Bazaar january 2016 issue #200

January 2016 | Issue # 200 w w w. b a z a a r. t o w n

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It’s time to believe in yourself.

TONY PARKER. WILLIAM ANTHONY PARKER IS A FRENCH PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER IN THE NBA, ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED IN THE WORLD. HE HAS PROVEN THAT MEASURING 1.88 METERS IS NOT AN OBSTACLE TO REACHING THE TOP. TONY IS WEARING A TISSOT CHEMIN DES TOURELLES AUTOMATIC WITH A POWERMATIC 80 MOVEMENT WITH UP TO 80 HOURS OF POWER RESERVE.

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sot T I S S OT WATC H E S . C O M TISSOT, INNOVATORS BY TRADITION

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Int Welcome to the 200th issue of bazaar magazine. bazaar was launched in 1997 as a one-off project by a group of friends, all of whom had day jobs and didn’t know much (anything actually) about printing or publishing. The response was fantastic, so the friends decided to publish a second issue. The rest as they say, is history. Since, as you may have noticed over the years, I’m not one to wax lyrical, instead, I’d rather share some mind boggling statistics: We’ve printed approximately 2 million copies of bazaar magazine over the years.

That’s around 320 million pages! We went from distributing the magazine in two locations, to over 300 locations all over Kuwait, and we still can’t keep up with the demand for the magazine from other places that want copies to distribute to their customers.

We’ve managed to survive the Iraq war, when there were scud missiles flying over our offices in the Free Zone (hey, a little Brian Williams never hurt anyone) and hundreds of thousands of American soldiers based in Kuwait. We’ve managed to survive the economic meltdown and recession of 2008/2009, and came out of that dark time bruised, but stronger than ever. We’ve also managed to survive the many integral and fundamental changes to print media that have shaken this industry to the core. The Internet and Social Media, and smart phones and iPads have changed the name of the game forever, since they have totally changed people’s habits, and how they get their news and content, and how they stay aware of what’s new, what’s exciting and what’s happening around them. If anything, these tools and technological advances made it even easier for us to get closer to our readers, fans, and followers, and have made sharing our content that much easier and in a timelier fashion. We’ve gone from a flash website with music (remember those?) to 50 visitors a day, to over 3000 daily users of bazaar.town.

Ever since we launched bazaar in 1997 our motto has always been ‘freedom to express’, since on the one hand we are a free magazine that you don’t have to pay for, and far more importantly, we’ve always strived to be the voice of liberal and free Kuwait, and a platform for the amazing people of this country, locals and expats alike, to share their thoughts, ideas, and achievements on our pages.

This issue of bazaar is a heavy one, what with all the amazing advertisers who wanted to be included in our 200th issue, and all the great content we wanted to share with you, and with the 2016 Dining Guide, and the annual wall planner all bundled together for your convenience. If for some reason, you can’t find your copy of the guide (they’ve been known to mysteriously disappear), or want more copies to give to colleagues or friends, drop us an email and we’ll have some copies sent over as soon as possible.

Happy new year!

Ahmed El-Adly

About the Cover: The beauty of design lies in its flexibility.

What began as an urban custom design project by local talent and bazaar designer Ahmed Al-Ashab, quickly evolved into a bazaar cover project. When the team first laid their eyes on Ashab’s ability to beautifully combine calligraphy and modern design, they saw it as an opportunity that is not to be missed as a celebration for bazaar’s 200th issue.

January 2016 | Issue # 200 w w w. b a z a a r. t o w n

The bazaar team...

Boss Ahmed El-Adly

Operations Tim Burns

Business Development Ihab Mokalled

Design and Cover Artist Ahmed Al-Ashab

Content Coordinator/Staff Writer Yasmine El Charif

Staff Writer/Online Media Amira Haroun

Staff Writer Lili Barras-Hargan Yasmine Dalloul

Communications Hala Y. Sharara

Editor

Printing

Alia Al Duaij

British Industries for Printing and Packaging

Contributing Writers Aaron Cooper Ayman Nassar Deepa Pant Mohammed El Soukkary Muna M. Al Gharabally Nejoud Al Yagout South Of Sane Dr. Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg

Contributing Photographers Abdulaziz Alsurayee Muneera Alkhulaifi Tareq Alaskar

members of:

w w w. b p aw w. c o m The views expressed in bazaar magazine are those of the respective contributors and not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff (but sometimes they are).

Syndicates & Sources Baraka Bits Fast Company LA Times MCT International Newsweek

tel. 2461 0017 – fax 2461 0018 info@bazaar-magazine.com www.bazaar.town | Al Argan Complex, Shuwaikh Free Trade Zone @bazaargram bazaarmagazine @bazaartweets

No one likes to be dumped;

recycle me, please.

korloff

INDEX JAN '16

30 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Q At The Yard This month’s Up Close and Personal is brought to you by the girls behind Q At The Yard. Get to know the ultimate designing duo and read their story on a little dream turning into a big, fabulous reality filled with kischy items and delicious dishes.

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WHAT SUHEIL SAW

KIDZANIA

A heartwarming and inspirational It’s the most wonderful time of the year story of how one man’s journey to the at KidZania! Our lucky writers and three Mediterranean Sea meant helping even luckier kids get to experience a day others who were in desperate need. of froZen fun at the beloved children’s We at bazaar held back our tears as educational entertainment facility that’s we learned all about Suheil Al-Tayea’s currently celebrating their annual (and experiences volunteering with refugees highly impressive!) Winter Festival. in Rhodes.

128 PROPER SLIDERS

URBAN Q8 FILMS

If you dream of mixing and matching your sliders without having to scarf down three at a time, this is the place for you! Check out our review of the tiny burger haven tucked within the sleepy streets of Mahboula. Warning: mouth watering content ahead.

Calling all creatives, your voices will be heard. We met with Tarek Al Askar, the creator behind the visual media concept, Urban Q8, that’s been buzzing all over the internet with its YouTube channel. Tarek dishes on this concept and why it’s important for the community.

Kateh Restaurant p.108

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KUWAIT EVENTS

NOSTALGIC TIME WARP

There’s always something to do in Kuwait, and Hussain Al-Rasheed is ensuring that everyone will always be in the know with his new, boredom-saving app, Kuwait Events. Available on IOS and Android, this app is definitely an essential. Read ahead to find out all about it!

To celebrate our 200th issue, we’re travelling back in time to 1997 – the year where we released our first ever issue, and of course, where a lot of other hilarious/amazing things happened. Turn off your cellphones, people, we’re going back to the ‘90s.

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KATEH

TRUTH OR DARE: YUSRA MOHSEN

BULLYing

Are you missing some Ghormeh Sabzi in your life? Do you crave koobideh with every fiber of your being? Are you looking to innovate Friday family lunches with feels-likehome-cooked food and gorgeous outdoor seating? This Persian eatery is the answer to all of the above.

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In honor of our 200th issue, former We meet with the talented artist and bazaarite, the lengendary Yusra designer Abdullah Al-Saab who’s recent Mohsen, reconnects with us and exhibition at Dar Al-Funoon provoked reminisces about her days working as thoughts and emotions with eerily the Operations Manager and Editor beautiful images depicting a social issue of our magazine way back when. She not many know how to address. Read plays our favorite game, Truth or Dare, on to find out more. and we’re loving every minute of it.

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EBBA

TASTE OF Q8

Our #stylegoals have evolved with this amazing and innovative new brand! This independent clothing line features a gorgeous and revolutionary piece known as The Sweater Kimono, made with supple, cozy woven fabric, and ideal to pair with any piece. Keep reading for more information!

Only two more months to go, and we’re super excited! In this issue, we have not one, but two profiles of special chefs who will be joining the 2016 Taste of Q8 food festival – singer/entrepreneur Suliman Al Qassar and culinary star Chef Ian Kittichai.

HUGO BOSS AG Phone +49 /123 940 www.hugoboss.com

hugo

Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait

Boss Store Prestige The Avenues T: 22288020 Boss Store Mariam Complex Salmiya T: 22288021 Boss Sportswear Store 2nd Avenue The Avenues T: 22288010 Boss Sportswear Store Marina Mall Salmiya T: 22288023

bazaar connect Freedom to find us

30,000 readers

With a bilingual audience of both English and Arabic, we cover everything from what’s on, to the bizarre. We print and distribute 10,000 copies of bazaar every month; each copy is read by an average of 3 people, giving us a total readership of over 30,000. bazaar is published every month (except August), delivered free of charge to a large subscriber database, and distributed free of charge in all of the following locations: Cafés & Eateries

Bredz Burger Hub, Gulf Road Café November, Kipco Tower, Shuwaikh Market Casper & Gambini, Kuwait City, Marina Crescent Chocolate Bar, Al Bida’a, Marina Crescent, Spoons Container 75, Jabriya

Costa Coffee Outlets: Al Argan Marina Crescent Miral Mall, Mangaf Kuwait Airport Saqran Mall Ghawalli Mall Sahara Shaab

Starbucks Outlets: Abdullah Mubarak Adeliya Airport Mall Al Mowasat Hospital Al Shaya Head Office Aliya & Ghalia Complex Andalouse Coop AUK Bairaq Mall Baitak Tower Behbehani Complex Bida’a Complex BMW Showroom Daiya Co-op Dar Al Awadi Divonne, Abu Hassaniya Four Points by Sheraton

Hilton Resort Jabriya Kaifan Khalifa Resort Kout Mall Marina Crescent Marina Mall Mishref NBK Nuzha Co-op Plaza Hawalli Rosa Castle Salhiya Salmiya, Salem Al-Mubarak Salmiya Co-op Salwa Co-op Scientific Center Seif Hospital Shaab Shamiya Co-op Sharq Co-op Sheikha Complex Sheikh Saed Al Abdullah Terminal Shuwaikh Zain Headquarters Souk Sharq The Avenues The Palms Hotel Zahra Co-op

Made Caffe Al Salam Mall November Bakery, Al-Tilal Organica Fish & Chips, Jabriya P.Q. - The Palms, Marina Mall Paul - The Avenues, Marina Mall Prime & Toast - Al Bida’a, Seif Strip Scoop-A-Cone - Egaila, Fahaheel Someday Café The Early Bird - Fahaheel, Jabriya Upper Crust - The Village

Other Outlets:

Al Corniche Club Crowne Plaza, Farwaniya, Salmiya Hilton Kuwait Resort & Spa Holiday Inn, Salmiya, Inspire Pure Fitness JW Marriott – Residence Inn, Sharq Millenium Hotel & Conference Center Pilates & More - Salmiya, Mahboula Spaloon The Palms Beach Hotel The Yoga Center

Crumbs, Shaab Dunkin Donuts, Mall 360 Elevation Burger, Abu Halifa, Al Bida’a, Al-Hamra, Avenues, Meshrif, Haagen Dazs - Souk Sharq, Arraya Johnny Rockets- opp. Salhiya Complex, Marina, Salmiya, The Avenues, Alia & Ghalia Complex Juan Valdez Café, Symphony Mall

members of: www.bpaww.com

Clinics & Hospitals

Al Mubarakiya Dental Clinic - Egaila, Salmiya Al Safat American Hospital Boushahri Clinic Dasman Diabetes Institute Diet Care Center Gulf Clinic International Clinic Maidan Clinic - Fahaheel, Farwaniya, Hawalli, Sharq, Subah Al Salem Noor Clinic Salam Hospital Seif Hospital Soor Center Taiba Clinic The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic

Hotels & Health Clubs

Malls

Al Salam Mall Arraya Haagen Dazs Galleria Al Hamra Elevation Burger Mall 360 Dunkin Donuts Marina Mall/Crescent Casper & Gambini Chocolate Bar Johnny Rockets P.Q. Paul Souq Sharq Starbucks Haagen Dazs Breadz Symphony Mall Juan Valdez The Avenues Elevation Burger Johnny Rockets Paul Starbucks Airport Mall Starbucks Dar Al Awadi I.O. Center Spoons Chocolate Bar Salhiya Complex Starbucks

Stand Alones

4 Boutique Alghanim Marine Alghanim Showrooms - Safat Al Rai,

Shuweikh, Sharq, Fahaheel beau-Tique cosmetics British Embassy Brush Salon CAP Gallery Cookie Dough Dar Al Funoon Dar.Nur Gold Class Lounge - Grand Cinemas Al Hamra I. O. Center Italian Center Jacques Dessange Salon, Shaab KAICO Kuwait Airport Business Class Lounges N Style Nail Lounge Media Elephant Pink Moon Boutique Sultan Gallery THE One The Chairman's Club USA Embassy

Schools & Universities American International School American University of Kuwait Australian College Kuwait Bayan School (Hawalli) Boxhill College BSK - British School of Kuwait Universal American School

Kuwait University Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks

Khaldiya Adeliya Jabriya Shuwaikh

bazaar magazine has been a member of BPA Worldwide since June 2010, ensuring complete transparency, verifying bazaar as an audited publication which distributes 10,000 copies on a monthly basis. To access our BPA report, please visit: www.bpaww.com or log onto our website www.bazaar.town for a downloadable pdf version.

Freedom to surf us

www.bazaar.town

Freedom to share us

19,000 fans and followers

55,000 unique monthly visitors

In addition to delivering our readers with our monthly print installment of bazaar, we’re here to pick your brain daily with www.bazaar.town-- The ultimate guide to Kuwait! Packed with a little bit of everything for everybody, with daily updates on events in Kuwait, tips for life, inspiring interviews, polls, competitions, reviews, a classifieds section, and of course a comprehensive dining directory including addresses, telephone numbers, and links to each restaurant’s location on Google Maps, it will not disappoint!

twitter.com/bazaartweets

facebook.com/bazaarmagazine

instagram.com/bazaargram

bazaar Newsletter

We get even closer to our readers by taking advantage of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels on a daily basis. With more than 10,000 collective fans and followers, we love starting different conversations with our readers, sharing music, jokes, photos, competitions, and much more. Twitter gives us the ability to tweet live from the many fun and exciting events that we cover, giving our readers minute by minute coverage and commentary, and allowing us to follow the people and brands that we like too, of which there are so many.

Freedom to flip us

20,000 monthly readers

issuu.com/bazaarmagazine

Too lazy to go pick up bazaar from your local café? Now you can browse through the complete physical magazine online via issuu.com. Featuring our indepth interviews, reviews, stellar photography, and the latest ads showcasing what’s hot in the market right now; you can browse through bazaar freely and securely, whether you're on your PC, laptop, Smartphone, or tablet.

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what's on?

COMPLICITY Date: January 19th – February 11th, 2016 Location: Sultan Gallery A group exhibition in collaboration with Gypsum Gallery, Cairo, Egypt, inspired by the a quote from “Just Kids”, a memoir penned by the poet, artist and singer Patti Smith about her complicated and intimate relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The quote refers to a black and white photographic portrait he shot of her for the cover of her first album in 1975. Smith’s words suggest that artists are often present in their works even when they are not the subjects.

Featuring video, photography, photomontage, painting and drawing, the show brings together a group of works in which artist and subject are inextricably bound.

Many of the works stem from a private story, a recurring memory or an intense personal experience. They compress and translate, through the physical form of an artwork, intangible desires and vulnerabilities. Because of the introspective and psychological nature of the work, they often trigger in the viewer a sense of unease, as if they are seeing or partaking in something that is not quite legitimate.

And often, beneath the veneer of the personal revelations, more complex and collective power relations reveal themself.

For more information, contact The Sultan Gallery on 6097 0001 or visit them online at www.sultangallery.com.

RUSSELL PETERS LIVE IN KUWAIT Date: 16th January 2016 8:00pm Location: Kuwait Sporting Club, Kaifan The one and only Russell Peters is appearing for the first time in Kuwait! Russell is a world famous comedian and actor, loved by fans from all around the globe for his unique and observant sense of humor. Peters will appear at the Kaifan Sporting Club on the 16th January. Doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 8:00pm.

Tickets are expected to sell out quickly, so act quickly and get your tickets now to enjoy a 2 hour blast of laughter and excitement for Russell’s first standup comedy in Kuwait.

For information and tickets, visit www.eventat.com.

EN.V’S YOUTH EMPOWEREMENT PROGRAM “N-MU” Date: 31st January 2016 Location: NIU office, 21st Floor Al Zumorrodah Tower, Jibla, Kuwait Are you a youth living in Kuwait and passionate about creating change in your community? If so, The en.v Initiative (www.envearth.com) welcomes you to register for its Youth Training Program #nmu, which utilizes a combination of training and funding through small grants. n-mu aims to promote active citizenship through critical reflection, dialogue and action. You can apply for the last training round which will be conducted in Arabic and star ts on the 31st of Januar y by visiting www.nmu.envearth.com. You can also follow @envearth on Instagram and Facebook, and @env_initiative on Twitter for up to date coverage of the program’s activities.

Training rounds are free and seats are limited. Grab a friend and sign up before the deadline on 28th January 2016!

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what’s trending January 2016 As much as we work our hardest to give you one rocking print issue after the other, we’re socially active (or try our best to be, we are bazaar humans after all) and we love it!

Find us online: It makes our day when we see your tweets/mentions/likes/comments/shares about your favorite features and more. facebook.com/bazaarmagazine

what: @healthyisthenewskinny info: Re-defining the media’s beauty standards. editor’s note: Everyday is Cheat Day!

what: @bazaargram info: It’s our 200th issue! editor’s note: Providing you with awesome reading material since 1997.

what: @kuwaitevents info: Never miss out on an event again! editor’s note: There’s always something to do.

twitter.com/bazaartweets

pinterest.com/bazaarmagazine

what: @avantbeige info: Fine designs all the way from Chicago. editor’s note: Gorgeously curated everyday essentials.

www.bazaar.town

what: @ebbakw info: Innovative and cozy styles. editor’s note: Kimono sweaters? #stylegoals

instagram.com/bazaargram

what: @forkfed info: Nutritionist approved clean eating tips. editor’s note: You are what you eat!

what: @kateh info: Gorgeous Persian eatery in Murouj. editor’s note: Nooshe jan!

what: @urbanq8films info: Showcasing the creative minds of Kuwait. editor’s note: YouTube channel: UrbanQ8.

triwa

Baitak Tower: 22257908 Behbehani Complex: 22403954 Fanar Mall (Luxenter): 25731077 Symphony Mall: 22441614 www.taw9eel.com www.theyard-kw.com

www.ybsco.net @behbehani1938 @behbehani1938 www.facebook.com/YBSCO

NOSTALGIC TIME WARP Remembering what life was like in the good old dark ages

By bazaar staff

1997 is a big year for us here at bazaar!

Not only is it the year where our first issue was published (November 1st 1997), but a lot of great things were going on at that time as well.

It was a simple and happy time where you had to choose between talking on the phone and using “dial-up” Internet. It was a year where TVs were thick, cell phones were huge (and a luxury!), and basically all the sitcoms were set in unrealistically priced apartments in New York City. Travel with us through time and let’s reminisce over what happened.

It’s-a-Me! Mario!

People were able to see Mario in 3D (and play four players at a time – goodbye fighting over consoles!) with Nintendo 64.

Bo? Is That You? Dolly the Sheep was cloned, and couldn’t handle the fame so she hitchhiked her way over to the bazaar offices, recreating herself as Bo, our mascot.

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Good-bye England’s Rose Elton John performed his beautiful revised version of “Candle in the Wind” to commemorate the recent death of the late Lady Diana.

“I’m the King of the World!”

The legendary 11 Oscar winning film Titanic was released, and everyone was obsessed, and people also couldn’t stop singing “My Heart Will Go On” that year (and for many years after that).

Other notable movies released Men in Black, Liar Liar, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Air Force One and The Lost World: Jurassic Park What else were we singing along to back then?

“MmBop”- Hanson, “Wannabe”- Spice Girls, “Unbreak My Heart”- Toni Braxton “I’ll Be Missing You”- Puff Daddy/Faith Evans/112, “Honey”- Mariah Carey, “Hypnotize”The Notorious B.I.G. and “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems- The Notorious B.I.G.” People were also curled up on their couches watching TV shows like Seinfeld, E.R., Just Shoot Me, Home Improvement, Veronica’s Closet and Friends. Unfortunately, the Teletubbies were released in 1997 as well.

“Oh my God! They Killed Kenny!”

Trey Parker and Matt Stone shocked parents worldwide with their release of South Park (and animation was never the same since then).

Playground Habbas Children were playing with (and collecting) Beanie Babies, Pokemon cards, Tamagotchi Pets, Spice Girls Dolls and POGs (But we still played outside!)

Making a Comeback Steve Jobs returns to Apple, making the once gigantic computer evolve into the sleek machines we love using today.

Ready for this?

A whole bunch of great books were released, but we don’t want to ruin the surprise! Read on to Bookworms to find out more…

Sh5baariiiiii!

Another fun and extremely random fact is that the Chicago Bulls were the NBA Champions that year, and Michael Jordan was everything. Don’t pretend you didn’t have a backwards placed Bulls cap permanently glued to your head.

While it is 2016, we’re still gonna party like it’s 1997!

samsonite

Al Hamra Luxury center:22270242,The Avenues: 22597729 360 Mall: 25309594, Marina Mall: 22244931, Al-kout Mall - 23930337

truth or dare

YUSRA MOHSEN Once a bazaarite, always a bazaarite!

By bazaar staff

Biotech, turned Sales Manager, turned HSE Officer, turned most awesome bazaar Editor, turned Stay-at-home-Mom-Baker, Yusra Mohsen is a chameleon in her own right. Not one to conform to the “shoulds” of life, her decision to leave bazaar magazine in February 2013 to stay at home with her then, 6-month-old daughter, was met with great resistance from, pretty much, everyone in her life, including this staff writer. We couldn’t celebrate our 200th issue without the allknowing mighty Yusra.

But, headstrong Yusra (or Yursa, or Yousra – she really hates the one with the ‘o’), always believed in doing what felt right, no matter what. And at the time, leaving her 5-year stint at bazaar to stay home with her daughter was what felt right. We still like to call her ‘mama Yusra’, as her maternal instinct toward our small group of bazaar humans had kicked in way before her beautiful child came into this world. Yusra still writes and edits at supersonic speed, and her ideas spurred our small publication toward great heights. This amazing super human took care of us, as she takes care of anyone who crosses her path.

Always believing that content is king, not one bazaar issue was left without being properly formatted, and no comma would ever be misplaced under her watchful eyes.

As fate would have it, staying home watching Food Network, day in and day out for months, led her into the kitchen, and more precisely, into the science of baking. It was the perfect setting to apply her geeky scientist background, practice her anal sense of precision and need for control, while bringing to life some of the craziest munchie-inspired recipes.

Somewhere between the first and tenth attempt at making the perfect brownie, SALT was born, and with it her signature Salted Dark Chocolate Brownies. The rest is history.

Until her next transformation. We love you Yozz.

How would your mother describe you in one word?

Headstrong.

How would you describe your mother in one word?

Fierce.

What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?

There have been many, but “Do you really have streets and buildings?” in reference to Cairo has to be up there on the list.

What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?

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During winter break, ‘99/’00, one night between the hours of 3 and 5am, deciding to cancel plans to spend NYE in San Francisco, and instead, forged the International Students’ Director’s signature on my I-20, drove to Chicago, applied for the Mexican visa, drove right back to Minneapolis, and got on the next flight to Cancun. It was a good New Year’s.

What is your theme song?

Dave Mathews Band – “Say Goodbye”.

What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?

Loserific – I hope it catches on.

Where would you like to live? What is your dream retirement location?

Exactly where I am.

Somewhere like Sinai – mountains, beach and hipster humans.

What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl What animal best describes the kind of partner you’d be interested in?

An Elephant. Unwavering physical strength combined with great emotional intelligence.

What do you miss about your childhood?

Naps.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

The only reason I’d change my name is in the hopes that government entities would stop butchering the spelling – but who am I kidding, even my mom spells my name wrong sometimes, and she’s the one who gave it to me. I’ll just keep it.

How would you describe your handshake in one word?

Childlike.

What is the toughest part of your character?

Persistence.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

I’m not too big on history, too many dates, names and places to remember, (kind of like Game of Thrones, you almost need to take notes watching that show just to keep the plot straight in your head), but I digress... I’d have to go with the prophet Mohammad, to me, he represents the good in humanity.

What in the world do you least desire?

Approval.

What do you think is lacking in the world, which if there was more of would make the world a better place?

Empathy.

Why do you think most girls/guys like you?

I try to always focus on the good in people, giving them the benefit of the doubt without judgment.

Finish this sentence: “Happiness is a thing called…”

Silence.

Follow @SaltBakery on Instagram.

fiat

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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU? bazaar gets blunt about New Year’s Resolutions By bazaar staff

It’s that time of year again! We’ve waved 2015 away and are ready to welcome in 2016. To risk sounding trite, a New Year calls for a fresh, blank slate where which we can jot down our goals in hopes that we’ll have better lives for the next 12 months. From the moment people whip off their cheesy “2016” adorned Elton John-esque sunglasses and finish posting duck-face selfies and countdown videos onto Snapchat and Instagram, (Not to mention Facebook status updates), people tend to vow that January 1st will be the first day of their better lives.

So of course, the obvious next step would be to compile a list of extreme resolutions (that many tend to desert by January 10).

We’ve compiled a list of cliché (and seldom kept) resolutions that are made, but with a twist! We’ve altered these famous resolutions by including thought-provoking alternatives on how to potentially keep them – at least until May.

Lose Weight: We’ve all heard this Swan Song before – “I’m going to lose 30 Kilos this year!” (It always HAS to be kilos, doesn’t it, Kuwait?) But let us ask you this…

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why do you want to lose all the kilos? We at bazaar are always on a diet, and only 25% of us are committed to it, while the other 75% are currently munching on Burger King and a now empty box of Krispy Kreme lays abandoned on the desk. That’s the key to losing weight, or trying to improve your health – don’t take it to the extreme! Unless you have a serious health issue that pertains to your weight, and you’re extremely committed to losing those 30 kilos, then take the steps to improve your health by eating better. Otherwise, don’t be afraid of the kilos! If Mashallah your health isn’t in any danger, but you’re not a size 0, who cares and work with what you got! Cut out the white carbs and sugars only because they’re bad for you, but extreme weight loss is not always the key to happiness or the secret to having a better year.

Spending More Time with Family and Friends: This is always a great resolution to have, as it’s important to keep close bonds with your loved ones, but try putting the “quality” back in “quality time” by pretending it’s 1997 and putting away your Smart Phones. Uninterrupted coffee and conversation goes a long way.

Join the Gym: To be fair, lots of people are committed to their gym routines, and studies show that January has the most new members registered at local gyms. For many people (myself included) this commitment ends right after Valentine’s Day. If you do join a gym, abandon the idea of working out for aesthetic reasons to take the pressure off, and remember the mental health benefits that go along with physical activity. Also, you’re paying for

it – don’t throw your money away. And remember, going to the gym isn’t the only way you can stay in shape – consult our 2016 Dining and Delivery Guide’s Healthy Living section for great mamshas to trek around in.

Learn How to Play an Instrument: If you do learn to play the piano by the end of the year, we applaud you, but you have to realize that this will take time, money, commitment and effort. However, this is what we like to call a ‘filler’ resolution. There’s nothing wrong with not knowing how to play an instrument.

Travel to More Interesting Places: Another great resolution, but not always realistic. This is a resolution many people should have, but there shouldn’t be a time limit (especially not a year!) If you have the means to travel, then take advantage of it – but it isn’t the most economic activity! Consider trying new things instead by expanding your horizons in terms of food, reading material, and cultures you find interesting. You’ll discover that you can easily travel to different worlds without having to leave the comforts of your own home.

Stop Procrastinating: Much easier said than done – believe us, we know—so we would never shame anyone for losing the battle against this nasty habit. What we will suggest, though, is if you’re going to procrastinate, do it right! Don’t just shut down and waste time, do something useful. Organize your thoughts, feed your body and mind, and do what you really want to do if it’s going to help you get back on track with whatever you were working on.

Arcteryxx

KUWAIT

EVENTS The easiest way to find things to do By bazaar staff

We’ve all heard this question before: what is there to do in Kuwait? Besides an abundance of eateries and great places to go shopping, it seems that when it comes to entertainment in and around the city, people find that they have no such luck. With Hussain Al-Rasheed’s new app, KuwaitEvents, launched in August 2015, you will learn that Kuwait has so much more to offer than just food, shopping and staying glued to your smart phone.

The ACK graduate has always been interested in seeking out Kuwait’s full potential for weekend activities that exceeded the usual mall-gathering routine.

“Growing up in Kuwait, I thought that all this place had to offer was food, the cinema, and sometimes the beach. There weren’t a lot of things to do – gigs, comedy shows and cultural events were scarce.” After meeting a lot of people, and through his musical and ar tistic interests, the pianist/ guitarist found that eclectic events in the countr y were not out of reach. “The good thing about university was that different colleges in Kuwait had students who would organize events, making the list of ‘things to do’ bigger.”

We are so excited that Hussain has introduced us to this app, and has made it so its accessible on both Android and IOS devices by having it available to download on Playstore and iTunes Store. Although Hussain insists that the app is still evolving and we’re in for a bunch of updates and surprises, finding events in Kuwait has never been easier!

What inspired you to create this app?

I found that events posted around Kuwait on Instagram, Facebook, and blogs were extremely unorganized. I figured there should be a way for people to access ever ything they need in one place— an application that gathers all information, making it easy for 28

people to discover where they want to go and what they want to do.

How does it work?

I’ve made it so that once people create an account, they can add their interests.

There are shows displayed based on your interest, and what’s closest to your proximity, depending on your location. I’ve also implemented a “Fee Required” sticker to avoid confusion. The great thing about this app is that it also provides an exact location via Google Maps, making for easy GPS. When you click that you’re attending an event, a reminder is set to remind you when the event star ts.

How do you feel the app is useful to people of Kuwait?

I think its useful in the way that it allows people to gain awareness of which events are happening around them, and gives them an outlet to explore their interests; comedy, theatre, improvs, live music etc. It also helps them see that there are events and elements that will keep them motivated to keep doing their thing. If you go to events to better yourself, it bridges the gap between longing and knowing, and it’s also a great way to meet new people.

What’s your process when it comes to finding events, and how can the public contribute?

For now, the app runs on two processes.

Other than doing my own research via social

media, blogs and word of mouth, the public emails me attachments with the information of their events. I look it over, clean it up and check its validity, then I throw it in and it exists on KuwaitEvents. This is just the beginning, though I’m looking into creating a website for people to be able to add their own events through there.

Have you been finding it to be successful thus far?

Well, I only launched in August, but I find that so far, though I’m still working on marketing, I’ve noticed a lot of positive feedback – and even a copycat attempt! It’s definitely on its way!

What are your favorite type of events to attend?

I attend a lot of the events because this is what I’m interested in – that’s the reason this app exists, after all – but, I must admit, the musical events are my favorite, especially since I’m a musician myself. I love the events held at the Yarmouk Cultural Centre and the Amricani Centre. And of course, like everyone else, I love the open-air markets and bazaars.

Any words of wisdom you’d like to pass on to our readers?

Do what you love, love what you do! The doors of opportunities will open one by one – so never give up on your passion.

Download Kuwait Events on the App Store or Playstore @KuwaitEvents.

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up close and personal

ALA’A ALI REDA AND

DANAH BEHBEHANI

GETTING TO KNOW THE LADIES BEHIND Q AT THE YARD By bazaar staff

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It’s no secret by now that we at bazaar are obsessed with Q at the Yard. Not only do they save our hungry tummies on a daily basis with brilliant culinary creations and their expansive healthy options – they also have tantalizing desserts and amazing hot beverages – all wedged into a gorgeous and comfortable space in the heart of Kuwait City.

But the ladies behind the space are something else – local graphic designers and appreciators of quirky and cool knick-knacks and collectibles, Ala’a Ali Reda and Danah Behbehani have built this place from the ground up, starting with their kitschy concept store, The Yard. Danah said, “Ala’a’s and my designs both complement one another, and we both have an eye for all things unique. When our online store was born, we’d spend a lot of time working on other projects as a design house. Eventually, everything fell into place as The Yard, and we found the perfect space in which to operate it.”

The Yard is indeed a kitschy place, selling an array of home-wear and stationary items that are truly one-of-a-kind. What’s also great about this haven is that they feature local designers through different contributions, such as postcards by local photographer Mohammed Al Kouh, products by calligrapher Farah Behbehani and their conceived Designer Planner; a yearly planner that follows a certain theme and designers submit drawings related to that theme, dedicated to each month of the planner.

This monthly planner set is as adorable as it is useful and supportive, and can only be found at The Yard.

On top of their brilliant creation of The Yard, the girls found themselves collaborating with Q Café by sharing the Kuwait city space, then redesiging and

eventually managing the café. After some time and a lot of contribution, both spaces married to turn into their baby, Q at the Yard. This is an awesome space where we would recommend anybody to pop by, grab a quick meal, get some work done or hang out while indulging in their “Dessert of the Week” special and enjoying a cup of their Vietnamese Coffee – an interactive coffee experience where the customer has the privilege of mixing themselves.

