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Beat Diabetes – Join the Walk is the first ever walkathon to be organized by Landmark Group in Kuwait (under the patronage of the Ministry of Health and Dasman Diabetes Institute). The walkathon will start at the Yacht Club and end at the Green Island on November 27th. To register you need to pass by any Landmark Group outlet (Centrepoint, Max, Home Centre and New Look stores).

Date: Saturday, 27 November, 2010
Kit Collection: 8.00 am
Walk Time: 9.00 am
Venue: Yacht Club to Green Island

Participation is free and everybody is invited.

965 Malls is an interesting new blog that’s basically about all the malls in Kuwait. They post information on the latest shop offers, activities taking place at malls and random tidbits like who shut down, who’s opening up and even about internal mall quarrels. It’s interesting stuff. [Link]

Recently they’ve started putting up new speed cameras on the Gulf Road. They’ve started installing cameras in new locations and they’ve also started replacing some old cameras including the red light cameras and speed cameras with newer models. The new cameras differ from the older ones in that the radar, flash and camera are no longer located all together in one housing (like this) but instead divided into two separate pieces. Currently the large box housing (better pictures below) doesn’t have any openings in the front but I am guessing that’s because the system is still being set up and installed. Judging by the pictures on the manufacturers website, the housing called the TraffiTower can hold all the systems internally including the camera so not sure why they’re installing the camera separately. Also I am guessing there must be something new, a new feature that previously wasn’t available that they will be installing in the housing or else why would they replace the reliable and practical single housing units? I took a few pictures of the new speed cameras which you can check out above and below.

This has to be the greatest find yet, a documentary on Kuwait filmed in 1962. Embedding of the video has been disabled so to watch it you need to click [Here]

The Oil industry in Arab country of Kuwait, Middle East. Film made in 1962, directed by Rodney Giesler.

A young Kuwaiti man visits a typical idyllic English village. The village is Shere in Surrey. Shots of old timber framed houses. He speaks to camera. Another man outside the rear entrance of the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank. Another Kuwaiti man talks seated at an outdoor café in London. They both speak to camera.

Film then switches to Kuwait. Point of view from car of busy Kuwait streets. Construction site and builders. The desert. Gas or oil terminal. Oil tankers. Docks. Arab man with headdress rides in the back of a lorry. Travelling shot of crowded street with American cars. Arab businessman in his office, talks on telephone. Various shops, selling electrical goods, chairs. Shopper plays an accordion. Some stylish modernist buildings. Two men drink from cola bottles. Large American car with fins pulls out and nearly crashes with another (seen from the rear). The ruler of Kuwait at a military parade. Various scenes of doctors, dentists, opticians at work. Small children rushing into school, mainly local but some white children as well. Bottle delivery man helps two schoolboys climb a wall. Children have lessons. School meal. Bakery. Deaf children have lessons at a special school. Little girl learns to speak. Young man writes with a special Braille typewriter. He also reads Braille. The airport, foreign skilled workers arrive, get off Kuwaiti Airlines aircraft. Oil well. Christian church for westerners. Woman in horn rimmed spectacles sits under a hair dryer. Lives of foreigners. Locals learn skills from foreign workers. Pilot lesson. University scenes with students.

Oil industry. Arab men have discussion in a boardroom. Cars drive through a sandstorm. Natural gas. Fresh water plant and delivery lorries being loaded. Delivery to Bedouins. Government experimental farm on land reclaimed from desert. Growing crops, dairy cows. Mosque, man calls to prayer. Grievance settling – men meet with the ruler in an office. Law court. Aerial view of Kuwait city and docks. Busy street scenes. Shots of various people walking in the street. Children play in a school playground.

The documentary is 26 minutes long but really worth it. I love the voice over and music, reminds me of the old Tex Avery cartoons.
Once again, to watch this documentary click [Here]

Thanks Hamad!

