There are certain things that shouldn’t cost so much. I wouldn’t mind spending on a nice watch, a nice wallet, a nice whatever. But a TV at KD1500+ is just not worth buying. I’d rather spend some extra dollars for a satellite TV, either dish or direct tv for HD experience channels. Some might argue that TVs are the most used piece of furniture ever invented, and I’d agree, but certain things shouldn’t cost much, the tv is one of those things.

Fa 3ad I’ve been shopping around for a nice audio visual (AV) rentals to put on my room’s wall and replace my current vintage “Bo dabba” TV. I like doing my research before I buy something.. it took me 3 months to buy my sound canceling bose headphones.. so you can imagine how much time would I need to buy a new TV.. (7 years) e7em.. anyway. I was glad when they announce the LED technology, I thought I was real smart for holding out and not buying the thin Full HD TVs when they came out, coz now we have something that is even slimmer and akshakh.. I also remember not liking it’s KD1000+ price. No TV is worth my 1000+ monayyh. And it happened all over again with the new cool and futuristic 3D TVs. I mean you can’t help but be a kid again with 3D technology, right?

But you know what? I’ve always thought that we, humans, weren’t meant to indulge ourselves in such an advanced technology, it’s way too cool, and even way cooler to have at our houses and in our rooms.. ya3ny imagine yourself going to sleep to a 3D TV. We’re just not there yet. And apparently someone whose opinion really does matter agrees with me, and have proofs that 3D TVs doesn’t work well with our brains. Unless they produce holographic images, they won’t work.

Anyway, if you’re thinking of buying one, with or without 3D glasses, then you might want to read this article. I did, and you should read this piece by too, it’s by a multiple academy award winning editor Walter Murch.

Highlights:

“But the deeper problem is that the audience must focus their eyes at the plane of the screen — say it is 80 feet away. This is constant no matter what.

But their eyes must converge at perhaps 10 feet away, then 60 feet, then 120 feet, and so on, depending on what the illusion is. So 3D films require us to focus at one distance and converge at another. And 600 million years of evolution has never presented this problem before. All living things with eyes have always focused and converged at the same point.”

“3D films would not work if we couldn’t. But it is like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, difficult. So the “CPU” of our perceptual brain has to work extra hard, which is why after 20 minutes or so many people get headaches. They are doing something that 600 million years of evolution never prepared them for. This is a deep problem, which no amount of technical tweaking can fix. Nothing will fix it short of producing true “holographic” images.”

“So: dark, small, stroby, headache inducing, alienating. And expensive. The question is: how long will it take people to realize and get fed up?” – Walter Murch

“It doesn’t work with our brains and it never will.
The notion that we are asked to pay a premium to witness an inferior and inherently brain-confusing image is outrageous. The case is closed.” – Roger Ebert

So, now we have 2 problems at hand: #1 We need another million years or so to learn how to watch 3D TVs. and #2 TVs shouldn’t cost this much!!

When Darth Vader (David Prowse) revealed his secret to Luke, Hamill was hanging onto a pinnacle above mattresses placed on cardboard boxes about 30 feet off the ground.

These shots were taken in 1979-1980 on the set while filming Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The rare shots were revealed by Vanity Fair to mark the movie’s 30th anniversary.

11 more rare photos to go

Taken from Mail Online:

“Reclining in a chair in his office, a sharp-suited young Silvio Berlusconi sits with a 357 Magnum in its holster clearly visible on his desk, proof of the emerging businessman’s ruthless streak.

Seventies Italy was a dangerous time and the Italian president-to-be feared kidnap by the Mafia or worse – but wasn’t going to take the threat lying down.

The black and white photograph, taken in 1977 when Berlusconi was an emerging industrialist, has been discovered in the archives of a photographer during a clear-out.

‘At the time I remember I didn’t like it and I had put it to one side. My boss had given me as assignment to shoot Berlusconi for a media magazine and I said: “Who is he?”‘

‘My boss told me: “He’s about to buy il Giornale (a newspaper) and open a TV station. Mark my words he will be talked about for a long time to come.”‘”

Read the entire article here.

We were at Marks & Spencers at 360 when we saw the tarlets cups and the ready made creme filling mix. It was a wednesday, the day before chalet day, and on that day everything looks appetizing and sounds like a good idea for the weekend. So we bought 2 packets of each, and my friend went to dean and deluca on thursday and got the fresh fruits from there. It was so simple and surprisingly.. Click to continue reading + pictures

This is my favorite picture on flickr right now. And it’s not photoshopped the girl just jumped into perfect position!