Q at the yard is warm, welcoming, comfortable and completely unique. And once we at bazaar got to know them, we concluded that what makes both Q at the Yard and The Yard so special, are definitely the masterminds behind this space. We discuss: What do you most value in your friends?

Ala’a: Light-heartedness.

Danah: Kindness and spontaneity.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

A: Yoga on the beach on a perfect sunny day.

D: Long picnics with friends and Nora Jones.

What is your greatest fear?

A: Illness.

D: Working for someone else.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

A: Indecisiveness.

D: Overthinking the details.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

A: Carelessness or being wasteful.

D: Lack of commitment.

Which living person do you most admire?

A: There isn’t one specific person that I admire.

To me, it is anyone I meet/know who has worked their way up to an achievement, while being ethical and humble.

D: Anyone who spends his/her spare time helping others.

What is your greatest extravagance?

A: Travel.

D: Travel (the means, accommodation and frequency).

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

A: “Excellent.”

D: “Let’s look it up.”

What is it that you most dislike?

A: Extreme cold.

D: Street cats!

Which talent would you most like to have?

A: Ability to calculate large mathematical equations in my head or a handicraft skill.

D: Playing a musical instrument well.

If you could have any job, what would it be?

A: An illustrator.

D: Food Critic or Pro Cartoon Voice Over Artist.

What would you consider your greatest achievement?

A: Working my way up at my previous job.

D: Convincing my parents that I can run my own business.

What is your most treasured possession?

A: Sadly, my laptop!

D: Anything on my laptop or phone.

What is your most marked characteristic?

A: Calm.

D: Bubbly.

Where would you most like to live?

A: Somewhere with beautiful nature, pedestrian friendly and good weather all year round.

D: Venice, California.

What are your favorite words to live by?

A: Fit, happy and humble.

D: Work hard, play hard.

Q at The Yard is located on Jaber Al Mubarak Street in Kuwait City’s Shurooq Tower. Call them at 2249 5067/8 and follow them on Instagram @qattheyard.

Visit their website at www.theyard-kw.com.

Photography by Abdulaziz Alsurayee.

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ARE YOU SOUTH OF SANE? The anti art movement is only getting started

By South of Sane

On the evening of November 12th 2015, in the courtyard of the Al Amricani Cultural Centre and at the end of the first day of the annual Nuqat conference, was the public debut of Kuwait’s very own anti art movement.

The anti art installation was deliberately very musical and theatrical; designed to make people question what they were witnessing. By pure serendipity local motorcycle group Kuwait Riders heard about the underground art scene and wanted to lend their support to this emergent anonymous group known as South of Sane. Their loud presence and lifting of the Kuwaiti flag at the end of the

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performance was a testament to their pride in Kuwait and wanting to support the Kuwait art and cultural scene to help make it great again.

Putting Kuwait back on the art and culture map is what the founder of South of Sane wants. He was frustrated with conformity, imitation and the materialistic direction all forms of creative art were taking. He wants to rejuvenate local and regional talent, pumping fresh air through by gathering and creating a ‘safe’ and ‘nurturing’ environment where anyone, regardless of social class or nationality, would be free to dream.

So he began a talent hunt of sorts, inviting a random mix of artists, engineers, performing artists and outwardly ‘ordinary’ people who did not need a label for him to recognize that there was an artist within them and

invited them into his home.

Here they began to jam, feeding off each other’s creative energies and allowing cultural influences to mix. The outcome was, and continues to be, an endless synergy of music, culture, art and art installations.

With no rules, restrictions, negativity or fear, all those ensconced within South of Sane are free to allow the full potential of their latent and trapped creativity to stretch out and be all that it can be.

So it has to be asked again, are you South of Sane? Make yourself be heard!

You can follow South of Sane on Instagram @South.of.Sane or visit their website SouthofSane. com. Photography by Tareq Alaskar (Urban Q8 Films).

certina

WHERE LIFE REALLY IS SIMPLE AND THE DOLPHINS, SHARKS AND SUNSETS REIGN

By An Amlotte

One of the most refreshing things about unplugged travel is breaking away from your usual pastimes and replacing them with different ones. I felt almost like a kid again as I packed my travel editions of Battleship and Connect 4, and a kite, something I hadn’t used since my dad made one for me when I was little.

We wanted to rediscover a more simple life, and we thought we’d find it at Hotel Kia Ora’s private island, Motu Avea Rahi, also known as Le Sauvage, one hour by boat from the main resort. There are only five bungalows here, with a maximum of 10 guests cared for by two hosts, Michel and his wife, Tetuanui. The island is small; we walked around it in less than 15 minutes after we arrived. The restaurant and kitchen have electricity but the bungalows do not, although each had a water heater.

Each thatch-roofed bungalow is made from local materials, and all are situated on the palm-fringed beach with impressive lagoon views. They have king beds with the same heavenly bedding that we found at the main hotel — fluffy pillows, crisp white sheets, a waffle-weave cotton blanket and a mattress so comfortable we wanted to stuff it in our suitcase and take it home.

In the back of the bungalow, separated by a driftwood curtain, is a cute bathroom with a giant shell for a sink and a floor made up of coral pieces.

Every afternoon at 5, Michel would deliver an oil lamp to each bungalow.

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On our first two nights, two other couples — Cecile and Michel from France and Brigitte and Stephan from Germany — were also here. Meals were served familystyle, so we got to know one another and had a few chuckles trying to communicate in three languages.

Breakfast was my favourite meal of the day, with pancakes, French toast and yogurt, while lunch and dinner usually included freshly caught fish, fruit and a vegetable platter.

We were the only guests on our final night, alone on a tiny speck of land in the middle of the South Pacific. There was no moon while we were there, but the stars were so bright we could easily see.

We read books, flew our kite, snorkeled around the unspoiled coral and spent quality time soaking up our beautiful surroundings and recharging our inner selves. We found peace, calm and relaxation, before moving on to Rangiroa.

Even though there is no nightlife or much shopping on remote Rangiroa on the French Polynesia, we found plenty of things to do. On our first night, we took a 15-minute walk from our hotel to a point on the Tiputa Pass known as Cite des Dauphins.

Also on our wish list was a visit to the Blue Lagoon, a natural pool on the edge of the main reef formed by a string of motu, sand banks and coral reefs. It offers the vistas that people expect when they imagine paradise, and its shallow turquoise waters are thick with small fish and blacktip reef sharks. Twice a day when the current is strong, you can see bottlenose dolphins here, jumping and frolicking in the waves.

Some dolphins leaped so high and so gracefully that people cheered.

The experience was certainly worth the hour long boat ride through choppy lagoon waters, although we were disappointed to see our guides feed the sharks

and hoist one out of the water by its dorsal fin. Rangiroa has two deep passes, or straits, that connect the lagoon at the atoll’s center to the ocean. Sea life congregates in these passes; stingrays and various species of sharks are mainstays, and it’s not uncommon to see manta rays. The current in the passes changes direction as the tide rises and falls, and drift snorkeling can be done safely when the current flows from the ocean into the lagoon. Snorkelers and fish are propelled through the water — sort of like flying underwater — along the walls of coral.

We did a mini drift snorkel through the Avatoru Pass at the end of our outing to the Blue Lagoon and had scheduled a two-hour drift-snorkeling excursion through Tiputa Pass on our last day in Rangiroa. But because of a miscommunication about the departure time, we missed the boat. I was heartbroken.

A spectacular sunset that evening was a small consolation prize from Mother Nature, as was a sighting the next morning of the first eagle ray I had ever seen, gliding past our over-water bungalow just as we were closing the door behind us.

As we sat waiting for the transfer to the airport, Fisher, one of Hotel Kia Ora’s activity directors, motioned me to follow him. He had heard about our missed excursion and said he had something for me. He grabbed a foldedup napkin from his desk and gave it to me.

Inside the crumpled paper were two Tahitian black pearls. It was such a sweet gesture that I started to cry.

And so, as was the case during our BoraBora honeymoon two years ago, we left the island with me in tears and my husband, Jeff, promising that we’d come back.

oreedoo

WHEN LINES INTERSECT AND COLORS OSCILLATE ‘…AN EXPERIENCE OF CALM AND EXHILARATION SIMULTANEOUSLY IS WHAT I TRY TO CAPTURE IN MY WORK...’

By Deepa Pant

It is an intriguing new approach to geometry; Rana Begum’s visually meditative sculptural works meld art and design seamlessly. The Londonbased artist grew up in Bangladesh.

Recalling her childhood days, Rana says, “A landscape of rice fields and coconut trees bordering idyllic bathing pools had a very powerful and calming presence.”

Rana draws her inspiration from Islamic art and architecture. “One day while reading the Quran at the local mosque, in a tiny room dappled with morning light. The light, the sound of the water fountain and the repetition of recitation, all familiar elements, suddenly came together into a strong feeling of calm and exhilaration.” This moment left an indelible impression on Rana. Later, these very ideas would go on to inform her work.

Rana is admired so much that the Forbes writer Valerie Denny declared Rana Begum as one of the 6 London artists to watch, in a piece titled ‘Who Will Be The Next Banksy?’ Rana is currently collaborating with musician Hyetal to produce a new body of work.

In this exclusive interview with bazaar, acclaimed contemporary artist, Rana Begum discusses her art, her creative process and many things in-between. Born in 1977, Rana Begum earned her Fine Arts Degree in painting at the Chelsea College of Art and Design and her MFA in painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, London.

Rana has exhibited her work in many international solo and group exhibitions as well as many prominent art fairs. Her work has been exhibited at venues such as Bangkok University Gallery, Art Museum of Western Virginia in

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[continued...]

Artist Rana Begum

flamant

Roanoke, Red Bull Music Academy in London, and Delfina Foundation in London.

Q and Art You have successfully created patterns using the plain triangle as the primary figure, and have used steel and aluminium as your materials. What appeals to you about working in this medium?

I have always been attracted to working with industrial materials. Living in London, a matrix of built space which is constantly changing and growing, I am surrounded by the detritus of construction.

Steel and aluminium provide great potential for visual effect. The juxtaposition of weighty unyielding steel with lighter, more malleable aluminium is deeply satisfying. I find it exhilarating to use these robust materials to create something which is simultaneously powerful and calming.

How do you use color in your work?

I am very interested in the way that color exposes light and makes it visible through reflection, mixing to create a third layer of geometry. Although the colors I use are quite instinctive, there is a method involved. For my box work, in order to create this third layer of geometry, I use fluorescent and pastel colors which interact with each other. These block colors blend through reflection to create unexpected and surprising combinations. For my folded works, color is juxtaposed with white and black to accentuate the geometry within the form. I also use fluorescent on the reverse of the folds which create reflections giving the work a visual lightness.

How do you conceptualize the final piece and do you have a specific perspective you are trying to express, or does it happen organically?

For me, rather than a specific perspective, it’s more that logical processes and personal expression work in tandem to produce a multifaceted experience. Living in London, my urban environment serves as a great visual stimulus. If I am excited by a visual effect or particular material I start by considering how I might incorporate this into my work and what the visual experience is that I would like to recreate. I see my work as research so one work informs the next. It is in a constant state of evolution with three-dimensional work giving rise to drawings and vice-versa.

You have a very strong visual language, what artists have inspired you?

An artist who I am greatly inspired by is Agnes Martin. Although she adopts a very rational and logical process, I do not find her work to be limited in terms of expression - quite the opposite. There is personal expression in the sense of calm and serenity her work instills upon the viewer. Similarly with Donald Judd

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[continued...]

Paint on mild steel W47 x H73 x D19cm

Paint on mild steel W113 x H143 x D2cm

Paint on powder-coated aluminium W156 x H200 x D8cm

Painted Aluminium and raw mild steel W62 x H305 x D2

and Fred Sandback, their works succeed in surpassing materiality to communicate directly with the viewer. I find the works of these artists simultaneously inspiring and reassuring - it makes sense of what I am searching for in my own work. I am currently collaborating with musician Hyetal to produce a new body of work.

I find inspiration in the layers and repetitions of his music and find exciting parallels between the disparate mediums of sculpture and electronic music.

Can you please tell us about your recently-held solo show titled Towards an Infinite Geometry, at Jhaveri Contemporary in Mumbai, India?

For this show I combined older triangular works with more recent mesh works. The mesh pieces brought new lease of life to the triangles while these older works added a certain weight and gravity to the exhibition. I find that juxtaposing new with old works in this way can create a fresh dialogue within the body of work as a whole. It is nice to see threads of continuity which run through the work but also how it has transformed and evolved into something very different. I was exploring how there is a direct correlation between what I am doing now and what I have none in the past - nothing is random; it is all part of a continuum. I see a

close link between the geometry of these new pieces with those dating three years prior. I am very pleased with the positive response this exhibition has received.

What is next for you?

I will be part of a group show in Tensta Konsthall, Sweden in January 2016. I am currently working toward a solo show in Parasol Unit, London which will open in April 2016. It is a foundation which is an educational charity and a not-for-profit contemporary art gallery. It is a beautiful space and a chance for me to really push my work and experiment with new forms and mediums. The show will be a retrospective - alongside these new works, works spanning the last 15 years will be shown. It will also be my first solo show in a public space in London which is very exciting. The following solo show will be at Galerie Christian Lethert in Cologne later in 2016. I am also working on some interesting public and private commissions for the New Year. This has been a very fulfilling year and I am looking forward to what 2016 has in store.

Images courtesy of the artist Rana Begum.

Ran a li ve s and wor ks in L ondon, UK. For more information on the ar tist, please visit www.ranabegum.com.

toyota 1

URBAN Q8

INTERVIEWING THE INTERVIEWER

TAREQ AL ASKAR By bazaar staff

As I take a seat next to Tareq Al Askar, the first thing that strikes me is the sturdy voice recorder positioned on the table. I spy a small black microphone clipped to his lapel and I begin to wonder exactly who is going to be doing the interviewing. However, the moment we start talking, a wave of easy-going charisma washes over me. His speech is measured and captivating and it takes no stretch of the imagination to understand the success of his visual media concept, Urban Q8.

Tareq Al Askar first discovered his talent for filming when he was in high-school. He subsequently became his school’s go-to camera guy and – more recently – one of the country’s most renowned YouTubers. He has witnessed the rise of Social Media in Kuwait and endeavors to showcase the creative side of the country.

The concept of UrbanQ8 first materialized in 2005, when Tareq started a blog and podcast. In 2014, he returned to his visual media project, filming short 15 second videos for Instagram detailing his visit to the Hamzawi restaurant. Since, the compilation video has received over 1,000 views on YouTube and sits comfortably as the third most viewed video on the UrbanQ8 channel.

One of the reasons his videos have been such a success among Kuwaiti viewers is his nuanced approach to capturing reality. He works on a content-first basis, creating medium-length videos that will engage viewers from the first few opening seconds to the final frame. Many videographers go by the mantra of keeping to “short and sweet” for the ever-narrowing attention span of Internet users. But Tareq believes videos can be any length, as long as they continue to captivate their watchers throughout.

Another way that UrbanQ8’s videos stand out is in terms of their clean, concise audio. After an interview, Tareq will sit in his car and listen to the audio he has captured. He does not leave until he is satisfied with its quality. “What makes a show interesting to me is the audio, not the video. My content is mostly about words and people talking”. In light of this, he avoids taking ‘beauty shots’ and prefers to portray his surroundings in as realistic a light as possible, complimented by the spoken words of his interview subject.

Many people have asked Tareq why he choses to remain out of the frame during his filming. In line with his people-first approach, he wished for “the focus to be on the people rather than me”. Nonetheless, he has been encouraged to appear in the videos, as viewers have reacted well to seeing him in some of his videos.

In recent months, Social Media stars have come out and spoken about the gray space on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. As a result, people have queried the honesty of Social Media. Although Social Media can be an excellent tool for rebranding or redefining oneself, Tareq believes that there is

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a tendency for people to put a crafted, and possibly unrealistic version of themselves forward.

Perhaps one of Social Media’s most prevalent shortfalls is in its initial primary function of capturing reality, as this involves the restrictions present on Social Media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.

The video time limit results in disjointed and choppy content but what is most important is that there lies very much outside of the frame more content that cannot be captured in such a short period. However, Tareq believes that utilizing video is a step in the right direction. “Video makes you feel closer to the person,” he commented. He also believes that this interaction allows you to see another, more personal side of them. Still, he maintains that YouTube is the future.

Anyone can start their own YouTube channel and upload content within minutes of creating their account. However, until your channel is verified

by YouTube, which can be a lengthy process, you can only upload videos shorter than 20 minutes. In addition, you cannot customize your videos’ thumbnails – the image next to the title when you search it. Luckily for

Tareq, his channel was verified in 2011.

Videography and filming is becoming more and more popular among the residents of Kuwait, as smart phones with high-quality cameras and simple video technology enter the market. Tareq advises anyone interested in visual media to begin by generating interesting, consistent content, on whatever device they would have access to. “The key to success on YouTube is consistency”.

Once a routine and style are established, the next step is to buy equipment in line with your budget. Tareq advises beginners to start capturing content on their iPhones – always in landscape.

There are cheap microphones available to be pulled in directly to your smartphone which produce quality audio and can take your filming to the next level. Most importantly, Tareq warns against contracting GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), whe r e t h e c ont e n t q u a l i t y i s ov e r s h a d o wed by t h e n e e d t o o w n equi pm e n t . O nc e y o u gar ner a c o n s i st e n t a u d i e n c e, y o u r e q u i p m ent c an b e u p d a t e d.

To help you get started, Tareq volunteered his recommended equipment list, but be warned of GAS! Until then, stay tuned by following Urban Q8’s latest stories on YouTube.

Favorites: Photo camera: Sony A7rii - I do not own one yet Video camera: Sony A7sii Microphone: Rode Lavalier/Sennhieser wireless G3 system/Electrovoice re50 handheld mic Flash: Natural light/Led light at times Tripod: Benro with s6 head Lens(es): Ziess Loxia 35mm/50mm Voice recorder: Zoom H5 Software: Mac OS-final cut/Windows-Adobe Premiere.

YouTuber(s): DSLR Video Shooter/Dave Dugdale/ Philip Bloom/DigitalRev/Tony Northup YouTuber(s) -Kuwait: Q8Stig/Extravagaming/ RedfoxZero/ Recommendations for starters: Audio: Rode SmartLav with iPhone Camera: Sony A6000/Canon T6i Vlogging: DJI Osmo Check out UrbanQ8’s YouTube channel and follow UrbanQ8 on Instagram @urbanq8films and Facebook: UrbanQ8 Films. For any more information email info@urbanq8films.com.

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WITHOUT TAYLOR SWIFT AND ADELE, SPOTIFY’S

2015 TOP CHARTS ARE MOSTLY MALE

By P. Claire Dodson

Spotify may not be seeing spectacular dips in music streaming since Taylor Swift abandoned the platform and Adele decided not to stream 25, but its year-end lists are feeling the blank spaces.

Spotify’s 2015 Year in Music report spotlights the most-streamed artists and albums in 2015, and while historically the numbers have been slanted toward male artists, this year’s gender disparity is especially stark. In 2014, the Top 5 artists at least included Katy Perry and Calvin Harris, whose music features female musicians like Ellie Goulding, Haim, and Gwen Stefani.

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2015’s Top 5 were all men: Drake, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Maroon 5, and Kanye West. Of the Top 5 Albums, only Meghan Trainor found her way into the field dominated by Avicii, Major Lazer, Drake, and The Weeknd.

Spotify’s year-end charts, however, do not fully reflect the year’s biggest hits in the music world at large. In 2015, Taylor Swift and Adele both decided not to stream their latest music (and for Swift, her entire discography) on Spotify. If Swift’s album 1989 and Adele’s 25 had streamed on the service, it’s likely they would have made Spotify’s top lists. Swift’s latest album has sold more than 5 million copies, and Adele’s sold more than 3 million just in its first two weeks.

A separate list reveals the moststreamed female ar tists on Spotify: Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, and Ellie Goulding.

When powerhouses like Swift and Adele pull back from Spotify, it affects the visibility of other female musicians on the platform.

A quick glance at Adele’s “Related Artists” section on Spotify brings up an almost exclusively female roster, including artists Emeli Sandé, Jessie J, and Paloma Faith. Part of the beauty in streaming is music discovery, and if platforms are driving away their biggest female acts with low pay, that is going to have a trickle-down effect.

kateh

DIGGING UP SECRETS OF ‘STAR WARS: THE

FORCE AWAKENS’ FILMING IN DESERT SANDS

By Lorraine Ali

Just 2 hours outside the ultra-modern Arab city of Abu Dhabi, the terrain is so alien you might as well be on another planet. Martian-red sand dunes tall as skyscrapers roll out as far as the eye can see and a fine mist of copper dust hangs in the air like low-lying fog.

The Arabian Peninsula’s Rub’ al Khali desert is the stuff of fantasy, which is precisely why Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shot here. In early 2014, director J.J. Abrams and nearly 800 cast and crew trekked into the largely uninhabited region known as the Empty Quarter to build, film and blow things up. Presumably lured by the planet Jakku-like landscape — and the 30 percent cashback rebate the government offers to those who shoot in the emirate — the Star Wars crew spent six months filming key scenes on a secretive closed set that was said to resemble a small city.

In the company of a guide from the Abu Dhabi film authority, I am making a similar three-hour journey

by SUV to the Empty Quarter.

The guide finally stops our vehicle in an area of the desert known as Liwa, adjusting his head scarf before stepping out of the air conditioning and into the heat. “See this hill?” he asks, pointing off into nowhere. “Behind that is where Star Wars was shot. Now maybe you will know us for something more than camels and sand.

Stormtroopers and sand,” he says, laughing. The set was off-limits to press and visitors, and those who worked on the movie during filming were sworn to secrecy about everything having to do with the production.

“We used the code Avco in everything we did in relation to Star Wars,” says Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority and production facility, twofour54. On her conference wall in Abu Dhabi is a giant mosaic of the emirate’s late ruler Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan (a common sight in the region), and on the floor below, a life-size C-3PO (not so common around here). She picked up the latter from a prop store in the U.K. “Even with the government we had to use code when speaking about it,” she says. “When I asked, ‘Why is the

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code word Avco?’ they said it was the name of the cinema in Los Angeles where J.J. Abrams watched Star Wars for the first time.”

According to reports from regional papers, a “whole world” was erected in the desert and it included a “shuttle-like” spacecraft, “fast buggies” powered by jet engines, and giant craters made with explosives. It was an arduous process scouting the site where, as one film authority rep tells me, battle scenes involving the Millennium Falcon were shot. And once they did settle on a location, there was the question of how to provide access — i.e. building roads where none had been before. “Our contractor said, no, you can’t build here because these are all preserved sands,” Al Kaabi says. “Luckily the head of the environment agency is a good friend. I said to her, ‘We need to build a road. Whatever we have to do, we will do to get this done! It’s Star Wars!’”

The desert scenes were originally slated to be shot in Jordan, another Arab country that’s a short flight from Abu Dhabi. Paul Baker, executive director of twofour54’s film & TV services and formerly of Hollywood’s Pinewood Studios, had heard “Star Wars” was looking for a desert backdrop, and contacted producer Tommy Harper.

“I said, ‘I know you may have this other place in

mind, but maybe just come here and see what we have to offer,’” Baker says. “He initially passed.

Then I got an email sometime later that just said, ‘Let’s talk.’ I will never delete that email,” says Baker, laughing.

The film authority is enticing Hollywood productions with healthy rebates to shoot in Dubai and a technologically advanced infrastructure (something many of the neighboring countries lack). Its more recent successes have been Furious 7, The Bourne Legacy and Deliver Us From Evil. The only requirement is that these productions — including Star Wars — hire a small percentage of local interns so they can receive training on the job. The government has set a goal to have its own fully independent studio system up and running by 2030.

Star Wars’ desert set has since been disassembled despite rumors that say otherwise.

The film authority here is still reticent to discuss any details about what exactly was shot in the Empty Quarter, though some of it can clearly be seen in the trailer. Even a question as simple as, “I heard rumors they had problems with the Stormtroopers’ boots melting in the desert heat” is left unanswered. Jokes a film authority rep, “It’s one more secret the desert holds.”

Horizon

WEAR YOUR SPIRIT WITH EBBA

She wakes up and rushes to work before going to the gym and finally, catches up with her girlfriends over a warm cup of coffee in the glowing evening hours. Her days are a flurried frenzy bursting with family gatherings, get-to-togethers with friends and random errands, but yet she remains effortlessly stylish and naturally chic throughout it all.

Her secret? EBBA. In English, EBBA refers to the soft, organic flow of tides. In Swedish, it means inner strength, power and vigor. Just as the tides calmly embrace the shores, we at EBBA encourage every woman to experience the same with our limited edition kimonos by wearing their spirit with poise, style and a dash of spunk.

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Our signature piece – the kimono sweater – is handmade from a variety of the fabrics, prints and patterns that cater to every individual taste and occasion. Our quality fabrics include jersey, velvet, satin, silk, cotton, wool and much more. Whatever the occasion or season, EBBA has the perfectly practical kimono for you. What more is that you can customize your own kimono by choosing the fabric and trimming details that range from beadwork and fur to intricate stitching of any design you have in mind, a feature that also makes our kimono a wonderfully thoughtful gift.

Adding to the kimono’s practicality is the fact that you can place it in its customized pouch that fits your everyday bag. That way, you can enjoy the convenience of having it with you while traveling, at the desert or beach or even as a cover up to don over your clothes as you leave the gym or a night out. Whether you are nestled close to a warm fire by the shore or dining out with friends, our kimonos will offer you the heartwarming coziness you would want to envelope yourself in on any day, night and season.

Wear your spirit with comfort, pride and timeless style.

Experience EBBA by buying your own today on the official Instagram account @EBBAKW. Like EBBA on Facebook. For further inquiries and orders, whatsapp at 9990 3155 or email us at ebbakw@gmail.com.

gerolsteiner

ONE AND NOTHING

By Dr Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg

I had a completely different article written for this month’s bazaar, all ready to send to the great peeps in the office to do their magic (and make me look marvelous in print), then I read this on my Pinterest (@drsusannah) feed… and wrote something entirely different: ‘’When you finally realize how much you’re worth, you’ll stop giving people discounts’’ I often work with clients struggling with selfesteem and one of the things we do is establish what it means to have personal worth or value. I usually tell some version of the following metaphor, and we reference it throughout therapy. ‘’Imagine that some archaeologist on a dig somewhere finds a single vase that substantiates a theory about an ancient civilization. Despite additional feverish excavation, no other such item is found. With great fanfare, the vase is put on display at some ultra-famous museum. People are paying to go see this wondrous artefact, and you decide to go too. You get to the museum, pay your money, and with great anticipation you enter the room where the vase is displayed. People are gathered around the single column in the center of the room where the vase sits, covered with a glass case.

People are talking in hushed tones, consulting the museum guide, listening to a recorded explanation, and taking pictures (without flash, of course). You 48

finally get up to the front of the crowd. To your disappointment, the vase is just about the ugliest piece of pottery you’ve ever seen. It is nothing special; brown, crusted with dirt, cracked on the rim, and to your eye, slightly lopsided. You tune into the talk around you, and it’s clear that some people think it’s beautiful, some think it’s ugly, some think it’s physical appearance is irrelevant, and still others think the museum should clean it up so everyone can see what it really looks like. You look at the vase again, imagining the dirt gone, the glaze repaired, and the bottom sanded to make it sit flat again. ‘Nope,’ you think. ‘Still ugly.’ As you stand there, the crowd ebbs and flows, the talk rising and falling as people discuss the merits and demerits of the vase. Compliments and criticisms wax and wane as people move through the room. Finally, you move on yourself, passing by a group of people who seem to be arguing about the cost of admission to see “…that stupid thing.” In fact, one of them seems to be arguing in favor of asking for a refund because he didn’t think the vase was worth paying to see. A museum docent, overhearing the discussion, tells the group, “the appearance of the vase has no relevance to its worth. You paid to see something uniquely priceless. Absolutely irreplaceable. Its value is not dependent on subjective opinion.”

After I finish that metaphor, I just sit quietly and wait. So… I’m waiting for you…

Let me help. How many of YOU exist in the world

today? What could those who love you pay/do/give to replace you? Cognitively, these are rhetorical questions ~ the answer is self-evident. ‘One’ and ‘Nothing.’ You are priceless, unique, irreplaceable… and that truth is not subject to the opinion of others.

Even more importantly, it’s a truth not subject to YOUR opinion. Emotionally, though, we all struggle with what this looks like in “real” life. Our internal state rises and falls on the “You’re great!” “You suck!” pronouncements from other people.

Back to the original quote that started this train of thought – when you accept the truth of your worth, you will stop giving discounts. If you think about the discount metaphor, right now, as you’re reading this, where would you put yourself? In the bargain bin?

Under the BOGO sign? In the “Give Away” box by the back door? If you’re doing that to yourself, just imagine the discounts you’re giving others ~ for your time, your talents, your unique creativity.

Let me spell it out – your worth; your value as a human being is not impacted by any external measure …unless you swallow the subjective opinions and judgments of others. This year, make that one change – take back permission for others to judge you by their standards …and stop judging yourself.

I’ll leave you with this thought – “Compliments and criticism are like perfume and poop. They both smell, but you don’t eat either one.”

Follow @DrSusannah on Twitter and Instagram.

Pharma

THE HEARING CARE CENTER - SALMIYA, CENTRAL PLAZA TEL. 25714573 MOB. 97234752 www.intoptic.com

International Optique

intoptique

SHAKSHOOKIANS RISING AN INTERVIEW WITH MARYAM AL-NUSIF ABOUT KUWAIT’S GREEN WINTER SEASON

By Muna M. Al Gharabally

As countries in the Northern hemisphere of the world begin the coldest months of their winter with people retreating to the warmth of the indoors, Kuwait by contrast enters its growing season. The cool and pleasant weather brings with it a desire for locals to want to give up their air conditioned cocoons of summer for the great outdoors. The desert sheds its dusty, hot desolation of summer and dons a colorful green coat, drawing Kuwait’s residents out to camp and picnic year on year. Amongst the multitude of outdoor activities and holiday bazaars that Kuwait’s residents have enjoyed in the winter months over the years, more recently has seen the emergence of small artisanal farmer’s markets.

Maryam Al-Nusif, affectionately known as Mimi, is the force behind the first farmers market that sprouted up in Kuwait (Shakshooka) in the spring of 2013. Not limited to Shakshooka her dynamism has also spawned the Secret Garden Project and she is also one member of the Kuwaiti pop up restaurant team of Two Chefs and a Waitress. I had an opportunity to sit with her and briefly talk about the projects she has breathed life into since her return to Kuwait in 2011 and discuss what her hopes were for Kuwait’s greener future.

As Mimi tells it, Shakshooka was never planned, rather like all of her projects it evolved organically. The seed was planted in 2003 when her father briefly had a shop in Salmiya where he sold organic produce he grew on his farm. On her return to Kuwait after attending culinary school and working in notable restaurants in London (including Nobu Berkley Square), loyal customers of this shop kept asking her to provide organic produce. She credits the creation of Shakshooka to two of the most loyal of these customers, Raba Al Faraj and Sara Khalil. It was these two remarkable ladies who took the initiative and organized two tables in a car park of a residential complex in April 2013.

April is the end of the growing season in Kuwait and so the variety of fresh organic produce was limited to a small amount that sold very fast.

Within 30 minutes of setting up their pop-up micro shop, they had sold out of everything except for tomatoes and eggs. Late comers to the table began to ask, “what can I do with so many tomatoes and eggs,” to which Mimi’s simple answer gave them the inspiration of what to cook and gave the market a name ‘Shakshooka’ (a spiced poached egg and tomato dish with origins in Tunisia).

From those two produce tables the green roots of Shakshooka spread, popping up in different venues around Kuwait, always spreading the word about its location in the last minute using social media. In December 2014, Shakshooka finally found a permanent home in one of Mimi’s other projects – The Secret Garden.

The Secret Garden came into existence in late 2013 when Mimi

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Maryam Al-Nusif turned her attention to a neglected and largely abandoned public park that was located off Baghdad Street in Salmiya and converted it into a community garden project. Her infectious enthusiasm, gave the project life and a rare gift for Kuwait – that of self sustainability.

Every weekend, apartment bound adults and children alike can be found tending to the garden, painting discarded tires and converting them into colorful planters growing lemongrass, radishes and other organic produce.

Today if you visit the garden you find a bright green space, festooned with lights and brightly crocheted squares wrapped around trees. Each Saturday of the growing season (November to April) the garden is alive with music and people. On Shakshooka Market days a carnival spirit is in the atmosphere as people gather to buy locally produced organic food including sourdough bread, handmade filo Greek pastry as well as

handcrafted locally made wares.

Here too, Mimi gets to exercise one of her other passions – cooking. On many Shakshooka days you will find her offering a tasty treat that will take your palette on an international food journey with just one bite. Get there early or there won’t be any left.

My time with Mimi was running out fast, but before I left her enigmatic company I managed to get some questions in: With the benefit of hindsight would you have done anything differently in the last three years?

No. I believe everything happens for a reason and I follow my gut instincts, so I would not have changed anything.

How is the Secret Garden maintained on weekdays and in the summer?

