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Preparations are currently underway for the epic fireworks show thats going to take place on November 11th 10th here in Kuwait on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the constitution. Speaker systems and projection boards are being setup all along the coast starting from the Green Island and going all the way to the Kuwait Towers. They’ve also started setting up the fireworks which reportedly is costing over KD4,164,000.

The event company behind this epic show is Filmaster MEA who’ve also worked on other large scale events like the Turin 2006 XX Olympic Games (opening and closing ceremony), the Juventus new stadium opening ceremony and the UAE 40th National Day Anniversary.

This so far looks like an event that shouldn’t be missed and will probably be the biggest show that Kuwait has ever put on.

Update: Check this link for more information [Link]

Last night I got the chance to watch the premier of the new James Bond movie Skyfall at Grand Cinemas in the Al Hamra Tower. As soon as I got to the floor Grand Cinemas was located on we were given a goodie bag by Aston Martin, that included an iPhone 5 case with the Skyfall logo on it and some other Aston Martin branded merchandise. The attendants were quite helpful, answering our questions and giving us directions to which theater we’d be seated in. We then were able to get some popcorn and soda. They only had regular popcorn available and no water, that will obviously change once Grand Cinemas opens. The first thing I noticed as soon as I entered the theater was just how cold it was. Movie theaters tend to get chilly, but it was incredibly cold, much colder than other theaters. The seating was quite comfortable and the only real negative thing (beside it being too cold) that bothered me was that they kept the “Exit” signs lit up throughout the movie which caused a green glare on the side of the screen which was slightly distracting at times.

Once the show started, about 15 minutes of advertisements for Aston Martin played which wasn’t a big surprise since it seemed like they were the ones who helped put this event together. Once the movie began, I instantly noticed how the image seemed crisper and sharper on the screen. It was a good sign. Then about 10 minutes into the movie, the sound was acting up, we couldn’t hear what the characters were saying but we could still hear the music and the sound effects. It felt like we were watching a silent movie. After a few minutes of that the entire sound cut which happened a minute or so before the movie intro credits started rolling. This situation also made things kind of awkward because you could hear people all around you just crunching away at their popcorns while the theater stayed surprisingly quiet throughout this whole ordeal. This went on for a good 10 or 15 more minutes, I was thinking of walking out of the theater because the movie was basically being spoiled. Then one of the guys in charge walked in and made an announcement that the theater amplifier blew out and that they needed a few minutes to switch it out. Not sure how an amp could blow out at the very first show, but apparently it did. As soon as he left they thankfully stopped the movie. Sure enough a few minutes afterwards the movie had started, the movie was rewinded to where the technical errors began and the sound was working. After that it was smooth sailing, I really liked how crisp the image was and the volume of the movie was just loud enough. Did I mention how it was cold? It became nearly unbearable near the end to the point that it became distracting.

Now about the movie. I’m going to come out and say this right away, Skyfall is probably my favorite Bond movie. Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem were both fantastic and seemed to feed off each others on-screen energy. Bardem’s role as the villain was really memorable and his character will be remembered for a long time. Sam Mendes did a great job at directing this movie which includes one of my favorite fight scenes that I’ve experienced in a movie, the cinematography, the lighting, the intensity of the scene, it was just beautifully shot. The movie had some amusing moments, some charming Bond moments, it was aggressive when it needed to be and it was surprisingly dark at times, especially for a Bond movie. Bond movies are usually more upbeat and they’re typically about Bond being nearly superhero like, saving the day. Let me put it this way, Skyfall is to Bond as The Dark Knight was to Batman. This movie release is going to coincide with the 50th anniversary of James Bond and the movie features some neat little nods to past Bond movies and in a way, there were segments in the movie that felt like old-school Bond. It’s a little on the longside though, running at about 2 hours and 30 minutes long but it is definitely worth the watch.

So all in all, I feel like Grand Cinemas will be a great addition to Kuwait. Except for that little incident regarding the sound which was fixed, the only downside of last night was how cold it had gotten, I’ll just remember to bring a coat next time I decide to watch a movie there.

Posted by Patrick

Their old logo (above) was not that great but their new one (below) is just horrible. They should have just hired the agency that did the 360 Mall branding.

Getting close to the opening of The Avenues new districts and our plans for future expansion of The Avenues we created a new iconic logo with a distinct personality that conveys a more abstract thought of simplicity and boldness. It’s an interactive logo with maximum flexibility for messaging.

