking matters into their own hands through vigilante actions. As this statement goes to press, there are conflicting reports of as many as 80 dogs shot or killed so far; some of them by stabbing, running over, and dismemberment or decapitation.
This original group of animal abusers blatantly publicized their actions on Instagram in a boastful fashion with graphic imagery of cadavers of murdered dogs, which further encouraged other individuals to follow suit by killing more dogs in what appears to have now taken a form of barbaric competition to slaughter as many dogs as possible to seemingly ‘avenge’ the attack on the little girl.
Indisputably and as a responsible measure to avert recurrences, the dogs that attacked the girl should have been identified, captured, and humanely euthanized (killed using a ‘good’ process of death). In fact, none of the dogs roaming Kuwait’s streets belong here.
What we must ask ourselves as a concerned community is whether a responsible and sustainable solution to Kuwait’s stray dog overpopulation lies with the impulsive and brutal recourse of a few individuals with hatchets, shotguns, rifles, and knives running around on a violent campaign of death, or whether we should instead adopt a more effective, humane and safer form of animal control.
Personally, I don’t believe Kuwait has any need to resort to violence to solve this problem. In point of fact, I have spent the last four years developing a program of animal control for Kuwait that is humane and effective, with the purpose in mind of making our communities safer.
In Kuwait, and across many countries, the initial program of animal control adopted used lethal gunshot. However, program administrators and field technicians soon concluded that gunshot is messy, ugly, dangerous for the community, and ineffective in two ways. Firstly, in order to ensure the death of an animal, the projectile must pass through the brain and enter the spinal cord. Any other single shot is very likely to merely injure or cripple the animal causing great suffering and potentially creating a more desperate, aggressive animal. Secondly, it is nearly impossible to eradicate an entire group of stray dogs through this method because dogs will not tolerate the sound of a gunshot. The dogs that flee will be extremely difficult or impossible to catch, eventually becoming what in this field is termed ‘capture resistant’. Gunshot did not last as a form of dog control in Kuwait for these very pragmatic reasons, and it is now forbidden for anyone to shoot dogs.
As gunshot was phased out, poisoning became the preferred method of control. It still is, though it is in the process of being replaced with the method I will propose last. Poisoning fails as a medium for dog control because only a fraction of the intended number of dogs will eat it. Of those who do ingest it, not all of them will die because quantity consumed is a crucial factor. Poison is extremely inhumane to the animal as it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 72 hours to kill, again depending on dosage, rate of digestion, etc. Furthermore, poison will kill a stray dog as easily as an owned dog as well as a fox, a cat, an eagle, or a child. It is entirely indiscriminate.
Lethal gunshot and poisoning as forms of dog control have never been used effectively as a large-scale, long-term form of population control anywhere in the world. They have been used to affect short-term reduction in the overall population size, but they have never solved a large-scale dog problem. Both have been tried for many years in Kuwait with neither succeeding, leaving no possibility that either one will suddenly solve our stray dog problem. The most important factors to consider with these two forms of dog control are that they are unsafe, ineffective, and inhumane. Furthermore, they are outdated and have no place in the modern world. It is the equivalent of investing in steam technology to power our busses when there are much safer and frankly better methods available.
K’S PATH has the answers to this problem; we’ve painstakingly developed them over the course of many years. Read on to find out more.
Warning: Graphic photos below of the massacre after the link
Everybody’s got a preference, right? Some people like Nutella. Some people like peanut butter. Some like their peanut butter plain. Others like it with jam. I like my peanut butter with bananas. And bacon. In a cronut. For those who have no limits when it comes to caloric intake (and if you’re a human garbage disposal like me), keep reading.
This can be put together in any vessel you like; toast, crackers, artisan bread.. I just happen to like the idea of a deep-fried croissant-donut hybrid holding it all together. I mean, look at this baby. Wouldn’t you?
Let’s get busy.