“I am at the garden almost every day, but there is also always someone there, appearing as if by magic when I need the most help.” She has help from volunteers near and far who help maintain the garden 365 days of the year. She chuckles and calls these volunteers “garden fairies,” because such is the mystical pull of the garden that there is always someone tending to some part of it when she least expects it. Miraculously, even when any of her army of volunteers leaves Kuwait a new volunteer somehow manages to find their way to the garden.

What challenges exist that has limited the expansion of the Secret Garden concept in Kuwait?

I have no official paper authorizing the project, only verbal permission from the responsible authorities, so I have no advice to give others on how to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy to get official permits. This is the biggest hurdle, especially for non Kuwaiti residents who may have the enthusiasm to tend to allotments in green spaces close to where they live or work, but are afraid to do so without written permission. To really succeed, local co-operatives and government backed initiatives need to be put in place to give enthusiastic people permission to plant, tend to and maintain public gardens without fear of penalty.

You are obviously passionate about all your projects, but which one gives you the most satisfaction?

“Each of my projects have evolved organically and have a personality and joy of their own, but the one that I am always in awe of is Shakshooka.” I press her to explain what she means and she explains “every time we set up in random places, I wondered if anyone would come – but by the end of the two hours of each Shakshooka, it has always been successful – I am always amazed and grateful. I love that Shakshooka has an energy and balance that binds us closer together as a community.”

Danna & Yusra

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As a chef, what do you find the most rewarding and the most frustrating in Kuwait?

“I love to introduce people to new flavor pallets and to broaden their knowledge and appreciation for international cuisine. I am always grateful for the trust they place in me and tr y something they never tried before – and then to like it!”

As for frustrating, “finding a location in which I can set up my own restaurant and dealing with all the bureaucracy surrounding the correct lease, permitting and staff. I want to have a restaurant where the diners can see the kitchen and the chaos of the kitchen to truly appreciate the final platted dish; that means location and size of location is key and I have not found this place yet.”

How did two chefs and a waitress come into existence?

There once were two chefs and a waitress and we wanted to have a restaurant. As we have yet to find the perfect location, we have used the pop-up restaurant concept to set up and ser ve whenever we can.

What are the challenges that limit the number of TCAAW events in any given year?

Our biggest issue is venue and permitting. We would love to have a pop up that was open for more than one day, but within the restrictions we have to work with, we have as many as we are able to host.

What can the general public do to help you in your projects and other ‘green’ initiatives that are taking place in Kuwait?

We need the government and peoples’ help to not only introduce legislation to legalize and encourage public garden maintenance by lay persons, but also better education and awareness on our waste management. We have so much domestic help in Kuwait that most people are not aware of just how much waste their households generate. There needs to be better means to divide and recycle general household waste so that Kuwait as a countr y reduces its carbon footprint, there needs to be more accountability.

If you could travel forward ten years in time for one hour, what would you like to see in Kuwait?

I would like to see people outdoors, walking, cycling, running and using public transpor tation.

I would like to see green spaces blooming ever ywhere and communities coming together and suppor ting each other.

For more information on Mimi’s projects, follow her on Snapchat and Instagram: #shakshookamarket; #thesecretgardenproject and #twochefsandawaitress.

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aaw girl

THE (ONE) WORLD OF ALISON SHAN PRICE Introduction provided by Alison Shan Price, interview by Nejoud Al-Yagout

Four years ago, One World Actors Centre was founded in Kuwait by Alison Shan Price. The company continues to sate the thirst of theater-goers in Kuwait, with productions ranging from Evita to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Last season, OWAC launched The Story of Ibn Haytham - a production in partnership with UNESCO, as part of the 1001 Inventions World Tour - at the Kuwait Scientific Center. Furthermore, with the assistance of TAQA Productions and DAI Cultural Centre Yarmouk, the Centre brought choreographer Adam Darius – an internationally renowned Emmy award-winning performance artist - and choreographer Kazimir Kolesnik to Kuwait to present Masterclasses.

Another show was The Little Princess, directed

by Eléni Rebecca, which was performed at Bayt Abdullah - a hospice for terminally ill children. The Centre coordinates closely with Bayt Abdullah and has raised KD 60,000 for the hospice in the last few years alone, through One World Youth Theatre productions. Last month alone, OWAC presented two shows: A Night at the West End at the British Embassy and Blue Box – a collection of stories by 16-year-old Syrian author Emma Abdullah by which all proceeds are donated to Syrian children in need. The latter show was under the patronage of Sheikha Paula and Sheikha Yasmine Al-Sabah and will be premiered in Kuwait this upcoming April, and at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival in August. The Festival is not a new accomplishment for OWAC. This summer, at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival, One World received a 4-star international review for the international debut of an original, EnglishArabic spin on a Greek classic - which OWAC titled Antigone: An Arabian Tragedy. The play has been shortlisted for an Amnesty International Award.

In addition OWAC’s Educational Division hosts training sessions for actors who wish to qualify for the UK-accredited LAMDA Communication and Performance certification.

All ideas are born inside of us. One World Actors Centre is one heck of a grand idea! How were you certain that you were up to the task at hand?

To be part of a thriving dynamic team with one vision enables the grandest ideas to become reality. We are multi-cultural and bring our individuality to the table. We work as a company,

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a group of adults who respect one another and recognize each other’s strengths. Once we have agreed on a project, we all work towards its success. It is organic. We listen to each other. We all have our areas of specialization, but support the areas of others. Meetings are never silent!

Our team is highly qualified and experienced in each area and age is not in the equation. Our consultants are eminent experts across the world and they regularly contribute to international workshops.

How do you find the space inside to help you choose the shows for each cultural season?

Choosing a show is like a military campaign. Much research and feasibility surveys are undertaken.

We have just presented excerpts from many musicals in an original version of Around the World in 80 days-Part I - and were able to determine from our audience feedback as to which musicals would be the most popular to present in Kuwait.

Sometimes a concept arises that puts everything on hold. The Blue Box is a clear example of such

a production. It is unlike any other production we have ever done.

Most people know you as a producer, actor, director. Not many people know that you have an insatiable passion for physics. When did that start?

When I lived in South Africa, I went to Cape Town High School and had a wonderful teacher called Mr. Bearens who used to walk over the desks to get to students. His lessons were dynamic and involved creativity. Between theatre work - in which I received qualifications from London Academy of Dramatic Art LAMDA - I received a BSc (Hons) in Physics. The scientific processes of realizing a theory and the artistic process of creating a performance are very similar and both utilize the left and right sides of the brain. Both excite my mind.

Last year you managed to merge your love of science and drama with the production of The Story of Ibn Haytham. Can you tell us a little more about the show?

vision express

One World Actors Centre - in association with TAQA Productions - was contracted by the 1001 Inventions- World Tour in February 2015 to train presenters in Arabic and English. Dr. Diana Sfeir and I took them through acting and scientific training. The exhibition ran for a month and concluded with a creative performance about the story of Ibn Al Haytham and the history of his development of the camera obscura to music. The movement was choreographed by Eleni Rebecca and Yousef Al-Nasser under the mentorship of choreographer Adam Darius, our physical theatre consultant. We went on to train presenters in Bahrain.

At auditions, it must be very difficult to be a talent scout. What makes an actor stand out, in your opinion?

In every audition a director has a concept of the character role musically, vocally and physically.

The radiance of an actor is a vital aspect that all our acting students are trained to achieve.

Indeed, over the years many have gone on to be very successful in the theatrical field. Without that quality an actor is not an actor but merely a player.

Sometimes a person enters the room with the potential to radiate. We can work with that if there is no ego. Our present company is exceptional with every member able to radiate that special energy. They synergize. See how science relates to theatre! (Laughter) We are mentored by the father of expressive mime - Adam Darius. And I am a student of Graham Dixon, the director of the Chekhov Studio London. We spent many days in private studio work together and Graham relayed Michael Chekhov’s secrets to his great success.

Through their mentorship I am able to recognize an actor in the same way that Olwyn McCollin recognizes a singer, Eléni Rebecca a dancer or Yousef Al-Nasser – with pantomime.

Charity and art waltz together beautifully. One World Actors Center has raised money for terminally ill children and Syrian children. In an age of selfies and “look-at-me”, how can we encourage more people in the art scene to highlight causes that require our collective attention?

We have been given so much support that it is vital we pay it forward. It’s not enough to say ‘’I wish I could do something” or ‘”There should be something done”. As artists we only have our art and it can be used as edutainment. The Blue Box was met with an instantaneous, great reception - which was more than we could have wished for.

To tell the story of innocents in a war zone is one thing; for it to be received so powerfully and recognized by so many people means that we were able to convey the message of the book across in a gentle and truthful manner. A ripple is created by one stone. Emma Abdullah - a LAMDA Gold Medal holder with distinction - was the stone that quite literally landed in our calm sea when she entered the studio one afternoon. All other projects were

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put aside and the company immediately (and without discussion) created the production. That is the magic. We have the support of exceptional people. We are sincerely grateful to the wonderful Hooda Shawa of TAQA Productions, Sheikha Paula and Sheikha Yasmine Al Sabah, Hind Al-Ghanim and Al-Ghanim Industries, Sundus Hussein and Al-Abjar Holdings, Sheikha Hussah and Shakir AbelSadeq of DAI Cultural Centre, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bayt Lothan, Harriet Bushman and, most recently, The American United School for their patronage of our latest production which will enable The Blue Box to be presented in UK. Finally, we know you have another year of magic ahead for us! Can I say thank you on behalf of all of Kuwait? As a patron of the arts, you are an inspiration to us all. Please tell us how we can hear more about your shows and ways that we can sponsor future productions.

Thank you so much. Our season is completed in August and includes Antigone-in French with Diana Sfeir, our second Edinburgh show,

The Lion in Winter with Brian McLaughlin and One World Shakespeare Company - which is suppor ted by Dame Judi Dench, Around the World in 80 Days Par t 2 by our Musical Theatre Company and One World Youth Theatre in June and, finally, accredited LAMDA Examinations in Performance and Communication Training Programs. In addition, we will be suppor ting director Hamad Al-Jenaie in his new project.

We will be in association with TAQA Productions for exciting projects including IKARA directed by Yousef Al-Hashash and Freya, the stor y of Freya Stark in Kuwait, to be performed at the DAI in May, written by Hooda Shawa (Akhnaton and Pink Room).

We are very grateful for sponsorship received from companies and Friends of One World. Our contact address is Info@oneworldactorscentre.com.

Yo u c a n f o l l ow O n e W o r l d o n I n s t a g r a m @oneworldactorscentre or visit their Facebook page: One World Actors Centre CIC.

Auk

I remember as a kid, leaving home for the first time. Not leaving, Dick Whittington style, with my cat and my belongings wrapped up in a cloth attached to a stick. I mean leaving to go away on a school trip. It was all kinds of emotional, equal parts exciting/nervewracking. A new and wild adventure into the unknown…a resort less than an hour away from home, for a weekend of archery and bad canteen dinners that included chocolate cake and green custard (that was a thing in our schools).

Fast forward 20 years or more, and I find myself in beautiful Kuwait, wondering where all of those years have gone, but also recalling that first harrowing experience of leaving home for the first time, for the sake of this article. Having lived here now for 493 days at time of writing, and previously Egypt for 4 years, I feel comfortable, relaxed and largely at home. But it wasn’t always that way.

I first went to Egypt on a temporary work assignment, surrounded by colleagues from the UK and put up in a 5 star hotel with all expenses paid.

Aside from the work each day, it was like a holiday camp and I remember having an amazing time.

Upon the assignment ending, and being offered a full time role in Egypt, I jumped at the chance and accepted. After returning home for the week leading up to Christmas break, I arrived back in Egypt on Christmas Eve and INSTANTLY had my first adult taste of truly being away from home.

It wasn’t the same as before at all. No coworkers, no hotel, no expenses paid…I was there, alone, standing outside the airport wondering simultaneously ‘’how do I get to my accommodation’’? and ‘’what on earth have I done’’? Frankly speaking, I felt scared, lonely and uncertain.

That feeling, while it did decrease gradually, didn’t leave for a long, long time. I made new friends at work; I adjusted to my apartment and neighborhood, and went about my life, but still wasn’t totally settled. I had good days and bad days, with regard to missing home. 99% of the problem was feeling alone and almost like the black sheep…totally out of place. Even back home, I could be living alone, or walking down the street alone, but surrounded by familiarity and things that were ingrained into me…things that make home, home. Of course, a new country, let alone a new part of the world, takes so much of that away.

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EXPATS GUIDE

TO EXPATING

By bazaar staff

For me, I wasn’t ready to quit and go home, although knowing that I could at any time helped me during the darkest days; just the thought was enough. That said, quitting isn’t in my nature. I had to find solutions to become more comfortable in my new surroundings. So I did just that, and I hope that these few simple tips can help those of you reading that are trying to adjust to the expat life here in Kuwait (or elsewhere)!

Learn the lingo! If I’m being honest, my Arabic sucks. But, I know a little…enough to get around.

When you can communicate easily, and in the native language, not only do your country hosts appreciate it, but you reach another level of ‘feeling at home-ness’; ability to communicate effectively is essential in feeling comfortable in any place! If not through dedicated classes, get yourself some selflearning CDs/MP3s/apps, and watch as many local TV and movies as you can.

Search online for expat blogs and forums. Sign up and be open! The internet is full of people just like you, in the same position. Start a thread about how you’re new and need ideas for things to do/places to go/spots to eat, and you will be surprised at the friendly and helpful replies from both fellow expats and native members, and it’s a great way to make friends. There are some great

Facebook pages for expats.

Join clubs and local events. It will keep you busy, get you involved with the local community, fit and healthy (if it’s a gym!) and help you to meet people. And if there isn’t an event or club that inspires you… …Get creative! Feel like there’s something missing in your new homeland that others (as well as you) would appreciate? Go set it up! Create an even spread the word!

Keep in mind that you can leave at any time at all...but that doesn’t mean you HAVE to leave. Save this for the worst days. One of the worst things you can do is tell yourself you’re stuck, you made a mistake, or have regrets; living abroad for even a day has enhanced your life experience and is more than some people accomplish in a lifetime, so be proud! But it never hurts to have an escape plan from any situation, so remember that if you give your all and you still crave the green green grass of home…it’s waiting for you anytime you’re ready.

We at bazaar are well schooled in the various things to do in and around Kuwait. Need some advice?

Check out www.bazaar.town for ideas of things to do/places to go, or message us on Facebook: bazaarmagazine, using #expatsgonnaexpat!

dar hamad

SULIMAN AL QASSAR Legendary singer and entrepreneur to appear at The Taste of Q8 By bazaar staff

We’ve all grown up to the legendary sound of renowned artist Suliman Al Qassar. His passion for the folkloric arts — coupled with his beautiful voice — birthed generations of followers that witnessed him performing cultural songs in various styles such as Al Khamari, Al Ashouri (Al Radha art) and Al Samry. Since he started his artistic career in 1979, his natural born talents evolved with time to lead him on a journey that combines all of his passions, from music, performance, folklore to the culinary world. With an appearance scheduled at the ultimate culinary festival in March 2016, The Taste of Q8, you will not want to miss out on the huge opportunity to meet this local legend!

Al Qassar praises authenticity in all aspects of his life, from genuine folkloric cultural shows to the food prepped in his kitchen. With his incredible skill and talent, he has created an art arena, establishing this musical field for Kuwait and the GCC. His performances at wedding processions, for instance, are every bride’s dream, as his authentic style and natural talent that celebrates the nation’s rich history is inimitable. His artistic touch is also ever so prevalent in the form of the traditional bridal dowry box, or the dazza, where he combined his love for all things folkloric in a format that truly separates his talent from his

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peers’. Al Qassar’s touch is iconic to say the least, and we cannot wait for him to take the stage at the upcoming Taste of Q8 taking place March 17-19, 2016 at the bespoke Marina Crescent in Kuwait.

It was through this journey that Al Qassar discovered his passion for the culinary world.

He’s enjoyed a natural ability in the kitchen since a young age when he watched his mother and aunt create amazing traditional dishes, but he initially focused more on perfecting his musical talents. Al Qassar believes that passion knows no boundaries, and cooking is an art that should be carried out with a ‘sense’ for how food should be tasted and presented. This instigated his desire to follow through with his dream to enter the field. His innate curiosity, combined with his love for watching entertaining cooking shows on The Food Network, led him to further research the world of gastronomy.

Nonetheless, he never thought that his past time hobby and passion would lead him to host his own cooking show, Flavor and Spice with Al Qassar.

Al Qassar had always dreamed of hosting a culinary show that featured local celebrities in the kitchen cooking up a feast for the palate.

While the idea was faced with many challenges, he first made his culinary debut alongside local presenters Hanouf Al-Balhan and Hessa Al Loughani on Al Watan TV’s morning show.

Al Qassar naturally dazzled the audiences, and insisted on cooking the dishes he wanted

to present himself. A most serendipitous opportunity presented itself for Al Qassar, when he took his place alongside culinary darling Chef Adlah Alsharhan when filming an episode of Kashta, her successful traveling food truck show. A meeting with renowned producer Bader Alkandari, where he suggested that Al Qassar host his own, show led them to develop Flavor and Spice with Al Qassar. Three seasons later, Al Qassar is still going strong with many culinary tricks up his sleeve. He even recently stated that there are dishes that he still hasn’t presented yet! In this unexpected career twist, Al Qassar witnessed unprecedented fame and success in the last three years, and he cannot wait to join celebrity greats at the upcoming Taste of Q8.

For those foodies that want an extra special treat, a limited number of Meet & Greet entrance tickets will be available. These tickets will allow attendees to enter the Hospitality Suite and meet with the chefs, and get a goodie bag with the Taste of Q8 souvenir apron and Cookbook. Meet & Greet participants will have access to all the Celebrity Chef sessions, following their presentations.

Buy online starting February 1 at www.TasteofQ8.com.

Several Meet The Chef Dinners will be scheduled in February and March. Apply online at www.TasteofQ8.com to obtain tickets to these very exclusive pre-events.

american tourist

WHAT SUHEIL SAW

One man’s journey volunteering with refugees in the Greek island of Rhodes By bazaar staff

If you’ve been keeping up with current events over the past year, you know that the refugee crisis in Europe is getting out of hand.

Roughly 800,000 refugees have passed through, journeying to seek asylum this year alone. Awareness is vital in this time as refugees have lost so much and are looking for people to help in whatever way they could. What they really need is the help of fellow Arabs, since many of them only speak Arabic – and are thus left feeling lost and hopeless in their situation.

Enter Suheil Al-Tayea, who found himself volunteering on the Greek island of Rhodes. “After deciding to volunteer, and upon doing my research, finding the right organization to volunteer for was a challenge. I finally got in touch with Helping Hands of Rhodes and they were thrilled that I spoke Arabic and requested for me to come join them right away.”

Suheil spent a month in Greece, helping out refugees in whatever way he could. “There was so much to be done. I arrived at 12am and by 4am they had called me from my hotel asking me to come help load ferries of goods that were being shipped to organizations on other islands. That night, everyone was helping – even people from different organizations.” And this is just the beginning of unity that was shown in the camps. People were helping in all of the different ways that they could: picking up garbage, cleaning the camp, and assisting the refugees in any way possible. From providing comfort and talking to them, to listing their needs, to providing them with places to clean up and shower by inviting them to their hotels for the day – everyone lent a hand.

According to Suheil, the refugees’ living conditions at the camp were pretty rough “It was the bare minimum – they have it better than people on other islands, but they could also be more comfor table.” With bathrooms described as “unusable” and “disgusting”, any memor y they might have had of a comfor table life became more difficult to bear with. Places to sleep ranged from

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vast to sparse, depending on the traffic of refugees at the camp. The UN had provided five tents, fitting one family each. Camping tents had also been donated and spread throughout the camp, providing shelter for as many people as they could fit, and a slaughterhouse conver ted to a shelter that held 80 beds. At this time, strangers share living spaces and are confined to minimal space. If all spaces were filled, people had to sleep in the open air – with as many donated blankets and pillows volunteers could scrounge and provide them with.

This specific camp was lucky enough to scrounge three meals a day and shelter for the refugees, but this isn’t always the case.

Rhodes is the capital of the Greek Islands, but other islands where the refugees had landed from their grueling journey to Europe don’t always offer that type of shelter, since their infrastructure couldn’t handle it. Some refugees have to resor t to extremes like sleeping and relieving themselves on the streets. What’s even worse is that these people risk their lives, paying 3,000 Euros a head to smugglers, who carr y them on flimsy boats that have no guarantee whether they’ll sink or swim, or that they wouldn’t lose the lives of their children along the way.

People also tend to believe that, because winter is here, the boats will stop coming – but smugglers are now offering “Winter Discounts” at reduced fare, making people risk ever ything to journey on freezing waters and living in harsh conditions in search of a new – safer – home. They’re seeking asylum from what drove them away from their countries – and being closest to the region, the Greek Islands are only the beginning of their journey. They still have to travel through Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia to get to European countries like Hungar y, Austria and Germany where refugees are being considered for citizenship. What’s extremely unfor tunate, is that when they find temporar y refuge in islands like Rhodes, Suheil noted that both the refugees and volunteers are asking the same disappointing question: “Where are the Arabs?”

Suheil, the only Arab-speaker amongst the volunteers in Rhodes, revealed a simple answer to this inquir y: the Arabs are volunteering in the more developed nations in Europe, such as Austria and Germany.

While it’s great that Arabs are contributing, The Greek islands need our attention.

“When I met the refugees and they learned that I could speak Arabic, it was as though I was an angel sent to them from Heaven.

Imagine how frustrating it must be for you to tr y to express what you need but nobody can help you because they don’t speak the language. Having Arab volunteers in Greece

would make a world of a difference.”

What can volunteers do? Suheil did everything, including identifying and burying dead bodies at the cemeteries – but volunteers are only asked to do whatever they can handle. Nobody is expecting them to collect dead bodies or to save the world, and no one is expecting people to give up all their time and money to help. “I stayed for a month, but even a week makes a difference!

Greek locals would come and help out for a day if they could – there’s no such thing as giving too little, everyone should give what they can.” According to Suheil, the volunteers are in desperate need of interpreters right now, which is why we as Arabs should take the time and effort to help them.

If you’re interested in volunteering at the Greek Islands this year, the process isn’t as difficult as you’d think. If you’re an Arab passpor t holder, you will need to obtain a visa to enter Greece. Once you have your visa and have set aside time for your trip, contact an organization such as Helping Hands of Rhodes (helpinghandsofrhodes@ gmail.com) or Solidarity Symi (http:// www.solidaritysymi.org) to notify them of your interest. They’ll pick you up from the

airpor t, give you suggestions for places to stay – your journey as a volunteer begins from there.

But of course, we all have obstacles and commitments in our ever yday lives that prevent us from taking such trips – but we could still spread the word. People tend to think that anything they do to help won’t actually help in the long run because it’s a small percentage of effor t, but it’s a butterfly effect – it only sparks more incentive for others to give their time to the refugees as well. “I gave a lecture at a school where one of the students’ mothers was a doctor, and the next day she donated two big bags filled with medical supplies!” Word of mouth goes a long way. Talk about it at your diwaniyas and social circles, and you never know how far the effor t will go.

To help out, make sure to contact a trusted organization. If you’re interested or inspired, you can contact Helping Hands of Rhodes by emailing them at helpinghandsofrhodes @gmail.com or simply check out Solidarity Symi at www.solidaritysymi.org. For more information contact Suheil via email at altayea@gmail.com, or at 9008 9007.

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DECLUTTERING IN THE DIGITAL AGE

By Ayman Nassar

Humans are sentimental fools. It started off with our parents, who hoarded all baby clothes, textbooks and photo albums from the day we took our first step to the day we got married. All our milestones and everything in between are perfectly immortalized in tangible mementos and keep sakes that serve as reminders of a time long gone, bringing back smiles or tears depending on the nature of the associated memory.

Fast forward to this day and age, and our clutter has invaded cyberspace. From the very first email we ever sent to the first one we ever received; everything is available online for our viewing pleasure. You need only think back to a key word to search your inbox and behold as that chain letter from 1999 pops back up before your eyes (if you had sent it, you would have been successful today).

Even social media is dredging through the past, excavating our memories and showing us exactly how much of our lives is stored on their servers. From posts we shared to statuses we commented on, and everything in between. My history goes back as far as 2007, before Facebook

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went mainstream. I find myself surprised as to what I was sharing, at times bordering on the preposterous, akin to a child that just learned to use its legs for walking, and keeps bumping into everything and knocking it down. It took quite a while to be social media savvy, and learn to keep some thoughts in my mind and others on the keyboard.

However, just as thieves and fires can destroy our tangible memories, so to can our intangible memories fall prey to softer calamities, such as power outages, viruses etc.

As someone who lost a trove of memories as a result of hard disk failure (one terabyte, two decades worth of pictures, home movies, series, movies etc.), I was forced to review the memories I held on to so dearly as I attempted to salvage what I could through various software. Alas not everything was fated to return, and what I found I cannot recall ever owning – pdf files, excel sheets, word documents from my first job ever. Herein lies the concept of virtual decluttering and its effect on us.

Going through life, our technological arteries are bound to be filled by “fatty junk”, a funny video a friend sent that we have yet to watch, 5 years later. A couple of movies that were the talk of the town that we never quite got around to viewing, 7

years later. Photos from events we never attended but wanted to prove to people you intended to, by taking all the albums and neglecting to view them, 10 years later.

When faced with the conundrum of what to salvage and what to throw away, we opt to save everything and propose to go through it “when the time is right”. The sad reality is, if it is not done within the first 2 months, it shall not be done, period. We find ourselves holding on to memories that weigh us down.

It is said that the internet is made up of 1,200 petabytes (1.2 million terabytes) of information. Our brains have the capacity to store close to 2.5 petabytes.

Much like we can pick and choose what data to keep and what to throw away on an external hard disk, so to should we be able to select what to throw away and what to keep in terms of what occupies our mind.

As we embrace the dawn of the New Year, take the decision to let go of all the resolves and resolutions you made and never found the time to get to until this day. Let 2016 be the year of a memory purge, literal and metaphorical, and the setting of new goals (hopefully that will not be purged in a few years).

Prime and toast

TECH TATS’ USHER IN NEW

GENERATION OF WEARABLES

By Jessica Firger

Devices like the Fitbit and Apple Watch are sold on the notion that they will provide a steady stream of personal data that could improve a person’s life: help you lose weight, sleep better and reach fitness goals.

But it only works if a user remembers to strap it on every day—and keeps it there.

However, research finds that consumers quickly tire of using these devices every day.

A survey by Endeavour Partners, a digital consulting firm, found that 50 percent of consumers who purchased a tracking device no longer use it, and a third threw it in a drawer after six months. Chaotic Moon Studios, a startup in Austin, Texas, hopes to solve this problem (and many others) with “tech tattoos.”

Tech tattoos are made from small pieces of hardware components that connect with special paint that conducts electricity, creating a small circuitry that sits comfortably on the skin and resembles a simple circuit board. These

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“biowearables” can collect and store data such as heart rate and body temperature and then send that information to a smartphone app.

The company has not said when it plans to put the first generation of tech tats on the market. Currently, its tech tats must be applied by hand. First, the special ink is painted on the skin with a brush. Then the small hardware components are fixed onto the area; they are tiny enough to require tweezers for application.

But Chaotic Moon anticipates the version it will sell to consumers would come in a package similar to a box of Band-Aids and be applied like a temporary tattoo—with just some pressure and a little water.

“This is really going beyond what the fitness tracker is,” says Eric Schneider, Chaotic Moon’s creative technologist for hardware. “We’re right now looking into the medical field specifically, because there’s a lot of monitoring devices that take up a lot of room and space.” Schneider’s group believes tech tats could become useful to physicians wishing to monitor a patient’s vital signs for days or weeks after surgery in an unobtrusive and reliable way. Currently, a physician looking to track a patient’s heart rate will send the person home with a cardiac

monitor—usually an unwieldy device worn around the neck.

The tech tats could also be useful in preventive care. “Rather than going to the doctor once a year for a physical, this tech tattoo can be something that you just put on your body once a year, and it monitors everything they would do in a physical and sends that to your doctor, and if there’s an issue they could call you,” says Schneider.

Tech tats could even change the way consumers make financial transactions, providing a more secure and faster way to pay for things by simply tapping your wrist at the supermarket register instead of opening up your wallet. They could also, for example, replace paper tickets at amusement parks and movie theaters—after purchasing your ticket online, all you’d need to do to gain entrance is tap the tattoo on a scanner. The concept could even be applied to everyday challenges such as getting through airport security.

And, of course, the company hopes the cool futuristic aesthetics will be a selling point. The developers have even created one prototype of a tech tat it hopes to make, with animation activated by the wearer’s movements.

AAw Man

THE FABULOUS FIFTIES..?

WHY EXACTLY HAS THIS ERA SURVIVED THROUGH THE AGES? By bazaar staff

In light of the recent performances of Grease at Kuwait English School, the culture and aesthetic of the 50s era has once again come into focus. From high-waisted polka dot skirts to weathered leather jackets, the 50s were a time of experimenting with fashion.

The popped collar revolution has managed to rise above the dreaded 20-year fashion cycle and remain stylish throughout the past six decades.

Fashion in the 50s is characterized by pop colors and a cool sense of preppiness. For men this was the introduction of loosely tailored suits and – later in the decade – leather jackets. For women, it sparked a love for everything highwaisted as well as bigger hair. Nonetheless, there is more to this era than the fashion that has taken the world by storm.

The recovery from WWII and the Cold War, the

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50s was a decade of excess, with people wanting bigger and better everything, no matter what budget they were on. Affordable cars were getting faster, louder and more colorful with muscle car models such as the 1956 Chevy Corvette as well as the 1959 Chrysler 300E hitting the market. This went hand in hand with the rise of automobile entertainment such as drive-in movies as well as drive-through fast food facilities.

Many people consider the 50s culture synonymous with the Coca Cola culture, where the color red and sugar and fun were rife. Perhaps this is the best testimony for the perseverance of the 50s through the past few decades. According to an article by the Business Insider, the average person consumes a Coca Cola product once every four days. In addition, we are bombarded with adverts for the drink (or one of its sister beverages) throughout our visual culture, from billboard adverts, emotional and nostalgic television adverts to extensive product placement in popular movies.

Undoubtedly, there are some trends that didn’t make it out of the decade alive. One example is the

cone-shaped “Bullet” bra. Another is the impractical girdle undergarment. It is also important to remember that the 50s was an era of conformity in fashion, with very many of the trends being tailored to a specific body type, especially in the case of women’s fashion.

This meant that people without a cinched waist or a substantial bust were often excluded from the fashion market. It also encouraged the use of the aforementioned bra and other body-shaping clothing to alter natural body shapes. Furthermore, the luxuries of the era were only available to those with money and – after the worldwide conflict of the years prior to this - many people were out of pocket and simply could not take part on the colorful, excessive consumerism.

In Kuwait, there are various establishments that embody the 50s culture, such as Johnny Rockets and even T.G.I. Friday’s. However, what stands out most about these places is not the vintage-inspired décor or the wistful wall hangings. It is the laid-back, friendly atmosphere that embodies 50s culture and we are all trying to incorporate into our daily lives in whatever way we can.

the promenade

PARTY BOX - Celebrate in style By bazaar staff

Who doesn’t love a party? Many people think that planning one is half the fun, but unfortunately, not everybody feels that way.

A lot of people find that when planning a celebration, their stress levels rise over not being able to gather all the odds and ends they need to make their event extra special.

With Party Box, Kuwait’s very own party supply hub huddled in a busy side street within Shuwaikh Industrial, any anxiety you have will dramatically drop and your worries will wash away with their wide variety of party supplies and the extremely helpful staff’s willingness to cater to your every need, until you walk out with your “box” bag of goodies containing items that will make your ideal party come alive just the way you imagined it.

“Everyone has schedules and everyone is so busy with work, school, family and their everyday lives, but in between your everyday life, you have moments that call for celebration” says Deniz Çerinan AlGhawas, Party Box’s Brand Manager. And at Party Box, there is no moment too small or insignificant that can’t be turned into a grand affair! When you walk into the store, you’re greeted by the helpful staff who are ready to tackle all the details you’re looking for. Whether you’re just popping by for a small forgotten staple to put your event together, or you’re starting from scratch, they’re always ready to fill the missing pieces of your party puzzle.

What’s also great about Party Box is that the staff’s enthusiasm towards helping you build your party from the ground up. If you haven’t thought of a theme yet, they’ll walk you through the entire store, brainstorming with you till one is created and you have all your necessities gathered, as they believe that the theme is an essential element for any celebration – especially Deniz, who vehemently stands by this ethos: “whenever I go to a party, I always look for a theme – every party needs a theme! No matter how small it is, that’s what makes it unique!”

Their merchandise and accessories are vast,

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covering everything you could think of. From cutlery styled in every color of the rainbow, to print-designed napkins, to life-sized foil balloons of different characters, they have it all. They even have staples dedicated to classic themes such as bridal showers, baby showers, retirements and graduation parties.