Iconic? Don’t think so.

Last month I purchased and posted about the Mophie Powerstation, a small device that will charge your USB powered devices like an iPhone or iPad while away from a power supply. This month I purchased and tried the Trent IMP120D iCarrier, a slightly bulkier device that holds three times the amount of power reserve at 12000mAh compared to the 4000mAh of the Mophie Powerstation.

Although the Trent holds three times as much power its selling on Amazon for the same price as the Mophie which makes it a great deal. I tried it out last weekend while camping and found it very practical. The Trent comes with two USB ports which allows you to charge two devices at the same time. I ended up charging three phones that night, an iPhone 4s, a Galaxy III and a Blackberry. I also had the iPhone plugged into the device all night playing music. By next day the Trent iCarrier was showing me that it still had around half the power left! That’s just crazy.

The only disadvantages over the Mophie is the fact the Trent iCarrier is bulkier and the build quality isn’t as good. If you squeeze the device a bit you can hear the plastic squeak so not sure how it’s going to handle being thrown around in my backpack in the long run. But, at around KD22 on Amazon this is a great buy specially if the size of the device doesn’t matter much to you. [Amazon Link]

I follow Radisson Blu (previously known as SAS) on Facebook and one thing about them I find cool is the fact they keep posting pictures of the build progress. Below is how the hotel will look like once completed and the above is one of their latest shots showing the progress of the hotel. Originally they were even supposed to have a live webcam but that didn’t work out. You can check all the latest shots of the place [Here]

The U.S. Embassy is hosting an (Early) Voting Day for eligible U.S. citizens. Below are some details.

Who: Eligible U.S. Citizen Voters
Date: October 21, 2012
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Location: U.S. Embassy (Masjid al Aqsa Street, Bayan)

If you have any questions you can contact them on [email protected] or visit their website [Here]

The Flying Start Triathlon is taking place this coming Friday October the 19th. They have two levels of competition, The Sprint and The Olympic with the Olympic being the more difficult of the two as you can see below.

If you haven’t registered for the event you still can by following this [Link]

The Kuwait Scorpions who are probably one of the oldest sports clubs in Kuwait are looking to recruit men and women for their rugby team. If you’re interested keep reading below for a small brief on who they are along with some other information.

Kuwait Scorpions is one of the founding clubs of Gulf rugby. The club originally consisted of a group of expats training together as a hobby. They then started playing similar groups in neighbouring countries and formally became the Kuwait Scorions Rugby Footballl Club in 1946. For years rugby in Kuwait continued in this way. Following the Invasion and surrounding events the rugby club gradually reformed (after most of it’s members returned to Kuwait after the unrest) and were renamed as the Kuwait Nomads (mainly due to the style in which they reunited). We played as the Nomads until a few years ago when we returned to our original name and re launched the club as the Kuwait Scorpions.

We have several teams: Mens XV, Vets X and Ladies (who play 7s). The men play in both the Gulf Premiership and Conference Leagues, the women play in the Arabian Gulf Women’s League and the Vets form for specific events and tournaments. All teams enter the Dubai 7s competition annually, where our men have reached both the final and semi final in recent years. We currently have players of a variety of nationalities and are truly a global group.

We are currently without an official pitch and training ground as KOC (our ground sponsor) have recently started a large renovation project that includes rebuilding our usual sand pitch and facilities in Ahmadi. Regardless of this our teams are still training twice a week and we are still playing in all of the above leagues. This is not the only exciting new development in Kuwait rugby this season – as Tron mentioned previously, we currently have a female Chairperson, which, we are informed, is a first in the history of rugby in this region. We also have a recently elected Kuwaiti Club Captain also, who is hoping to lead our teams to some well earned victories this year.

Last week saw us officially kick off our season with our annual fundraiser (Masquerade Ball) at the British Embassy, which was a great success. We are currently gearing up for upcoming matches for both the men and women in Doha in a few weeks time, which is alway a great trip.

We are about to embark on a big recruitment drive and are hoping to awaken some new interest in both the sport and our team. We welcome newcomers and those with experience and any member of the club will be happy to answer any questions or give directions to the next training session. Our website was unfortunately hacked over the summer and all of the informatiion wiped so it is currently under construction, but for now we are easy to find on Facebook or I can be contacted directly for more information ([email protected]).

