December 2015 Issue by bazaar magazine

Dec 2015 | Issue # 199 w w w. b a z a a r. t o w n

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About the Cover: Christian Ghammachi always enjoyed capturing photos using his beloved collection of drones. His Rise Above Lebanon series of photographs first began as a video project for the Lebanese Ministr y of Tourism, and quickly evolved into a bespoke coffee table book that allows people from all corners of the world to appreciate how this tiny nation endures all through incredible images that depict the countr y from above. Our cover photo depicts a forgotten sign that sits atop an old building in Beirut. He comments, “I think there is still a magazine running there, but I can’t be sure. I still loved how this sign was left to age.”

So, who else has been enjoying the incredibly sunny and crisp weather here in K-town? Endless days of sunshine combined with a million new places to hang out at and dine al fresco. My new personal favorite is the Murouj Complex at the Sahara Golf Club and all of its new restaurants and cafes. There’s something special about being able to watch people ride around on their horses while you enjoy your meal. And then there’s Sidra, and Sea View further down south, close to the beach, and of course let’s not forget Arabella and the Al Bidaa Strip that are a little older but constantly upgrading themselves with new concepts and activities.

The bazaar team...

Our December issue delivers on the promise of more incredible stories from Kuwait and beyond. We get up close and personal with local talent Yousef Al Nasser as he unveils his journey with photography, and our cover talent Christian Ghammachi hails from the land of the Levant. We uncover his latest photography project, Rise Above Lebanon, where we are invited to see the beauty in endurance and more importantly, celebrate it! Tamara Hayat graces our pages with her wit and crafty little teaspoons in truth or dare, and we look to the experts at TAP to find out how their ser vice is revolutionizing our online payment habits. The last issue of the year is never complete without a closer look at food, glorious food! It’s all things burgers this month. We start out our escapade at the all-new Burger and Lobster, and then explore Basil Al-Salem’s culinar y prowess at Burger Boutique Black at the picturesque Murouj Complex.

Content Coordinator/Staff Writer

Don’t forget that next month the 2016 bazaar Dining Guide comes out with the Januar y issue of bazaar. These guides tend to fly off the shelves, so make sure you get yours early, but don’t despair if you don’t make it to your local cafe in time. Simply drop us an email, and we’ll make sure copies are sent to you, or you can stop by our office in the free zone to pick one up.

Christian Ghammachi

Printing

Contributing Writers

British Industries for Printing and Packaging

Have a ver y Merr y December! Ahmed El-Adly

Boss Ahmed El-Adly

Operations Tim Burns

Business Development Ihab Mokalled

Design Ahmed Al-Ashab

Yasmine El Charif

Staff Writer/Online Media Amira Haroun

Staff Writer Lili Barras-Hargen Yasmine Dalloul

Communications Hala Y. Sharara

Editor Alia Al Duaij

Cover by

DAbdulaziz Alhashash Darlene Haddad Devika Chatur vedi Dr. Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg Liane Al Ghusain Muna M. Al Gharabally Natalie Mekahal Nejoud Al Yagout Rayan Abdul Baki Shireen Passi Chopra

Contributing Photographers Christian Ghammachi Mohammed Al-Kouh Muneera Alkhulaifi Yousef Al Nasser

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

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

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No one likes to be dumped;

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INDEX DEC '15

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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

TAP

C&C LIFESTYLE

NUQAT LOOKBACK

THAT AL-SALASIL

This month’s Up Close and Personal is a treat. bazaar has exclusively interviewed local photographer Yousef Al Nasser because of his truly original use of the camera, stemming influences from the legendary Ansel Adams. Yousef’s photography is something special, and we’re excited to share his process with our readers.

Looking to make online payments easier? Do you have a small business and are sick of hounding payments via WhatsApp? We’ve sat down with TAP co-founder Ali Abulhasan to understand why the nation needs this smart payment platform, and how it’s revolutionizing businesses and fast payments all over Kuwait.

Just in time for the holidays, we have the scoop on a legendary shoe concept that will revolutionize footwear forever! Catherine Winkler of C&C Lifestyle sits down with us and illustrates her vision of fashionable and interchangeable footwear – a vision that surely blew our minds and captured our hearts.

As Kuwait buzzed with excitement over last month’s 6th annual Nuqat Creative Conference, we were lucky to have Muna Al Gharabally present throughout the week to share with us her Nuqat experiences. Follow her story as she touches on the speakers, workshops, and her thoughts on the theme, The Copy+Paste Syndrome.

Calling all book-fanatics and avid readers! The recent Kuwait Annual Book Fair was the best way to celebrate the avid reading nation’s love for all things literature, and to celebrate the book fair’s 40th anniversary, That Al Salasil featured a very special surprise to Book Fair goers.

Up close and personal p.28

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

BURGER AND LOBSTER

Stressed over what to gift your friends and family this Christmas? Fear not! For those who aren’t giving out lumps of coal, we have a go-to list of gift ideas and where to get ‘em! Have a stress-free holiday from your resident Santas here at bazaar.

The long-awaited London eatery has finally arrived to Kuwait! As soon as we got the chance, we cracked the restaurant’s exclusive shells (pun intended) to sample their amazing dishes. From burger to lobster, to lobster to burger, we share our experience. Spoiler: it’s as good as it is in the UK.

TAMARA HAYAT

CHRISTIAN GHAMMACHI

BURGER BOUTIQUE BLACK

TASTE OF Q8

GEEKS AND GAMERS

Have you been Teaspooned yet? After reading this month’s adorable Truth or Dare, you may be so inclined! This month, we have birthday girl and Tamara’s Teaspoons creator Tamara Hayat as our Truth or Dare featurette, and she shares

Beirut-born artist photographer Christian Ghammachi’s passion for photography spans over twenty-five years and has led him around the world, and on our cover! We delve into his latest series titled ‘Rise Above Lebanon’ that evolved into a stunning published coffee-table book project that experiences the beautiful Levantine nation literally from above.

It truly is the month of Burgers! When we heard of Gastro-genius Basil AlSalem’s latest concept, we jumped right in. We were lucky enough to try out Burger Boutique Black in the gorgeous Murouj restaurant complex, enjoying amazing weather and even more amazing food. Read our experience to inspire your next visit!

Are you excited for the 2016 Taste of Q8? We sure are! Last year’s Taste of Q8 experience was unforgettable, and we are counting the days until the next edition of Kuwait’s premier food event taking place on March 17-19, 2016. Read up on our sneakpeek of the lineup!

For the game obsessed, this month’s entry of Geeks and Gamers just had to be a review. But which game? Sneak peek: we’ve been reviewing Assassins Creed Syndicate, Call Of Duty Black Ops 3 and Need For Speed to name a few – but only a few! Excited yet? Read on!

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

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

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

Hotels & Health Clubs

Malls

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

Stand Alones

4 Boutique Alghanim Marine Alghanim Showrooms - Safat Al Rai,

Shuweikh, Sharq, Fahaheel beau-Tique cosmetics British Embassy Brush Salon CAP Galler y Cookie Dough Dar Al Funoon Dar.Nur Gold Class Lounge - Grand Cinemas Al Hamra I. O. Center Italian Center Jacques Dessange Salon, Shaab KAICO Kuwait Airpor t Business Class Lounges N Style Nail Lounge Media Elephant Pink Moon Boutique Sultan Galler y THE One The Chairman's Club USA Embassy

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

Kuwait University Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks

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

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

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what's on? THE BABY CONNECTION FAIR Date: December 11-12, 12pm-8pm Location: Murouj, Sahara The Baby Connection Fair aims to mobilize parent/child connectivity by bringing Kuwait’s child development entities out of the woodwork, so that parents searching for ser vices for their children’s well-being can find it here - while enjoying their time in the process! The Baby Connection Fair will take place in Kuwait’s new Murouj complex next to the Sahara Golf Club on December 11-12. The fair aims to bring together all entities devoted to child development, creating hopefully lasting connections between such a crucial industr y and its target market while aiding the market itself in locating its needs. Our hope is that in suppor ting the well-being of our future generations, we are looking out for a better quality of life for us all in Kuwait. For more information, visit them online at www.thebabyconnectionkuwait.com. Follow them on Instagram @thebabyconnection.kw.

LET’S GO FORWARD NORTH DESERT RUN SEASON 2 Date: December 12, 9am Location: Mutla’a – Nor thern deser t of Kuwait During Season 1 of the Let’s Go For ward runs which included; the Road Run, Nor th Deser t Run, and the Mishref Run, enough funds were gathered to enable the sponsor of 74 children in Zimbabwe. This year, they are aiming to continue and fur ther expand this sponsorship of the children in Zimbabwe and in more countries. You are already helping by joining one of these races. The run will be timed through a chip attached to your running bib. You will get your race finish time posted on their page within 48 hours after the event. By par ticipating in any of the Let’s Go For ward runs, you will receive a For ward Initiative Wrist Band to represent your contribution to people in need. For details on how to sign up and join the race, visit www.letsgoforward.com or follow @forwardsportsevents on Instagram.

EXHIBITION : SAFAT HOME ART CORNER Date: Runs until December 15 Location: Safat Home Shuwaikh showroom If you’re interested in showcasing and selling your masterpieces, then ‘The SAFAT HOME ART CORNER’ is just the platform! The Safat Home Ar t Corner is an exhibition platform offering emerging and established ar tists the oppor tunity to showcase and sell their work in a professional ar t galler y setup of a vibrant and dynamic home furnishing showroom. Helping local ar tists gain exposure and earn for their creations, the exhibition is open to all ar tists from a wide range of ar tistic backgrounds; painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and ceramics. Safat Home welcomes ar tists to exhibit with us time free of charge, offering a regular platform to showcase their latest works to a large audience. Their professional galler y team is onboard to organize ever ything for a successful exhibition including installation, set up and hanging, preview evening, promotion and sales as well as staff for the duration of the exhibition; all this whilst taking 0% commission on sales. For more information, visit www.safathome.com.

hauawai

what’s trending December 2015 As much as we work our hardest to give you one rocking print issue after the other, we’re socially active (or try our best to be, we are bazaar humans after all) and we love it! Find us online: It makes our day when we see your tweets/mentions/likes/comments/shares about your favorite features and more. facebook.com/bazaarmagazine

what: @TamarasTeaspoons info: Handmade polymer clay and resin charms editor’s note: Miniature jewelry? Yes, please!

what: @FoodTruckFestKw info: Q8’s 1st food truck festival! editor’s note: Happening Dec 11+12

what: @YousefCam info: Local photographer editor’s note: Read our interview with this local talent.

twitter.com/bazaartweets

pinterest.com/bazaarmagazine

what: @Salasilexpress info: Delivering books from That Al Salasil editor’s note: Reading procrastination ends now.

www.bazaar.town

what: @ProteinSheikhas info: Trainers/Nutritionists editor’s note: the group bootcamp sessions are FUN!

instagram.com/bazaargram

what: @DogmaticKwt info: New hot dog joint at The Cube editor’s note: The corn dogs are must-try!

what: @Apotheca_Beauty info: Beauty supply company. editor’s note: Stunning brands for every beauty lover.

what: @Al_Nata info: The famous Portuguese pastry now in q8! editor’s note: eat with caution, highly addictive!

truth or dare

Tamara Hayat Tiny Food Crafter Extraordinare By bazaar staff

There are people out there who just embody creativity, innovativeness, and a lot of personality. Lovely entrepreneur Tamara Hayat, creator of all things tiny with her Teaspoons – a collection of exquisitely detailed, handmade replicas of dishes, desserts and beverages, is the embodiment of all three qualities. “It was completely random!” Tamara says when asked about the birth of her Teaspoons. “When I was living abroad for university, I’d pass the time by molding clay models of desserts and food. They started off simple then became so detailed, I found myself making plates such as Steak Frites, Tacos, and Sushi!” With charms so innovative and adorable, people love the idea of having such personal accessories to wear as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or key rings and car charms. With a British and Kuwaiti upbringing that exudes hospitality, this miniscule molder also finds the time to accommodate the children at Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice with her role as Activity Coordinator, lifting their spirits with her cheer y personality and talents. For the month of December, (which also happens to be her birth month!) bazaar has chosen to recognize this wonder ful woman by gifting her with our Truth or Dare profile! Kuwait, meet Tamara Hayat, who would rather be dared, but is down to earth when it comes to telling the truth. How would your mother describe you in one word? Expressive. How would you describe your mother in one word? Insightful. What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked? “Are you a dog person or a cat person?” It’s like apples and oranges, why must one choose? What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? Adopt my cat. What is your theme song?

“Float On” by Modest Mouse, or “What A Feeling” (Flashdance) by Irene Cara. What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented? “Compartmentalization” Something I believe, once mastered, can give you peace of mind. Where would you like to live? What is your dream retirement location? Somewhere I can easily access the forest, greenery and wildlife. What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind? “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” - Carrie Fisher What animal best describes the kind of partner you’d be interested in? A Killer Whale (Orca). Supportive in a group and contributes to society as a whole, but also has their own individual unique personality. What do you miss about your childhood? Outdoor arts and craft sessions in the garden where we used to make “cakes” out of my mother’s homemade play-do, and choreographing dances with my cousins to Spice Girls and B*Witched. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Anastasia Beaverhausen. (I’m just kidding, I wouldn’t change it). How would you describe your handshake in one word? Assertively, friendly and welcoming.

What is the toughest part of your character? I like my space, but sometimes it comes off as me being avoidant. Who is your favorite historical figure? There are too many to choose from. I have always admired the works of ancient philosophers. Aristotle, for instance, because of what he says about art; it’s not about copying or ‘imitating’ nature, and calling yourself an artist, but about idealizing it in its manifestation. What in the world do you least desire? The idea of being excessively self-indulgent. Or mushy peas. (A part of the English stereotype I do not fall under.) What do you think is lacking in the world, which if there was more of would make the world a better place? I would say awareness, but unfortunately it is not enough for the world to know what’s going on in order to do something about it. We need more empathy and compassion to ignite us and move us forward. Why do you think most girls/guys like you? I’m approachable. Finish this sentence: “Happiness is a thing called…” Flow. Discover your inner Teaspoon by following Tamara’s Teaspoons and miniature goodies on Instagram @tamarasteaspoons.

Milano

THE DIVAN By Nejoud Al Yagout

What can one say about the founders of the coolest cultural forum in town? Not only are they intelligent and culturesavvy, but each of them - Mohammed BenBader, Zainab Mirza, Mohammed El Salloul, and Samia Saade - exudes an aura of mystique and coolness that is inimitable and unique. BenBader and Mirza are both voracious readers and incredibly talented, and as yet unpublished, writers; the former loves to play, in his own words, the devil’s advocate when he engages people in discussion, whilst the latter is a poet in her own right as evident in her spoken word per formance at the Word of Mouth event held in September. Salloul is the unassuming intellect and injects liberalism and depth into any discussion while impar ting words of wisdom. And, finally, Saade is the ar tist and graphic designer who brings the images to life. Together, these profound thinkers are the founders of The Divan which, as defined on their website, is “where ideas are discussed, where differences in opinions are welcomed, where prejudices have no place. It is where diverse mindsets gather for conversations on philosophy, literature, society, ar t, and more.” Their book club, known as The Salon, brings together book-lovers to Sirdab Lab once a month. All are avid suppor ters of the culture and ar t scene here and happen to be among my favorite people in town. Here, I had the chance to delve into their psyches. You are all currently fixtures in the art scene, but tell us what makes The Divan tick? The Divan was born out of a desire to create a haven where thoughts and ideas could be discussed without fear of judgment. Ideas on literature, faith, philosophy, culture; ideas that have shaped civilizations and continue to do so

today. For instance, in The Salon, we discuss a book on the first Tuesday of the month. The books we read are all classics but differ greatly in content, e.g. The Little Prince, The Prophet, Tao Te Ching, The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, among others. But the discussion goes deeper than the content and the style in which it was written. It pierces right to the hear t of the book, picking up its themes and ideologies, neatly placing them in relevant contexts of life, love, society, psychology, ethics, science etc. And that’s why we say the Salon is more than just a place for discussions. It’s an experience. The Divan has recently launched a blog, in which you feature artists’ work along with podcast interviews. How did you become so phenomenally involved in supporting the cultural scene here? It began with meeting the exceptional individuals that we did - writers, activists, ar tists, or even someone with a unique worldview - and wanting to share their stor y and outlook on life to inspire a wider audience. Kuwait is bursting at the seams with talent, locals and expats alike. We wanted to do our bit in revealing it to the world, but in a different style, through scintillating conversations on a podcast that stir one into dwelling upon ideas they may not have thought of before. The blog is where we invite individuals to offer unique perspectives in answering questions that have perplexed humanity for centuries. Questions like ‘What is the purpose of life?’ or ‘Are science and religion compatible?’ along with other thought-provoking ones, such as ‘What would you write in a letter to your bully?’ or ‘Why run?’ Is it easy to collaborate in a team of four players or do you sometimes find it difficult meeting in the middle? With fier y minds like these, it can be hard to keep track of the constant surge of ideas, which

sometimes requires us to slow down, analyze each one, and decide whether it’s the right time to implement. Besides that, each of us has had our roles carved out from the very beginning, which rarely if ever overlap. Salloul, for example, takes care of everything tech and has saved the day countless times with his “I’ll handle it, don’t worry!” attitude. Samia, our graphics extraordinaire, has educated us considerably on what good design is (but we can be slow on the uptake, and she’s often been on the verge of murdering us because of it). They say it takes two hands to clap, but have you tried four? You have emphasized on your website that the Divan podcasts thrive on interviews with nonconformists. What constitutes non-conformism to The Divan? Refusing to accept the status quo. Being unafraid to break free from conventional thinking and societal dictates. At The Divan, we’ve stretched this definition to include the positive impact that can emerge as a result of non-conformism. Each one of us is empowered with the ability to be catalysts for positive change, and it’s up to us to exercise that ability, regardless of what perceived limitations are placed upon one’s thinking about themselves, what they are capable of changing or achieving. What is the greatest hindrance toward creativity, in your opinion? Censorship. Fear. An unwillingness to feel the intensity of emotions that arises when life gets rough and channeling it into creating something tangible, such as music, poetry, or any other form of art. Finally, what’s the next chapter for The Divan? That’s confidential! ☺ To tune into The Divan’s podcast and read their blog, visit http://the-divan.com. Follow @the_divan on Instagram to stay updated on all their events.

Milano

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Your go-to list for Christmas Shopping

By bazaar Staff

It’s that time of year again! As seasons of good tidings and joy are among us in Kuwait, the rat race of gift hunting will be upon us this month. As a gift from us to you, we’ve decided to make your lives a little easier by compiling a list of hotspots to find different types of gifts for your loved ones. Merry Christmas! The One: This quirky and chic home furnishing store is the perfect place to pick up unique accessories that will brighten up any living space. They also have beautiful candles, knick-knacks, tea sets and throws! With androgynous options for all ages, this haven is an amazing place to pick out all types of gifts. The One is located in The Avenues (2259 7284) and Marina Mall (2224 4511). Check out their website at www.theone.com. The One Magnolia Bakery: If you’re looking to send somebody something sweet this holiday season, hit up Magnolia Bakery. This New York City founded bakery serves up some of the best cupcakes and desserts in town, and a box of those bad boys are sure to bring holiday cheer into anybody’s home. If you’re having a soiree, they’re the perfect dessert option as well. Magnolia Bakery is located in Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait City and 360 Mall on 6th Ring Road. Call them at 2227 0285/6964 7679. Follow them on Instagram @magnoliakuwait. Sephora: A haven for all things beauty, Sephora has so many gift-giving options for the glam girl in your life. From masks and moisturizers to high-end perfumes to makeup sets and accessories, you will always find something here for your resident beautiphiles. Remember – when in doubt, they have gift cards on offer! Sephora is located in The Avenues Phase 2. Call them at 2259 7780. Visit their website at www.sephora-me.com and follow them on Instagram @sephoramiddleeast. Ecru: This local concept boasts a collection of unique home accents, everyday necessities and even baby needs. Using beautiful Indian textiles from Jaipur in the form of tablecloths and table accessories, robes, toiletry bags and other odds and ends for the home, you’ll always find something unique to gift. Everything at Ecru is completely handmade making each piece a true original, and they use bold pops of color and unique prints to add brightness to any room. Ec r u is lo c a t e d i n A l O t h m an bout i que i n Ma r y a m C o m p lex, S al m i y a. C a l l t hem at 9006 5205/2575 6404. Visit their website at www.ecruonline.com, and follow them on Facebook @ecru and on Instagram @ecruonline.

Pink Moon: The infamous boutique placed in the heart of the Seef Strip in Kuwait City has up-to-date yet innovative accessories and pieces that those addicted to style cannot live without! Shop around for quirky accessories ranging from headbands to lifestyle pieces, or take the opportunity to buy your bestie a sought-after Pitusa kaftan! Pink Moon is located in the Seif Strip on Gulf Road. Check out their website at www.pinkmoonboutique.com and follow them on Instagram @mypinkmoon. Call them at 2246 5545. Cos: As temperatures drop and cozy outer wear is in order, nothing says Christmas Cheer like a fabulous cashmere sweater. With both female and male selections, you can please your fashion-for ward friends with a trendy gift from this lovely store. They also have amazing accessories, shoes and scar ves! Cos is located in Grand Avenue – The Avenues, and Marina Mall. Call them at 2228 3032/2208 1203. Williams-Sonoma: For those who have cooking enthusiasts and foodies in their lives, WilliamsSonoma has a lot to offer. With cooking tools, electrics, utensils and kitchen gadgets, you can always find something fun for your chef friends at Williams-Sonoma. Williams-Sonoma is located at Grand Avenue – The Avenues. To contact Williams Sonoma call 2228 3101 or visit www.williams-sonoma.me. Dean and Deluca: For the gourmand at heart, Dean and Deluca offers all types of goodies waiting to be placed in a picturesque gift basket. At Dean and Deluca, you’ll find charcuterie essentials from turkey salami to Turkish Sujok,

artisanal breads, vinegars, oils, spreads, treats and coffee, this modern Deli is a go-to spot for anyone who will feel nothing but excitement upon seeing a beautifully filled holiday basket of yummies. Dean & Deluca is located in the 2nd Avenue – The Avenues. Hours of operation are from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For more information, please call 2224 2224 or visit their website deananddeluca.com and follow them on Instagram @deandelucame The Yard: For the truly creative who love their daily essentials, The Yard is an amazing lifestyle boutique that claims itself to be inspired by cherry blossoms, pistachio macaroons, pearls and lace, and quirky china. Quirky indeed, this place is chock-full of treasures ranging from casual apparel to travel accessories, to furniture pieces and amazing bags – there’s always a unique touch at The Yard. The Yard is located on Jaber Al Mubarak Street in Kuwait City’s Shurooq Tower. Call them at 5596 3606/2606, check out their website at www.theyard-kw.com, and follow them on Instagram @theyard. Lush: For the hippies in your life who appreciate nothing more than freshly made, whimsically named organic products and soaps, Lush would be your go-to place. They offer pre-wrapped gift sets that suit different personalities, but also have amazing face-masks, creams, shampoos, and of course, fun bath-bombs on offer. A Lush gift is sure to make anyone’s day! Lush is located in The Avenues (2220 0620), The Gate Mall (50987360), 360 Mall (2530 9607) and Promenade Mall (5587 6163). Follow them on Instagram @lushkuwait.

Milano

- Sharq

22409341

- Kuwait City

- Sharq

- Fahaheel International intoptique Optique

up close and personal

YOUSEF AL NASSER

A VISION IN MONOCHROME WITH TECHNICOLOR VISITATIONS By bazaar staff

“A picture is worth a thousand words” is not a phrase to be taken lightly. While some photographs remain silent, others may become overly ostentatious. And as most things are, people might fall in love with the subject of the photograph, the location, or the photographer’s work in general. But in this instance, it was a single photograph, as an entity in and of itself, that caught our attention and held it captive – the decision had been made, we simply had to feature Yousef Al Nasser. His passion shines through every photo he takes. From capturing the aftermath of the unfortunate events in Kuwait earlier in the year, to his stunning landscape photography and mad portraits – all are equally enchanting. Photography befitting of his icon, his style pays homage to the work of Ansel Adams. As he turned his laptop to show us a stunning photograph he’d taken of Kuwait’s stunning skyline he said, “No one ever thinks of taking this photo in black or white.” 28

An almost organic talent, Yousef started taking photos around two or three years ago on his phone. Bored of the limitation set via his phone’s camera lens, he expanded and decided to move on and get a professional camera. In constantly changing his perspective through the lens, Yousef is on an evolving path as a photographer. Through his journey, Yousef’s goal is to draw attention to the little things that might be missed because we move too quickly, or even turn too slowly. His niche is simple – landscape photography, for it provides endless possibilities and angles. The traditional commercial hub of Al-Mubarakiya is his playground with it’s winding cobblestoned paths and sharp corners of stalls upon stalls. Kuwait’s oldest souq serves as his favorite photography location. “Although I know exactly what kind of photos I’ll be taking when I go,” he continued, “I still feel like I’m going to find something different. That’s what I keep trying to find and that’s why I keep going back.” He graces our pages now, but one day he’ll feature on the cover of National Geographic, after all, it is his ultimate career goal. When asked what he thinks is the most iconic photograph of our time, he laughed and said “The selfie I guess – unfortunately.” His photography speaks of wonder and joy – even when captured during the saddest moments. With most art, there’s a story. Whether it is from the perspective of the spectator or the artist’s point of view, every piece is unique and stirs one’s emotions. Fortunately, Yousef has given us his detailed thought process with each image’s portrayal both visually and emotionally. His thoughts about ‘Cinque Terre’ were of a summer trip to Italy, “We visited four towns that are mainly accessible by sea. Beautiful coastal cities that are vibrant in color and beautifully designed and cozy.” A typical photo shoot once led Yousef to unexpectedly capture a beautiful moment between two friends that proved that love and compassion goes beyond species. He elaborated, “I experienced and captured a moment with a dog who took care of a blind cat. I was asked to do a shoot for the animals and got to see these two connect so sweetly.” The beauty of photography is that you leave no moment wasted or a shot to chance. You roam and wander the lands only to find that instant when everything seems to align and the end result is phenomenal. With ‘Walkway’, Yousef found himself during one lazy early morning in Kuwait, “The streets were still quiet and I found myself at this pier that I had never seen before. The man at the end of the pier told me he’s been going every morning for the past 7 years. This photo, I dedicate to him.” ‘Blue’ represents yet another portrait of Kuwait on a perfect cloudless day, when he came across the perfect shades of blue. “I was driving along the Gulf road when I saw that without a cloud in sight,” he explained, “I couldn’t believe the amount of blue around me. I pulled over,

CINQUE TERRE

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DAD grabbed my wide-angle lens and LEE filters and kept shooting for an hour. I only came out with one that I felt captured it right.” During his travels to New York, Yousef photographed ‘NYC’, a rare and faux-iconic photo of an NYC cab, “Although this is such a typical photo, I had to capture it because unfortunately, almost every taxi cab I saw there was a modern model car. These particular old cabbies are so much rarer now, making them much more special.” As an actor with Kuwait’s One World Actors Center, Yousef also flew to Edinburgh to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. While he initially wanted to capture the essence of the city, he found that “in the heart of it was [one] man. Perfectly dressed, and perfectly set for the right picture that is ‘Edinburgh’.” Of love and family, he captured a beautiful moment and at the center of it was his father with ‘Dad’. “My amazing father out in the sunshine of Boston, MA,” Yousef said, “he had been fighting cancer for over a year at this point. This was the last photograph I took of him before he passed away recently. I love his smile and courage. I miss you, dad.” Up close and personal questionnaire: What do you most value in your friends? I value the love of my friends most. To always be there when I need them most and in turn I am there for all of them!

