FEBRUARY ISSUE

February 2013 - issue # 168 b a z a a r - m a g a z i n e. c om

CADIL

LLAC

CHILLI

BEANS

AU NOM D

DE LA ROSE

ANO

OTAH

SOOQ S

SHARQ

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‫أحلى بيت‬ ‫بفرحة الكويت‬ ‫‪ 15‬فرصة للفوز‬

‫ت‪-‬ج‪2013/30/‬م‬ ‫‪Inter IKEA Systems B. V. 2013‬‬

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‫‪www.IKEA.com.kw - 18 4040 8‬‬

‫‪facebook.com/ikeakuwait‬‬ ‫‪@ikeakuwait‬‬

‫‪ikeakuwait‬‬

‫عند �سرائك بقيمة ‪ 20‬د‪.‬ك من منتجات اإيكيا‪،‬‬ ‫حت�سل على كوبون لدخول ال�سحب لربح بطاقات‬ ‫هدايا اإيكيا التي تبلغ قيمة اجلائزة الكربى فيها‬ ‫‪ 1500‬د‪.‬ك‪.‬‬

‫‪EA‬‬

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The bazaar team...

Boss Ahmed El-Adly

Yusra Ahmad R ebecca Sweetman

In 2008, desperate for change and a job where creativity and expression were commended, I turned my back on corporate life, with their dress code and tattoo and piercing regulations, and joined the bazaar team as the official “loose-ends tier”, or as Ahmed put it during our coffee interview, “chaser”. Five years later, I find myself on the precipice of the biggest change of my life; leaving bazaar to try my hand at full-time mommydom. I’m not quite sure how to walk away from bazaar; it’s been a huge part of who I am, that I’m not quite sure if I’ll ever be able to completely let go. Like I told Ahmed; I think I’m going to be like that psycho ex-girlfriend that does random drive-bys and logs onto your accounts when you’re not watching.

But, change is good, right? And from what I’ve seen thus far, mommydom is quite the adventure. So, before I leave I just wanted to say; I will never again find a job like this one. This I know. Ahmed, thank you for taking me under your wing; I have learned so much from you and I owe a lot of who I am and who I want to be to the things I’ve learned during my years with bazaar. Sima, Yazz and Kevina; hands down, the best editorial team, ever! Synergy like that is rare… to my writers, to our readers and clients, thank you for all the support over the years… This has been fun! I also want to take this chance to welcome Rebecca to the team. I know that she is going to have a blast working in bazaar, even with all the madness and chaos that we seem to thrive on!

So, one more time before I go; this issue of bazaar ushers in February in all its glory!

For Valentine’s Day, we’re bringing you endless ideas to share with your special someone. From accessories galore with a stylish alert from Goji Boutique, sweet celebrations at Magnolia Bakery, to shoe heaven at the recently opened Menbur, you’ll never be at a loss when searching for that perfect gift. When it comes to your favorite features, not to worry, we’ve included a fantastic roundup of the latest spots to dine at, and the coolest people to meet!

Business Development I hab M ok alled

Design Sumaiya AL-Shar han

Staff Writer/Social Media Yasmine El Char if

Staff Writer Kevin Smith

Communications Consultant Hala Y. Sharara

Editor A. Al-Duaij

Contributing Writers Ayesha Osman Bibi Al-Falah Deepa Pant Jaye Sonia Mrs. Hillbilly Shabana H. Shaikh Shurooq Amin Sumayyah Meehan

Photographers

Five years ago I took a chance, and it was the best decision I ever made! So, take a chance, and like we always say; dance like the photo’s not tagged, love like you’ve never been unfriended, and tweet like nobody’s following!

Khalid Al Saleh

Peace, Bubbles and Happy Reading!

Sumaiya AL Sharhan

Maha Al Asaker Rasha Othman

Printing Yusra M. Ahmad

British Industries for Printing and Packaging

LA Times Daily Star USA Today MTC International MIT Review Travel Times Hollywood Watch Slate Tribune Media Services

bazaar can be found at the following locations:

Operations

As I sit here watching the blinking cursor, trying to figure out how to start this, I realize why it is the only thing that Ahmed always leaves until the very last possible moment. It’s a lot of pressure to figure out what you actually want to share of the little voice in your head. The little voice in my head says; “Once a bazaarite, always a bazaarite.”

Syndicates and Sources

Starbucks Coffee (65 branches) BSK - Britsh School of Kuwait Cozmo - 4 branches Topshop Galleria Complex The Video Club Souk Sharq Energie Costa Café H&M Bredz Jacques Dessange Miss Sixty Airport Mall Häagen Dasz The One Café ACK (Australian College of Kuwait) AUK (American University of Kuwait) AUM (American University of Middle East) Boxhill College Marble Slab D’Lush Early Bird Café Harley Davidson Al-Kout Mall Centrepoint Café Johnny Rockets Pizza Express Al Corniche Club Kuwait Airways Oasis Club Shay W Nanaa Le PQ Cafe Boushahri Clinic Al Salam Hospital 4 x 4 Customs Ligne Roset Hard Rock Café Pilates & More Mowasat Hospital Camille Albane Dar Al Funoon I.O. Centers Cutting Edge Salon Dasman Diabetic Centre The Burger Hub Dunkin Donuts Waterlemon Café Supreme International Clinic Casper & Gambini’s Segafredo Cafe O Pao Cafe

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).

No one likes to be dumped;

recycle me, please.

facebook.com/bazaarmagazine twitter.com/bazaartweets

tel. 24610017 - fax 24610018 info@bazaar-magazine.com www.bazaar-magazine.com

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The Avenues | 360 Mall gap.com.kw

GAP

INDEX FEB ' 1 3

90

50

18

20

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INSPIRE

MEATOLOGY

MASOUD BEHBEHANI

WHAT’S TRENDING?

MAKI FUSION

One year on and still inspiring. We check back with Inspire Pure Fitness, the results based training facility, to see how they’re getting on. Meet the trainers; find out what they’ve been up to and what they’ve got in store this year.

Before starting work at the renowned Meat Co., employees are put through a rigorous training program; bazaar was invited to sit in and learn it all so we can now tell our Angus from our Wagyus, and our rumps from our T-bones!

Growing up with a motorcycle showroom as his own playground, Masoud Behbehani has grown up with a love and passion for all things fast and two-wheeled.

Learn more about the man under the helmet in this month’s Up Close & Personal.

Too many social media accounts and not enough time?

Check out our brand new page to show you what’s on, online: we’re liking, tweeting, pinning and sharing, so don’t waste an instant and start sharing with us, you might get a mention next month!

When Mohamad Zeitoun started fusing the distinct Middle Eastern flavor of olive oil with Japanese Maki, people deemed the idea insane.

Insanely delicious, that is!

Check out this restaurateur’s latest creation of the innovative olive oil caviar.

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GULFRUN 8

SPRING CHIC

What started in 2005 as a weekend getaway for a group of passionate motorheads has now become the ultimate annual motorsport event.

Promoting safe and secure auto racing—check out the GulfRun races in Bahrain!

If you’re at a loss about the must-have items for spring, or need a statement piece to complete your Valentine’s Day look, then flip over to our picks from Harvey Nichols’ latest arrivals that will leave you strutting with stylish confidence.

Porsche 9 11 Carrera 4 , p. 7 8

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MAGNOLIA BAKERY

GULF FOR GOOD

A GOJI ALERT

THE WEDDING PLANNER

RITA MAKHOUL

Credited with kick starting the cupcake craze in the 1990s and featured in Sex and the City, New York’s beloved bakery Magnolia opens its doors to Kuwait and bazaar just had to be there. Prepare for cupcakes and desserts to die for.

Find out how to start your bliss by meeting Tarek Bizri, goodwill ambassador for Gulf For Good. They organize exciting adventure challenges around the world inspiring people to do something unusual to raise money for handpicked children’s charities.

Accessorizing never looked SO good! Our favorite online fashion portal, gojiboutique, shows us how to wear the hottest accessories of the season that will take you waltzing into spring with a dazzling smile.

Behold ethnic vibes, versatile statement pieces, and IT collars!

Turning into a bridezilla is now a bygone fear for blushing brides-to-be, as this new application developed

by Wenayan Al-Wenayan is complete with a countdown screen, and all the best vendors in town to make sure your big day is spectacular.

A whirlwind of fun, creativity and ambition, this month’s truth or dare brings us face to face with communications consultant extraordinaire, Rita Makhoul.

Marking her return with a fanfare of exciting projects she’s taking the communications scene by storm.

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GULF BANK

bazaar connect Freedom to touch us

40,000 readers

With a bilingual audience, our articles are in English and Arabic, and cover everything from what’s on to the bizarre. We print and distribute 10,000 copies of bazaar every month; each issue is read by an average of 4 people, giving us a total readership of over 40,000 bazaar is published every month (except August) and delivered free of charge to a large subscriber database, as well as distributed free of charge in all of the following locations: Cafés & Eateries

Breadz Burger Hub, Gulf Road Casper & Gambini, Kuwait City Chocolate Bar, Al Bida'a Crumbs, Shaab Dunkin Donuts, Salem Al-Mubarak Haagen Dazs - Souq Sharq, Arraya Hard Rock Café Jade Garden Restaurant, Gulf Hotel, Salmiya Johnny Rockets - Opposite Salhiya Complex, Salmiya, Alia & Ghalia Complex Living Room Lounge MILK, Sief Strip Opao Organica Fish & Chips, Jabriya P.Q. - The Palms Pizza Express - Dhahia, Bida'a Complex, Hilton Kuwait Resort Prime & Toast - Al Bida'a, Seif Strip The Early Bird - Fahaheel, Jabriya Starbucks Adeliya Airport Mall Alghanim Al Rai Al Mowasat Hospital Al Muhalab Al Shaya Head Office Aliya & Ghalia Complex AUK

Awtad Kuwait City Bairaq Mall Baitak Tower Behbehani Complex Bida’a Complex BMW Showroom Daiya Co-op Dar Al Awadi Fashion World Salmiya Hilton Resort Jabriya Jabriya Land Keifan Khalifa Resort Kout Mall Marina Crescent Marina Mall Mishref NBK Nuwaiseeb Nuzha Co-op Plaza Hawalli Rosa Castle Salhiya Salmiya, Salem Al-Mubarak Salmiya Co-op Salwa Co-op Scientific Center Seif Hospital Shaab

members of: www.bpaww.com

Shamiya Co-op Sharq Co-op Sheikha Complex Souk Salmiya Souk Sharq The Avenues The Palms Hotel Zain Headquarters Clinics & Hospitals Al Safat American Hospital Boushahri Clinic Dasman Diabetes Institute Diet Care Center International Clinic Kaizen Seif Hospital Soor Clinic Hotels & Health Clubs Al Corniche Club Crowne Plaza, Farwaniya Flex Hilton Kuwait Resort & Spa Holiday Inn, Salmiya Pilates & More - Salmiya, Mahboula The Palms Beach Hotel Malls 360 Mall Dunkin Donuts Arraya Haagen Dazs

Galleria Marina Mall/Crescent Casper & Gambini Chocolate Bar Johnny Rockets P.Q. Paul Souq Sharq Starbucks Haagen Dazs Breadz The Avenues Johnny Rockets Paul Pizza Express Crumbs Haagen Dazs Starbucks Airport Mall Pizza Express Starbucks Dar Al Awadi I.O. Center Spoons Chocolate Bar Salhiya Complex Starbucks

Stand Alones 4 Boutique A.W.A.R.E. Center Alghanim Marine

Beautylicious Brush Salon Cozmo Bowling - Salmiya, Kaifan, Discovery Mall, Mahboula Dar Al Funoon Gallery Tilal Goji Boutique Jacques Dessange Salon, Shaab Karizma Kuwait 4X4 Landmark - Al Rai café, Fahaheel, Salmiya London Limos N Bar N Style Pink Moon Boutique Sultan Gallery THE One The Video Club TIES Center Schools & Universities American International School American University of Kuwait Australian College Kuwait Boxhill College BSK - Britsh School of Kuwait Universal American School Kuwait University Starbucks Khaldiya Starbucks Adeliya Starbucks Jabriya Starbucks Shuwaikh

bazaar magazine has been a member of BPA Wordwide 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-magazine.com for a downloadable pdf version.

Freedom to surf us

28,000 monthly visitors

www.bazaar-magazine.com

As well our monthly magazine, our free-access website gives us the ability to reach an even broader audience, with an average number of 28,000 unique visitors.

Packed with our articles covering entertainment, art, local happenings, music, movies, fashion, interiors, health, and interviews with the people responsible for said genres, bazaar‘s website will not disappoint.

Freedom to share us +5,000 fans and followers facebook.com/bazaarmagazine

twitter.com/bazaartweets

We get even closer to our readers by taking advantage of both our Facebook and twitter channels on a daily basis. With more than 5,000 fans and followers, we love starting different conversations with our readers, sharing music, jokes, 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

+15,000 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 in-depth interviews, reviews, stellar photography, and the latest ads showcasing what hot in the market right now; you can browse through bazaar freely and securely, whether you're on your PC, laptop, Smartphone, or tablet.

16

JUNK YARD

up close and personal MASOUD BEHBEHANI By bazaar staff

You might think that crashing your first motorbike at age 5 would put you off the twowheeled machines for life, but for Masoud Behbehani it was only the beginning of a lifelong passion for all things motorcycle that culminated with him hitting the racetracks in Bahrain in 2009.

The paradox of motorbikes, as with sports cars, is that they are not made for nipping down the shops on. “You can only do so much on the streets legally.

And with the current technology and power available in motorcycles, there is no way to maximize the machine’s potential unless you do so in a controlled environment (a track). And what better way to work on one’s skills than racing?”

A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, Masoud also has a more serious side, a professional side. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in civil engineering although never actually did any civil work. He took a job that has taken him from the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and right across the 18

globe working as a business development manager for an oilfield service company that designs and manufactures diamond drill bits for oil well drilling. But travel can be a double-edged sword; “There are two types of travelling I do (business and pleasure). The highs are definitely getting to adapt to different work environments (people, locations... etc.). Plus every new location presents a new challenge. The lows are never being able to plan things way in advance and missing my friends and family. Now on the other hand, when I travel for pleasure, there are no lows.”

But motorbikes are a passion for Masoud’s family too. They own Tristar Motorcycles, which deals in Ducati and BMW bikes so he knows his stuff. “My current perfect motorcycle would have to be the BMW S1000RR HP4. But for an all-time favourite, nothing is prettier than the iconic Ducati 916.”

I asked Masoud whether racing scared him. “Fear only brings out the best in you, and it also makes you feel alive. You can’t be great at anything with the

security of a safety net.” It seems like a great maxim to live by and he applies this to the rest of his life. There are no five-year plans for Masoud Behbehani, he tells me “My future consists of the next couple of hours. It might be a good or bad habit but I don’t look that far ahead. I live the moment.”

bazaar questionnaire: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Approaching a tight hair pin, braking hard, dropping the bike on its side, and then grinding the knee sliders to the tarmac while powering out of the curve… Repeat at the next curve. My happiness rests somewhere within that process, in-between my ultimate point of concentration and trust in my skill/ machine. It’s like bike ballet.

What is your greatest fear?

When everything in the answer to the first question

goes wrong! Well that, along with losing loved ones. I feel attached to those close to me, and sometimes just the thought of not having them around might cause a bit of anxiety.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I am a bit of a pessimist. I might come off as happygo-lucky to some but I do have the doubt bug. I have to learn to trust others more and give them the benefit of the doubt.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Laziness. I consider myself quite active. I’m always on the move and I keep my days (and nights) full of activities. So a lazy person will only slow me down and I can’t have that.

Which living person do you most admire?

I’m going to go with the cliché because it really does apply to me in this case. I admire my mom and dad equally. The understanding they have of one another and the cohesiveness of their relationship (while still maintaining strong individual characters) is

something I strive for in my future.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I’m not much for material things, but I would have to say my time. My free time is all mine. Where I choose to spend it and with whom is a luxury that I cannot afford to lose. It’s one of the few things you can never get back.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I just got back from… (fill in the country). With my job, I’ve been travelling so much that sometimes I forget whether I’m coming or going. Sounds glamorous, but trust me, it takes its toll on you.

When were you happiest?

I always look for happy moments daily. The little things make a huge difference for me like picking up my nephew or niece from school, waking up to great weather, or even having a great home cooked meal.

But for specific moments, I would have to say when I heard that my sister Dalal gave birth to Ali and Jude, and when my brother Khaled had baby Fajer.

Which talent would you most like to have?

To race motorcycles professionally in the MotoGP. Alas, I think I’m past the point of getting even close to that. It’s a sport that needs dedication, support, and the proper training at a very young age, but unfortunately the country lacks even the basics when it comes to motorsport racing.

What would you consider your greatest achievement?

Whatever it is, I don’t believe that I’ve achieved it yet. For now, I would have to say managing an entire region (Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman) for the oil field service company that I work for. It’s an enormous responsibility but I think I’m up for it.

Where would you most like to live?

I already like where I live and live where I like. I just wish I spent more time in Kuwait. As long as my family and friends are around, I couldn’t ask for more… with the exception of having a race track in Kuwait to cut down on the travelling!

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what's trending 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

twitter.com/bazaartweets

pinterest.com/bazaarmagazine

START READING!

issuu.com/bazaarmagazine

what: The Pantry type: home bakery editor’s note: Heavenly baked goods and much more!

who: Gina Parker type: Pinterest board-valentines day editor’s note: Valentine’s Day recipes and tips!

what: Ideas to Steal type: Account, interiors blog editor’s note: Style your home like these tastemakers

what: Jane Wang type: Account editor’s note: Most followed account on Pinterest!

what: Urban Moon type: iPhone App editor’s note: Kuwait’s ultimate city guide

what: InstaRepost type: iPhone App editor’s note: Just like re-Tweeting, but reposting!

what: The TomKat Studio type: Pinterest board- Be my Valentine editor’s note: gifts and more

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REEBOK Reebok CrossFit Products Now Available at Al-Kout Mall: 23930447 Soku - The Avenues: 22200509

KUWAIT WEDDING APP Plan your wedding on the go By bazaar staff

There’s a new app that brings together all you need to plan your wedding in Kuwait. Set the countdown screen and it will peel off the numbers until your big day.

Using this iPhone or iPad app will allow blushing brides-to-be to easily access event planners, venues, florists, photographers, caterers, and hair and makeup stylists. Basically, everybody who you need to contact when planning your wedding.

With integrated social media, you can share your excitement with your friends through Instagram, Twitter, and other sharing tools. Not only that, but you can also get the best deals and promotions for your wedding by checking out the local offers page!

The app allows you to add your favorite listings for easy access and has full English and Arabic functionality with default language accessibility.

All the listings include phone numbers, addresses, websites, emails, capacity, and even price ranges for certain categories.

If you are in the wedding business yourself you can even add you own company details absolutely free of charge! In a bad network area? Not to worry, you can use Kuwait Wedding when offline too.

So keep your inner Bridezilla at bay and download the Kuwait Wedding app now for the best local information, planning tools, promotions, and more for your wedding in Kuwait!

We got a chance to ask the developer, Wenayan Al-Wenayan, of Kuwait Wedding a few questions and here’s what he had to say about 22

this awesome new app: What brought on the idea of creating a Kuwait Wedding iPhone app?

To be completely honest I have no expertise with weddings especially in Kuwait. However, my brother is getting married in February and I saw that the process is especially long and hectic to come up with the right event planners, venues, and other issues to deal with. From what I saw with what my mother had to deal with, I decided that an iPhone app would be the perfect solution. As a result, the application “Kuwait Wedding” or “‫عرس‬ ‫ “ كويتي‬was conceived.

Did you have any experience that gave you this idea?

I have no experience at all with mobile development but I started reading books and doing my own personal research on how to develop a program and what tools I would need to get the job done.

How did you get started?

I contracted a team of freelancers globally and through word of mouth found the right mix of designers, developers, and required expertise to get the application developed.

What do you think are the best features of the Kuwait Wedding iPhone app?

I especially like the countdown of the application that allows users to count the time left until their big day! They can Instagram or email anyone they like to share their excitement. Business owners can also add their company using the “Add” feature to

be included on our application for free. Moreover, the application is quite a simple directory and that is how I wanted it to look.

How is the app going to improve in the future?

With the release of this issue of bazaar Magazine the application will officially be for FREE on the iTunes platform for iPhones. Also, I am planning an Android release quite soon for all those Android fans out there. There will definitely be new categories, companies, and other fun features which will surprise our current and future users.

Have you always been a tech fan?

I have always been a tech fan and love how technology can improve the way we do business, communicate, or just improve our daily lives.

What are some of your other hobbies?

I enjoy travelling, riding my motorcycle, scuba diving, football, and all adventure sports.

Do you think you would work on other smartphone application projects in the future?

There will definitely be future apps! In fact, there is another application that I am working on right now which will be released in a couple of months. I am especially interested in creating an app that can allow me to give back to my community in some way or another. Hopefully, that idea will see the light one day and would definitely be the highlight of my career.

You can download the Kuwait Wedding app from the App Store. You can also follow them on Instagram and Twitter @q8wedding.

OASIS

MAGNOLIA BAKERY Seriously Sweet!

By bazaar staff

From its cozy street corner location in the heart of New York’s West Village to the elegant Hamra Luxury Center, Magnolia Bakery is here to invite us to try its classic American baked goods, vintage charm and inviting atmosphere. Like its original home, you will find it comfortably nestled in the corner of the first floor; where the only view you want to enjoy is the splendid array of delicious desserts on display, while the friendly staff takes on the task of freshly baking and creatively decorating more cupcakes, cakes, muffins, pies, and much more!

So what is the story behind Magnolia Bakery’s rise to fame and delicious sweets? With more than 120 fresh, handmade menu items with superior customer service, what’s not to love?