LINK

After facing one of the biggest let downs ever (Aberdeen) We decided to give Scotland a chance, and go to Edinburgh. Going by what people have been saying about it, and how they praise it on Aberdeen’s expense, we thought it’d be a good idea. We’re glad we ended up going to Edinburgh, it’s nothing like the God forsaken Aberdeen.

Edinburgh was heaven in comparison. We loved it because it gave options to those who visit. Great sceneries for those who like to observe and be in the middle of beautiful landscapes, Historical buildings and old streets for people who enjoy these sort of things, and a not so bad place for shopping! Which is something we’ve been missing in Aberdeen.

It was 2 hours and 20 minutes away, so we took a train in the early morning from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and spent the whole day there. We went to one of biggest castles I’ve seen, and it was beautiful. We shopped and did some sightseeing before going back to… el3ella Aberdeen.

If you’re in europe somewhere close to Scotland, a visit to Edinburgh wouldn’t be a bad idea. I liked it a lot and thought it would be a nice place o visit again.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my best lenses fell (along with the camera.. Gasp!) on the cold harsh asphalt outside our house, and pieces of little things rolled out of it’s little body.. Poor little thing. I’m over dramatizing by the way coz I’m gonna throw it away and buy another one just like it. ThankGod nothing happened to the camera, coz it fell along with the lens, very tough camera! Mashallah.

This is the last picture I took before the fall. Isn’t it just captivating? 😛

This lens is the best investment I’ve made when it comes to buying things for my camera. I think it’s a great lens for 2 reasons: First because it’s really cheap compared to the other lenses, secondly, I love this lens coz it makes dull pictures look good and makes me look like a great photographer, not that I’m not, but yeah it makes me look even better 😛

I loved it and I’m gonna buy a new one just like it. it’s $99 and I highly recommend it.

I’ve taken These pictures with this lens.

LINK

My friend ½ Cream Milk just told me that the Voluntary work center (photography center) are having their 9th exhibition at the avenues mall. I went last year and I enjoyed what I’ve seen. All the photos are taken by members of the center, and my friend contributed 4 of them. Not to be biased, all of their works are great, but I liked my friend’s work the most.

Make sure to pay a visit and see what they have to offer.

Where: In and the avenues phase II near Aïshti and Samsonite.

When: Open from 29th of december to 2nd of january.

Time: All the time.

This was released by the NBK a few weeks ago. Whoever was behind this idea must’ve felt quite nostalgic for the good old days. I took pictures of every page, english and arabic, and all the pictures are clickable for a bigger view. Have fun going back in time Read the rest of this entry »

Someone told me today about this studio and how creative the guy who runs the place is. I took one look at his portfolio and thought this guy should get more exposure (not that he isn’t doing great mashallah, I was told he is booked for a solid week ahead). His pictures and ideas are refreshing.

“Hamad Alshaijy, is a kuwaiti Photographer, who has established his own Studio of Modern and stylish Photography. He has got his Diploma in photography from UK. He is One of the Memberes in the Kuwait Voluntary Work Center ( KVWC ) Photography and Documentary Team.”

His studio is located in Burj Jassim and it’s called Mémoire studio.

Thanks H

We’re in Abdali since thursday and with time you grow tired of the usual activites. Having a camera in hand and an idea in mind can lead to flying friends.

Thanks HBZ & bo9ale7 for the poses.

I just came back from a one week vacation (Paris packages are just great!) and I miss it already.

I spent the first day of Eid in Kuwait with my family and flew to Paris at night. However since Paris is enormous and there are different places that many people visit simultaneously, crime has been reported from time to time so we were reminded of some areas to avoid in paris. We arrived in the morning and we didn’t spare a minute and went straight to La Duree for breakfast, after dropping our luggages at the hotel Read the rest of this entry »

My friend brought his cubelite over to the shalaih once and we did the photoshoot for this Shake Shack burger, and I loved it. I loved how practical it is, and how it made taking the photos so easy. My main source of annoyance when I take photos of food is the lighting. I hate it, and it almost always suck. And the other source of annoyance would be the white balance. This studio solved both problems.

I asked him where did he get his cubelite studio and he said it is available in Arshraf. I went to Ashraf’s branch in Burj Al Awadhi and saw it there. It was a bit smaller than my friend’s, his studio was the 90cm cube, and I got the smaller one. It was just the right size for my needs.