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What is your idea of perfect happiness? Perfect happiness is a state in which nothing can get better, naturally. But to me things can also improve. I love my life, and what I do, but as a photographer/performer, I can always do better. What is your greatest fear? Solitude. I couldn’t imagine the feeling – it scares me that much. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My want of clarity. I always feel odd when I don’t know what’s going on around me and want to be a part of it. But sometimes I wish I just didn’t know and be content with that. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Boastfulness. When you make yourself the center of your world and try and impose that on others it really gets to me. Be proud of yourself and earn the love and appreciation. Which living person do you most admire? I don’t think I do admire anyone living now, in regards to photography. But in life, it would have to be my mum. What is your greatest extravagance? Camera gear. Hands down, I spend WAY too much on it and cannot seem to stop! Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Shall we?” and “Meh” seem to be the most recurring things I say. As to why I say them, I don’t know, meh. What is it that you most dislike? I think I dislike negativity the most. Obviously there can be valid reasons for it, but when there’s an opportunity to be

happy, I say take it! Which talent would you most like to have? I’d like to be able to base jump, it just looks so amazing. If you could have any job, what would it be? I want to be a Nat Geo landscape photographer. It’s my dream. What would you consider your greatest achievement? When I performed as Peter Pan for the Bayt Abdullah’s Children’s Hospice and made the kids smile. Best feeling in the world. And of course getting to the point of “professional photographer” and having learnt the trait all by myself. What is your most treasured possession? All my camera gear. It’s like my baby. What is your most marked characteristic? I’m honestly not sure! That would need someone else’s opinion. Where would you most like to live? Somewhere I can watch the sunrise AND sunset from my house, along a coastline. Wherever that country may be, is where I’d like to live. What are your favorite words to live by? “Things Happen.” It’s perfect because it works for the good and bad in life. You can get in touch with Yousef Al Nasser for freelance projects or to generally browse through his stunning photography on Instagram @yousefcam. Check out his website yousefsphotos.vsco.co.

dar hamad

YES, IT’S STILL POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE YOUR BIGGEST GOALS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR By Zahra Barnes

This month’s terrifying news, it’s almost the end of the year. I know, I know—it feels like just a second ago, you were smack-dab in the middle of glorious summer. The fact of the matter is that 2015 will be on its way out very soon, and a new year brings with it new goals. Before you throw yourself into tackling your 2016 resolutions, there’s one small housekeeping item: seeing your 2015 ones through to completion. Although you have the finish line of December 31, 2015, in sight, there is still thirty one days to get it all done. 1. DEFINE YOUR GOALS Maybe you’d like to land an amazing new job, give your lifestyle a healthy makeover, achieve world domination…you know, the usual suspects. While shooting for the stars is admirable, don’t overwhelm yourself by taking on too much in such a short period. Instead, choose your top two or three goals, depending on how big of an undertaking each one is. Then drill them down to the actionable parts that are only dependent on you, not other people. For example, instead of saying your goal is to get a new job, consider making it something like applying to three jobs per week until the end of the year.

2. SHOUT THEM FROM THE ROOFTOPS Sharing your goals with people is one of the best ways to hold yourself accountable. While some, like working out more, are great for blasting on Twitter or Facebook, others like getting a new job? Not so much, since you wouldn’t want your current boss to stumble upon it! Instead of looping everyone in via social media, share more private objectives with three specific people: a mentor who gives genius advice, your best friend who basically doubles as your own personal cheerleading squad, and whichever family member believes in you wholeheartedly, and nags you just enough to get you moving. 3. CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE OF DISTRACTIONS It’s amazing how many hidden pockets of time you can find if you just look. A half hour of browsing Facebook here, 15 minutes of water-cooler chat there— it all adds up. While leisure time is important for helping your brain rest and then rebound chockfull of new ideas, too much downtime can be detrimental when you’re in a goals time crunch. Try cutting out one time-waster each day, and instead using those moments to chip away at your target. 4. HIT THE GYM Does exercise take away from time you could devote to working on your goals? Sure. But it could

also boost your determination in a way that makes it all worth it. Not only is your system flooded with feelgood endorphins after a sweat session, working out can provide crucial time for your brain to disengage from its normal heavy lifting. That makes exercise a prime time for a-ha moments. Even if you don’t have one, chances are you’ll be in a good mood after! 5. START YOUR MORNINGS WITH THE HARDEST TASK FIRST If you really want to power through the remaining days before the end of the year, make the most of your mornings. First thing when you sit down at your desk, knock the scariest goal-related task off your to-do list. You’ll get an energizing “I can do this!” rush that will help you face whatever challenges arise throughout the rest of the day. 6. WRAP UP EVERY DAY WITH A TA-DA LIST You’re more likely to care about short-term benefits than long-term payoffs. It’s why it’s temptingly easy to blow through three episodes of Quantico when you could be organizing. That immediate reward is often more attractive than putting effort toward a benefit you may not see for a while. That’s why creating a ta-da list at the end of the day can be so crucial. Looking over everything you finished can inspire a source of pride, which may be enough to stoke the flames of your motivation.

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CULINARY PASSION KNOWS NO BORDERS The Taste of Q8 announces Chef Ian Kittichai among International Celebrity Chef lineup By bazaar staff

Culinary passion truly knows no physical boundaries, race or religion. We choose to celebrate all that is good with this world, and how a passion for food unites us all. Sharing a bite to eat with strangers and loved ones alike is always a memorable experience, as food, glorious food, also allows for the sharing of ideas, cultural values and inimitable conversation. It is this ver y experience that we have sincerely enjoyed at last year’s The Taste of Q8, and we are counting the days until the next edition of Kuwait’s premier food event taking place on March 17-19, 2016. Last year, we witnessed how the incredible Food Network celebrity chefs Reza Mahammad and Jenny Morris learned that Kuwaitis not only love great food, but how the local population is equally as great. More importantly, the event celebrated the local culinary palate, a beautiful myriad of flavors from the Middle Eastern region that come across with every local dish that is prepared with love, with none other than beloved local Chef Adhlah Al Sharhan’s cooking demo. As Chef ‘Adoola’ was just about to begin her demo in front of an excited live audience and a full house, the Giggling Gourmet Jenny Morris, along with The Spice Prince Reza Mahammad decided to join her on a whim. Well, they basically crashed her show! “We were nervous, and we really had no idea how Chef Adlah would react, and some of us were worried it might be a disaster,” said the backstage crew. “The show was in Arabic, so we knew it would be challenging for Adlah to go back and forth translating the English into Arabic throughout her demo,” they continued. The audience of hundreds went silent as Reza and Jenny marched up on stage, grabbed the mic and started to improvise with Chef Adlah. “It was nerve splitting...Adlah was definitely caught off guard,” the crew continued. To

everyone’s surprise, however, Chef Adlah joined in the jaunty dynamic duo’s antics and banter, and essentially pulled off one of the most entertaining performances of 2015’s Taste of Q8. “With roaring laughter from the audience throughout the show, cheers and endless applause after, we were all smiles...and a huge sigh of relief! The crowd loved it, and the three performed as if they’ve known each other for years,” concluded the backstage team. A definite connection was made. It was one that celebrates how these talented chef’s passions for food unites rather than divides. Moreover, Chef Adlah and her “Demo Crashers” may just reunite in March 2016. Although the Chef line-up is yet to be announced, there are strong rumors that the Food Network stars will be back in Kuwait for pre-event appearances, and we simply cannot wait! We were further informed by the Taste of Q8 organizers that the renowned celebrity Chef Ian Kittichai will be participating at the event, adding more international flair to this gathering of foodies from different parts of the world. Based in Bangkok and with a dozen restaurants, a TV show, and many cookbooks under his culinary belt, we can’t wait to see what Chef Ian Kittichai will bring to the 2016 Taste of Q8. Look out for our interview with Chef Ian in early 2016! Missing out on the 2016 Taste of Q8 event would be missing out on one huge celebration of both international and local flavors. More importantly,

you would be missing out on all of the wonderful people and talented celebrity chefs that bring people together through their culinary passions. With carefully curated new features like organizing a cooking school that boasts of interactive celebrity chef demonstrations, and the Grand Tasting Tent that will feature a limited number of homegrown chefs and cooks preparing their signature dishes and offering free samplers to attendees, you will have no excuse but to get your ticket to stop by the Taste of Q8 to enjoy and celebrate the true meaning of the word, ‘YUM!’

The Taste of Q8 – Kuwait’s Food Festival is not just a day out for the whole family, but an incredible experience for the Kuwaiti population, and truly an event that stands by its slogan, “All About Food!” Interested vendors and aspiring chefs should head to TheTasteofQ8.com to apply for their place or follow them on Twitter or Instagram @thetasteofQ8 for the latest updates!

AAw Reebok

NOT ON PHOTOGRAPHY BUT ON ITS

EXCLUSION

”Till we meet in Heaven”-Hand colored gelatin silver print, Kuwait 2014

“Heartbreak”-Hand colored gelatin silver print, Kuwait - 2013

By Liane Al Ghusain

Whilst Kuwait is an early adopter of social media – the country boasts high usage of Internet per capita and 48.3% of Kuwaitis use Facebook – we do not output much art photography. Whilst photography hobbyists are thickly spread throughout the small, wealthy nation – evidenced by the successful camera equipment rental business, our avid participation in Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Flickr when it was relevant – there aren’t many buyers of their work. If not done for leisure, photography in Kuwait often serves a commercial purpose, and secondarily a documentary one. If you are to speak to art photographers and gallerists they will all bemoan the state of photography. “Nobody wants to pay for our work,” Djinane Al Suwayeh, a graduate of Parsons School of Art and Design, and the SPEOS International Photography School who is currently residing in Kuwait. “They all think they could pick up the camera themselves, point, shoot and make the same results.” Al Suwayeh finds that her work is much more appreciated abroad, where she has won prizes such as the PX3 Photography Award and the PDN Award, where she received further distinction for ‘Most Thought Provoking Photo.’ Artists such as Mohammad Al Kouh who use photography as their medium complain of the same hardships. Al Kouh takes an elaborate approach to his art production, making silver gelatin prints which he hand colors. He is a big proponent of studio photography, inspired by his

nostalgia for Egyptian cinema and Kuwait’s oil boom ‘golden era,’ ironically times he never lived or experienced firsthand. The self-taught artist, born in 1984, often recreates the conditions of photography made before his time. “It seemed like there was true romance back then, and the future was wide open,” he says, “so my work is a form of time travel, using the same materials they used back then to try and imagine living at such a hopeful time.” Monira Al Qadiri takes a similarly painstaking approach in her art projects - the artist who received a PhD in inter-media art from Tokyo University of The Arts is highly aware of the hyperaesthetization present in both Japanese and Kuwaiti cultures. Her photographic artwork often involves layers of make-up, costumes and props, all in the name of gender code-switching, cultural hybridization, identity investigation and analysis. She makes the valid point that audiences in Kuwait don’t see “value in ‘print’ i.e. something that can be produced again and again. [They don’t quite accept] the concept of editions… they feel [photography] isn’t enough effort, like a painting or a sculpture.” It’s true that with wealth comes entitlement, and in specific the insistence on being able to buy things and experiences that are ‘different’ or ‘unique.’ So it makes sense then that the elite of Kuwait who are also its handful of art patrons and collectors, don’t often take kindly to reproducible images. If we are to look at Walter Benjamin’s ideas in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, then perhaps art collectors in Kuwait may deem photography works to be lacking an aura of originality. Without being “confronted with [a work’s] uniqueness,” viewers often feel disconnected from the “ritual” of its

production. To further quote Walter Benjamin on the subject, he says “from a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the ‘authentic’ print makes no sense. But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice – politics.” It is inherently political to assign value to things where there was no value before – to give ideas behind a photograph such weight that the reproducible image becomes a collectible. In Kuwait, the limited use of photography and new media for commercial and personal uses, as opposed to artistic ones, is an indication of general political malaise. Al Suwayeh notes that she has an agent in Paris who only represents Arab artists, as the agent too believes that artists and photographers from our region do not get enough encouragement and support. So why aren’t there more gallerists and artist agents in Kuwait and the Arab world supporting this artistic and political struggle? Al Qadiri, perhaps without intending the pun says, “it takes time and exposure to get a sense of refinement for things that aren’t produced by manual labor per se.” It is this finesse for navigating the politics of new media as an art form that the art viewing public of Kuwait is currently and urgently in the need of developing. Pun intended. And then there is the issue of privacy, which I’ll discuss in a later issue. bazaar would like to thank Mohammed Al-Kouh for the use of his pictures. To see more of his work, visit www.mohammedalkouh.co

2ND AVE NUE - T HE AVE NUE S TEL : 22283294

SWEATERS FROM

SELECTED STYLES

express

THE NORWEGIAN SECRET TO ENJOYING A LONG WINTER

By Laura Vanderkam

As the days get darker and colder in much of the northern hemisphere, it’s easy to indulge in gloom. For the next few months, you’ll be shivering. You’ll be battling foul weather. Thanks to daylight saving time there will be no chance to see the sun after work. The gloom leads to a common question: What can I do to cope with the dark and cold? If you truly want to be happy during winter, though, this is the wrong approach to the season. Changing your mindset can do more than distract your from the weather. That’s the takeaway from research done by Kari Leibowitz, currently a PhD student at Stanford University, who spent August 2014 to June 2015 on a Fulbright scholarship in Tromsø in northern Norway. Tromsø is so far north that from late November to late January, the sun never climbs above the horizon. Leibowitz went to study the residents’ overall mental health, because rates of seasonal depression were lower than one might expect. At first, she was asking “Why aren’t people here more depressed?” and if there were lessons that could be taken elsewhere. But once she was there, “I sort of realized that that was the wrong question to be asking,” she says. When she asked people “Why don’t you have seasonal depression?” the

answer was “Why would we?” It turns out that in northern Norway, “people view winter as something to be enjoyed, not something to be endured,” says Leibowitz, and that makes all the difference. To be sure, there are some aspects of the near-polar culture that might be hard to emulate elsewhere. Small Norwegian communities are tightly knit, and strong social ties increase well-being everywhere. That said, there are lessons that can help anyone think differently about cold weather. First, Norwegians celebrate the things one can only do in winter. “People couldn’t wait for the ski season to start,” says Leibowitz. Getting outside is a known mood booster, and so Norwegians keep going outside, whatever is happening out there. Notes Leibowitz: “There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Norwegians also have a word, koselig, that means a sense of coziness. It’s like the best parts of Christmas, without all the stress. People light candles, light fires, drink warm beverages, and sit under fuzzy blankets. There’s a community aspect to it too; it’s not just an excuse to sit on the couch watching Netflix. Leibowitz reports that Tromsø had plenty of festivals and community activities creating the sense that everyone was in it together. And finally, people are enamored with the sheer beauty of the season. Leibowitz grew up near the Jersey shore, and “I just took it as a fact that everyone likes summer the best.” But deep in the

winter in Norway, when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon, multiple hours a day can still look like sunrise and sunset, and against the snow, “the colors are incredibly beautiful,” she says. “The light is very soft and indirect.” Most likely you can’t cross-country ski straight out of your house, and while Norwegian sweaters may be catching on, restaurants and coffee shops in more temperate climates don’t all feature the fireplaces and candles common to the far north. Still, there are little things non-Norwegians can do. “One of the things we do a lot of in the States is we bond by complaining about the winter,” says Leibowitz. “It’s hard to have a positive wintertime mindset when we make small talk by being negative about the winter.” This is easy enough to change; simply refuse to participate in the Misery Olympics. Talk about how the cold gives you a chance to drink tea or hot chocolate all day. Talk about ice skating, or building snowmen. Bundle up and go for a walk outside, knowing that you’ll likely feel warmer and happier after a few minutes. Better yet, go with a friend. Social plans are a great reason to haul yourself out from under the covers. But overall, mindset research is increasingly finding that it doesn’t take much to shift one’s thinking. “It doesn’t have to be this huge complicated thing,” says Leibowitz. “You can just consciously try to have a positive wintertime mindset and that might be enough to induce it.”

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RISE ABOVE

LEBANON

PHOTOGRAPHER CHRISTIAN

GHAMMACHI SHOWS US

LEBANON LIKE NEVER BEFORE

By bazaar staff

Beirut-born photographer Christian Ghammachi’s passion for photography spans over twentyfive years and has led him on epic adventures all around the world. With his latest photography seriesturned-coffee-table-book titled Rise Above Lebanon, we not only experience the beautiful Levantine nation literally from a different perspective, we also observe how this beautiful country endures.

Printed in an elegant square format on 170 grm paper containing 192 pages, Rise Above Lebanon went from a simple video project commissioned by the countr y’s Ministr y of Tourism to become a true national treasure and an ar tistic collectible. Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism wrote the foreword, while the photographs depict a Lebanon captured from above over a period of five months from last summer. It includes aerial views of cities, rural villages, picturesque places, festivals and even spor ts events. Christian seeks out the less obvious and the overlooked, and his ar tistic eyes lead him to find

beauty in hidden elements and emotions. He is inspired by resilience as a phenomena and a concept, and seeks this in people, landscapes and wildlife alike. He is par ticularly interested in creating photographs that show beauty and enduring passion despite adversity. Christian’s por tfolio depicts a wealth of experience, as his travels have led him to to travel to Africa, The Middle East, Nepal, Cuba, the United States and Europe. Christian’s photographs have gained recognition over the years, and have been published widely. A collection of his works -19 Years Later - was published in 2010 and won the

Dubai International Prints achievement award in 2011. He has showcased his work on several occasions in the Middle East and Europe. We sit down with Christian to learn more about Rise Above Lebanon. Hi Christian! Please introduce yourself to our readers. I am both French and Lebanese and lived in Kuwait from 1998 to 2007 after which I moved to Bahrain and then South Africa. I practiced law for many years before setting it aside to focus on my photography and my first quest for images was one across Africa on a motorbike, by myself, which lasted for 6 months. It was during this period that I discovered that I also enjoyed videography, as well as the beauty of aerial photography and videography by using drones. When did you first become interested in photography? I was 18, studying law in Lebanon and stole my father’s camera because I was curious about how this device could make beautiful images. I slowly taught myself by reading and finding photos I liked and tr ying to replicate them and investing a lot of time in the process. Your journey with photography has led you all around the world. Could you tell us more about your favorite photography trip and why this experience stayed with you more than other trips? Nepal and Cuba come to mind immediately because they are extremely beautiful and color ful places but also because they are resilient nations. What people are capable of achieving there, and the level of content in spite of the adversity that each nation faced is so beautiful and inspiring. The most memorable adventure would cer tainly have to be my trip across Africa on a motorbike, titled ‘Two Wheels Across”. Nothing compares to the feeling of discovering so many incredible things on a daily basis for six months, across 16 countries and 20,000 kilometers! What inspires your photography? The less obvious, I look for things that people have not noticed, or for angles they have not seen. I search for emotion in everything I capture, be it in an expression, a face or landscape, and

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I try to draw lines in my photos that pull the viewer into the image, moment and emotion. I had written in the introduction to my first book 19 Years Later that if a photo fails to move you, then it has failed as an artwork and is then merely a photocopy, documenting a moment or place. You are particularly interested in creating photographs that show beauty and enduring passion despite adversity. Could you please elaborate on this? I feel that we live in a world where the obvious beauty is in our face all the time and we tend to ignore the things that are less evident. If it is not a beautiful woman in a movie or magazine, a spor ts car or piece of jewelr y, we are less likely to notice it. It is with this in mind that my focus and ar twork evolved in 2007, when I decided to look for the less obvious. This drove me to look elsewhere, which pushed me to travel even more. I believe there is so much more emotion and beauty in an old man’s face, his wrinkles, expressions and wisdom, than there will ever be on a fashion model’s face. Does the ‘rise above’ project exemplify this notion? In a way it does, Lebanon is a beautiful countr y in more ways than one. This is something we tend to forget because of all the strife that his nation endures on a daily basis. I tried to show Lebanon like we had never seen it before, from a different perspective. My goal was to remind us of the countr y’s beauty, wealth and diversity. When did you start utilizing the drone to take pictures and why? How did you compose these photographs? It was during my ‘Two Wheels Across’ journey in Africa. I had taken a drone with me and it allowed me to capture incredible footage of the continent. This specific drone however was not great for stills and it is only when I purchased newer ones after Africa that I star ted capturing photos in the quality that I desired. For Rise Above Lebanon, I was commissioned by the Ministr y of Tourism to produce a shor t destination video and was therefore roaming around the countr y filming with the drone. The video is now in post-production. I obviously couldn’t resist the temptation

to capture still photos! Whenever I flew the drone to capture videos, I would take the time to compose photos as well. The drones are ver y stable and I often call them flying tripods. This allowed me to frame my shots exactly the way I wanted and clicking the button. How did your series of ‘rise above’ photographs evolve into a book? I created the Instagram account @riseabovelebanon and star ted posting photos as the journey across Lebanon unfolded. The reaction was immediate and amazing. People star ted reposting my photos ever ywhere, the followers increased significantly and are now at about 7,000 throughout a period of 6 months.

I felt compelled to print the photos into a book, because books have something that social media lacks: longevity. A book of beautiful images will stay on a coffee table and will be viewed by people again and again through years, whereas a photo posted on social media will often be forgotten within days. How do you connect with your followers and fans? In many ways, they write to me on social media or email me, I have met with a few and have invited ever yone to a talk on the day of my book launch this December. What has been their feedback to the latest ‘rise above’ series? The main comments have been “I didn’t know this

existed”, or “this is how it looks like from above?”. I have also often been complimented on reminding people that Lebanon is indeed beautiful, especially during this time of turmoil. Will you take the ‘rise above’ project to an international scale? Yes, without a doubt. ‘Rise Above’ is a great concept. I have been speaking with the Tourism Board of a number of countries about replicating the concept and there seems to be a lot of interest. Drone Technology, combined with an artistic outlook, have paved the way to do projects like this. For more information you can check out @riseabovelebanon on instagram.

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THE MAGIC OF SIXTHSENSE By Shireen Passi Chopra

Do you remember that awesome scene in the Hollywood film Minority Report, where Tom Cruise, playing the fictional character of Chief John Anderton, head of a high-tech experimental program, just wriggles his hands in the air and there appears data which he begins sifting through? Well, that was fiction but it could become reality someday. What I am talking about is ‘SixthSense’ which will make our physical world interact with the world of digital data, transforming the way we see and do things in our ever y day, internet driven world. SixthSense is a gesture-based wearable computer system invented and fur ther developed by two brilliant computer wizards from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. Steve Mann, a researcher and inventor of Canadian origin, invented this unique, state-of-the-ar t computer system in 1994 which was later fur ther developed by Indian born computer scientist and inventor, Pranav Mistr y. The SixthSense technology contains a pocket projector and a camera (webcam) contained in a head-mounted or pendant-like, wearable device. Both the projector and the camera are connected to a mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. Fur ther, if the user attaches colored tape to his finger tips, of a color different from the background, the software can track

the position of those fingers. A pocket projector and a webcam hang on the user’s chest, both wired to a laptop in his or her backpack, and the user wears four differentcolored marker caps or pieces of tape on their thumbs and fingers. When they switch on the system, the webcam star ts capturing video and streaming it back to the computer. The real brains of this system, its software, filters out background imager y, determines x and y coordinates for each cap or tape color in the video frame and tracks them over time. The computer computes which colors are moving which way so it can follow freehand gestures. These, in turn, trigger various functions. A mini-projector then displays the relevant content — emails, stock char ts, photos — on the nearest sur face. Within a few years, Pranav Mistr y and his team hope that the SixthSense will let people operate smar tphones without touching a button, do instant research on objects around them, and generally offer the kind of enhanced-reality experience that is now confined only to science fiction….or to Chief John Ander ton. Putting the ar t in ‘smar t’, the SixthSense system, with all that it could do in the future, and its endless applications, is nothing shor t of magical. Just wear it and see its magic! For example, you could take photographs just by making the shape of a frame with your fingers. You could also conjure a phone keypad in the palm of your hand and tap the vir tual numbers to make a call. Or, you could pick

up a product in supermarket (e.g. a package of paper towels) and the system could display related information (e.g. the amount of bleach used) back on the product itself. Or, you could draw a circle on your wrist and the system will project a clock on it. Fur thermore, the SixthSense can recognize a boarding pass and display related information such as flight delay and gate change. SixthSense can also recognize any book you pick up and display the Amazon rating on the book cover. It takes a photo of the book, compares it with book-cover images it finds online, computes a match, and retrieves and projects the ratings. The SixthSense can scan newspaper stories and retrieve related video from YouTube or other websites, which it projects directly onto the sur face of the newspaper. Apar t from all this, this ‘smar t’ system is also able to recognize people by their appearances and project a word cloud of related information retrieved from the Internet on the person’s body. The SixthSense, which is currently a concept with a plan to become an actual product and be available in the markets one day, will take the coming together of various factors, including batter y technology, miniature versions of the Microsoft Xbox Kinect camera and improvements in wireless data networks. And as technology develops fur ther that day is not that far away. The sense in SixthSense is surely going to transform the technological sensibilities of our world!

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THE BABY CONNECTION KUWAIT Dec 11-12, Murouj at the Sahara Golf Club By bazaar staff

The Baby Connection Kuwait is the result of the hard work and passion of a small group of women. They came together for the love of children, and were inspired by their little ones as well to curate an event for the entire community. Through the founding of the Baby Connection Kuwait, this event is aimed at strengthening the parent-child bond, and encourage childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of responsibility over their own community. The event format will resemble that of a work-shop-based fair, and will be taking place in Murouj next to Sahara Golf Club December 11 and 12 from noon to 8 pm. This fair is a down-to-ear th attempt to bring the child development industr y closer to the parents, and vice versa, so that parents who have frantically looked for specific needs for their childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development (be it ser vices or

knowledge), know exactly where to go to find it. The vendors that the organizers have on board span a wide variety of specialists and institutions dedicated to child development from a range of focus areas which include mainstream education, therapy centers such as Soor and Reach Education, special needs schools, ar ts and crafts vendors, and dance, music, fine ar t endeavors such as Manifesto 13, fitness, health, holistic well being and community organizations such as FSRI, Bir th Kuwait and Omniya Recycling. The fair will also have a few home businesses and farms on board to better educate the little ones about all-things-organic, such as Kenaneya Farm (which will be teaching kids about farming). The majority of their vendors also include schools and nurseries such as American United School and Little Har vard Preschool just to name a few, and most of the vendors will be holding workshops at their booths which educate the attendees of

the fair about their field while engaging them in educational activities that are both enter taining and knowledge-based. The idea is to have fun while you learn. Play, joy, love, and learning. Or ganized by Noora Kassem, May Hassan and Zeina, Ammouna they tr uly hope that the fair will bring the market closer to the child development industr y while allowing the industr y itself to talk shop and trade ideas on the newest and latest developments in childhood education, nur ture and development. They also hope that the weekend that they are or ganizing will provide parents with a wonder ful oppor tunity to bond with their kids, and the kids a chance to let loose and fall in love with the process of lear ning. Visit www.thebabyconnectionkuwait.com for more information, and you can follow their adventures on Instagram @thebabyconnection.kw.

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COULD BEAUTIFUL EMERGENCY KITS CONVINCE MORE PEOPLE TO PREPARE FOR THE WORST? By Adele Peters

I live a block from a fault-line that is statistically overdue for a major earthquake, at the bottom of a mudslide zone, and next to a park filled with fire-prone eucalyptus trees. But—even though I keep meaning to—I still haven’t bought an emergency preparedness kit. And my tiny studio apartment doesn’t have much room for one. Many people are at risk of some type of disaster—hurricanes, earthquakes, ice storms, tornadoes, floods, or the meltdown of a nearby nuclear plant. But only about half actually have an emergency kit at home. Like me, many of us live

in a state of happy denial. Would we be a little more likely to buy a kit if they were better designed? From similarly disaster-prone Japan, the Minim+Aid, by designers at Nendo, is a skinny kit that “includes the bare minimum necessary for a city-dweller to make it to a place of refuge during an earthquake or other disaster.” Less than two inches wide, the design squeezes in a radio, raincoat, lantern, drinking water, whistle, and a plastic case that can hold medicine into segments that screw together into a sleek, waterproof, floatable tube. The hand-cranked radio can double as a charger for a smartphone or the lantern, and the tube doubles as a cup. The whole thing is designed to

come along if you need to leave quickly. As the designers’ website says: “Slimmer and more compact than conventional emergency kits, it’s easy to carry and can also be worn over the shoulder using the included strap. The design makes it easy to keep it near the entrance and ready to go at all times—just leave it in the umbrella stand or hang it from a coat hanger.” And unlike a bulky bug-out bag, it’s something that people might actually want to leave on display. If Nest can make people lust after smart thermostats through better design, can the same thing happen for emergency kits? The design was unveiled during Tokyo Design Week and will be released first in Japan in 2016.