Cronuts! Making cronuts was a challenge – I tried several croissant dough recipes until I found the one I like. Make your dough and chill it in the fridge. Working with cold dough is really important; the flecks of cold butter will give your cronut the layers of deliciousness you’re looking for.
Roll our your croissant dough on a floured surface and cut your donut rings out – you can find donut cutters at Williams-Sonoma in Grand Avenue. Make ’em as big or as small as you like. Bigger cronut = more nomz; you know what to do. Deep-fry those babies till they’re golden brown and puffed up. If you’re the kind who can’t resist sneaking bites (read: me), fry up the cronut holes and eat those to hold you over.
The filling is pretty basic: creamy peanut butter (or crunchy if you like texture), caramelized bananas, and bacon! Fry up your bacon till its nice and crispy, yeah? Soggy half-assed bacon is against the law here. For the bananas, slice a banana on the diagonal and sprinkle it with a bit of sugar before you fry it in some butter. Once you see the sugar start to brown, take the bananas off the pan.
Now, slice your cronut in half, heap your favorite PB on both “slices”, and layer the crispy bacon and bananas. Close your eyes, say a prayer, and take a bite. Heaven, right?
Damn. I just realized how fatty this is. Not sorry and you won’t be either, enjoy!
Posted by Farah Bishara
KMWFCT Opening Ceremony – Behind The Scenes
I didn’t know about this until just a few moments ago but last week was the Kuwait Mini World Futsal Club Tournament and the opening ceremony looked pretty impressive. The video above is of the making of the ceremony and once you’re done watching that you could watch the actual opening ceremony which was around an hour long [Here] (starts at the 18mins mark)
After finding out about the Nutella Kunafa a few days ago I asked @PinkElephant73 if she could attempt to replicate it since she had already replicated Cronuts a few weeks ago. Next day behold I get a large pan of Nutella Kenafeh delivered to my door. Surprisingly, Kunafa and Nutella do mix well together (then again what doesn’t mix well with Nutella). It’s an extremely heavy and super fattening dessert thats for sure. No idea how many calories and not interested to know either. I felt so guilty after eating a quarter of the tray that I went for an 8KM run right after to try and burn off whatever I could. If you’re interested in making it yourself, @PinkElephant73 was nice enough to share the recipe along with pictures. Check it out below:
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Let me start by saying that this recipe is not for the faint at heart – it’s basically a lot of butter, a lot of Nutella, and only some kunafa dough. But it’s freakin’ awesome.
The cast of characters! Yes, that is 400g of butter (Sorry, Mark!). You won’t be using the whole thing, I promise! But, it makes for a more flavorful kunafa! Also, a big jar of Nutella and some kunafa dough that you can find fresh or frozen from Sultan Center.
First things first: preheat your oven to 220°C! A nice hot oven makes for a great crunchy kunafa!
Cut the kunafa dough with a pair of kitchen scissors till you get small shreds. If you’re going to use frozen phyllo dough, be sure to thaw it a few hours before using it! It makes cutting it so much easier.
Next, pour the melted butter onto the kunafa little by little and stir it in to ensure all of the dough is evenly coated with butter. Watch out for this step! You don’t want to over-soak the kunafa with butter; otherwise you’ll get a really greasy crust, and no one likes a greasy crust.
Spoon and press the buttery dough into two 9″ round pans. In one of the pans, press some more of the dough up and around the sides of the pan to make a shallow “well” for the Nutella. Bake those babies for 30-40 minutes, checking immediately after 30 minutes to make sure they haven’t burned.
When the crusts are a deep golden brown, they’re ready! Take ’em out and let them cool.
Then, pour the Nutella into the pan with the kunafa sides as little or as much as your heart desires. Resist the urge to lick the spoon when you’re done (I couldn’t).
Flip the other kunafa onto the Nutella-filled one. I couldn’t take a picture of this step because I was too busy trying not to royally screw it up. I would say this is the hardest part.