For children’s parties, they offer party favors for kids, decals that you could easily stick on the walls of your venue for children to draw on, peel off and discard, hassle and mess-free. Party Box also has in stock their very own line of children’s entertainment dubbed Timo Toys—made from quality, pre-cut and pre-punched cardboard that are easily buildable and blank in color for your kids to explore their artistic potentials. Timo Toys also come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from masks, houses, tree houses, castles and even cars and war tanks to suit any party theme. Party Box is also the only store in Kuwait that stocks the Orchard brand of educational games for children. If you’re planning a kids’ event, you can feel comfortable knowing that Party Box has educational entertainment to accommodate the party.

Party Box also offers bespoke services, from wrapping paper to balloons, to signs, banners,

stickers, cut-outs – anything you can think of! Just pop in with your designs and they’ll sketch out a plan and make your dreams come true.

Although they have only been open since October, their services operate smoothly. They also have big plans for the future, as they are currently working towards expansion in the GCC and with their services.

They’re working on a web-store and party planning service that they are aiming to introduce within the year in order to accommodate those who don’t have the time to make in-person treks to Shuwaikh to create the celebration of their dreams. They also offer delivery services to make your life a lot easier.

If you check out their Instagram and Facebook pages, you can pick and choose what you like and request to have it delivered right to your door! Specializing in party planning from A to Z, Party Box will without a doubt, make your dreams come true.

Planning a party? Head to Party Box in Al Tomoor Street, Shuwaikh Industrial, behind the London Center.

Call them at 2492 0037/5177 5577 and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @q8partybox.

Photography by Muneera Alkhulaifi.

nino

BULLYING What is a bully? What does it mean to be bullied? Conceptual artist Abdullah Al Saab certainly had a way of explaining the social issue through his latest exhibition in Dar Al Funoon, dubbed “BULLYing”.

It was a sensitive topic to tackle, but being a self-defined curious person, Abdullah finds inspiration in almost everything and believes that not taking risks in life is the biggest risk there is. Based on his past achievements and works he’s done, the recurring message of “risk” coupled with his background education in Interior Design and Psychology is apparent throughout his whole journey.

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ABDULLAH AL SAAB’S MESSAGE TO

THE VICTIMS AND THEIR VILLAINS By bazaar staff

Originally conceptualizing himself as a fashion designer, the artist found himself combining fashion and visual art, coining this form of expression by collaborating with artists like Shurooq Amin in 2011, creating clothing designs painted over with Shurooq’s original artwork and displayed in the FA Gallery in Kuwait City. The artist also collaborated with his brother and well known local artist Hamad Al Saab, who’d implemented his signature vintage Arabic cultural prints onto Abdullah’s 1960s inspired pieces, displayed in Dar Al Funoon in 2008.

Still, Abdullah had more to say that he couldn’t always express through fashion, and showed the nation as he released his debut independent pictorial concept dubbed “Boundaries” in Dar Al Funoon, in 2013. “Boundaries showed a series of social issues with elements of white over black, meant to symbolize what he called ‘the peak of hope’. The result of this exhibition was wildly successful as two of his pieces were sent to Los Angeles to stand in the permanent collection of the Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East exhibition in LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).

BULLYing, which ran from December 6-10, 2015 was surely a body of work to be proud of, as it touched on a global social issue that isn’t always addressed. This exhibition displayed twenty different ways to classify bullying, with abaya and niqab clad women wearing colored sunglasses to illustrate the idea of blind sightedness to their surroundings. “People don’t understand that this is bullying,” raved Abdulatif Al-Kharji, longtime friend and fan of the artist’s work; “But I’ve witnessed this line of work from start to finish, and watching the reactions people had, from the tears in their eyes to the way the pieces made them discuss, was beautiful. It was amazing to hear witness everybody’s different points of view.”

As a whole, BULLYing was an extremely thought provoking exhibition, and bazaar was lucky enough to meet with the artist himself to discuss his inspiration and processes behind the pieces.

What inspired you to create a whole range of works dedicated to bullying?

The theme had originally started out as ‘Superficial Starvation’, which is ultimately a vague element of bullying. With personal experiences, I began to notice that we as people don’t see the lines that separate inappropriate and appropriate things to say to people, and brush it off as part of our extremely honest culture. In that respect, we don’t talk about bullying enough, and we should raise more

awareness. This prompted me to research the different types of bullying people are exposed to, and to look at statistics. 82% of people have felt bullied on the daily, and my logic is the remaining 18% would be children who are too young to speak eloquently. Knowing this scared me, and made me realize that the whole world constantly feels bullied, and something needs to be done about it.

What does bullying mean to you?

Bullying is a highway to self-destruction – if you don’t know how to drive in the dark, you end up being lost. It’s a choice, you make the choice if you want to be sucked in, or you can tell yourself that you’re bigger than this and you

won’t let it effect you.

How do you feel these works convey the message you’re trying to spread?

First and foremost, I would like to provide a disclaimer: none of the photographs represent any sort of belief or cultural reference - a lot of people assumed that when they saw it referenced a certain lifestyle. I’m a person who respects my culture very much, but the main thing that holds everything together is the abaya and niqab, and my reasons for choosing to use these elements are extremely particular. As human beings, our emotions live within our skin, and the niqab and abaya protect the skin and facial expressions – if I’m

[continued...]

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covering my emotions and facial expressions, what gives you the right to judge me? I also didn’t want people to get attached to anyone behind the pieces – I wanted the emotion of the photos to speak louder than the element of the human face would. In that respect, the message is delivered in an extremely powerful way, drawing attention to the symbolism of the figures’ actions, and making images of those with exposed hair or even with an exposed eye more vulnerable.

What inspired you to use women as subjects for your pieces?

The reason I have no male elements in these pieces is because to me, the source of kindness, emotions and care comes from a woman (our mothers, for example). I also feel that the female element is always easy for a human being to relate emotions to, and that the softness of a woman is easier on the eyes – they’re easier to connect to. If I were to use male elements, there would be an obvious double standard, but by using feminine elements I feel that its easier for people to relate to on both ends. That being said, I believe that a woman can do anything a man can do, but in this case, women do it better.

Do you feel that the response has been positive?

The response has been fantastic. I’m so happy with how supportive people have been, and how I’ve managed to make it so personal to a lot of people. I realize that the subject matter is a risky one, and that there’s a fine line between touching an audience and insulting them. People relate to it and they’re more understanding than I thought they’d be. The concept was meant to be a hit or miss, and I’m confident to say the outcome was a hit.

Do you think visual aids such as these help people realize that bullying is an issue?

I really hope so. I’m not expecting an overnight change and I’m a very realistic person – I know this wont stop bullying, but if it raises awareness and helps maybe one person, I know that my message has come across successfully.

How do you feel about the way bullying is dealt with in the region?

We aren’t talking about it enough, or raising enough awareness. Bullying can happen unconsciously without being aware of the consequences, and the media doesn’t help!

How easy everything has become has made people lose the value of a lot of things, like friendship, for example: it used to take a lot of work for someone to be your fired and now all you have to do is add them on Facebook to get to know them. With everything so easy and accessible, a sense of boredom and entitlement erupted and issues such as these are shoved to the backburner or people think its normal to treat others a certain way.

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[continued...]

Do you have any words of wisdom to bullies and the bullied?

When it comes to being bullied, remember this: Mind over matter. No matter what happens to you, you can always overcome that and grow a thicker skin - look at the greatness of everything you’ve achieved, and when people point the finger at you, it isn’t always personal. Always read between the lines- the minute you do, you will realize the patterns of human nature, and it will be easy to move on.

As for the bullies, I cannot attack them—they are victims of the social norm and evolution of social

media around them. They are victims of wanting to be a part of something, and because things have become so easy, they think they can get away with it. But to both, I have to say, no matter what your interests are, how old or young, it doesn’t matter; you are the center of your own life. You choose how your life goes, and no one has the right to choose for you just like you have no right to choose for anyone else – remember that.

Discover Abdullah’s work by visiting his website at www.abdullahalsaab.com, and following him on Facebook at Abdullah Al Saab Brand.

dodge

BICENTENNIAL ISSUE We know that bazaar hasn’t been around for two hundred years. Relax.

By Mohammed El Soukkary Necessity is the Mother of Invention It was a dark and stormy night (This was Kuwait however, which meant that the storm was a sandstorm.)

The millennium was three years away from completion, and the Internet was still synonymous with the blaring sound of a modem connecting (for our younger leaders, think of a cat being repeatedly kicked). Students were fundamentally the same as they are today though; they needed someone to help them navigate the tricky waters of the local economy so they could save their spending money to blow at the end of the week. That is where our heroes come into the scene.

From behind glasses that gleamed in the glow of a computer screen, a light bulb lit above the head of a young man. “Where can I get a good deal for a crocodile skin wallet to keep all this extra cash,” he asked himself plotting conveniently as he typed away cleverly at the computer.

“What if I had something at the tip of my fingers that would keep me updated on the best deals in town? Something that brought the offers to me, rather than make me search them out.” If this was a movie the camera would have panned away from him now and faded out.

Looking to New Horizons bazaar had been born, and it had fallen into the hands of students all across the city; it was saving money left and right, primarily because it was free but also because it spread the word about good deals far and wide. Its distribution was solidly established and its distribution was tied to Kuwait University’s newspaper, Afaq.

Juggling the magazine and one thousand and one other commitments continued for a few years, until it became increasingly untenable; the magazine began to trickle beyond the borders of the University, and because it was an instant success, demand for it grew and so did the pressure to deliver.

A decision would have to be made on whether it would remain a part time affair, a romance with an idea that would remain confined within the bounds of its creator’s limitations, or if it would be allowed to blossom and grow to its full potential.

Leap of Faith You are now sitting there reading this magazine, maybe in digital format, maybe in their exceptionally well printed hard copies (thanks guys!), so the ending of the story might have been given away, but there was a tricky moment when our heroes had to leap away from the relative safety of their employment, and invest their full time and effort into this [ad]venture.

A call to arms was sent out, and the greats of publishing across the desert hailed it. The team refined, improved and reinvigorated the magazine with content and more content. Its flame powered a newfound locomotive power that hurled bazaar through Kuwait, spreading its brand and going where no magazine had gone before.

Beyond the boundaries of the university, the magazine

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flexed its muscles and pushed its limits, and unlike the dinosaurs, adapted to the new environment.

Adapt and Evolve We grew together. bazaar was launched at the same time many of you started studying in university, and we left its borders side by side. You took the magazine with you, and became part of the story of its growth. Many of you were not students any more, your needs changed and they made sure to change with them. Sophisticated as you are, you did not make it easy, they reached out to the world, and forged through fire and brimstone... wait, got carried away there. They reached across the four corners of the globe and brought together a team from all walks of life to mirror your broad spectrum.

Each and every one of you is a driver in bazaar’s growth, and your dynamism is what motivates them to keep on pushing for the best offers, and to draw the best writers, photographers and literary talent to their pages. Music, entertainment, the ins and outs of Kuwait, the Middle East and beyond, where to be and what to do are all integral parts of the team’s monthly product, but so is your personal well being and health because if something were to happen to you, who would read all of their articles about music, entertainment and the ins and outs of Kuwait?

Where Shall We Have Lunch?

The more vigilant of their readers might have noticed a glaring omission in the article that supposedly explores some of the highlights of the Magazine on the occasion of its two hundredth birthday. We still haven’t talked about food.

Douglas Adams, in his Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, outlined the three main phases of civilizational development,

going from the “how can we eat” phase all the way through to the “where shall we have lunch” phase.

Fortunately, it was not a dark and stormy night. In fact, it was a rather pleasant afternoon, thankfully because everybody had had enough sand. Working hard, the team pondered thoughtfully and carefully the delicate situation before them. The wrong choice would spell doom, and would foment a regular discord among them. “What will it be?” asked someone impatiently, piercing through the uncomfortable silence.

“We’ve tried everything. Surely there must be something else.”

“There is nothing that we know of and have not tried,” came the weary response.

“Burgers it is then,” came a resigned sigh.

“No.” It was a firm statement. It brokered no disagreement. “Bring me a dining guide. I will find something.”

“There is no dining guide. At least nothing for this year.”

An angry stare. “That’s it then. I am going to make my own Dining Guide. With Blackjack and h.... no wait just the dining guide. For now.”

That conversation was in 2003, and this year, the eleventh issue of bazaar’s annual dining and delivery guide is now available all across Kuwait in print and digital format.

The Adventure Continues This is the first issue of the New Year, and with it come tidings of adventures to experience, places to explore, and dishes to eat, so use their pages to get a head start on the fun, and have a great one!

Happy new year from the bazaar team!

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F I G S K U WA I T

CHEF IAN KITTICHAI

DISCOVER THE FINEST THAI FLAVORS AT THE TASTE OF Q8 By bazaar staff

From pushing a curry cart around the streets of Bangkok to an internationally acclaimed culinary star, Chef Pongtawat Chalermkittichai – better known as Chef Ian Kittichai – has certainly taken the gastronomic world by storm. This March, expect Chef Ian to tantalize your culinary palate at The Taste of Q8 at the gorgeous Marina Crescent! With the stunning backdrop of the Marina and views of Kuwait City, expect nothing but a beautiful ambience in a park setting for this highly anticipated, once a year culinary celebration taking place March 17-19, 2016.

In his youth, Ian would wake up at 3am every morning to accompany his mother to the ‘wet market’ to select the best meats, seafood and vegetables for her neighborhood grocery store.

While Ian was at school, she would cook dozens of different curries for him to sell when he returned home. He would push a kart through his neighborhood, shouting “Khao Geang Ron Ron Ma Leaw Jaar!” (“Hot curry coming!”).

After completing high school, Ian relocated to London to learn English while working at the Waldorf Hotel THF. The hotel chef was so impressed with Ian’s dedication and expertise that the establishment sponsored him to attend culinary school in London, completing his studies in Sydney, Australia.

In 1993, Ian decided to return to his homeland and work for the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok (formerly The Regent) as a Demi Chef.

He rose through the ranks and was soon attending culinary exchanges around the world where he gleaned experience at hotels such as Georges V in 78

Paris, French Laundry in Napa Valley, El Bulli in Spain and many more. From 2001 to 2014, he hosted the weekly cooking show Chef Mue Tong (The Golden Hand Chef), which was broadcast in 70 countries.

This, as well as his many other achievements earned him the nickname “The Golden Boy” in his home country of Bangkok.

Chef Ian has opened over fifteen restaurants in countries all over the globe in the past ten years. Some of his most notable are Hyde & Seek, Bangkok’s first gastro bar; Jum Mum, the first Bangkok international “nose to tail” concept in New York; and the flagship Thai restaurant and lounge, Issaya Siamese Club. With Chef Kittichai at the helm, the Kittichai Restaurant appeared as one of the Best New Asian Restaurants 2005 in the Food and Wine magazine. Many of his dining concepts have also been featured in Travel + Leisure, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, GQ, New York Magazine, New York Times, Gourmet Traveler, and Vanity Fair, amongst numerous others.

Four years ago, Chef Ian established Cuisine Concept Co. Ldt, an international food and beverage management and consulting firm. Currently, it has some of the most recognized international hotels, restaurants, and food companies on its client roster. He is also the founding council member of The World Street Food Congress, along with Anthony Bourdain, KF Seetoh, and Claus Meyer, amongst other culinary luminaries.

In April this year, Chef Kittichai was awarded the designation of Ordre du Mérite Agricole Officier by the French Republic for his outstanding contributions to gastronomy and agriculture.

By now you are probably hungry and wistfully dreaming about all the yummy delicacies that Chef Ian will have in store for you, so how about getting your hands on some tickets? It’s quite simple, because the good people behind The Taste of Q8 have organized the tickets in the most flexible manner: 3KD for adults, and free for kids ages 12 and under and an awesome three-day pass for only 6KD. Tickets will grant you a general admission entrance which includes access to all the features, including the 16+ Celebrity Chef presentations throughout each day, the Kids Zone, live music, 40+ restaurants to taste various cuisines from, the Farmer’s Market and the Grand Tasting Tent that will come alive with free culinary tastings and cooking tips. Admission also includes entry into the door prize draw, which will include a chance to win an interactive cooking school class with a famous Celebrity Chef.

For those foodies that want an extra special treat, a limited number of Meet & Greet entrance tickets will be available. These tickets will allow attendees to enter the Hospitality Suite and meet with the chefs, and get a Goodie Bag with the Taste of Q8 souvenir Apron and Cookbook. Meet & Greet participants will have access to all the Celebrity Chef sessions, following their presentations. Buy online starting February 1 at www.TasteofQ8.com.

Several Meet The Chef Dinners will be scheduled in Februar y and March. Apply online at www.TasteofQ8.com to obtain tickets to these very exclusive pre-events.

Tik tok

THIS ADULT COLORING BOOK APP WILL HELP YOU STAY RELAXED AND FOCUSED

By Charlie Sorrel

“Coloring in” as an activity may be as therapeutic as knitting, or hooking a rug, or even something as mundane as polishing all of your shoes while you binge-watch an entire series of Better Call Saul. Hence the recent popularity of coloring books for adults. You may not end up with a wonky scarf at the end of it, but for something mindless and nominally creative to do with the hands, a coloring book does the trick and is as almost as portable as knitting.

But is it therapeutic? The creators of a new app called Pigment think so. It’s coloring books without all the materials you need to tote around. The free app, created by photo app company Pixite, lets you color in shapes on your screen. You can color free-form with your finger, or you can have the app outline shapes like a stencil so you can’t go over the line. You can use the popular Apple Pencil accessory for iPads, but you don’t have to. To get access to all the coloring books, you’ll have to sign up for a $5 (KD 1.5) per month subscription.

“I don’t think it’s for everyone,” says Pixite’s

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Eugene Kaneko, “but for those who have tried coloring books for adults, I haven’t heard one person complain about it. ‘Helps me relax,’ ‘Clears my head,’ and ‘Lets me be creative,’ are what people say. Often, people will be watching TV or having a conversation while coloring.”

This aspect of having something mindless to occupy your hands while you do something else can help your focus and concentration.

Similar to doodling, coloring may block the brain’s self-generated noise that can often send daydreamers into an anxious spin. “Some researchers suspect doodling may help the brain remain active by engaging its ‘default networks’—regions that maintain a baseline of activity in the cerebral cortex when outside stimuli are absent,” says the Wall Street Journal’s Sue Shellenbarger. Coloring could even potentially help cancer patients.

Pixite decided to make Pigment because lead developer Scott Sykora’s wife, Jenny, wasn’t happy with any of the apps already available.

“One of her main complaints about the coloring book apps on the App Store was that they were all ‘tap-to-fill,’ which diminishes the positive effects of coloring substantially,” Kaneko says.

“She tried the most popular coloring book app and she immediately disliked it.”

But isn’t coloring in a waste of energy? Isn’t it better to make something from your mindless handwork, even if it is a scarf so uneven you’ll never wear it outside? Maybe not. Part of the appeal of coloring books might be the lack of any real creativity. “Those who judge themselves as bad artists may be more likely to miss out on the benefits of art-based therapies,” says Medical Daily’s Dana Dovey. “Adult coloring, therefore, presents a creative venture without the need for artistic flair.”

Self-professed coloring fan and Atlantic writer Julie Beck says that her relaxation comes from a lack of choice. “Coloring offers that relief and mindfulness without the paralysis that a blank page can cause. It’s easier in the way that ordering from a restaurant with a small menu is easier than deciding what you want at Denny’s, where you could eat almost anything,” she says.

With this in mind, Pigment’s stencil feature, which prevents coloring over the lines, might actually be a boon to relaxation. “We just found the ability to select specific shapes to color a much less frustrating and a more enjoyable experience, “ says Kaneko. “Especially when you’re on your phone with your finger.”

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A PEEK INTO 2016 By bazaar staff

As previously discussed a few issues back, 2015 was a big year for games. No matter where you sit on the fence about the current generation of gaming and weather it is or isn’t a huge leap ahead of the last, there’s no denying that we gamers were treated to some amazing entertainment. The year even ended on a high, as you would expect, with the December launches of Just Cause 3 (although buggy, its potential outweighs the issues) and Rainbow Six Siege.

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Microsoft- A Microsoft recently said that 2015 was the Xboxes biggest line up ever, but 2016 will be even bigger. They don’t seem to be wrong. The highly anticipated Quantum Break is due to land in 2016.

Previews and teasers from the developer show a solid looking game, along with a star studded tie in TV show for a new level of emersion. ReCore, a game shown at the last E3, is a tale about the last remaining humans on earth and their friendly robot companions, uniting to tackle a common enemy. Of course, there is Gears Of War 4 that may or may not push back to 2017… fingers crossed it isn’t.

Nintendo- First up is the new NX console, details of which Nintendo are keeping very tightly guarded. So little is known, but while 2016 is the expected release date, at the very least we can expect an update. Until then, Nintendo owners can look forward to Star Fox

Zero (a game that could make me finally buy a Wii U), the new Legend of Zelda game (and a HD re-release of Twilight Princess) and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros for the 3DS. Sony- Sony have a big year ahead of themselves, with blockbuster releases such as Uncharted 4 hitting shelves in 2016. This game alone will sell a bunch more consoles, and fill an exploration platformer shaped hole in the PS library…at least until Rise Of The Tomb Raider arrives. A personal highly anticipated one for me, No Mans Sky, will finally arrive after two years of teasing. The chance to jet off in my craft and discover and explore thousands of brand new worlds is too exciting! Then there is the little known about Horizon Zero Dawn…an action RPG where robotic dinosaurs rule the land. If you haven’t already seen it in action, go check it out on YouTube, now. Words don’t do it justice.

Everything else- The annual E3 event, which should take place around the middle of the year, promises to be a big deal. The current generation of consoles have had long enough to settle, the devs have had ample time to experiment with the hardware, and now we need to see some TRUE next gen gaming.

So with that in mind, we may see some real action at this year’s E3.Games wise (cross platform) we get our hands on the new Doom, a reboot of the iconic FPS series that looks amazing so far. Tom Clancy’s The Division will finally have players forming factions online, after 3 years of waiting patiently, as well as the elusive new Ghost Recon. A brand new Hitman game will land, although not much has been seen of it so far. The mighty Mirrors Edge Catalyst looks set to arrive in May, a game that we have all been crying out for since the first one back in 2008. We get to step into the shoes of a gangster when Mafia 3 launches, and if all of that sounds a bit too serious and shooty, then look forward to the new South Park game, which if is anything like The Stick Of Truth, should be another hilarious role playing adventure to get stuck into. No doubt we will also hear more about Microsoft’s HoloLens, and Sony’s Playstation VR headset too, if not see them actually launched.

The year ahead is looking very bright, Here’s to a geeky and tech filled 2016!

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MUBAADER

A chat with CEO and Founder Ahmad Al-Mutawa

By bazaar staff

The first time we met with business guru Ahmad AlMutawa, we talked about how when someone is passionate about something, their vision becomes the steppingstone to entrepreneurship. Catching up with him again, it became evident that this still rang true. If someone is passionate about a project, they’ll develop a clear vision as to what needs to be done next – starting their own business.

This is where Mubaader Services comes in. Having won the prestigious Best Business Leader of 2015 in Kuwait and the MENA region, along with several other awards, Mubaader’s achievements in helping small and medium businesses are just the tip of the iceberg. Happy to assist you in all your entrepreneurial needs, Mubaader Services will help take you from metaphoric light-bulb to brick-and-mortar in no time!

Merging your passion and skills can be a tricky maneuver, but under Ahmad Al-Mutawa’s guidance you’re never at a loss. Say you wake up one morning with the realization that your current job isn’t what you’re passionate about, or the side business you’ve been running out of your living room is something you’d like to commit to fur ther – as long as you have an idea about what you’d like to do, Mubaader Ser vices will see it through. There’s nothing they don’t offer, from the initial feasibility

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study all the way project construction, Mubaader Ser vices has you covered. And if you find yourself in need of an investor – be it in the form of an incubator, angel investor or bank – their connections come in superbly handy.

Star ting with that “Aha!” moment of realization you suddenly have, Mubaader Ser vices will build on that epiphany to assist you in making it reality. Once you contact them to share this hyperbolic lightbulb, they’ll meet with you to sor t out the initial kinks to then create a feasibility study. With extensive research conducted by their ver y capable team, they’ll have all the information you need to help you with your product or business development.

From there, the branding stage begins.

Their exper tise in branding and positioning will provide you with a unique identity that’ll

separate you from the rest. After all, when armed with the right business identity, the brand will soar! Being business moguls, negotiation comes naturally to them, so let them negotiate the terms of your business with potential suppliers, franchises or that perfect location you need to star t your new venture.

Hiring a team can be tricky – ask anyone who’s tried to! Acting as your Human Resource team, Mubaader will not only find potential employees, but they’ll meet with them on your behalf to present to you the perfect candidates. This way, you never need to worr y about gathering a team and sifting through endless piles of resumes to find the people you need. With marketing and Social Media skills, Mubaader have you sor ted. They don’t just create Social Media outlets for your business, they also

ensure that your brand is recognized via their comprehensive marketing. Well versed in the ways of web design and development, Mubaader will give your brand the perfect website keeping in the theme of your identity. Providing you with the CMS you need and to make managing your website simple as well as providing you with the domain registration and email accounts!

When it comes to finding and creating a space for your business, Mubaader Ser vices provide you with a plethora of options.

Finding you a location fit for your identity, they’ll also help you with the interior design and construction. Using 3D technology, Mubaader will be able to help you see your vision before they build anything. You’ll be able to change the layout around and create the space of your dreams with them. From the first brick to the ceremonial passing of the keys, Mubaader are with you ever y step of the way. Armed with the dream construction team, they’ll help you make the vision an absolute reality! Mubaader Ser vices also provides incredible ministerial suppor t to help you obtain the correct and proper licensing to run your business smoothly and legally. Worr y not about the residencies of those you employ and any license needed to set up shop, Mubaader will help you with ever ything. From advise and consultations to presenting you with your completed small or medium business ready to ser ve – Mubaader Ser vices will ensure you nothing shor t of the best!

Once ever ything is done and sor ted, Mubaader won’t abandon you! They’ll still help you grow and expand fur ther with their exper tise! Providing you with the packages you might need, you can continue to lean on them to manage your Social Media and even your website! With Mubaader Ser vices, you’ll never have to worr y about taking the step towards becoming the entrepreneur you’ve always wanted to be.

In the market for a career move? Want to star t a small or medium business? Have a home business you want to expand on?

Mubaader Ser vices have you covered and will provide you with ever ything you need!

Contact them today at info@mubaader. com or call their offices at 2228 2205. For appointments, you can call or Whatsapp them at 5599 0313! Check out their website a t w w w. m u b a a d e r. c o m a n d f o l l ow t h e m o n F a c e b o o k , Tw i t t e r a n d I n s t a g r a m @Mubaader for more.

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Shelley Row had good reason to be an overthinker. The daughter of an Air Force pilot who emphasized the value of thinking, she became a transportation engineer in 1984. There weren’t many women in her field, so the pressure to perform in a “man’s world” was intense. And when you’re managing major projects and budgets at the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration— including operations in Georgia during the 1996 Olympics—it’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and overthink things.

Row was working as a mid-level manager at the Department of Transportation and was struggling with some decisions in her work. She was hoping to move up to the executive level, but felt stuck. She was seeing an employee assistance counselor for personal reasons and that’s when she had her “a-ha” moment.

“She was the first one that said to me, ‘Shelley, I’m not interested in what you think. I want to know how you feel.’

That was the moment when I realized there was a whole other dimension that I was not taking advantage of,” Row says.

Suddenly given permission to tap into her gut as well as her brain when making decisions, she says she reached a new level in decision-making. “When I began to integrate what I thought about an issue with how I felt about it, I found a whole different level of intelligence there and that’s what made the difference in my leadership,” she says.

Now a leadership decision-making consultant and author of Think Less, Live More: Lessons from a Recovering Over-Thinker, Row makes her living by helping others get out of the quagmire of overthinking.

Use these steps to get yourself unstuck and reach the right mix of information and intuition in your decision-making.

STEP 1: GET THE DATA Still an engineer at heart, Row emphasizes that data is an important part of the decisionmaking process. You can’t just shoot from the hip or rely solely on your gut feelings.

Instead, you’ve got to know the elements of the equation you’re trying to solve. What are the factors influencing the problem?

Who is involved? What is contributing to the ambiguity about the decision? Sometimes, the data makes the decision clear, she says.

STEP 2: EXPLORE WHY YOU’RE STUCK If you find yourself stuck after reviewing the information you need to make a good

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A FIVE-STEP PROCESS TO END OVERTHINKING

By Gwen Moran

decision, then you need to engage in a little self-examination, she says. What’s not sitting right? What’s agitating you or making it tough to know what to do? Perhaps the data points to a decision that’s at odds with what you feel you should do. Too many people “shove away” that nagging feeling instead of trying to understand it, she says.

“One of the main things I work with people on is to say, ‘That’s valid. You don’t want to shove that away. That’s something from your experience that’s trying to come through. You need to honor it and listen to it,’” she says.

STEP 3: NAME IT Once you’ve got a handle on why you’re stuck, name it. You might have emotional reasons like being afraid of making a mistake or feeling frustrated because you don’t have the resources you need to do a good job. For example, if you’re making a decision whether to stay in a job or leave it and can’t make a decision, you need to explore the reasons with brutal honesty and figure out the reasons why you’re not figuring out or accepting the right solution. When you name that emotion or reason, you can begin finding solutions, she says. If it’s risk aversion, you might be able to mitigate some of the risk or discuss the possible downside with other team members who can offer insight or reassurance.

STEP 4: GIVE IT A REST Once you’ve got a good idea of the situation and why you’re stuck give your brain some room to process it, she says. That may take the form of a good night’s sleep, meditation, or a walk or run. If possible, do something that gets you out of the office and gives you something else to focus on while you make the decision, she says. These are the times when solutions often become clear.

STEP 5: RESOLVE TO SOLVE IT Once you’ve come up with one or more solutions, it’s essential to take action.

Failure to trust your own decision-making skills will leave you mired in the problems you dedicated time and energy to solving, Row says. It’s virtually impossible to move forward unless you’re willing to take action.

Of course, no decision-making system is flawless and you may not always get the outcomes you want. However, the more experience you have with this process, the better it will work for you, she says.

“Every experience that you have, the books that you read, the things that you learn, your brain takes part of that information and files it away in ‘file folders.’ As you have more and more experiences, you have more and more file folders. It gives you more information, more life experience, to draw upon,” Row says.

sakura

CHINGALIRE: ONE YEAR LATER

Community engagement trumps charity work By bazaar staff

The New Year is well on its way and there is a distinct smell of resolution naivety in the air. Among the popular resolutions people break before the end of January is the decision to give to charity. However, simply putting your details into an online algorithm and sending your money to a faraway organization is not the best way to use your hard-earned cash. It is neither as sustainable nor as effective as you think.

In January last year, bazaar magazine published an article about Kuwait English School (KES) students raising money for Chingalire Rural Growth Centre (CRGC). Between September 2014 and June 2015, they raised almost KD 3,000 for the establishment and have gone on to raise another KD 2,200 just this year. However, their involvement stretched much further than merely collecting money from the students and sending it away and marks the difference between charity and community engagement.

Chief of Chingalire village Ben Mankhamba has taken it upon himself to provide the children living in Chingalire with the best learning and living experience possible. In 2012, he established the non-governmental organization CRGC, “a model teaching and learning center for children and different communities”. He integrates the curriculum with vast amounts of music, physical activity and learning of life skills. One of CRGC’s most recent successes involves one of their students singing a radio jingle for a national radio station. The 13-year-old student in question, Maria Kaitoni, has allowed Malawian residents to see the Chingalire children’s potential on a much broader scale. Moreover, a recent seminar took place, in which the students were able to discuss the future of CRGC with Mankhamba and suggest steps towards a better learning environment. Plans involve establishing a technical school where students would garner skills such as modern farming, carpentry and brick-laying.

A strong relationship has been established between the two schools since their first contact in 2013. As a result, students from both schools have had the opportunity to learn about each other and the very different cultures they form a part of. Mankhamba believes that their interaction is integral for both parties: “The CRGC children know that it is important to work hard in order to get what you want to achieve in life. KES children [are learning] that what they have in life others don’t have and that it is important to share for others to get a better life.”

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KES students were given an insight into this form of engagement and have come to understand that their own educational system is profoundly different, with the focus being on theoretical understanding. On the other hand, Chingalire students are equipped with practical skills that will instill in them life-long values.

For example, the students learn patience and kindness through helping and teaching their younger peers. In addition, they are taught in a way that emphasizes the importance of nature in their lives, which encourages a mind-set of sustainability and resourcefulness. This is further highlighted by the installation of solar panels to power the computer labs and the ever-expanding tree nursery the students are responsible for.

Throughout the academic year, Mankhamba writes letters to the KES students with updates from Chingalire. The KES students have even been invited to visit the school to see the effect of their work.

Throughout the CRGC compound, some new structures have been painted with “funds raised by students of Kuwait English School in Salwa, Kuwait.” Although it is important to remember organizations such as CRGC do not owe anything to those who raised funds, being part of a community engagement project depicts insight into the tangible result of your work. For some people, not being able to see the result of their effort discourages

them from donating to large-scale charities.

