Search: “sti”

Last night I passed by Solarity, a new shop that revolves around solar powered items. When I found out about the place I thought to myself finally! With all the sun we have solar energy just makes sense. When I passed by the store they were still setting up but I managed to see a whole variety of garden lights and some back packs with solar panels. In the next few weeks they’ll be adding more items since they’ve only received around 20% of their products at the moment.

The official launch is tonight at 5PM and they’re located in Shuwaikh right next to Bike World. If you take the right hand turn after City Center, Tilal Complex will be on your left. At the next intersection take a right and their shop is located around 50 meters after also on the right. I really hope they do well. Here is a link to their Facebook page [Link]

This excerpt is taken from Loaay’s Two Cents column in Bazaar Magazine:

We’re dealers for a photographic cameras brand. Because our sales volumes are much smaller compared to the US dealers our prices are not as attractive. While many customers still purchase from us, some visit us but then decide to buy online. The Internet is killing our business. What can we do when our cost is higher than online selling prices?

LA: Price is what you pay for something. Value is what you receive from your purchase. Instead of focusing on price, let’s talk value. There are some obvious benefits that you can highlight. For example, customers who purchase online won’t enjoy the local warranty in many cases. The convenience of walking away immediately with the camera is an advantage over waiting a week or two to use it. However, on a deeper level, offering a free or discounted local photography club membership with certain benefits and tips for local purchasers of the brand might be exciting enough to attract some. Maybe offering an automated monthly installment for three to ten months with no interest on the higher-end models can be a winning factor for others since they have to pay 100% upfront online before their camera is shipped.

You can also negotiate with dealers in neighboring countries to make collective orders to lower the cost of all your products or at least some of your most commonly ordered items. As customers have a choice so do you. Instead of competing on price, which is a losing battle, compete on other grounds to win the war…and that’s just my two cents. [Source]

Although the example used here is with one local camera dealer this applies to other dealers as well. If you want us to buy locally instead of ordering from Amazon then give us a reason to. I’ve found a lot of things in Kuwait cheaper than the US so I don’t actually understand why some brands cost so much more. One example of something I found in Kuwait a lot cheaper than the US is Definitive Technology speakers. I got them for half the price of what people in the US pay. And just the other day I purchased a camera bag from a small local shop who was selling them for cheaper than what I would have paid for if I ordered it from Amazon. It’s doable.

Mo is a 22 year old Kuwaiti student currently studying at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. When I first saw some of his illustrations they instantly grabbed my attention since I found them very strange. I contacted him by email and spoke to him regarding his thoughts and future plans.

According to Mo his illustrations come from the core of his personality, it’s who he truly is without the filters of ego and peer pressures. He’s also excited about coming back to Kuwait after he graduates since he feels there is a lot of potential now more than ever for Kuwait to generate culture on its own.

A lot of culture in Kuwait is homogenized, it comes from the West for the most part. There is the traditional Kuwaiti culture, but that is really just a backdrop being humored for the popular culture, the influx of movies and other entertainment is where the interest of younger and even older generations truly lie. People today have the wonderful luxury of taking in media from around the world, and I think some of the talented and passionate people in Kuwait today are digesting influences from both Western and Eastern creators into their subconscious minds. Something that has popped up in the GCC area has been the advent of interesting and funny animated programs, not to mention the lauded 99 comic book series. I believe that I can help contribute to this newly generating culture, and offer something different than the humor of the animated series and the super-hero stories of the 99.

He’s got a bunch of his illustrations up on his blog which you can check by clicking [Here]

Going by the trailer it looks like a pretty interesting and well made documentary. Makes me look at Saudi Arabia in a completely different light. [YouTube]

Thanks Nocolor

I just got the March schedule for Cinemagic and it looks like I’ve only watched one of the movies showing this month which is Triplets of Belleville. It’s a really strange but cool animation which is definitely worth watching. Check out the full schedule below.

Thursday, March 1st at 7:30pm
THE MILK OF SORROW
Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps.