For those of you who’ve been following the story of the old photographer you will be happy to know he just left to hajj today. As I mentioned in my previous post on the old photographer, a very kind reader offered to help send him to hajj at her expense. Not only did she finance the whole trip but she also helped find a hemla that would take him and she even helped him pack and take him to the airport. I really can’t thank her enough for her kindness, what she did was beyond nice. She sent me a picture of the old man at the airport today dressed in the traditional white cloths with an expression on his face that looks like he can’t believe this is all really happening and not just a dream.

There is another reader I would also like to thank for helping with the Saudi visa. If it wasn’t for his help the old man wouldn’t have been able to get a visa and he wouldn’t have been able to travel. But the old man was lucky since the visa was issued last night which was just in the nick of time because the last group from the old man’s hemla was leaving today.

So thank you to the both of you for making this old man’s wish come true.

For those of you who missed the story of the old man I’m talking about above, here are the previous posts:
In Kuwait since 1959
Update on the old photographer
What would help the old photographer
Quick update on the old photographer

Today I got my first MRI and it was the freakiest thing ever. I’ve seen MRI’s on TV a lot, on the TV show HOUSE for example a lot of important scenes play out in the MRI room but what they don’t show you on TV is the fact you have to stay really still in these machines for around 45 to 60 minutes! What they also don’t show you is how claustrophobic an MRI machine actually is.

Before going into the MRI room I had to remove all the metal objects on me including my watch, coins, belt and wallet. I didn’t have any metal in my wallet but the magnetic strip on the credit cards get wiped out in an MRI machine. After I removed all the metal I went into the MRI room and was told to lie down on my back while the doctor gave me some ear plugs to help with the sound. She then proceeded to lock my head into place so that it didn’t move and handed me a button to hold which I should use in case I need anything. She then pressed a button on the machine and the area I was lying on started slowly going inside the machine. Once I went in maybe 30cm I stopped her and told her no way I could do this. She asked me if I was claustrophobic I told her I wasn’t but this was just too much. It’s uncomfortable lying on my back and getting shoved inside a tight space made me feel extremely uneasy. I kept thinking random thoughts like what if there was an earthquake and the ceiling fell in and I got stuck in this machine. It would be like getting buried alive, very freaky. I asked her if there was any other option other than an MRI she told me there wasn’t. Not much I could do so I figured I would try going back into the machine with my eyes closed.

It worked, or at least it helped a lot. She told me if I stayed very still we could be done in 45 minutes, if I moved then things would take longer. I was now lying inside the machine with my eyes closed and grasping the emergency button in my hands. I figured I could use this time to think about stuff when suddenly the machine started to work and I lost all thought. The machine emitted very electronic sounds mostly but in some occasions the sounds were very industrial similar to stuff Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails would use.

To kill time I decided to count the length of each scan since the machine would start for a bit and then shut off for a minute or two before starting again. There wasn’t much to do sitting still in the machine so I figured by counting the length of the sessions I could maybe figure out a pattern or at least get an idea of how long I was in the machine for and how much time might be remaining. I opened my eyes every now and then and honestly it just felt really horrible and extremely uncomfortable being in the machine.

I had no idea how long had gone by or how much time I had left. Every now and then the doctor would ask me via an intercom system if I was ok and that I should continue to remain still. Then suddenly I noticed I was being taken out of the machine, I was relieved it was finally over when to my horror I noticed a male doctor at the other end telling me not to move and that he was just going to inject me and send me back into the machine. I was like what??! What injection?! Are you sure? Am I not done?? He told me I still needed a few more minutes. He gave me the injection and sent me back in. Once inside I noticed he took the emergency button from me and forgot to give it back to me. That freaked me out. I started to panic a bit since there was now no way to get in touch with anyone in case something went wrong. What did I get injected with? What if I got a negative reaction to it? I started to feel there was something wrong with my breathing. It was very difficult to breath and I was freaking out. Then the machine started again and I had to stay still, I figured I would try to control my breathing and get this whole episode over with.