After being featured on the hit TV show Sex and the City, and in popular movies such as The Devil Wears Prada and Prime, Magnolia Bakery’s reputation continued to grow through mentions on TODAY, 30 Rock, E!, The Martha Stewart Show, Regis & Kelly, Weeds, CNN and Fox Business News, and of course, we can never ignore the gastronomic tastes of our local Kuwait. From scintillating fresh fruit pies, delectable cakes with fresh icing, cheesecakes so rich in flavor, whoopee pies, cookies, and that banana pudding, this bazaar editor promises an indulgent session of sweets like no other.

We didn’t think we had it in us to try everything, yet everything we tried! Let’s be honest, passersby and surrounding spectators could have easily thought that we were emotionally eating after 24

a bad breakup. Our tables, yes, tables, were constantly filled with delicacies that are too good to pass by with one simple taste.

When it comes to the cakes at Magnolia Bakery, it’s all about choosing your favorite type of icing. From a fluffy and creamy meringue, rich buttercream, whipped cream, to cream cheese icing, the flavors are endless. For instance, we sampled a smaller version of the specialty cakes, White Out, a supple sponge chocolate cake with meringue icing and cake crumbs. Yet it really didn’t end there, as Red Velvet is optionally served with a lighter whipped vanilla icing rather than cream cheese, so how could we really resist?

The cheesecakes, however, are not to be underestimated at Magnolia Bakery; they are rich with flavor yet light as air! Always on the lookout to explore our horizons, and tantalize those taste buds, we decided on the Pumpkin Pecan with a Ginger Snap Crust, along with the Red Velvet with a Chocolate Cookie Crust.

In order for us to taste more, we obviously had to shrink down on the size of the desserts that caught our eye, so we went for the small baked goods. Starting with the flourless chocolate cake; it’s dense rich, and absolutely fudge-y! You can order it plain in the mini size or go all out in its glorious cake version with vanilla meringue buttercream. From the cookie jar, whoopee cookies, in general, have been a lifelong irresistible weakness of this bazaar editor. When I noticed that there’s a pumpkin flavor with maple cream filling, I literally jumped

with joy. Choose from the classic, crinkly chocolate chunk cookie covered in cracked sugar, or different flavors like brown sugar, oatmeal Raisin, or the in-house Snickerdoodles!

Deciding to break the chocolaty yumminess with some fruit, we also sampled the Apple Double Crust pie, piled high with chunky, pieces of apple

bursting with flavor, and a touch of cinnamon.

The pièce de résistance, is the deliciously sinful and famous banana pudding; with layers of vanilla wafers, fresh bananas, and creamy vanilla pudding. Resisting the urge to order a massive bowl of banana pudding for takeaway was a commendable feat by our team, to say the least.

If, unlike us, you’re simply stopping by Magnolia Bakery for a small bite to satiate that sweet tooth, then perhaps a better fit would be the Double Fudge brownie, or the zesty Lemon Bar. Because we’d chosen a large selection of desserts, this is where the fun began. Taking the chocolate icing off a single cupcake and mixing it

with the Lemon bar? Deliciously genius!

Then, the age-old question begs to ask itself: Muffins versus cupcakes? It’s like Sophie’s Choice!

We highly recommend you always respond with diplomacy, and naturally choose both! The different flavors and toppings alone are enough reason, from classic chocolate in vanilla cupcakes with chocolate or vanilla icing, and other flavors like carrot, German chocolate cake, caramel, banana and a devil’s food Truffle cupcake with white chocolate or chocolate filling covered with a velvety chocolate Ganache.

Don’t forget to enjoy your desserts at Magnolia with their signature teas, coffees, and hot cocoas,

and you can always place that indulgent takeaway order as you’re having dessert! You can also choose Magnolia for weddings and events, as they specialize in cupcake trees and unique dessert tables to add a different sweet touch to any event with your own personalized design.

Magnolia Bakery is located at the first floor of Al-Hamra Luxury shopping center. For more information, find them on Twitter and Instagram, @MagnoliaKuwait, or Facebook: Magnolia Bakery. Please call 9496 9281 for delivery orders or more information.

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

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

PARKER

SNITCH

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller Cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney and Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Genre: Crime, Thriller Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez and Michael Chiklis

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon and Jon Bernthal

Synopsis: John McClane travels to Russia to

Synopsis: Donald Westlake’s pulp hero, Parker, is once again brought to the big screen in this thriller from director Taylor Hackford (Ray). Jason Statham picks up the Parker mantle from other iconic actors who have played him through the years -- most notably Lee Marvin in Point Blank and Mel Gibson in Payback. Jennifer Lopez, Clifton Collins Jr., Wendell Pierce, and Nick Nolte co-star.

Synopsis: In the fast-paced action thriller SNITCH, Dwayne Johnson stars as a father whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime and is looking at a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. Desperate and determined to rescue his son at all costs, he makes a deal with the U.S. attorney to work as an undercover informant and infiltrate a drug cartel on a dangerous mission -- risking everything, including his family and his own life.

help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.

GAMBIT

THE GUILT TRIP

Genre: Comedy, Crime Cast: Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman

Genre: Comedy Cast: Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen and Julene Renee-Preciado

Synopsis: Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz headline

Synopsis: As inventor Andy Brewster is about

this remake of the 1966 crime caper directed by Michael Hoffman (The Last Station) and written by Joel and Ethan Coen. A British thief (Firth) discovers that no plan is infallible when he recruits a beautiful woman (Diaz) to help him steal a priceless statue from an impossibly wealthy widower (Alan Rickman).

to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, a quick stop at his mom’s house turns into an unexpected cross-country voyage with her along for the ride.

Andy does not truly want his mom on the trip, as he tries to sell his new product while also reuniting her with a lost love.

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LES MISÉRABLES Genre: Drama, Musical Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of 19thcentury France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit.

Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole.

For more details on movie timings and the cinema nearest you, log on to www.cinescape.com.kw

RED LOBSTER

MENBUR Celebrating elegance By bazaar staff

Wondering how to glam up your special outfit for Valentine’s Day? Then you ought to head to Menbur, where you’ll find the perfect pair of evening shoes and a matching handbag to complete your look. Brides to be: pay close attention, as we’ve just located your bridal shoes and handbag for your upcoming nuptials! That’s it ladies, if you’re looking for that sought after pair to be the belle of the ball, then head to Menbur at the Avenues.

As women, we value an evening of celebration; be it a wedding, a ball, a soiree or even a dinner party. And rising to the occasion with the perfect look is always a worry especially when it comes to evening shoes and clutches, the search is usually long and hard. Well, not anymore.

At Menbur, there’s plenty of choice! Be prepared to view an unparalleled variety of styles and colors to suit every trend in evening glamour.

Embellished, sequined, textured, satin, leather, pearls; only the most refined materials are used in delivering these stylish evening designs.

From Granada, Spain, Menbur’s charm aims to deliver a continuous celebration of inimitable elegance that flourishes with time. From 28

platform heels, to dainty and delicate sandals, the different designs for special occasions reflect a unique versatility both in shape and color. That said there is one obvious element that is evident throughout the collection: explicit, sensuous attention to detail and refinement.

The brand has been consistently fashioning truly exquisite designs, for close to forty years.

Its obsession, which is to listen to women, has undoubtedly established Menbur as Europe’s leader in the niche market of evening and bridal shoes.

At The Avenues, the Menbur store is a celebration of the feminine universe, rich in details and sensations. It is a place where women can discover, touch and know Menbur in an exquisite and time-honored manner. It is an environment that is dominated by serenity, elegance and sophistication, in which excellent customer service and attentiveness aims to be the center of a unique shopping experience.

Menbur is located at The Mall, main street, The Avenues. For more information, please call 2220 0640 or visit www.menbur.com.

‫لمزيد من المعلومات تفضل بزيارة ‪ www.audi-kuwait.com/Q5‬و اتصل على شركة فواد الغانم وأوالده للسيارات ‪1811118‬‬

‫متوفرة بمحرك ‪ 225( 2.0T‬حصانًا) ومحرك ‪ 272( 3.0T‬حصانًا) وناقل سرعة ‪.tiptronic‬‬

‫عندما تكون لك الصدارة بال منازع ال يملك اآلخرون سوى اللحاق بك‪ .‬يتألق تصميم ‪ Audi Q5‬الجديدة بمزايا‬ ‫وابتكارات متجددة ترسي معايير جديدة في عالم القيادة كي تواصل رحلة التميز وتبقى محط أنظار من حولك‪.‬‬

‫وشغف آسر‪ Audi Q5 .‬الجديدة‪.‬‬

‫‪AUDI‬‬

GULF FOR GOOD Finding your bliss starts here By bazaar staff

When I first received a call from Tarek Bizri, a goodwill ambassador of one of my personal favorite charities in the region, Gulf For Good, I was immediately excited by this person’s zest for life that was so obvious from merely their tone of voice, emanating with that contagious passion for adventure, and doing good for others while having fun! To say the least, I couldn’t wait to meet this person and hear their story, and maybe even see if I can fit in a challenge or two in 2013.

Upon meeting Tarek, I realize that finding your bliss is no mythical feat; it is a decision that naturally comes with the realization that you always have a choice to do what fulfills every aspect of your life. “The hard part, of course, is always finding and arriving at that particular realization.” Tarek stated confidently. He’s a well-accomplished individual, an entrepreneur with a demanding career, a large family, and a full time volunteer and ambassador for Gulf For Good. One might think that he would be overly stressed out with all of these responsibilities, yet he embraces it all with a huge smile. After all, he had found his bliss.

Tarek states, “A few years ago, after tragically losing my brother, I decided to go trekking in Nepal on a whim. Despite the tough, physical challenge, I loved every minute of the adventure.”

Not only so, Tarek’s trek revealed to him the extreme poverty of the children in countries like 30

Nepal, where he then took it upon himself to raise money to furnish a school in Chommrong, a poor rural district of Nepal. “After so much sadness in my life, this experience changed my life physically, mentally and emotionally. I found what we call ‘my bliss’.” Of course, raising funds alone is difficult, yet making sure that the funds were properly used, and that the project of furnishing the school was completed within his budget, Tarek realized that charity and goodwill can be rendered useless without the right logistics. He came back from Nepal invigorated; with a new purpose in life, seizing new opportunities, yet wishing he could find the right path to do more good.

“Hence, I discovered Gulf for Good in Dubai, founded by people that shared the same passion.

This group provided me with the logistics that solved my money and charity dilemma. I was free to concentrate on sport, raising money, and enjoying the process of being directly involved in making a difference to children in various parts of the world.” He smiled, and adds, “I went on to complete three G4G (Gulf for Good) challenges so far, and I’ve signed up for my fourth one this July.” As a goodwill ambassador for Gulf for Good in Kuwait, Tarek aims to spread the idea of fitness of the body and mind, while doing good for children of the world.

Tarek then went on to describe his journeys, from trekking the great wall of China, Myanmar and cycling all over the Emirates, each challenge

was completed with an even more awarding accomplishment: giving kids around the world a chance for a better future. Besides the physical challenge that broadens your horizons, meeting people from different walks of life is an invaluable feature that has Tarek adamantly fundraising his next adventure, “It’s not just about being physically fit that you can take on the great wall of China, it’s all about the journey, meeting fellow like-minded people who share the same goal of making a difference in someone’s life while enriching their horizons. There is so much more to the world than what we think we already know.”

After the challenge is complete, the group of adventurers then may opt to fly back home, or remain a few extra days to explore the culture and country. He also adds, “The challenges are normally timed to not go on for longer than one week, so that people with job commitments and families, like myself, can partake while carrying on with their full lives back home.”

About Gulf For Good: We organize exciting adventure challenges around the world inspiring people to do something unusual. Participants raise funds, which are then donated to handpicked Children’s charities in the part of the world where the challenge is held.

So far, Gulf for Good has raised more than USD 2 Million donated to children’s charities in various parts of the world, and has completed projects including: building a community

hospital in Nepal, classrooms in Tanzania, equipping schools in Jordan & Oman, providing medical equipment in Palestine & China, building a training center for disabled children in Sri Lanka, building a teaching center in Borneo, refurbishing orphanages in Thailand, Cambodia & Egypt, and much more!

Gulf for Good has four main objectives: To bring together Gulf nationals and residents in a good cause; To encourage people to push their own limits; To show people the value and enjoyment of motivation, commitment and helping others; To raise large sums for worthwhile projects.

Money raised through each challenge is spent on worthwhile child-related projects in the area in which the challenge takes place.

For more information, visit www.gulfgood.org and to get in touch with Tarek for your next adventure, please email tarekbizri@gmail.com.

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bazaar snap

Title: Kuwait Desert Photographed by: Rasha Othman Location: Mitlaa - Kuwait Description: Oh I do like to be beside the sandside‌. Relaxing and sun-baking Kuwait-style in the desert during the Winter.

For your snap submissions, please send an email including the photo with its title, location, and description to snap@bazaar-magazine.com

freedom to express 32

CASABELLA

GET THOSE CURVES Save more and weigh less with Curves’ latest offers By bazaar staff

Curves want you to Save More and Weigh Less. New members receive 50% off initial service fee and first 30 days free at local women’s fitness center.

It seems like we never have the time to work out, right ladies?

After all, we do lead very hectic lives, between managing a career, a personal business, a family— sometimes the mere idea of leaving the house to go to the gym seems like a world of pain. However, studies worldwide prove that a healthy lifestyle includes a regular dose of exercise, and yet we like to find every excuse in the book NOT to do it.

What if all it takes, is half an hour?

Literally, 30 minutes of your time and nothing else? I personally make it a mission to hit the gym at least three times a week, and that alone is a battle of wits trying to do this between work, family, and other responsibilities. So the notion of a thirty-minute workout that combines cardio and strength 34

training while saving money is nothing but tempting!

With Curves, every major muscle group is worked with a complete 30-minute workout that combines strength training and sustained cardiovascular activity through safe and effective hydraulic resistance.

Curves also works to help women lose weight, gain muscle strength and aerobic capacity, and raise metabolism with its groundbreaking, scientifically proven method that ends the need for perpetual dieting. Founders Gary and Diane Heavin are considered the innovators of the express fitness phenomenon that has made exercise available to around 4 million women globally, many of whom are in the gym for the first time. With nearly 10,000 locations worldwide, Curves

is the world’s largest fitness franchise.

Curves is all about strengthening women, and that also includes strengthening their budgets with an offer that allows them to keep more money in their pockets when they join Curves. Between January 1st 2013 and February 28th 2013, Curves is cutting 50 percent off the initial service fee and offering the first 30 days free to help new members save more and weigh less.

“Good health” is priceless. Curves is here to support our neighbors and to help them on their journey to a healthy lifestyle. This promotion will allow women in the Salmiya, Jabriya, Al-Sha’ab, Discovery, Al-Bairaq, and Salwa areas to join Curves at a great price and hopefully motivate them to get in shape and achieve their goals.

Curves provides an exercise and

weight control program designed specifically for women. Whether you’re interested in getting more exercise for health and general condition, or want to lose weight or tone your muscles, Curves can help you establish a regimen to help you meet your goal.

We’ve helped millions of women lose millions of kilos. And now, we’re making it really affordable for new members to reach their fitness and weight loss goals.

There’s absolutely no reason not to come in and get started today.

For more information on Curves locations, or the 50% and 30 days free promotion, please visit www.CurvesME.com or call the hotline 2226 1739.

MAKI

truth or dare

RITA MAKHOUL By bazaar staff

Rita Makhoul, communications consultant extraordinaire, is marking her return to Kuwait with one magnificent bang. If you don’t see her rallying people to get something amazing done, then she’s probably locked herself up in some secret location dreaming up a campaign idea.

Rita considers her return to Kuwait a natural phenomenon. “There seems to be a consensus that everyone would rather leave Kuwait than stay here.” Like everyone else, we all leave to experience something new and different, or as Rita adds, “To click that refresh button. I have returned refreshed and having gained great life and work learning experiences. I think the best way I can describe why I chose to return here is very simple: Kuwait is home.”

Extremely passionate about her field, Rita has over ten years of industry experience, “I could easily be married to my job! My communications experience in the consumer industries in the region, mainly in the automotive, fashion and F&B industries, has allowed me to develop an understanding of the intricacies of this niche.” Back with a plan, of course, she went on to establish Onyx Communications, working closely with small to medium businesses, especially start ups. “Kuwait has loads of local entrepreneurs who launch some great concepts and it is very exciting being with them at the starting line when everything is still being conceptualized.

We work with our clients as their partners and nurture the needs of their 36

small business to witness it grow and bloom together.“ Stay tuned to this one guys, she is whirlwind of fun, creativity, and we only expect better things to come for Rita.

How would your mother describe you in one word?

Determined.

How would you describe your mother in one word?

Affectionate.

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

“Is THAT your real hair?”.

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

One morning I woke up and decided “today I’ll jump out of a plane” ... and I did! (With a parachute, of course!)

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

Bazinga!

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

There isn’t a specific place I’d like to live. I love the idea of moving to a different country every couple of years and absorbing cultures through experience (Dear family & friends, before you pick up the phone to call me, I said it’s an idea! I’m not moving away again!) I moved away for a couple of years and chose to return to Kuwait. I love it here and can’t imagine being anywhere else

right now! I’d like to spend my retirement years in Cuba living the simple life.

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

Since I’m answering questions about myself, a Margaret Thatcher quote came to mind “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

What animal best describes the kind of partner you’d be interested in? *giggles* I don’t think scientists are capable of genetically (or insert another scientific term here) creating an animal that would have the all the traits I’d like in a partner.

What do you miss about your childhood?

The excitement I used to feel when I would wake up on Thursdays (a weekend in those days) to watch cartoons with my brothers.

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

I can’t imagine myself being called anything else!

How would you describe your handshake in one word?

A handshake. Very ordinary.

What is the toughest part of your character?

I’m very hard on myself. I’m a perfectionist who sets high performance standards for myself and I am overly critical if I don’t meet those standards. It’s what motivates me to get things done.

Who is your favourite historical figure?

Does Count Dracula count? (you see what i did there? No? Ok. Moving on) Seriously though, I judge people by their actions and there are many historical figures who may have represented things that I respect, such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Che Guevara, but I can’t consider either of them as my favourite historical figure since other aspects/traits they had are not ones I admire.

What in the world do you least desire?

Negativity.

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

Acceptance. If people were more accepting of one another the world would be a tad better.

Why do you think most girls/guys like you?

What don’t they like?! I’m a joy to be around, loads of fun, kind-hearted and honest! (oh and very modest too!)

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

Inner peace. Happiness is a choice we make and we find it through inner peace.

For more on Rita’s work, check out www.facebook.com/OnyxComms and connect with her on Twitter, @rampurple.

37

METAMORPHOSIS OF LETTERS bazaar gains some insight into the art of calligraffiti: Merging together the flavors of Arabic calligraphy and graffiti, Contemporary Art Platform(CAP) conducted a workshop ‘Mutual Writings’

by Paris-based artist Vincent Abadie Hafez. The event was a big hit with Kuwait’s young culturati.

By Deepa Pant

Breathing new narratives on the warehouse walls, spray paint cans hissed colorful shapes and then the chaotic letters soon began to waltz on the walls, as calligraphy joined hands with graffiti.

Hafez is an artist who thinks outside the box. He has been exposed to several cultures and that has influenced his sensibilities, giving a new impetus to his hybrid art, marked by fluidity. His work has recently been attracting increasing amounts of attraction, be it Beirut or Berlin. Clearly, his beguiling letters have begun to make waves in the region, too.

Taking us on an enchanting journey, he recalled that it was in the eighties that he, as a young boy, got serious about the graffiti movement under the 38

pseudonym Zepha. It was in the suburbs of Paris that he began to impose his name and his team, and hasn’t looked back since.

Graffiti brought Hafez the love for meeting and working alongside other artists and painting on large surfaces.” Not only a fresh perspective, it also brought about a certain energy to my work.”

“But before everything else, one must nurture the love for letters, “ says Hafez.

“Also get ready to indulge in art for free, take risks and give your art for free, this is the main essence of calligraffiti,” he says with a smile.

Consequently, with passage of time, taking his spirit further, this promising artist evolved a

distinct visual idiom of his own. Hafez developed a visual language which tends to amalgamate the craftsmanship of ancient civilizations, the movement of free figuration, abstraction, lyrical and street art.

Speaking of his art, he says, it is all about balancing the aesthetics of two worlds, ancient and modern.

“The hybrid configurations reveal various aspects, mixing mediums and crossbreeding techniques,” he adds, when asked to explain about the grandiose of his narratives.

Speaking of evolution of his artistic process he says, “Over time, my approach has been enriched with inspiration from artistic movement such as lyrical abstraction (informal art with G. Mathieu, H. Hartung, J. Degottex, Jay Defeo, G.Titus Caramel) and also of the free figuration as the influences of the premier art, writing and art of ancient civilizations.”

“A range of technique and medium ranging from graffiti, going through calligraphy and engraving, allows me to highlight my questioning about the processes.”

He admits that Arabic calligraphy has strongly influenced his work and says it was a bit of artistic renaissance, training under the acclaimed Moroccan artist Abdelatif Mustad and his voyage through the works of the Sudanese Ahmed Abdel Aal. He is happy to note that calligraffiti is no longer confined to the bohemian artists; it is being accepted in main stream.

Speaking at the workshop, Hafez expressed his admiration for random graffiti that appears in Kuwait, and said he was amazed with the quality.

Finally, he introduced the young artists to the unique reality of the world of calligraffiti. “Learn to live in the present...the calligraffiti art is not permanent.

You may be the king today....but tomorrow your work may be erased or repainted, and someone else will reign. Be prepared for that.”

For more information on Contemporary Art Platform please visit www.capkuwait.com.