What sets this kind of movement apar t from other charity drives is the transparency between par ties. Many people are hesitant when donating to charities because they “can’t see where the money is going”.

Before we even begin to change our outlook on charitable work, we need to establish a sense of trust. In many cases, this acts as motivation not to donate money but the reality of the situation is that people need to donate their money to save and improve lives. In order for this to happen, the public must shift its mind-set or consider donating their time as well as their money.

In cases such as the Syrian refugee crisis, money is necessary to buy tents and provisions.

Nonetheless, the thoughtless flow of donations runs the risk of dehumanizing the individuals affected by the crisis and portraying them as unfeeling charity coin pots. Social interaction no matter the proximity - is essential to ensure that they are supported with dignity and respect (fiscally and emotionally), especially in light of the heightened Islamophobia in Western regions at the moment.

To donate to the Chingalire Rural Growth Centre or to find out more about the work at this excellent organization, contact Ben Mankhamba directly by email at benmankhamba@gmail.com.

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SEE THE STORY OF INCOME INEQUALITY IN PHOTOS OF PEOPLE’S HOUSEHOLD POSSESSIONS

By Adele Peters

What’s it like to live on KD 3 a week? Or KD 30, or KD 300? A new photo collection makes the answer less abstract than usual: Instead of focusing on data, it tells the story of income inequality through everyday objects.

Take a toothbrush. Ask someone living on a dollar or two a day in rural India how they brush their teeth, and they might hold up a finger. Others might use a twig. For those with a little more money, a family might share one old toothbrush. At the other end of the spectrum, ever y family member might have an electric toothbrush—maybe even in their own bathroom.

It’s a simple way to imagine living a completely different life. A new website called Dollar Street, set to launch early in 2016, lays out homes from around the world in a series—poorest on the left, richest on right— and then shows what’s inside each house, from shoes to dish racks to toys.

“The current way of communicating poverty, which is very often kids crying or

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‘catastrophe imagery,’ sort of implies a moral standard,” says Anna Rosling-Rönnlund, project manager for Dollar Street. “When you see it you know you’re supposed to act in some way—donate some money or change how you eat or something. I felt that it was a way of communicating that excludes the pure understanding of something. You have these moral layers on it which I think makes it harder for many people to really understand what the world is like.”

Rosling-Rönnlund, who trained as a photographer, first started thinking about the idea as a co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation, which uses graphic charts to present data about the world. “A lot of people are still hesitant to look at statistics,” she says. “A colorful chart is still a chart.”

A chart also can’t tell the same story as a photograph. “I remember looking at one of the household surveys that World Bank produced, and it was saying this many people in an age group have an ‘improved pit latrine,’” she says. “I started thinking, I understand the numbers, but do I really know what a pit latrine is? Being a photographer, I thought,

why not take a picture of it instead?”

So far, the project has photographed the objects in over 200 homes, in 48 countries.

Each photographer aims to capture 135 different items. “We wanted to have everyday functions everybody does,” Rosling-Rönnlund says. Like a stove—it doesn’t matter what income you have, somehow you’re going to prepare food in some way. And a toilet, and shower, and soap, and the bed.”

Most of the photos don’t include people, so it’s easier for the viewer to imagine actually using the objects themselves.

“Ever y time you see a home from a poor countr y, most often you see the whole family standing in front of the house, and you get so distracted by seeing all those people it can be tricky to understand what life is really like for them,” she says.

Eventually, she hopes that the site will become a standard tool in classrooms. “The whole idea is to moderate a baseline imagery that can work in parallel with a world map, being a reference so that you understand what the world looks like on a broad scale,” she says.

bistro

MAN’S BEST FRIEND FOR A LONG TIME: DOGS GO BACK

33,000 YEARS

By Deborah Netburn

The close bond between humans and dogs has been going on for thousands of years. But when and where dogs first branched off from wolves is the source of scientific debate. Over the past decade, various groups have posited different locations as the birthplace of the dog, including Europe and the Middle East. Now, an international group of researchers presents another possibility.

After analyzing the whole genome sequences of 58 wolves and dogs from around the world, they say dogs first split from their wolf ancestors about 33,000 years ago in the southern part of East Asia. The team also reports that dogs began to migrate out of that part of the world across Eurasia 15,000 years ago, eventually making their way to Europe about 10,000 years ago.

Peter Savolainen, an evolutionary geneticist at the Royal Institute of Technology in Solna, Sweden, and co-author of the paper, has spent the past 15 years studying dog DNA, trying to discern the canine’s journey from aggressive and fearful wolf to man’s best friend. The archaeological record is too sparse in many parts of the world to paint a complete picture of this evolution, he said, so DNA analysis may be the best way to sort it out.

In 2002, Savolainen and his colleagues looked at mitochondrial DNA from 654 dogs from around the world. They found that dogs from East Asia had more genetic diversity than those from other global regions. Another study from the same group in 2009 further limited this glut of genetic diversity to dogs from the

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area around southern China, northern Thailand, Vietnam and Laos — what researchers call “southern East Asia.”

It turns out, genetic diversity is exactly what you would expect to find in a species’ place of origin, Savolainen explained. That’s because as animals migrate, they take a limited amount of genetic information with them. For example, if the original dog population started with 10 DNA types, it is unlikely that the few individuals who left home would bring all 10 types with them.

After all, most of the population likely stays put. More probable is that some fraction of the DNA types would travel to Europe, and perhaps another fraction would land in Africa.

In the more recent study, Savolainen and his team examined where canine genetic diversity was highest, but this time, they analyzed the whole genome sequence of 46 dogs and 12 gray wolves from across the planet. Whole genome sequences are much larger and more complex than what is found in mitochondrial DNA. Therefore, the researchers say, it can provide a more holistic approach to understanding the evolution of dogs.

Once again, the data analysis suggested the same place of origin of dogs. Dogs from southern East Asia had more genetic information in common with wolves than with dogs from any other region in the world. They also had the largest genetic diversit. “We find that dogs from southern East Asia have the same DNA types that are found in dogs all over the world, but also unique types that we don’t see anywhere else,” Savolainen said. “We saw that in the mitochondrial DNA, and now we see it in the genomic DNA as well.”

To determine when dogs first diverged from wolves, the researchers compared the genes

of gray wolves and southern East Asian dogs.

After calculating how long it takes a certain number of mutations to appear in the genome, they concluded that the time of the split was 33,000 years ago. That does not mean that dogs became domesticated 33,000 years ago, however. And it’s possible that all dogs descended from a single group of wolves that split from other members of the species at that time.

For the paper, researchers studied dogs that represented historic populations of where they lived. That included breeds long associated with specific geographical locations, such as the Afghan hound (Central Asia), the Sloughi (North Africa), the Alaskan malamute and the Siberian husky (Arctic and Siberia) and the Chihuahua (the Americas).

In southern East Asia, researchers looked for dogs in remote regions whose ancestors would have had little opportunity to breed with animals from other parts of the world. “We think this works pretty well because if we go to the Chinese countryside and sample dogs from there, we find basically the same results in the Chinese Chow Chow,” Savolainen said.

The DNA from these geographically diverse dogs also suggests how our canine companions moved around. For example, dogs that are more genetically similar to the southern East Asian dogs are likely older breeds and have been established in their homeland longer.

Although Savolainen feels confident in the results of his study, he said his team still has more work to do to understand the natural history of dogs. The group already is working on extensively studying dogs from the southern East Asia region to find the exact birthplace of domesticated canines.

tic tock

ADEL ABO HAWILI

Taking shipping and

logistics to new frontiers

By bazaar staff

Here at bazaar, we love personal success stories that stem from humble beginnings.

Our special anniversary issue could not be complete without Adel Abo Hawili’s story. He started his career in shipping from working at Kuwait’s port, and even after earning so much life experience working in the field, Adel believes that the learning process never stops. Today, he is the General Manager at 360 Degrees Shipping and Forwarding, a global transport and logistics provider that operates worldwide through an extensive network of agencies.

Adel’s establishment provides unique deliver y solutions, from air and sea freight ser vices, clearance and deliver y ser vices, cargo ser vices and a special focus and attention to all the logistics involved with planning fairs and exhibitions and fine ar t pieces.

Born and raised in Kuwait, Adel’s journey took him to the US and Lebanon before he settled in the same place his parents moved to during the 60s. While he remains a student of business, Adel is a lover of fine ar ts and the world of architecture. His modernistic office in the city is decorated with beautiful miniature airplanes, stunning hand sketches and little antiquities, all clear signs of a marked traveler. He began his stor y by admitting, “My first job happened to be in shipping, and I fell in love with the field ever since then.”

A family recommendation led Adel to the field, and here an addiction to this world came into play. He explained, “When people think shipping, they think chaos, containers and noise. Nonetheless, this field forms a

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pillar of a countr y’s economy. Histor y has shown that people have fought wars over por ts. For me, I see discover y, travel, an international domain that allows you to deal with people from all walks of life. I love the smell of the sea, and believe it or not, the containers! I enjoy this process to this day.

Moreover, I love interacting with people, and it is this ver y interaction that led me to where I am today.” Even from the star t of his career and to this day, Kuwait remains an integral por t city. We impor t most ever yday items to the countr y, and with the impor tance of this industr y, building relationships with people is ever ything.

With ver y humble beginnings, Adel star ted his career as a por t laborer, with a mere salar y of only KD 180 in 1995. “I did it with the utmost pleasure, I grew at the company where I worked. From offloading

and packaging containers, super vising shipments, I arrived to become the deputy manager at the company I worked at.” In the year 2000, Adel embarked on a venture as a profit-par tner that presented even more challenges career wise. After this venture ended, Adel’s career prospects were almost impossible. “The following two years defined me. I experienced hardships unlike anything I witnessed before that impacted my personal life.”

It is the one agent based in Spain, Arab International Ser vices, that truly changed Adel’s life, along with his relationship with a ceramics and porcelain manufacturing company that soon became his permanent client. He said, “They used to visit Kuwait frequently. We enjoyed building a friendship, and I found myself helping them with their day to day business operations in the

region by helping them deal with the any difficulties they might have faced as well as all of their logistics needs. Whatever it took to help their business succeed. That is how trust is born, by never seeing the worst in people.” It was through this special relationship with the Spanish shipping agent who he considers as his guardian angel, Victor and his son Yousef, as well as his esteemed client Rami Hamzeh, that led Adel to become their sole shipping agent in Kuwait and the region.

Adel finally decided to invest in himself, along with the help of his close family members. He said, “I never looked back since.” Even though Adel’s family could have helped him from the star t, he never wished to star t his business with any type of handout, and if anything he wanted people to invest in his belief, relationship network and hard work. From a small office at the IO center in Kuwait’s Arraya Center, to his bespoke office space today, Adel’s journey truly entered a new era.

Adel’s perseverance paid off, and in 2004, at a time where the competition is fierce, he had to think outside of the box to succeed. With major accounts like the majestic Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa, to being the logistics provider at the Concourse vintage car show, his business steadily grew, and attracting the right employees became the key mission as well as diversifying his company’s ser vices.

He explained, “Ever yone now knows the monetar y tricks of the trade, supply is even higher than the demand, and there are huge companies that dominate the field. Not many people are up for the challenge of building long lasting relationships, or dealing with bureaucratic entities, or gaining new business.” For Adel, establishing this trust with his employees is paramount, and that is why he chooses to operate a par tnership based model, where employees earn shares in the company, rather than what it offered elsewhere.

Entering the world of Fine Ar ts In order to diversify and keep up with the competition, 360 Degrees Shipping and Forwarding now offers flexible ser vices, competitive rates and most impor tantly quality ser vices based on honesty and integrity. Today, Adel resor ts to his passion for the ar t and architectural world to continue providing his exper tise to Kuwait’s ar t scene. Fine Ar tists like Amira Behbehani, and the countr y’s most known ar t galleries work with Adel to facilitate all of their

logistics needs. Events like Peace One Day could not have been possible without Adel’s assistance. The company is renowned for its specialized and high-end packaging services, and the logistics involved in the transport of luxury items.

360 On Ground and 360 Express Adel also aims to expand the company’s personal shipping ser vices and this will be accomplished through changing people’s perception of shipping. With the establishment of 360 On Ground, that offers VIP deliver y ser vices of specialty gifts, speedy deliver y and prestigious packing and wrapping. With this ser vice, your gifts are guaranteed to arrive in pristine condition, and even the deliver y staff are decked out in stylish tuxedos! The ser vice also allows customers to inform 360 On Ground to even purchase a gift they had in mind, and they will take care of the rest. Another ser vice also launching is 360 Express, that

specializes in the transpor t of VIP luxur y items in and out of Kuwait.

By evolving the basic business model of the company, Adel is truly overhauling the perception of shipping in the eyes of customers. The best par t is that getting a quote couldn’t be easier, as this can be done through the phone, or by merely using What’s App!

S H I P P I N G & F O R WA R D I N G

For any inquiries, email A d e l @ 3 6 0 D e g r e e s e r v i c e s . n e t , o r f o l l ow the company on Facebook at 360 Degree Shipping and Forwarding.

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INSIDE

THE PERFECT SPORTS

SHOE By bazaar staff

There’s nothing like a good old fashioned fitness plan to kick off the New Year. As the age old adage goes: A New Year, a new me – or you and your loved ones [Read as: shopping spree time!] Naturally, the first thing you’d need to lead you into this wonderful fit-scapade, are a brand new pair of kicks. Where else would you go to find the perfect pair other than The Athlete’s Foot? Being the world’s first franchiser of athletic footwear stores – it’s a recognized leader in all your athletic footwear requirements. And with Nike’s latest technology and innovations, look no further than to the latest Nike Max Air. No spoilers here, read on to get the full specs!

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From Free to Flywire, Nike produces a variety of innovative footwear technology – but what does this mean? What are you wearing on your feet? Style, comfort and fit all play a large role in choosing your footwear, yet in today’s age, innovative technology takes it a step further.

Enhancing lightweight performance and redefining running, Nike’s heading into the future of footwear - and taking us with them.

Whether you’re just starting your exercise routine or work out daily, there are a few additional components you need to know about and look for in a sports shoe - and they’re here to help! With their staff’s expansive knowledge of footwear, the good people at The Athlete’s Foot are happy to assist you find the perfect shoe to fit all your athletic needs.

Versatile and revolutionary, Nike Max Air is the first air technology enhanced shoe developed at Nike, and it changed the way consumers think

about cushioning. With benefits that include: lightweight finish, versatility, cushioning and durability – there’s nothing not to love with this wonderfully built shoe.

As one of the leaders in athletic inspired footwear, apparel and accessories in Kuwait, this season The Athlete’s Foot is sharing with you the best tips and tricks for finding your ideal match!

So don’t miss out on visiting one of their many locations to pick out the best fit for you.

Want to find out more about The Athlete’s Foot?

F o l l ow T h e A t h l e t e ’s F o o t o n I n s t a g r a m @TAFKuwait, contact our hotline at 1804 449, or visit them in-store at The Avenues Mall, Discovery Mall, Al Fanar Complex, Gate Mall, Flex, Marina Mall, Promenade Mall, Sama Mall, Kout Mall, Souq Sharq, 360 Mall, Al-Corniche Club, Mishref Co-Op, Lulu Hypermarket Al-Dajeej and Kuwait International Airport.

gerlsteiner apple spritzer

“VOTE WITH YOUR BUTT” IS A BRILLIANT

IDEA TO STOP LITTER

By Adele Peters

How do you get the worst litterers to toss their cigarettes in a bin? Easy, make it a sports trivia game.

If it’s hard to convince smokers to stop littering cigarette butts just to keep a city cleaner—or protect the environment—maybe cities can get their attention with something people tend to be a little more passionate about: sports.

A new cigarette bin in London, divided into two clear sections, lets smokers use their butts to vote on a series of questions about sports, like who’s the greatest soccer player in the world. The design was first tested earlier this year as part of a clever anti-littering campaign focused on a particularly trash-filled street in the middle of the city. Villiers Street, though it’s only a few blocks long, runs between two train stations and is one of the busiest streets in the city.

“It’s really transient, so you get people who are just coming through to commute, and they spend maybe like two minutes on the street, but they’re

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on it twice a day,” says Heather Poore, one of the founders of Hubbub, the social enterprise that designed the bin. “I think like anywhere, the less investment you have in the area, the less you’re bothered about keeping it clean. That’s one of the problems.”

The government spends nearly £1 million (KD 460,000) a year on cleanup for that street alone and sends cleaners out to the area seven times a day. Poore argues that people have become complacent about the trash, which ranges from cigarette butts to fast food packaging. “It’s one of those things you don’t really notice, and as soon as you’ve noticed it once, you notice it everywhere,” she says.

The designers studied the people who used the area—commuters, residents, businesses on the street, and people who came to visit the local pubs—and noticed that butts were the most common type of litter and younger men tended to litter the most butts.

“We thought, ‘ok, how can we engage these guys?’” she says. “Young men like competition,

they like sport, and we thought of how we can combine both. So we created a voting bin. Each week it was a different question linked to either football or cricket.”

Immediately, people responded. “You literally saw people looking at the bin, reading the question, and then quite purposefully putting their butt in whichever one they thought was right, rather than on the [ground],” she says. “It’s using competition and fun to get people to do the right thing.”

Over six months, they tested the ashtray along with several other anti-littering interventions, like a trash can that makes sound effects when people use it, or flash mobs that celebrated whenever someone threw something away. “The idea was to test different things, find out what worked, and then what does work we are going to replicate,” says Poore.

The “vote with your butt” cigarette bin was so popular that they’ve started producing it for others. In early December, they’ll present their findings at the House of Commons. “We’re trying to create change at a policy level, as well as doing stuff on the ground,” she says.

Milano

INSIDE THE

HACK ROD,

THE WORLD’S

FIRST AI-

DESIGNED

CAR

By Daniel Terdiman

When you hear about a plan to build the first car ever designed and engineered by an artificially intelligent system, it sounds compelling. Especially when the men explaining their vision are named—I kid you not—Mickey and Mouse.

The car, known as the Hack Rod, could well be the first vehicle with a nervous system. The brainchild of the Primordial Research Project, a collaboration between design software giant Autodesk and media company Bandito Brothers— producers of projects as disparate as a Hollywood military blockbuster starring anonymous real-life Navy SEALs and a worldrecord jump starring a life-size Hot Wheels—the idea was to let a computer create the perfect car based on innumerable volumes of realworld data.

The ringleaders of this particular project are Autodesk research fellow Mickey McManus and Bandito Brothers CEO and creative director Mouse McCoy. McManus has written a heady tome about the proliferation of trillions of small computing devices—sensors—everywhere in our world today. McCoy is a former professional motorcycle racer and stuntman who has spent thousands of hours with top Hollywood directors.

If there is one thing McCoy knows, it’s cars. He has spent countless hours over the years racing cars or driving in stunt vehicles. All those hours burning rubber could have produced incredible amounts of data about driving, but it was

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lost to history. Still, it wasn’t too late to start collecting all the new data. Autodesk had new tools built around the idea of reality capture— harnessing data points through photography, laser scanning, and other methods, that could then be plugged into computer systems and used to build 3-D models of just about any kind of object, from ancient African artifacts to military structures to physical tools.

McCoy saw that reality capture had enormous potential for helping craft an AI-built car.

To start, the team developed a prototype vehicle chassis, complete with hundreds of sensors, and took it out to California’s desolate Mojave Desert. The car, resembling a bare-bones Shelby Cobra, has a hacked Ducati engine, and the goal is to get the same power-to-weight ratio as a Ferrari, despite it weighing just 1,000 pounds.

In the desert, the driver turned himself into a data-collection machine by being wired up with an EEG and other sensors, and he put the prototype through its paces, bringing in a volume of data about the forces the chassis was subjected to that could normally only be collected by a well-funded professional racing team.

The plan has been to take all the data from this automotive nervous system and plug it into Autodesk’s Dreamcatcher, a generative design software system that takes input of design objectives—including types of materials, functional goals, methods of manufacturing, performance criteria, and even cost limits— and spits out numerous design alternatives to satisfy all those requirements.

For Mickey and Mouse, the result was a new vehicle chassis design based on all the collected data. Intended to maximize driving performance and efficiency, it could never have been designed by humans.

It’s too early to tell whether the project is a success. The team had planned on unveiling it in final form in time for this week’s Autodesk University—the company’s annual training and developers conference in Las Vegas— but they didn’t hit that target. Still, Autodesk CEO Carl Bass will highlight the Hack Rod’s progress during his AU keynote, and the team will soon return to the Mojave to continue its work.

Perhaps the project will never be finished, and that may well be intentional. The idea, suggested McManus, is that their creations should constantly evolve, thanks to data.

“If a Tesla crashes,” he says, “the next morning, every Tesla rides two inches higher.”

The Hack Rod’s team wants to ride that same wave. Every time the vehicle’s rubber hits the road, it brings in more information— literally billions of data points in just hours of driving, and all of that is then plugged into Dreamcatcher. Every session means the car theoretically gets better and better, smarter and smarter.

Ideas are cheap, though, and McCoy resists the technologist’s predilection for getting stuck in the research phase at the expense of actually turning out product.

“We’re adamant about not being vaporware,” McCoy insists. “When we actually build something, we go back to atoms, and it’s real.”

abou elsid

A LINKEDIN FOR LOCAL

FOOD AND FARMERS

By Ben Schiller

More jobs. More money in the local economy. More resilient supply chains.

Better food. Less CO2, and other pollution.

Advocates of local food “webs” point to all kinds of advantages from reducing the distance between field and plate. And that’s before you even talk about the less tangible benefits of sourcing from someone you know, rather than from a company whose interests are elsewhere.

The problem—as ever—is how? How can people who want to buy locally meet those who want to sell locally?

Ed Dowding, founder of a new U.K. site called Sustaination, thinks the answer is a social media platform that helps local people collaborate, and do business.

The site, which is set to launch fully in February 2016, describes itself as a “dating site for local food,” though a food-directed LinkedIn may be a better description.

Users key in their postcode (zip code), allowing them to see buyers and sellers in their area, and describe what they are looking for or offering. A

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farmer, say, might ask his current customers to join him, so they vouch for him as a good supplier. In turn, those customers can get in contact with other suppliers, and so on.

“You usually have to call up 20 or 30 local producers to find one that has what you need, and find someone who can deliver it next Monday, and keep on delivering it every Monday after that.

If you’re getting stuff from five different farms, it becomes a lot easier to put just put in an order with your big local wholesaler,” he says. “There is a great deal of local sourcing going on already.

But it’s mostly because they know they should, not because it’s easy.”

Dowding argues that local food need not mean “premium” luxury. Quite the opposite: If businesses can source direct, taking out middlemen, they should be able to cut costs, he says. “You can get much better value going direct, or by minimizing the length of the supply chain.”

Sustaination will operate a “freemium” model, where signing up is free, but actual business costs money. Members within a 15-mile radius will pay the least (in the area of £3 (KD 1.5) a month), while people doing business over longer

distances will pay more (up to £15 (KD 7.5) a month).

Sustaination is part of a movement to map existing food webs to make local commerce more viable. As part of its beta phase, the site is taking part in a project that aims to map six local food webs around the U.K. Dowding says the pilot will help build out the data on the site, and fine-tune the model.

Dowding is well-positioned to make Sustaination work. As well as passionate and articulate about food, he is also a hardcore geoinformation systems professional. For much of the last decade, he’s worked on emergency planning systems for government and the insurance industry.

He aims with Sustaination to bring some of the clarity of London’s emergency planning system to local food networks. That, and empowering local producers and consumers to buy and sell.

“If you give people the tools to help themselves, they will use them. If you structure the business in such a way that all you need is self-interest to make it work, then everyone will just take it and run with it.”

center point

bazaar movie night night The latest from the big screen playing in cinemas across Kuwait in January

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DEAD

THE REVENANT

DADDYS HOME

Release Date: January 7th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Thriller Cast: Johnny Messner/Dolph Lundgren/Danny Trejo

Release Date: January 7th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Adventure, Drama, Western Cast: Tom Hardy/Leonardo DiCaprio/Domhnall Gleeson

Release Date: January 7th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Comedy Cast: Will Ferrell/Linda Cardellini/Mark Wahlberg

Synopsis: Brian Barnes (Johnny Messner) wakes up in the desert wounded and with no memory and no idea why hes surrounded by eight bodies, a van with four million in cash and a van full of contraband.

Brian is pursued by not only notorious drug lord Danny Perez (Danny Trejo) who desperately want his money back, and DEA Agent Rooker (Dolph Lundgren), but also a by the corrupt Sheriff Olson (Michael Pare) who will stop at nothing to get his hand on the new found fortune. On the run, Brian discovers the more he remembers the less he wants to know about who he really is.

Synopsis: Word on the internet is, that this is the movie that could finally see Leonardo DiCaprio win that elusive Oscar. While exploring the uncharted wilderness in the 1800s, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home to his beloved family.

Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.

RIDE ALONG 2

THE 5TH WAVE

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Release Date: January 14th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Comedy Cast: Ice Cube/Kevin Hart/Olivia Munn/Glen Powell

Release Date: January 14th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz/Nick Robinson/Liev Schreiber/Maika Monroe

Release Date: January 14th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Western Cast: Channing Tatum/Samuel L. Jackson/Kurt Russell

Synopsis: Ride Along 2 is an upcoming 2016 American action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film Ride Along. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn, and Ken Jeong. Ben and James venture to Miami to work on a case that involves a mysterious and dashing figure named Serge Pope.

While there, they team up with Maya, a smart and beautiful detective. Ben looks forward to proving himself and hopes the case runs smoothly so that he can return to Atlanta in time for his wedding.

Synopsis: The 5th Wave stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe and Liev Schreiber. Four waves of increasingly deadly attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie Sullivan, is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother, Sammy. As she prepares for the fifth wave, Cassie teams up with a young man, Evan, who may become her final hope – if she can only trust him.

Synopsis: In post-Civil War Wyoming, John “The Hangman” Ruth (Russell) is escorting fugitive Daisy “The Prisoner” Domergue (Leigh) to Red Rock where the latter will face justice for murder. They encounter another bounty hunter named Major Marquis “The Bounty Hunter” Warren (Jackson) and Chris “The Sheriff” Mannix (Goggins). A blizzard forces the four to take shelter at a stagecoach passover called Minnie’s Haberdashery where they encounter four more strangers; Bob “The Mexican” (Bichir), Oswaldo “The Little Man” Mobray (Roth), Joe “The Cow Puncher” Gage (Madsen), and ex-General Sanford “The Confederate” Smithers (Dern). Through betrayal and deception, the eight strangers soon learn that they may not make it to Red Rock after all.

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Synopsis: Daddy’s Home is an upcoming American comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written

by Brian Burns. The film stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Linda Cardellini. This movie will mark the second collaboration between Wahlberg and Ferrell, following the 2010 action-comedy film The Other Guys. In this festive comedy, a mild-mannered radio executive (Will Ferrell) strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father (Mark Wahlberg) arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.

For more details on movie timings and the cinema nearest you, visit: Cinescape: www.cinescape.com.kw or Facebook: Cinescape – Kuwait National Cinema Company.

*Above programs are subject to change without prior notice.

mac

Just like any family, there’s something that bonds ours together; we call it special Big Mac sauce.

Whether you’re looking for something bigger like the Grand Mac, or smaller, the Mini Mac, our Big Mac Family has something perfect to satisfy any appetite.

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bazaar goes dining

KATEH

The modern tastes of Persia

By bazaar staff

Elegance and sophistication are two words that rarely spring to mind when it comes to Iranian kebabs. Usually served up with some fresh bread and a helping of rice, kebabs aren’t the most glamorous of foods. Enter Kateh, a fine dining Iranian concept that made its way to Kuwait from London. Classic from this cuisine are given the modern treatment, and coupled with fabulous plating make for heartwarming meals fit for a king.

With its great success in their trendy London location, Kateh extended their Persian comforts to Kuwait’s Murouj Complex.

Iranian food is delicate in its preparation – too much spice or too little can offset the entire dish. Taking that to hear t, the head chef at Kateh has perfected the flavors making for a well-rounded and fully satisfying meal. Ever y detail has been thought out brilliantly to compliment the theme as a whole. Teal and gray accent the whites and natural dark wood setting. Offering indoor and outdoor seating options, there’s an air of Zen amidst the hustle and bustle. Even the cutler y exudes the ethos they hold dearly – modern Iranian. Our suggestion would be to go in a group, because you’ll want to tr y ever ything on the menu!

As we took our seats and star ted flipping through the menu, a wafting scent of deliciousness made its way to our table – their complimentar y platter of fresh baked bread. Their Taftoon bread and Panir Sabzi is gloriously fresh and delectable. Break off a piece of Taftoon add some Panir cheese, a sliver of radish and the leafy greens – perfection in a bite. Teamed with one of their beautifully crafted cocktail creations, nothing can compare. When it came to picking salads and star ters – we may have gone slightly wild with options. We ended up with two kinds of olive based snacks to munch on while our star ters and salads

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came out. The Fried Olives, a favorite that sells out almost instantly, includes delicately marinated green olives that are fried and layered with a tangy Persian Feta sauce and chili olive oil. The second olive dish came in the form of beautiful medley of black olives topped off with a sprinkling of walnuts and pomegranate seeds and finished with Golpar – molasses.

For our cold star ters, we opted for the wonderful Mast Va Musir, a thick and almost fizzy yoghur t dip mixed with wild mountain shallots. As for the salads we ordered the Classic Salad Shirazi which consists of perfectly ripened heritage tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and mint diced and topped with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Our other salad of choice was their

inventive Salad Laboo – a Burrata ser ved with warm roasted beetroots and a refreshing basil salad making this absolutely light and palatable. As the weather was getting a little chilly, we ordered a hear twarming Ash Reshte which is a Persian noodle soup with chickpeas, kidney beans and spinach. Once done with our soup, we went on to tr y their warm star ters and found that they were absolutely refreshing.

Ordering the delicately layered Mirza Ghassemi was a hit – the grilled smoked slender aubergines combined with eggs, tomato and garlic made for an interesting and delicious combination. The Koofteh Berenji is simply not to be missed! Superbly made Persian meatballs made of split peas, rice and a beautiful combination of

Persian Prunes with fresh herbs atop a dollop of yoghur t. Then came light pastries in the forms of Narguessi: stuffed with Feta cheese and spinach, and Piroshki: with a beautiful aromatic blend of spices hand cut steak with sour cranberries – YUM! This was swiftly followed by all the grills and stews and our stomachs happily obliged.

Because, lets face it, no one goes to a Persian restaurant without ordering at least one grill of sor ts!

Now, the beauty of Persian grills is the subtlety in the flavors. Be it chicken or meat, there’s nothing more delicately flavored and tender than the way Persians prepare their grills. With love and attention to detail, ever y kabab has its own unique flavor profile that works brilliantly with their rice. For the most traditional one, go for the Koobideh – a much loved favorite with a complex flavor profile. When it came to the stews – the flavors were vibrant! The beautiful blend of herbs and greens mixed in with kidney beans and veal making a gorgeous Gormeh Sabzi. While the intense flavors of the Bamya stew bring back notions of childhood comfor ts and family gatherings. The Fesenjan, with its succulent confit chicken in a sweet and sour walnut sauce, is an absolute classic with fragrant notes that simply cannot be overlooked. The rice options we went with were simple and to the point – saffron rice in all its glor y. To add some oomph, we ordered the saffron rice with Zereshk! Zereshk, for those that don’t recognize the word, is a mixture of bright, ruby colored barberries, cranberries and slivers of pistachios giving the rice an incredible gem-like topping.

To top off our meal, we just had to order desser t. So we went with a selection – from the traditional Bastani: Persian saffron icecream with fresh pistachios, and Falloodeh: Persian rice noodle sorbet with a subtle lime flavor and sweet cherr y coulis; to the incredible twist on an indulgent sesame flavored desser t, the Sesame Cream’wich.

This sesame deliciousness consisted of a tahini flavored ice-cream coated with a candied sesame halva caramel. Glorious doesn’t even begin to explain this desser t or the experience as a whole.

Head to the illustrious Murouj Complex near the Sahara Club in Sabhan to experience the true flavors of modern Persia only at Kateh.

For more information, call them on 2205 0277 and follow them on Instagram @Kateh_Restaurant.

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Email, text messaging, and chat apps might seem the perfect tools for deaf people to communicate. But those with little or no hearing are a visual bunch, and many prefer sign language, says Claude Stout, executive director of TDI, an organization that promotes equalaccess technology for the deaf and hard of hearing.

That’s why Stout and his colleagues at TDI were excited to find Glide, a startup founded in 2012 that makes a free video-chat app of the same name for Android and iOS. Glide told me that it now has “at least several hundred thousand deaf users.” (The app has been installed on more than 20 million devices and Glide claims “millions” of active users.) “They were a community that we found accidentally,” says Sarah Snow, Glide’s community manager. Snow was making YouTube videos about Glide when she started getting comments from app users asking her to add subtitles. “When I first saw those messages, I didn’t know what to think; I didn’t know how many deaf users we had,” she says. “But I knew that they were a community that always responds to my videos.”