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THE FEAR FACTOR By Dr. Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg

…let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes… ~Franklin D. Roosevelt Fear is a strange animal. It feeds on distortions and exaggerations, multiplies in the dark, and preys on the hearts of humanity without regard to any characteristic of birth. Fear is found in king’s palaces, pauper’s hovels and everywhere in between. In this digital age, the amount of information we have at our finger tips is incomprehensible, and that’s not a bad thing, but the reality is like the proverbial iron hand in a velvet glove. The ‘velvet glove’ of knowledge covers the ‘iron hand’ of knowing. We don’t have time to verify, process, analyze, or reflect on that information to form a well-considered, thoughtful opinion. On anything. The immediacy of social media takes that oppor tunity away, and the consequence is often an equation of distor tion and exaggeration, opinion and rhetoric, emotion and visceral reaction which equals… fear. We have become people who are afraid of everything. Take a moment to imagine how this impacts

the way we live in the world when we have this skewed perspective of reality in regard to, oh, say, refugees? Paris? Beirut? Religion(s)? Climate change? Pover ty? Name any significant issue on the world stage and it is likely that any one of us can instantly remember a recent headline or statement about that topic or event. It is also likely to be a) negative, and b) sensational. Generalizing, I know, but not much. On the positive side, we identify with those who suffer tragedy in ways never before possible, because we watched events unfold through the power of instant access. The outpouring of world response to tragic events and the harnessing of global goodwill is a ver y good thing. On the negative side, hate, prejudice, and bigotr y multiply exponentially and the voices of reasoned debate and moderating influence are lost in the storm of public opinion. The truth is, pain and tragedy are marketable commodities in our voyeuristic, Internet-driven world. Why does this matter? Because we make decisions and choices for our lives based on a degree of anxiety that is skewed toward the negative. Ever ything new or different feels unsafe. In the barrage of information, the more balanced, less sensationalized sources of information are lost. If the state of the world and global events cause you anxiety, or it feels like the world is

a fear ful place, tr y some of these strategies… 1.Remember sensational headlines are meant to invoke a strong (usually negative) emotion. If you’re interested in a par ticular issue, scroll down past the first few search results, or tweets, or Facebook posts, and find a post with a headline that actually doesn’t sound like it was written by a hysterical adolescent. 2.Protect yourself from vicarious trauma. The human psyche can only take so much. We become either hyper-vigilant (fear ful) or numb (depressed). We must take care of our inter nal world in order to maintain a healthy perspective on the exter nal world. 3.Keep life balanced. Do more than live online. Life is multi-faceted, take care to make sure your life reflects this tr uth. Life is too shor t to live it anxious and afraid. Our world is so much smaller, so much more accessible than it’s ever been before. There’s much to see, much to do, much to lear n, and to experience. It is safer than social media would have us believe, filled with interesting, kind, compassionate people, and wor th exploring. Live lar ge. Follow @DrSusannah on Twitter and Instagram.

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RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER REVIEW By bazaar Staff

This month’s entry of Geeks and Gamers just had to be a review. But which game? We’ve had a number of huge releases since the last issue (after all, it is that time of the year). Assassins Creed Syndicate, Call Of Duty Black Ops 3, Need For Speed and Fallout 4…and then there was Rise Of The Tomb Raider. I have had a chance to play all of the above games, but ROTTR is the one that pulled me in and left the others sitting on the shelf...for now at least. The follow-up to Crystal Dynamics’ outstanding 2013 reboot is out now for Xbox One and 360 (PC and PS4 releases to come mid 2016), and takes place a year after the events of the last game. In that, an origin story of Lara Croft and her tomb raiding roots, Lara was young, afraid, naïve…thrown into life threatening circumstances that she had no experience or

control over, and left to discover and use her natural survival instincts. Along the way, she discovered many secrets, and (without giving away any spoilers to those who haven’t played yet), history changing supernatural wonders. Upon surviving her ordeal and returning home, her story was not believed and her name dragged through the mud. Now, she is on a quest to prove that what she discovered was real, and must face off against the evil Trinity organization, a private enterprise set out to cover up the supernatural wonders that Lara discovered. Off the bat, this game is visually stunning. Please play it on a large, full HD TV. You owe it to yourself. The first few minutes of the game, set in Siberia, make you feel as cold as it looks on screen. It has the same artist direction as the last game and it just feels great to be back with Lara. What’s more, you can tell that she has grown and matured both personally, and in her exploration. She no longer needs to psych herself up, like in the last game where she mutters things

to herself like “Come on Lara, you can do this.” Now she just knows she can, and both in the way she talks and moves, you really sense that. One of the big additions to this entry is the way that you can tackle enemies and enemy bases your way: all guns blazing or stealth. You can now sneak past bad guys, silently pick them off at a distance with your trusty (and maybe the best in any game) bow and arrow, make and use smoke bombs (using the improved crafting system) and perform silent kills. Otherwise, if you prefer, just run in and shoot the place up. Don’t want to fight? Just climb trees and navigate the shadows and avoid it all together! As for that crafting system...you can now collect a wider variety of scrap and resources from the environment, and as well as crafting and upgrading at the base camps along the way, you can also make cer tain things on the fly. Pick up a bottle, and turn it into a Molotov, or find an empty can and turn it into a stun grenade. Ran out of arrows? Find the right wood from a nearby tree, raid a bird nest for feathers and make some arrows as you run to the next objective. You can even grab a chicken and craft it into a bomb! As before, you earn skill points, but now there are more, advanced skills to learn...after all, Lara is experienced now. You can also meet ‘friendlies’ in certain areas of the map and help them out by running errands or missions for them, for which you are rewarded, of course. On to the tombs themselves…they are truly wonderous, and multiple times bigger than before. Between finding the secret entrance to a tomb, making your way down to it and working out the puzzle to get the reward, can take an hour or more. You feel a real sense of discovery, as if you really worked to find something hidden from the world for so long. This is something touched on in the last game but perfected here. There is no multiplayer as such, however you can custom create challenges for your friends to attempt. Not including multiplayer is a brave move, and I have to give credit to the developer for not throwing a half-whitted attempt at multiplayer into an already perfect single player experience, as so many others do these days. It isn’t needed here…this adventure, much like Lara’s own, should be enjoyed alone. And enjoy it you will.

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TAP:THE SMART WAY TO PAY TAPPING INTO THE FUTURE OF ONLINE PAYMENTS

By bazaar staff

ith eclectic independent businesses blossoming around Kuwait, it’s hard to keep up with methods of payment and track down transactions. Both Ali and Mohammed Abulhasan found that online payments always seemed slow and inconvenient in this region, so they gifted the nation with Tap, the easy online payment service provider that simplifies the process of enabling online payment acceptance and collection for businesses, guaranteeing consumers to pay online securely on PCs, tablets and smartphones on the go! For consumers, Tap has also gifted you the goTap app that allows you to check off your pay list of mobile, internet and TV bills, your cupcake delivery tab received from your favorite bakery, and your brand new dress ordered from the new trendy store for next week’s dinner in a matter of finger-scrolling-and-tapping minutes! It’s all so easy with goTap! Since the May 2013 launch of Tap, small businesses in Kuwait have been booming. The entrepreneurial nation has increased activity of consumers and owners of their favorite pastime, star ting a business. Because of this innovative ser vice, online payment adoption for businesses in Kuwait has progressed from taking a few weeks to a few hours of your time. Also, this solution integrates with global e-commerce

platforms, which means we aren’t in the dark anymore! Finding a glitch in the system? No problem! Tap has an extremely comprehensive technical suppor t team available around the clock to help solve any issues you may be facing. This ser vice has been designed and per fected by locals who understand the realities of the Kuwaiti market, their businesses and their customers. The seamless inter face has strict security standards with developer friendly tools (don’t go forgetting your passwords!) Also, it’s easy on the eyes, and by the end of 2014, Tap has grown to help over 1,000 registered companies accept payments online. That’s helpful! We were lucky enough to chat with co-founder and CEO of Tap, Ali Abulhasan, and he explains to us why Tap is sure to revolutionize (and has already been revolutionizing) businesses in Kuwait. He also gives us the scoop on the September 2015 release of the user-friendly app goTap, and lets us know why the nation should leave behind the complicated payment behaviors of the digital dinosaur dynasty. So what are you waiting for, Kuwait? Get tapping! How did you feel inspired to start Tap? My co-founder (Mohammed Abulhasan) came to me wanting me to

assist him in setting up an online website. As we were sor ting through the details, we realized how complicated it was for businesses to get online, and because businesses needed to run faster, we decided to resolve the issue in a business-friendly way connecting it with the bank. We decided to build a platform connected to the banks to make it much simpler for businesses to get online payments in a secure, regulator y way while providing a consumer centric approach in our approach by keeping things simple, quick and secure for the average user while paying online. How did you envision for Tap to revolutionize small businesses in Kuwait? If you keep something simple to grasp and quick to implement, at the same time maintaining security, things move much faster because people can collaborate more quickly. The way we’re revolutionizing businesses is by letting them focus on their product, brand and not worr y about the little things that comes with ever y operating business, such as payments. We want them to let us worr y about the little things. How does Tap benefit the general community, other than the small business owners? We are making it easier for local businesses of all shapes and sizes to get online, for developers to create their own thing and consumers to pay with ease. If you’re an average small business owner, we recommend for you to work with suggested platforms that we’ve already integrated with, where you enable the plugins, enter your credentials and it’s done. People don’t have to worr y about hiring the right person to take care of these details; we’re giving them the easy option to do it themselves. If you’re a developer who’s tr ying to do something on your own, we open up our tools for people to explore. We’re ver y much into keeping things simple, open, quick and secure. There is literally something to offer for ever ybody, and we have ever yone’s back. How does the service work? If you’re a business owner, register ever ything online, provide your information and the integrated platform of your choice - we’re also open to other

suggestions, as we’re all about integration. Regarding the billing ser vice, plug in all the necessar y information, send the customer a link, or if they have the app, they will receive an invoice via email or SMS to review and pay. There are also reminders for late payers to avoid awkward confrontation. As for the consumers, we have kept ever ything quick, simple and secure where the user inputs their bank card information to enjoy hassle-free payments. What is new with Tap? We’ve recently released goTap, an app that allows users to check off their pay list from bills, subscriptions and purchases easily (and all at once!) from our growing network of businesses. It’s only available for iPhone users right now, but we’re working on an Android app as well that will be released shor tly. Do you envision this app to be successful in the long run? We have high hopes and we’ve grown so much since 2013. We’re changing how payments are adopted and done in Kuwait while involving all the related stakeholders and we aim to do the same in the region. Ser ving businesses, collaborators, developers, consumers in an organized and clear manner factors into the inevitable success of this being a regional payment solution. Has the app spread to countries outside of Kuwait? Right now, the ser vice is exclusive to Kuwait, but we’re working on spreading it to the rest of the Middle East - in fact, we are currently piloting out of Kuwait, but it’s a step-by-step process. We have strong faith that Tap will have its fingerprint in payments throughout the region. Do you have any entrepreneurial words of encouragement to our readers? We need to see more innovative people that could help us move the region faster. Collaboration is key. We will never stop growing, and neither should you. For more information on Tap and their goSell, goCollect and goTap ser vices, v i s i t w w w . g o t a p n o w . c o m . F o l l o w t h e m o n I n s t a g r a m @ gotapnow and download their iPhone app goTap! on the App Store or by visiting www.gotap.io/download. Photography by Muneera Al Khulaifi, Instagram @i9ora.

“IT’S MAKING A LIST…” IBM’S WATSON WILL

PREDICT THIS HOLIDAY’S TOP GIFTS

By Neal Ungerleider

IBM’s Watson platform has another new side project: making holiday gift predictions. The company is releasing a new iPhone app called IBM Watson Trend, which they claim can predict which gifts are most likely to sell out at stores and e-commerce sites. While aimed at helping consumers, the app also shows the investment IBM has been putting into expanding Watson into the business world. The app shows “trending” gifts in three categories—toys, consumer electronics, and health and fitness—alongside explanatory information about why those particular objects are trending. This includes analysis of hot purchases such as Lego City and the Nikon D-SLR, as well as products like Mattel’s “Hello Barbie”, which are declining in popularity (IBM says that, although popular with parents, children feel the interactive doll has an outdated style). Watson Trend mines data from Twitter, which IBM has a formal partnership with, alongside ratings and reviews from more than 200 e-commerce websites, and thousands of blogs. The app then applies data mining and natural language processing techniques to approximately 10,000 sites and services in total to make its analysis. According to Justin Norwood, a product strategist at IBM Commerce and a primary force behind the app, Watson Trend was his pitch in a Shark Tank-style internal competition for new ideas 56

to bring Watson into the commerce space. Peers upvoted his idea, and IBM executives decided to fund the project. The whole process, from approval to deployment, took approximately 90 days. “My thought process was that people make purchase-decision advice via social media,” Norwood says. “We have this great Watson service at IBM that understands natural language. We then decided to harness the power of collective conversation, of understanding what people like and dislike, and to bring the collective wisdom of millions of people to individual shoppers using Watson’s cognitive power.” But there’s a reason IBM was crowdsourcing ideas on how to deploy Watson in the commerce world from employees. After being targeted at health care and tooled for financial purposes, IBM sees e-commerce as a growth area for the big data platform. IBM, which has a long competency in developing and selling complicated, sophisticated products to large corporate customers, thinks Watson holds the potential to help retailers make sense of the massive amounts of data they store. This past May, IBM announced they were investing in two companies called Sellpoints and WayBlazer. The purpose of the investment, IBM said, was to develop new Watson applications for the e-commerce and travel sectors. One of the major problems IBM faces is that they have a distinct corporate culture that is great at technological development, but less great at understanding the needs of different industry sectors. This is a big reason why they have teamed up with third parties such as Apple, and are investing in outside

companies in order to come up with new use cases for Watson. IBM’s own marketing cloud platform, in fact, was built through the acquisition of outside firm, Silverpop. It’s also no accident that the Watson Trend app is aimed at consumers rather than retailers. Norwood says the app is designed for a mass audience, but that IBM plans further uses of Watson for the commerce sector. In the first half of 2016, the company says, it plans to offer much more detailed insights to both retailers and consumer product manufacturers. Commerce data—of both the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce varieties—is also something that’s of major interest to IBM and other large companies. Amazon has pioneered the act of turning e-commerce into a massive source for clues that can be deciphered and retooled to sell consumers more products. The switch from magnetic credit cards to chip-and-pin credit cards is also leading retailers to overhaul their entire IT systems, so apps like Target’s Cartwheel are generating reams of customer data, and iPhonefriendly beacons placed in main chain stores let corporate offices understand just who exactly is shopping there. For IBM, Watson Trend is an easy way to show off to consumers what they later want to sell to retailers. Their hope, it seems, is that by giving customers a peek at how they can sift through endless product reviews and Twitter messages to get a better idea about product availability, they can also sell retailers on fancier big-data products months and years down the road.

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SRI LANKA CALLING By Devika Chatur vedi

I have learnt that there are times when it is just better to acknowledge defeat. This is a lesson that is going to stick with me for this year. Everybody loves a good Kuwaiti winter of course, but come summer and you’ll spot the wise hearken the change in the wind and head off to cooler pastures. This year, however, I had decided I would avoid playing the tourist and brazen out the summer at home here in Kuwait. But soon enough, the books got boring and airy malls were unable to keep boredom at bay. Two days later, I found myself surfing travel sites. That’s when Sri Lanka happened. I booked Sri Lankan airlines and waited patiently on a five hour long flight. When the coconut trees and thatched roofs mounted into view, I knew my destination was arriving soon. A brand new Sri Lanka waited to be explored, where fishermen float on stilts above the waves and turtles skulk up onto moonlit beaches. I checked into Taj Samudra, overlooking the Indian Ocean where I finally got what I came here for…a cool breeze. One often judges the character of the country by its capital city, but it does not hold true here. There is more to Lanka than Colombo’s colonial boulevards. You witness a more cosmopolitan side with stylish eateries, galleries and museums here. The capital is an excellent start though, for the shopaholics in particular. From the myriad masks of traditional significance to the glitzy labyrinth of designer stores, you can find everything here. My recommendation is that you visit Odel for shopping,

but keep it towards the end of your trip. The next day I started for the delectably named town of Kandy, a mere four hour drive to the mildly cold climate. It was a pleasant change to skip the coastal humidity. Our stay was at a rather luxurious Amaya Hills resort (KWD45-50 per night for standard room), nestled atop a hill and overlooking the lush mountains of Hanthana. Lankans love their cricket. Read up on some names and trivia and watch the smiles unfurl with just a mention of names like Muttiah Muralitharan, the famous off-spinner who grew up playing cricket here. The massive, Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth is not to be missed either, said to contain a tooth belonging to Buddha himself. The beautiful temple plays host to the annual festival with lavish costumes, cultural procession and adorned elephants, held around July-August. If your visit coincides with one, it will definitely be the highlight of your Sri Lankan journey. Up until sometime back, Sri Lanka’s hilly countryside was largely unexplored. But then, the British came and their love for a great cup of tea, on cool misty hills made the Ceylon tea famous across the world. The tea estates developed, cottages were built and soon it became one of the great pleasures of travelling in Sri Lanka, and what better way, than sipping a cuppa at a little tea shop amidst the plantations. Further ahead from the tea estates is this toytown of a bygone British era. The rose-tinted English country side could be recognized in Nuwara Eliya or Little England as they call it. Pack in your tweeds, waistcoat and ties with a pair of formal shoes as

most of the well-to-do restaurants follow the English dress code for dinners. The lively center of town is thoroughly Sri Lankan, but underneath you sense a very English character with pretty rose-gardens, Victorian architecture and a great English breakfast. Back in the day, Nuwara Eliya was the preferred escape for the hard-drinking English and Scottish civil servants of Sri Lanka’s tea industry. On the cuisine front vegetarians can hold their fort with a speciality called kottu which consists of chopped roti stir-fried with vegetables and a profusion of flavorings. The creamy cashew and coconut curries were quite memorable too, to go with dosai or chapatti. Seafood though, is available in abundance with the freshest fish and crabs made in traditional Sinhalese style. The jewel shaped island, also boasts of spices with abundance of peppers, ginger, cinnamon — and a plentiful supply of coconuts. My last stop was Bentota, a coastal town bristling with luxur y resor ts and tur tle farms, before we head to the airpor t in Colombo. On the way we crossed a river near the sleepy village of Kitulgala, two hours’ drive from the capital. It is more famous for the bridge scene from the classic Oscar-winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai. In the present times Kitulgala has become famous for white-water rafting and water fall abseiling. The ten days were over soon and the barometer back home was still not going down, although I had many pleasant thoughts, to keep my cool in the sweltering heat.

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IS ‘SPECTRE’ THE END OF THE ROAD FOR 007? By Steven Zeitchik

Is James Bond as we know him saying goodbye? Like a 007 quest itself, it depends on who you talk to, what you hear, how you interpret the clues. The question might seem strange, what with Spectre poised to blow up a moribund box office like a white Lotus Esprit. The new Bond installment — director Sam Mendes’ second, star Daniel Craig’s fourth, Bond steward Eon Productions’ 24th — finds its hero as virile as ever and even restores many classic touches. Bond is chased through snowy mountains. Q supplies new gadgets. A supervillain, Ernst Blofeld, shows up, doing supervillainy things he hasn’t done in nearly 35 years. Yet the question of ending has been mulled and debated, elided and included, by those behind, and in, the new film. Goodbyes go right to the movie’s thematic heart. Spectre calls up a culmination; subtle farewells are on its mind. Just ask the people who created it. They say the movie contains a bidadieu, of a sort. Seemingly. Maybe. “You can feel this, in one way, as an end to a quadrology,” said Neal Purvis, who with screenwriting partner Robert Wade has co-written all four of the Craig movies. “The last one was about middle age and mortality. And this is about legacy,” Mendes said. “What happens when you’re a secret agent and no one knows you’ve ever lived?” “It seems to me there’s room for more. We left the door open for plenty of Daniel Craig Bonds,” says Spectre producer and Eon Productions principal Michael G. Wilson, sounding as much as he’s trying to convince us as he is convinced himself. There will always be more Bond movies; like underground bunkers and Seinfeld reruns, nothing can destroy them. But this Bond, both physically and spiritually, may be offering a final hand wave. (Note: Though steps were taken to avoid juicier reveals, the below story contains some plot spoilers.) For fans who loved Craig’s Casino Royale debut and had to twiddle thumbs for six years until 2012’s Skyfall (oh, yes, Quantum of Solace

came in-between), the wait is mercifully short for Spectre. As the film opens, Bond is still connected to the adventures of the previous film, mourning the climactic death of Judi Dench’s M and repressing his grief with new missions, including a posthumous quest she assigned him. In chasing down the evil as she instructs, Bond finds himself facing a troubled former assassin, which leads him to the man’s daughter, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), who is far more 007’s equal, in murder and romance, than many a Bond lady. Their dynamic is forged in the search for a slippery man with a childhood Bond connection, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), who may or may not be the supervillain Blofeld. Both these characters, it turns out, provide a sense of completion, sending out a hand-smacking, jobdone-here signal. Oberhauser/possible Blofeld turns out to be, as the trailer (in an unexpectedly librarian-friendly metaphor, made clear)“The author of all your pain.” He is the one responsible for all the scariness in the previous three films, including Javier Bardem’s hair. The plots from all those movies are due to him, so vanquishing him means an arrival at the end of the road. Spectre also contains a deep sense of romance. 007 has met his counterpart in Madeleine. He has the full, contented heart that, in every movie since the dawn of ages, means a journey has wound down. The sense that time is up permeates the new film in other ways. A critical scene features a timer’s countdown to zero. A key gadget, and escape, involve a wrist watch. Even the dialogue manifests the ticking-clock theme. “It’s not over yet,” 007 says. “Goodbye, James Bond,” says a villain. The question of farewell is tied up with the future of Craig and Mendes, both of whom have indicated in the past that they may not be willing to die another day. That would normally be a challenge for lawyers, for agents, for therapists. But their departures would almost certainly spell a new Bond creative direction; this is the place where contractual negotiations and character trajectories intersect. (Incidentally, this

is also a spot occupied by Blofeld and the titular organization Spectre, both freed to be used in the Bond franchise after decades in legal purgatory.) Craig, who was not made available for a prerelease interview, has strongly suggested he is done. The actor is clearly tired. So too is the man he plays. In Spectre, Bond meets a onetime hit man, broken and bowed, and realizes this is the person he could become. Bond needs to rest. There is only so much kissing and killing a man can do. But that doesn’t mean a goodbye can’t happen. It happened before, in the transition from Pierce Brosnan to Craig. It could happen after Craig. The Bond franchise’s uber-theme is that time moves on. And fittingly, for a tale about endings, there was a lot of drama about which one this should have. As hacked Sony emails revealed, producers, writers and executives from the studio and MGM all had heated debates about what to do with the film’s third act. How much is Madeleine the culmination of Bond’s journey, and how much is she just another way station on its road? In one version, she disappeared early only to reappear at the end; in another, she tricked him and became at least a temporary adversary. But the more romantic path they chose gives the movie an elegiac quality. “It’s a happy ending, which is rare in Bond movies,” said Seydoux. “It closes a chapter, in a way.” Ditto on the villainy front. Who is the real bad guy, and what is his motive? Who is he, in the most fundamental sense? Few could agree, as executives and filmmakers went back and forth in email, right into pre-preproduction. At one point it was suggested that Blofeld become a woman. The suggestion was shot down — unless, one principal said, it was Meryl Streep. Then he became male, and the author of everything. As the scribe of all that pain, Blofeld then, is the main antagonist of the Craig period, and as — or if — he goes, so goes the era. So is he done? “Pretty much. I think so,” Waltz said. “What you said about culmination and rounding off feels particularly true in my case.” Countered Wilson, the producer: “We’re not done with Blofeld.” Something for them to work out, perhaps. Even the franchise’s Hollywood venue may be shutting down — MGM and Eon’s deal with studio Sony is over after this film, and many negotiations are expected. Bond could have a fresh home. Will that home have a fresh Bond? The character, after all, has always been about the new — the new love interest, the new mission, the new villain, the new full glass. Bond here conveys a getting-old feeling — the man, but also the whole foreign-assassination thing. “It’s called life. You should try it sometime,” Moneypenny tells the hero by phone when he’s off on a globe-trotting adventure. He hears that as he prepares to eject from an Aston Martin and realizes he’s missing out on her, on all the world offers. To be a happier James Bond, he might need to say goodbye to 007.

kidzania

GIANT FOREST MEGAPHONES THAT AMPLIFY NATURE

By Adele Peters

On a hike through one of the sprawling forests in Estonia, a country covered in trees, you might stumble on three giant megaphones in the middle of the woods. They amplify every natural forest sound in the forest— singing birds, wind in branches, rain. “The megaphones take the hikers by asurprise. It’s a shift in scale, an unexpected, absurdly large object in the tranquil deep woods,” says Aet Ader, an architect at the firm b210, who guided a team of architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Ar ts in building the installation. “It’s an extremely symbolic reference to the sense of hearing and to the process of listening.” Each megaphone, made from long-lasting local larch wood, is designed to reflect sound waves and is placed at the ideal angle from the others to maximize sound. “At the center

of the installation, sound feeds from all three directions should create a unique merged surround sound effect,” says Hannes Praks, head of the academy’s interior architecture depar tment. It’s designed as a place to relax and escape. “You can sit down comfor tably in each of the megaphones—the sides of the megaphone offer suppor t for your back at the right angle and frame the sky on one side and moss and blueberries on the other,” says Ader. “The installation shakes the perspective. It seems to me that in a world that’s spinning faster and faster, the secret really lies in simple methods such as focusing—erasing the background noise and the unnecessar y, framing it out.” The students were inspired to create the megaphones after a couple of the university’s somewhat unor thodox immersive trips—five days in a remote ranger hut in the middle of Januar y in the deep woods, followed by a trip to London for a weekend with no money and no

phones. “We sincerely believe that these experimental and, in par t, surely extreme measures pave the road to fabulous solutions,” says Praks. At the time, they were working on a design for a “forest library,” something proposed by the Estonian writer Valdur Mikita. At first, the concept was a literal library with books—but then one of the students was struck with inspiration—why not listen to the book of nature? “In the end, even the tutors of the group understood that building a librar y without heating and any security in the Estonian climate would be a bit of a stupid idea,” says Praks. “Birgit’s intelligent solution—to replace the literal reading in the forests with reading the audioscape of the forest—saved the whole project.” The installation is on display—if you can find it—in the Pähni Nature Centre near the Latvian border.

fantasy world

NUQAT 2015: A LOOK BACK ON THE

‘COPY + PASTE SYNDROME’

By Muna M. Al Gharabally

Last month, Kuwait was buzzing as the 6th annual Nuqat Creative Conference was held from the 12th to 18th of November. This year, Nuqat, a non- profit organization dedicated to nurturing and encouraging creative development in the Arab world, lined up a week crammed full of lectures, cultural entertainment and workshops themed around the ‘Copy + Paste Syndrome’. There were so many overlapping events spread over multiple venues happening that speakers, participants, organizers and volunteers were all spoiled for choice. The first three days of the conference were dominated by lectures held in the auditorium of the Al Amricani Cultural Centre. Registration for these lectures was free thanks to the generosity of The Ministr y of State for Youth Af fairs who covered the cost of each par ticipant. I have to confess, that when I first heard about the conference’s theme, I was concerned as copying and pasting an existing concept has always carried with it 64

a bad reputation. Surely if you are copying and pasting something you are borrowing or outright stealing (when credit is not given to the source) someone else’s original idea? But as the Nuqat website challenges: ‘Is anything original?’ It is a ver y good question, as the seed of most ideas and concepts can be traced back to a ‘Eureka’ moment when obser ving something that already exists or has been tried before. The theme led to many interesting debates by multiple speakers, often ending with lively Q&A sessions with the audience. From the presentations I saw, three speakers stood out as truly encapsulating the essence of the conference’s theme. They were: Leen Sadder, Ghadah AlKandari and Tareq Naga. Leen Sadder is the product designer behind the idea of this is my toothbrush – hatha miswaki. Star ting life as a class project, she took an old product that has been around for centuries and adopted it to modern day life so that it would appeal to all generations and all geographies. Her product reboot in stylish modern packaging has taken the humble miswak into the 21st Centur y and transformed it into an

aspirational commodity that is both hip as well as healthy to use. What better way to demonstrate copy + paste and still be original? Kuwaiti ar tist Ghadah Alkandari was the last speaker of Day One of the three days of lectures. Her lecture titled ‘Mirror: A Relationship Between Living and Creating’ painted a picture for the audience of how drawing has been a life companion for her. Ghadah has drawn and archived her drawings and writings her whole life. It has, as she says, preser ved “the most accurate histor y” of who she is and has ser ved her well as a sister, friend and therapist. She was able to transpor t the audience, who were lucky enough to be there, onto a dif ferent plane through just glimpses into her journals and body of work. An inspired ar tist and stor yteller, copies of her paintings began to appear on the stage, pasting themselves onto the live canvas that was the podium from where she spoke. It needs to be said here that one of Ghadah’s creations are the “eves”, and at the end of her presentation, all of Ghadah’s “eves” streamed in to join her on the stage. Tareq Naga is an architect who presented

on the third and last day of the lectures. His lecture was built on an Alber t Einstein quote ‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”At the end of his presentation he went of f schedule and showcased a stor y that was inspired by Ghadah Alkandari’s presentation on Day One and named it The Revenge of Adams. It has been said that imitation is the best form of flatter y, Ghadah (with an “eve”, of course) was invited onto the stage at the end and Adam thanked Eve for her inspiration. Whilst the auditorium hosted the lectures, the Al Amricani cour tyard was a hub of activity, with live ar t installations by Mohammad Shono and a display of calligraf fitti skills by Nugamshi. Also in the cour tyard were food kiosks of fering a mouth watering array of food that framed a central communal dining area where attendees could take a break to refuel and network, along with a pop up shop managed by ‘The Yard’ who were selling an eclectic array of products including Leen Sadder’s miswak. The week was graced with beautiful weather and as night fell on the first day, the Al Amricani cour tyard became the venue for live music overlapping recorded pop music hits that appeared to also be linked to a revolving installation on a small stage finished of f with an accompaniment of roaring Harley Davidson motorbikes. The vast array of cultural events on of fer in this single week were just too many to list: there were book signings, ar t exhibitions, ar t installations, movies, musical events as well as city tours of Kuwait by Madeenah Tours (Instagram & Twitter: @madeenahkw) and a pop up restaurant that of fered limited seats for a memorable brunch prepared by Kuwait’s own Two Chefs and a Waitress (#twochefsandawaitress) set up on this occasion at the Dar Al Funoon Ar t Galler y. The last four days of the conference of fered ten workshops, (all but one of these were held at the Dar Al Athar Al Islamiya’s Yarmouk Cultural Centre), by day and even more live music events and ar tistic presentations by night. Al Shaheed Park was the venue for one such event called The Sound Social. In a per formance, produced in collaboration with Al Shaheed Park and LOYAC, eight talented local musicians named The Trans Arabian Express premiered music that was created exclusively for the event. They opened with a Miles Davis influenced jazz number that had under tones of the oud and flute giving it an oriental flavor. Their music had hints of old Kuwaiti songs mixed with Yemeni reggae and African influences including Swahili folk music. The audience was serenaded by their [continued...]

unique blend of fusion music in the open air theatre. Rising up behind the audience, the evolving Kuwait City skyline also listened. Liberation Tower and new brightly lit skyscrapers shimmered with their own unique light show. Dominating all the new buildings was Al Shaab Gate (one of the five remaining gates of Kuwaitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old walled city) which glowed as it held a place of honour from its central vantage point directly behind the audience. The atmosphere that Nuqat 6 created in Kuwait was that of a grass roots ar t and music festival. Giving people the permission to look at what has been done already, drawing inspiration from it and creating their own version of the concept, theor y or product. The energy of the event revived the excitement, curiosity and exploration that was present in Kuwait in the 1950/60s giving the new generation of entrepreneurs a vibrant active and accommodating scene where they can capture the spirit and culture of the region not by copying and pasting ideas but by drawing inspiration from the past and molding something that is uniquely theirs all whilst giving them a platform to network and develop fur ther. For more information about Nuqat, v i s i t w w w. n u q a t . m e , L e e n S a d d e r ( w w w. l e e n s a d d e r. c o m ) , G h a d a h Alkandari(prettygreenbullet.com), and Dar Al Funoon Ar t Gallery ( w w w. d a r a l f u n o o n - k w. c o m ) .