OLIVE GARDEN

bazaar techno Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ~ Arthur C. Clarke

PARROT FLOWER POWER

SAMSUNG S9 UHD 4K TV

CANON POWERSHOT N CAMERA

Take your brown thumb and make it green with the Parrot Flower Power. This advanced plant sensor sticks in your flower pot, measuring sunlight, soil moisture, temperature, and fertilizer. It transfers the data over Bluetooth 4.0 to your compatible device, using a dedicated app and a library of nearly 6,000 plants to make sure you’re caring for your plant properly. And don’t worry about constant battery changes — it’ll run for six months on a single AA battery.

If you’re preparing for the future of TV and want a huge screen, you might want to check out the Samsung S9 UHD 4K TV. Starting at 85 inches and going up to a massive 110, this space-age set boasts 2.2 channels of 120 watt sound, Precision Black Pro technology for outstanding color reproduction and contrast, and an up-scaling engine to make your standard HD content look better. But the real highlight is the unique frame, which suspends the panel inside an oversized, squarish frame that’s sure to become the centerpiece of your living room or theater.

Bored with the same old point-and-shoot designs?

The Canon PowerShot N Camera ($300) should pique your interest. Sporting an unusual squarish shape, the PowerShot N eschews the typical topmounted zoom ring and shutter combination by moving both controls to rings around the lens. A 2.8-inch tilting touchscreen LCD comprises the rear of the device, letting you shoot photos at nearly any angle, while a 12.1 megapixel sensor, 28mm wide-angle lens with 8x optical zoom, and a DIGIC 5 Image Processor provide superb images.

www.parrot.com

www.samsung.com

www.usa.canon.com

BELKIN THUNDERSTORM HANDHELD HOME THEATER

QOOQ TABLET

IOSAFE SOLO G3 HARD DRIVE

Turn you iPad into a mini movieplex with the Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater (KD55).

Designed to connect directly to the iPad using either the 30-pin or Lightning connector, this form-fitting accessory is powered by Audifi and features highefficiency front-facing speakers that offer surprisingly rich sound, thanks to ported enclosures that increase bass response. You can adjust the sound using a free downloadable app, and to finish off the experience it includes a Smart Cover-like stand/cover so you don’t have to hold the damn thing the whole time.

The Qooq Tablet (KD112) is designed specifically for kitchen use, as it is splash proof, heat and humidity resistant, sports a retractable support that serves as a stand, and can be used with greased up hands — just clean it with a damp cloth when you’re done. Other features include a 10.1-inch screen, an ARM Cortex A9 processor, 8 GB of memory, built-in Wi-Fi, and a customized interface that’s tailored to kitchen use, with a meal planner, browser for accessing cooking websites, and a built-in virtual cookbook.

Have some data that you need protected?

Store it on an ioSafe Solo G3 Hard Drive (KD112). This external USB 3.0 drive is both fireproof — up to 1550º for 30 minutes — and waterproof — down to 10 ft. for up to 72 hours. It’s also nearly silent, compatible with Kensington locks and padlocks, and includes backup and encryption software. But the real kicker is the ioSafe Data Recovery Service, which provides a one-time data and hardware recovery, no questions asked..

www.belkin.com

www.qooq.com

www.amazon.com

40

QUALITY NET

APPLE

EBEES

Goji's Pick Accessory alert from fashion portal, www.gojiboutique.com By bazaar staff

Here at Goji, we are firm believers that a woman can never have enough accessories. Piling on the accessories allows you to constantly update your basic staples season after season. You can take your daytime look straight to evening-glam ready with just a few additions. Also, we must say that accessories are getting even more exciting in 2013, long gone are the days of boring pieces! It is all about statement and functionality, like the versatility of a multifunctional TIA scarf or the cheeky coolness of an 11objects collar is what we feel makes or breaks an outfit. We also adore the ethnic vibe of pieces like anklets and headpieces a la HAATICHAI.

44

In yet another fabulous shoot, Goji Boutique employs both art and charity. Using signature scarves by Abdullah Al Awadhi and Plomo o Plata cotton/silk scarves to style the background and model Feda, who couldn’t be happier to show off her new look. Shaving her head only a few days prior to shooting this spread, Feda has donated all her hair to Fatma Clinic, where it is then employed to create wigs for cancer patients who have lost their hair surviving the disease. If you’re interested in making a hair donation, contact Fatma Clinic at 2564 1234.

Photography : Maha Al Asaker

Art direction : Sama Al Wasmi

Make up : Toni & Guy Al Corniche

Model : Feda Al Awadhi

45

THE MEANING OF LIFE And other Non-Fantasies

By Shurooq Amin

We spend our lives searching for that elusive raison d’etre, the meaning of life.

“Why are we here? Is there anything more to life than this existence? Is there an afterlife, a God, a Devil, is there anything after we die or is it simply Credits-Roll-Game-Over?”

Philosophers across the ages have thought about it, writers and poets have written about it, artists have agonized over it; people have lived depressed lives because of it.

I, like every other human being on the planet, and being of sound mind (well, being of mind, at least), have given it much thought, too. Even a little bit more obsessively than most around me, perhaps due to the deaths I’ve been exposed to in my life (and I feel ashamed saying this knowing that there are people in warzones experiencing the kind of death I never will, probably), but nevertheless, I’ve been in a position at a young age where the human being I loved most on the planet died in my arms at a very young age himself. This followed with more loved ones dying like dominoes all around me as I grew up. Perhaps I obsess about it 46

because I think too much, write too much, paint too much, listen to too many ballads, drive too much just so I can be alone, sleep too little, eat too little.

A friend told me that most people go towards death quietly, but I’m going kicking and screaming. And I never thought about it that way, but I guess the artwork, the exhibitions, the poetry books, the conferences I attend, the speeches I give, the lecturing and teaching I do, the Tweeting, the Facebooking, the Tumblr-ing …all lead to this point: I will not go quietly. I am going kicking and screaming and leaving a messy, loud, vibrant trail of work behind me.

Which brings me back to the meaning of life: do you want to know something incredible that occurred to me? Life itself IS the miracle.

Life itself is enough! The fact that you wake up in the morning and simply are able to breathe, talk and write and see and hear the music, literally…the fact that you can dial a number on your super-shiny-touchscreen just by saying the recipients name and that you can take this contraption with you anywhere you go, that

is a miracle of man-made technology (yes, a miracle, because 100 years ago it would’ve been laughed at its absurdity and impossibility). The fact that we can stick our cold food in a little box that radiates energy that heats it up rapidly and then take our warm sandwich to our desk where we have a contraption we call a computer and we communicate with millions of people around the world effortlessly, that is another miracle we take for granted. And then there are the miracles of nature, of leaves growing though concrete, of creatures born in unlikely places, and that incredible sky with its colors at sunset, of mountains rising from the sea and the fluorescent beauty of unusual creatures living in impossible depths under the ocean.

And what about those people that have no clothes, no family, no homes, no money, no peace, those living in war-zones or those who are seriously ill? I’ll tell you. You know in a movie when the protagonist’s son is diagnosed with a terminal illness and said mother devotes her entire life trying to find a cure, or campaigning for other kids in the same situation? Well, don’t wait to be put in a similar position. You’re one of the lucky few. If you’re reading this it means you have a computer or hand-held device, reasonable eyesight, reasonable finances (not starving), and some time on your hands. Use it wisely. That’s the meaning of life.

Some of us can find the meaning of our lives by inventing useful contraptions; or writing masterpieces that the world will read, ponder and learn from for centuries ahead; or creating artworks that affect society; or by campaigning for a good cause; or (for those with money) setting up scholarship funds, building hospitals, universities, etc. But for others, a simpler meaning of life is theirs to own: They’re the people who speak up about injustice. They defend someone’s life or even just their honor.

They open doors for people behind them, smile at them and make their day. They’re the ones that let the idiot bully in the car next to them go ahead of them in a traffic jam even though they want to inch their car stubbornly forward.

They’re the ones who love so much that their love radiates to their children, friends, and strangers. They’re the ones who know that the meaning of life is simply existing, and to savoring this existence, basking in its miraculous “being”, and sharing that knowledge. By sharing this knowledge, we radiate its positivity to the scrooges out there that are still living dark, depressed, negative lives and causing wars and destruction and evil in the world.

KITCHEN AID

By Jaye Sonia

WIZ AR DS FOR YUSR A

Be advised – sometimes, things just start out weird. When they do, it’s probably advisable to step back and evaluate the weirdness so that you can make the best possible decision. You know, use your magic powers of discretion! Sometimes, of course, you do exactly the opposite, too. You grab on, hold tight, and enjoy the ride!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing for bazaar Magazine for nearly two years now (next month marks that prestigious event). It’s funny, in a way, because it simply wasn’t on my to-do list when I moved to Kuwait. It wasn’t a goal.

While I had read bazaar now and again in Starbucks, writing for it simply wasn’t on my radar. Instead, it was an opportunity that fell into my lap, to use the popular colloquialism. For that, I have to thank the wonderful Mrs. Yusra Ahmad.

My relationship with bazaar started as a conversation over a cup of coffee.

It was late 2010 in Egalia and my friend, Rick Wright, had just been interviewed for the 2011 Dining Guide (because he’s got magic powers in the kitchen). We were discussing his article when the topic of gaming had come up. He had mentioned, since I was already a writer, that I should do a piece for bazaar. I had toyed with the idea, but I never really committed. Then, 48

Yusra approached me about it – but from a different angle. She had heard about the infamous Pathfinder RPG game I run here (see bazaar, November 2011, for more information on that game). She wanted to know more and possibly do a piece on it. She knew, by her own admission, little about table top gaming because of the sheer popularity of MMOs, both here in Kuwait and abroad, tended to drown out a lot of the other noise. Simply put, little was known about gaming beyond its electronic frontiers. So, Yusra and I began to talk. Our conversation was based primarily on defining what gaming was, where it originated, and how it affected culture. We discussed its importance, its drawbacks, and how it might shape the future in positive ways (all before I had read Tom Chatfield’s Fun Inc. Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century).

Toward the end of December, Yusra just asked me – would I write an article for bazaar explaining and expanding on what gaming was. I agreed, of course.

Soon after, that article gave birth to a second article, which gave birth to a third article, and like magic, the process was set into motion. Finally, Yusra asked me if I enjoyed writing for bazaar and if I’d be interested in writing a regular column.

Of course, since you’re reading this, you know how that turned out! Not only

did I accept her offer, I ran with it. Over the course of that first year, we discussed what was appropriate for the magazine and established my boundaries as a writer; Yusra was essential in eliminating some of my perceptions about Kuwait and bazaar’s readers.

To my surprise, I quickly discovered just how accommodating bazaar was.

She lifted limits that I set for myself, all the time encouraging me to engage bazaar’s readers at the highest possible level. Most, she informed me, were both progressive and educated. Sure, I might need to censor discussion topics in the Sultan Center, but bazaar wasn’t the place to worry about it. I need only write fun, intelligent and artistic articles – targets I was already aiming for.

That first year, Yusra gave me a lot of room. She suggested certain topics; I touched on some and ignored others (up to and including the allure of wizards in fantasy literature – sorry Yusra!).

Generally speaking, though, it was a blast. I built up a body of material and, over time, realized I had done a lot more in Kuwait than I had originally planned.

By the end of 2011, I was actively seeking out books that explored both the nature of gaming and its effects on society. Soon after, I picked up Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest

for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms (by Ethan Gilsdorf ) and The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems and Explore Identity (by Sarah Lynne Bowman). I had previously read The Fantasy Role-Playing Game: A New Performing Art (by Daniel Mackay) and saw, overall, a theme developing. G&G wasn’t just something that was fun to write for. It was (and still is) a column that had a whole host of potential – even if it lacked Yusra’s wizards.

It’s hard to predict whether or not I would have ended up writing for bazaar if it hadn’t been for Yusra. I like to imagine I would have, that even if it hadn’t been for Yusra, bazaar and I might have met anyway, possibly in some dusty cantina in the Outer Rim. But honestly, that’s all well-wishing and speculation. I cannot say for sure and I know, at least in my gut, she deserves my thanks and gratitude.

So, while I can’t speak for the whole of the magazine (and they dare not give me such unbridled power – muhahahha!!), I can say ‘thanks’ all on my own. Yusra, this magazine isn’t going to be the same without you working the secret gears behind those curtains in Emerald City!!

I think it’s safe to say we’re all going to miss you. Adventure well, my friend.

“The Professional Choice�

BEAUTIQUE

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bazaar goes dining MEATOLOGY bazaar gets schooled in beef by The Meat Co. By bazaar staff

Recently, we were invited to partake in a special “Meatology” training session put on by the folks at The Meat Co. Welcoming, as we do, any expert tutelage when it comes to food, we jumped at the chance to indulge. Focusing on their “pasture to plate” mentality as an entrée into the love of beef that permeates their company culture, and the myriad ways that it manifests itself long before beef ever meets grill, we were walked through various facets of their menu and the expertise by which they prepare it.

From sourcing, aging, grain, and cuts, no part of the art was spared.

Those of you who have read our previous reviews on The Meat Co, know that we here at bazaar are fans; but, for those of you who have not, here is a quick rundown on who they are: established in 2000 by two South African entrepreneurs, The Meat Co. is now a global restaurant brand whose aim is to meld a relaxed steakhouse feel with the more sophisticated specialization of premier beef. For us here in Kuwait, that means a little slice of South African grilling, very close to home. From the wait staff and ambiance, to the occasional drum circle and song in celebration of a birthday, the experience is not to be missed.

Enough of all that—let’s talk beef! More specifically, let’s talk about those of us who LOVE steak. People who care enough about beef that 50

even basic, yet too-often overlooked preparation techniques like getting the meat to room temperature before cooking, or waiting to carve, so that the juices might lock in after, to the more advanced pan-sear preamble to an oven broil, are considered herein the prerequisites by which it is assumed you might even be deserved of such steak.

Yes, the many ways in which the amateur can mess up a steak is impressive. After generations where many wanted to smother everything in sauce to cover up for, or otherwise disguise sub-standard beef, we have exited the dark ages. Everything that the Meat Co. does is the polar opposite of this, using a less is more approach to garnishment in order to best bring out the flavor of the beef itself. And, while things like a good fillet and T-Bone may seem enough like a ‘deliciousness-gimme’ that it barely warrants mention, I must say that, here, all the cuts sampled were delicious and tender.

Noting of course that most of us have developed our preferences of how we like our meat prepared, here you are in the hands of experts, and you would do well to go on the culinary adventure with them at the helm. Quite simply- you would be well served to first decide the cut you want, and let them prepare it the way the cut demands. They proved this theory out to us when providing us a cut of rump that tasted as savory and delicate as

the fillet that preceded it—no small feat indeed.

It seems that, whereas the Rib eye might best be served medium-to-medium well, in order to allow the marbling to take effect, the rump is best served medium rare- due to its otherwise tough nature.

Prime rib, meanwhile, is best served medium or above and happens to be prepared here with the bone still in, allowing for more flavor.

Alas, for those feeling even more adventurous, they also serve steaks cooked in the more rarely seen distinction of Blue. This quick pan flash on each side of the meat is best thought of as very-rare; a Carpaccio lovers delight, no doubt.

Though companywide, The Meat Co. sources a variety of meats from as many varied local farmers as

age that helps determine both flavor and texture: the ageing that happens post-slaughter, en route from farm to flame, helping to further tenderize in the process. At the Kuwait location, they will often age the beef for an additional 21 days.

While the novice might often purposefully choose a steak out of the case for its lack of visible fat, often with health benefits in mind as they are doing so, it is important to note also the two types of visible fat on a steak. One is absolutely the kind you don’t want and deserves to be kept away from.

This fat is harder to the touch and is normally found along the edges of a cut of beef. The second type of fat, more commonly known as marbling, is actually a desired flavor enhancer and full of omega 3 type “good” fats that a body needs. The primary visible distinction here of course being that the latter is an intra-muscular fat that will appear as smaller and thinner lines that spider-web throughout the meat.

It is also important to note that as you cook the steak, this marbling fat will burn off and basically dissolve into awesome flavor (a technical term, of course).

Hopefully, all the above gives you some good ideas in what to look for when you next hunt down a steak in the wilds of the grocery store. However, should you find yourself out and about, you may just want to veer towards 360 Mall for a South African grilling experience. Have a steak made by people who have been waiting for you, prepping your steak even locally, for 3 plus weeks in anticipation of your arrival. Their “pasture to plate” mindset, and love for the art of the parts of the cow, forms a culinary experience worthy of that space in your stomach.

possible, everything served at their Kuwait location is halal Wagyu and Angus, sourced from Australia.

Additionally, all of the meat here is grain fed which, incidentally, can relate directly both to the cost of the beef and the amount of marbling found in the

cuts. Also, whereas the terms Angus and Wagyu themselves give basically the genetic makeup or breed of these animals, the terms heifer and steer, are delineations in age and sex, both types served here grain-fed to 2-3 years of age. There is a secondary

For a truly unique dining experience head down to The Meat Co., located on the 2nd level in 360 Mall.

For more information or to make a reservation please call: 2530 9696 or log onto their website: www.themeatco.com.

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FASH-ILLIUSIONS Style vs fashion

By Mrs. HillBilly

I’m no authority on fashion, nor have I ever had the desire to be, but I’d like to think I know a thing or two about style. You see, fashion, as defined, is a popular trend in styles—for a specific period of time, enough people liked a specific style trend long enough to make it popular—but like any trend, it eventually dies, only to be replaced by the next best thing. It is often said that fashion is constantly evolving; you watch documentaries, read articles and even hear of dissertations being written on the evolution of fashion, but I just don’t see it.

For as long as I have been aware of fashion, I have also been aware of the fact that it is built on recycled ideas from times gone by. What is that if not evolution? It’s actually closer to recombination than it is to evolution. Ironically enough, I actually am an authority on evolution—I graduated with a degree in biotechnology—and can without a doubt, say, there is a world of difference between it and recombination. The outcome of one is always more complex (and generally understood to be better), while the outcome of the other isn’t necessarily so.

Even if all the ideas were, in theory, brilliant, recombinant DNA doesn’t always work in practice, (some of the world’s deadliest biological weapons are the accidental result of recombinant DNA). It turns out, when you mess with an already good thing, you run the risk of making it worse, or losing it altogether. The latter is how I feel about most fashion—I just don’t get it. Take a poodle, for example; a breed of dog not naturally occurring in our world, and now compare it to a wolf. You see where I’m going with this? Poodles are not our best work, neither were their fashion counterparts, poodle skirts. Some of today’s most popular trends could double as medieval torture devices; from the studded blazers to the studded shoes—the bigger and spikier, it seems, the better.

I watch as women gather in clouds of cigarette smoke and hints of their morning perfume worshiping at the temple of all things fashionable, Instagram, and feel like the kid who never got invited to the party. What is so special about a neon pink mini-skirt? Didn’t we do this in the 80’s already? Then decided ‘no, we were wrong; neon is ugly’ all through the 90’s and the 2000’s, only to fall back in love with it in 2012. Change the decades and the same could be said for bellbottoms, skinny jeans, off-the-shoulder tunics and cap toe pumps—that, by definition, is not evolution. What you wear is a reflection of who you are, and with something as personal as that how can so many people, all at the same time, agree on loving something, hating it, and then loving it back again? Now, style – that, I understand.

Style is timeless. It is the physical manifestation of a person’s personality; you can love it or hate it, but one thing’s for sure, if you hate it one day, you’ll likely hate it all days. So, has fashion really evolved? Sure, in the sense that our Homo habilis ancestors only cared about the functionality of garments and as Homo sapiens, we’ve taken it up a notch by making sure they are aesthetically pleasing, too. But, has fashion, in its modernday definition really been evolving?

Not in my opinion—but what do I know? I’m just a lab geek.

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EDO

bazaar music

TRUE

YOU SHOOK ME

BLOOD ON THE TRACKS

2013 release from Solange Knowles, younger sister of mega superstar Beyonce. While she may share the same musical genes with her sister, Solange takes her music in a different direction than that of her big sis. Using Soul music as her foundation, Solange adds a retro ‘80s influence to her sound while still managing to keep the production modern and engaging.

She doesn’t aim for the same commercial heights as Beyonce, but by doing things her way, perhaps she’ll get there by doing things her way.

Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill and Muddy Waters At Newport are at the heart of this compilation of Muddy’s masters from 1958 to 1963, but this 49 tracker also features a number of the artist’s most renowned recordings not immediately intended for LP, like the title track, “You Need Love,” and “Walking Thru The Park” as well as such rarely anthologized tracks as “Real Love,” “Brown Skin Woman,” “Down By The Deep Blue Sea” and “Read Way Back” -- the latter with Willie Dixon providing a rare bass vocal. Furthermore, the set includes the previously unreleased instrumental of “Sweet Black Angel,” featuring Earl Hooker on guitar.

In Blood on the Tracks Dylan turned his back on his greatest backing band, returning to his artistic routes on an album that is largely acoustic-based. The songs run the emotional gamut from sorrow and regret to bitterness and pain. At the same time, despite the obvious point of origin for most of these songs, this is not an openly confessional album (cf. Courtney Love’s “America’s Sweetheart”). After all, we are talking the lyrics of Bob Dylan, which means cryptic riddles and allegories abound all laid out in ten classic tracks.

THE NEXT DAY

RUMOURS – EXPANDED EDITION

PARKLIVE

The Next Day is Bowie’s 30th studio album and his first new album in 10 years. It goes without saying that he has sold out stadiums and broken ticket records throughout the world during this most influential of careers. In recent years radio silence has been broken only by endless speculation, rumor and wishful thinking ....a new record...who would have ever thought it, who’d have ever dreamed it! After all David is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants...when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell. Today he definitely has something to say.

Fleetwood Mac, one of rock s most enduring, beloved and successful bands, circulate another round of Rumours with expanded and deluxe versions of the album in celebration of its 35th anniversary. Rumours made the band one of the most iconic bands of the 1970s and garnered wide critical praise, earned the Grammy® for Album of the Year, and has now sold more than 40 million copies worldwide since its 1977 debut. The expanded edition s three CDs includes the original album and the b-side “Silver Springs, “ a dozen unreleased live recordings from the group s 77 world tour, and an entire disc filled with unreleased takes from the album s recording sessions.

