MAGAZINE ISSUE No.
62
FEBRUARY 2015
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SHEIKH MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH AL-MUBARAK AL-SABAH
Accepting challenges with a smile
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LIFESTYLE / PEOPLE / EVENTS / FASHION
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contents ISSUE 62, VOLUME 5, FEBRUARY 2015
34
50
62 BEAUTY
96. Peeling Away Inperfections 98. Wearing And Storing Fragrances
ENTERTAINMENT 105. Top Music Charts 106. February Movie Releases
FASHION
76. Photo Shoot 122. New Arrivals For Him 123. Think Red 124. CityPages Fashion Report 128. dunhill Spring Summer 2015 Collection 129. Fashion News
FEATURE
18. What Do You Like To Do When You Are Bored? 20. Very Modern Public Inn-Convenience 22. ٪٢٠ ابحث عن الـ
24. Funny HaHa 26. The Arrogance Alert 28. Really Elementary 30. How To Achieve More And Set Yourself Up To Success 32. Hospitality Education In Switzerland 65. Let’s Get Cosy, With IKEA 109. Film Director
FITNESS
60. Achieve Your Fitness Goals Faster With These Smart Phones Fitness Apps!
FOOD
120. Nat’s Kitchen Tales. . . With Love
84
contents ISSUE 62, VOLUME 5, FEBRUARY 2015
77
100
66
88
HEALTH
40. 42. 44. 46. 48. 64.
Color Blindness Ways To Prevent Psoriasis Flare Ups Pain Management Pregnancy And Breast Feeding 10 Things To Get You Back On Track Holistic Approach To Hormone Health
INTERVIEW
34. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah 39. Jassim Jassim 50. Abdullah Al-Mohsen Al-Sharhan 77. Mario Mozzetti 84. One- On-One With Kinda AlFaris 88. Lina Brax 100. Miniature Malekpour 116. Hamid Malik
KIDS
150. Kids Pages
LITERATURE
104. Short Stories By Nadia AlHassan 108. Patriotism 110. Lesson Learned ‘or’ Failing To Perform In Front Of An Audience
NUTRITION
56. Image Obsession 58. Heart Health Tips For This Valentine’s Day
TECHNOLOGY 114. Cool New Gadgets 118. Tech Updates & News
REGULARS 55. The Color Recipe 62. Stay Fit With Layali 66. Meet The Entrepreneurs With Tass Hassoun 70. Diary Of A Citizen Of The World 71. Adopt A Street Princess 92. City Guide 94. Travel With MuzMuz 112. February Book Releases 113. Book Club 133. Events 142. Press 148. Say Cheez With CityPages 152. Homework For Grown Ups 154. Horoscopes
MAGAZINE
From the Editor Dear Readers…
Dhari Al-Muhareb Editor-in-Chief
Jameel Arif
General Manager & Editor
Eng. Homoud AlMuhareb Publishing Director
Abeer Al-Abduljalil Managing Editor
Kinda Al-Faris
Executive Editor
Muhammed Altaf Sr. Sales Manager
Claudia Farias
Content Supervisor
Tanya Burns
Creative Director Graphic Designers
Mohammed Syed Khaled Al-Enezi
At the start of my letter I would like to wish the government and people of Kuwait a very happy ‘Independence and Liberation Day’ with lots of prosperity and success. On this special occasion CityPages has brought you a very special issue packed with so many features and the personalities who made it special for us. This issue is very special to me as many of my favourite people are featured in this issue. I had a very long desire to interview His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. He is such a nice and humble man that you don’t feel yourself stranger while sitting with him. He is very friendly and humble man and possesses all the qualities which a person on his level should. I would like to thank Mr. Jassim Jassim the Founder of Kuwait Grand Photography Competition who made the special arrangements in making this happen. Another special personality is Mr. Abdullah Abdul-Mohsen Al-Sharhan the Chairman of Australian College of Kuwait. I had the honour to teach him some basic technology course almost twenty years ago. Another friend of mine Mario Mazetti - the owner of Alfredo's Gallery is also featured in this issue. A very hardworking man with superb leadership abilities make him very special. I hope you will enjoy his thoughts. Our executive editor Kinda Al-Faris has her segment this time with Khalid Al-Zanki the face behind LAUNCH ON FIRE. Stepping outside Kuwait, Lina Brax - a luxury hand bag designer is another interview which will grab your attention. I welcome Layaly Al-Kanderi as a new addition to CityPages team. She has started her segment with the name ’Stay Fit with Layali’ from this issue. I hope you will get a lot of benefit from her worthy and constructive ideas every month. Our Fashion shoot for this month has been done with the special collaboration with thouqi.com. We have done a new experiment in this shoot which we hope you will like. The fashion segment has been enhanced in CityPages and Julieta Altamiranda has joined us as one of the fashion editors. Now she will keep you posted with the latest fashion news and trends around the globe. Make sure to go through this issue for many other interesting features. Enjoy the celebrations of February.