[continued...]

tic tock

bazaar sci-no-fi

SCHIZOPHRENIA By Adele Peters

“Schi-Schi-Schi-Schizophrenia. Renia. Hear us talk-we know who you are. Know –know-know- who you are. You are not-not-not-you. We-are-here. Not-Not –in your-head-head-head... here” “Schi-Schi-Schi-Schizophrenia. Renia. It’s me- me- It’s me” “It’s me” *Cue Jumpscare*

You are hearing sounds. Your vision is blurr y. Blurr y. You cannot concentrate on what you are doing. Sounds that tell you to do something. You feel like you are being watched constantly or living between different dimensions. One you can sense, and one which you exist in and know that you are within, but not sense. The feeling of thinking you are not doing what you think you are doing currently. Did you know that ever y two in one people are schizophrenic? Take a second to think about that…no, really, do. You also cannot smile at the right time. Or cr y at the right time. You cannot maintain or commit to something. You can also have “speech problems” or madness. You basically have a split between reality and the other side in your brain, that constantly keep merging. Like a lucid dream. It is a serious brain issue and can affect all ages, and sometimes, although rarely, children. People would make no sense when they talk. Other symptoms would be talking in a dull tone, like Donald Trump, or having a Kanye West style face constantly. People would believe they are in danger or that people on the radio or TV are talking to them, addressing them personally even though it is intended for ever yone. They would also talk ver y little, even 68

when they are not supposed to. It should not be confused with being an introver t or neurotic, and those are completely different things. Their sudden changes in motion can be erratic or mad. It should also not be confused with Autism. It is worse than that. There are two kinds of symptoms: positive and negative. It is classed as a psychotic illness and it is scar y. Although I am not schizophrenic, I did experience some of its symptoms when I suffered from sleep paralysis, and that is why I know firsthand how horrific it is. As I said, schizophrenia is like the world between worlds. It is a mixture of autism and neurosis but with an extra special package of hallucinations. Oh jeez...thanks. Just what we need. With the positive symptoms, they occur if you have an imbalance in your dopamine levels. This happy hormone is needed when your neurons transmit messages in the chemicals. An imbalance of this hormone leads to defects, especially in the emotive par ts of your brain. You become stuck between two worlds. Schizophrenic people also tend to have thinner grey matter, and so are not exactly complex. This shows that it is no less physical than cancer or Alzheimer’s. Drugs have been used in an attempt to regulate the happy hormones, but their molecular mechanisms are still yet to be understood. Here is a difference between positive and negative symptoms: Positive scale •Delusions •Conceptual disorganization •Hallucinations •Hyperactivity •Grandiosity •Suspiciousness/persecution •Hostility

Negative •Blunted affect •Emotional withdrawal •Poor rappor t •Passive/apathetic social withdrawal •Difficulty in abstract thinking •Lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation •Stereotyped thinking Schizophrenic people hear voices because of over activity in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which leads to simple, ambient sound waves being over amplified and changed in a way that becomes creepy. Also, the corpus calloseum (the part of the brain that connects the two halves of the brain and relays info back and forth), is thicker and longer, making it difficult for information to pass through. Hollow muscle holes start to appear in them, called ventricles. In short words, you are almost in split personality. But are not. Although no cure has been found, some treatments involve trying to balance out the chemical composition of the hormones. The scary fact is that it exists. So don’t discriminate. This is not madness. This is a true mental and physical disease, and hopefully something that can be treated somehow, some day and soon. If you want to suggest any ideas for further science articles for Sci-No-Fi (no matter what they are) leave me a comment at one of my pictures on Instagram @RABpoetry. Yeah I am a poet too. For the next article, I’m thinking (to write) about HACKING YOUR BRAINS!!!! DUN DUN DUN!!! YOU MIGHT JUST BE ABLE TO EXCEL IN THE SUBJECT OR TALENT YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO MASTER! Unfortunately, I cannot perform miracles and we all know it won’t work on Miley Cyrus so don’t expect the impossible. Until next time, science fans! Follow Rayan on Instagram and Facebook @ RABpoetry.

nasr sports

FORGET YOUR PHONE— YOU CAN NOW PAY FOR STUFF WITH SMART JEWELRY

By Elizabeth Segran

Ringly announces a partnership with MasterCard that’s more chic than paying with a phone or—ugh—cash. If pulling out your wallet or tapping your phone on a reader to pay for your daily latte is just too much, you’re about to have another option (almost literally) at your fingertips. Today, the smart jewelry company Ringly announced a partnership with MasterCard that will allow you to pay for items with the tap of a ring. Ringly founder and CEO Christina d’Avignon says that the partnership is not exclusive, and the company is actively working with other vendors to make it easy for customers to pay for their purchases using other credit cards as well. It will work much like other mobile payment systems: Users will upload their credit cards to their Ringly app, which will allow them to to pay by tapping their ring on a smart payment terminal. “People will be able to use their rings anywhere that they can currently pay with Apple Pay or with a chip card,” d’Avignon says. “This is where payment infrastructure is going. People will

soon not have to carry their credit cards around at all.” The rings, which have been sold at Ringly.com and other online retailers since January 2015, pair with phones and are controlled using an iPhone or Android app. Users can set their ring to one of four different vibration patterns and five different colors when a phone call, email, message or app notification comes through. The idea is to cut through the information overload by selecting particular alerts. According to a study that Ringly recently conducted, users saw a 40% reduction in the volume of notifications. The jewelr y now integrates with over 80 apps, including shopping apps like Etsy, Ebay, or Poshmark. This means that an Ebay seller, for example, can set their Ringly to buzz ever y time a sale is made. If you want to reduce noise even fur ther, you can set up a deep filter so that only calls or messages from cer tain people are notified. Parents might turn off all notifications except those from their children or babysitter, for instance.

With this new MasterCard partnership, Ringly is keen to go beyond notification filtering to allowing users to simplify the number of items they carry around with them at any given time. “As women, we have these big purses with so many items in them, while men have everything in one pocket,” d’Avignon says. “Imagine if all of these items were consolidated into your jewelry. We’re looking into wallets, keys, and Metrocards. The first step for us is payments.” Ringly’s engineers have focused on miniaturizing technology so that all components can fit on the surface of a small stone. “The idea was to be able to embed this tech into a lot of different designs,” d’Avignon says. “Our goal was to be able to work with different artists and designers, to give them the ability to create without a lot of restrictions.” Ringly also recently launched a capsule collection called Libra that includes four new styles and is expanding its size range to include US sizes five and nine in addition to the existing six, seven, and eight. The new styles are available for purchase at Ringly.com and will start at $195 (KD 60).

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THIS APP ALERTS YOU IF YOUR

FOOD IS ABOUT TO GO BAD, THEN TELLS YOU HOW TO COOK IT

By Adele Peters

Before your spinach gets slimy or your strawberries start to sprout tiny forests of mold, a new app will remind you they’re hidden in the back of your fridge. Then it suggests a few recipes to use them up. “We wanted to try to start to make a dent in some of the millions and millions of pounds of food that go to landfill every year,” says Brianna McGuire, co-founder of Foodfully. The average person now tosses out around twenty pounds of food a month—fifty percent more than we did in the 1970s—wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars in a year and all of the resources that went into growing, storing, and transporting the food. If you buy groceries online, the app can sync with your account to keep track of your latest deliveries. At brick-and-mortar stores, it can track purchases through loyalty cards. For places where the app can’t connect automatically, you can take a picture of your receipt. You can also tell the app what you just bought at the grocery store. After the app knows

what you have in the pantry, it uses the team’s own database of how likely any particular food is to last. “This is an entirely new source of data,” she says. “No one has ever tried to assemble how food goes bad in households.” The co-founders met as grad students at the University of California-Davis, where McGuire was studying the diseases that make food like produce spoil. “Working in that realm of trying to prevent diseases on plants, you see the enormous amount of effort that goes into reducing pathogen pressure while plants are growing, and basically up until the point that the food item is purchased,” she says. “Once the food is purchased, most people aren’t really curious about what’s causing that food item or that produce item to go bad.” Knowing how long something will last is key to helping reduce waste, the startup believes. So is knowing what to do with it—especially if you’re left with a random assortment of ingredients— which is why the app also offers recipes. If you use a recipe, the app automatically deletes those

ingredients from your inventory. You can also tell it what you tend to eat every day, like breakfast cereal, so it doesn’t include it in the recipes. Other food can be deleted by telling the app with a voice command, or swiping on a particular ingredient. It’s designed to be simple and as unobtrusive as possible, sending reminders only ever y two or three days, at a time when you’re likely to be thinking about what to have for dinner. “I’m building this app for myself,” says McGuire, who only has eight other apps on her phone and tries to minimize screen time. “My goal when I think about my food is to share it with my friends and my family and those I love and to make delicious things,” she says. “I just want the phone to be there on the peripher y to optimize the way I want to live my life...once you’re in the app, it’s just really simple way of visualizing what you have and ways to use it.” The app is currently in beta testing; early estimates indicate it may help someone eliminate as much as half of their food waste.

‫اﻟﺼﺎﳊﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻳﻜﺎل ﺑﺎﭬﻠﻴﻮن ‪...‬‬

‫أﺣﺪث ﻣﺮﻛﺰ ﻃﺒﻲ � اﻟﻌﺎﺻﻤﺔ‬

‫ﺟـﻨــﺎح ا�ﻣـــﺮاض اﻟﺒــﺎﻃﻨﻴــــﺔ‬ ‫و اﻟﻐﺪد اﻟﺼﻤﺎء و اﻟﺴﻜﺮ‬

‫‪the pavilion‬‬

‫ﺗﺸﺨﻴﺺ وﻋﻼج‪:‬‬ ‫أﻣﺮاض اﻟﺴﻜﺮ ) اﻟﻨﻮع ا�ول و اﻟﺜﺎ� و‬ ‫ﺳﻜﺮ اﳊﻤﻞ (‬ ‫أﻣــﺮاض إرﺗﻔـــﺎع ﺿﻐـــﻂ اﻟـــﺪم و‬ ‫اﻟﻜﻮﻟﻴﺴﺘ�ول‬ ‫اﺿﻄﺮاﺑﺎت اﻟﻐﺪة اﻟﻨﺨﺎﻣﻴﺔ و اﻟﻜﻈﺮﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﻓﺤﺺ ﺳﻮﻧﺎر اﻟﻐﺪة اﻟﺪرﻗﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻧﻘﺺ ﻓﻴﺘﺎﻣﻴـﻦ ‪ D‬وﻫﺸﺎﺷـﺔ اﻟﻌﻈﺎم‬ ‫وإﺿﻄــﺮاﺑــﺎت ﻣﻌــﺪل اﻟﻜـﺎﻟﺴﻴــﻮم و‬ ‫اﻟﻐﺪد اﳉﺎردرﻗﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻗﺼــﻮر اﻟﻐـــﺪة اﻟﺘﻨــﺎﺳﻠﻴــﺔ ﻟﻠـﺮﺟــﺎل‬ ‫واﻟﻨﺴﺎء‬ ‫ﺗﺄﺧﺮ اﻟﺒﻠﻮغ و اﺿﻄﺮاﺑﺎت اﻟﻨﻤﻮ‬ ‫ﺗﻜﻴﺲ اﳌﺒﺎﻳﺾ‬

‫اﻟﺪﻛﺘﻮر ﺛﺎﻣﺮ اﻟﻌﻴﺴﻰ‬ ‫إﺧﺘﺼﺎﺻﻲ ا�ﻣﺮاض اﻟﺒﺎﻃﻨﻴﺔ‬ ‫واﻟﻐﺪد اﻟﺼﻤﺎء واﻟﺴﻜﺮ‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ ﻣﻴﺎﻣﻲ ‪ -‬اﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﳌﺘﺤﺪة ا�ﻣﺮﻳﻜﻴﺔ‬

‫ﳊﺠﺰ اﳌﻮاﻋﻴﺪ‬ ‫ُﻳﺮﺟﻰ اﻻﺗﺼﺎل ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺮﻗﻢ ‪1880881‬‬ ‫�ﻤﻊ ﻧﻮر اﻟﺼﺎﳊﻴﺔ‪ ،‬اﻟﻄﺎﺑﻖ اﻟﺜﺎ�‪،‬‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻞ �ﻤﻊ اﻟﺼﺎﳊﻴﺔ‬ ‫‪w w w . s a l h i y a p av i l i o n . c o m‬‬

‫‪@S alhiyaPavili on‬‬

‫نعم‪..‬‬ ‫�س�أقول‬

‫ال‬

‫شاهدت قبل فرتة فيلم دراما بعنوان ‪Big Eyes‬‬ ‫و هو نوع من السرية الذاتية يروي قصة الفنانة التشكيلية‬ ‫‪ Margaret Keane‬يف فرتة الستينات حيث كانت متميزة‬ ‫عن غريها من الرسامني بأنها ترسم الناس بعينني كبريتني‪،‬‬ ‫وكانت ذات ملسات مختلفة بحيث تشد الناظر للوحتها بأن‬ ‫يتأمل بها‪.‬‬ ‫كانت مارجريت طيبة‪ ..‬مساملة‪ ..‬فنانة حاملة‪ ،‬إنفصلت عن‬ ‫زوجها وانتقلت مع طفلتها إىل املدينة‪ ،‬وهناك راحت ترسم‬ ‫حتى تعيش وترصف عىل ابنتها‪ ،‬وبعد أن يأست من التقديم‬ ‫عىل وظيفة ومل تجد تجاوب من الرشكات‪ ،‬أخذت ترسم يف‬ ‫الشارع حتى توفر لقمة كرمية لها ولطفلتها‪.‬‬ ‫وأثناء ذلك تعرفت عىل رسام مغمور طلبها للزواج فوافقت‬ ‫دون تردد‪.‬‬ ‫و يف يوم من األيام رأى الناس لوحات مارجريت الجميلة‪ ،‬و‬ ‫يف نفس الوقت كان زوجها يعرض لوحاته‪ ..‬لكن مل تعجب‬ ‫أحد من الناس‪ ،‬ومل تلفت اإلنتباه‪.‬‬

‫عبدالعزيز الحشاش ‪By‬‬

‫و بينام كانت مارجريت يف البيت ترسم ومتارس عملها كربة‬ ‫منزل‪ ،‬راح الزوج يبيع لوحاتها ويروج لها‪ ..‬وعندما سأله الناس‬ ‫عن الفنان وراء هذه الرسومات‪ ،‬إدعى أنه هو من رسمها‪ ..‬وأنه‬ ‫وراء فكرة العيون الكبرية‪.‬‬ ‫تفاجئت مارجريت مع األيام أن الصحافه واإلعالم والناس‬ ‫يتحدثون عن لوحاتها الجميلة والتي رسمها رسام بارع‪ ..‬وما كان‬ ‫هذا الرسام سوى زوجها الذي ذيل اسمه يف لوحاتها‪.‬‬ ‫واجهته‪ ..‬وعاتبته‪ ..‬وطلبت منه أن يقول الحقيقة للعامل‪..‬‬ ‫ولكنه أقنعها بأنه اضطر للكذب حتى يستطيع أن ينجز‬ ‫املعامالت ويقوم بعملية التسويق دون أن يتعبها‪ ،‬فصدقته‬ ‫واستمر هو بالكذب‪ ..‬واستمرت هي بالرسم‪.‬‬ ‫و جنى الزوج ثروة طائلة من وراء صمتها وخضوعها‪ ..‬نعم‪..‬‬ ‫لقد كلفت مارجريت كلمة «نعم» الكثري‪ ..‬كلفتها فنها‪..‬‬ ‫مدخولها‪ ..‬حقوقها‪ ..‬واألهم من ذلك كرامتها‪.‬‬ ‫يعتقد الكثري من الناس أن بالتساهل والصمت والخضوع‬ ‫واملوافقه سيتجنبون الكثري من املشاكل‪ ..‬وأن دفة الحياة‬

‫ستسري بسالسة وبال عقبات‪ ..‬ولكن ما ال يعلمه هؤالء أن‬ ‫كلمة «نعم» تخلق من الناس وحشا‪ ..‬وأننا كثريا من األحيان‬ ‫البد أن نستخدم كلمة «ال» كسالح ليحمي أبسط حقوقنا‪..‬‬ ‫وال يوجد أهم من حق اإلنسان باإلحتفاظ بكرامته‪.‬‬ ‫مارجريت يف النهاية رفعت قضية عىل زوجها تطالب به‬ ‫باإلعرتاف بأحقيتها يف اللوحات التي باعها وعرضها وادعى‬ ‫أنها له‪ .‬وعندما جاء الزوج للمحكمة ودافع عن نفسه‬ ‫برشاسة واتهمها بالكذب‪ ،‬طلب القايض من مارجريت والزوج‬ ‫أن يجلسا أمامهم يف املحكمه ويرسام ليتأكد القايض بنفسه‬ ‫من الفنان الحقيقي الذي رسم هذه العيون الكبرية يف كل‬ ‫هذه اللوحات املميزة والتي حققت ثروة كبرية‪.‬‬ ‫و جلس كل منهام لريسم‪ ..‬ورسمت مارجريت بثقة‪ ..‬بينام كان‬ ‫الزوج يتعلل بأنه يفكر ويستحرض اإللهام ليك يرسم‪ ..‬ثم أخريا‬ ‫تعذر بأنه يعاين من أمل يف ذراعه‪ ..‬وهكذا خرس الزوج و كسبت‬ ‫مارجريت القضية وعلم العامل كله أنها هي الرسامة الحقيقية‪..‬‬ ‫كل هذا فقط‪ ..‬ألنها قالت «ال»‪ ..‬بدل من أن تقول «نعم»‪.‬‬

‫‪74‬‬

sakura

THE BIRTH OF THE THOUGHTFUL SHOE

Step into the future with C&C Lifestyle By bazaar staff

How many times have you had to settle for a pair of boring pumps just because they could easily take you from day to night? Is your husband nagging you about how many shoes you have in the closet? Are you nagging yourself about all the shoes you have in your closet? As much as we love them, those pretty little monsters can seriously crowd our lives, not to mention our living spaces. Also, as much as we hate to admit it, we tire of them quite easily. The struggle may be real, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to Christian and Catherine Winkler of C&C Lifestyle. C&C’s innovative creation is what we’ve been waiting for, with a line of dif ferent styles with conver tible uppers and detachable detailing that can transform your whole look in a matter of seconds! Not to mention the fact that they’re also comfor table and made with quality and care, as the company exclusively collaborates with luxur y Italian shoe manufacturers and experienced industrial designers. They also consult with renowned or thopedic professionals. “We merge the best of ALL worlds creating a marriage between centuries of shoe making traditions in Italy and high tech industrial design with or thopedics.” And it gets even better. This modern concept even uses dif ferent shades of “nude” to match all dif ferent types of skintones! With their 2016 launch approaching, we sat down with Christian and Catherine Winkler, the co-founders of C&C Lifestyle to dish about this genius concept that guarantees comfor t and creativity. Gather ye round, ladies, for our prayers have been answered and the future has indeed arrived. The concept, born five years ago, was inspired by a local cobbler and leather handyman named Ibrahim: “When I took my favorite briefcase to Ibrahim for a tune-up, he told me he was a shoemaker, so I star ted

taking my uncomfor table heels to him to make them fit better.” Catherine gushes. “I love fashion, and wanted to make more use out of my favorite shoes, so I would bring things to him, and it didn’t matter what brand or how much I paid, I wouldn’t mind if he ripped them apar t and put them together again. Watching him made me realize that uppers can be interchangeable.” And thus the concept of conver tible uppers was born, and the vision of creating comfor t and freedom of expression in footwear had begun. The couple fur thered their research and Catherine continued to play with her shoes by having straps removed, heels replaced, arch suppor t built, and uppers reduced in size. The result, several years down the line is a collection that of fers a range of base heels with timeless designs including a basic sandal and a closed toed sandal reminiscent of the Louboutin Pigalle. Both sandals of fer

many possibilities for creation- you could use a detachable strap, adjusting it to the length of your choice with some creative loop-dilooping for either sandal. The classic single strap sandal even suppor ts a long detachable cutout knee length boot upper, (the Oweisha Knee High Cuf f) and a shor ter version, (the Lacy Cuf f) for an edgier cutout bootie. Catherine also recommends for the ladies who invest in this fine creation to discover their inner shoe-designer and use items from their own wardrobes as add-ons! “I like to use a light scar f instead of straps sometimes, just to give it more of an edge - it depends on what you’re wearing!” To fur ther revolutionize customer footwear, C&C aims to cater to all sizes, because like snowflakes, no two feet are ever alike.” We are never going to make 1000 pairs of identical shoes that fit no one exactly and wearers have to endure pain because of prolonged

The Yasmine Open Classic Pumps With Extra Straps

The Oweisha Knee-High Cuf f misplaced pressure. We will produce shoes that are constructed in such a way that the needs of diverse users can be ser ved.” With an almost bespoke fit, ultimately these shoes are made with ever y woman’s unique podiatric needs catered to. “What we want to do is ensure that each woman will find the right fit for her unique foot. We understand that all feet come in dif ferent shapes and sizes, which is why we want to create bases that have a narrow, medium or wide fit. Nobody who purchases these shoes will ever be uncomfor table.” Another plus is lighter packing for traveling. Unlike other shoes, you could pack or wear your pair and take along three dif ferent uppers or details that would free space in your suitcase for other essentials such as toiletries! And by having the freedom to update your style within minutes, it’s guaranteed that you won’t experience buyer’s remorse or chuck the pair

The Lacy Cuf f into the back of your closet. C & C Lifestyle are cer tain that the initial buzz created about their products will endure, and they are comfor table with showcasing their merchandise online; “the benefits of online shopping allow people all over the world to experience our merchandise from the comfor t of their own homes.” C&C doesn’t doubt the success the universally applicable concept may bring to the Middle East- but it isn’t only about success, it’s about revolutionizing fashion and setting women free of the frenzy of the industr y! “Women are ‘shackled’ and some do believe they need to be in pain to be beautiful. Heels are designed to please men because they make a woman look more attractive!” (Can we get an Amen up in here?) “But our product is made for women, made by women, and we know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. We want people to find both external and internal value in what

they buy.” The goal is for women to be stylish, elegant, and free themselves of distractions due to their wardrobe. “My job requires me to be on my feet all day, and I don’t want to have to focus on how much my feet hur t! I want to get my work done and look fabulous while existing without any consequences.” Liberate yourselves from the frenzy of the fashion industr y, ladies, and embrace the concept of elegance, confidence and freedom of confinement. “I’m giving women freedom and power. Take control of the health of YOUR feet- No more bunions and you do what you want! With these shoes, there is zero limit!”

Remember, you read it here first! C&C Lifestyle’s collection will be available in early 2016. Be sure to check out www.cclifestyle.net for more details.

KEEP ACCURATE TIME Wherever you are with CASIO G-SHOCK By bazaar staff

With Casio’s release of the world’s first g-shock that receives GPS signals as well as radio wave time-calibration signals, you can keep accurate time in even the harshest of environments. The G-SHOCK GPW-1000 watch marks the development and incorporation of the world’s first hybrid time keeping system that receives both Global Positioning System (GPS) signals and radio wave time-calibration signals transmitted from six stations worldwide. The first G-SHOCK was born in 1983 out of an engineer’s passion for creating an “unbreakable watch,” challenging the common notion of the wristwatch. Since then, the G-SHOCK series has continued to evolve over time by incorporating advanced technology and capturing trends based on a platform of toughness, to offer features, performance, and design that surpass the imagination of users. The GPW-1000 watch was developed to realize the ultimate in toughness through refinements in accuracy and durability drawing on Casio technology. The watch offers unsurpassed toughness combined 78

with the world’s first hybrid time keeping system. From dense forest to desert dunes, in marine environments or when surrounded by buildings or indoors, the GPW1000 keeps accurate time anywhere in the world by receiving GPS signals and radio wave time-calibration signals transmitted from six stations worldwide. The watch uses ultra-small motors for the hand drive mechanism, to secure the space to mount the hybrid time keeping system. To compensate for increased power consumption, the Casio G-SHOCK GPW-1000 features a new low-power consumption, high-performance GPS LSI, as well as a new shape of solar cell with high-efficiency output. Other features include a ceramic GPS antenna and fine resin case for high signal sensitivity and shock resistance. The Triple G Resist construction features a reinforced construction to resist shocks, centrifugal force, and vibrations. A high strength and durability carbon fiber insert band, and bezel with scratchresistant DLC coating ensure a level of toughness to withstand the harshest of environments. You can find the latest G-SHOCK styles at Marina Mall, Salmiya, Salem Almubarak Street, Mubarakiya, Kuwait City, Souq Sharq, Avenues, and Fahaheel. Call 2575 8866 for information.