Finding a trove of unexpected fans, Snow went all-out to cultivate them. That meant not only adding captions to her YouTube clips, but starting to learn American Sign Language (ASL) so she could make videos specifically for this community.

Snow has also done meetups for users and institutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, including Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and the schools for the deaf in Austin, Chicago, New York City, and Fremont, California.

Glide users even proposed their own sign for the app, with the most popular being a fist with thumb and index finger extended out. Snow describes Glide’s relationship with its deaf users in a video promoting a South by Southwest panel on the experience she’s presenting in March 2016.

Glide is far from the first video-chat service: Skype was founded a dozen years ago, and FaceTime debuted on the iPhone 4 in 2010.

And of course Snapchat has video. But Glide has one killer feature for deaf people: the ability to leave a video message rather than having to prearrange a live call. “With Glide, they can send a message whenever they want,” says Snow. “They don’t have to wait for someone to answer a call.” With that asynchronous messaging capability, sign language users get the same flexibility everyone else has with tools such as email or Facebook messages.

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HOW VIDEO-CHAT APP GLIDE

GOT DEAF PEOPLE TALKING

By Sean Captain The app could do more, though, Snow soon learned. Glide uses a feature called optimize video frame rate, in which it skips some video frames when bandwidth is limited. A hearing person might appreciate trading quality for speed, but dropped frames could garble sign communication. At the request of deaf users, Glide added a setting to turn off the feature. “If you send a video and you have a poor connection, then it might take a second or two longer to send,” says Snow, “but it will play smoothly.”

Even the companies that are leading in this field could be doing more, some say. Rikki Poynter is a deaf YouTube videographer who began with instructional videos on makeup (though she can’t hear, she can speak pretty clearly) and has since broadened her focus to other issues in the deaf community. The quality of YouTube’s automated caption creation, she says, is still poor—she calls the feature “automatic craptions.” (We chat over Skype, with me typing questions and her speaking answers.)

“People always laugh about it,” she says, “but it’s not really funny, because that is all that’s given to us.” People viewing college lectures, for example, could miss key information, she says.

Poynter says she has spoken with people at YouTube, who tell her that the technology isn’t far enough along for better quality. But she remains skeptical, noting her experience with Apple’s speech recognition. “My boyfriend will talk to his iPhone,” she says. “It will come out spot-on.”

Poynter was featured in a February 2015 BBC article that quotes YouTube product manager Matthew Glotzbach saying, “Although I think having auto caption is better than nothing, I fully admit and I fully recognize that it is by no means good enough yet.”

A bigger problem, though, is that most YouTubers don’t even think about using captions, says Poynter. According to Glotzbach, in the same article, only 25% of YouTube content has captioning. Sarah Snow has taken up the cause with a campaign encouraging users to contact their favorite YouTube creators and post about it using the hashtag #withcaptions. One selling point is that captions are useful in many situations beyond the deaf community, such as in noisy settings like bars, where closed-captioned TV broadcasts are a staple. Stout calls this an example of universal design policies that benefit everyone, not only the deaf or hard of hearing.

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IBIZA, EUROPE’S DANCE-PARTY

CAPITAL, IS DOWNRIGHT COZY IN THE OFF-SEASON

By Josh Noel

The party was over, yet some were still trying valiantly. “No Closing,” exclaimed a cherry red billboard on the side of the two-lane highway as I steered my rental car away from Ibiza’s lone airport. “The Party Goes On.” But, no, it didn’t. Not really. And that’s why I was visiting Europe’s dance-party capital in fall.

During the height of summer, Ibiza teems with Europeans who crowd into vast nightclubs to dance until morning. After sleeping all day, the story goes, they wake up and do it again.

And again. And maybe one more time. And then they go home. From October to May, the “boompboompboomp” of those thunderous nightclubs drifts largely away, and the island returns to a place celebrated for its subtler charms: rocky coasts, swooping, pine-studded hills and thousands of years of history in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea. Warm with the knowledge that the party people were back home in England, Germany and on the Spanish mainland, I rolled down my windows to take in the sweet-salty air and made the 10-minute drive to Ibiza City, the largest city on the island. It has been continuously inhabited for nearly 3,000 years, which makes it one of Europe’s oldest cities.

Ibiza City seemed immediately familiar and

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like so many well-preserved European haunts, where twisting one-way streets are flanked by stone sidewalks and stucco buildings and where boys kick soccer balls in a tree-shaded plaza surrounded by restaurants and cafes. Up the hill, at the city’s highest point, sat the Old City circled by a mighty stone wall. Down at the marina, the tall spines of sailboats swayed in a 70-degree breeze.

Though the party people were home, I was still surprised at what I heard in the heart of the Old City at 12:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning when awakened by jet lag: absolutely nothing.

Ibiza — or, Eivissa, as spelled locally in Catalan — wasn’t always the party island.

Situated about 100 miles east of the Spanish mainland, it is one of the three major Balearic Islands settled by the Phoenicians in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. The island has passed through many hands, including the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Moors and self-rule as part of the Balearic chain before becoming part of Spain.

The club scene sprouted roots in the 1980s, as thumping beats were exported from the U.S. and Great Britain to a picturesque landscape bathed in Mediterranean breezes. During the last 10 years, Spanish tourism officials have attempted to maintain the opulent party while also somewhat minimizing it to promote the island for lower-key travelers — hikers, divers, kayakers and sightseeing families.

The tourist season runs from Februar y into October, with the par ty patrol on hand mostly from June through September. Most locals I met said the best months to be on the island are, therefore, May and October, with June and September following closely behind. Hot and claustrophobic, they said, July and August are best left for those chasing the fiesta.

As I picked through tapas at a restaurant in the old town, a couple who had recently moved to Ibiza from England said the streets where we sat would be jammed during the height of summer.

“Gazillions of people,” the man said.

In October, it was mere dozens.

And during the next few months, the number would only continue to decrease.

But that’s no reason not to visit; in reality, Ibiza is open for business year-round, which makes a trip timed with the holidays a worthy effort, particularly because temperatures still reliably reach the upper 50s. Many restaurants and shops are closed, but not all. And many hotels remain not only open but offer exquisite low-season deals. Crowds are nil, and the best of what the island offers — sweeping rock-cliff views into the moody Mediterranean, nature and endless tapas— remains ample.

Ibiza wasn’t completely asleep. Just sleepy enough.

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FOOD IS GETTING CHEAPER (BUT ONLY THE FOOD THAT ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU)

By Jessica Leber

There’s no question that food is getting more expensive and eating up a greater share of people’s incomes. But a new study finds a disturbing trend while looking at rising food costs in the UK: The price of healthy foods, ranging from tomatoes and milk to salmon fillet and veggie burgers, has risen more quickly than the price of less healthy alternatives, such as bacon, pizza, doughnuts, and ice cream. And that could mean more of the same for the rest of the world.

“Food poverty and the rise of food banks have recently been an issue of public concern in the UK, but as well as making sure people don’t go hungry it is vital that that a healthy diet is affordable,” said lead author Nicholas Jones, a researcher at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine.

Overall, food prices in the UK rose 35% between 2002 and 2012, according to the study, which was published today in the openaccess journal PLoS One.

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Over that decade, the average price of 1,000 calories of healthy food rose by £1.84 (KD 1), while the average price of 1,000 unhealthy calories food only rose by £0.73 (350 fils). By 2012, every 1,000 calories of unhealthy food was £2.50 (KD 1.25), whereas 1,000 calories of healthy items were on average three times more expensive, about £7.49 (KD 3.75).

While the study didn’t examine the causes for the price disparities, Jones notes that other work suggests that there are a number of factors at work, ranging from agricultural policies that subsidize oil, sugars, and dairy to the kinds of in-store promotions favored by supermarkets.

“Healthier foods are likely to be fresh foods which, being more perishable, may be more expensive to get to the consumer and may be more susceptible to the cost of other inputs, such as oil, rising,” he wrote to Co.Exist in an email.

The results have concerning implications for public health in the UK and beyond. In a 2013 survey, British consumers rated price as the most important factor influencing their choice of food products, with 39% of people saying price

is the single most important factor. In the same survey, only 9% said a food’s healthiness was most important. The British government estimates the cost of diet-related ill health to the National Health Service has been £5.8 billion (KD 3 billion) annually. In addition, similar trends have been seen in recent years high-income nations around the world, including the United States.

In the paper, the authors acknowledge that they only looked at a small slice of the food market and didn’t examine how prices might vary by region or by brand. The study analyzed existing government data for 94 foods and beverages that are tracked by the Consumer Price Index. Each was categorized as either “more healthy” or “less healthy” using a method developed by the UK Food Standards Agency.

Jones says it would “not be a great leap” for governments around the world to track these trends based on similar existing data sets. He believes governments should respond with policies to ensure people at all income levels can still afford to eat a healthy diet.

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bazaar apps Literally at your fingertips

MIRRATIV

It’s early days for Mirrativ, so it still has a couple of bugs and speed issues, but it’s clear that this app has tons of potential. Mirrativ lets you live stream anything that is happening on the screen of your Android device, and the camera, simultaneously. Kind of like Twitch for mobile, if you will. It’s amazing that no one has combined these two things before. It only takes a few clicks, and you can share whatever you’re doing with friends, family, or the world. You can also interact with others using stickers and comments throughout the stream.

JUSTWATCH

JustWatch is a resource that locates the best places to watch movies and TV shows online, without breaking the law. It launched earlier in 2015 as an online service, but now has a dedicated app for Android and iOS. It’s a simple idea, pooling the best locations for watching videos online, but it’s surprisingly useful. It displays the cheapest prices to rent or buy a particular movie or series you’re interested in, as well as whether it’s available on a subscription service such as Netflix, or even for free on Hulu or Crackle. There’s even a ‘price drop’ section where you’ll find special offers.

ACCOMPLISH

There are plenty of scheduling and productivity apps on the market, but Accomplish’s interface is clean, elegant and intuitive. It keeps things as simple as they should be, so you can organize your tasks and set reminders without fuss. You can add tasks, change their colors and then drag them into a day planner, where you can stretch or shrink the box to adjust the length of time you want to spend on the task. Accomplish also syncs with your Google Calendar, and is the most intuitive scheduler we’ve seen here. If you want a simple, pretty way to organize your day, this is it.

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EVERALBUM Apps have gotten so out of control, we now need apps to help keep other apps in line. Everalbum is your one-stop shop for keeping all your photos in one place, no matter what platform they’re shared on–whether Instagram, Dropbox, Facebook or Google Photos. You can also share albums with friends, even if they don’t use Everalbum. So it’s user friendly and super simple. As is the trend with apps like this, you can download the free one and get ads galore, or the paid ‘pro edition’ for the price of $10 (KD 3).

ADOBE PREMIER CLIP Editing video has never been an easy process, whether on a desktop or smartphone. But Adobe is trying to make editing less painful in the mobile age with Adobe Premiere Clip. This app’s been available on iOS for more than a year, but it’s finally crossing the platform divide. You can edit clips by adding different exposures, highlights, simple effects, and quick stitching so you can get perfect 15-second video for Instagram. It’s free so you don’t need an adobe subscription, but it probably works best if you happen to be already indoctrinated.

APPLE SMART BATTERY CASE Ok, so it isn’t an app…but there really aren’t that many new apps to cover this month, and after all, this is an official Apple product designed to extend the battery life of your phone, so this is as good a place as any to give it a mention. It’s only compatible with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, will increase overall talk time up to 25 hours and Internet use up to 18 hours on 4G. Audio and video playback will also see an increase up to 20 hours. When in use, the case’s battery status is shown on the iPhone’s lock screen, as well as in the Notification Center.

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KIDZANIA’S WINTER FESTIVAL ZELEBRATING THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! By bazaar staff

“I never thought I would get to fly a plane! I also never thought I would be so excited to wear a captain’s hat!”

Exclaimed one amazed twenty-something year old bazaarite the day KidZania Kuwait invited us to check out their Winter Festival. If you think we were excited, you should’ve seen the kids!

Everywhere you turn at KidZania, you see a smiling child rushing excitedly to their next activity, or a group of kids through a clear glass door intently focused on the dummy they’re operating on, or working at the radio station, bottling Aquafina bottles, or even making pancakes at the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Co. KidZania offers 80 different activities for children to engage in – including flying a plane – and the kids love it because it gives them a sense of independence.

Coupled with elements of icy decorations, the park is truly a winter wonderland.

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K ids just c an’t stop talking about this plac e! I t’s a c hild-c entric c ity that c ater s to c hildren up to 1 4 y ear s old and is designed to prov ide the ultimate in roleplay ing ac tiv ities f or kids to help them f ulf ill their dreams and take the magic al wor ld of make-believ e to another lev el.

The K idZania f ac ilities are stem med with the ethos of c hildren r unning the wor ld, instead of adults – zuper v i sed , of c our se.

While keeping their regular traditions, KidZania changes it up a little this month with their annual Winter Festival. Held from December 10th to Januar y 23rd, a visit to KidZania means your child can enjoy a winter-themed ambiance and activities mixed with their “work-life” experiences, ranging from winter y attractions such as a gigantic snow globe to a street show that happens throughout the day. With FroZen passes, purchased at an additional cost of admission, they can enjoy the perks of accessing cer tain activities and without having to sacrifice their KidZos, which means more savings!

This year’s Winter Festival is described

by KidZania Kuwait’s Governor Fernando Medroa as “bigger and better” than the previous. He says, “We’ve been working on the Winter Festival since the summer, and we’ve used ideas from the CongreZZ members to implement winter y features to the festival” The CongreZZ makes up 20 kids who are the voices and faces of KidZania Kuwait each year – they speak on behalf of the kids of Kuwait and contribute ideas to improve the city. “KidZania has a government, an economy and a congreZZ. The objective here is for us and the kids to take care of our city, just like it was a city in any countr y of the world.”

Governor Medroa is extremely skilled in the Leisure and Enter tainment industr y with a resume that boasts ten years of eclectic experience with Euro Disney in Paris and a General Manager position at the Six Flags theme park in Belgium preceding his 2011 relocation to Kuwait as V ice President of Leisure and Enter tainment at M.H. Alshaya Co. “At KidZania, the

memorable experience is all about the interaction with the Zuper visors and how well their role-plays are explained,” says Medroa. “Customer satisfaction is key and the kids should get the most out of their visits.”

They’ve succeeded in doing so, building a whole culture including a language and five different characters dubbed “RightZkeepers” that have deep meaning , and for the Winter Festival, the RightZkeepers are decked out in full wintergear to help celebrate the theme, and even appear in the special winter-themed show where they interact with penguins and polar bears in the Antarctic. “We want the children to learn about environments they aren’t exposed to,” says Medroa, as the Winter Festival is designed to educate children about different seasons, especially the winter climate, lifestyle and wildlife that don’t exist in Kuwait.

Other fun winter y activities the festival features are cross countr y skiing (for ages 6 and up), visiting the FroZen MaZe to hunt for a sticker that will reward them 5 KidZos, and a bone chilling visit to the ‘Ice House’ that contains creative ice sculptures ranging from a camel, to a throne, and many more. The Ice House, a concept inspired by KidZania CongreZZ members themselves, is a room set between -10 to -20 degrees, and kids are provided with down parkas and gloves to accommodate their visits. “In addition to what we already have going on, we have some surprises planned for the Winter Festival – but you’ll have to visit us towards the end of Januar y to see!”

The experiences a child will have at KidZania is what makes the park so memorable, and Kuwait is lucky to have an establishment like this one that’s molding a better generation for a better tomorrow.

It’s not too late, Kuwait – you have till the 23rd of Januar y to plan a trip to KidZania with your little ones for the day, and put a smile on their faces that only a day of fun and educational activities can achieve. We hope to Z-U there!

KidZania is located in Level 1, The MallThe Avenues. Call them at 2228 3180 or check out www.Kuwait.KidZania.com.

Follow their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram accounts @KidzaniaKuwait.

Plan your trip today!

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STRENGTH AND TRAINING FOR RUNNING

By Aaron Cooper

The New Year is here and that means it’s time to put those brand new resolutions to the test. For most people, it is safe to say that getting healthier and fitter is a major theme with resolutions. Which is why many will have “start running” or “run more” as a resolution, because running is one of the best ways to start achieving a healthier lifestyle. But why settle for just running, when you can run better?

If you want to become a better runner the answer is easy; run further, faster and more frequently. Sounds pretty simple, right? Yet there are components of running worth considering to make your goal optimal. It is the optimal balance of strength and flexibility working in concert that will maximize effectiveness and efficiency in running performance, while minimizing the potential for injury. Strength training and stretching are two key areas that will allow you to maximize your potential, without the need to pound the pavement in excess.

The topic of strength training and distance running is often heavily debated in the scientific community and also amongst coaches and athletes. There are two main concerns professionals have: the addition of excessive muscle bulk through resistance training and the decrease in the body’s ability to utilize oxygen during exercises (or what is known as the Vo² Max). That being

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said, an in-depth evaluation of the research within this area has shown that runners do in fact benefit from strength training – mostly in three key areas: 1. Increase in running economy and cadence (simply put: the energy you need to run at a certain speed, or how efficiently your body uses oxygen) 2. Prevention of running related injuries 3. Increase in muscular power and stamina.

This is all well and good but with a demanding running regime, how can you incorporate strength training? Well, there are a few things that you can do: Train regularly - strength gains are made through consistent training but this doesn’t mean you have to be in the gym five times a week – two consistent sessions a week will get you results If performed over a long period of time with your running schedule.

Work on balancing out your body – muscles predominantly used for running are trained all the time, so be sure to train the opposing muscles for balance.

Don’t forget the core – all forces generated by the legs or arms go through the core. The core provides the foundation to develop the strength needed to run fast.

Progress overload – the human body is an amazing machine, but needs to be constantly challenged to improve varying and changing exercises, increasing load and intensity every two or three weeks will ensure appropriate overload.

Recovery is key – allow 48 hours during training session to rest, don’t overdo it.

In and out in 60 minutes – time in the gym doesn’t matter, it’s what you do that counts. Aim to get your sessions completed in 45-60 minutes working focused and efficiently.

Appropriate programming – seek out a qualified strength and conditioning specialist or expert personal trainer that specializes in working with runners who can put together an appropriate program for you that you can co-ordinate with your running schedule.

Stretching - it has long been considered the cornerstone to maintaining a healthy body for runners. Runners have incorporated stretching into their routine in an attempt to improve muscle flexibility, reduce the risk of injury, and improve performance. It is recommended that you try and stretch as much as 5-7 times a week. It is also key to remember that the quality of the stretch is more important than the quantity, which basically means that proper technique is essential.

For more information, contact Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI), by calling 2572 0338 or by emailing info@fsrikuwait.org. FSRI is located in Salmiya on Baghdad Street in the Amaia Residence Building. The author Aaron Cooper is a Physiotherapist at FSRI specializing in orthopedics and sports injuries.

Before earning his degree in Physiotherapy, he was a Personal Trainer and Sports Massage Therapist for a number of years.

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HOW YOU SHOP ONLINE CHANGES THE PRICES YOU SEE

By Jessica Leber

Our experience on the web today is so personalized—our Google search results and Facebook News Feeds, our Amazon and Netflix suggestions. So it makes sense that online retailers would try to “personalize” prices they charge for products, too. Except that kind of deal doesn’t sound so great to most shoppers, especially when they don’t know if they’re the ones getting the short end of the stick.

A new investigation conducted by researchers at Northeastern University provides a unique glimpse at how some online retailers engage in subtle price discrimination (charging different prices for the same product) and price “steering” (showing different search results that show products at higher or lower prices).

Everything from whether a shopper was on a mobile or desktop browser to their history of clicks and purchases on the given e-commerce site seemed to have small effects.

“Ahead of time, we had no idea what we were going to find,” says study co-author Christo Wilson. “We thought that companies may be shying away from this. Turns out that’s not true.”

Travel websites, the researchers found, were the biggest offenders. For example, Travelocity charged mobile iOS users an average of $15 (KD 4.5) less than others. Orbitz and Cheaptickets charged people who weren’t logged onto the site an average of $12 (KD 3.5) more per night 122

for hotel rooms. For other sites, like Expedia and Hotels.com, the researchers weren’t able to figure out the cause, but found that some people whose browsers contained specific cookies were guided to more expensive results than others. Priceline was found to alter hotel search results based on a user’s history of clicks and purchases on the site as tracked by browser cookies.

Among the 10 general retailers surveyed such as Walmart, Staples, and JCPenney (this list did not include Amazon), only Home Depot steered mobile users to more expensive products, sometimes as much as roughly $80 (KD 25) more expensive. However, unlike with travel sites—where testers reserved hotel rooms but later canceled the reservations— the researchers did not generate “purchase histories” on the retailers’ sites to show how that might influence pricing.

The authors, who recruited 300 volunteers to browse the web and also created fake accounts to acts as controls, had to use an elaborate setup to conduct their research. It’s much harder than simply asking two people to shop on the same site at the same time, and seeing if they’re shown the same prices. They wanted to remove the effect of a shopper’s location (that’s already been shown to affect price) and account for other differences unrelated to personalization, such as which data servers process each search.

These pricing practices aren’t illegal, but unsurprisingly many people find them

unfair because they aren’t transparent to shoppers, says Wilson. While anyone can go and get a coupon or see that a store offers, say, an AARP discount, we live in filter bubbles online. People generally don’t know what factors lead them to receiving the best deal online, and why retailers would want to offer different prices to desktop users and mobile users is really anyone’s guess.

For pe ople who really want to know that they ’re getting the bes t deal, Wils on adv ises s earching from a des ktop while log ged into the s ite, then again in a brows er in “incognito” mode, then again f rom a s mar tphone, and for good m easure, phoning a friend and having them search, too.

In the long-term, the research group wants to build tools that help people get around these practices by removing these kinds of tracking features. The conundrum is that while it’s easy to help obfuscate people, that’s not necessarily the tool that’s going to help people get the best prices. “ Perhaps that s peaks to the need for regulation in this s pace,” s ays Wils on. “If y ou go to any s ite to s earch, ver y rarely are results fir s t s or ted by any objective m etric . I t’s ‘bes t match’ or ‘bes t for y ou.’ I t’s totally opaque. A nd it’s fine if a c ompany wants to do that, but they should explain what’s going on and how these decis ions are being made.”

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THERE’S NO SUCH THING

AS A ‘MALE

BRAIN’ OR

FEMALE

BRAIN,’ SCIENTISTS SAY

By Karen Kaplan

Do you have a male brain or a female brain?

The answer, according to science, is no.

If you didn’t expect this to be a yes-orno question, you’re not alone. Male brains do seem to be built differently than female brains. An analysis of more than 100 studies found that the volume of a man’s brain is 8 percent to 13 percent greater than the volume of a woman’s brain, on average. Some of the most noticeable differences were in areas of the brain that control language, memory, emotion and behavior, according to a 2014 report in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

To find out whether these structural differences translated into cognitive differences, scientists examined detailed brain scans of more than 1,400 men and women. No matter which group of people they looked at, what type of scan was used or which part of the brain was examined, the researchers consistently failed to find patterns that set men and women apart.

“Although there are sex/gender differences in brain structure, brains do not fall into two classes, one typical of males and the other typical of females,” the team wrote in a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Each brain is a unique mosaic of features, some of which may be more common in females compared with males, others may be more common in males compared with females, and still others may be common in both females and males.”

To figure this out, the team — led by

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psychobiologist Daphna Joel of Tel Aviv University — went hunting for examples of brain “elements” that were either clearly male or clearly female. In other words, they looked for examples of measurements that appeared to cluster one way for men and another way for women, without much overlap in the middle.

Then, after identifying these elements, the researchers looked to see whether women tended to have the “female” versions and men tended to have the “male” versions.

They started with a set of MRIs that measured the volume of gray matter in the brains of 112 men and 169 women ages 18 to 79. On these scans, they examined 116 separate regions and zeroed in on the 10 that showed the greatest difference between men and women. In each case, the 281 scans were divided into three categories — one-third considered “most male,” one-third considered “most female” and one-third in the middle.

Only 6 percent of the brains consistently ranked among the “most male” or “most female” in all 10 categories, the researchers found. On the other hand, 35 percent showed “substantial variability,” with male traits in some regions and female traits in others.

The study authors then repeated the analysis with different cutoffs for being “most male” and “most female.” Regardless of whether they used a threshold of 10 percent, 20 percent or 50 percent, the brains with a combination of male and female features far outnumbered the brains that were exclusively male or exclusively female.

Next, the researchers followed the same

steps with other sets of brain scans that measured the thickness of gray matter in the outer layer of the cerebrum, the connections between different parts of the brain, and other features. As before, they found that consistently male or consistently female brains were rare, and brains with features related to both genders were common.

Finally, the scientists applied the same method to data from two large psychology studies of American teens. Using results from 570 participants in the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study, they found that only 1.8 percent of them scored consistently male or consistently female, compared with 59 percent who showed “substantial variability.”

Among 4,860 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the skew was even greater: 0.1 percent versus 70 percent.

Even in a data set of 263 college students who were asked about 10 “highly genderstereotyped activities” like watching talk shows on TV or playing video games, the study authors still found that only 1.2 percent of the students could be classified as exclusively male or exclusively female, compared with 55 percent who had traits from both camps.

“This extensive overlap undermines any attempt to distinguish between a ‘male’ and a ‘female’ form for specific brain features,” Joel and her colleagues concluded. These findings have “important implications for social debates on long-standing issues such as the desirability of single-sex education and the meaning of sex/gender as a social category.”

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SMALL CARS HAVE A BIG PROBLEM

By Alice Zhang

Microcars have always been cheeky novelties, bubbly one- or two-seaters with toy-like motors and style from The Jetsons, reserved only for the dusty garages of avid vintage collectors that appreciate them—and never drive them. But recently, these miniscule cars from the post-WWII era have been setting the foundation for a new wave of carmakers, who see microcars as the picture-perfect future of urban transportation.

In theory, microcars have it all: they’re refreshingly cheap, perfect for navigating through urban traffic, and small enough to squeeze into tight parking spots. With cities projected to house 66% of the world’s population by 2050, the ride’s got the makings of a dream car on paper. But microcars have never fared well in some places, where bigger is actually often better, and extra layers of sheet metal and tall seating positions bolster the illusion of security—even if auto insurance rates back up modern microcar safety claims.

According to global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, more than 35 microcars have been debuted at auto shows up to 2013, with few moving past the concept stage. For these toylike oddities seeking to be once again part of America’s mainstream driving culture, is a microcar of the past an ill portent?

Automakers are surprisingly resilient, despite the roster of failures: Th!nk City, Corbin Motors, and G-Wiz REVA among others.

Numerous independent automakers have joined the ranks of industry giants trying their hand at reinventing the hot wheels. This time,

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they’re determined to get it right: tucking in electric motors, experimenting with driverless concepts, and tipping hats to the original vintage microcars by incorporating nostalgic elements in exterior design—all to capture the affinity of millennials.

“Millennials have the ability to change the game when it comes to being early adopters,” says Roman Kuropas, CEO of Innova EV, which is testing fleets of its all-electric, two-seater “Dash” microcar on college campuses. They’re already well acquainted with ride-sharing apps, and genuinely interested in sustainability and alternative mobility themes, including adopting cars equipped with Internet-of-Things connectivity as the ultimate gadget. According to a 2014 Deloitte study, 59% of Gen-Y consumers see themselves driving an alternative engine in five years. To many like Innova EV, “the most important demographic” seems to get the intellectual allure of microcar-led transportation.

“When people see a microcar, the first thing they think is ‘Oh, I don’t want to get hit in that,’” says Jerome Vassallo, VP of Sales at Elio Motors, “even though there are Formula One racecars going around the track at 200mph, and we all see them crash and get out fine.” Elio plans to produce a three-wheeled commuter vehicle in late 2016.

To address the persisting perception problems tied with size, auto designers are trying to use aesthetics. On one hand, it’s about communicating safety and legitimacy; on the other, it’s about redefining what’s cool altogether.

“A lot of professional car designers will tell you that the first battle you have to win with a customer is one of desire,” says Paul Snyder, who is the chair of transportation design at the College for Creative Studies. Whereas the microcars of the past thrived on being the sole affordable

choice for war-worn wallets, consumers today can choose, meaning the creature comforts of modern microcars must override the incentives of any bigger, faster, and “better” alternative.

Jason Hill, founder of eco-friendly transportation design firm Eleven LLC and a teacher at the ArtCenter College of Design, believes there’s a scarcity of successful small cars that visually project the aura of safety. “It has to be cute and friendly, but not goofy. It has to look intelligent enough to get you places,” Hill says. “Companies have a responsibility to pull customers ahead into the fresh and tomorrow, but also meet expectations.”

Gabe Chan, who got into car culture working at his uncle’s repair shop in San Francisco, doesn’t think designers have nailed the look yet.

“Cars are trying to be sporty-looking and aero right now, but microcars essentially look like a box,” the 21-year-old says. Nobuto Kato, 23, who grew up in Tokyo’s saturated car culture, is a little less apologetic. “The design is way ugly and unpractical,” he says.

Hill estimates it will take at least a generation and a half before the perception gap is closed. “It needs to be executed well,” Hill says, reflecting on insights working on the Aptera Typ-1, a highefficiency three-wheeler that ultimately failed, and the success of the MCC Ecosprinter, which became the basis for the Smart. “So far, it’s the same story done in the same way. It’s wildly predictable and naïve.”

But like most mobility futurists, he remains optimistic modern microcars will eventually make it out onto city roads, in what many predict will be a multi-tiered transportation society with various vehicles for specific purposes, in place of the onecar-fits-all model today.

“Microcars are there, they’re coming...it’s just about closing the gap,” Hill says.

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PROPER SLIDERS Good things come in bite-sized portions By bazaar Staff

Tucked away in Mahboula stands a small, but mighty, burger place dubbed Proper Sliders. A small location, the seating is limited yet superbly cozy and reminiscent of a childhood spent at local carnivals.

Although you can go enjoy your meal there, Proper Sliders is a delivery concept that promises you reasonably priced, fresh, hot food in forty-five minutes. Their beautifully labeled packages make for a gorgeous delivery pack – but the actual ambiance of the place is not to be missed. With natural wood accented with pops of red and hints of white, the décor is that of a fun fair with ticket stub-like menus.

Take a seat and enjoy a proper slider with a super creamy shake.

High quality chilled meat is the essential ingredient to a good burger. That, and making their patties fresh coupled with premium quality toppings and beautifully baked bread are what make Proper Sliders’ burgers deliciously special. So we walked in, took our seat by the window and grabbed some menus to decide on our orders. The general atmosphere at Proper Sliders is that of an old-school diner mixed with the fun of the fair. Upbeat music and a simple but to-the-point menu with delicious options but a lack of dessert choices.

Why, you wonder? Because their shakes are glorious and decadent enough and there are lollipops on the table for you to grab on the go!

Once you have your order figured out, head to the counter and order your sliders. We each ordered three sliders, Chili Fries, Proper Onion Rings and a shake each – yum! Sold singularly, you’re given the freedom to mix and match your favorite sides for the day. Adding to your sliders a shake and some sides, you’ll surely be satisfied at the end of your meal.

We sat back down and waited for our meals to be prepped. Made-to-order, each slider, shake and side is prepared fresh for you to enjoy. It took us no time at all to decide on what we wanted although everything on the menu was extremely compelling.

Naturally, we went for their namesake slider, The Proper Slider. We also tried the Proper Bacon Slider, the Proper Spicy Slider, and the Proper Grilled Chicken Slider. Consisting of one beautiful gourmet patty, the sliders were absolutely delicious. Their condiments and salad toppings were fresh and perfectly complimented each slider. Their namesake had the basics – yellow cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onions and

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pickles topped off with their secret Proper Sauce. All their condiments are proper and pair brilliantly with every slider you order. For the Proper Bacon Slider, the Proper BBQ sauce and crispy bacon made it juicy and delectable. The Proper Spicy Slider was a whole other level! With Monterey Jack cheese, chopped jalapenos and Proper spicy mayo. With the perfect amount of spice, this slider delivered on both heat and flavor.

As for their Proper Grilled Chicken Slider – other than the fabulously marinated chicken breast, you get a beautifully golden and crunchy onion ring alongside the cheese and BBQ sauce – divine! The onion ring gave the slider an added dimension and a beautiful crunch. Our sides, were simple – Proper Onion Rings and Proper Chili Fries. Their Proper Onion Rings are fried to perfection. Golden and crispy, they come with a side of their super secret and wonderfully tangy Proper Sauce as a dip. The Proper Chili Fries were in a league of their own. Perfectly golden fries topped with succulent homemade chili, delicious melted cheese, chopped jalapenos and onions, then finished off with some Proper mustard. The homemade chili on its own was beautifully prepared and the added toppings gave the entire dish a truly wonderful depth.

Since there are no dessert options at Proper Sliders, we went for one of their perfectly proper shakes – one each that is. Our shake of choice was their Lotus Shake. What is a shake, and a proper one for that, if it’s not creamy and decadent – and this one did not disappoint. Made to absolute perfection, the Lotus Shake combined the Lotus spread with actual Lotus biscuit crumbs and so much cream! Filling and fulfilling, their shakes are spectacular and became a fast favorite of ours. Take your time with them and enjoy your cozy surroundings – it’s totally worth it.