Jameel Arif General Manager & Editor
jameelrf@citypageskuwait.com Published by:
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DISCLAIMER
Extra care has been used to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this magazine. However, the publisher will not accept responsibility for errors and omissions in the publication. In addition, the views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Photos have been altered to comply with the Laws of Kuwait.
COPYRIGHTS
All rights reserved. No part of this publication including pictures, articles, artworks, and overall design may be reproduced, copied, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated in any language in any form or means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the written permission of the editor or the publisher. Copyright © February 2015
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MAGAZINE
The Team! #62
FEBRUARY 2015
ON THE COVER: SHEIKH MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH AL-MUBARAK AL-SABAH PHOTOGRAPHY Abdulaziz AlSorayia @alsry3
Abdullah Y. Shams AlDeen Abdulaziz Al-Khamis Abdalla AlMuzaini Adnan Najeeb Al-Abbar Ali - DJ RAVEN ASAMA Perfumes BirthKuwait Deema DeCaux Dr. Nazia Nausheen Faisal Al-Dhofari Erika Habig John McArthur Julieta Altamiranda Layali AlKanderi Layla Harmony Maha Al-Rashed
Photography Team Abdullah Hamadah Abdulaziz AlSoraya Abdulaziz AlShayaji Natalia Sitcai Othman AlMishaan Dalal AlDhughaishem
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Mouza AlShareedah Nadia Al-Hassan Nada Soliman Nada Faris Nour Al-Zaabi Paul Tunbridge Reshmi Revi Sanaa Abdul Hamid Sandra Bakhamian Sherihan A. Hassabo Talah Alabdulaaly Tassnim Hassoun Zahra Ashkanani Zahra Taqi
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WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU’RE BORED? RESULT OF SURVEY What do you like to do when you're bored? 5% Play board games with your family
8% Gather with your friends at a restaurant
3% Watch a movie at the cinema
16% Cook something delicious and fancy
54% Watch TV shows at home
14% Sleep
The question above was the subject of a UK nationwide survey that I viewed recently, and I must admit that I was surprised both by the question and by the responses. Let’s first share the survey results with you... Paul Turnbridge
I confess I wasn’t surprised that the most popular response was to switch on the television and assume the couch-potato position, but wonder if that is not a conscious choice rather than a remedy for boredom. In fact, when I thought about it, each of the responses require a degree of conscious thought which suggests to me that they are not necessarily remedies for boredom, but rather they are things people do to prevent being bored in the first place! Apart from sleep, which is a remedy for tiredness rather than boredom. But what did surprise me were all the other possible activities that were absent from the list – what about reading a magazine, citypageskuwait.com
newspaper, or (dare I suggest) a book? Or what about participating in a sport or other outdoor games? If it’s too hot to venture out, then there are table games for indoors, or even video games (and I’m surprised that playstations didn’t feature in the survey responses). Then there are hobbies, both indoors and out, that can be great for engagement and education. Why not get creative? Drawing or painting; photography; model-making; dress-making; knitting; cross-stitch; woodwork; ............ the list is endless. Is there a craft or hobby that perhaps you’ve always wanted to try but “never had the time”? And of course there’s writing – poetry or prose; fiction in any of its genres; letters to
family or friends; an article for CityPages, perhaps? Or open your laptop and contact your friends on social media? If you like to travel, why not think about learning a new language? If you enjoy listening to music, why not learn to make it too, and learn how to play a musical instrument? Now, if I asked each of you the same question What Do You Like To Do When You’re Bored? – I wonder what would be your response? With so many options, and so much to keep us occupied, I do also wonder how anyone has the time to be bored. Oh....and my final suggestion....if you really cannot think of anything else to do with your spare time, why not hunt down some internet surveys in which you can participate?