The Parklive 4CD+DVD deluxe edition includes the entire show, with extras, presented in bestquality audio over two CDs with a DVD of the 12-camera shoot directed by Mathew Amos.

Also included is an exclusive CD, Blur - Live At The 100 Club,’ recorded at the legendary London venue in August, and an additional CD of live tracks recorded during the summer this year, including “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan” performed live on Twitter from a London rooftop, and recordings from the band’s Wolverhampton warm-up show and BBC Radio Maida Vale sessions.

by Solange Knowles

by David Bowie

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by Muddy Waters

by Fleetwood Mac

by Bob Dylan

by Blur

source: www.amazon.com

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TEN YEARS OF MAGICAL CUISINE The path to Caviaroli Maki By bazaar staff

Many years back, Japanese cuisine had not even been linked with olive oil, or even relied on it for any of its dishes. Upon founding Maki in 2002, Mohamad Zeitoun, whose last name fittingly means “olive” in Arabic, started experimenting with several crazy, yet innovative, ideas in order to set his new fusion concept apart from the competition.

He succeeded in doing just that! One of the very first ingredients that Mohamad started to experiment with was house-made, extra virgin olive oil. The fact that Mohamad’s grandparents, his father too, cultivated, pressed, and bottled premium quality extra virgin olive oil was just a bonus!

Hence, the Amer Maki with extra virgin olive oil, tuna, wild thyme, and special spices, the Oze Akami Maki with healthy seaweed wrap, Arugula, and flavorful wasabi flakes, and the Nano Maki, with crunchy tempura, succulent salmon, and avocado. Not only did these dishes wow the eagerly awaiting gourmands and Maki fans, but they also set a new standard in fusion Japanese cuisine that combined Mediterranean taste with Japanese tradition. Moreover, these dishes established Maki as the first fusion Japanese cuisine restaurant in the Middle East, and perhaps the globe, to introduce such a healthy, valuable addition to Japanese gastronomy.

Additionally, extra virgin olive oil is known for its qualities in combatting heart disease, diabetes, and alleviating serious illnesses (due to antioxidation qualities),and it is also known for bringing out the taste of any food product it is added to.

Recently Maki has been seriously involved in bottling one of the most prized extra virgin olive oils: Oliver’s Table. Considering the fact that Mohamad’s younger brother and partner, Amer, is an expert agricultural engineer, it was only a visceral move to engage in such a passionate venture. Carefully choosing every olive tree, overseeing the picking process, the packing, transportation, the pressing, and proper bottling of olive oil, leads to the most vital qualities of extra virgin olive oil being impeccably preserved. That is exactly what Maki did with its sister company Oliver’s Table. Take a small sip of this oil, and you feel the essence, fruitiness, and the mild spiciness of this extra special, limitedcrop olive oil. Only as such are you able to preserve the healthful and taste qualities of extra virgin olive oil.

Taking Japanese fusion cuisine to new heights, Maki pioneered a new, unprecedented concept across the globe that only Maki can think of. Olive 56

oil caviar (encapsulated spheres of extra virgin olive oil), on top of a maki roll filled with delicious seafood, engulfed by a spinach wrap, and topped with special spices. To get a feel of what’s ahead: Take the first bite from the Caviaroli spoon, and feel the fresh, fruity burst of extra virgin olive oil. Then take one of the maki rolls and savor an emulsion of flavors. The succulence of prawn tempura, the softness of the sushi rice, the vigor of wild thyme, and the vitality of the spices, all topped with more Caviaroli.

Nothing like it! Maki uses this exclusively innovative product to not only enhance presentation and taste, but to also solidify their position as leaders in the market when it comes to elevating fusion Japanese cuisine to new sophisticated levels!

Maki has four locations across Kuwait. To find them visit www.olivermaki.com Follow Maki on Twitter @Makirest or for delivery call 1-823080.

CROCS

HARVEY NICHOLS Whether it’s Valentine’s Day glamour you’re after, or stunning pieces for utter spring-chic, the latest arrivals at Harvey Nichols will leave you wanting more.

Rebecca Minkoff- Mini Box in yellow

Smythson - Eliot Large Tote in dove and white

Features silver hardware and a trademark long chain strap to wear it as a cross-body style. Classic, stylish, and functional; it’s easy to see why we love Rebecca Minkoff. This petite structured box bag is equal parts sophisticated and adorable. It’s crafted in a super-soft natural leather with basket-weave trim and adjustable shoulder strap. An industry leader in accessible luxury handbags, accessories, footwear and apparel, Rebecca Minkoff’s playful and subtly edgy designs can be spotted around the world on young women and celebrities alike.

Soft in texture and simple in shape, this collection of pared back totes packs a powerful punch of color. Made with naturally grained goatskin, the collection’s range of rich, vibrant hues is beautifully offset by Smythson’s signature navy satin-finish lining. The bag’s distinct absence of hardware and seamless design combine to produce an easy, elegant style. From the beach to the city streets, these supple, spacious bags are a joy to carry. Be sure that the Eliot will always take center stage, as its shape resonates with effortless beauty.

Sophia Webster- Aluna Suede Sandal

Ancient Greek Sandals - Lysistrate white platinum sandals

These suede sandals named “Aluna” are from Sophia Webster’s Pre-Spring 2013 collection. After her recent presentation of an imaginative debut collection that is inspired by and produced in Brazil, fashion circles are raving about her fun designs. That’s what naturally happens when working with none other than the talented Nicholas Kirkwood as his assistant for two years, going on to become his protégée before introducing her debut collection in 2013. The talented, young designer’s style is resolutely feminine with graphic shapes and playful motifs.

Inspired by classical mythology, Ancient Greek Sandals’ “Lysitrate” white platinum flats are the per fect statement sandals for the coming season. The first styles have come to light and are reproduced for you, handmade in beautiful natural leather that ages beautifully with time and wear. Enriched with magical powers fit for the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, pick up a pair of the signature ‘golden wing’ buckled sandals in natural leather for a magical, and absolutely stylish, step this spring.

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Rosantica – Pegaso Lapis Necklace

Alexis Bittar - Siyabona Gold Cerulean Vine Necklace

After collaborating with some of the most important high fashion houses in Milan, in 2007 designer Michela Panero decided to personally create her own fashion jewellery line. Drawing inspiration from travels, nature and the luxury fashion world, Rosantica developed a jewellery line which focuses on the magic of natural gems. The brand mixes classic styles of Greek and Roman jewellery traditions, with modern shapes and trends, giving a new and stunning interpretation of timeless pieces. Rosantica items are to be considered timeless pieces that go beyond fashion seasons or trends.

Siyabona means, “We see, we have the ability to see the future” in Zulu.

Custom cut stones in crown settings reflect Victorian sensibilities in their delicate nature. Described as “one of the greatest jewellery designers of the 21st century”, Alexis Bittar went from hawking his wares on the streets of New York, to selling his eponymous jewellery collections in more than 35 countries around the globe, including Harvey Nichols Kuwait. Emulate the styles of legendary icons like Joan Collins, Lauren Huitton and Lady Gaga with non other but signature pieces by Alexis Bittar.

Nagatani – Diamond Python French Lamb collection

Rupert Sanderson – Music Bag collection

An exclusive item from the Diamond Python collection, made with python skin and French lamb. Nagatani bags are handcrafted in Japan using the finest European leathers. By using the best quality stitching, carefully considered to add both aesthetic beauty as well as enduring durability, Nagatani persistently strives to pursue both fashionable design and exceptionally functional handbags of genuine beauty. The Japanese craftsmanship, intricate details and the sophisticated elegance are the essence of these exquisite bags, available exclusively at Harvey Nichols Kuwait.

Celebrated shoe designer Rupert Sanderson launches his first bag collection in the Spring/Summer 2013 season. Made in Italy with one of the finest bag manufactures in Milan, the “Music Bag” collection comes in four contemporary shapes: a classic tote, shoulder bag, cross body and clutch, in a multitude of rich leathers and colors, lined and subtlety branded. The ‘bar’ is turned from brass to give a piece of high quality hardware that is functional and does not add unnecessary weight. The bags are available in a limited number of selected specialist luxury stores worldwide, including Harvey Nichols Kuwait.

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THE AFTER JOURNEY The Es.ca.pade.rs are back!

By bazaar staff

They’re back from a trip of a lifetime! The Es.ca.pade.r’s backpacking trip across Europe marks a third and even more successful Es.ca. pade. initiative by Pink Coffee Marketing & PR. We had NO clue a PR company can have this much fun!

Always working hard in providing our community with informative and enlightening initiatives to push you towards that ‘road less traveled’, Es.ca.pade. makes the seemingly difficult a true possibility, living by the motto of creating memories before they happen – and this is what happened in 25 days of endless entertainment, travel and merriment.

The backpacking journey started from Barcelona where the travelers continued to the romantic city of Paris and after to Berlin.

Berlin won the heart of the travelers with its magnificent history and art. From there, they embarked to Hamburg to explore more of the historic country. “From Germany we explored Denmark and headed towards Tallinn.” A traveler recounts his journey, “Meeting and exchanging with people from different spectrums of the world at all the various hostels was totally awe inspiring. An unforgettable experience.”

Singing to a different tune they traveled by sea to Estonia, where the rush and thrill of the Baltic winters led them to magnificent St. 60

Petersburg. The heritage of the city won their hearts with its resplendent churches, stunning architecture and impressive artwork. They ended it at a focal point – Amsterdam – where they spent a night awe-struck by the flowing canals and listening to nature’s music.

Shamlan Al-bahar believes that “Creating and concluding the Es.ca.pade initiative at such a glorious high scale is a challenge.

A challenge, which was met well by all our encouraging sponsors. We practice what we preach here at Es.ca.pade. We go out and create endless possibilities to learn new skills, enhance the participant’s capabilities, and to explore opportunities in an enjoyable, safe, and family oriented environment. Applauds and laurels of inspiration from all the travelers have pushed us to plan our fourth Es.ca.pade.

Look forward for a new chapter to be written in the books of Es.ca.pade.”

Sponsors: Es.ca.pade official sponsors are AlTijari and Zain with Gear sponsors Explorer Base and Airline sponsors KLM. The gold sponsors are Fat Burger, Chocolateness, Art Deco, Chocolate and Macaroon, Unicapita, Health Company, Lofat, EzGrt, Baking Tray, and Someday. The silver sponsors are Gloss, Kuwait Concierge and London Limo.

Find out more about Es.ca.pade and Pink Coffee Marketing & PR at: www.onepinkcoffee.wordpress.com or call at 2224 8707. You can also join the conversation via Twitter on @escapadeq8.

DG EAT

‘LINCOLN’ LEADS PACK With 12 Oscar nominations

By Jill Serjeant

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Django Unchained

Argo

The U.S. presidential drama Lincoln led the pack of Oscar nominees with 12 nominations including best picture, as the race for the world’s top film honors began. Joining Lincoln in the competition for the best movie Oscar were eight films – the shipwreck tale Life of Pi with 11 nods, musical Les Miserables, Iran hostage drama Argo, Frenchlanguage movie Amour, Osama bin Laden thriller Zero Dark Thirty, comedy Silver Linings Playbook, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and 16mm indie film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Best acting nominations went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in Les Mis, Jessica Chastain for her role as an Osama bin Laden-hunting CIA agent in Zero Dark Thirty and Jennifer Lawrence, who plays a young widow in Silver Linings Playbook.

In a list with few major surprises, Lincoln also picked up nods for director Steven Spielberg and supporting actors Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as best adapted screenplay and costumes.

The James Bond film Skyfall won five nominations, including best

original song and cinematography, but the British secret agent movie missed out on a coveted best picture mention.

The Les Mis screen adaption of the musical based on Victor Hugo’s French revolution novel got eight nominations, including best supporting actress for Anne Hathaway as tragic heroine Fantine. Yet director Tom Hooper was left off the directing nominees, along with Ben Affleck for Argo and Tarantino for his violent slavery-era Western Django Unchained.

Michael Haneke’s Amour, a moving love story about an elderly couple, fared well with the Academy, winning best picture and best director

nods and a best lead actress mention for 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva, who became the oldest such nominee in the Academy’s 85-year history.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, became the youngest ever best actress Oscar nominee for her performance in the end of the world movie Beasts of the Southern Wild, which also garnered a nod for its first time director Benh Zeitlin.

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The Oscars are awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The winners will be named at a Hollywood ceremony on Feb. 26.

EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS

GULFRUN 8 8 years of dedication to motorsports in Kuwait

What is GulfRun? GulfRun, an annual motorsport event, started in 2005 as a weekend getaway for a group of friends who are simply passionate about automobile racing. The Bahrain International Circuit, with the help of qualified trainers and professional instructors, set the scene for what was to become an annual racing and training event. The goal behind GulfRun was simple; promote automobile racing and training in a safe and secure environment. With a dozen cars and several eager drivers, the objective was achieved and GulfRun began. The success of the first GulfRun set the course for an established annual racing and training event fueled by the passion to drive. As interest grew, the event evolved from a weekend track day with a dozen cars into an open public event consisted of over 60 drivers supported by local sponsors.

The GulfRun Car Show The launch of GulfRun is synonymous with its annual car show, which takes 64

place two weeks before the race at 360 Mall in Kuwait. The purpose of the car show is to muster car enthusiasts who have a passion for the hottest hot rods, muscle cars, rare cars, and more. Over the course of two days, GulfRun’s team of automobile enthusiasts took over 360 Mall showcasing the race cars participating in their 8th annual event at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The GulfRun Car Show attracted huge crowds at 360 Mall on 11th and 12th of January where visitors got a first-hand look of the incredible car line up. The car show brought together participating drivers, car enthusiasts and the general public in Kuwait; before heading off to the Bahrain International Circuit.

The GulfRun Race There are three categories and five competitions in the GulfRun race.

Drivers are placed into categories depending on their cars. Each category competes in the quarter mile race, autocross, evening circuit, drag race, and Formula 1 circuit.

Prior to racing, the drivers are trained by qualified trainers and professional instructors. Through training the drivers not only improve their driving skills but also learn how to race in a safe manner that will not harm them or any of the other drivers.

Khaled Al-Fraih at GulfRun said: “We are automobile fanatics and we created GulfRun as a way to produce events that are catered to motorsport enthusiast by motorsport enthusiast. We have several interesting cars competing for the top spots in their classes in the GulfRun race this year and the competition only gets more intense; and we can’t wait for the cars to hit the race track.”

GulfRun’s developments Khaled added, “Our goal is to continue to create new events and endorse a safe and professional approach to Motorsports activities regionally. With the support of all of our sponsors, participants and sponsors we have been

able to grow GulfRun from an annual event into a complete season of motorsport activities such as the 24HR Karting Endurance Race, GulfRun Carshow, GulfRun Race and GulfRun Racing Academy.”

GulfRun Sponsors GulfRun’s management team extends its gratitude from continuous support by Kuwait’s private sector, which acknowledges the important role sport plays amongst Kuwait’s youth. GulfRun8 is supported by a wide range of sponsors: Title sponsorship by Wataniya Telecom, Strategic Partner Kuwait Finance House, Platinum Sponsors Jashanmal, Hydrotek Engineering Co. and Consolidated Contractors Company, Gold sponsorship by Slider Station, AlSawan Co. KGL and MotoCare.

For more details about the GulfRun Car Show & GulfRun race, please visit: www.thegulfrun.com.

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closet Bibi

WHY WE LOVE FEMALE VILLIANS

By Bibi Al-Falah

As I watched the violently graphic film Savages this weekend (not for the faint of heart) I couldn’t help but fall in love with Salma Hayek’s character as the leader of a major drug cartel in Mexico. It was the same feeling I got watching Lucy Lui as O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsmen, and Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. There is something about a strong female villain that is so much more gripping than the typical “bad guy” we have grown so accustomed to.

In Savages, Salma has lost her husband, who was in charge of the largest drug cartel in Mexico and is the new boss. Her scenes include slapping one of her workers while yelling every bad word in the Spanish language, watching a traitor being tortured to death without batting an eyelash, and casually chatting with her in-house hostage via Skype. Other than her character’s extremely cold personality, her style in the movie is absolutely perfect. All her scenes include a necklace with a string of obscenely large diamonds, and she absolutely rocks amazing outfits like a white pant-suit and a stunning red dress. All the while, she sports 66

a fierce black wig with straight cut bangs.

Needless to say, she was the most stylish drug cartel boss I’d ever seen. If her character was played by a man I wouldn’t be as impressed, because you don’t expect women to be so evil and equally gorgeous. Que Fuerte!

Speaking of evil, nobody played evil better than Charlize Theron in the most recent depiction of Snow White. She literally sucks the youth out of girls to maintain her own, all the while parading around her dark castle in costumes fit for (naturally) a true Queen. Forget Snow White, she was the real star of this movie and looked absolutely stunning in every single scene, even when her youth was fading. Her stunning high feathered collars, lethally spiked crowns, and extraordinary jewelry stole every scene. If evil could ever be majestic, Charlize perfected the combination.

Flash back to Meryl Streep as the editor of the biggest fashion magazine in the world in The Devil Wears Prada. Her furs that she threw onto the table for her stuttering assistants to hang up were enough to cause a PETA protest.

Her attitude alone made all the designer clothes look ten times better, and her expertly flipped chic hair was the perfect match to each of her

looks. We LOVED to hate her in this movie and after watching it, I just wanted to be a ruthless fashion editor à la Miranda Priestly and rule the fashion kingdom.

There are so many more female villains that come to mind, but the last of my favorites has to be Lucy Liu as O-Ren in Kill Bill with her Crazy 88 men ready for a fight at the nod of a head. The fashion for this movie was on a whole different level, set in Japan with Lucy playing the gorgeous assassin that witnessed the murder of her parents as a child and vowed revenge, growing into one of the most dangerous female assassins in existence. Her final one-to-one battle with Uma Thurman in the snow gave me a whole new appreciation for Japanese fans and kimonos.

Not that such evil behavior should ever be encouraged in real life, but watching amazing actresses portray such strong, unconventional roles creates a certain impact that no Joker from Batman or Darth Vader could ever come close to portraying. How do we feel this powerful in real life? Leave out all the cruelty and just dress to kill. Think powerful shoulders, spikes, dark colors, rich fabrics and sparkling diamonds. Vive la femme fatale!

ZEE BRGR

RESURRECTION The brilliant idea that could make Polaroid relevant again

By Will Oremus

It’s been a long fall for Polaroid, which slept on the digital-photography revolution, went bankrupt, was resurrected, and went bankrupt again. In recent years, it has tried to reinvent itself with a succession of generally awkward new products, like a “smart camera” that doubles as an Android phone.

But last month the company announced a new idea so simple and natural that it just might work.

Partnering with a startup called Fotobar, it plans to open a chain of retail stores where customers can come in and print out their favorite pictures from their mobile phones. The first is scheduled to open in February in Delray Beach, Florida, and the goal is to open 10 locations across the US before the year is out.

The idea has obvious appeal in an era when most of our best pictures live only on the screen. Of course there are other options for printing out hard copies. But Fotobar is aiming higher, with dedicated retail outlets that sport an Apple Store-like layout and well-trained employees to help customers through the editing process. Customers will upload their image wirelessly from their smartphone to a bar-top 68

workstation, customize it to their liking, and then print it out on anything from canvas to metal to bamboo or even old-school Polaroid stock, complete with the iconic border.

The basic Polaroid-style printouts will start at about $15 and be ready at the store within five to 10 minutes, Fotobar founder and CEO Warren Struhl told me. Prints on more exotic materials, or with framing and matting, will ship from a manufacturing facility within three days. At the extreme high end, Struhl said he has already had one customer order a print of a vacation photo of his family descending a mountain in Israel on super-thick, five-by-seven-foot acrylic Lucite. “They’ll be hanging this in a multimilliondollar home,” he said.

One early Fotobar customer ordered a $2,000 print of a family vacation snapshot on five-foot by seven-foot acrylic, to hang above the living-room couch.

The artisanal approach is a departure from the original Polaroid experience, which was all about instant gratification. But immediacy is no longer what’s missing in photography today. We can share

any image with anyone in seconds with a couple clicks of a smartphone button. What our photographs lack today are the permanence of tangibility. Fotobar’s Struhl told me he thinks there’s a great hidden desire for that.

“When I ask people to show me their favorite picture, they take out their phone,” he said. “My next question is, does that favorite picture you just showed me live in a physical form? Does it exist on your wall, your desk, or your shelf? I get two answers.

One is ‘no.’ Literally everyone says no. And the second is, everyone says, ‘and it p---es me off.’ Because it’s too complex: ‘I don’t know what I’m going to get, I’ve got to plug something in, I don’t really know if this picture’s good enough.’ So I realized there was a pain point in people’s lives.” Struhl thinks the way to fix that is not just by making it easier, but by making it pleasant, educational and fun - by turning the work into play. That’s the Fotobars’ goal.

Having lost its way in a high-tech world, Polaroid is going back to “high touch.” If it succeeds, the company will have pulled off a feat that few foresaw: returning to relevance in the age of Instagram.

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Loaay's Two Cents Got business problems or challenges at work? With his Two Cents page, Loaay Ahmed shares his expertise in strategic management consulting to help managers, employees and entrepreneurs thrive.

Q

We want to produce a new product in China but we’re worried about copycats. What can we do to protect our concept?

LA: Ni hao! Most recent GDP per capita studies rank China anywhere between 82 and 97 out of 195 countries. This low position indicates that the Chinese market is hungry for growth and cash. Having a low GDP per capita is one of the main reasons why the Chinese business model – a few exceptions excluded – is to sell high volume of products at low profit margins. By doing so, they manage to keep the price of each product attractively affordable while they generate high profit from the overall number of large orders. This economic environment encourages greedy manufacturers to mimic any hot product that they can sell locally or to any willing market. And with a population of over billion people the chances of you coming across such manufacturers are quite high.