LEARN-TO-SKATE CBK

The Promenade is proud to present Ice Camp at Promenade Ice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kuwaitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier ice skating winter camp! Our kid- friendly rink is the perfect place to stay cool this winter! Let our trained professionals coach you through a fun packed ten session course this December Learn to skate from zero, or perfect your skills at Promenade Ice. For children up to 12 years old, Promenade Ice offers a unique skating program where children will learn the basics of skating through games and play, as well as skating techniques. Our dedicated team of professional coaches will be on hand to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all students 10 day course and all skating materials: 95KD There are limited places so secure your spot now by calling 22277138 or stopping by The Promenade Mall on the first floor to reserve a spot in person.

December 20th - 31st

GETTING RID OF THOSE UNHELPFUL EMOTIONS By Darlene Haddad

Why does emotional pain sometimes hurt more than physical pain? Is there such a thing such as accumulated or stored emotional pain living inside you? Yes, there is! As a child, you grew up having to deal with painful life experiences that you cannot even remember anymore. Painful experiences and memories of childhood that you faced were somehow blocked by your memory, too hard to remember. Yet your tender body and mind were scarred by the experience and these experiences entered us and were somewhere stored inside of us, even if they are now forgotten. Within each of our cells, we absorbed the emotional pain, and it got stored inside of us as a form of energy. As we grew older, we didn’t quite know how to explain these feelings or to whom we should explain them to and so we continued on the path of life. Our personalities continued to develop and be molded by all of our life experiences. By the time you entered into adulthood, you have carried around so many experiences that you cannot even explain them anymore, but the ones that hur t the most have been stored in all dif ferent areas of your body. Most of these old emotions are useless but they still control our actions throughout our adulthood and if we don’t take care of them, they can ruin our lives. Emotions have been described as energy in motion, hence e-motion. Emotions are a ver y complex thing. Just like the cells in our bodies are composed of many things, such as water and organic molecules, our emotions

are created from things such as situations, circumstances, other people, and our own impressions of the world. If people understood this, then they could appreciate the depth of their feelings. Much of what we experience is a form of energy that has to be processed by the body. Your e-motions ser ve an impor tant purpose. One way to think of your emotions is as a navigational system or compass. When you are lost, you would hold your compass flatly in your hand and turn your body around so that you can get the needle to point nor th. If your needle was pointing south, then you would walk in the opposite direction to go nor th. Your emotions act the same way, they navigate you. They give your brain a signal or feeling that something may be right or wrong, and can often help in dif ficult situations. They can tell you which way to go, and they may even save your life. Fur thermore, emotions don’t just manifest in the body as non-physical entities, but also as physical side ef fects. Have you ever said sat down and said, ‘Oh, I had a terrible day, and now I have a headache.’ Or, ‘My shoulders are killing because I have been under so much stress’? Well, it’s no co-incidence that cer tain emotions af fect the body physically in dif ferent ways. It has been studied and examined by medical professions and documented worldwide that “Stress is the silent killer!” This is so true in so many ways. Stress doesn’t have to be fatal until it kills you. Stress can slowly kill you by taking away so many things, bit by bit, as if it was a slow death. Stress destroys you in ways that are irreversible (i.e., high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, anger issues, relationship issues, migraines etc.). Our bodies release chemicals as well in times of stress and

depression or in times of great joy that can literally create a new environment within the body that is either good for you or bad for you. So for instance, when you are happy, you brain releases serotonin, dopamine or oxytocin and you will be filled with positive reactions. Conversely, when you are stressed, your body releases cor tisol, which in ef fect will turn the body into a heavily charged machine ready for fighting or fleeing a dif ficult situation. As psychologists specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, we look at people’s thoughts, believing it is the thoughts about a situation that lead to stress, depression or anxiety and not the dif ficult situation itself. It is all about changing your thinking and releasing those negative emotions that are stopping you from being the amazing person you were meant to be. Star t today with these 10 simple suggestions; 1. Sing ever y day for 5 minutes out loud! 2. Replace, “I can’t,” with “I can!” 3. Stop and help someone randomly in any way. 4. No one is per fect, believe it and accept it. 5. Say good bye to negative people. 6. If you’re not smiling enough, star t doing it and trick your brain. 7. Jump up and down saying I am great 20 times! 8. Meditate and send your worries away to a nice place. 9. Say good things about life. 10. Eat fresh fruit, imagining your body filled with happy fuel. Darlene is a psychologist in Kuwait with a specialty in relationship issues, guided selfdiscovery, self-esteem issues, depression & anxiety. Contact her on 5078 0113 or napoleon111@hotmail.com, follow her on instagram @Darlene_Psychology.

CBK

CHRIS ROCK TO HOST OSCAR SHOW IN 2016 By Glenn Whipp

Shortly after they were officially hired to produce the 88th Academy Awards ceremony, David Hill and Reginald Hudlin met to discuss what’s inevitably the biggest and most difficult decision: Who’s going to host? One name and one name only came to mind. And lucky for them, Chris Rock decided to accept a job that many have turned down over the years. “He was our first and only choice,” says Hudlin, on a break from shooting the upcoming CBS comedy Angel From Hell. “From the minute we sat down together, it was, ‘We want Chris.’ And not just for his incredible sense of humor, but the intelligence behind it. That’s what’s really required of the job, a guy who understands every aspect of the movie business and has the ability to be razor-sharp funny, right in the moment.” Rock’s second stint as host had been predicted as a strong possibility since the film academy hired Hudlin and Hill to produce the show. Hudlin worked with Rock previously, directing the pilot episode of Rock’s TV show Everybody Hates Chris and the 1992 film comedy Boomerang. Hudlin also produced the academy’s Governors Awards last year, where Rock was on hand to pay tribute to Harry Belafonte. The academy will hope that Rock can deliver better reviews and, more important, higher

ratings than this year’s show. The 2015 telecast’s audience dropped nearly 15 percent from the previous year, with host Neil Patrick Harris struggling through a sluggishly paced evening. In 2014, the Ellen DeGeneres-hosted show, with its star-studded selfie that temporarily disabled Twitter and other interactive skits and bits, drew an average of nearly 44 million viewers. Rock’s previous stint as Oscar host produced a wide range of reactions, with USA Today crowning him “one of the worst hosts ever,” while Roger Ebert praised a “home run” opening monologue that was “surprisingly pointed, topical, and not shy of controversy.” “Humor as ever is subjective,” Hill notes. “It’s like figure skating.” When Rock last hosted the Oscars, he made history of a sort. It was the first time an Oscar presenter felt the need to issue a rebuttal of the host’s monologue. Rock had made a running joke about actor Jude Law’s thenubiquitous presence in Hollywood. “Who is Jude Law?” Rock asked. “Why is he in every movie I have seen in the last four years? Even if he’s not acting in it, if you look at the credits, he makes the cupcakes or something.” Later in the ceremony, Sean Penn, presenting the lead actress Oscar, felt compelled to defend Law. “Forgive my lack of humor,” he harrumphed. “Jude Law is one of our most talented actors.” Safe to say then that Penn wasn’t consulted on bringing Rock back?

“I’m positive now that if you checked with Mr. Penn, he would have realized that Chris was making a very droll joke about Jude Law,” Hill says. The divisiveness illustrates the no-win nature of the hosting job. The rigid format — 24 award categories, 24 speeches, 24 opportunities for long-winded winners to be played off the stage — limits a host’s ability to affect and shape the show. It’s widely regarded as one of the toughest gigs in Hollywood. “It’s such a thankless job,” comedian Sarah Silverman told the Los Angeles Times, adding that she’s surprised Rock agreed to host. “Steve Mar tin did so well that one year. And he told me he had so much fun — until he made the mistake the next day of looking at what people had to say.” There is evidence that Rock has honed his skills since last hosting the Oscars, in 2005. Last year, with his acclaimed comedy “Top Five” arriving in theaters just as awards were star ting to be handed out in earnest, the 50-year-old comedian made the rounds on the trophy dinner circuit. Rock rarely disappointed during his time onstage, lampooning the season’s empty rituals and rampant self-impor tance. Hoisting his own prize at the vacuous Hollywood Film Awards, Rock emoted, “All my life, I’ve dreamt of getting one of these, like ever yone else in the room. I can’t believe this day has come!”

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Available at TONI&GUY Cliffs, TONI&GUY Al Corniche and other selected salons. Exclusively distributed by beau-tique cosmetics int'l. Call for more info 2225 1285 www.beau-tiqueonline.com beautiquecosmetics beautiquekuwait beautiquecosmetics

FASHION FAIR COSMETICS The leading US brand for richer skin tones, is now in Kuwait By bazaar staff

Ask any makeup artist what their most important tip for flawless makeup is, and they will unanimously agree that choosing the right foundation is key. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no secret that to achieve flawless skin and a gorgeous made-up look calls for a foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone. While it might be easy for those with fair and rosy skin tones, those with richer skin tones face a never-ending task to find the perfect shade. And sometimes, one shade is just not enough â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hello mixing palettes with six different shades! But with Fashion Fair Cosmetics, you can finally say goodbye to mixing foundations, for it is now a thing of the past!

TRUE FIX FOUNDATION

Women with richer skin tones are often forced to resort to mixing foundations of different colors. The idea behind it is to find the right shade for the varying undertones in seen on the different parts of the face. More often than not, they find themselves mixing foundations from different brands! Sadly, this can give the skin a clumpy and messy feel as opposed to the silky smooth finish found in glossy magazines. The end result of mixing and developing the right shade is often futile – deeming it a close to impossible task to accomplish perfectly. Say no more, because Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the leading USbased cosmetics brand for richer skin tones has launched in Kuwait! Now available at VaVaVoom at The Avenues Mall, Fashion Fair Cosmetics has every solution to your flawlessly smooth skin needs! The brand is known globally as the “makeup of choice” for women of color, and their options are indeed gloriously vast. With over 120 different shades ranging from the lightest to the deepest hues of brown. Boasting an impressive celebrity clientele including Jennifer Hudson, President Barack Obama and Keke Palmer, this brand has been deemed a favorite by many. Fashion Fair recently gave us a peek at a few of their top products, and

with shades like Brown Toffee and Butterscotch, what’s not to love! We’ve got our eyes on a few of them – so hurry before your favorite shade sells out! FAST FINISH FOUNDATION STICK HIGH-SPEED BEAUTY! This creamy foundation stick glides on like a dream! It dries to a smudge-proof powder finish that can be also used as a spot concealer and contouring stick. The Fast Finish Foundation Stick is available in an impressive seventeen different shades. How to use? Using your fingertips, a sponge or foundation brush, dot on a small amount and gradually blend onto the skin in long, even strokes. Apply an additional amount where needed. TRUE FIX FOUNDATION CUSTOM COLOR! Two professionally coordinated shades working harmoniously to both contour and highlight the face. Simply use the lighter shade around the eye area and on top of the cheek bones to highlight and the darker shade all over the face! This awesome fix is available in twenty-four shades. How to use? For a smooth and flawless look, apply with the

TRUE FINISH FOUNDATION

FAST FINISH FOUNDATION STICK

foundation brush or sponge, using long, even strokes and blending quickly. For a more dramatic cover, apply with a sponge, dotting lightly on the brow, nose, cheeks and chin. TRUE FINISH FOUNDATION LIGHT AS A FEATHER Deemed as the smart foundation, this foundation comes with HUE harmony technology. Simply put, this incredible finish foundation immediately smoothes and adjusts to your complexion. A wonderfully bespoke-esque product! How to use? Using your fingertips, a foundation brush or sponge, dot a small amount and gradually blend onto the skin in long, even strokes, applying an additional amount where needed. Fashion Fair Cosmetics is now available at VaVaVoom, The Avenues and features a broad range of cosmetics which include skin treatment, foundation, concealers, highlighters, lipsticks, eye shadows and everything else specifically to bring out the brown beauty in you. Follow Fashion Fair on Instagram at @fashionfairkwt or for more information, drop a line to Shayma Bakhesh at shb@shabbeauty.com. 85

bazaar music ’Nobody loves me but my mother, and she could be jivin', too’’ - BB King

BLACK MARKET

ART ANGELS

Rick Ross will release his eighth studio LP, Black Market, this month via Def Jam and his Maybach Music Group imprint, and has dropped a new single, “Sorr y,” featuring Chris Brown. The album marks Rozay’s third in two years, following his two 2014 effor ts, Hood Billionaire and Mastermind. It also arrives on the heels of his September mixtape, Black Dollar. “Sorr y” is a slick, silky track and opens with an extended Brown feature, which eventually gives way to Ross’ somber tale about losing the girl of his dreams and tr ying to win her back.

Grimes has always handled ever y aspect of the production of her music — she recorded and engineered ever ything on her new album Ar t Angels herself, and she even taught herself to play guitar, drums, keys, ukulele, and violin — and she’s always been an outspoken critic of sexism in the music industr y, par ticularly when it comes to the technical side of music production. “I’ve built a studio in my house. It needs to be my space because I’ve tried to work in studios a couple of times, but at 200 bucks an hour it’s too much pressure to write like that.’’

MOMENT OF SILENCE

STOICVILLE: THE PHOENIX

by Army Of One

by T-Pain

Hadi and Faisal from Army of One released their music video ‘Moment of Silence,’ a song that highlights the importance of taking some quiet time to appreciate the positives in life despite the many struggles one might endure. According to the artists, ‘Moment of Silence’ stands more as an artistic project than a song through its collaborations with local and regional artists, as well as its message. For their music production, local artists such as Soud Al Sa’ad, Bu Faihan, and Khalid Al-Bloushi were included, as well as co-production by Daffy and mixing and mastering by DJ Outlaw.

T-Pain, the vocalist/producer who had a hand in just about every hip-hop/R&B hit of the late 00’s is getting ready to drop Stoicville: The Phoenix, his first full-length album since 2011. His rise from the ashes has come from unlikely sources, however. The fact that it took a 2014 New Yorker feature and acoustic session on NPR to bring the hitmaker back into the limelight is something that even the man born Faheem Rashad Najm admits is “strange.” Whatever the path, the end result is a renewed commitment to making the club-ready bangers that led him to the top of the charts in the first place.

by Rick Ross

by Grimes

RIGHT ON!

by Jennylee right on! is the upcoming debut studio album by the American indie rock musician Jenny Lee Lindberg. It is due to be released worldwide in December on Rough Trade Records. right on! incorporates new wave and gothic rock elements alongside Lindberg’s “signature Warpaint groove”, according to the album’s press release. The album features Lindberg’s “breathy” vocals, which have been described as contributing to its overall “hazy and dreamy” sound. In support of right on!

by Adele Following the release of 21 (2011), Adele was considering quitting the music industry all together, stating she thought it was better to “go out on a high.” However, in early 2012 she announced she was simply taking a hiatus from music in order to “take time and live a little bit.” Titled as a reflection of her life and frame of mind at 25 years old, 25 is a “make-up record.” The album’s lyrical content features themes of Adele yearning for her old self, her nostalgia, and melancholy about the passage of time as well as themes of motherhood and regret. The production of 25 incorporated the use of electronic elements and creative rhythmic patterns.

Taal

WEHBI’S VISION:

BELLA CONTACTS

A rainbow of opportunities at the tips of your fingers By bazaar staff

When you update your every day look, do you feel bella? Do you enjoy changing up your eye color whether you need a prescription or not? Chances are, you’re using the renowned product range from Bella Contact Lenses. But where do they come from? bazaar dishes with the man behind it all, Ibrahim Wehbe, the founding father of Optical Supplies Co. and the literal vision behind Bella Contacts. He claims that during his younger years, he never wanted to be regular or ordinary in life. “I have always wanted to create something special and be unique”, and something unique he did create. After establishing Optical Supplies Co., he put his blood sweat and tears into his work fuelled by his need to create something even more spectacular. “Pursuing this vision was my passion to care for the most minor elements to succeed in building the company, and thereafter, our very own brand of contact lenses, the Bella.” Ranging in different colors to suit every complexion and personal style, Bella Contacts have proven to be a very thoughtful product that encourages people to play around with their style for whatever occasion! And they aren’t stopping there “I’ve had my objectives to expand my contact lens color creations

worldwide, and it is my pride to say that it is eventually being conceptualized.” With vision this spectacular, it’s with pride that we wear them to see the world through multicolored lenses! What is the most interesting part of your job? I enjoy creating something that receives positive feedback- especially when it doubles my time and effor t. I love getting positive feedback from consumers, from the market and from our competitors on how Bella Contact Lenses remain a favorite in the market. It’s an honor to be par t of a team such as Bella that complements the aesthetic/cosmetic needs of ever y woman. This factor alone completes me and saying that what we offer is just interesting is an understatement - it’s fulfilling. Were you in Optical Supplies business before coming to Kuwait? Having studied in Germany and being exposed within the same domain, I had a sturdy background in the Optical business field upon coming to Kuwait. Why are Bella Contact Lenses the most popular brand in Kuwait? We don’t just market the name, but the quality of our product. With a highly attested manufacturer supplying our lenses, combined with complete range of shades to cater to natural-looking or eye-enlarging needs, we have all it takes to make Bella a reputed and extremely sought-for brand.

What other products do you supply and distribute? We distribute ophthalmic instruments; eye testing equipment, workshop machines and eye-care supplements. What other countries in the Gulf that you supply to? Bella is available all over the region - ask your optician! How do you feel that contact lenses have revolutionized eyesight and personal style? It’s rewarding. Bella collections cover ever y woman’s eyesight and aesthetic needs and offers an extensive collection that caters to all different complexions and preferences. It is such an accomplishment to see your input into the current trends of Fashion in this generation. Do you think people will keep wearing contact lenses for a long time? Considering the medical counterpar ts (prescriptions for myopia and hypermetropia) of our soft, colored contact lenses – we believe that our product will continuously be in demand because people will always want to update their look in a fun way without a major commitment, and people will always need to care for their eyesight. Our way of combining aesthetic and optical enhancement is a timeless practice that will carr y on for many years. Learn more about Bella Contacts by visiting www.bellacontactlenses.com.

UK’s No. 1 selling scar & stretch mark product.

Taal “I was first introduced to Bio-Oil after I cut my leg while hiking. A friend recommended using Bio-Oil as soon as the wound had healed and I am so grateful for her advice! Thanks to Bio-Oil, the scar is now just a faint line which I rarely think about. Then, 3 or 4 weeks back, I decided to try it on my face – I’ve been an outdoors person all my life and have more than my share of dry, tired-looking skin. Well, my skin feels much smoother and looks positively radiant! Needless to say, Bio-Oil now has a permanent place in my medicine cabinet!” Fiona Stewart

Bio-Oil® is a specialist skincare product formulated to help improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks and uneven skin tone. Its unique formulation, which contains the breakthrough ingredient PurCellin Oil™, is also highly effective for ageing and dehydrated skin. For comprehensive product information and results of clinical trials, please visit bio-oil.com. Bio-Oil is available at pharmacies and selected retailers at the recommended selling price of KD 3.900 (60ml). Individual results will vary.

bazaar goes dining

BURGER AND LOBSTER

REDEFINING ‘SURF AND TURF’ DINING IN KUWAIT By bazaar staff

Although the Burger and Lobster restaurant has been a firm favorite among customers in London and New York, the first franchise outside of Europe and the United States of America recently opened in Grand Avenue-The Avenues. From the sterling quality cooking techniques to the establishment’s customer service transparency, the restaurant maintains the exceptionally high dining standard of its original London branch. Overlooking the hippest par t of the mall, the restaurant offers much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of weekend shopping. The moment you set foot in Burger and Lobster, a sense of friendliness and comfor t envelops you. This is largely due to the edgy yet welcoming London branch-inspired interior design that features dark, lobster-red seating and various references to the meticulous processes

behind each dish. A wall entirely constructed of authentic wooden lobster cages and warm, asymmetrically arranged light bulbs draws you in to the restaurant as well as its core values. The lobsters ser ved at Burger and Lobster are freshly sourced from Canada using this ver y har vesting method. Placed on the seabed with bait inside, lobsters crawl through the narrow gaps and remain there until the cages are raised by fishermen. This traditional, non-invasive method allows the lobsters to arrive in Kuwait fresh and alive. To reinforce the establishment’s dedication to fresh food, customers are invited to watch the lobsters crawl around large wallmounted tanks. However, the largest and most impressive lobsters are found in the cooled purifying system, which contains up to 300 live crustaceans at one time. Although lobster makes up a significant par t of the menu offerings, another reason that people have flocked to the restaurant is because of its famed burger. In keeping with the overriding theme of fresh produce, the beef is prepared each and ever y morning and patties are constructed on site. This is why each burger

is bursting with organic, natural flavors and unmatched juiciness. The chef recommends the flat plate patty - should be cooked medium and no more than medium-well in order for the meat to really fulfill its potential. A seasoned dining establishment, Burger and Lobster knows its customers’ tastes and offers them the nothing shor t of the best. In light of this, customers are provided with a drink and desser ts menu and choose from the set signature dishes. There are three main options - the lobster, the burger and the lobster roll – all of which can be ordered individually (KD8.950) or as a sharing combo (KD26). For large groups and lobster veterans, the Big Boy option allows you to hand-pick an enormous lobster for which you pay by kilogram. During my visit I was shown one of their largest crustaceans, which had a claw width of over 25cm and costs KD96 to match. The Big Boy meal – which warrants dedication, a large group of people and more than a couple of hours - comes with unlimited French fries and drinks. In order to taste the best of Burger and Lobster, we ordered a combo meal and their recommended desser t, Death By Chocolate. Although the lobster can simply be steamed, we ordered the grilled option, as the chef recommended the smoky flavor that goes hand in hand with this method of preparation. The lulling soul/swing jazz soundtrack and attentive staff make the swift ser vice feel even faster. When the meal arrived, each of the three elements had been carefully divided in two, allowing for hassle-free sharing. The plate was a burst of color and nothing shor t of a culinar y masterpiece. The halved burger was topped with a bright yellow tag reading “medium-rare”. This offset the pourable butter y lemon garlic sauce. The evenly-cut French fries tumbled out of their beaker and the mixed salad was crisp and topped with flaked parmesan cheese. The centerpiece of the dish was cer tainly the creamy lobster flesh encased in the red, glossy shell. On the sideline - but definitely playing the game – was the lobster roll, a spectacle in itself. The 280g burger patty was topped with both cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses as well as bacon and salad. This was encased in a soft, shiny, sesame encrusted bun. In order to get the most out of the 1.5lb lobster, we were equipped with a set of implements, which included a lobster cracker as well as a pick. The fresh taste of the sea was per fectly matched by the butter y lemon sauce, which can be ordered either with garlic or without. One of the restaurant favorites, the lobster roll, was created with ver y simple ingredients but the result was a complex and moreish taste of fresh lobster, Japanese mayonnaise and lemon. After this medley of ‘surf and turf’ flavors, the dessert arrived in all of its chocolate-y glory. Topped with an endearing caramel-filled lobster chocolate, there were countless elements to this sweet. The creamy chocolate sauce was covered in velvety brownie chunks, dark chocolate slivers, chocolate balls, caramel lashings and so much more. It is definitely a dessert for the hardened chocolate lover with all its dark chocolate elements. Dining at Burger and Lobster is a truly unique experience, not only because of the exemplar y food on offer but also because of the working atmosphere that is evidently integral at the establishment. There is an inclusive environment that exists behind the kitchen doors that you only glimpse during a meal at the restaurant. However, if you visit the various Burger and Lobster social media platforms, there are countless pictures of the team’s training by London’s original representatives. Seeing into the fun-filled processes behind the ser vice that customers receive makes eating there even more enjoyable. Burger and Lobster is located in The Avenues, in the Grand Avenue. It is located on the second floor, overlooking The Cheesecake Factory and Victoria’s Secret. Its opening hours are 12pm-11:30pm every day. Follow the restaurant on Facebook at Burger & Lobster Kuwait and on Instagram @burgerandlobsterkuwait. They can be reached at 2220 0954.

ZERO MOTORCYLES

Your next motorcycle adventure can now be electrically powered! By bazaar staff

Zero Motorcycles’s vision to deliver on innovation is changing the future of electricpowered transportation. Zero Motorcycles focuses on balancing performance, range, weight and affordability to build the best electric motorcycles available on the market today. Zero has assembled a team of skilled engineers from both the motorcycle and high tech industries. The result: Zero is the only company to successfully bring an entire electric motorcycle product line to market that is fast, efficient, reliable and eco-friendly as it does not consume fuel and produces no noise. Zero Motorcycles continues to advance state-of-the-ar t electric motorcycle technology with their signature Z-Force power train. The new Z-Force IPM (interior permanent magnet) motor produces power more efficiently, cools more rapidly and has higher thermal capability, which translates into significantly improved per formance during hard riding and allows higher sustained top speeds. Power is delivered by Z-Force power packs with optimized lithiumion cell technology. The system boasts the highest energy density in the electric vehicle industr y. Gains in capacity and efficiency have pushed the range up to 197 miles in the city and 98 miles on the highway (at 70 mph) with the optional Power Tank accessor y. Zero Motorcycles delivers the speed and convenience of Level 2 charging. With the new Charge Tank accessor y, riders will be able to take advantage of the rapidly expanding network of public charging stations and charge three times faster. The Charge Tank works on the popular J1772 standard and effectively recharges a Zero in two to three hours. Following a record year in 2015, Zero Motorcycle’s 2016 product line promises to inspire an even broader range of riders with two new models. An innovative new motor design, faster charging and advanced lithium-ion cell chemistr y powering the highest batter y capacity and efficiency to date. The two new models also bring Zero’s offering to six distinct models. The Zero DSR and Zero FXS, and an all-new

Z-Force motor. Also, with a new fast-charging accessor y that’s compatible with Level 2 public chargers, riders are able to get back on the road three times faster, while new batter y chemistr y allows range to extend even far ther. The supermoto-inspired Zero FXS promises to turn mundane city streets into an urban playground. It features 70 ft-lb of torque, weighs less than 300 pounds and boasts components specifically tailored to provide exceptional control and responsiveness on the street. Adventure riders demanding maximum per formance will enjoy the new Zero DSR. With 106 ft-lb of torque, the versatile dual spor t is quick on the pavement and demonstrates greater prowess on dir t roads and trails. Meanwhile, the Zero S ZF9.8 streetfighter and Zero DS ZF9.8 dual spor t with more compact power pack are significantly lighter and that weight is carried lower. With the average commute being under 40 kilometers, this means that the Zero S ZF9.8 streetfighter is ready to make daily round trip faster, more affordable and—best of all— enjoyable. It also has dual spor t Pirelli tires and custom-tuned Showa suspension. The Zero S features Zero Motorcycles’ Z-Force motor and power pack. The Zero S pulls hard to speeds above 145 kph and offers a city range of up to 317 kilometers with the optional Power Tank accessor y. The Zero S and Zero SR not only eliminate gasoline from the daily commute or weekend

adventure, they also transform into motorcycles that are the closest thing to a magic carpet that travels far ther and can recharge three times faster. At the hear t of each Zero S ZF13.0 and Zero SR model is a new and innovative Z-Force motor. Fundamentally redesigned, the interior permanent magnet (IPM) configuration produces power more efficiently, cools more rapidly and has greater thermal capabilities. Both bikes significantly improve per formance during hard riding and allow higher sustained speeds. The Zero SR shares the same DNA as the Zero S but is built for riders who simply want to go faster and accelerate harder. Featuring a larger 660 amp motor controller, the Zero SR delivers Twenty-five percent more power (67 hp) and fifty-six percent more torque (106 ft-lb). To accommodate the increased output, its motor uses higher temperature magnets to ensure better per formance during hard riding and extended periods at higher speeds. With more torque than most 1000cc spor t bikes, the Zero SR pulls hard of f the line… and just keeps pulling. Launching from 0-97 kph in 3.3 seconds en route to a top speed over 161 kph, the Zero SR of fers spirited riders an edge in competitive riding. Zero Motorcycles are available through New Generation Motorcycles, the exclusive dealer in Kuwait.

sultan

THIS RESTAURANT WILL MAKE YOU A MEAL FROM FOOD WASTE

By Adele Peters

While working at a supermarket in Amsterdam, four coworkers became obsessed with finding more solutions to a universal challenge at grocery stores—how to cut down on wasted food. Compared to consumers, farmers and restaurants, supermarkets throw out a smaller percentage of total food waste, but it’s a massive amount. In the U.S., for example, where retailers are responsible for about 10% of food waste, that equals over 40 billion pounds of trash every year. Convinced that something needed to change, the team in Amsterdam partnered with their store and launched a new restaurant called InStock that makes lunch and dinner from whatever edible food happens to be pulled off store shelves that day. “We were confronted with food waste that was still perfectly edible but not good enough for sale,” says Freke van Nimwegen, one of the co-founders of InStock. “With the knowledge that we have to feed 9

billion people in 2050, we need to change our way of handling food.” Some produce ends up in dumpsters because displays are overstocked or it isn’t pretty enough; other food gets pulled off shelves early because boxes are damaged or sell-by dates are confusing. The chain in Amsterdam, called Albert Heijn, is working to cut waste in several ways—they launched a new section of “imperfect” produce in 2014, and partnered with an app to offer deals on food just before it expires. Still, there’s a steady flow of wasted food, and the new restaurant (along with the project’s food truck, and a small shop that sells takeout dinners) can help make use of what doesn’t go to local food banks. The chefs at the restaurant never know exactly what they’re going to get. “We get a lot of potatoes, fruit, vegetables and bread,” says van Nimwegen. “Our chefs are really creative in making something of the ‘harvest of the day,’ which is different each time.” Each ingredient usually gets several different preparations—cauliflower might turn into grated couscous, cauliflower puree, steamed cauliflower, and

crispy roasted cauliflower. The grocery store supplies fruit, vegetables and bread, while meat comes from one of the grocery store’s suppliers—when it rains in the summer, for example, they might end up with a surplus of steak or ground beef because people are buying less for barbecues. A local fish shop saves cuttings for the restaurant, and a neighboring chocolate shop provides samples. Heineken supplies surplus beer. The supermarket’s distribution center provides damaged goods. As they cook, the project also wants to help vendors find ways to reduce waste earlier. “We always ask the question whether the supermarket could have avoided the ‘surplus’ of the produce they send to us,” says van Nimwegen. “Most large supermarkets have a very good ordering system, but they do not want to have empty shelves (and neither do most customers). So it’s often a question of availability versus waste.” It’s a system that the founders think could easily work elsewhere, and they’re looking for locations in new cities now.

kitoko Inspired by nature, Kitoko Oil Treatment combines the healing and therapeutic prosperities of these highly nutritional oils to revitalise, strengthen and condition the hair, leaving it ultra smooth and beautifully radiant.