Then, flip the entire thing onto your serving dish and voila! Nutella Kunafa!
You can do deconstructed versions of this by just toasting the buttery phyllo dough on a sheet pan as you would granola and layering it with Nutella into small serving cups. However you choose to eat it, factor in some time for a quick work-out after you’re done. Enjoy!
Last night I passed by and met Haitham Al-Ghareeb, a local violin maker. We met at his small cozy workshop in Rawda located right outside his home. When you walk into his dimly lit workshop you’ll see a small diwaniya on the left with around a dozen violins hanging on the wall, while on the right hand side is his workstation where he crafts all his violins. He filled a kettle with water and put it on a small electric stove next to him and we started talking.
Back in 2000, Haitham was a oud player but was interested in getting into violins. He started looking for a good violin to buy in Kuwait but he couldn’t find any. Most of the violins available in the market back then were of poor quality from low end brands. That’s why Haitham decided to make his own violin using documents and instructions he found online.
Haitham hadn’t crafted any musical instruments before, he had dabbled with some minor oud repair but nothing major. This got me even more curious, how can a 25 year old with no previous woodworking skills be able to craft such a delicate instrument as a violin? Well the answer I believe might be in his genes. Haitham’s father, grand father and great grand father were all dhow builders. Woodworking had existed in his family for generations and it was just natural for him to be good at it.
Haitham’s first violin wasn’t flawless, it had mistakes and was made using locally sourced wood but yet the sound it produced to his ears was beautiful. This encouraged him to build a second better violin with imported tonewood (wood cut specifically for musical instruments). He started frequenting forums and participating in online communities where other violin craftsmen from around the world would share their tips and techniques. His violins kept improving with every build and soon he had his own tips and tricks to share with the community. He loved crafting violins so much that he quickly forgot about wanting to play them. He became obsessed in building and perfecting his own creations.
When Haitham first started making violins he was spending 4 hours a day working on them and each violin would take around 2 months to complete. Nowadays he’s too busy with work and family so it takes him around 9 months to complete a single violin. But he’s fine with that. He never started making violins with the intention to turning it into a profitable business. Even his prices have remained the same over the years even though his violins kept getting better and demand for them kept increasing. He just loves making violins and isn’t interested in expanding. It’s a hobby he’s just really good at. He also does a lot of repair work on violins which to many musicians is a lifesaver. Musicians bond with their instruments and having a local violin maker means that a damaged violin no longer needs to be discarded but instead can be repaired. Only two of the violins hanging on the wall were his, the rest were either in for repair or were being sold by other musicians.
Once we were done with the interview, Haitham served us some tea. Throughout the whole interview which lasted around 40 minutes I had watched him make us the tea using two kettles, a can filled with what I assume is tea leaves and a box filled with I don’t know what. He then skillfully poured the tea from the large kettle into three glasses that were sitting amongst a dozen on the table in front of us. The tea was delicious and to me summarized the kind of person that Haitham is, a perfectionist.
If you’d like to contact Haitham for any reason you can do so by emailing him on [email protected]
Last week I was craving Chinese food so I headed with a friend to Oliversan in Burj Jassim. Oliversan is the new Asian restaurant owned by the same owners as Maki. On any other day I would have visited Caesars or China Kitchen, my two favorite Chinese restaurants, but that evening I felt like going to a “nicer” place and until Peacock reopens, Oliversan is the only alternative.