Register your brand and your Intellectual Property (IP) locally and in China before you approach any factory. Otherwise, they can legally manufacture and sell more copies of your product and the only decision you’ll have is whether to take the factory (or even factories) to court or not, which could cost you time and money equal to the lost sales. Alternatively, avoid China altogether and manufacture it in Europe, South America or USA to have less IP concerns. Naturally, your cost will be higher, however, you’ll have the image of your product not being made in China and the piece of mind knowing that the labor have not been offered poor wages and working conditions as many Chinese factories and workshops enforce on their workers...and that’s just my two cents.

Q

During seasonal occasions, should we just greet our customers or greet with an offer?

LA: How would you feel about a friend who every time he calls you on New Year’s Day he asks for a favor? Customers can see through your communication like how Superman can see through walls. If you want to greet, then be nice and do only that. Sending offers linked to public holidays and/or a seasonal occasion is a classic form of communication for marketers and there’s nothing wrong with it. The key to successful seasonal promos is to send the offers way earlier than the occasion’s date and earlier than direct and indirect competitors – indirect competitors are companies that compete with you on your customers’ share of wallet, but are not in the same industry you are in.

Let’s say that you want to offer customers a back-to-school promo.

August is too late, June and July is Summer time and people prefer to spend

their money on vacations or recreational activities with their children.

Communicating with them in May might sound too far at first, but with the right promo and payment options you might guarantee future sales ahead of the season. A week before school starts, you can send a nice greeting note wishing your customers with kids a successful and stress-free school year. When you separate your communication like that, your customers will immediately recognize how your brand treats them with respect...and that’s just my two cents.

Q

Partnering commercially with others has its advantages and disadvantages. Overall, do you support the style of running a business with partners or of flying solo?

LA: Wabi-sabi is an ancient Japanese concept that values the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, incomplete, modest, humble, and yet unconventional. By understanding that things in life are never perfect and they don’t last one gets to appreciate the flaws of everything around us. Business partnerships throughout the centuries have proven to be a great success and a great disaster. It depends on who you ask and when.

Being a solopreneur also stood the test of time and brought many names the sparkle of fame and fortune, however, the walls of many street shops can tell you stories of countless business people who occupied these premises and faded away into the abyss of business history because they couldn’t thrive.

When you want to decide to shake hands with someone and work sideby-side you can only consider the circumstances at the time. Maybe if a company wanted to buy a share in your business at a time when you are in your glory years, you could refuse if you didn’t see much added value. If the same company offered you less at a time of struggle, you might sign the deal. If you’re the kind of person who likes to be in control all the time then running your own business without any partners or investors might be best for your personality but not for someone who only functions at his/her best when they have to report to a board. And within this circumstantialbased thinking lies Wabi-sabi, the beauty of the imperfections of each of these two options. If there’s any absolute fact in life it’s that everything is relative...and that’s just my two cents.

For Loaay Ahmed’s advice on business or work matters, send a short email to loaay@knightscapital.com. Please note that only the questions chosen for publishing will be answered.

Loaay Ahmed is a management consultant and strategic expert. To learn more about Loaay and his consulting service, strategic business therapy, visit www.knightscapital.com.

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SNYDERS GOLD

Artist of the month

ANONYMOUSLY SOULFUL tamtam By bazaar staff

Tamtam is a young lyricist and singer of mixed heritage. She draws upon personal experiences to tell passionate and relatable stories for listeners, while leaving her songs open to interpretation.

Tamtam has been most influenced by Michael Jackson’s showmanship when performing live.

Onstage, she truly comes into-her-own.

“It’s such a positive feeling when you’re in a state of mind where nobody will judge you for being you. I’ve always enjoyed writing songs and music that express how I feel,” says tamtam of her debut single Little Girl.

She met Zahed Sultan at an event in Istanbul, Turkey. He heard her singing one of her songs and thereafter kept in touch and talked about music. She sent him some of her work; one email led to another which eventually led to the final version of the track Little Girl along with the music video. “Zahed has 72

become a mentor to me and I enjoy working with him because we have different styles of music so it’s always interesting when we combine our thoughts and ideas” says tamtam.

We’ll have to wait a little longer for an album though; tamtam says, “When I’m done with school, I am going to start working on an EP (a half album) that I hope to release before the end of 2013.” We can’t wait!

How did your musical journey begin?

My musical journey began when I sang “Thriller”

by Michael Jackson in a talent show at school. I was 13 years old and it was my first time performing live.

It was the most amazing and exhilarating feeling I had ever felt. As soon as I started singing and engaged the audience, this comfortable feeling of something so pure and natural overwhelmed me.

That night I learned that performing is a two-way

affair; in order for the performer to captivate the audience, the latter must engage the performer; and vice versa. Ever since that night I promised myself that I would take every opportunity to feel that way again.

What/Who inspires you to write your music and lyrics?

Both of my grandfathers were poets and they were always very eloquent in their speeches as well as their writing in Arabic. I am always moved when I read or hear their words and that inspires me to write lyrics of my own. Michael Jackson is definitely my number one inspiration for creating music because his music doesn’t just constitute hearing, one can feel the words and the emotions that he is conveying through his voice and sound.

Is the final sound of a musical track an individual or group effort?

The final sound of a track is definitely a group effort because you can’t achieve the final sound without attaining the basics and the core of the track. There are many components to a song and fusing two or more minds and ideas makes for a more interesting end result.

Who/What in your early beginnings influenced your music?

I still consider myself in my early beginnings when it comes to music, and I would say that many different circumstances influence my music.

Sometimes it’s an experience that I go through, other times it’s an observation and an opinion that I convey through my lyrics, and on occasion I use my imagination to tell a story.

In your opinion, what was the hardest challenge you faced in your musical career so far?

The hardest challenge for me is not being able

to be completely open about who I am and where I am from due to cultural and social expectations.

Those are important factors and play a big part in my music. I know that one day I am going to have to be more open about it, especially since performing is my favorite component about being a musician.

How has the Middle Eastern world reacted to your sound?

It’s been a positive reaction over all when it comes to my sound. I think there’s also been an element of surprise because I don’t sing in Arabic and my musical style is influenced from the West.

Do you feel that music should always serve a specific purpose?

Each person who creates music should use their music towards something they believe in and are passionate about. Since people’s passions are different, I don’t believe there should be one

specific purpose for music.

What is your dream performance space and destination?

The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, and the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

What would you like to accomplish in the future?

In the future, I hope to use whatever tools I attain from music to better society and create a more positive world by encouraging people to become more patient and understanding towards one another. I’d also like to help provide a college education for those who don’t have the means to get a degree, because I believe that knowledge is vital in life and it is a blessing to be able to obtain it.

For more information about tamtam visit www.mousemusic.org.

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3-D PRINTERS Make your desk a factory

By Cecilia Kang

When Ford wants to try out a new transmission part, an engineer sends a digital blueprint of the component to a computer, and what happens next once seemed like the stuff of science fiction.

Inside a device about the size of a microwave oven, a plastic, three-dimensional version of the component begins to take shape before your eyes.

After scanning the design blueprint, the gadget fuses together a paper-thin layer of plastic powder.

It repeats, putting another layer on top, and then thousands more, before binding the material together with lasers. A few hours later, out pops the auto part, ready to be tested.

The cost of such technology: about $1,500.

At such prices, 3-D printers, once an obscure and expensive innovation, are gaining traction among businesses, with broad implications for manufacturing. Ford is putting them in the hands of every one of its engineers. NASA uses the printers to test parts that could eventually make it to space.

And pretty soon, analysts say, they will be showing up in the home office. Just a few years ago, 3-D printers were as big as industrial refrigerators and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Now anyone can order one online and put it on a desk.

That such technology can be offered so cheaply and compactly may be these gadgets’ true breakthrough.

“You can argue this is the democratization of manufacturing,” said Carl Howe, head of consumer research at Yankee Group, a tech research firm.

He predicted that this will be the year when 3-D printers will become inexpensive enough to gain wider interest from small businesses, colleges and consumers.

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“Things that used to require tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for plastic molds, you can now do for $1,500 or less,” Howe said.

This is definitely the year that 3-D printing is making a splash at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the annual bazaar of geek commerce. Last year, only one 3-D printing company showed up at the CES, which aims to showcase gadgets you might buy at Best Buy or Amazon, not at industrial supply stores.

This year, four such companies will be there.

One of them - MakerBot, which also supplies devices to Ford - will unveil a new 3-D printer designed to be the most advanced ever offered at a price that could make it attractive to the home hobbyist.

The online world of hackers and tech enthusiasts is buzzing about how to use such a powerful tool. Researchers and early adopters have made everything from cute figurines and jewelry to working bicycles. A lot of iPhone cases are being custom-made on 3-D printers.

Some other possibilities have been more controversial.

After the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a video proposing the use of a 3-D printer to make a copy of a gun that fires real bullets went viral on the Web. University of Texas law student Cody Wilson explained in the video that what he called the Wiki Weapon would create the “first 3-D printable personal defense system.”

“What’s great about the Wiki Weapon is it only needs to be lethal once,” Wilson, who heads a nonprofit called Defense Distributed, says in the video. “We will have the reality of a weapons system that can be printed out from your desk. Anywhere there is a computer, there is a weapon.”

Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said the creation

of guns through 3-D printing could make undetectable plastic firearms too easy to acquire.

At a news briefing in December, he called for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act, which would include bans on plastic guns and firearms made from 3-D-printed parts.

“It is just a matter of time before these threedimensional printers will be able to replicate an entire gun,” Israel said, “and that firearm will be able to be brought through this security line, through the metal detector, and because there will be no metal to be detected, firearms will be brought on planes without anyone’s knowledge.”

Eventually, 3-D printers are expected to make even more complex parts and machines, or be used in medicine for hip replacements and spinal reconstruction. That stands to revolutionize far more than home hobbies.

“Before, if you were a manufacturer and you wanted to make a product, you had to make 10,000 or 100,000 of them; you had to think in terms of the capital it costs to make that volume,” said Bre Pettis, chief executive of MakerBot. “It takes hours.

Now you can iterate on an idea many times in one day and create huge efficiencies.”

And while once such automation primarily threatened to replace workers in repetitive assembly-line jobs, now these technologies are taking aim at higher-level jobs that had seemed suitable only for humans.

“A more productive society is good news, and it allows us to have greater variety and choices,” said Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at MIT’s Center for Digital Business. “What concerns me are the labor-force consequences of such astonishing changes.”

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BURGER KING

“App”ETITE “Men have become the tools of their tools.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

By Sumayyah Meehan

Call me what you will…nostalgic, sentimental or even foolhardy. But I love my un-smart, non-intelligent cell phone. She’s old, clunky and her keypad is worn in all the right places. I love that she fits in the palm of my hand and has helped me stay in touch with my friends and family over the years. And I am grateful to this aging piece of technology for helping me digitally capture countless precious moments over the years, including photographs of my children as they continue to grow like weeds in a blossoming garden.

To say that I missed the “smartphone” bandwagon is an understatement. Sure, I have gone to countless electronic show rooms and fiddled with the sleek designer phones that seemingly sparkle more so than a polished diamond glistening in the light. But I always put them back on their displays while keeping my trusty cell phone tucked away in my purse ready to fulfill a call, text or image. To me, 76

even handling a smartphone feels like I am cheating on my cell phone. And to take the next step in abandoning such a worthy friend is almost unthinkable.

That was until my husband recently came home with a small little bag in his hand and plopped it right into my lap. Inside was a fancy schmancy pink hued smartphone that seemed to beckon for me before I even opened the box.

It was cool, sleek and the touch screen was polished to a glossy shine. I turned it on and was hooked from the moment I saw the screen light up. Enchanted with my new “toy”, I spent the greater part of the evening exploring all the features. A swipe here and a swipe there…who has time to read the instructions?

What intrigued me most about this snazzy little gadget was my newfound ability to download applications or “apps”. The sheer magnitude of apps available for download is astonishing to say the least. And the speed at

which I found myself downloading app after app was startling. I felt an immense sense of power overwhelm me as I downloaded apps to micromanage everything from healthy eating habits to choosing a new paint for my living room. My “app”etite raged on for days as I filled my glittering new phone with fun apps for the kids and myself.

As for my tried and true un-smart phone, I would love to be able to say that I tucked my smartphone back in its box in preparation for its hasty retreat back to the store. But who am I kidding? While I will forever love my clunky old cell phone, my smartphone is here to stay.

Who knows? Maybe one day it will morph into a beloved dinosaur in the face of a newer and sleeker mobile phone. I only hope that by then I will be able to resist the temptation to upgrade.

However, if the next generation of smartphones can perform menial tasks like vacuuming or folding the laundry, once again, I will be sold.

AFGI

bazaar goes cruising PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4 By bazaar staff

Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, revealed the new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 at an exclusive launch event to members of the press on Tuesday, 22nd of January. The new generation of the 911 Carrera unites excellent performance and efficiency with the dynamic benefits of the latest version of the active all-wheel drive system Porsche Traction Management (PTM).

The new all-wheel drive 911 is being launched in Kuwait in four versions – as the 911 Carrera 4 and 911 Carrera 4S, and each as Coupé and Cabriolet. Sporting the same traits as the rear-wheel drive versions, such as the lightweight body design, the all-wheel drive models consume significantly less fuel than their predecessors, despite a higher level of engine and driving performance. Total savings for individual versions are as much as 16 per cent.

Commenting on the launch of the new all-wheel drive 911 Carrera 4, Roger Kyriacou, Deputy General Manager at Porsche Centre Kuwait, said: “We are excited to be introducing the latest premium offering from Porsche. The all-new 911 Carrera 4 is setting new benchmarks for Intelligent Performance – it’s more powerful and agile, yet lighter and more economical. The Carrera 4 takes top efficiency and performance to an even higher level whilst at the same time offering excellent traction and driving stability even during extreme driving manoeuvres in the highspeed range.”

All new models have a 7-speed manual gearbox as standard, and the Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox is available as an option. The 911 Carrera 4 Coupé 78

with 350 hp can sprint from zero to 100 km/h in as little as 4.5 seconds (Cabriolet: 4.7 s) and reach a top speed of up to 285 km/h (Cabriolet: 282 km/h), depending on equipment features. The Coupé and Cabriolet of the 911 Carrera 4 S each have a 3.8-litre rear-mounted boxer engine that produces 400 hp; this enables acceleration to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds (Cabriolet: 4.3 seconds) and a top speed of 299 km/h (Cabriolet: 296 km/h) with a suitable equipment configuration.

In the new 911 Carrera 4 models, a new menu in the instrument cluster informs the driver how the PTM all-wheel drive is currently distributing engine power.

In addition, with the debut of the 911 Carrera all-wheel drive models, Porsche is introducing the optional Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) to the entire model range, which controls distance to traffic ahead and vehicle speed. In addition, a new sliding glass sunroof as an optional feature for all 911 Carrera models is introduced with this model.

With the generation change, the all-wheel drive models of the 911 Carrera now have new engines with 3.4 liters and 3.8 liters of engine displacement. To increase their efficiency, the boxer engines feature electrical system recuperation and mapcontrolled coolant thermal management.

The new generation Porsche 911 Carrera also offers the driver even sportier driving fun in its acoustics. The Sound Symposer – a standard feature in all models – produces an even more full-bodied and sporty engine sound in the interior and is operated by the standard Sport or optional Sport Plus control button. A sport

exhaust system is also available as an option for the new all-wheel drive models. It not only dethrottles the exhaust at the press of a button, but also merges the two exhaust lines.

As in all 911 models, the longer wheelbase – lengthened by 100 mm compared to the previous model – provides for significantly better driving stability at high speeds. Other systems that guarantee top driving performance – some standard and some optional depending on the model – are the further advanced Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), dynamic engine mounts, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), innovative electro-mechanical power steering, Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), a high-performance brake system and the car’s wheels and tires.

Offering even further enhanced agility in the new 911 cars is Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), which is standard in the 911 Carrera 4S and is available as an option in the 911 Carrera 4. All 911 Carrera cars already have a Sport button as standard.

It lets the driver choose tuning optimized for comfort and fuel economy or tuning that emphasizes sporty performance. The optional Sport Chrono package with the additional Sport Plus button enables an even wider spread between sporty tuning and ride comfort in everyday driving. Besides configuring all relevant systems and functions for maximum performance, the Sport Chrono package also has controlled dynamic engine mounts.

The innovative lightweight body of the new 911 Carrera range was developed for top driving characteristics in both the Coupé and Cabriolet – and for rear-wheel

and all-wheel drive versions - with just minor modifications. All models share the weight advantages of the aluminum-steel construction with substantially improved rigidity, supplemented by local reinforcement elements in the soft-top 911s. An eyecatching feature of the soft-top all-wheel drive 911 cars is the panel bow top – a new development by Porsche. This innovative technology has succeeded in creating a previously unattainable coupé-like roof arch of the soft top when it is up, and this leads to aerodynamic advantages as well.

The interior of the new all-wheel drive 911 cars that is making its appearance is based on the new generation concept. The central design element is the center console that rises towards the front. It provides excellent ergonomics that integrate both the driver and front passenger. The operating concept permits uncomplicated and intuitive control of key vehicle functions.

Porsche developed its top sound system – specifically designed for the 911 Carrera – in cooperation with Burmester. Utilizing its experience from systems of the Panamera and Cayenne, which have received numerous awards, this new system realizes levels of overall audio power and sound quality never before attained in the sports car segment.

The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 is available from Behbehani Motors Company. Visit their showrooms in Shuwaikh and on the Fourth Ring Road. For more information visit www.behbehanimotors.com.

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DREAMLINER’S NIGHTMARE Boeing’s new plane has airlines in a spin

By Clive Irving

Before the alarming emergency in Boston involving Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner catching fire lies one far scarier moment—the closest call any jet can have. In November 2010, after a six-hour test flight, a 787 was on approach to the airport at Laredo, Texas. Suddenly an electrical fire broke out in the rear of the plane. The pilot found himself without his primary controls to fly down to a landing.

The 787 and the 30 or so technicians and crew aboard were saved only by a last-resort device, a small turbine that drops below the fuselage to snatch power from the slipstream, working like a windmill. Even then, all aboard were evacuated on the runway by emergency slides—extremely rare for a test flight.

Boeing played down the seriousness of this episode as a problem that would be fixed.

But it pinpointed a vulnerability unique to the 787. In other jets, the power for flight controls and other systems comes from the engines. In the 787, critical parts of the system depend on electrical power generated by equipment in two bays beneath the cabin. One of these bays was the origin of the fire in a Japan Airlines 787 80

while parked at a gate in Boston and of problems experienced by other 787 operators, including United Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Smoke and fire are an absolute no-no for airliners. Even on the ground they should be intolerable. So why did Boeing make the Dreamliner seemingly so dependent on having its own kind of in-flight electrical power plant?

In theory, the idea complemented the whole thrust of the airplane’s ambition to be a greener, cleaner jet. Not calling on the engines for many of the systems meant both more efficient engines and lower-exhaust emissions.

Before the 787, Boeing was noted for being conservative in its designs. However, stung by the reputation its rival Airbus was getting for having bet the company on one big idea, a far more automated flight-control system, Boeing’s engineers were allowed to be more daring.

As a result, the Dreamliner was actually packed with dreams: a radical change from metal to composites for the structure, a new generation of “green” engines—and far greater use of electrical power. Putting all this together in one airplane was problematic. Plants had to

learn to handle composites from scratch, the supply chain seized up because of too much outsourcing, and the first 787s were more than three years late reaching the airlines.

For a while the gamble seemed to pay off. The first customer, All Nippon Airways, had flown 1.8 million passengers in its 787s in the year up to November 2012 and said it was “delighted” with the airplane, as were the passengers, with its brighter, roomier, and better ventilated cabins.

But now the Boston incident has revived earlier concerns. Boeing says, “Nothing that we’ve seen in this case indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power-system events, which involved power-panel faults elsewhere in the aft electrical equipment bay,” and that they still have “extreme confidence” in the plane.

The fact is whether it comes from the battery or the power panel, fire on a plane is very bad news, and after the NTSB’s preliminary finding that the plane’s auxiliary-power-unit battery had severe fire damage, the question has become whether the 787 has, all along, been harboring a serious problem that will take a lot of money and time to fix.

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SAMSUNG VACUUM TUBE SOUNDBAR

LACIE BLADE RUNNER HARD DRIVE

TAYLORMADE R1 DRIVER

Well, we didn’t see this one coming. The Samsung Vacuum Tube Soundbar packs a decidedly audiophile feature — an integrated vacuum tube — into the un-audiophile sound bar form factor.

While the goal is warmer, more natural sound, other features — like a gyroscope to optimize sound quality based on height, rotation, and slope and a wireless subwoofer — will likely make a difference too. In keeping with the wireless theme, it also offers Bluetooth for cordlessly connecting your smartphone, tablet, or even TV if it supports that kind of thing.

No, the LaCie Blade Runner Hard Drive (KD85) doesn’t come emblazoned with graphics from Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic. Instead, this limited edition hard drive’s Philippe Starck design, which features an anthropomorphic metal interior and a cage-like shell, attempts to mirror the combination of human and machine discussed in the movie. Of course, computer peripherals generally need to do more than just look cool, and as such it also features 4TB of storage and a speedy USB 3.0 interface.

Limited to just 9,999 worldwide.

The TaylorMade R1 Driver (KD112), all you really need to worry about is the flex of the shaft.

Thanks to an adjustable loft sleeve, the R1 gives you twelve options between 8º and 12º to find the one that’s right for you, as well as two shot shape weights, and a face angle sole plate that give you the ability to select between seven options of neutral/square, open, or closed. Once all that’s dialed in, the new graphic on the crown will help you get the face squared up and aligned correctly, so all you need to worry about is smacking the ball down the fairway.