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

THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS By Stephen King

A master storyteller at his best—the O.Henry Prize winner Stephen King delivers a generous collection of stories, several of them brandnew, featuring revelatory autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he came to write (or rewrite) each story. Since his first collection, Nightshift, published 35 years ago, Stephen King has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of short fiction. In this new collection he assembles, for the first time, recent stories that have never been published in a book. He introduces each with a passage about its origins or his motivations for writing it. There are thrilling connections between stories; themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. Magnificent, eerie, utterly compelling, these stories comprise one of King’s finest gifts to his constant reader— “I made them especially for you,” says King. “Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.”

AWAKE IN THE GAME OF PRETENDING By Nejoud Al-Yagout

bazaar favorite and regular contributor Nejoud Al-Yagout’s second collection of poetry - Awake in the Game of Pretending - chronicles a spiritual journey in six chapters: Awakening, Dark Night of the Soul, The Matrix, Realm, Love and Forum of Expression. The book is an odyssey of consciousness that magnifies not only the enlightening aspects of awareness but the more poignant shadows that lurk in our psyche; the parts we keep hidden. Al-Yagout brings this darkness to the surface with love, compassion and a touch of satire. Some of the themes explored are grief, disillusionment and returning to the source of it all. Nejoud spoke with us during an in-depth interview back in the September issue, where she delved into the book. If you don’t have a copy of the September issue to hand, head over to bazaar.town and check it out there. Once that is done, go and grab yourself a copy of Awake In The Game Of Pretending. You will not be disappointed!

ROUGE LAWYER By John Grisham

Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. He works out of a customized bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, fine leather chairs, a hidden gun compartment, and a heavily armed driver. He has no firm, no partners, no associates, and only one employee, his driver, who’s also his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant, and golf caddy. He lives alone in a small but extremely safe penthouse apartment, and his primary piece of furniture is a vintage pool table. He drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun. Sebastian defends people other lawyers won’t go near: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult, who is accused of murdering two little girls; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house. Why these clients? Because he believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he, Sebastian, has to cheat to secure one. He hates injustice, doesn’t like insurance companies, banks, or big corporations; he distrusts all levels of government and laughs at the justice system’s notions of ethical behavior.

HUMANS OF NEW YORK: STORIES By Brandon Stanton

In the summer of 2010, photographer Brandon Stanton began an ambitious project -to single-handedly create a photographic census of New York City. The photos he took and the accompanying interviews became the blog Humans of New York. His audience steadily grew from a few hundred followers to, at present count, over fifteen million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List where it has appeared for over forty-five weeks. Now, Brandon is back with the Humans of New York book that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of New York, the dialogue he’s had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of people in stunning photographs, with a rich design and, most importantly, longer stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candor. Let Brandon Stanton and the Humans of New York he’s photographed astonish you all over again.

LOST OCEAN: AN INKY ADVENTURE AND COLORING BOOK By Johanna Basford

From the creator of the worldwide bestsellers Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, comes a beautiful new coloring book that takes you on a magical journey beneath the waves. With Lost Ocean, Johanna Basford invites colorinners of all ages to discover an enchanting underwater world hidden in the depths of the sea. Through intricate pen and ink illustrations to complete, color, and embellish, readers will meet shoals of exotic fish, curious octopuses, and delicately penned seahorses. Visit coral reefs and barnaclestudded shipwrecks, discover intricate shells and pirate treasure. Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest fans, and newcomers alike, will welcome this creative journey into an inky new world. For Lost Ocean, Johanna picked a crisp ivory paper that accentuates and compliments your chosen color palette. The smooth, untextured pages allow for beautiful blending or gradient techniques with colored pencils or are perfect for pens, allowing the nib to glide evenly over the surface without feathering.

Source: www.amazon.co.uk

sultan center 2

OPEN OFFICE GETTING YOU DOWN? MAYBE YOU NEED AN OFFICE TREEHOUSE If you can’t focus, perhaps you just need a little change of scenery to something more rustic.

By Adele Peters

Open offices seem to cause more problems than they solve: noise makes us more stressed, less motivated, and less creative. We’re also more likely to get sick, and listening to coworkers— even if we think we’ve tuned them out—can impair memory and even basic math skills. And every time we’re interrupted, it takes around 23 minutes to get back to whatever we were doing before. More than 75% of offices have open layouts now. For companies unwilling to fully remodel, here’s a partial solution: Treehouse-inspired pods that someone can climb inside when they need to concentrate. If a small group wants to

have a meeting, they can roll two halves of a treehouse together. “Office spaces are becoming totally open and fluid environments, with minimum areas of built structures,” says designer Dymitr Malcew. “Technology enables us to work away from our desk, and the workflow is much more dynamic than in the past. This situation creates the need for areas that function as oases, or ‘treehouses’ if you will—places for focused work or collaboration without building permanent boundaries.” The treehouses, filled with soft pillows and warm wood, are also a way to make offices a little more comfortable. Though there are other pod-like solutions for open offices on the market now—such as cocoons designed to help you reach a state of flow—Malcew wanted to make

something a little friendlier, homier, and more fun. “My intention was to make it more human and poetic, and tell the story through design,” he says. “Offices are often impersonal cold spaces— the treehouse can change it by bringing the familiar archetype form of ‘house’ which is recognized in almost every culture,” he says. “I wanted to create the experience of home within the office space, blurring the line between two seemingly distant worlds.” The structures don’t create a full barrier, but the thick padding helps absorb sound and improve acoustics in the office—and the houses provide a psychological boundary when people need to focus. Malcew is currently making the treehouses to order.

That alsalasel

THE BLACK EDITION Burger Boutique - Black By bazaar staff

Gastro-genius Basil Al-Salem has a way with food that has us waiting for cheat-days to indulge to our hearts’ content. So when we heard of his latest concept, this bazaar editor jumped right in. Cheat-day or not, the food was going to be consumed till the plates ran out and the stomach is fully satisfied. This entirely rang true as we approached Burger Boutique Black in the gorgeous Murouj restaurant complex. Outdoor and indoor seating options – the weather is glorious this time of year – and a wood flamed oven with the food being cooking away before it’s served straight to your table. With a minimalist approach to all things haute cuisine, Burger Boutique Black’s menu and decor all revolve around one theme: Black. The color code is set, and ever ything else follows – the seats, tables, and plates are all in black and a green grassy wall accents the whole interior. Pickle jars arranged from floor to ceiling, caged and gloriously pickling away. Their piece de resistance sits by the greener y in a display cooler – their wonder fully dr y-aged meat. Comfor table seating and natural light illuminating your experience – the setting is superbly cozy and the food spectacular. Fresh ingredients and not-your-average flavors uplift the experience. Apar t from their infamous and highly addictive sliders, their menu boasts an incredible selection of salads, appetizers and beautiful sides. Buzzing tables all around and the wafting aromas of the food passing – we were ready to star t our feast. To star t us of f, they presented us with their signature drink – The Black. Keeping brilliantly in theme, The Black is a freshly squeezed blackberr y lemonade that was absolutely refreshing. Pitch black – as the name would insinuate – the tar tness of the berries with per fectly ripe lemons had us sipping in awe. But what had us grinning from ear to ear were their salads – per fection in a bowl! The Crispy Eggplant Salad is not to be missed – with a garlic yoghur t labneh, pomegranate molasses and walnuts, the salad had a stunningly delicious combination. The Green Goat Cheese Salad packed an incredible crunch and a glorious punch with green tomatoes and green apples combined with their raspberr y balsamic and sweet chili vinaigrette. As for the Quinoa and Grilled Halloumi Salad, we were ecstatic – the combination of fresh greens with bean sprouts and sunflower seeds topped with pomegranate molasses vinaigrette had us jumping for joy. Packed with anti-oxidants and superfeel-good flavors, their salads per fectly hit the spot. Their star ters were a whole other song to sing – an Ode to Carbs and Protein we call it. The Giant Por tobello Mushrooms covered in porcini

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cream and parmesan tantalized our palates. As for their fries, we ordered two! The Fuji Fries – which were sweet potato and regular golden potato fries with a sweet chili mayo – and the Rainbow Fries – with sweet and golden potatoes mixed in with pepper jack and American cheese and ranch dressing – were the per fect accompaniment to any meal. Their Garlic Flat Bread and Lamb Tacos were two essentials that we could not go without – baked and cooked to per fection respectively. And their Sriracha Honey Shrimp dish had an incredible kick mellowed out by the coolness of their yuzo miso ranch dip. But the appetizer that stole the show, was the Hot Stone Beef. Presented to you are two hot black stones with succulent cuts of raw black angus rib eye. Your mission, to dip the meat in the ginger honey soy then lay it out on the sizzling hot stones and cook them to your liking. That was delicious with a capital D! Needless to say we annihilated all the dishes so far, but that didn’t stop us from getting the mains – and later the desser ts, but you’ll have to wait for that line-up. Rather than going for the mainstream sliders, we decided to give their proper burgers a go. Have you ever had a burger made in a wood fire oven? We did exactly that! We present to you The Black – a burger made with a 270-day grain-fed black onyx dr yaged blend mince before being topped with a smoked mature cheddar, caramelized onions, arugula and aioli. To top it all of f, the bun is entirely black – hence the name. That burger is what most burgers aspire to be, juicy and delectable this patty earned its place in our hyperbolic burger hall of fame. Next was The Crispy Chicken – a golden breaded chicken breast atop a helping of fresh jalapeno, cabbage, pickles, onions, parsley and finished of f with spicy honey aioli. All over a beautifully glistening pretzel roll – excellence. Both burgers were beautifully constructed and of gastronomic propor tions. To end this meal – don’t judge us – we star ted our desser t journey. In true bazaarite fashion, we ordered them all, because who has time to choose? Their Pineapple Upside Down Cake made with roasted sweetened coconut and coconut skinny cloud, this desser t was light, fruity, and delicious – a true tropical retreat. Then came the Quatros Leches Cake – a cake covered in a sweetened milk, made with said milk, and dripping of said milk (the entire thing takes four helping of milk to make!) then finished of f with a generous drizzle of dulce de leche. As for the White Chocolate Cheesecake with a pecan granola, salted caramel and green apple and blackberries, made for a ver y light and creamy desser t experience. Next came the Biscof f Monkey Bread with French vanilla bean ice-cream – beautifully spiced with cinnamon and crushed biscof f biscuits, this desser t was decadent and glorious. Still, what took the cake – pun entirely intended – were the Peanut Brownie Pancakes with salted maple tof fee sauce. The presentation alone was decadent – let alone the taste! Beautifully fluf fy black pancakes bursting with peanut brownie flavors this desser t was going to be a staple in our next feast for sure!

So go on, try it out! We all love Burger Boutique, and Burger Boutique Black has taken their menu to the next level. You can find it at the Murouj Complex in the Sabhan area near the Sahara Golf and Country Club. Check their website for more info and details www.burgerboutique.com and follow them on Instagram @BurgerBoutique. Photography by Muneera Al Khulaifi, Instagram @i9ora.

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bazaar apps Literally at your fingertips

SUNSHINE

TAPTAG

PHHHOTO

WHOS DOWN

CRUMBLES

DSCO

No matter how good your local weather service is, there’s no one who knows the weather outside better than the people in your own neighborhood. Sunshine leverages this fact to deliver hyperlocal weather info in a clean, simple interface. In addition to the reports of those around you, you can submit your own condition updates to improve its accuracy, and it only takes a couple seconds. A slider at the bottom of the main screen lets you quickly check on the forecast, 3D Touch shortcuts make it easy to go straight to the weather at home or work, and smart notifications give you an overview of your day before you even get out of bed.

PHHHOTO–yes, that’s with three Hs–for Android is here. This app is part camera, part gif-maker and part social network. Using it is pretty easy, you just tap once and your phone will take a quick burst of shots and then loop them to create a Gif. After that it’s up to you what comes next: You can share it with your PHHHOTO network (that’s already been bolstered by healthy iOS adoption), you can save it, or share it elsewhere. One thing you can’t do, though, is upload from your existing photo/video gallery—but “latergrams” aren’t that great anyway.

This app is like one of those jokes that’s just so good it never gets old. Crumbles is an easy to master app that lets you splice together movies to make your own funny videos. It works like this: You type in a phrase. The app finds movie clip matches for single words in your phrase, and whatever words it doesn’t have you can record yourself saying. Then Crumbles mashes all the clips together to make a short video. When you’re done, you can save the creation or send it to someone directly from the app.

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Think of this first app as an augmented reality geo-photo tagging app. Uh—let me try that again. TapTag is an app that lets users leave photos at locations so other people can discover them later. What makes it kind of cool is that fact that your smartphone becomes the lens you look through to find and view the cache—er—the photos. The app feels like Instagram in that you can follow people and be followed. The community is still small but the concept is great, and there’s an iOS app in the works too—so there’s definitely potential for TapTag to grow.

Right now not everyone can actually be down with Who’s Down, because the app is adding users on an invite only basis. But if this sounds interesting, you can request an invite from the app. The concept is pretty simple: Users add friends they like to hangout with. When those friends use the app to let others know they’re down (to hang out), the app makes it easy to collaborate plans without even starting a group text chain, which never seems to end or successfully set plans. All around this is a good idea, but to be successful it’ll have to beat out other apps with similar features.

Here’s another fresh GIF creation app: DSCO made by the Visual Supply Co. (VSCO). It’s similar to the Boomerang app, featured in last week’s roundup, but it lets you create a slightly longer clip and there are filter options to mix things up. For limited amounts of time there will also be promotional presets included with the filters — for the first week the app was out this included a preset from MTV. DSCO is also exclusively for iOS. GIFs created with this app can be shared on any linked social media sites or just posted on your VSCO account.

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BRINGING TRUE MEANING TO

THE TERM NEW THREADS By Ben Schiller

Our relentless need for new clothes leaves a lot of old clothes behind, creating a huge mountain of fabric waste. Americans alone throw out 13.1 million tons of textiles each year, of which 11 million tons ends up in landfills. New startup Evrnu offers an alternative: recycling that takes old clothing and creates completely new yarn for new clothing. Its process uses solvent to turn cottons and other fabrics into pulp which then extrudes through a fine filter, a bit like how water is pushed out through a shower head. Several big brands, like H&M and Eileen Fisher, now take back clothing in their stores. But Evrnu co-founder Stacy Flynn says they don’t necessarily have second uses for it. “It’s piling

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up and they don’t really know what to do with it. We have places for clothing to go, like rags, insulation, rugs, and those kinds of things. But regeneration has not been commercialized yet. Right now there’s a limited number of things you can do with that clothing on return. This technology offers a way for [brands] to keep these resources in their supply chain.” Flynn star ted the company in 2011 with Christopher Stanev, a textile chemist and engineer. A sixteen-year veteran of the clothes industr y, Flynn had become concerned by the impact of so much fabric being produced and then thrown away. On a par ticular trip to China, she was shocked by the level of fabric-related pollution, and became convinced of the need for “a way of breaking down waste and getting it back into the front-end of the system.”

Since 2011, Flynn says there’s been a shift in how the industry thinks about recycling. H&M for example offers clothes made from recycled materials, and designers are experimenting with modular clothing (so we use clothes for longer). But she says breaking down and cleaning the waste to make new yarn offers wider possibilities. The cloth Evrnu has made so far has the texture of silk and is stronger than cotton, Flynn claims. It costs the same as organic cotton, so will probably used in premium products to begin with. Evrnu is planning a factor y and hopes to be in production by the end of next year. It has one pilot brand par tner that it won’t name. “One of the things we’re looking at is ‘Can we can create local fiber production where waste is accumulating?’ That’s what we’re going to be piloting in Januar y.”

CMY

mac 1

YOU’RE 100 PERCENT WRONG ABOUT BLOCKBUSTERS

By Jed Gottlieb

I have to admit, the Indominus rex from this summer’s Jurassic World gave me a little jolt. But watching audiences eat up the blockbuster’s derivative action sequences, dumb dialogue and p reposterous p l o t ( e v e n b y d inosaur m ov i e s ta n d a rd s ) h a d me quaki ng. As an unabashed lover of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Jurassic Park, I found the most horrifying thing about the latterday sequel was that about 80 percent of moviegoers gave Jurassic World a thumbsup, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It’s disappointing but not really surprising: Already the biggest box-of fice success of 2015, the film could hit a billion dollars globally by year’s end. If you don’t share my outrage over Jurassic World, just wait. Some fall or winter release will have you grumbling about the decline of the blockbuster. Maybe you think Daniel Craig has watered down Sean Conner y’s mar tini. Or J.J. Abrams will push the Star Wars franchise toward the Dark Side. Or Point Break will have you praying to Bodhi for salvation (yes, they’re remaking

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Point Break). Like the baby boomers before them, Generation X watches helplessly as studios transform their sacred cows into fast-food-grade hamburger meat. Many recent big-budget movies are unwatchable: ever y Transformers installment, anything M. Night Shyamalan made after The Sixth Sense, all Johnny Depp films where he doesn’t play a pirate (and a few where he does). But there’s an uncomfor table truth that Gen X needs to face too: A lot of their touchstones are unwatchable. Yes, ever y adventure Spielberg made between Jaws and Jurassic World devours Michael Bay’s output. But you can’t dismiss a new band simply by saying the Beatles were better, or ignore contemporar y literature because it doesn’t stack up to Shakespeare. Subtract Spielberg from the equation and the canon of ’80s and ’90s action films doesn’t look better than today’s releases. Find me a Bond aficionado who prefers Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan to Craig. Screen Tim Bur ton’s Batman and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins back to back and pick out one thing Bur ton does better. Revisit The Wrath of Khan—yes,

I dare to challenge Khan—and tell me it doesn’t lack the ar t, intrigue and style of Abrams’s recent Star Trek reboot. For ever y Vin Diesel or Shia LaBeouf the new millennium spawns, Gen X had two equally of fensive leading men: Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren. We’re the generation that let Nicolas Cage go from awesome (Raising Arizona) to awful (Snake Eyes). On our watch, Rambo raked in three times the boxof fice haul of The Breakfast Club. Blockbusters have changed. Studios have cut away at character development and quickened the pace. But directors who understand the new medium can use the too-fast-too-furious tempo as a tool (see Mad Max: Fur y Road or the most recent Mission: Impossible for strong uses of breakneck speed). I maintain Jurassic World fails as a film—c’mon, Chris Pratt as dinosaur whisperer?—but if millions of 12-year-olds (and many of their parents) want to proclaim it their favorite movie, then we shouldn’t react so harshly. As par t of a generation who watched, enjoyed and will defend Patrick Swayze’s Road House, I should cut Indominus rex a little slack.

kidzania ad 2

THE MAKING

OF AN ICON:

HOW THE “PEACE FOR PARIS” SIGN SPREAD AROUND THE

WORLD By Jessie Kuhn

In the wake of the horrific acts of terrorism that ripped through France on Friday, November 13, killing more than 129 people and injuring hundreds, an image with a message of peace has emerged amid the darkness and gone viral. It’s simple, haunting, and has served as a tool for people across the globe to express solidarity. It has been shared across social media, displayed at vigils, and even scrawled on concrete in public spaces. Jean Jullien, a 32-year-old French graphic designer and illustrator who created the image, says in a Skype inter view that he was on the first day of vacation on Friday (at a location he declined to share), when he turned on the radio to a French station and learned of the tragic events. “I was deeply shocked, saddened, and confused,” he says. “Because I’m an illustrator, drawing is my first natural reaction to communicate things in general.” Jullien took to ink and brush on paper and the resulting image is what he drew without any initial sketching. “I wanted to create a symbol

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of peace,” Jullien says of the hand-drawn illustration that combines the Eiffel tower and the universal symbol of peace. “It was a raw reaction. It was the only thing I could think of doing and my way of expressing to all of my loved ones in Paris ... I was thinking about them,” he says. After posting the image to his social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Friday evening under the caption “Peace for Paris,” Jullien says it “instantaneously got out of hand and out of my reach.” By Saturday morning, the ar tist realized just how widespread and symbolic the illustration had become. Rumors emerged early on that the work was by Banksy, which social media pundits quickly dismissed. Approximately four hours after it had gone live on Twitter, it had accumulated 16,000 retweets from Jullien’s personal Twitter account; after 24 hours that number had climbed up to 53,000 retweets. His followers on Twitter also sky-rocketed, going from around 8,000 prior to November 13, to more than 21,000. A few hours after Jullien posted the image to his Instagram account, Instagram shared the image to its 113 million followers with credit to the ar tist. After 24 hours, the post by Instagram had accumulated more than

1.3 million likes. Countless media outlets and celebrities around the world also have shared the image. Why did the image spread so rapidly? “We need symbols to express what [we] cannot say,” says Steven Heller, an educator as well as author, co-author, and editor of more than 100 books on design and popular culture. “Images define and describe tragedies and other monumental happenings. It is as common as graffiti for an image to emerge in response to tragedy.” For Jullien, who typically inter twines humor into his work, the attention he is getting from the poignant illustration was never the intention nor motivation. “I’m not proud or happy or glad or anything. I’m still completely shocked, devastated, saddened. The first people that I can possibly think of are the victims and their families,” he says. “If [the illustration] can be useful in such a tragic moment, then my job is done.” The illustrator notes that people have been quick to credit him across social media, which is kind but not necessar y. “It’s an image for ever yone. I don’t really care about ownership of the image,” he says. “This is a moment of unity.”

the promenade 3 Created with life in mind.

bazaar checks it out PORSCHE MACAN GTS – THE THOROUGHBRED SPORTS CAR AMONG SUVS The all-new GTS version of Porsche’s compact SUV provides driving experiences that surpass those which have become customary with the Macan. Like all Porsche models that bear the three letter insignia, the Macan GTS is inspired by motor racing. A reengineered chassis, 20 hp more than the Macan S and reinforced brakes are some of the features on offer in the latest addition to the Stuttgart-based manufacturer’s GTS line-up. The GTS version of Porsche’s compact SUV combines a high level of driving dynamics with outstanding everyday utility. A sportier tuning of the PASM chassis lowered by 15 millimetres, along with 20-inch RS Spyder design wheels with matt black paint finish and mixed tyres (front: 265/45 and rear: 295/40), are some of the new sporty features. Also, in keeping with iconic Porsche styling are the standard GTS sport seats with Alcantara centre panels, additional Alcantara trim in the interior as well as a distinctive sounding sports exhaust system. The new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) celebrates its SUV debut in the Macan GTS. Based on its special qualities, the new Macan GTS offers even more driving fun. With this model, Porsche is once more underlining its claim that the Macan is the sports car among compact SUVs. Available for order as of today, deliveries of the Macan GTS will commence in March, 2016. The basic retail price in Kuwait is KWD 24,100. Visit the Porsche Center in Al Rai, on the 4th ring road. Call them on 1870 870. JUMEIRAH MESSILAH BEACH HOTEL AND SPA WINS AT WORLD LUXURY HOTEL AWARDS Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait’s idyllic resort, has won the ‘Luxury Beach Resort’ category at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2015. This is the second year in a row the hotel has been successful at the event after it won the ‘Best Luxury New Hotel’ title last year. The awards are the pinnacle of achievement for luxury hotels worldwide and were established to reward hotels that have excelled beyond the normal call of duty. Winners set the benchmark for luxury hotels and spas on the global front in achieving recognition for exceptional service. Hakan Petek, General Manager said: “Our commitment to providing outstanding hotel services to our guests is unwavering. We offer a completely luxurious destination and constantly strive to raise the bar of excellence. This award is a reflection of the high standards that are consistently implemented across our hotel and serves as an inspiration for us to work even harder to exceed our guests’ expectations.” Jumeirah Messilah Beach Resort and Spa features 407 elegantly appointed guest rooms, the awarding winning Talise Spa and seven restaurants and cafés offering diverse cuisine from seafood to steak, flavours from Italy and the Middle East. Jumeirah is located on Al Ta’awun Street, near Salwa. Call them on 2226 9600 or visit www.jumeirah.com for more information.

PINKBERRY INTRODUCES NEW HANDCRAFTED FROZEN YOGURT POPS Pinkberry, the leading retailer of innovative frozen yogurt treats, has launched a range of new customizable and handcrafted frozen yogurt pops. The frozen yogurt pops are made with premium non-fat frozen yogurt, gourmet dry toppings and premium sauces. An on-the-go frozen treat, Pinkberry’s new frozen yogurt pops provide customers with endless combinations guaranteed to tantalize discerning taste buds and satisfy indulgent cravings. You can create your own frozen yogurt pops by selecting one of your favorite flavors (original, pomegranate or chocolate) dipped into a rich chocolate sauce or a nutty and creamy pistachio sauce, topped with a range of gourmet toppings. From crunchy granola, or a colorful burst of sprinkles, to the tropical taste of coconut flakes, the choice is yours! Take it one step further by double dipping the frozen yogurt pop and adding a drizzle of a smooth sauce on top. The frozen yogurt pops are an innovative and irresistible addition to the Pinkberry menu that provides customers with a new way of enjoying their favorite frozen yogurt with family and friends. The frozen yogurt pops are available to customers at the Pinkberry store in 2nd Avenue, The Avenues, for a limited time.