Around 10 or 15 minutes later I got pulled out of the machine. What a relief. When I got outside Nataly was waiting for me, I thought the whole procedure had taken maybe 20 or 30 minutes since it didn’t feel too long but to my surprise it had taken a full hour. I found that very weird, usually time goes by really slowly in a situation like that but I guess since I had no clue on how much time was in fact passing things just moved quicker. I hope I never have to get another MRI done again. What an experience…

As I usually do when I come to Lebanon I always need to post about how the internet connection sucks here so here. I get back to Kuwait tomorrow so everything should get back to normal then. Mt Everest has 3G and we still don’t have anything as fast here in Lebanon yet.

Taco Bell is opening up their first branch in Kuwait next Thursday at The Avenues. It’s about time! The list of places still left to open keeps shrinking… Wendy’s, A&W, Five Guys, Jack in the Box, White Castle, Arby’s, Cheese Cake Factory and In-N-Out.

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 2: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has activated decision No. 614/1967 which allows foreigners, who enter Kuwait on tourist visas and stay in five-star hotels, to consume alcohol, reports Al-Shahed daily. Sources said alcohol will be served in specially allocated places and the guests will not be allowed to drink in public places. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei reacted to the report, saying “it is either a joke or certain parties are testing waters to see if the idea will work.” Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Al-Tabtabaei said “the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has denied all such reports and added that it did not issue any such circular in 1977.” [Source]

Kuwait Times predicted this 3 years ago [Link]

The weather is great and so the Cinemagic movie nights are back on. Cinemagic would like to extend its early EID wishes to all the fans and supporters. They wish you all the best happy life. Also note that during this occasion, the whole week of ADHA, they will not be screening any films. Happy Eid.

Thursday, November 4th at 7:30PM
THE WIZARD OF OZ
Director: Victor Fleming
Country: USA
Release: 1939
Genre: Adventure | Fantasy | Musical | Family
Running time: 101 minutes
Language: English | English Subtitle
Awards: 2 Oscars, 5 other wins and 8 nominations
Rated: PG

Saturday, November 6th at 7:30PM
A PROPHET
Director: Jacques Audiard
Country: France
Release: 2009
Genre: Drama | Crime
Running time: 155 minutes
Language: French | English Subtitle
Awards: 25 awards and 15 nominations
Rated: R

Thursday, November 11th at 7:30PM
SURPRISE FILM
Director:
Country:
Release: 2009
Genre: War | Drama
Running time: 93 minutes
Language: Arabic | French | English | English Subtitle
Awards: 9 awards and 6 nomination
Rated: 15+

Saturday, November 13th at 7:30PM
I AM LOVE
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Country: Italy
Release: 2010
Genre: Drama
Running time: 120 minutes
Language: Italian | English Subtitle
Awards: 2 awards
Rated: R

Thursday, November 25th at 7:30PM
EXILED
Director: Johnnie To
Country: Hong Kong
Release: 2006
Genre: Thriller | Crime
Running time: 110 minutes
Language: Cantonese | English
Subtitle Awards: 6 awards, and 10 nominations
Rated: 15+

Saturday, November 27th at 7:30PM
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
Director: Cristian Nemescu
Country: Romania
Release: 2007
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Running time: 155 minutes
Language: English | Romanian | English Subtitle
Awards: 9 awards and 1 nomination
Rated: 15+

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. There is a KD1 charge for the venue fees which includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

Fahad just started his own health and fitness blog! For those of you who don’t know who he is, Fahad is the owner of the Core Fitness gym and is a guest writer on this blog. You can check some of his previous health related posts [Here]. According to his new blogs “about” page this is what he will be posting:

Essentially, anything associated with health and fitness is trying to be Fahad. As such, this blog will hopefully offer the latest and updated news on the world of health and fitness, including bodybuilding, sports performance, nutrition and achieving overall well-being. You’ll also witness all my trials and tribulations (some might fail, and some might succeed) in achieving maximum potential both physically and mentally.