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www.taylormadegolf.com

PHILIPS SAECO XELSIS FINGERPRINT ID ESPRESSO MACHINE

THE JEDI PATH

LEGO TECHNIC 4×4 CRAWLER

The fingerprint recognition system on the Philips Saeco Xelsis Fingerprint ID Espresso Machine (KD900) is able to store up to 6 unique profiles, the Xelsis also features Saeco Brewing System technology that lets you dial in just the right strength and consistency, an integrated, automatic milk carafe for perfectly frothed milk, an adjustable, built-in ceramic grinder, protective coffee bean hopper, and removable 54-ounce water tank. All of which helps you save a grand per person per year.

Learn about the main philosophy of the Jedi by watching the Star Wars films, but if you want specifics, you’re going to want this. The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force (KD28) includes “writings” from ancient Jedi Masters, personal commentary from more recognizable faces like Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Luke. The book itself arrives in a motorized vault and comes with multiple removable trinkets, similar to the Book of Sith ($60) — which is a must purchase for those looking to study the nuances of the Dark Side.

The problem with some Lego sets is once they’re built, there’s not much you can do with them — the more elaborate the set, the less sturdy it seems to be. Unless you’re talking about this Lego Technic 4×4 Crawler (KD55). Clocking in at 1,327 pieces, this beast features motorized 4-wheel steering and 4-wheel drive, opening doors, an “extreme” suspension, and a remote control that communicates with the included servo via IR. Take that, stationary Star Wars set.

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WHO STOLE THE COOKIE FROM THE JAR? Exclusive with Cookie Artist Natasha, the creator of Nataly’s Cookies

By Shabana H. Shaikh

“Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Who, me? Yes, you! Couldn’t be! Then who?”

Thus, goes the “Cookie Jar Song”, a sing-along song/game, that most of us will remember singing as kids. As per Wikipedia - ‘the song is an infinite-loop motif - each verse directly feeds into the next and continues until one makes a slip.’ But if you were being tempted by Nataly’s Cookies, you would be as guilty as charged.

Gorgeous Natasa Tasic is the artist extraordinaire behind Nataly’s Cookies. Friends, family, customers 84

and yes, fans readily vouch that Nataly’s cookies are as yummy-lious as they are visibly tempting. A look at the photos in this article, and you would know what I am talking about.

I came across Nataly’s page on Facebook, known as Delissshhh, a while ago and my first impression was ‘wow….are these even edible?’

Turns out they definitely are, and quite a delight to the palate, too. During our meeting, I asked Nataly what inspired her. “Everything,” she replied, in her sweetly accented English, and that about

sums up Nataly’s near obsession for cookie making.

For Nataly, it is a non-stop thinking process, finding inspiration all over from nature, culture, to delicate lace or henna designs.

Made of cinnamon-honey, Nataly’s Cookies are available in chocolate, vanilla, coffee and chocolate chili flavors. Using vanilla Royal Icing, decorative art is designed single handedly by Nataly. Her loving and supportive husband is her first ardent fan, advisor and inspiration. “I’m not saying she’s good because she’s my wife, but she really is brilliant, because I see how she devotes herself to making cookies,” he said, completely at ease with his wife’s passion. Privy to Nataly’s creative process, he comments, “Sometimes, when she gets inspiration, she works the whole night on the new designs!”

Similarly, fans from all over the world, including some professional cookie artists with years of experience, have appreciated and commended Nataly on her work, saying that Nataly’s neatness and finesse is a talent. Even Nataly has been surprised and overwhelmed by the terrific comments posted on her Facebook page.

But, if like me you thought her perfection is the result of years of practice, here’s another surprise. “Oh, it’s only been a year,” she clarifies, adding, “I came across it on the internet and just fell in love. I self-tutored in cookie making techniques, bought myself the basics, cookie

cutters, food colors, and the whole thing took off.”

The trial-and-success story puts your perception of Nataly’s Cookies on a completely different level, making it inevitable to appreciate what Nataly has managed to do so artfully without formal training.

Yet, she is not only a reputable cookie artist, but can also bake a mean-looking-and-heavenlytasting cake and a good cook.

I asked her if it was her interest in cooking and baking that stirred her towards cookies. “No, not really,” the ever smiling Nataly replied. “As a young girl, I would hang around my mama when she was cooking, asking questions about this and that. But home cooking is all I learned. My cakes turned out to be good too – from what everything told me – but with cookies, I am really into it.”

The process of creating each customized

cookie takes time, and advance orders are advised especially for seasonal events or occasions.

According to Nataly, it is not something to be rushed. “The baking is the easy part, but decorating them requires time. Some work needs to be done in phases as with intricate designs and painting.” That is why each carefully crafted cookie is a piece of art and art cannot be inexpensive. “I want my cookies to be exclusive,” reasoned Nataly. “Each piece is customized based on the purpose or occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or babyshower. Everything I make is hand made – a cookie could take more than an hour of drawing - and without using stencils.”

Interestingly, the gifted Nataly is a biologist by profession, and she shares her love for plants and cats with her husband. “With the plants

around us, our house is like a jungle,” said, the obviously in love couple.

If you have liked what you have read and loved what you have seen, it is time you found out what Nataly’s Cookies taste like. Materialize your fantasies and challenge Nataly’s enviable skills with your own customized set of cookies for a special occasion or person. I recommend her highly.

Nataly’s Cookies is licensed under Altarakmah International General Trading Co. They now ship worldwide in collaboration with FEDEX. To place your order email: delissshhh@gmail.com or call or WhatsApp her at 6043 0853.

You can also keep up with Nataly’s cookie art through Facebook/Delissshhh, Twitter and Instagram @Natalys_cookies.

85

DELHI Monster Metropolis

By William Dalrymple

Delhi has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late.

The horrific gang rape and subsequent death of a young woman on her way back from seeing Life of Pi has lifted the lid on the casual violence of the Indian capital. For the rape is very much a Delhi story: while violence against women is a problem everywhere in India, it is generally agreed that women are most in danger in this vast, rough, messy megacity that I call home.

No one really knows how big Delhi is. Delhi the federal district has about 11 million inhabitants, but that figure disguises the fact that over the political boundaries in neighboring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh there sprawl suburbs that together contain millions more. By some estimates this greater urban Delhi contains more than 21 million people and is 86

one of the most populous urban areas on Earth.

As the city has expanded it has swallowed up hundreds of ancient villages, where people’s lives and attitudes have changed little since the Mughal Middle Ages. It is the cheek-by-jowl coexistence of a deeply conservative patriarchal rural society alongside the very different world and moral norms of a modern urban city that has helped create the tensions that resulted in the recent tragedy.

These enveloped villages can be sad places.

There are two near my house: Shahpur Jat and Khirki, both of which have been swallowed alive.

Shorn of their fields and exploited by corrupt bureaucrats and unscrupulous real-estate agents, the villagers now find themselves besieged.

Shahpur Jat has undergone a “boutiquification,” and its ponds full of leathery water buffaloes are now bizarrely edged with designer shops—which are visited by women in short skirts, high heels, and Dior sunglasses—while the villagers remain deprived of even the most basic facilities.

Yet these villages, with their old courtyard houses and ancient ruins, are one of the reasons I love this city as much as I do. Of the great cities of the world, only Rome and Cairo can even begin to rival Delhi for the sheer volume and density of historic remains. For miles in every direction, half collapsed and overgrown, robbed and reoccupied, neglected by all, are the remains of 600 years of trans-Indian imperium—all that is left of the vanity projects of centuries of Delhi’s emperors. Walled gardens and crumbling palaces, thousand-pillared halls and mighty tomb towers, empty mosques and semi-deserted Sufi shrines: there seemed to be no end to the litter of ages.

“It has a feeling about it of ‘Is this not the great Babylon?’ all ruins and desolation,” thought Emily Eden in the 1820s. As late as the early 1960s, you could take a horsedrawn tonga from Connaught Place and pass in a matter of minutes out of the city into this ruin-strewn countryside. If the mood so struck you in late January, you could sit in the fields outside Safdarjung’s Tomb and paint a watercolor of the tomb against a background of bright yellow mustard. Today if you tried to do the same you would likely end up under a bus. In a century, as the population of Delhi has grown from around 200,000 to its current enormity, the ruins and the villages now stand not in open countryside, but atop roundabouts, and tucked in beside the high rises and overpasses of South Delhi. They obscure the fairways of the golf course and provide a destination for the joggers in the Lodi Gardens.

The great Indian intellectual U.R. Ananthamurthy once remarked that the Indian writer is luckier than his Western counterpart, for he lives simultaneously in the 12th and 21st centuries, and in every century in between. This is certainly true of Delhi, and it provides the city both with its biggest problems and its greatest boons. The close juxtaposition of different worlds, disjointed in time, may make the city dangerous and violent, but it also gives its beauty, its energy, its fascination, and it makes it what it is.

William Dalrymple’s new book, Return of a King: The Battle of Afghanistan 1839–42, will be published in the U.K. by Bloomsbury in February and in the U.S. by Knopf in April. He is the cofounder of the Jaipur Literature Festival, which was held this year from Jan. 24 to 28.

CAFE SUPREME

SIRI, HOW BAD IS MY BREATH?

By Will Oremus

Your smartphone can see, hear and feel. The next frontier could be smell.

We’ve long had devices that specialize in detecting specific chemicals or compounds in the air, from breathalyzers to smoke alarms.

But Sam Khamis, founder of a startup called Adamant Technologies, thinks he has come up with something far more powerful: an array of sensors that together could potentially detect anything from halitosis to blood glucose levels to an impending electrical fire. The goal: a device that hooks up to your smartphone, turning it into a personal health monitor.

We aren’t there yet, but Khamis believes the technology isn’t far off. As with the human sense of smell, his system would depend on two main components: the sensor array, or “nose,” and the software for interpreting the sensory data, or “brain.” He has four developers at Adamant’s South San Francisco office working on the brain, and a team of eight engineers in Austin working on the chips that will constitute the nose. His hope is to have a working product within a year or two. So 88

far he has one very big name backing the idea: venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who pumped $2.5 million into the project last summer.

A Business Insider post on Adamant focused on the possibility of an iPhone app that could tell you when you have bad breath. Khamis told me that’s one good example of the type of consumer-oriented applications he’s aiming for in the short term. Others include apps that could monitor the effects of your diet or exercise on your metabolism. At first, these apps would require a plug-in device that might cost on the order of $100. But Khamis told me his long-term goal is bigger: in short, a digitized, superhuman sense of smell that could someday be integrated into the phone itself.

“Accelerometers, cellphone cameras - they all started out as an attachment, a connected device,” Khamis said. “Now you have accelerometers in every phone, and cellphone cameras are better than some handheld cameras. I’m hoping we can sort of track onto that adoption curve” over the next five to seven years.

Khamis hit on the idea by accident. As a doctoral student in nanoscale physics at the University of Pennsylvania, he was working on a device to study fundamental properties of nanoscale systems when he realized it made an excellent sensor. While others have developed arrays in which each sensor attempts works to pick out a different chemical, Khamis says each of his sensors can detect a wide range of chemicals, so that they can work in concert to produce a sophisticated map of the smells in the air.

The remaining challenges, he said, are fitting the sensor array into a compact, easy-to-use form, and then getting people to actually use it. Other companies, such as BodyMedia and Basis, have developed armbands that can monitor things like heart rate and sleep patterns, but people have to remember to wear them. Adamant’s device would likely face the same hurdle - but if it succeeds, watch out. “Once you have a platform that can generically detect any chemical it encounters, there’s almost no limit to what you can do,” Khamis said. “It could be life-changing.”

‫الدكتور جيريمي ألفورد‬ Dr. Jeremy Alford ‫ بالمئة‬70 ‫ إلى‬50 ‫ من‬.‫”اضطرابات األكل هي األكثر فتك ًا من بين كل األمراض المتعلقة بالصحة العقلية‬ ‫ منهم سيتحسنون مع العالج ولكن سيظلون يناضلون‬٪20 ;‫يتم شفاؤهم‬ ّ ‫من الذين يسعون للعالج‬ ‫ ليس من الضروري أن يكون األكل‬... }‫ بالمئة سيتوفون {بالمساعدة‬20 ‫ إلى‬10 ‫ وما بين‬،‫ض ّد هذا اإلضطراب‬ ”.‫بمثابة حكم بالسجن مدى الحياة‬ ”Eating disorders are the deadliest of all mental health illnesses. 50-70% who seek treatment will recover; 20% will improve with treatment but still struggle with the disorder, and 10-20% will die. [With help] ...an eating disorder does not have to be a life sentence.”

SOOR CENTER Dr. Jeremy Alford

Clinical Psychologist & Clinical Hypnotherapist Dr. Jeremy specializes in the treatment of severe anxiety

and eating disorders. He also offers two highly successful programs at the Soor Center in support of weight loss & smoking cessation.

‫�لدكتور جريميي �ألفورد‬

‫�أخ�سائي نف�سي وتنومي مغناطي�سي‬

‫يخت�ص �لدكتور جريميي فـي عالج ��سطر�بات �لقلق �ملزمنة‬ ً‫ يوفر �لدكتور جريميي �أي�سا‬.‫و�ل�سطربات �ملتعلقة بالأكل‬ ‫برناجمني ناجحني فـي مركز �ل�سور لدعم فقد�ن �لوزن‬ .‫و�لإقالع عن �لتدخني‬

/SoorCenterQ8 @SoorCenterQ8

INSPIRE PURE FITNESS One year on and the buzz is still inspiring By bazaar staff

You know how it goes in Kuwait; new places - be they restaurants, shops, malls, health clubs - open to much fanfare, boasting how they are doing things differently, bringing something new, something unique that we haven’t seen before in Kuwait. There’s a buzz and it’s the go-to place for a few weeks until the novelty wears off, standards can slip and the place just blends in with rest.

There are exceptions to the rule of course, and for us at bazaar Inspire Pure Fitness is a shining example of such a place. Just over a year since they opened their doors to offer Kuwait a results based training facility not seen before in Kuwait and they are showing no signs of waning. Not only have they kept the same standards as the day they opened – the place still looks brand new – they have improved their facilities, learning as they go and adapting to members’ needs.

But perhaps the most important retention and improvement at Inspire is the personal trainers. In the beginning they stated that their PTs gave Inspire its soul and without them they would be the same as everyone else. As a testament to the quality of the place those original PTs are still there and thriving in their results based training, seeing clients reach goals and then smash them, be they weight loss, strength gain, or just all-round general well-being. These trainers, from all over the world, are fitness professionals of the highest standard who care deeply about the results their clients achieve.

If the client is succeeding then so is the trainer and they want to succeed just as much as you do.

In the one short year since opening they have made improvements across 90

the board where other places may have just been happy with staying where they were. From small things such as adding climbing ropes for practicing your ascents to building a custom multi-purpose rig outside for anything from pullups to back squats, adding a Pilates Reformer, doubling the number of yoga classes on offer, and offering the very latest Les Mills concept, GRIT, a gruelling half hour of high intensity workout which will certainly test your mettle.

Building on the already impressive roster of trainers, they have brought in a bodyweight workout and Muay Thai master over from France, and in the form of a Crossfit athlete, the fittest guy in New Zealand. 2013 will see the arrival of specialist Crossfit equipment to go along with their certified Crossfit affiliation. There will be three new PTs arriving in the next three months who specialize in everything from MMA training, to Crossfit and Poliquin strength training! So whatever your goals - even if you’re not sure of them yourself yet - Inspire will help you define them, reach them, and then surpass them.

If the gains made by Inspire in 2012 are any indication, then 2013 will see them smashing their goals too. They enjoy inspiring here and through innovation and dedication to a healthy lifestyle, they are leading by example of what we are truly capable of.

Inspire is on the Bida’a Strip next to the Al Remal Hotel & Resort. For more information visit www.inspirekw.com or call 2226 3151. You can also be inspired via twitter @InspireQ8.

Photographs courtesy of Khalid Al Saleh.

Introducing the heart and soul of Inspire - the Personal Trainers Name: Michael Cantelon Training style: Strength and athletic conditioning Favourite exercise: Plyometrics Least favourite exercise: Long-distance running Best thing about Kuwait: Sunshine Words of inspiration: “The iron never lies” - Henry Rollins

Name: Julie Caradec Training style: Crossfit, Les Mills group fitness Favourite exercise: Handstand push-ups Least favourite exercise: Not being successful in one exercise or weight Best thing about Kuwait: Love the easy lifestyle and how open the people can be. I have met beautiful people and friends Words of inspiration: Respect, behave; believe in yourself and act with a positive attitude to drive you to success in your life

Name: Craig Drennan Training style: Crossfit, Poliquin Favourite exercise: Squat clean (Olympic lifting) Least favourite exercise: Steady state aerobic exercise Best thing about Kuwait: Imad Hayat Words of inspiration: What doesn’t make you stronger kills you!

Name: Alana Karehana Training style: Circuit style metabolic training, rehabilitation, post-natal, weight loss Favourite exercise: Swiss ball jack-knife with push-up Least favourite exercise: Easily answered; burpees!

Best thing about Kuwait: Having the opportunity to work at Inspire and change lives on a daily basis Words of inspiration: Aim high, dream big.

Never underestimate the power of setting goals; it will amaze you when you achieve them

Name: Jamie Karehana Training style: Corrective and functional exercise Favourite exercise: Clap push-up Least favourite exercise: Sit-ups Best thing about Kuwait: Our members Words of inspiration: It’s not about being the fittest or strongest but refusing to fail

Name: Kamel Khazani Training style: Thai boxing, karate, body weight training Favourite exercise: Kicks Least favourite exercise: Nothing Best thing about Kuwait: Great people, great weather Words of inspiration: No pain no gain

Name: Nathan McKendrick Training style: Functional/martial Arts Favourite exercise: Group fitness Least favourite exercise: Pull-ups Best thing about Kuwait: People and summer!

Words of inspiration: Work hard play hard! Do whatever it takes to be happy and become a better you

Name: Thomas Rapana Training style: Lifestyle/Wellbeing Favourite exercise: Martial arts and sports based Least favourite exercise: Not applicable ;) Best thing about Kuwait: The people Words of inspiration: The person who has the greatest influence on your health and physical wellbeing is YOU Name: Nicole Ritchie Training style: Pilates, rehabilitation, endurance, balance and flexibility Favourite exercise: Headstand hold Least favourite exercise: As clichéd as it sounds, not exercising...does that count?

Best thing about Kuwait: Easily the people I meet. They teach me so much which in turn helps me grow not only as person but also a trainer Words of inspiration: Be yourself and be real... it’s as easy as that!!!

Name: Ben Thompson (Speedy) Training style: Crossfit Favourite exercise: Handstand walk Least favourite exercise: Anything on a machine Best thing about Kuwait: The people Words of inspiration: Train your weaknesses and keep your strengths, strengths

Name: Stan Velikov Training style: Results based, intense Favourite exercise: Sprints Least favourite exercise: Walking Best thing about Kuwait: Friends, peaceful life, less crime, nobody seems in a hurry (except on the road!)

Words of inspiration: Be curious

91

freddom to love

freedom to love

inspired by the life of a bazaarite

PINKBERRY

DATA IS THE NEW LANGUAGE We’ve collected more information in the past two years than all the years before.

Time to do something creative with it.

By Baratunde Thurston

Every strategy consultant has one PowerPoint slide he regards as his opus.

After eight years in the field, I had several contenders: a two-by-two matrix that made people rethink the very nature of x and y axes; a waterfall chart that redefined the relationship between revenue and expenses; a customer- profitability Mekko chart that would sit as easily at MoMA as it did in GoToMeeting.

But my greatest gift to the value-adding arts was for a telco that feared it had no future in the Internet era. Using clip art of stacked cylinders to represent databases (did I mention I’m a brilliant artist?), I depicted the missed opportunities in the valuable customer info our client didn’t use.

Internet companies could ask users to share their location, but telcos already knew where all their devices were. Facebook could talk up the “social graph,” but what is the Call Detail Record but an indicator of true friendship? And payments? Phone companies are basically billing operations with fiber optics. They were leaving money, market share, and innovation on the table.

My team imagined telcos collecting, analyzing, and building APIs to provide access to customer data, making the world a more efficient, creative, and just place where freedom would ring for a thousand years--or at least until privacy concerns 94

reined in growth. Our clients nodded their approval and promptly filed the slide in “The Department of Too Far Outside the Box.” When it comes to data, possession is perhaps only four-tenths of the law. Set-top boxes know our remote-control interactions. Vehicles know how much, how well, and how fast we drive.

Credit card companies know what, when, and where we buy. Google knows, well, all the things.

If the prevalence of chatter about “big data” is any indicator, data has evolved from something we collect with the vague promise of future value to something we analyze to retrieve that value.

This fall, I got to see this transition up close when I spoke at DataGotham, an event celebrating New York’s “data community” and showcasing how data analysis was transforming finance, fashion, startups, and urban life. Michael P. Flowers, director of the city’s Policy and Strategic Planning Analytics Team (does your city have one of those?), explained how the N.Y.C. government had reduced emergency-response times by optimizing where it put idling ambulances, placing them close to likely trauma areas and 24-hour coffee shops with bathrooms. Jake Porway, founder of DataKind, which pairs data scientists with social enterprises, lauded these geeks as modern superheroes, using their extraordinary powers for humanitarian causes. Not wanting to feel left out, I used my talk

to show the value of Foursquare’s search function (called Explore) by typing in the word racist.

Really. Check out LocationBasedRacism.com.

There’s another transition looming for the role of data in our world: of data into language itself.

We can tell stories with data. We can make art (as the recent Art Hack Day, in Boston, did), and we can even demonstrate the true measure of one’s language proficiency: We can make jokes. During the same week as DataGotham, my company, Cultivated Wit, hosted the world’s first “comedy hack day.” Comedians, developers, and technology sponsors joined forces one weekend to pitch, build, then demo 23 comedic apps.