My cubelite specifications are:

1 x White Cubelite with blue trim

2 x 500 watt daylight balanced fluorescent bulb

1 x Telescopic light stand

1 x Adjustable silver/white reflector

1 x White vinyl background sheet

1 x Carry case for the Cubelite

1 x Cardboard storage case

Dimensions: 60cm x 60cm x 60cm

Product’s LINK

I’ve used it a couple of times now and I couldn’t be happier. I love how easy it is to fold and tuck it away, so it doesn’t take much space when stored.

There are many other sizes. Mine costs KD 120, and it’s available at Ashraf.

The weather is amazing this weekend for an outdoor sitting. A real good tea brewing on a nicely set fire is something no one should miss out on!

I miss sitting outside and actually enjoy the weather in Kuwait.. It’s Chay dowwa’s time again!

My friend owns a ‘Cafe & Restaurant’ place in the Free trade zone near Villa Moda, and the Place is called Centro Cafe. They recently started offering food on their menu, however, the menu isn’t officially printed yet, and they wanted to have some pictures taken of some of their dishes. I was asked along with my 2 friends HBZ and ½ Cream Milk to do a photoshoot for the menu. We agreed!

I’m going to share only some of the photos we took… Read the rest of this entry »

I like buying stuff and use them right away instead of buying off the net and wait awhile to get them. So, If you’re looking for a bag for your laptop, you may want to take a look at the ones in Ashraf. I was at their Dar Al Awadhi branch the other day looking for some photography related stuff, and while looking around I noticed they had a good selection of Case Logic bags, and also some Lowepro bags. And their prices were reasonable too.

Read the rest of this entry »

Upon roaming through the shops at the Iranian souq I came across this Dikkan – one hell of a find. It’s a tiny store only about 4X4 square meters but it’s packed full of random stuff from Kuwait’s past. To tell you the truth there were many items in there that I couldn’t recognize, items that go as far back as perhaps the early fifties. I’m sure many of the older generation would find this post nostalgic and would probably find the store entirely enchanting. The rest of you children of the Nido can take a look at the 40+ pictures and maybe get your parents to read this post and see if they recognize anything.
Read the rest of this entry »

As I told you on my earlier post, My friend was bent on having a fake shack burger this weekend. The recipe had main things to follow: the meat type, the veggies, and the sauce. We didn’t follow the recipe a 100%, But tried the best we can to not totally stir away. We bought all the needed stuff and headed to chalet. I didn’t care much for the Read the rest of this entry »

This is interesting. I think I’m gonna go. From facebook:

The Sultan Gallery presents Contemporary Iranian Art Photography curated by Simin Dehghani and in association with Assar Art Gallery, Tehran.

The exhibition will feature the work of seven contemporary Iranian artists from three generations using photography to capture and reveal the truths of their society.. The artists include; Bahman Jalali, Sadegh Tirafkan, Mehran Mohajer, Arash Hanaei, Dadbeh Bassir, Mohammad Ghazali and Babak Kazemi.

When:
Opening on Tuesday 6 October

Timing:
On the 6th it’s from 7 pm-9 pm.

The 7 October, 11AM-2PM and 7PM-9PM

From 8th to 27th of October, 11AM-2PM only
(closed on Fridays & Saturdays)

Location:
Sabhan, Sadeer co., block 8, street 105, building no 168.
E-mail: sultangallery@sadeer.com

Or check out this MAP (taken from Mark)

While we were on Sharm AlSheikh last month, we were told not to miss a place near Sharm, called Dahab. The place contains one of the best diving spots in the world. It is called “The Blue Hole”. It is a hole right off the shore, the picture below might explain it a bit, as you can see, it look somewhat like that, a solid ground, reefs and corals, and then chuk bom a hole. You dive in this vertical narrow cave till you reach an arch; an exit to the open water.

The Blue hole at Dahab is infamous for being dangerous, and could lead to deaths, it had led to the deaths of many divers actually. Make sure you have a good guide when you’re there, since a there is no need to worry when you have the right equipment and a guide to show you through, And also to let you know when you need to ascend. It’s beauty is fatal, and thats why many people have drowned over the years (or at least that is one of the reasons), because of how exceptionally beautiful it is down there. It’s color, it’s steepness, it just allures you to go further down, kinda sucks you in, makes you want to get “just a little deeper”.

For me, the thing that made this spot the best spot I’ve dived in so far, is it’s steepness, it feels like you’re diving next to a huge & extremely vertical mountain, which provides a perfect flying illusion. It kinda feels like you’re flying next to mountain and when you look down, trying to get an idea of how tall this mountain is, the bottom is no where to be seen, and what’s below just fades into darker shades of blue & feels bottomless. It is that way because it’s 800+ meters deep.
Read the rest of this entry »