Saturday, March 3rd at 7:30pm
BARTON FINK
In 1941, New York intellectual playwright Barton Fink comes to Hollywood to write a Wallace Beery wrestling picture. Staying in the eerie Hotel Earle, Barton develops severe writer’s block. His neighbor, jovial insurance salesman Charlie Meadows, tries to help, but Barton continues to struggle as a bizarre sequence of events distracts him even further from his task.

Thursday, March 8th at 7:30pm
TRIPLETS OF BELLVILLE
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters–an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire–to rescue him.

Saturday, March 10th at 7:30pm
THE SWEET HEREAFTER
This film documents the effects of a tragic bus accident on the population of a small town.

Thursday, March 15th at 7:30pm
NETWORK
A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor’s ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

Saturday, March 17th at 7:30pm
RUSSIAN ARK
A 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.

Thursday, March 22nd at 7:30pm
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.

Saturday, March 24th at 7:30pm
DOWN BY LAW
The story of three different men in a Louisiana prison and their eventual journey.

Thursday, March 29th at 7:30pm
THE SON’S ROOM
A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

Saturday, March 31st at 7:30pm
500 DAYS OF SUMMER
An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

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 Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

Ace Hardware have expanded their power saving section and now have solar panels in a wide variety of sizes as well as a lot of different kind of LED lights including powerful garden projectors. I can’t see many people going the solar way since electricity is really cheap but I can see these panels being practical at campsites.

I also noticed IKEA is now selling LED GU10 lights alongside the regular halogen ones. I converted to LEDs around a year ago because my halogen lights kept dying on me and I haven’t regretted the decision since. The LEDs are being sold for KD3.900 which is very reasonable. Their solar powered garden lights are also back in stock.

I got the following by email but have not verified this:

More than 150 visitors to Failaka Island including small children and women were stranded at Failaka Island on Sunday, 26th Feb. The visitors all of whom went to the island using KPTC’s ferry from Salmiya in the morning were told that the return ferries would arrive at 3:30 pm and the last one would be at 4pm. The people who arrived early to get a seat on the ferry had a surprise. There was no sign of the KPTC boat at either 3:30 or 4 pm. The tired crowd was informed by someone that a boat would arrive at 5 pm. But around 5:30 pm when the boats still had not arrived some one in the crowd contacted the KPTC’s office in Salmiya only to be told that there would be no boat arriving as the boats were blocked from leaving the Salmiya jetty because their licence had expired!!!

The people who had bought return tickets on the KPTC ferry were left high and dry on the island with no other mode of transport available nor any alternative plan made by the KPTC to help the stranded passengers. Someone called 112 and were told that they could not do anything about the situation. Finally at nightfall some of the people managed to contact friends and relatives in Kuwait and managed to get some private boats paying exorbitant prices just to be able to leave the island and reach home. Some including ladies who could not afford the boats were still on the island waiting for the ferry which one report suggested might arrive the next day!

– CD

If this is true then it’s messed up.

Failaka Ferry Photo unrelated and taken by Jafar

I’m really excited to post about this place since it’s about damn time we get a specialized photography store in Kuwait. Over the weekend I was planning to order a Think Tank bag from Amazon. I didn’t go through with the order since I was planning to go to Dubai today and figured I would get it from there. My trip got cancelled and I was going to order the bag tonight when I found out on twitter about Alghunaim Photography. Talk about the perfect timing!

Alghunaim Photography just recently opened up in Baitak Tower. They’re a small store but they’ve got some very cool brands including Think Tank bags, Manfrotto tripods and bags, National Geographic bags, Hoodman accessories, Kata bags, Lenspen, LockCircle, Datacolor products, Black Rapid camera straps and more. They actually still have more brands on the way but even with what they have right now they’re already my favorite photography store.