Just as smartphones revolutionized how we avoid talking to each other and food trucks changed our tolerance for eating while standing on the street, the emergence of data science as a vehicle for expression is going to radically change how we create. It gives us a new way to tell the story of the world around us. Even if it’s just to find out how racist our current location is.

Baratunde Thurston is the author of The New York Times best seller How to Be Black and the founder of Cultivated Wit, a comedy and technology company that tells stories in engaging ways.

TAAL

bazaar a la mode TED BAKER S/S13 Schooled in the world of old-fashioned manners and contemporary style, Ted’s SS13 collection mixes bright colors and bold prints with simple fabrics and smart silhouettes to teach a fashionable lesson in life. Ted has created a graceful and alluring womenswear collection this SS13, replete with feminine elegance that’s sure to make the grade. Weightless maxi dresses graze the floor in an array of color and print, whilst the signature treasured orchid print shines with spring/summer sensuality. Ted’s vintage-inspired floral print takes the essence of a French wallpaper design of delicate posies, applied to an iconic dress, and the punchy Summer Bloom print – with unexpected acidic shots of lime and coral – brings 1950s day dresses and cute 1960s cropped canvas jackets right up to date. Block heel sandals, bowler style or landscape tote bags, hard case exotic clutches and crystal faceted bangles (all in contrasts of bright neon or subtle pastel shades) offer the perfect line in accessories. Mixing 1950s chic with 21st century style, Ted’s SS13 collection resonates with feminine charm and fresh detailing to equip the modern lady with a touch of ‘international savoir faire’, wherever she goes.

KURT GEIGER AUTUMN WINTER’12 COLLECTION With punk in mind, classic styles are customized and trimmed to various extremes with studding, buckles, straps and jewels.

Flaunting with masculinity, chunky loafers, brothel creepers and brogues sit pretty with regal elegant styles, brocades, lace and laser-cut detailing. Restraining the season with classic minimalism is the knee-high boot, the cut-out court and the chunkier mini heeled Mary-Janes, which are newly proposed and perfectly untouched. Black and white, rose and gold, oxblood, scarlet, fuchsia and electric blue, stilettos, Mary-Janes, wedges, super platforms, sneakers and motorcycle boots.

Silhouettes without compromise change from high-rise to flat, exploring details that often identify classic British design including the chelsea, brogue and military boot. Also introducing unexpected British combinations- the chelsea and high-top wellingtons. And the slipper on a stiletto “Slipetto”!

Kurt Geiger’s third handbag collection continues to stamp a design authority with further exploration of statement chains, exposed zips and edgier stud detailing. Carrying your life in your bag is left to the continuation of the classic totes, as the new proposals are more compact this Autumn Winter. Technology accessories take more structured shapes for AW12. Clean, minimalist soft embossed snakes in red, nude, teal and black sit with chunky statement knitwear.

THE BODY SHOP LAUNCH ABSINTHE HAND COLLECTION IN KUWAIT Infused with soothing and nourishing Community Fair Trade shea butter from Ghana, the Absinthe hand care range will leave your hands feeling clean, refreshed and beautifully moisturized. Absinthe extract, also known as wormwood or Artemisia absinthium, is a powerful botanical long-believed to have medicinal powers and purifying properties.

The products also include fragrance notes of bergamot, neroli and petit grain. The four piece collection consists of a hand butter, hand gel, hand wash, and hero product of the range, the purifying hand cream. Created to banish dry skin and odors, all products are triclosan-free and suitable for all skin types. Feeling the cold lately? The Body Shop is here to help you find that perfect winter essential for your hands! Stock up on the Absinthe hand collection and let your palms feel nourished.

GET TRENDY AND FASHIONABLE WITH STATEMENT BAGS FROM MAKGIO AT LIFESTYLE This season, Makgio bags are women’s must-haves with a range of styles to choose from Step into a new world of color, trendy designs and patterns with Makgio bags from Greece, available across all Lifestyle stores. Creating trends that are sensual and contemporary, witty and glamorous, luxurious and trendy, these statement bags come in varied colors to suit every occasion.

With a constant urge of offering exquisite designs to its customers, Lifestyle adorns its shelves with Makgio statement bags that come in a rainbow of hues, ladylike totes, satchels and shoulder bags, in exquisite designs and material combinations. This season animal print makes a comeback with animal skin effect material coming out in a strong way. Winter basic colors like Black, Grey, Brown, Taupe and fashion colors like Dark Orange, Maroon, Red are evident in this range. The Satchel Collection comes in exotic material combinations and colors loaded with personality.

The Makgio Bags are priced between KD 9 – KD 19 and are available across all Lifestyle stores.

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H&M FOR BRICK LANE BIKES A men’s collection inspired by the urban cycling scene H&M is pleased to announce a men’s capsule collection with Brick Lane Bikes of East London, combining the function of cycling wear with great city style for both on and off the bike. The 11 piece collection has been designed by H&M and tested and approved by Brick Lane Bikes, one of the world’s leading custom bike specialists. Inspired by both vintage pieces and today’s sports performance, the collection is made from more sustainable materials as part of H&M’s Conscious work. The collection will be launched March 7, 2013 in approximately 180 stores worldwide, as well as online. Founded in 2006, Brick Lane Bikes was the UK’s first fixed-gear bike store, specialising in custommade bikes built in their on-site workshop. Brick Lane Bikes are now at the heart of East London’s cycling scene, making them the perfect team to test and approve this special cycling collection. Each piece has been designed to be worn on and off the bike, with functional details providing both performance and style. Materials used include organic cotton, recycled cotton and recycled polyester, meaning the collection is as sustainable as cycling itself.

‫جيمي شو‬ 2013 ‫ربيع وصيف‬ ‫ مستوحاة من األناقة المزخرفة البراقة التي سادت في آواخر الستينيات وبداية‬،‫ ابتكرت جيمي شو مجموعة رائعة جديدة‬،2013 ‫لربيع وصيف‬ ‫ وتتميز المجموعة بطابع‬.‫ مستفيد ًة من المرجعية الكبيرة لعارضتي األزياء الشهيرتين في ذلك الزمن ماريسا بيرينسون وفيروشكا‬،‫السبعينيات‬ ‫ وتمتاز بزينتها الغنية بالشرابات واألهداب وقطع العملة‬.‫ جلد الثعبان وجلد العجل‬،‫ فهي مصنوعة من جلد الغزال‬،‫رومانسي قوي مع لمسة عصرية‬ ‫ وهو عبارة عن صندل مصنوع من جلد‬DREAM :‫ تقدم جيمي شو مجموعة متنوعة من الصنادل األنيقة منها‬،‫ لصاحبات الروح الحرة‬.‫المعدنية‬ ‫ مع الكعب العالي والرفيع وغطاء خالب للكاحل مزين بشرابة من الحرير الملون بألوان‬،‫الثعبان بلون الصخور الطبيعية المموجة بلون زهرة األوركيدة‬ ‫ الصندل األرضي المصنوع من جلد الثعبان مع طبعات من األزهار زاهية األلوان وهو مفتوح من‬LOLA ‫ و‬.‫زاهية مع قطع العملة المعدنية الرنانة‬ ‫ ذات األشرطة المشبكة المصنوع من جلد الغزال والمتوفر بلون‬KEMBLE ‫ هناك صندل‬،‫ ولمحبي األلوان والقصات الهادئة‬.‫الخلف وله رباط جميل‬ ‫ المصنوع من جلد‬MANOUS ‫و‬.‫ هو حذاء عالي الرقبة مصنوع من جلد الغزال ومزين باألهداب‬DAMITA ‫ و‬.‫زهرة األوركيدة أو باألسود ولون التبغ‬ ‫العجل والذي يتميز بشبكة عالية من األشرطة المشبكة التي تصل إلى ما فوق الكاحل والمكبسة بأزرار معدنية وموصولة مع بعضها البعض من‬ .‫األمام بشريط حريري‬

VICTORIA’S SECRET INTRODUCES SLT HEARTBREAKER Tease & attract with the new Victoria’s Secret SLT Heartbreaker fragrance. This romantic concoction of honeysuckle, bergamot and vetiver is a little bit of flirtation and a whole lot of temptation. It’s the ideal gift; offered in an eau de parfum, body lotion and fragrance mist. Victoria’s Secret latest scent is sure to add a dash of romance to an unforgettable night.

TIPS & TRICKS: For longer-lasting fragrance, layer with SLT Heartbreaker Scented Body Lotion.

LIFESTYLE INTRODUCES FIORELLI BAGS ACROSS ALL STORES Quirky, fun, formal and subdued, a bag for all reasons!

Sashaying a stunning bag irrevocably changes one’s entire look. Whether it’s a stunning clutch to compliment an evening gown or a funky satchel, Fiorelli Bags, UK’s leading accessory brand hits Lifestyle stores with its stunning range of bags.

Fiorelli products are designed in London by a young, ambitious and forward thinking team of designers. Brand innovation, meticulous design and high perceived value give Fiorelli the competitive edge. High quality fabric and skilled craftsmanship dictate the unique designs of these bags.

This season the Cross Body bags and Satchel bags in varied palettes come back in vogue. Subtle snakeskin patterns, faux leather, and classic leather embossed with the feminine Fiorelli marquee making the range truly unique.

Brilliantly designed to suit every occasion, the Fiorelli bags are a luxurious lot of inspirational trend-led handbags and purses available across all Lifestyle stores.

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FROM SPACE GEEKS The best spots for moon tourism

By Brian Palmer

In December, a company called Golden Spike announced plans to offer trips to the moon beginning in 2020. The group’s target clientele is scientists - from countries that can’t afford their own space programs but can pay the estimated price of $750 million per seat and possibly private foundations on scientific missions. However the prospect of making a trip to the moon has the imagination of every space geek running double time.

Any terrestrial travel expert will tell you that you need to do your research before embarking on a major journey. Travel guides for the moon, however, are hard to come by, so I spoke with a handful of moon enthusiasts about what they would do if they were to make the trip.

First, as with any destination, you have to time your visit appropriately. Maine is delightful in the summer, Walt Disney World is warm and uncrowded in the autumn, and Lake Tahoe is a winter wonderland. When is peak moon travel time?

“I’d love to be there during a solar eclipse, watching the Earth move in front of the sun and then seeing the red glow of sunset for 360 degrees around the Earth’s eclipse,” says Mike Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California 98

Institute of Technology.

The people at Golden Spike plan to have the capacity to make two to three trips per year in the beginning, and will work with their clients to pick a time to go. But, if you can’t be there to watch the Earth block out the sun, Brown says a lunar eclipse - when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun - is a pretty decent fallback. “Watching downward as the shadow of a lunar eclipse races across the Earth would be pretty spectacular,” he says. “These are things no human has ever seen.”

Once you decide when to go, you have to deal with the where. A Golden Spike trip will have some limitations: “The landing site will have to be on the front side of the moon, so that we have a direct line of communication with Earth,” says Alan Stern, president and chief executive of Golden Spike. Also travelers won’t have a vehicle to travel on the lunar surface, limiting them to a walking radius around the landing site. Although Stern notes that any site would be loaded with scientific possibilities, the lack of a vehicle makes site location more important. So where would the experts go? It depends on what you’re looking for.

For history buffs, the choice is pretty clear.

“I’d totally go to the Sea of Tranquility and visit

the Apollo 11 landing site,” says Chris Mihos, an astronomer at Case Western Reserve University.

Imagine stepping off the lunar landing vehicle and announcing to whoever was listening, “That’s one small step for man . . . .” But Mihos points out that the Sea of Tranquility, immortalized in Neil Armstrong’s historic report during the first moon landing in 1969, isn’t just a location of human interest. “The plains are 3.5 to 4 billion years old,” he notes, “so you’d get a sense . . . [of ] the history of the solar system.”

Still, there’s something unsatisfying to some about following in the feet of others - even if those footsteps made a giant leap for mankind. As the Swiss-born philosopher Alain de Botton wrote in his book The Art of Travel, earthbound journeys have lost their flair since the days of Darwin and Columbus. It’s nearly impossible for a traveler to see or do something completely new on Earth these days. The moon offers that opportunity, and many of the people I spoke to would seize it.

“I would want to be put down at Aristarchus,” says Denton Ebel, chairman of the division of physical sciences and curator of meteorites at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Aristarchus is an enormous crater on the lunar surface, one of the few features of the moon visible from Earth with the naked eye. Ebel points out that Apollo 18 was scheduled to touch down at the crater before the mission was canceled.

“Schroter’s Valley is located near Aristarchus,” Ebel says, “and it’s much larger than the Hadley Rille, which was explored by the Apollo 15 astronauts.”

Schroter’s Valley is probably the result of a volcanic eruption, and any scientist who landed there would have the opportunity to investigate the moon’s geologic activity, which remains one of the rock’s great mysteries.

When I asked the astronomers about the first thing they’d do after landing, the answer was essentially unanimous, and it was probably the same answer any nonscientist would give.

“I’m pretty sure the first thing I would do is to try to jump as high as I could,” says Caltech’s Brown.

“Perhaps do standing back flips. I might be a bit worried about my spacesuit, but, really, what is the point of going to the moon if you can’t see how high you can jump?” (For those who will never get to the moon, gravity up there is one-sixth of what it is on Earth, so multiply your usual jump by six for a quick estimate of your lunar leap.)

In addition to its weak gravity, one thing the moon offers in terms of pure enjoyment is spectacular views. “Just going out far enough to see the blue marble of Earth fully illuminated by the sun would be enough for me,” Ebel says.

PAYLESS

WHEN YOUR SELF IS NOT YOU… But art

By Chirine Lahoud

Kimiko Yoshida’s solo exhibition ‘Tout ce qui n’est pas Moi’ explores ambiguity.

Identity is a problematic matter. Philosophers have long re-visited the matter. For Descartes it was enough that “I think, therefore I am.” Hegel preferred to think of the self as something existing in opposition to the other. Japanese-French artist Kimiko Yoshida was mulling over identity when producing her latest series of works, now up at Mar Mikhail’s Galerie Tanit. Her solo exhibition “Tout ce qui n’est pas Moi” (‘Everything that is not Me’) includes 17 photographs, one installation and ten mirrors in Murano glass.

Among the photographs, twelve are self-portraits in which Yoshida was inspired by paintings by well-known artists. These are “not representations of the self,” as Yoshida wrote in the artist statement accompanying the show, “but more like a disappearance.”

One of these works takes its departure from Picasso’s 1938 painting “Nature morte à la Palette, Chandelier et Tête de Minotaure” (“Still life of a palette, a chandelier and a minotaur head”), all representing her made up as a modern representation of Picasso’s minotaur.

She wears a multicolored top that leaves one shoulder exposed, her exposed body parts – including face and hair – coated in immaculate white paint. A pair of high-heeled yellow shoes sit atop her head as minotaur horns.

The fact of painting her body white emphasizes her idea of disappearance of the self, as though neutralizing her skin color erases the impact her identity would have in the photograph. Here, Yoshida is represented as a minotaur and not as Yoshida herself.

In another self-portrait, viewers can see the artist dressed in redand-white attire. This photograph is the artist’s adaptation of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Officier et Jeune Fille Souriant” (‘Officer and Laughing Girl’). If we compare both works, we might not see the similarities – other than the headdress of Vermeer’s young girl and that of Yoshida.

Yoshida’s other portraits nod to works by French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, U.S. pop art icon Andy Warhol, French impressionist Edouard Manet and Spain’s Francisco Goya.

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Five of these photos form a series entitled “Mariées Célibataires” (‘Single Brides’), in which Yoshida is pictured in various national costumes – a red burqa, for instance, or dressed as an African warrior. Viewers may notice a possible oxymoron in the series title – a woman who is at once joined in marriage and alone – yet these photos are refractions of self: a bride may be, by definition, joined to a groom, yet she still retains her sense of self.

In another room of Galerie Taniit, onlookers will find 10 of Yoshida’s Murano glass mirrors, combined with unidentifiable colored bits. The artfulness of these mirrors lies in the fact that they don’t reflect the face of its spectator, but the light rather. They thus emphasize the deficiency of the mirror – which conventionally reflects whoever gazes into it. Yoshida’s mirrors can be characterized as reflecting absence.

The exhibition’s sole installation represents 22 small photographs of the artist on colored glass. Painted on these items are letters which form “Perfect in Absentia. AEIOU.” Next to this series, “Vowels,” a poem written by Arthur Rimbaud, is affixed to the wall. The poem deals with the musicality to be found in the pronunciation of vowels. “A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue: vowels.” In the poem, black is associated with cruelty, night and shadow. White is defined as pure, while red characterizes anger and blood. Green relates to peace while blue symbolizes the divine.

In Yoshida’s installation, each chromatic photograph represents the vowels as addressed in Rimbaud’s poem.

“Tout ce qui n’est pas Moi” is a double-barreled exhibition. On one hand it is an ode to the masterworks which serve as the artist’s inspiration and points of departure. On the other, it is a thoughtful exercise in making vibrant new art from reading oneself into past art.

Kimiko Yoshida’s “Tout ce qui n’est pas Moi” is up at Mar Mikhail’s Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon until March 30.

SNYDERS BLUE

bazaar around town TAAL LAUNCHES AN EXQUISITE REVAMPED MENU The renowned Taal restaurant has officially launched it’s revamped a la carte menu as well as a new beverage and dessert menu, offering a wide array of delectable flavors of India, created by the internationally renowned Master Chef Judge, Kunal Kapur.

Chef Kunal Kapur has redesigned the menu, offering a wide variety of the best of seafood, meat and rice, all cooked to perfection. Taal’s skilled team lead by Executive Chef Suman Sarkar, will offer diners an exquisite variety of choices.

“When putting together my new menu at Taal, my thought was to combine the best and freshest possible ingredients that Kuwait has to offer to give our guests new dishes and flavors to tantalize their taste buds.” said Chef Kunal Kapur.

Chef Kunal is one of the most celebrated faces of authentic Indian cuisine today. He is Chef Extraordinaire, TV show host, winner of several culinary awards, judge on Master Chef India, author of upcoming cookbooks, and much more.

“Indian food is all about variation, spices and flavors. Our new menu will give a fresh, new experience while dining at Taal,” added Chef Kunal Kapur.

The revised a la carte menu still retains the traditional dishes that earned the restaurant it’s reputation today such as their luscious Butter Chicken, Biryanis and customary Indian Kebabs as well as their famous signature dishes like the Potli Kebab and Malai Prawns.

Some of the exciting new dishes include ‘Grilled Malai Lobster’, ‘Kabab-e-Barq’, ‘Grilled Baingan Splendor’ and many more which add a remarkable twist to contemporary Indian Cuisine.

The new menu also includes a variety of tantalizing ‘skinny’ beverages, catering to weight watchers, inspired

by Taal’s Hospitality & Marketing Manager, Nikita Kohli. Some of these delectable beverages include, the delicious ‘Berry Skinny’, made up of crushed raspberries muddled with sweet & low, lime juice and cranberry juice, another skinny beverage is the refreshing ‘Skinny Mojito Wings’ , a mixture of lemon chunks, mint leaves, lemon juice and sugar free Red Bull.

What better way to wrap up your meal than with Taal’s new dessert additions ranging from the delightful ‘Green Apple & Cinnamon Flavored yoghurt’, made up of strained yoghurt flavored with green apple, served with cinnamon scented Indian pancake, or the delicious ‘Orange Peel Kulfi’, consisting of a whole orange filled with homemade Indian frozen desert, as well as many more.

“Indian cuisine has truly become global and is enjoyed by one and all. The perfect blend of spices and herbs makes the food extremely enjoyable and suitable to all tastes,” said Nikita Kohli, Hospitality & Marketing Manager.

Enjoy a delightful and delicious meal at Taal restaurant.

Located at Al Bid’a, Al Arjan Complex, Al Ta’awun Street. Tel: 22253142 / 22253143.

VITAENE C BACK TO KUWAIT Bursting with flavor and packed with essential nutrients and Vitamins, VITAENE C is as refreshing as it is unique.

Served Chilled, VITAENE C, containing 4 vitamins for a healthy you, has a unique taste and its benefits make it the number one drink in countries all around the world.

Vitamin C: Powerful antioxidant which keeps you body’s immune system healthy, build’s a strong bones and healthy skin. For people who smoke or live around smokers it is very important to have your daily need of Vitamin C to compensate for all the damage smoke does.

Vitamin B2: Wonderful carb converter to natural energy for people on the go. Perfect for all kind of sports and mental activities Vitamin B6: Stay alert and boost your memory performance, if you are in a bad mood drink a bottle, this vitamin helps increasing the level of happiness and good mood.

Vitamin B3 (Niacine): this Vitamin helps regulating the level of cholesterol in your body.

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SNYDER’S, A DELICIOUS CRUNCH THAT’S MADE TO BE SHARED. Mini Pretzels that offer all the naturally delicious flavor of traditional pretzels in a crunchy, bite-size snack. They’re perfect for snacking at home or on-the-go. You’ll love this fun, flavorful fat-free snack.

Honey Mustard & Onion Pieces - Generous chunks of Sourdough Hard Pretzels bursting with intense flavor combinations...like the delectable honey mustard and onion in Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces.

Snyder’s products are available in Caribou Coffee outlets, Grand Cinemas, AUK, all Hypermarkets, Supermarkets, and Coops across Kuwait.

Order now at www.roomserviceq8.com – Tel. 6588 2288.

MANGO FROZEN YOGURT FLAVOR Can you think of a flavor more perfect to remind you of spring time than mango? Not just any mango - but Mango Pinkberry! Sweet and refreshing – it’s the perfect balance of deliciously authentic mango taste and their signature Pinkberry tang.