ROYALE HAYAT HOSPITAL CONDUCTS QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY EVENT Royale Hayat Hospital celebrates Quality and Patient Safety Week as part of their quality improvement initiative. Hospital staff, doctors, and nurses gathered on November 10 and 11, 2015 to celebrate Quality and Patient Safety Day. Various activities, workshops and lectures were organized that highlighted the importance of team work in providing exceptional patient care. Representative from the Ministry of Health were present at the Valedictory function on November 11, 2015. Dr. Bothaina Al Mudaf Director, Accreditation & Quality, Ministry of Health, Kuwait highlighted the significance of Quality and importance of Accreditation. She stated that Accreditation is not an event but a journey that has to continue for years to come. She appreciated the role that Royale Hayat Hospital plays for providing quality care to its patients. You can visit Royale Hayat Hospital in Jabriya, call them on 2536 0000, or check them out online at www.royalehayat.com

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CELEBRATE THE MAGIC OF WINTER WITH DEAN & DELUCA This season, DEAN & DELUCA brings out the best of winter treats and flavors as part of their new, limited-time warm winter menus and festive products that celebrate the holiday season. Guests will be able to savor a medley of holiday specials. The second holiday season menu, available from 17 to 26 December, includes a delightful assortment of special delicacies, including boneless rolled Turkey with sides of fresh roast potatoes, glazed carrots & parsnips, delicious Yorkshire pudding, sausages wrapped in beef bacon and turkey gravy. For those with a sweet tooth, enjoy DEAN & DELUCA’s signature handcrafted desserts such as the colorful Rainbow cake, traditional Plum pudding, or sweet Panettone stuffed with mouth-watering chocolate chips or juicy red berries. Chocolate lovers can savor DEAN & DELUCA’s homemade Belgian chocolate peppermint slab, prepared with luscious layers of milk and white chocolate, infused with peppermint, and topped with minty pieces of candy cane - an unbeatable classic holiday treat. There is something for everyone, from DEAN & DELUCA’s build-your-own gingerbread men and houses which are exciting for kids. They are popular and easy to assemble, with no baking required. Kids can focus on personalizing their creations with candy and icing. These sets are lots of fun to build - and even more fun to eat. The season of gifting isn’t complete without surprising someone special. Shoppers can choose customized gift hampers of varying sizes, brimming with delicious goodies like chocolates, candy, biscuits and many more delights. These include shortbread biscuits, which come in a variety of flavors - from zesty lemon to dark chocolate orange – that are perfect for an afternoon tea and come packaged in attractively decorative tins. Guests are encouraged to also visit the freshly prepared food counter to explore DEAN & DELUCA’s handcrafted meals, including a whole turkey, which feeds 8-10 people and is available uncooked or cooked with 24 hours’ notice needed. Dean and Deluca is located at The Avenues mall. To place an order, please call 2224 2224.

LOYAC OIL BARREL CAMPAIGN CONCEPT LOYAC is repurposing oil barrels into seats that are going to be showcased throughout various venues in all of Kuwait’s governorates. The intention behind using oil barrels is to highlight the nation’s most prized asset, as a symbol of peace and contribution, further underlining Kuwait’s role as an advocate of humanitarian initiatives, activities and breakthroughs. These barrels will highlight the work that has been done with a select group of well-known Kuwaiti artists. Additionally, all of the proceeds of this campaign will be donated to Syrian refugees in south Turkey in addition to charitable activities in Yemen. The objectives of the campaign are: Emphasising LOYAC’s vision of “Enlightened Youth for Peace and Prosperity,” highlighting the importance of art as a means to spread peace and prosperity, using oil barrels to symbolize the importance of using oil revenues toward promoting peace through the arts, creativity, and human ingenuity, and raising environmental awareness by outlining the beauty of repurposing resources. To find more about what this campaign entails and how you can get involved, please visit the Loyac website: www.loyac.org.

SAFIR HOTEL & RESIDENCES KUWAIT - FINTAS HOSTS WARM DINNER FOR LOCAL MEDIA Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait – Fintas held a media dinner on Wednesday October 21st at its Al Roshinah Kuwaiti Traditional Restaurant, allowing the media representative to savor its Kuwaiti traditional seafood platters. The invitation was extended by Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait – Al Fintas’ Management to express the hotel’s gratitude and appreciation for the media’s ongoing support to the hotel. Valued guests were warmly welcomed by Safir Al Fintas Management’s team to Al Roshinah Restaurant to showcase the Kuwaiti seafood platters as part of traditional Kuwaiti cuisine and its delectable array of authentic local delicacies. The famous dishes reflect the fusion of tradition and modernity, the central theme of Al Roshinah cuisine and atmosphere. The guests were then invited to enjoy a stylish sitting in the an air-conditioned Royal Tent which is surrounded by wide green spaces and stretched across the golden sands of the Arabian Gulf to entertain our guests in a relaxed and luxurious environment while experiencing the selective flavors of traditional Shisha at the beach garden. The General Manager of Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait – Fintas, Mr. Saif Eddin Mohammed said, “Al Roshinah Kuwaiti Traditional Restaurant mirrors the true authenticity of traditional Kuwaiti cuisine which aims at satisfying the most of our fastidious patrons.’’ Safir Hotel and Residence is located at Al Aqueela Beach Seashore 209, Salem Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah St, Fintas. Call them on 2545 5555.

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BABYCOTTONS STORY TIME At The Promenade

By bazaar staff

Babycottons offers the local market something completely different and refreshing. Even though we have a myriad of baby and children’s stores in Kuwait, the focus at Babycottons is child-driven before it incorporates the concept of style. The latest Babycottons store at The Promenade mall in Hawally opened its doors to happy little guests to celebrate the new winter pajama collection. The special guests were treated to story time and cookies while keeping cozy in seasonal sleepwear by babycottons.

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Babycottons is a unique clothing brand for newborns and toddlers specializing in classic designs made exclusively from pima cotton, a type of cotton cultivated and hand harvested in northern Peru. Babycottons believes in ‘dressing babies as babies’ and this is clear as you browse the racks at the store: soft, warm fabrics with a color palette of whites, creams, soft baby blues, pinks and greys. The store design, with its hardwood floor and calm lighting makes for an inviting atmosphere. Babycottons only uses the best fabrics when

creating its clothing, as it is a brand that understands the needs of parents and their new additions. As well as clothing, Babycottons also has a range of soft plush toys, also made from the same exclusive pima cotton. Babycottons can be found at The Promenade, which is located facing the 3rd Ring Road, between Tunis St and Al-Othman St as well as The Avenues. Please call 2220 0848 for more information or follow them on Instagram, @babycottonskw.

NOW SERVING

t s a a f f k k a a e e r r BB

IN AVENUES

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Grand Avenues 22200952 www.taalrestaurants.com

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bookworms

BOOKS AT THE FAIR That Al Salasil: bringing readers together By bazaar staff

Bookshops are the greatest. Think of all the hours you can spend browsing the shelves and taking in all the literature available right at your fingertips. It’s no secret that they’re my go-toonce-plane-lands retreat. The smell of books and knowledge first thing in the morning are reasons alone to get lost in a bookshop. But then again, there are book fairs. Consisting of a magnificent labyrinth with stalls upon stalls full of nothing but books in every color, genre and general style. They truly are a majestic place to lose yourself in for days. For the 2015 Kuwait Annual Book Fair, That Al Salasil had a glorious surprise for all the bookies out there – so if you missed out, well, sorry! That Al Salasil made a genius comeback this year by expanding their actual booth with so many titles on display. To add to that, they also have more than fifty titles that have come out specifically for this book fair. As the occasion marked Kuwait’s 40th Annual Book Fair, That Al Salasil decided to go in

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with a more unique approach – they brought in the infamous international publishing scene to Kuwait! With publishing giants like Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Scholastic, Usborne and of course, the Penguin Random House, That Al Salasil are after this bookworm’s heart. Bringing in the latest releases and bestselling English books to Kuwait, That Al Salasil are really listening to their customers and providing them with everything they hoped for. And before you ask, the answer is yes, they do have all the books available in their bookshops! Roaming around their parts of the Book Fair it became apparent to me that more and more people are reading and everyone appreciated what That Al Salasil provided them with. Alongside their own published books, they’ve also translated NYT’s Young Adult bestselling title Girl Online by UK vlogger Zoe Sugg into Arabic! Participating in every Book Fair in the region, That Al Salasil move around all their books from one fair to the next. Focusing on educational books and of course,

the books the people want to read, That Al Salasil do what they can to bring you every release they possibly can! They’ve even created an Instagram account – @ SalasilExpress – to make it easier for you to purchase books! So if you’re ever in a rush for a gift, or stocking stuffer *ahem, ahem* you can now order books directly over Whatsapp through the Salasil Express account and be a hero! Back to the book fair – after running around like a crazy person trying to figure out what books I need to have (the potential list was endless), I managed to calm myself and get just one, like an adult. A time-travelesque novel, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North caught my attention and I decided that I MUST have it! Words of wisdom: do NOT miss out on a single book fair, it might have everything you want, and more. Happy readings bookworms! The That Al Salasil bookshop can be found in the Avenues Phase 2. Follow them on Instagram to order any of their books right to your doorstep @SalasilExpress.

Regency

big boys toys Because grown men still need to play

HYUNDAI TUCSON ADVENTUREMOBILE

SENNHEISER ORPHEUS HEADPHONES

UAZ HUNTER

With a name like that, you’d best be able to handle some outdoor excursions. The Hyundai Tucson Adventuremobile is up to the task, thanks to a number of modifications by SoCal tuner John Pangilinan. These include a Treeline Tamarack rooftop tent with room for two, solar panels and a generator from Goal Zero to keep gadgets charged, LED lighting, a 1.5-inch suspension lift, AEM intake and Magnaflow exhaust kit, and a custom brake kit. Finished off with a BASF Army Green paint job, black RAYS Gram Lights 57DR wheels, and Toyo Open Country A/T II tires to tackle the toughest terrain.

In 1991, Sennheiser released the original Orpheus. The new Sennheiser Orpheus Headphones bring back the nameplate and the world-beating performance. The electrostatic headphones are designed to work with the included tube amplifier and DAC to deliver unrivaled sonic reproduction, with the amp seated in a glass housing, on a solid block of Carrara marble, and using four channels in parallel for both the right and left side for increased accuracy. To further reduce distortion, the headphones have a pair of Cool Class A MOSFET amps integrated into the ear cups to eliminate the reactance of the cable and deliver a dynamic range of 8 Hz to more than 100 kHz, as well as the lowest distortion ever measured in a sound reproduction system.

It’s available brand new. The UAZ Hunter just looks like something out of the history books, combining rugged, classic military style with modern components. It’s powered by your choice of 2.7L gas or 2.2L diesel engines, good for 128 or 114 hp, respectively, paired with Hyundai 5-speed manual gearboxes. 4-wheel-drive is standard, obviously, as are 16-inch wheels, front disc brakes, and a metal body and bumpers that are ready to handle whatever you throw their way.

NEMO SPECIAL OPS UNDERWATER DRILL

BEAST OFF-ROAD SCOOTER

LEICA SL CAMERA

Sporting an all-black paintjob and completely devoid of logos, the Nemo Special Ops Underwater Drill was made for use by special forces — but that doesn’t mean it can’t help you get things done around the house. It’s powered by a 1000-watt brushless motor and a 6Ah battery pack, has dual LEDs for nighttime work, is water resistant down to 328ft, and comes with a diving headlamp, a diving tool belt, and a waterproof bag to keep the charger dry.

Rugged, street-legal, and eco-friendly, the Beast Off-Road Scooter blends a surprising mix of features into a versatile vehicle. An electric motor (or two) propels the bike to speeds of up to 30 miles an hour, and is powered by a rechargeable battery pack that can draw juice from a wall outlet, from the kinetic energy created by pedalling, or from the integrated solar panel. It also has a strong steel frame, a powerful headlight, USB ports for charging gadgets, and knobby 21” tires that provide traction on nearly any surface.

It’s not the first full-frame mirrorless camera on the market. But it might be the best. The new Leica SL Camera has the fastest autofocus of any professional camera, including DSLRs, making it easy to snap detailed 24 megapixel shots of fast action. Its EyeRes electronic viewfinder has imperceptibly low latency, 4.4 million pixels resolution, and lets you see how the final image will look, its Maestro II processor allows for burst shooting of up to 11 fps and 4K video capture, and the lens mount is compatible with both SL and T/TL lenses. All of this is housed in a rocksolid, weather-sealed aluminum body that is built to meet the demands of the most discerning pro shooters.

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UAE Watch CALI SWAG DISTRICT PLAYS WHITE DUBAI Having opened only ver y recently, WHITE Dubai is well on the way to establishing the same sort of reputation that bought the Beirut original to the attention of the nightclubbing world. On October 27, the rooftop club at Meydan Racecourse welcomed superstar Jason Derulo and in December it kicks off a regular YOLO night with a guest appearance from the young trio of Cali Swag District, hailed as the new generation of hip hop. The ‘Teach Me How to Dougie’ stars will play the 1000 person capacity venue, which offers spectacular 360 views from the top of the Grandstand, on Monday December 30. For more information on this event, and others at White Dubai, visit them at www.whitedubai.com.

FAI WORLD AIR GAMES 2015 The World Air Games, conducted under the rules of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), is the premier international multi-discipline air sports event fielding the world’s top Air Sports athletes. The FAI World Air Games 2015 has been awarded to the United Arab Emirates and will be held in Dubai. This multi-discipline event will be organized by the Emirates Aerosports Federation under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and will take place from 1 to 12 December 2015. The past editions of the Games took place in Turkey (1997), Spain (2001) and Italy (2009). For more information on this event, including schedule and athletes taking part, visit their website www.wagdubai.ae.

UAE NATIONAL DAY 2015 The United Arab Emirates was formed on December 2, 1971, when the UK’s treaty expired and the separate sheikdoms decided to form a Union. At first the UAE was a federation of six emirates- Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, Fujairah and Ajman. The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah was added a year later to the UAE. To celebrate the UAE’s 44th National Day, and following the November downtown parade the Government of Dubai has planned a number of activities throughout the week., starting of course on December 2nd. For details on the events planned, visit www.mydowntowndubai.com.

ANIMATE DUBAI - INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL ANIMATE DUBAI is the brainchild of The Animation Chamber, a grassroot Dubai-based organization and the UAE’s first stop-motion collective and educational initiative. The Animation Chamber curates, creates and organizes workshops, animations, and panels for festivals across the UAE. The organization has also collaborated with international animation festivals and has created tailored programs for universities, schools, and art centers around the UAE. The first of its kind, Animate Dubai brings together artists, animators and more to recognize and award the best and most successful works and creators in the region. The festival takes place from 3-5 December. For more information on the event, workshops and schedules, visit www.animatedubai.com.

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UAE Watch THE RIPE FOOD & CRAFT MARKET The Ripe Food and Craft Market is located under the lush greener y of Zabeel Park’s Gate 2. Spend your Friday mornings picking fresh, organic, local fruits and veggies from their Ripe Organic Stall. The distinctive alfresco shopping venue is located in the heart of Dubai and is renowned for getting the whole community involved, with over 100 local passionate businesses including foodies, artisans, designers, jeweler’s entertainers and live acoustic musicians. Where else in Dubai can you spend a Friday morning shopping for veggies, tucking into delicious locally made food, drinking coconut water, buying handmade art and engage in a cooking class, while the kids take advantage of a petting zoo. Ever y Friday throughout December. Check them out online at www.ripeme.com.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY WEEK 2015 Taking place from the 9 – 12 December 2015, the 20th edition of Dubai International Jewelr y Week is all set to showcase the ver y best in jewelr y design, unique and elegant collections from around the world. A whole range of jewelr y collections await you at the event, giving you the ideal opportunity to purchase that unique wedding, birthday or new year gift. You will find ever ything from diamond jewelr y collections, bridal jewelr y, designer jewelr y and antiques all under one roof! Discover current trends and view the latest collections whilst enjoying the sophisticated ambience and fabulous show attractions for an unforgettable experience. For details of the event, visit www.jewelleryshow.com.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2015 DIFF (Dubai International Film Festival) is one of the most prestigious and glamorous events on the Dubai events calendar. It is a celebration of Arab and international cinema and filmmakers attracting film buffs from around the world to Dubai from Hollywood, Bollywood and beyond, DIFF’s 2014 11th edition brought Emily Blunt among other famous Hollywood stars as well as actors and celebrities from film industr y around the world. The event regularly plays host to the who’s who of regional and international cinema. Taking place from Wednesday 9th December, until Wednesday 16th December. Find out more about the DIFF at www.dubaifilmfest.com.

NEW YEAR DUBAI 2016 Dubai is fast growing a reputation for being one of the go to cities for new year celebrations, and once again the city prepares itself for a celebration unlike any other. After having broken the world record for the largest and longest fireworks display in the world for the NYE 2014 celebrations, plans are on the way to make this year’s New Year’s Eve to be even more spectacular than ever before. Be prepared to experience the city come to life throughout the eve of the year’s end, at the stroke of midnight and into the New Year.

Source: http://www.dubaicalendar.ae/

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FINDING ZEN IN DUBAI: WHERE TO PRACTICE YOGA

By Ibtisaam

Many of us here in Kuwait escape to Dubai for various reasons…but as you head off to the UAE for whatever reason, it does not mean that your practice must stop. Yoga is a continuous process of improvement, and it is important that you give yourself some time out of your busy day of walking the streets of Dubai and visiting various tourist attractions to sit, breathe, meditate and do at least a few minutes of yoga. This will also help keep you fit and active for your daily activities, as well as help you avoid injuries. There are various reputable studios in Dubai, and even better – one or two beach resorts in Dubai that you could easily spend a day or more at. Here are a few of our favorites: Urban Yoga – Downtown/Business Bay: This yoga studio is situated in a New York style loft, cool and spacious – perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up power session or a morning stretch.

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Their yogi teachers hail from around the world and all bring various styles and routines into the mix. Classes include Urban Flow, Ashtanga, Mysore, Yin and Stretch Yoga, to name a few. Looking to practice outside? Urban Yoga offers rooftop evening sessions underneath the stars at Emirates Towers on a monthly basis! Friends Of Yoga – Dubai: Friends of Yoga is a global initiative that offers free yoga classes around the globe for a more enlightened yogi community. In Dubai, the Friends of Yoga is hosted in various places including Creek, Abu-Shagara Park, Deira, Zabeel, Buheira and Al Nahda, to name a few. It is very important for Friends of Yoga to encourage residents to take time off, even just for one hour per day, to reflect physically, mentally and emotionally by practicing yoga on a daily basis. Bikram Yoga – Icon Towers, Dubai: If the heat of Dubai is not powerful enough for you and you would like to turn up your practice a notch or two more, then head down to the Icon Towers for a very hot yoga practice. Bikram is made up of 26 poses which are repeated in the

space of 90 minutes. What can seem simple at first, can become rather challenging when being held for minutes at a time! Bikram has swept the world with its popularity and these classes held in the city center will help with balance, focus and flexibility. Yoga Retreat – Talise Spa: If you are looking to practice yoga for more than an hour at a time, then why not invest a few days of your holiday with a yoga retreat at a beach resort in Dubai? My favorite retreat has to be one of the most opulent options around – the Talise Spa at the Jumeriah. This retreat will cater for advanced practitioners to those who are just starting out and includes a two night stay in one of the villas, a total of six hours over yoga over three days and various educational talks and workshops to indulge in. In addition to these options, various other types of yoga sessions that anyone can par take in include Acro Yoga (which takes you up into the air) Yogalates (a combination of yoga and Pilates) and retreats that suit various budgets!

#PCC Opening Soon 2016

promenade 4

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

NIKE MAG SNEAKERS

MELLOW SKATEBOARD DRIVE

VONSCHLOO L242 SPEAKER

Dreams do come true. Nike is releasing Marty’s mythical shoe from Back to the Future II. In addition to the glowing LEDs and all the McFly style you can handle, the Nike MAG finally brings power-lacing to your feet. Yes, this is real. I Michael J. Fox, appropriately the first recipient of the shoes tried them on for the first time. “The result is an individually responsive system that senses the wearer’s motion to provide adaptive on-demand comfort and support,” Nike says. “But this is just the first iteration.” Meaning, expect to see power laces in other Nike shoes sooner than you think.

You don’t have to buy an all-new deck to get electric capabilities. The Mellow Skateboard Drive can add powerful propulsion to your favorite board. It has two in-wheel motors, capable of pushing you along at speeds of 25 mph for up to 10 miles on a charge. Water and dust proof, it can be installed on nearly any board, has a intuitive, single-button remote, adds only 5.5 lbs of weight, and is powered by a swappable lithium ion battery with cells sourced from the same place as those in the Tesla Model S. And it installs in just minutes, so you can be up and riding in no time.

Some speakers are meant to be hidden away. The Vonschloo L242 Speaker is meant to be shown off. The speaker’s conical cabinet was inspired by the Swiss “Folle”, and is cast in composite cement. The rough material contrasts well with the smooth, matte surfaces of the metal stand and wooden endcaps, as well as the fabric grille. Thanks to drivers from Seas Norway and goldplated connectors, it sounds as good as it looks, making it an outstanding addition to any wellappointed audio room.

KANGAROO PORTABLE PC

GARMIN VIVOSMART HR ACTIVITY TRACKER

TORCH SMART ROUTER

Instead of the original iPod’s thousand songs promise, the Kangaroo Portable PC puts a fullblown computer in your pocket. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, it runs 64-bit Windows 10, and can be hooked up to a traditional monitor and keyboard, a TV, or even an iPad or other tablet. It has 32GB of internal storage, a fingerprint reader for security, a built-in rechargeable battery that gives you up to four hours of casual use, a micro USB port, and an external dock that adds HDMI, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0 ports for desktop use.

Not all exercise is created equal, but you’d be hardpressed to tell by the readouts on most monitors. The Garmin Vivosmart HR Activity Tracker uses an integrated barometric altimeter and heart rate monitor to give you credit for activity performed at higher altitudes, as well as exercise that gets your heart pumping. Its daylight-readable display is always on, yet it can run up to five days on a single charge, while doing all the expected fitness tracker stuff like displaying notifications, tracking steps, and giving you a nudge when you’ve been sitting for too long.

Built with parents in mind, the Torch Smart Router has plenty of applications outside of just monitoring your children. It’s easy-to-use interface lets you see what sites every device on your network is visiting, how much data they’re using, and how much time they’re spending online. You can set limits on each device’s usage, suspend their ability to connect to the Internet (without affecting the other devices on your network), and block specific sites on a per-device basis, so you can enjoy unfettered access without worrying about your kids or guests finding their way onto unsavory sites.

www.blessthisstuff.com www.uncrate.com 122

HOLD YOUR BREATH UNTIL taste kuwait YOU MEET OUR TOP CHEFS Culinary passion knows no borders. The Taste of Q8 announces Chef Ian Kittichai among International Celebrity Chef lineup along with Chef Reza Mahammad. Book your stand and enjoy being part of The Taste of Q8 Food Festival.March 17, 18 & 19, 2016

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IN A WORLD WHERE SUFFERING IS GREAT By Leokroonen

In her work, Iraqi painter Hayv Kahraman raises questions about her identity and origins. Drawing inspiration from many of the feminist ideologies, she focuses exclusively on female subjects. Graceful and elegant, the women with elongated necks move through the landscapes of horror. Language also plays an impor tant role. In her work, the 13th centur y Baghdadi illuminated manuscripts appear in two colors: black to narrate the stor y and red as a commentar y.

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From misunderstandings and confusion, the texts are personal memories from growing up in Baghdad and stories of existing as a refugee in Sweden. At age eleven, Kahraman immigrated with her family to Sweden and star ted painting a year later. Being ver y young when she left her native countr y, Kahraman was abruptly cut of f from her own language and culture. Although the San Francisco-based ar tist looks at Arabic letters with estranged eyes, she actively tried to recapture her amputated mother tongue. Kahraman’s beautiful work predominantly

consists of representational activism. Calling it a “powerful non-verbal instrument of expression”, political issues are heavily present. The selfcalled uprooted immigrant feels a sense of duty to be involved in these issues. Focusing on female equality and identity in a philosophical manner, she explores the victimization and displacement of women in a world where suffering is great. For more information and work from Hayv Kahraman, visit her website www.hayvkahraman.com, or check her out on Facebook: The Artwork Of Hayv Kahraman.

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‫‪bazaar around town‬‬ ‫‪GEOX WELCOMES THE ARRIVAL OF ITS A/W’15 JUNIOR COLLECTION‬‬ ‫‪Focusing on comfort and style, the GEOX A/W’15 collection features an updated technology‬‬ ‫‪in a versatile range, which includes many different styles designed to accommodate every‬‬ ‫‪possible occasion, from school time to play time. Every pair of shoes benefits from GEOX‬‬ ‫‪patented technology: a micro-porous membrane inside the sole that allows humidity out,‬‬ ‫‪without letting water in. The temperature inside the shoe therefore remains constant. This is‬‬ ‫‪why GEOX shoes are ideal: they can be worn all daylong, as they are comfortable and light.‬‬ ‫‪The rubber sole is soft and flexible and anti-slip which facilitates the natural movement of‬‬ ‫‪the foot and provides support for the joints. The big new feature concerns the Amphibiox‬‬ ‫‪collection: in addition to the special waterproof and breathable membrane that protects‬‬ ‫‪the entire shoe against water and snow, a new insole has now been introduced. This is‬‬ ‫‪made from a multi-layered technical material featuring felt laminated with aluminum, which‬‬ ‫‪offers insulation against the cold and provides greater warmth to the feet without affecting‬‬ ‫‪breathability. All GEOX junior shoes are non-allergenic, containing nickel free buckles and‬‬ ‫‪eyelets and there are a wide range of extremely soft and non-allergenic fabrics which are‬‬ ‫‪specifically designed to follow the development of your baby’s feet from the crib until they take‬‬ ‫‪their first steps. All pieces within the junior collection offer excellent levels of breathability‬‬ ‫‪at all times as well as caring for joints with models that support the ankle. The Back To‬‬ ‫‪School collection features ballerinas, slip-on shoes, ankle boots and high boots suitable‬‬ ‫‪for every occasion. A touch of fashion is added in the form of materials such as patent‬‬ ‫‪leather, matelasse, camouflage leather and inserts in elasticised fabric or mesh. Military‬‬ ‫‪style boots, laced ankle boots, sporty lace-ups and slip-on shoes are the big must-haves for‬‬ ‫‪this season’s school style. The colour range is practical, featuring dark shades (blue, black,‬‬ ‫‪grey and Bordeaux), but featuring stand out hues of green or orange. How many kids can’t‬‬ ‫‪wait to grow up? GEOX has something for them as well, with a series of models identical to‬‬ ‫‪the adult range, with the same design and the same materials: for girls there are sneakers‬‬ ‫‪and slip-on shoes in matelasse leather; for boys there are boots, sneakers and lace-up ankle‬‬ ‫‪boots in leather or suede, just like dad’s ones. To be worn together, of course.‬‬ ‫‪For more information on Geox and their ranges, visit www.geox.com.‬‬