Once you’re done and about to leave, grab a Chupa Chups with the flavor of your choice and enjoy this nod to childhoods past or share the love with your little ones. And remember, proper ingredients do make for Proper Sliders.

Get yourself a very proper slider at Proper Sliders!

You can find Proper Sliders in Mahboula, Block 2, Street 201, Building 233 or in Ardhiya, Block 2, Sarah Complex, Building 113. You can call them on 2239 1903 or 2239 1904 for orders or log o n t o w w w. t a l a b a t . c o m . F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t www.propersliders.com or follow them on Facebook: ProperSliders and on Twitter and Instagram @ProperSliders.

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THE SCIENCE OF WHY SCARCITY MAKES US MORE CREATIVE

By Charlie Sorrel

The rise of mass consumption has driven worldwide economic growth for decades. But does it help our creative growth? According to a new study, the answer is no. When we stop buying new things, we look at what we already have in new ways and come up with new uses for products we own. In other words, scarcity drives creativity. When we aren’t surrounded with ready-made solutions to problems, we have no trouble coming up with our own.

This finding may surprise precisely nobody working in any artistic field. This make-do-andmend mentality is the way our grandparents—and in some cases parents—approached the world, ranging from jam-jars used as drinking glasses to cigar-box guitars.

The study, co-authored by Illinois University professor of business administration Ravi Mehta, set out to investigate the link between resource availability and consumer creativity. “While scarcity has been a pervasive aspect of human life,” says Mehta in the paper’s abstract, “people in modern industrialized societies take resource availability for granted. Consumerism and over-

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acquisition have become the order of living and abundance has emerged as the norm, especially in the first world societies.”

Mehta and his co-author Meng Zhu conducted six experiments to determine how creativity varies under conditions of scarcity. These ranged from the effect of just writing about scarcity before building toys from Krinkles building blocks (Stickle Bricks to older readers), to full-on riddlestyle puzzles like this one: The participants were shown a picture containing several products on a table: a candle, a pack of matches, and a box of tacks, all of which were next to a wall. Participants’ task was to figure out how to attach the candle to the wall by using only the objects on the table, so that the candle burns properly and does not drip wax on the table or the floor.

In all the experiments, the results showed that people are more creative when they are forced to make the best of a situation, or to come up with alternative uses for objects with specific uses. (This is called functional fixedness, and is “defined as a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used.”)

The results make intuitive sense. When a creative professional is given a brief with tight

constraints, they will likely thrive, whereas if the brief allows “anything” they will flounder, now even knowing where to begin. Given a problem with scarce resources, the human mind will twist and mull until it has a solution.

This creativity is probably our species most important feature.

The study concludes that the flip side of this is also true, that abundance inhibits creativity, and cites several published works on the matter. These claim variously that “the centrality of material possessions hinders intellectual and spiritual development,” that “modern mass production gives rise to the harried leisure class,” and that “overconsumption might lead to the failure of complex and wealthy societies,” and even that “sophisticated technology can usurp human motivation and skills.”

We not only thrive when resources are scarce, then, but we actually require this kind of challenge.

You could think of it as a mental version of the flabby feelings you get when you forego your normal, regular exercise routine. It’s certainly a lot more rewarding and satisfying when you come up with something by yourself, even if your invention is a bit of a kludge. Now we have one more reason to buy less and declutter our lives.

#PCC Opening Soon 2016

Curated with life in mind.

pcc The Promenade Culture Centre is set to be the capital’s most innovative mixed use space, creating a platform for the arts and cultural activity for the community we live in. The PCC thrives on forging a bond between artists and the audience, and bringing dynamic and original content to the public.

PASTAMANIA: CASUAL DINING For the love of all things Pasta By bazaar Staff

Do you find yourself constantly craving home-style pasta, but have no desire to cook? Pastamania, the long loved pasta franchise of Kuwait, has a vast and inexpensive menu that would please even the pickiest of eaters, with a variety of sauces and pastas that always do the trick. Even better, their prices are low and their quality high, giving you the most value for the best dinar.

For starters, their classic salad bar contains favorites such as pasta salad, greens, coleslaw, potato salad, and three different types of dressings. Diners can also enjoy a variety of appetizers like their popular chicken wings – baked, not fried, garlic bread, and their buttery bruschetta mixed to perfection on a thickly-cut piece of crusty baguette.

The real fun begins with their pastas. With their innovative sauce and topping combinations, you have the choice to use whatever type of pasta you desire: from spaghetti to penne, to fettuccine to fusilli. You even have the option to have your pasta whole wheat if you’re looking for a healthier pasta-filled fix.

They even have build-your-own options, but we highly recommend giving their Butter Chicken Pasta dish a go. It’s another best seller at Pastamania, combining creamy and spicy flavors to create a protein filled Indian and Italian fusion dish. Other favorites are their Creamy Chicken, with perfectly cooked strips of chicken breast tossed in a silky, creamy sauce, and their Fettucine Alfredo, a similar concoction differing from the former with added peas and chunks of turkey ham, in addition to grilled chicken.

If you’re craving a steak, Pastamania has that on offer as well. Their perfectly grilled beef tenderloin is served with a portion Aglio Olio pasta to compliment your meal. The

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Chicken Steak is served with a creamy Pesto Pasta. Valuing at around 4KD, their prices prove that you don’t have to wipe out your bank account to fulfill your protein intake!

Pizza lovers, pay attention – the pizza at this place is impeccable in the way where indulgent meets healthy. With the perfect amount of melted cheese blended with a tangy tomato sauce, atop a perfectly baked crust. Even better is that their small size is perfect for one person, or two people cheating on their diet! Our favorite is the Inferno: pepperoni, chili, capsicum, mushroom and onion, mixed to perfection.

As for our fellow dessert lovers out there, worry not – Pastamania offers a short and sweet dessert selection, with three options that are sure to satisfy any craving: an innovative Banana Pizza, a classic Chocolate Mousse and a delectable Tiramisu pudding.

So go on, give them a call, or pop by their location closest to you. With multiple convenient locations in Kuwait, covering almost every governorate in the foodie nation, Pastamania offers dine-in, take away, or delivery options. You can visit their biggest branch in Mohalab Mall to try out their fresh salad bar, but if you don’t feel like driving or cooking, your favorite pasta dish is just a phone call away.

Pastamania has many locations and delivers to most areas in Kuwait. To find the one closest to you, Call 1828 585. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook @pastamaniaq8.

Milano

bazaar techno Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ~ Arthur C. Clarke

DOJO WIRELESS SECURITY PEBBLE

SOUND OF POWER BUST SPEAKERS

MVMT WATCH

The more things in your home that connect to the Internet, the more important it is to keep them secure. That’s exactly what the Dojo Wireless Security Pebble is designed to do. It acts as a guard dog sitting between your gadgets and the ‘net, learning their patterns, then looking for changes in those patterns to detect threats. It glows when there is activity that needs to be addressed and communicates via a chat app, speaking to you like a person rather than using a never-ending stream of robotic notifications. And unlike most cyber security products, it’s designed to be carried around with you and look great wherever you set it down, even if that’s on the main charging base.

Created by Petro Wodkins and crafted from a sturdy, marble-like composite, Sound of Power Bust Speakers bring the visages of two of the world’s most controversial figures — Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un — into your home for the sake of sonic reproduction. Limited to just 100 examples of each, they feature 4-inch full-range drivers mounted at an angle in a cutout of the man’s head, built-in bass reflex ports, and wooden stands that double as 20W, Bluetooth-capable amplifiers. Available separately, the speakers are angled in different directions in each bust, making it possible to pair them together in a stereo setup.

There are plenty of choices out there for a great looking watch, but there aren’t many that combine a great looking minimalist design with precise timekeeping and an affordable price like MVMT. This beautiful timepiece comes with 6 hand chronograph Japanese movement, 3 subdials, and a 22mm sandstone leather band with a gunmetal stainless steel buckle. It’s all housed in a 45 mm gunmetal stainless steel case, with brushed gunmetal plated, hardened mineral crystal on the surface. The Los Angeles based company has yet another watch that fits as well with your casual attire as it does with a formal getup, and all for a price that won’t break the bank.

PAX 2 VAPORIZER

GAME BOY 1UP

MECCANO MECCANOID G15 KS ROBOT

As innovative as the original Pax Vaporizor was, the Pax 2 is definitely raising the bar for portable vaporizers. The new and improved Pax features a battery that charges quickly and can last up to five sessions. A single button controls the power and temperature, and the intelligent-heating mechanism only warms as you bring the device to your lips, maximizing each session. The deeper oven provides even heating and makes each draw consistent and when you’re finished it takes less than a minute to clean and fits as snugly in your pocket as your mobile phone. Available in four different colors, each Pax 2 also has a strong anodized aluminum outer shell.

If you grew up on the Game Boy, or just respect and understand the trail it blazed for all the handheld gaming devices that came after it (including mobile phones), you’ll love the idea behind the Game Boy 1Up. The concept takes the original elements of the Game Boy from 1989, and updates them in subtle ways like the addition of earbuds and the evolution to landscape mode.

If executed, the 1Up would be compatible with the functions and requirements of current games, constructed from plastic reinforced with natural fiber. We hope it becomes a reality!

With a legacy dating back over 100 years, Meccano has been the toy of choice for aspiring engineers for a long, long time. The Meccano MeccaNoid G15 KS Robot brings the classic construction set up to date with an app-connecting “brain” and 10 motors that give it a broad range of movements.

The set includes over 1,200 pieces, knows over 1,000 phrases, recognizes your voice, stands over four feet tall, and can learn new movements in three different ways. A perfect gift for future builders and adult tinkerers alike.

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NICKY LAZOU

HAIR GURU EXTRAORDINAIRE

By bazaar staff

It’s no secret – when it comes to hair, Arab women with their thick, dark locks have a difficult time with color. While it may not be impossible, it can get tricky and leave you with results that you aren’t entirely satisfied with or worse – color and texture that falls short after a few weeks and requires hardcore maintenance. That’s where Nicky Lazou steps in and saves the day. Known to her followers as the Queen of Balayage – a title she blushes about – Nicky is here to save the day! She flies into Kuwait from the UK every few months to give your hair the treatment it deserves.

Originally Greek, Nicky fully understands what it means to have “Arab” hair. Long, thick and superbly dark at times, our hair is difficult to color when we decide on drastic changes. “It’s a tricky process but we can achieve the color you want in a sitting,” Nicky explained. Nicky has always been into hair and beauty. Originally having studied to be a journalist, she has a lot of respect for the craft but her heart

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is in hair. “I started out doing my own hair and my sister Rita’s hair,” she laughed, “now, whenever I try something new on myself or my sister, I get people telling me they want that [pointing at Rita’s hair]!”

From cuts to color, there’s nothing Nicky doesn’t do! Bouncing around between the UK, Dubai and Kuwait – demand is high for this hair guru. “My clientele hasn’t changed much,” she began, “People have been flying out to come see me at my Birmingham location or even London – so it was only natural that I expand my business and start coming to them!” Picky with whom she works with, she’s received several offers from salons in the region, but didn’t feel their heart was in it. “I love what I do, so I’m very selective,” she smiled. Now, she’s picked her handful of salons in the region and works exclusively with them. “I believe in loyalty,” she elaborated – only working with people she feels most comfortable with.

Her hair-adventures have her working out of London, Glasgow, Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia!

While she continues to be based in Birmingham, she moves around every few months to extend her reach and help her customers get the best hair possible. “I love being here,” she exclaimed about Kuwait, “the women here are beautiful and very fashion savvy!” Choosing to work exclusively with

the lucky ladies at the Candy Lounge Salon and Spa, she leaves them with specific instructions for after color treatments for all her clients. “Usually, you walk out of a salon with hair you love but then you hate it after a few washes,” she stated, “I know it’s not an easy process – so I make sure that this love lasts as long as possible.” Her attention to detail and understanding of hair is superb – while you might not like the initial outcome, she guarantees you’ll love it as you wash it!

“Healthy hair!” she laughed, “That’s the ultimate goal. I always make sure that your hair is beautiful and healthy so you can love it for longer!” She’s only in Kuwait for a limited time and can only see so many clients. Nicky and Rita travel the world and come to us, here in Kuwait, to make sure that our locks are healthy and gorgeous until the next time she visits.

Keep an eye out for Nicky’s destinations by following her on Instagram @NickyLazou. To know when she’s in Kuwait or general salon inquires for all your hair and beauty needs, follow Candy Lounge Salon and Spa on Instagram @CandyLounge.KW. For inquires and bookings, email Nicky at info@nickylazou.com and make sure to check her out on YouTube for hair and beauty tips and tricks @NickyLazou!

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bazaar around town AWADHI FOOD FESTIVAL AT SOUL AND SPICE RESTAURANT Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait City held an opening ceremony to kick off the two-week Awadhi Indian Food Festival on December 1st, 2015. The event was attended by His Excellency Sunil Jain, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait, representatives of different companies in Kuwait and the local media. The attendees were treated to a mouthwatering selection of food and beverages, including awadhiana murg, subz rasili, mughlai, jhinga biryani, sheer korma and a lot more. The invitees were impressed with the rich variety of food, breathtaking décor and comfortable seating, which make “Soul and Spice Restaurant” the ideal venue to enjoy the true flavors of India. A symbol of regal cuisine influenced by flavors from the kitchen of Mughals, Awadhi Food Festival emerged throughout India in celebration of the distinctive cooking techniques and assortment of kebabs and breads.

The Awadhi Food Festival at Soul and Spice Restaurant was a great treat for foodies.

The elegant and majestic spreads of dishes include ‘galouti kebab’, ‘awadhi paneer tikka’, ‘tunde ke kebab’ and a lot more. Furthermore, the menu offered a wide range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food from delectable starters to main courses and mouthwatering desserts. “The Indian cuisine is very rich in terms of flavors, colors and heritage.” Said George Aoun, The hotel’s General Manager. “Through this festival, we want our guests to experience the magic of Awadhi cuisine and enjoy the royal flavors that India has to offer.” he added.

Visit The Soul & Spice Restaurant at The Courtyard by JW Marriott at Al Shuhada Street, Sharq. For more information, call 2299 7070.

DEAN & DELUCA RE-LAUNCHES HEALTHY LIVING CAMPAIGN DEAN & DELUCA, Kuwait’s gourmet café and retail store, is bringing back its Healthy Living campaign with the aim of encouraging customers to make better food choices in the New Year. The campaign that runs from 3 January to 20 February 2016 includes a new Café menu as well as a wide variety of organic, healthy cooking ingredients at the DEAN & DELUCA store in The Avenues. Eating Healthy and getting in good shape is one of the most popular New Year resolutions and the Healthy Living campaign intends to help customers achieve this without compromising on taste and flavor. Balance, variety and moderation are the three key ingredients of healthy living; aligning themselves to this philosophy, DEAN & DELUCA has scoured the globe to select the finest array of healthy products that will satisfy the palates of a diverse range of customers. Never before has eating healthy been so delicious!

The Healthy Living menu offers an assortment of fresh and light ingredients.

Starting with breakfast options that include a Light Labnah with a succulent blend of mixed berries, nuts and honey; and the savoury Egg White Omelette, with a fusion of onions and mushrooms. For customers with a sweet tooth, the golden sugar-free waffles and pancakes offer a healthier alternative. The lunch and dinner menu offers an Organic Quinoa & Chickpea salad with tomato, onion, mint leaves, pomegranate and parsley pesto sauce, and lemon olive oil dressing. The new woodfired Pomegranate & Cardamom Chicken Kebabs, accompanied by the green bean salad, carrot puree and marinated wood-fired tomato is another enticing pick. To complement the Healthy Living menu, DEAN & DELUCA is also serving nutritious cold blends and smoothies in flavors such as Orange Dream, the Pineapple, Banana, Blueberry and Fresh Berries. The Healthy Living range available in the retail section includes six selections - healthy breakfast options, snacks, guilt free chocolates, healthy cooking products, fresh produce, and prepared foods. As people seek to eat better, several important trends have emerged in food culture like gluten-free, vegan, high-protein and organic foods. In line with these growing trends, DEAN & DELUCA offers a variety of gluten-free products like the Doisy & Dam crunchy dark chocolate bars. Vegan diet seekers can opt for products like the Emily Fruit crisps. DEAN & DELUCA’s Organic products are grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals and are just as nature intended. Customers can create sumptuous dishes with the organic red quinoa from Quinola Mothergrain used in Michelin starred restaurants.

Dean and Deluca is located at The Avenues mall. To place an order, please call 2224 2224.

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A NEW DISTINCTIVE SERVICE PROVIDED BY DIET CENTER IN AL JAHRA AND AL MAHBOULA Executive Manager, SAMA Catering Company Kuwait / Mrs. Rania Raad announced the launch of a new distinctive service from Diet Center in the regions of Al Jahra and Al Mahboula. In 2001, Diet Center inaugurated its clinics in Kuwait to provide the best services through nutritional programs set by nutritionists in charge of client’s health. In response to market request, Diet Center expanded and opened what is called Diet Shop in more than 50 Points of Sale in Cooperatives and in the biggest supermarkets in Kuwait, providing its tastiest meals. However, based on the nutritional culture spread in Kuwait in the past years, Diet Center suggested a first-time service in the Middle East, which are the Diet Center Stores that offer the most delicious healthy items in the presence of a dietitian. The dietitian is available to give advices to whomever visits these stores and helps out in preparing the appropriate nutritional program in case the person wishes to monthly subscribe.

Diet Center is considered the first health pioneer center in Kuwait specialized in diet and weight loss.

And since the diet concept is now an urgent factor in adopting a healthy life, Diet Center has not just relied on weight loss programs, but launched several initiatives such as treating children obesity, diabetes and celiac disease. Furthermore, Diet Center organized awareness campaigns encouraging a healthy lifestyle. As a result, Diet Center team came with a new idea that promotes, simplifies and teaches individuals habits that help them maintain their health. Commenting this initiative, Mrs. Raad said: “we have launched in Al Jahra the Diet Center Stores service in 2014 in the presence and under the supervision of a dietitian who interacts and assists whoever wishes in selecting his meal. This service witnessed success and hence Diet Center opened a new store in Al Mahboula with a plan for expansion in the coming years to cover all of the areas in Kuwait”.

For more about diet center and their range of products and services, visit www.dietcenterkuwait.com, or check them out on Facebook: dietcenterkuwait.

SAFIR HOTEL & RESIDENCES KUWAIT - FINTAS HOSTS FRIDAY BBQ SEAFOOD NIGHT Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait – Fintas held a media and corporate event celebrating the launch of the first Friday BBQ Seafood Night. The event was attended by press and media representatives and their families.

The BBQ Seafood Night will take place every Friday night from 7pm until 11pm. The hotel’s management team warmly welcomed the valued guests to the seating area in the beach garden and the royal tent, where they enjoyed the charming atmosphere, sea breeze and jazz music. On this occasion, the hotel’s General Manager, Mr Saif Eddin Mohammed said, “BBQ Seafood Night is one of the prominent hotel nights and is a unique event that is anticipated by seafood lovers. We offer an ideal venue for families, groups and individuals who enjoy distinguished food to come and spend an enjoyable time. The weekend event includes Jazz, a variety of dishes and a distinctive environment at the beach garden and royal tent. Surrounded by wide green spaces and overlooking the Arabian Gulf, the venue promises to entertain the whole family in a relaxed and luxurious environment.” Guests were impressed with the atmosphere and charm of the place, the richness of the buffet dishes, the variety of fresh and grilled seafood items.

Safir Hotel and Residence is located at Al Aqueela Beach Seashore 209, Salem Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah St, Fintas. Call them on 2545 5555.

AAW FURNITURE HOSTS EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN As part of an ongoing commitment to inspire Kuwaitis to pursue careers in retail, Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa Commercial Co. (AAW) Furniture Department hosted an in-store retail camp for 40 students between the age of eight and fourteen in collaboration with Energy Camp Kuwait (ECK). ECK is an educational children’s volunteer camp that aims to broaden the career horizons for children and influence their education and career goals.

The children, who were between the ages of eight and fourteen, were hosted at AAW’s furniture showroom in Al-Dajeej and introduced to typical work-day activities of a retail store. Activities included learning to work safely with tools, designing and organizing eye-catching displays, how to offer customer service, and a look into how pricing items in-store are done. The children also learned about the workmanship behind AAW’s carpets department, from the development of the carpets to how they are safely stored. Founded by Haya Al-Shatti and Fatima Al-Mutawa, Energy Camp Kuwait aims to educate, create job awareness, and instill responsibility into the youth of Kuwait through various tasks, challenges and functions. Camp activities include acting classes, storytelling, cooking, recycling, sports, art, islamic studies, thinking skills, and experience in future job opportunities.

AAW Furniture showrooms are located in Al Dajeej and Al Shuwaikh. Find out more at www.aaw.com.

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THIS TEENAGER JUST DESIGNED A SYSTEM THAT KEEPS YOU SAFE FROM GERMS ON PLANES

By Ariel Schwartz

Air cocoons insulate you from your sneezing, coughing neighbor.

Planes are fairly disgusting, germ-filled places. Who knows what the person before you did with that tray table? And who knows what kind of germs that person with a hacking cough in the seat next to you will spread?

Like most people, Raymond Wang—a 17-yearold high school student from Vancouver, British Columbia who just won $75,000 (KD 23,000) in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)—was concerned about the Ebola virus when

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it first started making its way across West Africa.

His next thought: How do diseases like this spread on airplanes? Wang soon discovered that Ebola isn’t transmissible through the air, so he began looking into airborne diseases like the flu and SARS. Eventually, he came up with a new kind of air inlet system for planes that can reduce disease transmission by up to 55 times and improve fresh airflow by 190%. An entire plane could be outfitted overnight with the system, which is installed along the cabin sidewalls, for the price of a single passenger’s airline ticket.

“I found out that there was very limited research into how pathogens travel in aircraft. People were over-

approximating the shape of the cabin, and failing to model important physics in the simulation,” says Wang.

So he called up a company that makes commercial simulation software, and was given access to training videos on how to work with the product. He then came up with his own airplane airflow simulations.

Wang has already applied for a patent, and he’s planning to contact aircraft manufacturers and airlines to talk about implementation. But the inventor, still a junior in high school, does expect to go to college.

“After graduation, I plan on pursuing some kind of engineering and business degree—then taking innovations and implementing them into the real world,” he says.

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IS MARK ZUCKERBERG THE NEXT BILL GATES?

By Jessica Leber

After a stunning announcement recently that he’s transferring 99% of his wealth to a new initiative aimed at improving the world, the world learned that Facebook’s founder is on his way to not even technically being billionaire anymore.

Does the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, announced in a somewhat ham-fisted letter to his newborn daughter Max during December, make Mark Zuckerberg the new Bill Gates?

The comparisons are easy to make. At today’s value, Zuckerberg’s Facebook stock is worth $45 billion (KD 13 billion)—a few billion larger than the trust endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world (if Facebook’s stock appreciates in the future, its value could end up much larger). And Zuckerberg is clearly inspired by Gates, one of his heroes both in business and charity: Zuckerberg was one of the earliest billionaires to join Gates’s Giving Pledge and commit to giving away the majority of his wealth.

But what Zuckerberg, 31, and his wife Priscilla Chan, 30, are doing is a bit more radical. First, it’s explicitly not charity—the two have set up an LLC, not a nonprofit, from which they plan to donate to charity, but also invest in private companies and participate in policy debates. Second, while the two are following a trend of rich people who want

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to be heavily involved in giving money away during their lives—not waiting until they die and setting up a foundation that lives forever, a la barons of the Rockefeller, Ford, and Carnegie age—what’s remarkable about the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative is its sheer size, their extreme youth, and the example they set for other budding Silicon Valley titans.

Unlike the Gates Foundation of today, at least some of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s early priorities—personalized learning, connecting people, building strong communities, and curing disease—are entangled with some of Facebook’s own. With Facebook’s Internet.org initiative, Zuckerberg has been the tech world’s major advocate of closing the digital divide and bringing Internet access to the entire world, a mission that also helps Facebook’s bottom line. Online education is also an area that Facebook has been interested in as a company, and some of his past education-related gifts have involved using Facebook engineers to help solve educational problems.

But if Zuckerberg does follow a path similar to Bill Gates (who offered a quote supporting the endeavor in the press release announcement), there’s also a good chance his philanthropy will evolve. In the first annual report for his foundation, Gates wrote that back in 1997, he and Melinda were most focused on “helping to close the digital divide.” Today,

Gates says it’s “a joke” for tech billionaire dogooders to prioritize Internet access before ending diseases like malaria.

The announcement of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative emphasizes the two do want to learn and lean heavily on outsiders. They plan to keep their staff lean, without much back office.

And their LLC structure is specifically intended to provide the greatest flexibility for the most impact. The LLC isn’t necessary, however, for them to invest in private companies as part of their programs—nonprofit foundations like Gates and Rockefeller already invest in privately-led R&D efforts, with profits in all three cases going back to the organization.

Is Zuckerberg the next Bill Gates? The answer is no, definitely not now. Anything can happen—and if Facebook goes the way of MySpace or Friendster, Zuckerberg’s worldchanging ambitions for his wealth won’t go too far in the future. But, still, there’s plenty of potential he could evolve into a new version of his role model—especially when one day freed of the responsibilities of running a company.

Zuckerberg is setting a precedent. The question is whether he’ll inspire others. Or as Michael Bloomberg commented in the announcement: “The traditional approach to giving—leaving it to old age or death—is falling by the wayside, as it should.”

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bazaar books “We read to know that we are not alone.” C.S. Lewis

THING EXPLAINER: COMPLICATED STUFF IN SIMPLE WORDS

By Randall Munroe

Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon?

Randall Munroe is here to help.

In Thing Explainer, he uses line drawings and only the thousand (or, rather, “ten hundred”) most common words to provide simple explanations for some of the most interesting stuff there is, including food-heating radio boxes (microwaves), tall roads (bridges), computer buildings (datacenters), the shared space house (the International Space Station, the pieces everything is made of (the periodic table), planes with turning wings (helicopters), boxes that make clothes smell better (washers and dryers) and the bags of stuff inside you (cells). How do these things work? Where do they come from? What would life be like without them? And what would happen if we opened them up, heated them up, cooled them down, pointed them in a different direction, or pressed this button? In Thing Explainer, Munroe gives us the answers to these questions and so many more. Funny, interesting, and always understandable, this book is for anyone—age 5 to 105—who has ever wondered how things work, and why.

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TROUBLEMAKER: SURVIVING HOLLYWOOD AND SCIENTOLOGY

By Leah Remini

Leah Remini has never been the type to hold her tongue.

That willingness to speak her mind, stand her ground, and rattle the occasional cage has enabled this tough-talking girl from Brooklyn to forge an enduring and successful career in Hollywood. But being a troublemaker has come at a cost. That was never more evident than in 2013, when Remini loudly and publicly broke with the Church of Scientology. Now, in this frank, funny, poignant memoir, the former King of Queens star opens up about that experience for the first time, revealing the in-depth details of her painful split with the church and its controversial practices. When she began to raise questions about some of the church’s actions, she was declared by the church to be a threat to their organization and therefore a “Suppressive Person,” and as a result, all of her fellow parishioners— including members of her own family—were told to disconnect from her. Forever.

Bold, brash and bravely confessional, Troublemaker chronicles Leah Remini’s remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, both for herself and for her family.

TOM CLANCY COMMANDER IN CHIEF

BOYS IN THE TREES:A MEMOIR

When Russian President Valeri Volodin’s ambitions are foiled in Dagestan, he faces a difficult choice. The oligarchs who support him expect a constant flow of graft, but with energy prices cratering, the Russian economy sputters to a virtual halt. Unable to grow the Russian market at home, his hold on power relies on expansion abroad—a plan that has been thwarted by the United States in the past.

But this time Volodin has determined that an indirect approach is the best. A floating natural gas facility in Lithuania is blown up. A Venezuelan prosecutor is assassinated.

A devastating attack on a Russian troop train kills dozens. A chaotic world is the best camouflage for a series of seemingly unrelated attacks.

Only one man recognizes an ominous pattern in the reports of terror from around the globe. U.S. President Jack Ryan sees a guiding hand in the worldwide chaos, but before he can act he needs proof. While his intelligence agencies race to uncover the truth behind the attacks, the President struggles to unite a fractious and distrustful coalition of Western nations against the schemes of the Russian dictator.

Simon’s memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, her musical debut as half of The Simon Sisters performing folk songs with her sister Lucy in Greenwich Village, to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top 40 hits, including the #1 song “You’re So Vain.”

She was the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, for her song “Let the River Run” from the movie Working Girl. The memoir recalls a childhood enriched by music and culture, but also one shrouded in secrets that would eventually tear her family apart. Simon brilliantly captures moments of creative inspiration, the sparks of songs, and the stories behind writing “Anticipation” and “We Have No Secrets” among many others. Romantic entanglements with some of the most famous men of the day fueled her confessional lyrics, as well as the unraveling of her storybook marriage to James Taylor.

By Mark Greaney

By Carly Simon

YEAR OF YES

By Shonda Rhimes

Before her Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes was an expert at declining invitations others would leap to accept. With three children at home and three hit television shows on TV, it was easy to say that she was simply too busy. But in truth, she was also afraid.

Afraid of cocktail party faux pas like chucking a chicken bone across a room; petrified of live television appearances where Shonda Rhimes could trip and fall and bleed out right there in front of a live studio audience; terrified of the difficult conversations that came so easily to her characters on-screen. In the before, Shonda’s introvert life revolved around burying herself in work, snuggling her children and comforting herself with food. And then, on Thanksgiving 2013, Shonda’s sister muttered something that was both a wake up and a call to arms: You never say yes to anything. The comment sat like a grenade, until it detonated. Then Shonda, the youngest of six children from a supremely competitive family, knew she had to embrace the challenge: for one year, she would say YES to everything that scared her.

Source: www.amazon.co.uk

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UAE Watch STANDARD CHARTERED DUBAI MARATHON 2016 - 22nd January 2016 Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, this event is considered as one of the first sporting events on the city’s calendar, occurring this time in early January and taking advantage of the cooler winter temperatures.

The Dubai Marathon, id getting bigger and better every year, attracting many local and global sponsors.

The race is a major attraction that many people come to watch and support the runners, while many of the 10km and 3km participants run to raise money for local and international charities. The prize money for the winners go from USD 8,000 to USD 200,000! There will be three races to participate in: The 42km race at 7am which is open to only 18 years and older runners, the 10km at 7:15am run which is open to 15 years and older runners and the 3km at 11am run which is open to all.

For more information, including registration, visit www.dubaimarathon.org.

DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL 2016 - 1st January 2016-1st February 2016 Celebrating its 21st anniversary in 2016, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is the largest shopping and entertainment extravaganza in the Middle East. The shopping obsession peaks each year in January during Dubai Shopping Festival, the longest running festival of its kind. Along with unbeatable deals, DSF is home to Guinness World Records, celebrity performances and plenty of amazing events to celebrate the Emirate’s favorite pastime. From fashion flash mobs to live raffle drawings, there’s an event for everyone during DSF 2016.

Watch The Dubai Mall’s famous skating rink transform into a runway at Fashion On Ice or search for one-of-a-kind gifts from local and international designers at Market Outside The Box. And don’t forget one of the hallmarks of DSF—the fireworks. This year includes shows across two locations in Dubai. Whether you’re exploring the old souks or the grandiose modern malls, there are plenty of ways to save and win during DSF. Start by downloading the new #MyDSF 2016 Offers app for full access to all the amazing deals throughout the festival. Or try your luck at one of the daily raffles with prizes that include cash and even cars.

For full details, visit www.visitdubai.com.

DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - 6th January 2016-9th January 2016 Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the award winning and original smash hit Broadway musical, is coming to Dubai for the very first time! This elaborate theatrical production will come to life on stage at the Dubai World Trade Centre during DSF 2016. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film, this eye-popping spectacle has won the hearts of over 35 million people worldwide. This classic musical love story is filled with unforgettable characters, lavish sets and costumes, and dazzling production numbers including “Be Our Guest” and the beloved title song. Experience the romance and enchantment of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast!

For information and ticket bookings, visit their Facebook page: alchemyprojectUAE.

THE AFFORDABLE HOME SHOW - 21st January 2016-23rd January 2016 The Affordable Home Show is the first and only family exhibition about affordable housing in Dubai.

This show is a gathering of the best offers and packaged discounts in affordable homes, financing, insurance, home products, home appliances, home furnishings, affordable art and leisure and lifestyle, landscaping, and everything in between. Exhibitors and service providers can market and sell their new developments, products and offering to a vibrant crowd of families and young Dubai residents. The shift towards affordability is clear, widely encouraged, and is here to stay.

Check out details of The Affordable Home Show online at www.affordablehomeshow.ae.