Mangos are more than just delicious; they are a good source of Vitamins A and C, Potassium, Fiber and Antioxidants. They also contain a digestive enzyme with stomach soothing properties.

Mangos have been around for some 4,000 years. According to legend, Buddha found reflection and peace among mango groves. We know you’ll find your own peace after one bite of Mango Pinkberry.

Enjoy a Pinkberry treat in any of their 10 stores throughout Kuwait.

Follow Pinkberry on their Facebook page: Facebook.com/PinkberryMiddleEast.

THE BUTCHER SHOP & GRILL RELOCATES TO PHASE 3 AT THE AVENUES MALL Juicy steaks, scrumptious burgers and the renowned retail butchery now to be enjoyed in superior dining environment Calling all steak lovers, The Butcher Shop & GRILL has reopened its doors for diners at their new location at The Avenues Mall. The revamped outlet continues to specialize in top quality grills as well as boasting a full-fledged retail butchery allowing dine-in customers to select the size and cut of their own steak for immediate enjoyment or to buy for their home requirements. Along with steaks, a range of burgers, seafood and poultry meals are also on offer.

The Butcher Shop & GRILL’s reputation for quality food has been developed by ensuring that all products used are of the best quality available; the meat is aged on the premises and monitored carefully by their very own Master Butcher, Peter Sass.

The Butcher Shop & GRILL is presently open at The Avenues Mall, Phase 3 with additional restaurants also in Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain.

EATING DISORDERS An Overview of The Deadliest Mental Illness MEEDA is proud to announce the successful completion of the 2012 U.A.E. Eating Disorder Conference with a striking title named, “The Deadliest Mental Illness”, which was the first of its kind in the Middle East. The Middle East Eating Disorder Association nonprofit organization together with the American Center of Psychiatry and Neurology collaborated to present an informative and in depth look at the mental health disorder that has been mostly overlooked in the region up until now. The Event featured seven leading clinical psychiatrists and psychologists from around the world. One of which included special guest, and Founder of the Middle East Eating Disorders Association (MEEDA), Dr. Jeremy Alford, Clinical Psychologist who presented The Five Pillars to Overcome Eating Disorders. MEEDA was established in 2009 and the association is here to support you and help guide you towards a healthier lifestyle. They are based in Lebanon and currently have representatives in Kuwait and the U.A.E. Other countries in the Middle East are on the way including Turkey, in order to provide a cohesive and structured support system.

For more information: URL: www.meeda.me, Facebook: www.facebook.com/meedaassociation, Twitter: @TheMeeda, Email: info@meeda.me.

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CLEAN OR GREEN? Why to be cautious about medical recycling

By Kent Sepkowitz

The U.S. centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched the One and Only Campaign, an endeavor aimed not— as the name might suggest—at promoting marital monogamy, but r­ ather at reducing the improper reuse of certain medical devices. By its estimate, well over 100,000 Americans in the last decade have been exposed to infections such as hepatitis and HIV because of unsafe injections, such as reused needles or vials of medicine that have been dipped into more than once. These exposures have resulted in dozens of increasingly well-publicized outbreaks, such as the 21 cases of hepatitis C spread from one dialysis center in New Jersey. Indeed, the CDC now has a website to keep the public informed of the latest trouble.

To limit possible risk, the CDC, in its new campaign, has suggested a simple approach to injections: “one needle, one syringe, only one time.” Seems like a straightforward initiative without a countervailing point of view, right?

Maybe not. Meet the green health-care crowd, a serious and longsighted group who frets over the 104

staggering amount of medical waste produced— about 7,000 tons a day, or 2.5 million tons annually, enough to spawn a $3 billion health-care-wastemanagement industry. While they aren’t pushing the reuse of needles, they believe that recycling as much medical equipment as is safely possible is the best way to reduce the landfills of hospital waste and prevent boats loaded with medical trash from drifting port to port in search of a willing or financially strapped country to accept our discards.

Recycling by resterilization has a longstanding precedent in health care, and none of the outbreaks reported thus far has been related to properly recycled medical equipment. High-ticket items like bronchoscopes and endoscopes that cost far too much to toss out after every use are reprocessed through carefully prescribed, heavily regulated steps. Building on this approach, current medical-waste recyclers are looking to put other invasive equipment—not needles or syringes, but certain types of surgical tools—back into circulation after a good scrubbing. Plus, by picking cheaper equipment to rework—stuff that can be

disassembled, sterilized, and reassembled or else tossed away if too messy—they can throw it out if they can’t get it right. That way, they are less likely to stumble over a problem faced by U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals that recently were investigated because of possible spread of HIV and hepatitis related to improperly cleaned endoscopes.

Inevitably the two initiatives—clean and green—will collide, even though both are acting on behalf of protecting the public’s health. It’s a debate between those seeking immediate reward (don’t give me a dangerous infection) and those with a longer view (please leave some of the earth inhabitable). Current methods appear adequate to guarantee sterility for the shortlist of items already put onto the recycling merry-go-round.

The trick will be to maintain the same caution and sober, deliberate science as the list lengthens.

Because unlike glass bottles and mounds of flattened cardboard, in this corner of the recycling market, there is no margin for error.

Dr. Kent Sepkowitz is an infectious-disease specialist in New York City.

PIZZA HUT

bazaar books Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. ~ Jessamyn West

FURTHER ADVENTURES OF AN IDIOT ABROAD

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN

THE RED BOOK

THE DUDE AND THE ZEN MASTER

by Karl Pilkington

by Neil Shubin

by C. G. Jung

and Bernie Glassman

by Maria Konnikova

Safely home from his latest travels, Karl Pilkington has decided it is time to share his hard-earned wisdom of the world. Taking the Bucket List of “100 Things to Do Before You Die” as his starting point, Karl combines brilliant stories from his recent adventures to Alaska, Siberia, and beyond with entertaining, highly-opinionated views on what other people aspire to do with their lives. He tackles such questions as Why on earth would anybody want to run with the bulls in Pamplona, or go “storm chasing” through Tornado Alley? and Why would anyone ever want to have lunch with the Queen, or touch hands with the Pope?

A fitting finale to two years of eventful globe-trotting, this companion guide is frank, funny, and strangely inspiring.

From one of our finest and most popular science writers, and the best-selling author of Your Inner Fish, comes the answer to a scientific mystery as big as the world itself: How are the events that formed our solar system billions of years ago embedded inside each of us? In The Universe Within, with his trademark clarity and exuberance, Shubin takes an even more expansive approach to the question of why we look the way we do. Starting once again with fossils, he turns his gaze skyward, showing us how the entirety of the universe’s fourteen-billionyear history can be seen in our bodies. As he moves from our very molecular composition through the workings of our eyes, Shubin makes clear how the evolution of the cosmos has profoundly marked our own bodies.

The Red Book contains the nucleus of C. G. Jung’s later works. It was here that he developed his principal theories of the archetypes, the collective unconscious, and the process of individuation that would transform psychotherapy from treatment of the sick into a means for the higher development of the personality. As Sara Corbett wrote in the New York Times, “The creation of one of modern history’s true visionaries, The Red Book is a singular work, outside of categorization. As an inquiry into what it means to be human, it transcends the history of psychoanalysis and underscores Jung’s place among revolutionary thinkers like Marx, Orwell and, of course, Freud.” The Red Book: A Reader’s Edition features Sonu Shamdasani’s introductory essay and the full translation of Jung’s vital work in one volume.

For more than a decade, Academy Award–winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue about life, laughter, and the movies with a charm and bonhomie that never fail to enlighten and entertain.

“The Dude” was his famous character in the movie The Big Lebowski. Throughout, their remarkable humanism reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world. The Los Angeles Times wrote described this book as “an odd and wonderful little work that makes use of the transcendentally funny characters and language of [The Big Lebowski] as the starting point for a relaxed philosophical discussion about a wide variety of topics.”

No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves? We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova. Beginning with the “brain attic”--Holmes’ metaphor for how we store information and organize knowledge--Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights. Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, Mastermind explores Holmes’s unique methods of everpresent mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction.

For Holmes aficionados and casual readers alike, Konnikova reveals how the world’s most keeneyed detective can serve as an unparalleled guide to upgrading the mind.

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MASTERMIND

by Jeff Bridges

source: www.amazon.com

HYPOXI

bazaar checks it out GUY RITCHIE DIRECTS NEW CAMPAIGN FOR DAVID BECKHAM BODYWEAR AT H&M Film director Guy Ritchie has directed a new film and campaign for David Beckham Bodywear at H&M, which sees David cast as an action hero for the first time. “David makes the per fect leading man,” says Guy Ritchie. “For me this felt more than a campaign – it was like directing a short film.” The humorous campaign debuts worldwide on February 6, 2013. “ Working with Guy has been a fantastic experience,” says David. “I hope everyone has as much fun watching the film as I had making it.” It coincides with new colors added to the Bodywear range, including red and blue trims and underwear in utility tones.

GEORGIA MAY JAGGER IS IN THE MANSION THIS SPRING AT H&M

ROCK’N’ROLL

Model Georgia May Jagger will showcase the Rock‘n’Roll Mansion collection at H&M this February. Georgia, daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, encapsulates the mix of music and fashion found in the collection, with a studded white biker jacket and tie -dye jeans mixed with boucle jackets and a belted shift dress. “I love the dress,” says Georgia. “It’s such a versatile piece, and full of new rock‘n’roll spirit.” Georgia shot the campaign in a luxury rock mansion, surrounded by guitars, drum kits and motorbikes. “I think music influences fashion and has done for generations,” says Georgia. “Music creates a certain mood and then people dress accordingly. I think it’s all quite closely intertwined.” Georgia’s own style reflects the mix in the collection. “I don’t really have an everyday look,” she says. “I wear what makes me feel good.

It can be skinny jeans one day, and dresses and boots another.” Georgia, who turns 21 this month, is committed to her career in fashion. “I’m really enjoying what I’m doing at the moment,” she says. “I’m still so young so it’s hard for me to imagine what I might be doing in ten years time. I really like photography, so it would be great to do more in the future.”

LOS ANGELES DESIGN CHALLENGE 2012 AND MORE Ener-G-Force – off-road for tomorrow The G-Class has endured as an unequalled off-road icon for over 30 years. So is it possible that the Mercedes-Benz G-Class will still be around in 2025? A cool design study from Mercedes-Benz demonstrates how the genes of the classic offroader from 1979 may still assert themselves in the far future. It is based on the concept of a future police car developed for the Los Angeles Design Challenge. The Los Angeles Design Challenge 2012 looks far ahead with a quest for the “Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025”. Law enforcement will have to prepare for even more crowded roads with electronically monitored and guided traffic, a much larger population and changes in human behaviour. As an environmentally friendly SUV, the Ener-G-Force, which Mercedes-Benz is presenting in Los Angeles as a design study, meets these requirements and would be fully capable of supporting police and emergency services in every corner of the world.

Further information from Mercedes-Benz is available online at: www.media.daimler.com Join them on Facebook www.facebook.com/MercedesBenzME Follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/MercedesBenzME 108

MAMAS & PAPAS LAUNCHES WINTER 2013 COLLECTION Come fall in love with Mamas and Papas new Winter 2013 collection that offers mums-to-be with exciting pieces while mixing classic shapes with modern interpretations of exotic patterns. Easy to achieve chic and relaxed look is key to the new collection that will keep expectant mothers warm and cozy throughout the winter months. The range ‘Exotic Touch’ that has lady-like minimalism with a seductive 1980s rock edge is a must have for the season and gives trendy options during your pregnancy. Over-scaled zips and feature zip pullers are modern and urban for a youthful mum-to-be and Jewel like sapphire and cobalt are hero shades for the new season and work tonally in prints or as blocks of bold color within an outfit. Lace returns this season and creates subtle transparency and peek-a-boo effects on shoulders, and on the must have little black dress in soft stretch lace. The ‘Deco Deluxe’ range offers sophisticated glamour with a sense of historical style. Key color blocking details in the must-have knitted dress; batwing details on knits and the on-trend “zip back” trim are all seen as part of this collection.

STARBUCKS’ TOP THREE ESPRESSO FAVOURITES ARE BACK THIS WINTER Kuwait coffee lovers can once again enjoy the Double Mocha Machiatto, Vanilla Latte and Guatemala Casi Cielo brew. With New Year resolutions and ambitions still fresh, Starbucks is bringing its own hot start to 2013: the comeback of its espresso innovations the Double Mocha Machiatto and Vanilla Latte beverages. There’s no doubt that chocolate and coffee are flavors that are meant for each other. The Double Mocha Macchiato, a Starbucks original that mixes both flavors, is a rich white chocolate blended beverage with freshly steamed milk and a topping of velvety foam, an intense hit of espresso roast, and a finish of dark chocolate drizzle. Starbucks is also bringing back its signature Vanilla Latte, a best-selling classic. This drink features a lusciously rich, full bodied Starbucks espresso with sweet vanilla syrup, steamed milk, lightly topped with silky foam for the perfect finish.

With the weather getting slightly cooler, it is the perfect time for Starbucks to reintroduce its masterpiece, the Guatemala Casi Cielo which combines four coffees from the Antigua Valley. Relish the cooler weather but keep toasty with Starbucks’ winter beverages and blend which are now available in all the Kuwait Starbucks stores.

TORY BURCH AT THE AVENUES, GRAND AVENUE Tory Burch is a luxury lifestyle brand defined by classic American sportswear with an eclectic sensibility and attainable price point. It embodies the personal style and spirit of its CEO and designer, Tory Burch.

Tory Burch was launched in February 2004 as a lifestyle concept with multiple product categories, including ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes and jewelry. Tory designed her first boutique in New York to feel more like a room in her own home than a traditional retail store. Key design elements featured in all boutiques include orange lacquer doors, mirrored walls and Lucite fixtures. In October 2009, Tory Burch eyewear was launched in partnership with Luxottica Group. The collection has a classic yet modern feel that reflects the spirit of the brand. Tory wanted to create a collection that was not only distinctive, but also well-made and accessibly priced. Tory is greatly influenced by the personal style of her parents Buddy and Reva. She also is inspired by her love of art, music, culture and travel, which is reflected in the collection. Graphic prints, bold colors and unique details are all signatures of the brand.

L&L EUROPEAN BEAUTY CENTER Established in 2006 L&L European Beauty Center offers a full range of treatments and styles for hair care, manicure, pedicure, and beauty massage therapy, in the hands of their European trained professional beauticians.

The combination of using the purest, most advanced quality products, coupled with state-of-art tanning, detoxification, anti-cellulite, slimming and dietary treatments, invested to pamper you as preferential client.

Their philosophy is to provide beauty products and hair treatments of today’s most fashionable and trend-setting styles, designed specifically to glamorize the beautiful you.

Their ambience is one of modern comfort, with calming and sensual aromatic scents to set the perfect mood, with the ever caring warmth and personal touch of trained professionals.

You can phone them on 25730901/2 or email: office@llbeauty.com or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

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TIME FOR A CHANGE

By Ayesha Osman

A few days a go I came across a friend’s status on Facebook…”Some people don’t want to change until the pain of changing becomes bigger than the pain of change.” It took me a while to grasp the intensity of this statement…I’m not very bright. Still, probably because I’m going through so many ‘changes’ lately and because of the fact that I’m engrossed in my own life, it took a while for this to really hit home.

I think we are all in this perpetual mode of constantly trying to change something in our lives; be it weight, job, partner, grades, sofa…one way or another I think it’s difficult for us nowadays to silently accept the status quo, especially our own. I mean let’s face it, what little control we have in our lives we should use to change ourselves and the world around us for the better. This really isn’t a cliché… but whatever little you do for the betterment of the world around you, ultimately satisfies you, at least on a superficial level you feel you’ve done your bit and can move on.

But how do you really know you’re changing for the better…I put the same amount of effort in choosing a sandwich as I put in getting a divorce, it’s hectic! I guess at the end of the day I don’t want to lie in bed thinking, “ummmm maybe pizza would have been better.” It’s pathetic really. But when you’re really struggling to figure out your life, and which phase you’re truly in or want to be, making a decision for the better is easier said than done, albeit keeping a smile on your face and hoping for the best.

I look back at my decisions, especially the ones not related to sandwiches, and not really wonder 110

about the decision, but primarily about why I made that decision. I always feel that my life is a series of bad decisions that ultimately have happy endings; Evidence A: my marriage that resulted in the love of my life, my daughter. A friend was pondering the same about her life and realized that every genuinely happy moment in her life started off with some sort of hardship. I guess it’s the same for all of us, pursuing this dream of being happy and its endless definitions and manifestations, starts off when our reality becomes, the least to say, uncomfortable and in many cases heart -painful.

I guess that’s life…and if you want to keep living it you have to try and if you don’t try and change then maybe you’re either very content, kudos for you, or you’re afraid. I read somewhere that there really is no such thing as crossroads and choosing a certain path over another…whichever path you choose, you have to live it, experience it, go over its hurdles and embrace its triumphs. There’s no way around it. Living in “the now” and not wondering about the “what ifs” is hard and it renders you one way or another into a state of acceptance; you have to accept that this is your life, your job, your partner, in other words the hand that you were dealt…your fate. But sometimes accepting this ‘fate’ is not an option for some of us. We struggle and fight, really hard, to reach a compromise with life. I always tell myself that there’s so much more to life and the more you live life, the less tedious it becomes.

Approaching everyday as a new chance at life is exciting, exhilarating, and very scary…sometimes it can also be depressing; leaving a comfortable job to pursue your passion or dream, getting out of an

unhealthy relationship, facing your biggest fears, whatever they may be, are all scenarios that force you to think about ‘you’ on one hand and about your responsibilities, on the other. I am, one way or another, constrained by elements and people in my life and am always looking for ways to overcome these ‘constraints’. However, I believe there exists a land where ‘you’, and ‘your responsibilities and constraints’ can live happily ever after. I am, ironically, also very thankful for so-called constraints…they keep me grounded and help me focus, help me dream realistically, if such a thing exists.

Still, I always go back to the same starting point…why do I make the decisions that I choose to make?! I guess we all have a reference point; a spouse, our beliefs, needs, dreams, the list goes on. I believe that in life there really is very little mystery… we go about our daily life and make decisions that eventually lead to change. We grow older, hopefully wiser, we breathe and we make decisions. There is no drama in life…but there’s a lot of spice.

Look back to your own childhood, your relationship with your parents and friends, with your guardians, where you grew up…look at where you are right now. If you’re over 20 and reading this article you’ve probably had to make a few major decisions in your life…think about why you made those decisions, one way or another it goes back to a source; your childhood, your dreams, ambitions, a reaction to how you were bought up, an affirmation of how you were bought up.

There is no drama in life, but the spice you choose to add your life makes it a more interesting, richer life to live.

STARBUCKS

bazaar scopes

ARIES

March 21 - April 19

TAU R U S

April 20 - May 20

GEMINI

May 21 - June 21

CANCER

Jan 20 - Feb 18

Life is your stage this month — make your mark wherever you go.

However, don’t let your satiric nature go overboard. Remember to respect other people’s feelings. Show compassion to a friend in need later in the month. He or she is counting on you for advice.

June 22 - July 22

Dec 22 - Jan 19

A Q UA R I U S PISCES

Don’t be a follower at work this month. Now’s your chance to take the lead and show everyone what you’re capable of. A loved one will seem aloof this month, but don’t overreact. He or she just needs to be alone for a little while. Respect his or her wishes. You’ll be close again soon.

LEO

Nov 22 - Dec 21

C A P R I CO R N

Keep your shoulder to the wheel at work this month. Don’t let petty arguments among co-workers distract you. A close friend will need your help. Give him or her support. However, stand your ground when he or she makes a ludicrous request. You’ll be thanked for it later.

July 23 - Aug 22

S A G I T TA R I U S

Don’t let a mistake at work get you down late in the month. Just explain yourself and correct the error. You don’t lie well, so don’t try it. Your family ties grow stronger this month. As for romance, you’re riding a wave of excitement. Enjoy it and start thinking about the future.

Your outgoing personality is a hit with superiors at work. They need someone to go after the heavy hitters and it very well could be you.

Your loyalty to a good friend could put you in a difficult situation this month. Don’t lose someone close to you just because you’re feeling impetuous.

VIRGO

S CO R P I O

Oct 23 - Nov 21

You know who you are and what you can do, so don’t be a showoff at work early in the month. It can make you look foolish in front of your boss. Family matters are of prime importance this month.

Show loved ones how much you care — even if they do drive you crazy at times.

Aug 23 - Sept 22

LIBRA

Sept 23 - Oct 22

Don’t let work get you down this month. It’s only a job; so many more important things go on after 5 p.m. Romance blossoms later in the month. You’ll be swept off your feet when you least expect it by someone whom you never thought could interest you. Gemini and Aries are involved.

Feb 19 - March 20

what’s your sign?

Even though it may be hard for you, you’re going to have to sit still when it comes to a family event this month. Let relatives make the plans and only give your input if asked. It all will work out for the best. A friend will look to you for advice later in the month. Try not to be judgmental.

Your forceful manner makes waves in the workplace. Keep your opinions to yourself this month and you will be a lot happier from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Your personal life blossoms when an old friend comes back into your life later in the month. Leo and Sagittarius play important roles.

Your strong, steady nature will keep you calm during a tumultuous month at work. You won’t fall prey to co-workers’ worries. However, it’s a different story when it comes to romance. An evening with that special someone will allow you to open up and let your emotions show.

You’ll feel like you’re on an emotional roller coaster when it comes to family this month. Relatives will be spending a lot of time with you and sharing their true feelings. Don’t hold your emotions in.

Venting them will help bring you back to an even keel. Look to friends for relaxation.

Bask in the glory at work this month as you successfully complete a difficult project. Your superiors will be impressed. Your social life improves and your phone won’t stop ringing. Friends you haven’t heard from in quite a long time will be in touch. Taurus and Gemini are involved.

source: www.horoscopessign.com 112

NIKE

H&M