Search: “sti”

I don’t watch a lot of Arabic shows but I can’t get enough of the show Swar Shuaib. Shuaib has to be the funniest Arab talk show host anywhere, he’s so good I actually subscribed to his YouTube channel so I don’t miss an episode. His last few episodes had me glued to the screen thinking no way, no way he just asked them that question. Although Shuaib plays the role of a Conan or a Jimmy Fallon, unlike them he does ask all the right questions, ones that most of the time viewers are thinking about. I’m actually surprised any guests actually end up on the show since he does put them in some tough spots.

The first episode I ever watched was when he interviewed the flamboyant Mohammed Diego from the YouTube channel Fashion House of Diego. Shuaib didn’t play around, he asked him about his wardrobe choices, the way he poses and basically questioning his sexual orientation. In Shuaib’s latest episode he interviews the popular instagram fashionista Fatima Almomen (video on top, starts at the 9:50 mark). The first thing he does during the interview is pull out a scale from under his desk and asks her to weigh herself. If that wasn’t awkward enough he then later starts asking her if she had any plastic surgery done. When she denies she has he pulls out old photos of her to compare. When she continues denying she had anything done, he then invited a plastic surgeon to come on stage and examine her. I was dying, it was such a good episode. Surprisingly, even though there were a ton of awkward moments and questions, both Diego and Fatima handle themselves really well which I thought was pretty cool of them.

Swar Shuaib is in Arabic only and if you’re interested in watching more episodes then check out the YouTube channel [Here]

Bait Al Arab is another project under the umbrella of Diwan Al Amiri, the same diwan thats responsible for various large local projects like Shaheed Park, the Kuwait Cultural Center and the museums in Shaab. Bait Al Arab (previously called Arabian Horse Center) was originally established back in 1980 and prominently positioned Kuwait on the world’s Arabian Horses map until it’s destruction during the 1990 invasion. Six years after the invasion the members of the Arabian Horse Committee were given the task to re-establish the center by traveling the world and bringing back with them the finest Arabian horses.

Today, Bait Al Arab is committed to supporting private Arabian horse farms in the country by providing stallions and conducting cultural workshops on horse nutrition, breeding, training and veterinary skills. The video above which showcases Bait Al Arab was shared with me by Tamdeen Group who were commissioned to design and develop the project. Several Arabian horse beauty contests have already been held at Bait Al Arab with the most recent one being the International Arabian Horse Festival Kuwait 2016. Check out the video on Bait Al Arab above, or on [YouTube]

The Kuwait Marriott Hotel used to be located in Shuwaikh where the KPC building is located right now. [Google Maps]

In 1972, Santa Paula was sold to “Oceanic Sun Line Special Shipping Company Inc” of Greece and she was renamed Stella Polaris. It was intended for her to become a cruise ship. Although she arrived in Piraeus on December 11, she remained laid up until 1976, when she was obtained by the Marriott Group, and four Kuwaiti companies. She was sent to Rijeka, Yugoslavia (today’s Croatia) where she was converted for the use as a luxury floating hotel in Kuwait City. She arrived in Kuwait in September 1978 having been renamed the “Kuwait Marriott Hotel.” On October 17 workers commenced to raise the harbour bed at her specially prepared berth as hull was to remain to be permanently grounded. This was completed and she officially opened as a hotel on February 1, 1980. In 1989 she was renamed the “Ramada al Salam Hotel” but soon disaster would hit this fine vessel!

However, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991 the ship was attacked and she was bombed and set ablaze totally destroying this once magnificent ship. Upon inspection she was considered a total loss. Many of her machinery spares, which somehow remained in perfect order were sold and were used for her sister ship, the ex Santa Rosa by Regency Cruises as she was being rebuilt as the SS Regent Rainbow. Today this fine totally rebuilt ship continues to sail on as the SS “The Emerald.” The “Ramada al Salaam Hotel,” ex Santa Paula was scrapped in 2002, however it is said that parts of the ship are still visible at her final resting place. [Source]

I wonder if it’s true that some of the ship parts are still visible. I never thought of going and checking it out.

Here are pictures of the hotel before it’s destruction:

Here are pictures of the hotel after it’s destruction:

Pictures collected from various sources online.

I was planning on doing something special for my 10,000th post on the blog but I just realized today that I passed that marker a few months back without even realizing it. As of this post I’ve published exactly 10,329 posts on the blog and since it launched around 11 years ago, that averages to more than 3 posts a day if you ignore the weekends. Considering this is Kuwait where very little goes on I still surprise myself on a daily basis that I’m still finding stuff to write about.

The blog back in 2005

I used to think I was lucky that I was finding content on a daily basis and it was only a couple of years back did I realize that hold on a second, maybe this isn’t luck, maybe I just have a skill that allows me to discover stuff. I think it’s probably a combination of my creative side, mixed in with my extreme curiosity for things and probably a bit of ADHD and OCD on the side to top it all off.

The blog back in 2006

Another interesting figure, 199,363 comments have been posted so far, this doesn’t include deleted spam which is amounts to around 2.5 million.

The blog started off as a side project to another blog I had and was never meant to last this long. I have no idea when I’m going to stop blogging, but that day will most likely be sooner than later. For now I’m still here.