The bag I was interested in was the Think Tank Retrospective 5. It’s a small shoulder bag that I wanted for my tiny Panasonic GX1 camera. It costs around KD40 on Amazon and with tax and shipping to Kuwait it was going to end up costing me at least KD50. At Alghunaim they’re selling it for just KD45! The owner is actually trying his best to match his prices to Amazon. With the Manfrotto items for example he told me his prices should be equal to that of Amazon which I think is great. They also have a lot of National Geographic bags although I didn’t spot the tiny one that’s popular with X100 owners.

Another interesting thing the owner is trying to do is create a used camera market. He wants to start displaying and selling used cameras in his store so if you have one you’re planning to sell you should pass by.

I really hope the store does well and I also hope the prices stay the same. They don’t have an online website yet but their store is easy to find and there is a ton of parking as well. They’re located in Baitak Tower in Kuwait City (facing Safat Square) and they’re on the ground floor opposite Starbucks. You can also call them on 99066601 or 90023334.

You could also visit their website [Here]

More pictures below.

I found a few old pictures of Kuwait on Magnum Photos which I thought would be fun to try and replicate today. I started off with two which I thought would be the easiest since they’re located next to my office.

The first photo I chose was a colored one from 1965. The building is still there although very slightly modified with less transparent glass and some minor change on the roof. The mosque though is not there anymore instead it’s a parking lot and a bit of greenery.

The second photo I chose was a black and white one of the KNPC building when it was still being constructed. The road in front of it is now slightly different but the building is pretty much the same and today occupied by Soor.

I have to say it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. I tried to stand and get the same angle as the original photographer had gotten but without knowing what lens he had used and the fact that everything is so different today it really makes it difficult. Will try and do more of these every now and then.

The cops have started putting up barricades on the Gulf Road in preparation for the National and Liberation Day celebrations this weekend. Like last year, foam sprays are banned again this year but traffic will still be chaotic on the Gulf Road so avoid it this weekend if you can.

Thanks Roy

I was going through Brett Jordan’s photos on Flickr and checking out some shop names in close up when I found this old Alshaya Construction office. According to the Alshaya website:

Between the 1960s and 1970s we expanded substantially, developing distinct businesses in real estate, construction, hotels, automotive and general trading.

According to Brett Jordan the photo was taken in 1960. I thought that was interesting.

I just found out that one of my readers used to pass by the dogs in the Free Trade Zone and feed the dogs every morning. According to the reader the dogs were very friendly and harmless. He even set up a Facebook page asking people to save food left overs and give it to the dogs. Below is taken from the Facebook page he created for them:

Pooch Help – their fate is in your hands.

A group of friendly dogs stranded; probably left there by the friday market barbarians – are in need of continuous food supply. Me and Mom have started providing them with their essentials on regular basis but unfortunately their numbers have increased and require much more attention. I have noticed recently some traces of additional support from kind individuals which I have not met on site; I thank them greatly for their commendable efforts and would like to encourage anyone who still carries a fraction of mercy and capable of assisting to do so.

All that’s required is that you save food leftovers and get it delivered to them.

It was very sad seeing these dogs dead but it’s even sadder going through all the pictures on Facebook and seeing them when they were alive. [Link]

Update: The blogger American Girl just posted pictures and information on the dogs as well since every weekend she used to pass by her husband to feed them. Check out her pictures and post [Here]

Below are all the winners from the Concours automotive event that was held over the weekend at Marina Crescent.

BEST of SHOW
1938 Talbot Lago T150C SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupe Chip Connor Hong Kong

Concours Cars
Class-A : 1910 – 1930
1st A5 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Abdulkarim Chhapra Pakistan
2nd A8 1929 Cord L29 Cabriolet Rene Verbiest Belgium
3rd A9 1929 Hupmobile Abdulkarim Chhapra Pakistan

Class-B : 1931 – 1945
1st B9 1938 Talbot Lago T150C SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupe Chip Connor Hong Kong
2nd B6 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta Pietro Navone Spain
3rd B2 1932 Invicta S-Type Low Chassis Alan Chandler UK