I’ll be documenting my meals, workouts and dietary supplements. As an avid health-seeker, I’ll also be roaming around the streets of Kuwait reviewing what products, foods, restaurants, drinks, etc are worth your hard-earned (or not so hard-earned) cash.

So check out his new blog and don’t forget to bookmark it. [Link]

I passed by with some friends last night to the Pro Kart Racing track off the 6th ring road. The track is located next to the drift track and a motocross track but to get to that whole area is a bit tricky since you need to take an unofficial exit off the 6th ring road but I’ve got a link to the area on Google Maps at the end of this post to help you out.

The track opened up a few months ago but the weather now is perfect for it. You don’t need a driving license to race on their track, you just need to be 14 years old or older. The cost is KD5 for an 8 minute session which is a lot longer than it sounds and I would say is 4 or 5 laps around their large track. The last time I had done go karting was in Lebanon back in 1995 so don’t really have much experience with it. The karts seemed pretty fast once they picked up speed but acceleration was pretty weak. The karts mostly had incredible grip on the track which made my ride back home in the FJ seem like I was driving a boat.

We raced at night which I highly do not recommend. They had issues last night with their flood lights (some were not working) which resulted in patches of the track that were pitch dark. Even the patches that were lit up weren’t really that bright. I would imagine things would be a lot more fun during the day since other than the fact you would actually be able to see the track but you would also be able to see your friends. Since they open up at 5PM there really isn’t much daylight hours so you would have to get there early.

The track is fairly big with a lot of great turns and a good amount of straights. One of the guys in our group races on the Bahraini national karting team and he obviously kicked all our asses. I came before last on my first try since my first couple of laps I was still getting used to the karts and then managed to pick up pace on my last laps. My second race was a total disaster since I came in last. After my good last laps in my first race I came in to the second race too confident and ended up going into the turns too fast and spinning out. I spun out at least 6 times and by then I was just too far behind to catch up.

Karting was a lot of fun but next time I would definitely want to go back during the day. Here is the location on the [Map] and here is a link to their [Website]. They’re open daily starting from 5PM, each race session is KD5.

So we can now mark off Red Lobster and Olive Garden from our restaurants we need to have in Kuwait list. What’s still missing? Wendy’s, A&W, Five Guys, Jack in the Box, White Castle, Arby’s, Cheese Cake Factory, In-N-Out and Taco Bell. [Link]

via SomeContrast

Anyone know whatever happened to Latina Mina the 99.7 DJ who was drunk and started cussing on the air? Did she ever end up getting arrested? Did she leave Kuwait or is she still here?

Back in May I linked to a PDF taken from a 1969 issue of National Geographic and spoke about the Villa pictured above because I loved the design of it. Well a reader just landed across my post and commented the following:

Hi, this is our house, it used to belongs to my father and 2 brothers, Mohamed, Nasser (my late father) and Faisal Al-Duaijani. It was built and finished in 1968 and we moved into it when I was 5 years old after previously living in Do3′a (Farwaniya now).

The house is located at the intersection of the 4th ring road with Damascus street in Al-Rodah and it was sold to Mr. Al-Mokeazeam (cant recall his first name.. sorry) back in 1985. There was some modifications done to it, they completed the 3rd floor and closed the balconies which really made it lose its futuristic (at that time) looks. The villa was also shown in (Tarbiya Wataniya) elementary school book back in 1979 as one of the landmarks of Kuwait with my uncle Faisal shown standing in the first floor balcony. The villa just next to it was built and owned by my aunt and her husband the late Mr. Jasem Al-3otaiby. It had the same features and it still exists (also with some modifications) but it was sold directly to Al-Banwan family which i guess they’re still living in it.

I’m sorry I can’t recall the name of the architect and I’ll try to ask about it and give tell you if I find out. From what I recall we had big disputes with him about the mocked copies of the villa, the one in 3deliya and the one in Khaldiya about the exclusivity of design and rights to it which believe it or not was stronger back in the 60′s & 70′s than today!!

Aaahh, I’m 45 years old now, where did the good old days go??!!

Thanks,
Abdulla