‫(كازا بوتيك) الوجهة األفضل ألرقى وأكبر تشكيلة‬ ‫من السيراميك والرخام واألرضيات وأطقم الحمامات‬ ‫ألن شرارة اإلبداع تنطلق عندما يلتقي شغف اإلنسان الدائم بالبحث عن الكمال مع الطبيعة‪ ،‬وألن متعة اإلنسان األطول‬ ‫هي في قضاء وقت مريح في بيته‪ ،‬جاء إنطالق شركة (كازا بوتيك) التي تقدم أفخم وأجود أنواع السيراميك والرخام‬ ‫وأطقم الحمامات والخالطات وحمامات السباحة وأرضيات الخشب (الباركيه)‪ ،‬ومن أرقى الماركات العالمية المصنعة وفقا‬ ‫ألحدث المواصفات والمقاييس العالمية من حيث التميز والجودة والفخامة‪.‬‬ ‫وقد حرصت (كازا بوتيك) على أن تجمع في معرضها مجموعة واسعة من المنتجات لعدد من الشركات العالمية المتخصصة‬ ‫والمتميزة في عالم السيراميك والخالطات والحمامات وفي مقدمتها المبورغيني‪ ،‬وجيورجيو‪ ،‬وآلتمايز‪ ،‬وووترجيت‪،‬‬ ‫وترند‪ ،‬وماربل‪ ،‬وتشييلو‪ ،‬وآسكوت‪ ،‬وأوليمبيا وغيرها من الشركات األلمانية واإليطالية واإلسبانية واألميركية‪ ،‬والتي‬ ‫تحتل الصدارة من حيث جودة منتجاتها وتنوع تصاميمها وعراقة تاريخها‪ ،‬حيث أنها ذات خبرة راسخة وممتدة ألكثر من‬ ‫‪ 40‬سنة من العطاء في تاريخ هذه الصناعة أوروبيا وعالميا‪.‬‬ ‫ولتلبي متطلبات أصحاب الذوق الرفيع والباحثين عن التميز فقد وفرت (كازا بوتيك) فريقا متخصصا ومتمرسا في العناية‬ ‫بأدق التفاصيل من حيث تأمين التصاميم لألماكن المراد إنجازها من حمامات داخلية‪ ،‬أو حمامات سباحة خارجية‪ ،‬وبما‬ ‫يؤمن اإلستفادة من المساحات بشكل كامل ومتناسق من حيث الديكور وجودة المواد المستخدمة واأللوان المختارة‪ ،‬إضافة‬ ‫إلى تفرد (كازا بوتيك) الحصري بتوفير مقاسات دقيقة وصغيرة جدا ال تتوافر عند اآلخرين‪ ،‬والتي يحولها المصممون في‬ ‫كازا بوتيك إلى إبداعات فنية تنعكس بالراحة والشعور بالتميز‪.‬‬ ‫كما يتمتع فريق العمل لدى (كازا بوتيك) بخبرة كبيرة في هذا المجال‪ ،‬فقد عملوا وأنجزوا العديد من العقود مع كبرى‬ ‫الشركات وأبدعوا في تركيب الحمامات وحمامات السباحة والساونا‪ ،‬وكذلك تلبيس المباني بالرخام والحجر الطبيعي‬ ‫والصناعي والسيراميك بأنواعها المتعددة وأحجامها المتباينة وألوانها المختلفة‪ ،‬وبمواصفاتها الممتازة من حيث الجودة‬ ‫والمتانة والسعر المناسب‪ ،‬وبتصاميم غاية في اإلبداع والحداثة‪.‬‬ ‫وليشعر الزائر لمعرض (كازا بوتيك) بالراحة‪ ،‬وبحضور األفكار الجديدة كانت الحرفية في عرض الحمامات والخالطات‬ ‫وما يتبعها من اكسسوارات‪ ،‬وكذلك األرضيات المتنوعة‪ ،‬وأرضيات الخشب (الباركيه) بمقاساتها المختلفة ودرجات ألوانها‬ ‫المتدرجة والتي تناسب التصاميم وتتماشى مع الديكورات‪ ،‬بما يعطي انطباعا بالبساطة من جهة وبفخامة المكان ودفئه‬ ‫من جهة أخرى‪.‬‬ ‫وللتعرف على عالم (كازا بوتيك) ما عليكم سوى زيارة مقرها الكائن في الشويخ خلف مجمع التالل‪ ،‬مقابل شركة ياماها‪،‬‬ ‫لتتمتعوا بمشاهدة تشكيلة واسعة مما تبحثون عنه تحت سقف واحد‪ ،‬ولن تحتاروا كثيرا ألن فريق العمل سيكون معكم‬ ‫للتعرف على ما تريدون والذي سيكون عونا لكم في تقديم النصح والمشورة للوصول إلى مبتغاكم‪ ،‬واختصار الوقت والجهد‬ ‫للحصول على األنسب واألفضل واألروع بكل ما يرتبط بالراحة والفخامة واألناقة في التصميم وجودة المنتج وروعة‬ ‫التشطيب والشكل النهائي المبدع‪.‬‬ ‫‪For more information visit www.casaboutiquekw.com‬‬ ‫‪126‬‬

HYUNDAI NORTHERN GULF FINALIZES ITS 2015 “SCRAP ART COMPETITION” INITIATIVE At the end of its Scrap Art Competition, and after tremendous participation and feedback, Hyundai Northern Gulf organized its awarding ceremony, which saw an attendance from university students and art lovers alike. The competition had encouraged participants to find creative uses for car spare parts, to be shown to a dedicated judging panel tasked with evaluating the creativity and technical quality of the concepts presented. The ceremony was held in November and was attended by Hyundai’s regional representatives, the competition’s participants and their families and friends, Kayyan - which provided support for the competition - Kuwait University, Forward Events Management, HorizonFCB and Northern Gulf’s senior management team. The dedicated judging panel was also present during the ceremony, and it included Raed Turjuman, the company’s CEO, Mr. George Baur, Professor of Art History at the American University in Kuwait and who holds a PhD in the Arts, Mr. Bashar Abdel Hamid Salem, CEO of Kayan Middle East and who holds an Engineering degree from Louisiana University, and Mr. Abdel Aziz Alrayes, an Engineer at Kayan. The judging panel evaluated the concepts on creativity, engineering principles, technology, innovation, sustainability and ease of use, as well as carefully considering the tools used to create the art pieces. The ceremony included keynote speeches from several key figures on the importance of finding creative uses for scrap and spare parts, and their conversion into meaningful and delightful art pieces. After announcing the competition’s results, winners were declared, where the first prize winner was given the opportunity to visit Hyundai’s largest factory in Ulsan, South Korea; the second prize winner a cash reward worth KD500 and the third prize winner a cash reward worth KD300. Commemorative certificates were given to all participants. In addition to providing support for local initiatives, Northern Gulf constantly offers a variety of promotions to ensure customer satisfaction and to make Hyundai’s vehicles accessible to all with competitive and reasonable prices. The company is also keen to reinforce Hyundai’s global brand value as a leading automotive brand that has been able to compete with older legacy brands. The promotions stand as a tribute to Hyundai’s customer-centric philosophy, which places customer needs at the top of its priorities, whether before or after purchase. To check out the latest Hyundai range, visit their showroom at Al-Jahra Road, Shuwaikh, or visit them online: www.hyundai.com

PORSCHE CENTRE KUWAIT PIONEERS NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH ROYALE HAYAT HOSPITAL Embodying Porsche’s unrivalled ability to deliver extraordinary customer experiences, Porsche Centre Kuwait has partnered with Royale Hayat Hospital to provide new parents with the ultimate trip home following the exciting birth of their child. After delivering at the new and exclusive Royale Orchid Suites in the hospital, the family will be offered a luxurious Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid for an extra-special drive home, as they celebrate the gift of life on one of their most memorable days. The continuation of their unique experience will come through pure driving pleasure and state-of-the-art technology in the form of a Panamera S E-Hybrid. Capable of driving of up to 36 kilometres in full electric mode, the car represents Porsche’s core values combining performance and efficiency while preserving everyday utility. The Panamera S E-Hybrid is a Porsche Gran Turismo through and through boasting 416 horsepower, acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 270 km/h. As with its fellow Porsche E-Hybrid models, it is able to drive considerable distances in the completely silent allelectric mode with an unrivalled pure electric driving top speed of 135 km/h. The Panamera S E-Hybrid is available at Porsche Centre Kuwait, Shuwaikh, with a basic retail price of KD 37,800.

FANTASY WORLD INTRODUCES THE NINEBOT! Changing the face of transportation, the NineBot One is here to stay. An intelligent and fashionable transportation tool with interactive functioning, one can say goodbye to the crowds and enjoy the freedom and pleasure of being outdoors. It’s futuristic design, concise size and delicate porcelain structure is sure to set a fashion statement for you. Easy to operate the Ninebot senses the driver’s posture for balancing. You can also connect it with your smart phone via Bluetooth to remote control it or have intelligent diagnosis of your Ninebot. The NineBot is exclusively available at Fantasy World Toys, Kuwait located in The Avenues, Souq Sharq, Al Bustan Mall and Al Rai. For more information on Fantasy World and it’s products, visit www.fantasyworldtoys.com, or check them out on Facebook: FantasyWorldToysKuwait.

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LOW HEART RATE MAY PREDICT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

By Karen Kaplan

What if a test could identify young men who were nearly 50 percent more likely than their peers to become violent criminals? Scientists say they have found such a test — and you can take it with two fingers and a clock. The test measures your resting heart rate. If you count fewer than 60 beats per minute, you might be physiologically predisposed to commit robbery, assault, kidnapping or even murder, new research suggests. The idea that there is a biological basis for crime is hardly new, and resting hear t rate is one of the leading candidates for linking the two. Studies from more than a dozen countries have found that people with slow-beating hear ts are more likely to behave in antisocial ways. However, most of these studies involved a small number of people, and they weren’t tracked for long periods of time. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute near Stockholm thought they could improve on both those scores by examining decades of data collected by the Swedish government. Until 2009, nearly all Swedish men were required to undergo a “conscription assessment” for the armed forces when they turned 18. Those records included data on the resting hear t rates of 710,264 people — a sample more than 100 times bigger than for all previous studies put together. What’s more, the researchers were able to track these men for up to 35.7 years. Next, the researchers turned to Sweden’s crime register to see whether any of those people — each identified by a governmentissued number – had been convicted of a violent or nonviolent offense after their hear t rate was measured. They also examined medical records

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to see whether the men had been injured or killed in an assault or accident. When they put it all together, they found that the men with the lowest resting heart rates at age 18 were most likely to commit crimes as they got older, according to a report published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The researchers divided the men into five groups based on their hear t rates. The 132,595 men in the slowest group registered between 35 and 60 beats per minute, while the 139,511 men in the fastest group had 83 to 145 beats per minute. Although the first group was smaller, it included more men who wound up being convicted of a violent crime. (It should be noted that criminals were the distinct minority across the board — in all five groups, more than 94 percent of men were never convicted of a violent crime.) In analyzing the data, the researchers accounted for various factors that might influence the men’s heart rate or their risk for criminal behavior. They controlled for height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure and (when available) the maximum amount of “work” the men could do during an exercise test — all measures related to cardiovascular fitness. They also controlled for each man’s socioeconomic status, IQ and psychiatric health. When these variables were taken into account, they found that the men with the slowest resting heart rates were 49 percent more likely to become violent criminals than the men with the fastest resting heart rates. They were also 33 percent more likely to be convicted of a nonviolent crime, such as a drug or traffic offense. “The associations were not explained by physical, cardiovascular, psychiatric, cognitive, or socioeconomic factors,” the study authors wrote. In addition, the researchers discovered that

the men with the slowest hearts were 41 percent more likely than those with the fastest hearts to be injured in an assault and 31 percent more likely to be injured in an accident. It’s not clear why a low hear t rate would make people predisposed to antisocial — or even criminal — behavior, but scientists have some guesses. One theor y is that men with slower hear ts have lower levels of physiological arousal, which they tr y to boost by doing things that are dangerous or illegal. The other leading theor y is that those with slower hear ts have a muted response to risky or stressful situations, so they don’t feel the fear that others would. The fact that men with slower hear ts were more likely to get hur t in an accident or in a fight lends suppor t to both theories, according to an editorial that accompanied the study. “Persons relatively lacking in fear may be more likely to place themselves in risky situations that place them in harm’s way,” wrote Adrian Raine of the University of Pennsylvania, who studies the neurobiological roots of antisocial behavior. “Individuals who impulsively seek stimulation may similarly seek out high-stakes social contexts and make reckless decisions, placing them at risk of being assaulted.” The study’s results raise a number of thorny and “profound” questions, Raine wrote. For instance, it seems impossible to blame people for their slower heart rates, or for the violence they may endure as a result. “Yet, if we accept this logic, should the legal system in turn accept low RHR (resting heart rate) as a mitigating factor for the commission of serious violence?” More provocatively, he asked, “Can the criminal justice system continue to turn a blind eye to the anatomy of violence?”

nasr sports

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

THE HEART OF THE SEA

THE GOOD DINOSAUR

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS

Synopsis: In 1820, crewmen aboard the New England vessel Essex face a harrowing battle for survival when a whale of mammoth size and strength attacks with force, crippling their ship and leaving them adrift in the ocean. Pushed to their limits and facing storms, starvation, panic and despair, the survivors must resort to the unthinkable to stay alive. Their incredible tale ultimately inspires author Herman Melville to write “Moby-Dick.” Directed by Ron Howard, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson.

Synopsis: The Good Dinosaur is a computeranimated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film, along with Inside Out, marks the first time that Pixar will release two feature films in the same year. In an alternate timeline in which Earth was never hit by an asteroid and dinosaurs never became extinct, a young Apatosaurus named Arlo loses his father in a tragic accident. One day, Arlo falls into a river and gets knocked out by a rock, finding himself far away from his home. While trying to find a way back to the Clawed-Tooth Mountains, he befriends a human caveboy that he names Spot.

Synopsis: The Force Awakens is the first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, announced after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012. Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland, with principal photography also taking place in Ireland and Pinewood Studios in England. Disney has backed the film with an extensive marketing campaign, and it is expected to break box office records with projected profits exceeding $1 billion (KD 1.5). The Force Awakens will be released in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D in December, more than ten years following the release of the franchise’s last instalment, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

POINT BREAK

THE PEANUTS MOVIE

THE BIG SHORT

Synopsis: Life always seems complicated for good ol’ Charlie Brown, the boy who always tries his best against seemingly impossible odds. When the Little Red-Haired Girl moves into his neighborhood, Charlie Brown finds himself smitten with her. As he deals with his feelings, his best friend Snoopy embarks on his own adventure in a fantasy world. As a World War I flying ace, the lovable beagle pursues his nemesis, the Red Baron, while also trying to win the heart of a beautiful pilot named Fifi. Both Charie and Snoopy find themselves going on life changing quests.

Synopsis: The Big Short is an American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam McKay. It is based on the 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, about the Financial crisis of 2007–2010 by the build-up of the housing and credit bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. The film is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures. When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything.

Release Date: December 3rd Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Cast: Chris Hemsworth/Frank Dillane/Cillian Murphy

Release Date: December 24th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller Cast: Teresa Palmer/Luke Bracey/Édgar Ramírez Synopsis: A young FBI agent infiltrates an extraordinary team of extreme sports athletes he suspects of masterminding a string of unprecedented, sophisticated corporate heists. Deep undercover, and with his life in danger, he strives to prove these athletes are the architects of the mind-boggling crimes that are devastating the world’s financial markets. Filmed on four continents, North America, Europe, South America and Asia, “Point Break” presents extraordinary feats performed by the world’s top extreme sports athletes, and involves some of the most daring exploits ever committed to film. Extreme sports featured include snowboarding, wingsuit flying, free rock climbing, high-speed motocross, and surfing 70-foot waves.

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Release Date: December 10th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family Cast: Raymond Ochoa/Jeffrey Wright/Steve Zahn

Release Date: December 24th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy Cast: Noah Schnapp/Bill Melendez/Hadley Belle Miller

Release Date: December 17th Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Cast: Harrison Ford/Mark Hamill/Carrie Fisher

Release Date: December 31st Theaters: Cinescape Kuwait-wide Genre: Drama Cast: Brad Pitt/Christian Bale/Steve Carell

For more details on movie timings and the cinema nearest you, visit: Cinescape: www.cinescape.com.kw or Facebook: Cinescape – Kuwait National Cinema Company. *Above programs are subject to change without prior notice.

NAz

CLEAN OUT YOUR GARBAGE

By Natalie Mekahal

We are always reminded of our circulatory, nervous and muscular systems in our body. But did you know that we have 13 different systems in our body? They all carr y out different interrelated chores by the second, and our bodies have their own way of ‘throwing out the garbage.’ By disposing waste products and debris of cells together with bacteria and protein, we have a healthy immune system. One system in par ticular, the lymphatic system, is par t of the circulator y system and it is a vital par t of the immune system. The lymphatic system consists of lymphatic organs which include: tonsils, thymus gland, spleen, lymph nodes, and lymphatic vessels. The main functions of the lymphatic system are: 1-Removal of interstitial fluid from the tissues. 2-Absorption and transpor tation of fatty acids and fats from the digestive system. 3-Transpor tation of white blood cells and nutrients to and from the lymph nodes into the bones. Therefore, the lymphatic system is responsible for disposing pathogens, microbes, and other immune elicitors. By maintaining a strong immune system, our bodies will be strong enough to even combat life-threatening diseases such as cancer, asthma, arthritis and heart disease. Apart from an anti-inflammation diet, which I have previously discussed in bazaar Magazine, here are some lifesaving anti-inflammatory tips you can implement in your daily life for a strong, healthy immune system:

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1-Bouncing: Yes, jumping on the trampoline has amazing health benefits. Have you ever wondered why children enjoy jumping on the bed? It is because they are “cleaning” out their lymphatic system unconsciously. Bouncing works very well for moving lymph. Each time you bounce, you directly increase the gravitational pull on your lymph. Bouncing is also an exercise that reduces body fat, firms your body especially your hips and legs, and improves your balance. Bouncing is easy on the joints so people of all ages can bounce safely and happily. Try bouncing at least 3 times a week for 15 minutes. Decathlon, located in Marina mall, sells good quality trampolines. 2-Dry skin brushing: A dry brush can be found at The Body Shop, and it’s a necessity for every individual. Dry brushing promotes lymphatic drainage of toxic waste, which in turn, increases ones immunity, reduce cellulite and have healthy glowing skin. Always brush toward your heart; meaning: Start from your feet and work your way up. 3-Walking: Move around whenever you can. Your lymphatic system is part of the circulatory system, so go for a walk during lunch, stretch throughout the day, and develop a daily exercise schedule. Walking creates a gravitational pull on the lymphatic system; therefore cleaning out buildup waste more efficiently. 4-Get a lymph massage. Ever wondered why you are suffering from head congestion, stuffiness, feeling of pressure on head or ears, dizziness or even insomnia? It is because you may have a lot of stored lymphatic fluid in the head which might contribute to internal swelling. A lymphatic massage helps in regenerating tissues and cells, and detoxifying the body. 5- Sauna: To supercharge your lymphatic

drainage, it is highly recommended to get into a sauna twice a week after a workout. The heat increases your heart rate and encourages deep breathing by activating circulation and in return sweating and excretion of toxins will be encouraged. Please consult with your doctor or health specialist if it is safe for you to use the sauna. 6-Comfortable clothing: Cotton, silk, wool, linen are natural fibers that are safe to wear. Synthetic clothing (such as polyester) are absorbed through the skin and taken up by the lymphatic system and added to the body’s toxic flow. 7-Cosmetics and skin care products: Your skin is the largest organ of elimination and absorption. Avoid products that include synthetic preservatives, foaming agents, and fragrances. Invest in organic skin and hair care, preferably plant based because they will be processed by your lymph. 8-Breathe. The breathing we do 24/7 is a lymphatic pump by our heart. Proper breathing is the most important facilitator of the lymphatic system. Long deep breaths are advised to have clear, uncongested lymph. Herbal teas such as olive leaf tea, ginger tea and fenugreek also affect the lymph positively. When the lymph is working properly in one’s body; the body is full of vitality, the complexion glows and if you do become ill, you have the above tools to help regain your health. Natalie Mekahal is a personal shopper and natural and organic healthy lifestyle guru. You can follow her on Instagram or Facebook @WholeStyle.Me or send her an email on WholeStyleMe@gmail.com.

Hypoxi

bazaar a la mode

BATH AND BODY WORKS NEW HOLIDAY COLLECTION! It’s that time of the year again when festivities are in full swing and Bath & and Body Works Holiday Collection will definitely get you in the spirit of things! Certain scents always evoke memories, like the smell of fresh pine trees or ginger bread biscuits during Christmas. With this in mind, Bath & Body Works is introducing its festive line for the season with tremendous fragrances in stores now. Whether you’re looking to buy presents for your loved ones or just treating yourself, stock up on these lovely fragrances and be on your jolly way. Fragrances on offer are: Vanilla Bean Noel – Fresh Vanilla Bean, Sugar Cookies, Whipped Cream. Winter Candy Apple – Red Apple, Winter Rose Petals, Candied Orange. NEW! Sugar Plum Dream – Sparkling Sugarplum, Winter Citrus, Snowdrop Blossoms. NEW! Frosted Wonderland – Warm Praline, Iced Ginger, Snowkissed Jasmine. Bath & Body Works wishes you the perfect holiday! Bath and Body Works is located at The Avenues, Marina, Al Fanar, Gate and Souq Sharq malls. For more information on their products, visit www.bathandbodyworks.com.

KATY PERRY BRINGS FASHION, FANTASY AND FUN TO H&M’S SPECTACULAR HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN H&M’s Holiday 2015 commercial is the ultimate celebration of the season. Katy conjures to life an unbelievable cast of characters, from life-sized gingerbread men to oversized presents on roller skates and giant teddy bears. The action is fast-paced and ever-changing, with Katy giving every scene her own twist. The soundtrack to the commercial is “Every Day Is a Holiday,” a new song written by Katy for the Holiday commercial, and produced by Duke Dumont. “I had such an amazing time shooting this larger-than-life holiday commercial with Jonas Åkerlund with all of the fun clothes, especially my favorite, the Elfie Selfie sweater. H&M has been a part of the evolution of my personal style since I was 13, when I would start to incorporate fun, affordable H&M pieces into my vintage wardrobe. I can’t wait for you to give your wardrobe some sparkle with this beautiful holiday collection,” says Katy Perry. In both the commercial and accompanying print campaign, Katy appears in looks from the H&M Holiday collection that mix festive glamour, style and fun. It includes pieces such as lipstick-red dresses, tuxedos with open sleeves and a T-shirt embroidered with sequined red bows. There are special details everywhere, from the fringing on a black mini skirt to the perfect jumper. H&M’s Holiday collection is available in H&M stores worldwide.

CHOPARD LEADS THEWATCH AND JEWELLERY INDUSTRY Chopard continues to lead the watch and jewelry industry with the announcement of a new partnership with PX Précinox SA, the Swiss gold refinery company, to establish the first commercial export route for Fairmined Gold from Bolivia. This new development between Chopard and PX Précinox will see the gold exported and refined using the PX Précinox fully segregated ‘track and trace’ processing system. The Fairmined gold’s final destination will be Chopard’s workshops in Geneva, making it fully traceable from mine to product. Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard, said: ‘We chose to partner with PX Précinox because of its deep roots in Switzerland, considerable experience in the refining of precious metals and strong track record in responsible business. Moreover, this family-owned company is sensitive to the ethical demands of the market and encourages respectful environmental practices and traceability of metals”. Both Chopard and PX Précinox are certified members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). Whilst Chopard launched the world’s first Fairmined gold watch, PX Précinox has created one of the very first gold segregation systems in Switzerland; a ‘trackand trace’ process, separating Fairmined gold from standard material throughout the refining process. You can visit Chopard at Mohammad Thunayyan Al-Ghanem Street in Kuwait City. Call them on 2240 5753.

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BOMBERG LAUNCH EVENT HELD BY BOMBERG AND BEHBEHANI GROUP BOMBERG, the new Swiss Watchmaking brand that’s causing a stir, and Behbehani Group have launched the brand in TikTok, Soku. Mr. Ali Morad Behbehani, President of Morad Yousuf Behbehani Group, Mr. Rick De La Croix, Chairman of BOMBERG and Mr. Jacques Tedeschi, Sales Director of BOMBERG Middle East, commenced the event with an introduction of the brand before allowing the media and customers to view the BOMBERG collection. “It is a great honour to collaborate with such an amazing company as Morad Yousuf Behbehani Group for BOMBERG. Being represented by the most prominent partner here in this wonderful country, Kuwait, is a fantastic opportunity for us” said Mr. Rick De La Croix. BOMBERG is housed under the luxury retail conglomerate, Behbehani group, with over 75 years of experience. Behbehani Group owns and manages a series of showrooms and stores exclusively for international watch brands as well as jewellery. These showrooms are located in prestigious malls around Kuwait such as Salhiya, 360 MALL, Marina Mall, Souq Sharq, Al Kout, Laila Gallery, Al Hamra Luxury Center, The Gate Mall, Behbehani Complex and Tiktok (Soku, The Avenues). BOMBERG is making noise all over the world with its unconventional design, audacious communication and provocative identity which can be seen on Instagram @bombergmea and website www.bomberg.ch.

MILLENNIUM HOTEL & CONVENTION CENTRE SHOWCASED AT GET TOGETHER DINNER Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre Kuwait hosted its first Get Together Dinner for VIPs, media representatives and select invitees to showcase the newly-opened hotel to the public. Present at the event was Dani Saleh, Area General Manager of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Kuwait, who provided an overview of the 5-star hotel, which offers 295 stylish rooms & suites along with business and events facilities, encompassing 21 high-tech function rooms and a dedicated management team. Saleh explained that Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre is able to accommodate the needs of large-scale international conferences, weddings and exhibitions. Guests were also informed about the hotel’s own Lamar International Restaurant, a haven for international cuisine featuring live cooking stations with modern décor. Separately, the hotel operates the one-of-a-kind Library Café, where premium teas, coffees and light food items are served. The Library Café’s most distinguishing quality is a tempting book selection that is on offer for guests to enjoy while they soak in the relaxing atmosphere. Moreover, Saleh announced that the hotel will soon unveil Big Fish, a prestigious international seafood restaurant due to open its doors in early 2016. Millennium Hotel & Convention Center is located on Abou Thar Alghafari Street, Fourth Ring Rd, Hawally. Call them on 2205 0505.

JACK WILLIS HOLIDAY COLLECTION This season, Jack Wills are embracing a beautifully dark plaid with a rich combination of navy blue, set against classic British racing green. This Blackwatch tartan was created in 1733, when uniformed guards protected the highland of Scotlan. It’s rich association with themes of gallantry, courage and heritage echo the Jack Wills spirit. A key menswear piece to note is the Alyward Tuxedo Blazer in the Blackwatch tartan. Woven in the UK and crafted from pure wool, it’s finely tailored to a handsome slim fit that’s perfect for Christmas parties. Key womenswear pieces are the Highmoor Classic Shirt in a crisp white perfect for any occasion in beautiful and flattering tailored fit, and the Obley Skirt. The Obley is made in the signature blackwash tartan with a velvet waistband. Alongside the blackwatch sits a party collection that heroes evening velvets, sparkling lurex yarns, delicate lace detailing and faux fur trims. Celebrate the season with us as we mix the old with the new and let history fuel our futures, Instagramming along the way. You can follow Jack Willis on social media @JackWillsME.

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bazaar scopes what’s your sign? LIBRA SEP 23 – OCT 22

GEMINI MAY 21 – JUN 21

Butting into a friend’s business will only lead to resentment. Some people need to learn by their own mistakes. Plans may be cancelled at the last minute. Perhaps there’s something you’ve been wanting to tr y. Go for it. Now is a good time to call old friends.

A little white lie now and then isn’t such a bad thing – especially if it means sparing someone’s feelings. A sudden change at work could be a sign of things to come. Be aware of upcoming opportunities. Listen carefully for a Libra’s hidden message. A special treat comes this month.

SCORPIO OCT 23 – NOV 22

CANCER JUN 22 – JUL 22

Discipline will get you through a busy work schedule. Procrastination, on the other hand, will only get you into trouble. A break from routine will provide a pleasant diversion. A Libra from your past will come to mind later in the month. Maybe it’s time to get back in touch.

Is something troubling you lately, Cancer? If you’ve been feeling crabbier than usual, it may be something you’re not totally aware of. Take some time to get in touch with your feelings. Meditation could be a helpful and relaxing way. A Libra of the opposite sex has a surprise.

CAPRICORN DEC 22 – JAN 19 It will take a lot of convincing to get what you want in a business deal. Think creatively and you may get your way. Someone you thought of as a friend will do something to disappoint you. Before you get too upset, try to identify the root of the problem. It may be deeper than you think.

AQUARIUS JAN 20 – FEB 18 A difference of opinion with family could cause a great deal of tension. With some diplomacy on your part, you can keep the peace while still holding your argument. An adventurous mood could lead you to an interesting place this month. Don’t be afraid to go exploring.

PISCES FEB 19 – MAR 20

LEO JUL 23 – AUG 22 It’s time to give up on a failing romance. If you’re putting forth all the emotional effort and getting nothing in return, you owe it to yourself to hit the road. A realistic look at finances helps you plan a smart budget. Exercise helps to relieve stress. A Scorpio offers good advice.

VIRGO AUG 23 – SEP 22 Don’t break promises you made to yourself last month. You’ll only beat yourself up for it later on. Could it be a fear of failure that’s holding you back? The answers can be found within yourself. If traveling is on your agenda for the month’s end, be sure to get an early start.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 – DEC 21

A problem now will be history by next month, so don’t let it get to you. A friendship with an Aquarius may be under some strain. Do your best to clear the air as soon as possible. Why do you hide from lasting love when it’s beating down your door? Take a chance and you will be better for it.

Step back from a problem and you’ll be better able to handle it. Time to yourself is the key to peace of mind this month. Good news regarding a recent financial investment will brighten your budget. Something you’ve been wanting will now seem much more affordable. Enjoy!

ARIES MAR 21 – APR 19 If you’re looking to change jobs – or even careers– this could be your lucky month. A meeting could open new doors for you. Just make sure you know what you want. Relish any free time you get – it won’t last. A new associate makes an impression.

TAURUS APR 20 – MAY 20 Pay attention to details or you could make a big mistake. Schedule important meetings later in the month when your energy level will be higher. A heart-to-heart conversation will get problems out in the open in a troubled friendship. Express your feelings!

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