Saluki Rescue September 2012 from John Peaveler

Whenever we are asked to help with a population of dogs that is disturbing a residence, business, or ministry, the first thing we do is an assessment. A couple of weeks ago a Colonel with the Kuwait MOD contacted me looking for a humane solution for a pack of dogs at the Al Rawtain military complex in northern Kuwait. Fortunately, we were already operating near the Iraqi border handling a half-dozen dog and snake complaints in KOC areas. So it was, so to say, on my way. An assessment of a dog population at a remote military camp is fairly straightforward. First, we wake up all the dogs and make sure we get a pretty accurate count. We use a working dog for this, or several hours of foot and vehicle patrol while distributing canned dog food. During the assessment, we are counting, but we are also prioritizing. Seriously injured dogs get the highest priority, then sick dogs, then pregnant mothers, then nursing mothers, then puppies and adolescents (if weaned and abandoned), then friendly adults, and then feral adults. Crazily enough, there are actually even more categories that may move a dog up or down the list, such as an omega dog (picked on by all others), a dog that is friendly or semi-friendly with a caretaker who opts for surgical sterilization, animals that are obviously escaped or abandoned pets, and more. Long story short, we have to gather information as quickly as possible to come up with an action plan that utilizes our limited resources in a way that benefits the greatest number of animals. At Al Rawtain, that meant a morning of following the working dog around sheds full of tanks and armored fighting vehicles, around the perimeter, and out the gate. That was how we found Sheba.

Sheba was the only dog out of more than 20 that didn’t get up to either bark at or investigate my working dog and myself. That set off alarm bells in my head. She didn’t get up, because she couldn’t walk; the bones were sticking out of her front leg. And the injury wasn’t new. It was at least a week old, swollen, and horribly infected. We didn’t need a vet in the field to know that what she needed was emergency surgery to remove the leg. We administered a light dose of anesthesia to prevent pain during transport, and rushed her into surgery at the Royal Animal Hospital. The video tells most of the rest of this story, but Sheba’s story isn’t over yet. Her physical wounds have healed. Now she must overcome her mild fear of people and learn how to balance on three legs.

Sheba needs a home. Interested? Email me via [email protected]

And don’t forget to ‘Like’ our Facebook page: K’S PATH

Post by John Peaveler
Managing Director
Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat (K’S PATH)

The progress on the Salmiya Boulevard seems to be going very slowly but based on what I saw from my friends apartment, it looks like the main structures are nearly done. Originally the park (located opposite City Center Salmiya) was supposed to house a museum, restaurants, shops, a fitness center and even a veterinary clinic. But I heard that a lot of the original plans changed so not sure whats still left from the original plan and what got canceled.

Their “About Us” page still hasn’t changed since I last poked fun of it. They still think the Boulevard is one of “the most wonderful green places to visit in the State of Kuwait” and also “the largest touristic hub in the country”.

Check out a very large panoramic shot of the park I took [Here]

A completely revamped and organic Burger Boutique is reopening again on October 15th. Burger Boutique used to be one of my favorite burger places before they closed down for an overhaul. They’re still going to be located on the second floor of Arraya Complex in Kuwait City. [Link]

965Malls posted the list above last week but I just saw it now. It’s translated from an Arabic newspaper and it shows the prices of different drugs in Kuwait. [Link]

Note: What I found interesting about the list is the list itself. Since drugs are illegal there is no official price list but this list by the newspaper is kinda like one.

[YouTube]

Nuqat is currently taking place right now and finishes in 2 days time so if you still want to attend a workshop or lecture you still might be able to. [Link]

This should be an interesting photography exhibit.

A group exhibition featuring a series of photographs taken by 15 participants of the CAP photography workshop. Led by two members of the Rawiya Collective, Laura Boushnak & Tamara Abdul Hadi, the workshop took place last May in the Mubarakiyah Souq for a duration of two days. It’s main focus was on the old souq, the vendors, the visitors and the stories that can be found in this local public market.

Date: October 10th to 17th, 2012
Location: CAP (Contemporary Art Platform)

According to the 2012 Happy Planet Index, out of 151 countries researched, Kuwait came in at 143! ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE out of 151! The index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint to calculate this score. The happiest place? Costa Rica. If you want to check out the full ranking as well as more details on how the whole thing is ranked you can download the PDF file from [Here]

Back in 2009 Kuwait was 128 out of 143.