Class-C : 1946 – 1960
1st C4 1951 Maserati A6G 2000 Vignale Body Shigeru Hoshino Japan
2nd C13 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I Ali Mustafa Makhseed Kuwait
3rd C13 1948 Delahaya 135 MS Convertible coachwork by Saoutchik Jean Claude Marmier France

Class-D : 1961 – 1975
1st D6 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Volante short chassis Mohammed Rezam AlRoumi Kuwait
2nd D8 1966 Lamborghini 350GT Albert & Rita Spiess Switzerland
3rd D3 1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato William Loughran UK

Muscle Cars
1st M17 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible Stanley Kryla USA
2nd M8 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Abdulla AlQadibi Kuwait
3rd M12 1970 Plymouth Cuda 340 Historical, Vintage & Classic Car Museum Kuwait

Racing Cars
1st R5 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spyder Helmut Ebrlein – Representing the owner Germany
2nd R8 1955 Maserati 250F Bill Pope UK
3rd R3 1927 Salmson Type GSC San Sebastian Camille Bourges France

Most Elegant Open Car
1955 Siata 208S Jim Utaski USA

Most Elegant Closed Cars
1955 Bugatti 57S Atalante Chip Connor Hong Kong

Most Elegance Racing Car
1953 Jaguar C-Type Margaret Jackson & Neil Hadfield UK

Best European Car
1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato William Loughran UK

Best American Car
1954 Plymouth Explorer 195 Coupe by Ghia Petersen Museum USA

Best Preserved Car
1966 Lamborghini 350GT Albert & Rita Spiess Switzerland

Best Restored Car
1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta Pietro Navone Spain

Most Innovative Italian Car – Trophy Awarded by ACI – Automobile Club of Italy (Selected by Kuwait Concours Judges)
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Khalid Abdulrahem Bahrain

Best Rolls-Royce
1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Continantal Mulliner Park Ward Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al-Khalifa Bahrai

via Octane

Is there a reason why gas stations don’t get longer hoses so that cars who have their gas tanks on the left can still fill up from a hose that’s on the right?

Earlier tonight I passed by Ubon, the new trendy Thai restaurant that opened up in Kuwait City. I’m not a big fan of Thai food but the place is located in my office tower and the interior looks amazing so I had to try it. Below is what I ended up ordering.

Tom Yum Goong Soup (KD2.400) It’s a hot and sour prawn soup with mushroom and vegetables. I asked mine to be made medium spicy which turned out to be too spicy for my liking.

Chicken Satay Sticks (KD2.200) These were really great. I kinda wish the peanut sauce was a bit thicker but that’s an issue I have with Thai food in general.

Green Curry Chicken (KD3.000) + Jasmine Steamed Rice (KD1.000) I loved this dish but next time I’m ordering it without the veggies.

Sticky Rice with Mango (KD2.800) This was the biggest surprise. I ordered it unwillingly since I didn’t find anything else on the small dessert list. It didn’t sound great (rice dessert?) and when it came it didn’t look that appetizing either. But after scooping up a bit of rice with mango and taking a bite I fell in love with it. 99% of the desserts I have involve chocolate so it was extremely refreshing to finally find a chocolate free dessert that I can really enjoy.

Fried Banana with Honey (complimentary) I originally wanted to order this for dessert but was told it wasn’t available. After my Sticky Rice with Mango arrived they told me that the Fried Banana was available and they would serve it to me after the Sticky Rice. I’m honestly glad they had originally told me it wasn’t available or else I wouldn’t have discovered the Sticky Rice. The Fried Banana is a very safe option and wasn’t that exciting. My recommendation would be to go with the Sticky Rice.

I had a good experience tonight and I can’t wait until they start opening for lunch since it would be very convenient for me. Right now they’re open from 6 to 11pm. Price wise they’re very reasonable and the portions are pretty good. I’m glad someone decided to open something other than a burger or frozen yogurt place. Now if someone would open a small trendy Chinese restaurant.

To find out more about Ubon visit their website [Here]