Source: http://www.dubaicalendar.ae/ 146

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bazaar checks it out FCA’S LATEST REVEALS MAKE HUGE IMPACT AT 2015 DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTORSHOW FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) made a huge impact at the 2015 Dubai International Motorshow, attracting huge crowds and high levels of interest with one global reveal, two regional reveals and show cars specially created for the event alongside a complete display of the full, expanded product line-up. “We were delighted with the high levels of interest in our brands and models at the show,” said Marco Tronchi, CEO & Managing Director of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Middle East Regional Office. “Over 800 solid leads were collected during the event, so it’s fair to say that we view our participation as a success.” The model that generated most excitement was the extraordinary all-new 510hp Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Being shown for the first time anywhere in the world outside Europe, many journalists said that it was their favourite car at the show this year and the one that they would most like to drive home. “The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, inspired by Ferrari technology, sees a new page being written in 2015 for the brand that never ceases to surprise,” said Fabrizio Curci, Head of the Alfa Romeo brand, EMEA. “This stunning new model combines the past, present and future and is one of the most brilliant examples of Alfa Romeo’s automobile excellence.” The show also saw the global reveal of Fullback, the Fiat Professional brand’s new 1-ton pick up, which completes its strong line-up of affordable, highly dependable light commercial vehicles that also includes the award-winning Fiorino, Ducato and Doblo. “This was a highly strategic launch, and the new Fullback will definitely play a leading role in its segment thanks to its winning characteristics - robust construction and reliability,” said Domenico Gostoli, Head Of The Fiat Professional brand, EMEA. “This unrivalled work hero is the result of understanding the actual needs of professional customers but it’s also perfectly at ease when used in everyday life and leisure, thanks to its great versatility.” The third reveal saw the first regional showing of FCA’s latest C-segment sedan, the Fiat Tipo, described by Fabrizio Cordoni, FCA’s Head of Sales, EMEA, as “a car born to be a sedan, offering a unique combination of comfort, efficiency and technology, with the added touch of exclusive Italian design that delivers a quality vehicle with the proportions of a pure sedan.”

Visit Fiat in Kuwait at their Al Rai showroom, on the 4th ring road, or call them on 1885 500.

DODGE CHARGER RECEIVES ALG’S 2016 RESIDUAL VALUE AWARD For the second year in a row, the Dodge Charger has earned the prestigious Residual Value Award in the “Full-size Car” category from ALG, the industry benchmark for residual values and depreciation data. For Dodge, it’s not enough to design and engineer the 2016 Charger as the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world. Instead, Dodge continues to build on the brand’s promise and deliver a lineup of Charger models with world-class power, efficiency, technology, authentic materials and standout styling all to make America’s only four-door muscle car one of the hottest and most desirable sedans available today. “Striking a delicate balance between traditional sedan and muscle car, the Dodge Charger represents shifting trends in the full-size segment,” said Eric Lyman, Vice President of Industry Insights for ALG. “A wide range of powertrain and comfort features ensures there is a perfect Charger for every personality, from cruising in style to tearing up the Roods.” ALG recognizes 26 vehicles with segment awards, along with two brands representing the mainstream and premium sectors of the industry. This year’s awards are based on 2016 model-year vehicles. Award winners are determined through careful study of the competition in each segment, historical vehicle performance and industry trends. Vehicle quality, production levels relative to demand and pricing and marketing strategies represent key factors that impact ALG’s residual value forecasts.

“The back-to-back ALG Residual Value Award is a testament to the entire Dodge team’s commitment to designing and engineering America’s most exciting performance sedan,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Car Brands - Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA North America. “This accolade also reinforces our position that customers want unique vehicles like the Dodge Charger, performance vehicles that break the pattern from other sedans on the road.” The Dodge Charger lineup - available now at all MBMC showrooms in Kuwait - offers extensive performance-driven powertrains, the latest technology under the hood and behind the wheel, which builds on the brand’s promise to deliver American performance machines with world-class power, efficiency, technology, authentic materials and standout styling. “The innovative TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission is standard on every Dodge Charger model, from the SE right through to the SRT Hellcat,” said Maher Abu-Shaaban, Assistant General Manager - Sales and Marketing of Al Mulla & Behbehani Motor Co. (MBMC), the sole distributor of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram and Mopar®in Kuwait.

Visit Dodge in Kuwait at their Al Rai showroom, on the 4th ring road, or call them on 1885 500.

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THE PORSCHE ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS 2016 The Porsche Road Safety Program for Schools has been developed in support of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Global Decade of Action (2011-2021) on Road and Traffic Safety and has been supported by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Education. Now in its fourth year, a new and exciting partnership between Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company and the Kuwait Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum has been established to provide state of the art facilities and a new educational program for 2016. This partnership represents the commitment by Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company and the Historic, Vintage & Classic Car Museum to provide a high quality educational experience which allows the simulation of real-life driving scenarios. Students will participate in a practical, fun filled and informative visit to the Car Museum City where they are introduced to essential traffic and road safety skills. To date, over 30,000 young children have participated in the Porsche Road Safety Program from schools throughout Kuwait, both government and private, and a further 10,000 young children are expected to attend during 2016. Road accidents are the biggest single cause of accidental injury amongst children, comprising almost half of all fatalities. By encouraging teachers and parents to be involved and including road safety education on a regular basis, children will gain a better understanding of keeping safe. The earlier children begin to learn this, the better chance we have of keeping them safe. A curriculum guide will be presented to all participating schools and nurseries, enabling the integration of road safety education within existing curriculum topics and providing continuous reinforcement of the ‘Golden Rules’ of road safety. Research shows that young children form attitudes that will shape their behavior and future choices later in life. Through the Porsche Road Safety program we are able to target children during these formative years, to help them think about driving responsibly and staying safe on the roads from a young age, which can have a direct impact on their future behavior. Mike Finn, the Program Director commented, “Feedback from participating schools and parents has confirmed that students attending the program are learning to be responsible drivers, passengers and pedestrians and have shared their learning experience with adult drivers and other family members. Many parents have been delighted to inform us that their children now insist on wearing a seat belt and are following the ‘Golden Rules’ of road safety.”

Visit the Porsche Center in Al Rai, on the 4th ring road. Call them on 1870 870.

RUNQ8 GARNERS GREAT SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN’S REHABILITATION WITH 1,800 PARTICIPANTS RunQ8, one of Kuwait’s most prominent charity sporting events, had yet another successful year with around 1,800 people taking part in the fifth edition of the race. Organized by the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI), the annual race took place on the morning of November 28th at Marina Crescent. RunQ8 aims to raise awareness and funds to support the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC), FSRI’s non-profit pediatrics facility, providing specialized and multi-disciplinary treatment and support for children with disabilities. The 10km race proved to be an exciting challenge for the competitive athletes and avid runners amongst the participants, with the fastest runner completing the race in less than 35 minutes. Wendy Ulrich came in first in the women’s division, with Abigail Bartholomew and Nadya Mayahi rounding up the top 3 in that category, in second and third place respectively.

Amongst the male participants, Greg Ziembinski nabbed first place followed by Mohammed Abdullah and then Kedir Amino Abdo. As for the youth category, Helga Quint came in first amongst females, with Abdulmohsen Al-Ali placing first amongst the male participants.

Keep up to date with Run Q8 events at www.runq8.org.

OOREDOO WINS TWO TROPHIES AT REGIONAL COMMUNICATION AWARD Ooredoo Kuwait’s Corporate Communications Department has been recognized for excellence multiple times at the Middle East Public Relations Awards which took place in Dubai last week. The Kuwait arm of the international Ooredoo Group received awards for its Internal Communications department, and one of its young communicators was honored for outstanding performance.

Mijbil Alayoub, Director of Corporate Communications at Ooredoo Kuwait said: “We are deeply honored to have been recognized by our peers at the Middle East PR Association. These awards celebrate the hard work of the entire team, following the rebranding of Ooredoo Kuwait. We have been inspired by the vision of our CEO, and by the Ooredoo Group and our motivation to continue to push the boundaries has been reinforced.” Ooredoo Kuwait received the Bronze Award in the Employee Engagement category and was collected by Fajer Al Matrouk, PR and Internal Communications Executive. The Internal Communications team has recently relaunched the intranet website in addition to an employeeexclusive Instagram account, to keep employees engaged in all campaigns and activities internally. Ooredoo Social Media executive Yasser Moahammad was recognized as an Outstanding Young Communicator and was presented an award by David Tully, a Senior Professor from Middlesex University in Dubai which sponsored the category.

Find out more about Ooredoo and their services at www.ooredoo.com.kw.

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FORGET CHRIS HEMSWORTH — THE WHALE IS THE TRUE STAR OF ‘IN THE HEART OF THE SEA’

By Rebecca Keegan

It takes a special kind of mammal to make audiences root against Chris Hemsworth. Moby, the computergenerated whale in Ron Howard’s adventure epic In the Heart of the Sea, is just such a creature.

Based on the true whaling disaster story that inspired Herman Melville’s classic 19th century novel Moby-Dick, In the Heart of the Sea depicts the fearsome white sperm whale at the center of the tale as he has never appeared on-screen before: in photo-real form, with closeups and character-revealing shots executed by artists at the London-based visual effects house Double Negative.

“Ron didn’t want Moby to be a monster, a predator,” said Jody Johnson, visual effects supervisor for the film, which opened in second place at the weekend box office with an estimated $11 million (KD 3.3 million) in domestic ticket sales. “Whaling was a pretty barbaric ravaging of natural resources, and Moby was to be an elemental force awakened by this wrongdoing.”

An adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 nonfiction book, In the Heart of the Sea follows the men on the Nantucket whaling ship Essex in 1820 as they are attacked by a massive sperm whale that rams their vessel and leaves them shipwrecked in the South Pacific for 90 days.

The beset crew includes capable first mate Owen Chase (Hemsworth), reckless captain George Pollard Jr. (Benjamin Walker), loyal second mate Matthew Joy (Cillian Murphy) and naive cabin boy Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland). The script by Charles Leavitt, from a story by Leavitt, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, unfolds via a framing device, as decades later a haunted, adult

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Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) relays the tale to a young Melville (Ben Whishaw).

In frightening action sequences that believably pit man against nature, Howard shows the Essex crew on the hunt, harpooning whales from small boats, dragged along the choppy sea until the animal is exhausted. Other sequences convey the majesty of the mammals, such as through aerial shots that show their size relative to that of the Essex, and one that reveals dozens of pods of whales converging in the South Pacific like buffalo running on the Great Plains.

For the creation of the whale, Howard would rely on the Double Negative artists to help develop a nuanced, motivated animal character. The filmmaker first brought up the movie concept to Johnson on the set of their 2013 car racing drama, Rush, which starred Hemsworth as Formula One driver James Hunt and which relied on precisely chosen digital effects to re-create period race tracks and dangerous stunts and crashes. “The last two movies have been really revealing to me in terms of the way digital technology can be used to create total immersion,” Howard said.

The movie depicts the whaling industry as a rapacious one that irreparably thins populations to keep oil lamps lighted, and Moby is bent on avenging the loss. “Moby needed to look real and believable, but we also needed to get the message across,” Johnson said. “It’s difficult to do with a whale, because whales don’t talk, they don’t emote.

It was a challenge to develop a character like that without anthropomorphizing it.”

Though the story of “Moby-Dick” has appeared on-screen countless times, including the 1926 silent film “The Sea Beast,” starring John Barrymore, a 1956 John Huston version starring Gregory Peck and a 1998 TV project starring Patrick Stewart, In the Heart of the Sea is

the first to use such advanced digital tools in its storytelling. As the artists were designing Moby, they consulted a biologist who advised them on the sperm whale’s distinctive silhouette. After experimenting with the look of albino whales, they determined that the effect on-screen looked too fantastical and ghostly and decided instead that Moby’s color would come from a skin condition where molting had left behind white patches.

“We wanted to give Moby some history and suggest that he’d been out there protecting the pups,” Johnson said. “He’s battle-scarred.”

Moby’s massive eyes posed another quandary in their simplicity. “A sperm whale’s eye is a black orb,” Johnson said. “You have to bring out the intricacies of the eye in terms of the movement to allow him to emote. We tried different (camera) angles to convey the ideas of any particular scene.”

In one crucial scene that builds up to Moby attacking the ship, the whalers are shown harpooning a mother and calf. “We hear the banging and banging and banging,” Johnson said. “Out of the depths, here comes Moby. We see a flashing moment in his eyes.” Another challenge was how to convey a sense of panic among the sperm whales, which the filmmakers accomplished by showing dozens of the creatures grouping into defensive formations. “Nature was the inspiration,” Johnson said. “Real life is richer and more exciting than anything you can make up.”

One thing Howard did not ask his crew to do was observe or film any whales in the wild, choosing instead to focus on footage shot by marine filmmaker Howard Hall as reference. “Ron was pretty keen not to disturb any whales,” Johnson said. “He thought that enough people had been to film them before and we didn’t need to.”

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LUCKY STRIKE SPY CAMERA

It never did see active duty, but that doesn’t make this Lucky Strike Spy Camera any less desirable.

Crafted for the U.S. Signal Corps around 1950 and one of only two ever made, it was built to fit inside the wrapper from a pack of Lucky Strikes, and has a f/2.7 17.5mm Sonnar-type lens, set behind a fourspeed focal plane shutter. You could take up to 18 exposures per roll of 16mm film, and to get the most out of them, the camera was accompanied by light meter masquerading as an Ohio Safety match box.

Get your exercise done at home without making it look like a Planet Fitness with the Hock Design Diskus Dumbbell Set. The set includes six pairs of dumbbells in weights ranging from 10-20kg, or roughly 22 to 44 pounds, crafted from 303 nonreactive stainless steel. They rest on a rack made from sustainably-grown solid walnut with a aluminum frame for added support and safeglide stainless shelves to keep your fingers from getting smashed.

EXOSUIT

COBALT VALKYRIE PERSONAL AIRCRAFT

PROJECT X DS8 ROLEX DAYTONA WATCH

Mixing a minimal design with electric convenience, the Me Scooter is an ideal urban transport. Its electric motor helps it reach speeds of up to 28 mph, while the battery — which can be removed for more convenient charging — offers a range of over 50 miles on a single charge. Thanks to a high-tech frame that’s made from a patented thermosetting material called Sheet Moulding Compound, the entire thing weighs less than 200 pounds, battery included, and while it’s initially available in white or black, its removable covers mean you can change colors on a whim.

Like a spacesuit meant for use under the sea, the Exosuit gives you the ability to explore the water while maintaining your dexterity. It has an onboard atmospheric system that maintains the same pressure as the surface all the way down to its maximum operating depth of 1,000 feet. It’s made from a strong aluminum alloy, using a unique rotary joint that allows it to bend, and it also has up to eight thrusters for propulsion, dual redundant oxygen systems with a 50 hour capacity.

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Inspired by classic fighter jets and powered by a twin-turbo piston engine creating 350 hp, the Cobalt Valkyrie Personal Aircraft is both an incredibly stylish and capable machine. The interior is decked out with hand-stitched leather seats, custom trim, and can hold up to five people while providing ample cargo room. The world’s largest one-piece canopy offers excellent visibility, the landing gear retract to help with control and aerodynamics, and both the “canard” design with forewing and optional airframe parachute provide piece of mind in case of a mechanical malfunction. Available in a range of finishes.

HOCK DESIGN DISKUS DUMBBELL SET

Inspired by the iconic Paul Newman Daytona, the Project X DS8 Rolex Daytona Watch is as close as you can come without tracking down an original. It has the same three-color black dial found on those early ‘70s models, all the way down to the modified sub-dials and Rolex Cosmograph Oyster text. It also ships with two different bezels — the original steel bezel, and a custom black bakelite bezel — giving you two looks with one watch, matching both the 6263 & 6265 models. Limited to just 28 examples.

www.uncrate.com

taste q8

CAN YOU #ABBREVE IT? THE FUN, NEW (LAZY) WAY TO COMMUNICATE

By bazaar staff

In a fast-paced world like the one we live in today, it’s getting more difficult to say (or text) what we’re feeling, and let’s face it, our vocabulary list is revolutionizing with snappy slang. Abbreviations are a sassy and stylish way to get your point across, while adding some humor into the mix. We’ve come up with ten essential #abbreves that will stay in your vocabulary for life. WARNING: It gets kinda girly. #GHD: Good Hair Day You know those days when you just really love your hair? It’s doing everything you want it to and does not look like something died on your head the first thing in the morning. #SD: Skinny Day This usually happens the morning after you’ve skipped dinner and have avoided eating everything amazing, replacing your diet with foods that won’t make you feel like crap. When someone is having an SD, even the biggest of bellies will feel as though their hipbones are protruding beneath the waistband of their jeans! #FD: Fat Day The COMPLETE opposite of “SD”, this happens right after eating heavy, cheesy pizza. Different body sizes and comfort levels aside, no one likes being bloated. It’s uncomfortable, no matter what your body type is, and sometimes you want to scream out “I’m having SUCH an FD.” #POD- Pig Out Day Also known as “Cheat Day” or “Fat Friday”, this is when you want nothing more than to eat everything that’s bad for you. How to use?

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“You guys… let’s have a POD, you guys.” Johnny Rockets magically happens 20 minutes later.

Warning: FDs are likely to occur after PODs. #UD: Ugly Day For those days where you literally don’t care about what you look like and you feel like you crawled out of a swamp and threw on the first pair of sweats you could find. And they were probably on the floor. Please note that it is NEVER cool to tell anyone they’re having a UD. #OMD: Obvious Mustache Day Sisters, gather ye round. When you’ve missed your bi-monthly threading appointment, or are in between laser sessions and the shadow above your lips is so noticeable, you feel like Groucho Marx. Remember that true friends always tell each other when they’re having OMDs! #PMs- Pretty Moments Your friends will love this one. You know when you glance at your best gal pal for a sec and you realize her skin looks awesome and her hair has this sudden magic sheen to it? Yeah, that’s a PM. Just you TRY to tell your bestie she’s having PMs without her face breaking into a happy smile. #GOD- Good Outfit Day From the abbreviations hall of fame, the GOD is the best feel-good abbreviation you can give anyone or hear. Who doesn’t love to receive positive feedback regarding their outfit? #OMG- Original Mean Girls What you and your friends say about yourselves after you digest the conversation you just had about four other girls.

#NAYP- Nobody Asked You Patrice Inspired by the beloved Robin Scherbatsky of How I Met Your Mother, “NAYP” (pronounced as it sounds) is an acronym dedicated to brown-nosing, persistent, coworkers who give their opinion even when you don’t want it. Have fun with this one. Note that Patrice can be substituted to Bedour for a more culturally familiar feel, thus making the acronym “NAYB”. #basicbedour- A way of life Your comfiest jeans and your favorite simple top with killer wedges or slip-on loafers, if weather permits. Colder temperatures mean ankle boots and oversized sweaters – simple, not flashy, classic and – well – basic. Don’t forget to tie a chunk of your hair into a samurai top-knot and pair the overall look with a to-go cup of insertfavorite-Starbucks-beverage. #NITM- Not in the Mood (Mali 5ilg) Another acronym, (pronounced NIT-tim), ideal for when you’re genuinely not in the mood to do something and you want it to go away- “Omg guys, I’m so NITM to go to work”. Or “I’m so NITM to hang out with Patrice tonight.” #Deb/Debbie/Debutante/DeborahTo act desperate Someone who’s so desperate you can’t even.

(Disclaimer: This isn’t based on anyone we know named Deborah – we at bazaar collectively don’t know anybody by that name.) #Sashims – Sashimi Pronounced sashEEms: the cooler way to say sashimi. If anyone shames you for doing this, they’re just hating.

How to use: “Can you get me a sashims?” Or, “I want sashims.”

russel peters

bookworms

CELEBRATIONS BACK IN TIME The year is 1997 – or is it?

By the bookish bazaarites of 2016

Confused? We don’t blame you! Yes, it is in fact 2016 – HAPPY NEW YEAR – but we’ve decided to take a little trip down memory lane and venture into the year of all-good-thingspublished: 1997. The Twentieth Century, 1997 to be exact, left us with incredible musical hits, cinematic classics, and more – it was also the year bazaar was conceived. So we welcome you to our very special 200th Edition special of bookworms, your definitive destination for all things literary – well, at least we like to think it is. So to celebrate all the awesome reads published in 1997, let’s take a look at some of the literary works that inspired us.

Since its release in 1997, Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie has garnered much acclaim and countless awards. This is largely due to the simple writing style and contemplation of a tangible and relatable situation. Much like this memoir of Albom’s cherished professor, the author himself has a certain depth to his character that appears through his writing as well as his versatility as an ex-sports journalist. This is certainly an example of a book that will change your life and impact you for the better. I

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have yet to happen upon a book more contemplative and reflective of life itself.

As huge fans of Phillip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials, we had to include his second installment to this series. The Subtle Knife gave us the opportunity to step back into Lyra’s world and explore the beautiful bonds of friendship in a newfound realm. Taking us on the epic rollercoaster of emotions Pullman effortlessly writes, we’re thrown amidst a strange plane of thought where fantasy and reality might very well overlap. Ever so subtly, he writes and rewrites the rules of the worlds to give us a dangerously clever weapon that is the knife that can cut through all of space and time.

And in one bazaarite’s not-so-humble opinion, Neil Gaiman aka the King of Fantasy published his first stand-alone novel, the ineffable Neverwhere. A book we had shamelessly dubbed as London’s ultimate guidebook, we stand by it to the very end. Because ‘London Below’ is very literal, we bid you a simple warning – read this book after you visit London, for it will never be the same again. Be wise young bookling, for the words in this novel are law, and laws are taken far too literally in London Below. Welcoming

you into the world of the forgotten, Neverwhere came to us in 1997 and is yet to falter in intensity.

A fictional memoir captivated our world back in 1997 when Arthur Golden published his debut novel, Memoirs of a Geisha. With an almost flawless air of authenticity, Golden tells us about life through a celebrated Japanese geisha’s eyes. Dating to pre and post World War II, we’re taken on an excursion to find out what it truly means to be a beautifully made-up geisha.

An entirely fiction recollection, Memoirs of a Geisha is a wonderful and telling tale of beauty and power.

No collection is complete without the series that brought the world together. In our final words, we would like to remind you all that the very first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (that’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to all you American version kids), was published in 1997. J.K. Rowling, we salute you. Rejoice in the glory that our humble publication and this epic series came to life in the same year!

Enjoy the new year and remember, read all the books!

Image provide by @Austen Squarepants through his account on www.flickr.com.

SBX

bazaar a la mode GUCCI TIMEPIECES & JEWELRY OPENS A NEW SHOP-IN-SHOP AT HARVEY NICHOLS KUWAIT Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry is pleased to announce the opening of its latest shop-in-shop concept which is located at Harvey Nichols, Grand Avenue, The Avenues in Kuwait. This prestigious new setting is exclusively dedicated to the House’s timepieces and jewelry, which offer a luxurious palette of precious collections and sophisticated design. Customers will find the latest novelties including the Diamantissima Collection showcasing the iconic diamante pattern that has inspired this line and the Gucci Dive that features the traditional diver aesthetic with its unidirectional rotating bezel and strong sports allure. These pieces are the highest manifestation of Gucci’s longstanding tradition of personalized luxury, honoring artisanal skills whilst pushing forward the boundaries of modern design.

This new store is the largest Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry in Kuwait and offers an area reserved for private presentations, providing clients with the highest level of customer service and attention.

Harvey Nichols Kuwait is located at Grand Avenue – The Avenues. You can get social with Harvey Nichols Kuwait by following them on Facebook.com/HarveyNicholsKuwait and Instagram @HarveyNicholsKuwait. For more information about Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry, please visit www.gucci.com.

PBTEEN DEBUTS EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY COLLECTION The PBteen winter collection will create a fun winter make-over for every room with its holistic pairing approach and integration of charming pieces into everyday teen life. This holiday season is all about high-quality faux fur. The stylish, warm and comfortable boot-style flurry slippers and cuddly stuffed animals are designed to celebrate this coming winter. The collection is influenced by today’s high fashion touch points, such as the plaid and flannel designing on the pajamas. The Dr. Seuss artwork prints and velvety super-warm faux fur hat, with a flip-up brim and fluffy ear flaps, will add a touch of play. The collection becomes even more relevant to today’s teens with contemporary must-haves such as portable speakers and antitangle smart design ear phones. PBTeen is thrilled to share cool and quirky pieces with Peanuts fans by paying homage to the iconic comics through Snoopy and Woodstock’s artworks. An excellent way to get teens organized is with sweet treat jewelry holders that come shaped as ice creams and lollipops. To add more sweetness to the room, throw in PBTeen’s favorite soda pop collection with “Stay Sweet Gumball”, “Cupcake” & “Treat Yourself” accents on embellished pillows.

Pottery Barn Teen is located in The Avenues mall. For more information on Pottery Barn Teen products, visit www.pbteen.com.

HABCHI & CHALHOUB CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THE LATEST GEOX STORE Geox, an Italian footwear brand that is best known for combining innovative technology with premium design and fashion, continues its retail expansion in Kuwait by opening a new boutique at the Promenade Mall. The 96.6 sq. feet store houses the latest collections of fashionable footwear for men, women and children as well as an extensive range of the Geox clothing collection. With its sleek and minimalistic design, the contemporary retail space represents the Italian style and design that are synonymous with the brand. With a growing portfolio of 19 stores across the GCC region including three boutiques in Kuwait, Geox continues to attract regional consumers with its fashionable yet highly practical designs. Geox was founded in 1995 by Mario Moletti Polegato, who revolutionized the footwear sector by inventing and parenting a new technology which makes rubber bottom sole shoes breathable. Thanks to his invention, Mario Moretti Polegato has created one of the strongest market player in the footwear sector.

For more information on Geox and their ranges, visit www.geox.com.

H&M BABY AND KIDS FABULOUS FASHION Cozy and playful fashion define H&M baby and kids collection this winter! The kids collection at H&M this season is all about a mix of fun and playful pieces that combine the best of fashion and premium quality. There’s a focus on fabrics such as denim, soft wool, cotton and jersey. There are colorful skirts and pastel dresses for a playful day, as well as fun prints and a mixture of patterns to put you in the festive mood! Dress your kids in bright colors that suit their characters and satisfy a little one’s sugar cravings with these sweet styles from the H&M baby and kids fashion collection. With the H&M kids fabulous fashion, your children will be stepping into winter in a fun-loving style!

H&M have 10 locations across Kuwait. To find your nearest store, visit www.hm.com/kw.

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AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS LATEST LAYDOWNS Wrap up warm for those dry desert days! American Eagle Outfitters Holiday collection emulates authentic American spirit with Southwestern style, warm hues and Navajo prints. Flex Denim keeps you comfortable this season. For guys, AEO’s revolutionary denim offers three levels of stretch; Core, Active and Extreme. Whether your keep it cool outdoors, hike in the hills or browse the malls for gifts – AEO Flex denim offers a level for you in all of your favorite washes and styles. For girls, The blanket coat is an essential for dry desert days offering effortless style. The on-trend Mohawk print in a warm Southwestern palette adds a pop of color to the simplest of outfits. Wear with a classic pair of black sateen jeans, figure fit basic long sleeve tee, ankle boots and hat.

You can visit the American Eagle store in The Avenues – Phase 3. Check them out online at www.ae.com.

REVO DEBUTS VISION OVER VISIBILITY SUNGLASS COLLECTION IN COLLABORATION WITH BONO Eyewear brand Revo has debuted a new capsule collection of sunglasses in collaboration with U2 lead singer and activist Bono as part of the “Buy Vision, Give Sight” campaign to prevent vision impairment and blindness in more than 5 million people by 2020. Revo will donate $10 (KD 3) from the sale of every pair of Revo sunglasses, including Bono’s “Vision over Visibility” collection, up to a total of $10 million (KD 3 million) to the “Buy Vision, Give Sight” initiative. These funds will go to the Brien Holden Vision Institute who work around the world to provide eye care to those who cannot access or afford it. “This is personal for me. I’ve been dealing with glaucoma for 20 years,” says Bono. “The Brien Holden Vision Institute is leading the fight to end the kind of blindness and vision problems that can be prevented or cured. They now have an ally in Revo, and me.” He goes on to explain that without the medical care he has received, he would be blind. An estimated 625 million people worldwide are blind or vision impaired simply because they cannot afford, or access basic eye exams and a pair of glasses. According to the Brien Holden Vision Institute, almost 75 percent of all vision impairments can be prevented or cured with proper access to preventative eye care and treatment. A leader in expanding access to eye care in the developing world, Brien Holden Vision Institute will use the funds to provide eye care services, including eye tests and prescription glasses, and to build sustainable eye care services where they currently do not exist by training local people to provide eye care and detect eye diseases. “The scope of the problem is huge, but the path to progress is also in plain sight. We know we can end vision impairment and unnecessary blindness for millions of people. We also know that you can help,” says Bono. The Vision over Visibility collection features Revo’s pioneering lens technology and includes five frame styles inspired by Bono.

Learn more online by visiting www.revo.com/visionovervisibility. The Vision over Visibility collection is available exclusively from International Optique. For more information contact International Optique on 2571 4007/9723 4753, www.intoptic.com , info@intoptic.com or Instagram: @intoptique.

TAG HEUER SIGNS THE RED BULL RACING FORMULA 1 TEAMJEAN Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH Watch Division, and Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, are especially proud to announce that TAG Heuer is becoming the Official Timekeeper, Official Watch and Team Performance Partner of Red Bull Racing. As of the coming Formula 1 racing season, TAG Heuer will be part of the team designation – a historic premiere for a watchmaking brand in the world of F1. Red Bull Racing are Quadruple Double World Champions, having won both the FIA Formula One Constructors’ and Drivers’ World Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. It is Red Bull Racing’s unorthodox approach to the sport and to entertainment which appealed to TAG Heuer, one which is perfectly in line with the watch brand’s new marketing strategy. Beyond the visibility provided by the direct association with the name of the team across communications, rankings, TV broadcasts, and the traditional branding permanently sported by the team throughout the racing season, TAG Heuer will also have a presence at the Spielberg circuit, the Red Bull Ring, in Austria and the Team’s headquarters in Milton Keynes.

To learn about Red Bull products and events, visit www.redbull.com and for more on Tag Heuer, visit www.tagheuer.com.

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bazaar scopes what’s your sign?

LIBRA SEP 23 – OCT 22

GEMINI MAY 21 – JUN 21

Tormented by yet another difficult decision?

Instead of weighing the pros and cons over and over again, follow your heart. It’s where you’ll end up anyway, so why waste time? Just a few kind words will do wonders for a down-in-thedumps friend. Make the effort. Be careful of what you say.

An unexpected turn of events early in the month disrupts long-standing plans. Although this may be frustrating, it will be something you have to do.

Use exercise as a way to stave off frustrations. A Libra friend offers words of encouragement. Use any free time to promote self-awareness.

SCORPIO OCT 23 – NOV 22

Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to business. Know your value and be sure to present it in a beautifully wrapped package. You owe it to yourself. Discipline is the key to reaching fitness goals. A Leo has an unexpected surprise later in the month. A love relationship blossoms.

Overstepping your bounds in a friendship could lead to hard feelings. Be aware of what you say and how you say it. An old friend comes to you for support on a personal matter. Try to put yourself in his or her place before offering advice. Healthrelated problems need to be addressed.

AQUARIUSJAN 20 – FEB 18 A difference of opinion with family could cause a great deal of tension. With some diplomacy on your part, you can keep the peace while still holding your argument. An adventurous mood could lead you to an interesting place this month. Don’t be afraid to go exploring.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 – DEC 21 A problem now will be history by next month, so don’t let it get to you. A friendship with an Aquarius may be under some strain. Do your best to clear the air as soon as possible. Why do you hide from lasting love when it’s beating down your door?

Take a chance and you will be better for it.

CANCER JUN 22 – JUL 22

LEO JUL 23 – AUG 22 Leos tend to get what they want more easily than most other members of the zodiac. Your charms are usually hard to resist – usually, but not this month.

Forget about using manipulative tricks and try a down-to-earth approach – especially if you’re dealing with Scorpio.

VIRGO AUG 23 – SEP 22 You may have to choose between helping a friend and helping yourself. Unless you’re one of the more innovative Virgos out there, you probably won’t find a reasonable compromise. At work, make use of downtime in a productive way. Plan for busier times ahead.

CAPRICORN DEC 22 – JAN 19 It will take a lot of convincing to get what you want in a business deal. Think creatively and you may get your way. Someone you thought of as a friend will do something to disappoint you. Before you get too upset, try to identify the root of the problem. It may be deeper than you think.

PISCES FEB 19 – MAR 20 Step back from a problem and you’ll be better able to handle it. Time to yourself is the key to peace of mind this month. Good news regarding a recent financial investment will brighten your budget. Something you’ve been wanting will now seem much more affordable. Enjoy!

ARIES MAR 21 – APR 19 A temporary change in routine gives you the diversion you’ve been craving. Take time to consider the changes you’d like to make in your life. A Pisces brings promising news this month.

A Leo’s tale of woe provides food for thought.

Soften your approach with Libra.

TAURUS APR 20 – MAY 20 Before you pass judgment on others, take a good look at yourself. Remember, everyone has his or her strengths and weaknesses – even you. And, everyone’s are different. Think about it. Watch your mouth this month or something you say could offend a close friend.

source: www.bluffton.com 160

gulf bank

jazeera airways