Since its Ramadan there aren’t really any events taking place so figured I’d highlight the one and only event I am aware of taking place this week. Red Bull are hosting their Art of Can exhibition at 360 Mall until June 25th, so if you’re looking for an event to pass by then this is one. For more info click [Here]

If you’re fasting quickly look away since this list isn’t meant for you. On the other hand if you’re not fasting and want to order food before Iftar then below are some restaurants that can deliver you food:

Adobo Burritos
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 69957242

China Garden
Deliveries start after 11AM
Telephone: 25720010

China Kitchen
Deliveries start after 11:30AM
Telephone: 25738754

Finger Sushi
Delivers anytime, they’re open 24 hours
Telephone: 60002929

HanHum Restaurant
Deliveries start after 2:30PM
Telephone: 22270234

Marina Thai
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 23720040

Max Restaurant
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 25750647

Noodles Restaurant
Deliveries start after 1PM
Telephone: 25749933

Osaka
Deliveries start after 10AM
Telephone: 22637331

Poele
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 69998291

Q Cafe
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22495067

Sauceges
Deliveries start after 9AM
Telephone: 51474777

Sea Taste Restaurant
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 66395655

Zafran
Deliveries start after 12PM
Telephone: 22285203 or 97281007

Finger Sushi is open 24 hours so you could order from them anytime but there are a few other places that open up before noon as well like China Garden, Osaka and Sauceges. I’ll be updating the list above as I find out about more places, if you know of a place that delivers before Iftar let me know in the comments.

As of this post seven Kuwaiti athletes have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics, six shooters and one fencer:

Abdulaziz Al-Shatti (Fencing)
Abdulrahman Al-Faihan (Trap)
Khaled Al-Mudhaf (Trap) – 2002 World Champion
Saud Habib (Skeet)
Abdullah Al-Rashidi (Skeet)
Ahmad Al-Afasi (Double Trap)
Fehaid Al-Deehani (Double Trap) – Won Olympic bronze medals at both Sydney 2000 and London 2012

Sadly Kuwait is currently banned from participating in the Olympics. But the Kuwait athletes will still be eligible to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) but they can not represent Kuwait.

Kuwait officials, though, had previously warned they would not allow its athletes to compete at Rio 2016 under the flag of anyone else but their own.

If they competed as IOA, there would be no reference to their nationality on their accreditation or results, with the IOC to appoint a “responsible organiser and technical officials” to oversee the team.

They would march under the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony, with the Olympic Anthem to be played should one of the team win a gold medal.

Kuwait was banned from the IOC last October for “undue Government interference”, only three years after the lifting of a similar suspension shortly before London 2012. [Source]

Pictured above is Kuwaiti bronze medallist Fehaid Al-Deehani during the medal ceremony for the Men’s Trap Shooting Final at the London 2012 Olympics.

via @thefrugalfan

Not as funny as the “This man likes cock” blooper, but still funny.

Thanks Ahmed

A reader sent me a link to a CNN article that talks about NASA flying over South Korea to measure polluted air. The article isn’t that interesting except for the fact that it had a list for “Worst Countries for Air Quality” and Kuwait came in 9th place on that list. How is that possible? Our air quality can’t be THAT bad, I mean it isn’t even something I’ve heard anyone ever complain about. [Link]

Thanks Alex

Hello everybody and Ramadan Mubarak to you and your families. Since a part of Ramadan is being grateful to the things around you, I thought I would write to let you all know (and Mark) that I am very grateful for the chance I get to connect with you all through 248am and share my legal knowledge.

A lot of my readers are concerned about working hours in Ramadan, yet the law is very clear about the maximum hours. They are 36 hours a week, that averages to 6 hours a day because it is a 6 day working week (usually with Saturdays off as a paid leave).

I know that a lot of businesses have divided their shifts into two, one before and one after iftar, and a lot of you are asking, is this legal? Yes it is as long as you don’t work for more than 36 hours a week (anything more you should be paid overtime with cash and not extra days off, unless that’s what YOU want).

I hope that helped, and I hope you all have a lovely Ramadan.

Feel free to email me on [email protected] with any legal questions. I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to announce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
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.

Starting from today Entertainment City will be closed for renovations. No time estimate was given to when the renovations will be completed but my guess is since they closed it on the first day of Ramadan, then they’ll reopen the park just in time for Eid a month from now. That is unless it’s a major overhaul and the rumors about Six Flags taking over are true then expect it to be closed for awhile. But since nobody goes there anyway, I doubt anyone will notice. I just hope they fix the Australian log ride, that ride has been closed for years and it was the best thing there.

via Frankom

Adidas released the list of official retailers who will be carrying the new YEEZY Boost 750 and Harvey Nichols Kuwait is on that list. The sneakers have a world wide release date of June 11 and an expected retail price of KD105 ($350). Hopefully Harvey Nichols Kuwait won’t be selling them for KD210 since . I doubt they will though since I heard they got into trouble for doing that (thanks to everyone who emailed Adidas complaining). [Link]

Update: The list was edited and Harvey Nichols are now no longer on it. Looks like Harvey Nichols are still banned from carrying the YEEZY’s.

I wonder if that booth at the 30 second mark was the DJ booth for the discotheque that was originally part of the Kuwait Towers plans… [YouTube]

Thanks Mohannad

Not a lot of events taking place in terms of quantity, but quality wise this weekend has some pretty interesting ones taking place. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
Exhibition: What’s Your Location?
Exhibition: Tensile Modulus By Omar Khouri
Movie & Dinner: Robocop
Dreams & Nightmares Illusion Show

Friday
Extreme Stunts Show
Summer Chamber Music
Dreams & Nightmares Illusion Show

Saturday
Extreme Stunts Show
Workshop: Building Your Comic Book World 101
Nutrition Talks
Korean Fan Calligraphy Event
The Last Brunch: A Charity Affair

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 double check info with organizers.

The 2016 edition of the Global Slavery Index was released a couple of days ago and Kuwait came in 108th place. There are an estimated 18,200 slaves in Kuwait at the moment putting Kuwait in 25th place in the “Estimated Proportion of Population in Modern Slavery by Country” list. [Source]

I ain’t surprised.