The interior looks nice and cozy but like most restaurants during Ramadan, it was empty when we arrived. We were given the menu and I started looking for sweet and sour chicken (my favorite dish) which turns out they didn’t have. That was a good thing since it allowed me to try something new which wasn’t hard to do since their whole menu was full of dishes I hadn’t heard of before. We ended up ordering the following:
Velvety Creamy Chicken Corn Soup KD1.5
Spicy Garlic Sweet Snap Peas KD2.5
Oliversan Duck Salad KD4.5
Sweet and Sour Ostrich Fillet KD5
Braised Short Ribs with Oolong Tea Leaves KD6.5
Regular Oliversan Fried Rice KD2.5
The soup arrived first. I generally wouldn’t order cream of chicken soup at a Chinese restaurant but they only had three soups on the menu and I felt like soup that night. Glad I did because the soup was actually the least disappointing thing I had that night. The Spicy Garlic Sweet Snap Peas came once the soup was done along with the Duck Salad. I wasn’t too impressed with the Duck Salad, not for that price point at least since I didn’t think there was enough duck in it. The dressing was good though and it was a pretty light starter along with the snap peas which left lots of room for the main course.
Once we were done with our starters the waiter brought us our main dishes. The food presentation looked great specially the sweet and sour ostrich. Taste wise my friend liked both dishes but I personally didn’t. I thought the sweet and sour ostrich was the better of the two dishes but it was slightly bland. The meat was surprisingly tender and had good flavor, its just the sweet and sour sauce that let it down. The braised short ribs I had high hopes for but I didn’t end up liking it at all. I thought it was too dry and it should have been served a lot hotter. My guess is since they’re still in a soft launch phase the menu is still being fine tuned which is why I left them this same feedback before I left.
The service was great but since we were alone in the restaurant I wouldn’t have expected anything less. One thing that I found odd was the food plates. The main courses were served in huge plates while our dinner plates were tiny (similar in size to the bread and butter plates). I found it very unpractical eating out of a small plate since I could barely fit a bit of rice with two pieces of ostrich without food starting to spill out of the plate.
In the end I wasn’t too impressed. Maybe I should have gone for the Spicy Chicken with Box Choy or the Mongolian Ostrich with Thai Basil since those two dishes were the other ones I was considering. Anyway if you’re interested in trying them out they’re located in Burj Jassim and their phone number is 22901051.
Note: Interior shot taken from their website
According to the Kuwaiti government, in 2008 Kuwait’s population consisted of 3.3 million people, 2.3 million of which are foreigners. That’s double the number of Kuwaitis so I can understand why the Kuwaiti government would want to protect the Kuwaiti citizenship, and therefore making the procedures/requirements for getting a Kuwaiti citizenship tougher than other countries. But how tough are they?
Before I get into that, I have to explain the unique situation of the citizenship law that states how a non-Kuwaiti may become a Kuwaiti:
1) It was one of the first laws in Kuwait, even before the constitution and before Kuwait was officially recognized as a country. The citizenship law was promulgated (published) in 1959, via an Amiri decree. (Kuwait didn’t have a parliament then)
2) The law has been edited and re-edited, written and rewritten, promulgated and un-promuglated over and over throughout the years; 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000…
3) Under article 1(e) of the Administrative Court Legislation, the courts do not have jurisdiction over issues pertaining to the issuance of a citizenship. Basically what it means is the court can’t deal, handle or look into any issues that has to do with the citizenship.
How can a non-kuwaiti can be considered for the Kuwaiti citizenship?
First of all you need to have fulfilled the three requirements below:
Then you need one of the below:
So let’s say you have all the requirements, let’s say for example Mark (he is Arab and has a decent job) becomes Muslim for 5 years or his family has been in Kuwait since 1965 or the government really thinks that mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com is making significant contributions to the country. So what does mark have to do to get the Kuwaiti nationality? First thing Mark has to do is apply to citizenship department (All paper requirements found here) then:
I have deliberately missed out some points regarding the issuance of citizenship’s because I did not want to complicate things. If you require any further clarifications please let me know, also if you have any stories you want to share feel free to do so.
Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.
Picture on top by zDistrict
With the recent crackdown on expats, one of the rumors making its rounds was that if you were caught with any VOIP app on your phone you would get deported. According to the Ministry of Communication, Kuwait has no plans to ban any app be it Whatsapp, Viber or anything else for that matter. [Source]