February, 2015
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A Very Modern Public
INN-CONVENIENCE Paul Turnbridge
A trip to the toilet is usually not associated with sandwiches, wine, or dates, but that’s changing in London. With real estate at a premium and the repurposing of old spaces in full effect, a trend has emerged: former public restrooms are reopening as cafés, bars, restaurants, and boutiques. I remember seeing the old underground public toilets when, as a young boy, I was treated to regular sightseeing trips to England’s capital city. The toilets were often sited in the rest spaces at road junctions, nearly always with stairs going downwards from the road enclosed by black victorian railings and a large sign above highlighting the “Public citypageskuwait.com
Convenience” or more simply “Gents” and “Ladies”. Even at that time, many had already been closed and those that remained open had a distinctly unsavoury odour in spite of the attendant cleaners’ best efforts to keep them clean. Nowadays, the demand for public toilets is met in many different and modern ways (though not always pleasant either to use or to look at) and the old underground facilities have largely disappeared. Many Victorian urinals had remained abandoned for decades after World War II but recently, encouraged by local officials keen for fresh sources of income, the conversion wave has been gathering momentum. Many of the sites embrace their lavatorial heritage, such as The
Convenience, a coffee shop that opened in the trendy district of Hackney in 2013; WC, a wine bar in Clapham in South London; and ArtsLav, a performing arts space in Kennington. Others have chosen less literal names like The Attendant and the Cellar Door cabaret, both in the city centre. London has all kinds of history, and that clearly extends to its toilets. Take, for instance, WC – that’s the actual name of the former Victorian-era underground-station toilet in South London that opened in 2014. WC no longer refers to the “water closets” that would once have been found there, but now stands for wine and charcuterie. Much of the old décor remains, with the original floor mosaics and wall tiles, and even some of the old toilets in the restrooms (those are for display only). As Time Out London commented in its review, “Down the wide stairs it still looks and feels like a Victorian convenience, albeit a sanitised one.” For those that want an even bolder toilet theme, a trip to The Attendant in central London will allow you to sit on a stool and have a salt-beef bagel while actually facing an original 1890s urinal. The toilet cisterns have been turned into flower pots. Having been abandoned for over 50 years, the place has an ornate wrought-iron exterior, but it doesn’t take much imagination to know what you’re walking into. But there’s no need to worry about sanitation at The Attendant, because there’s no longer a working restroom in this tiny space. Yet more cheeky British humor is evident if you head across to trendy Hackney in East London, where you can have a cup of coffee at The Convenience, which preserves its 1940s architecture inside a former public restroom. Katie Harris, owner of the space, says that she didn’t want to “deny it was a toilet” while not making the café “too toilety.” So she took out any yellowed urinals from the old days, and the ones that remain are a gleaming white. “It is important to preserve these places, to make them places for the community,” she said. Another of the more recent renovations has seen the opening of a lovely cocktail bar (with good retro music) that is housed in a former underground toilet in the Kentish Town area of London. “Ladies & Gentlemen” makes the most of its unusual space: two moodily underlit rooms (one seriously tiny), with a small bar. There are a few seats at the bar, but mostly it’s table service, and drinks are delivered with a smile and loads of enthusiasm. The soundtrack is Manhattan cocktail-lounge material, mostly mainstream jazz vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald. And, in a common theme with other similar establishments, the owner has been keen to retain some of the original features – council-brickwalls; utilitarian white tiling; and even an old wall cistern used as a feature on the wall – just so that everyone remembers exactly where it is that they are now sipping their expensive drinks! As I write this, I’m wondering if there’s a sublime message in all this. I shall leave it to you to decide...
February, 2015
ابحث عن الـ ٪٢٠
هناك مبدأ أو قاعدة في االقتصاد هي ،٨٠-٢٠وتسمى بقاعدة ( باريتو) نسبة لعالم االقتصاد االيطالي ( فيلفريدو باريتو) .فبعد أن الحظ ( باريتو) أن ٪٨٠من الثروة في ايطاليا يملكها فقط ٪٢٠من سكانها أحدث هذه القاعدة العامة التي يمكننا تطبيقها على أمور كثيرة في حياتنا. فهذه النظرية تعتمد على الكيف وليس الكم ،بمعنى أنك تقوم بالبحث والجهد بنسبة ٪٢٠لتحقق نتائج ٪٨٠ ويكمن ذلك في العادات والسلوكيات واألفكار بمختلف جوانب الحياة من صحة وعمل وعالقات اجتماعية. فلو اخذنا مجال الصحة كمثال فاننا نبحث عن سلوكيات وعادات ايجابية جديدة ندخلها في حياتنا اليومية مثل التأمل واالسترخاء واستخدام الكلمات االيجابية وهي عبارة عن ٪٢٠من العمل ،أما النتيجة التي ستحصل عليها جراء هذا العمل هو ٪٨٠من الراحة الجسدية والنفسية ،فتحقق الرضا والسعادة في أحد جوانب حياتك وهو الصحة. ويمكن تطبيق القاعدة على كل جوانب حياتك ،واالهتمام بالكيفية وليس بالكم والعدد .حاول أن تطبق هذا القانون لكل جوانب حياتك والحظ االنجاز االكثر بجهد اقل. Nour AlZaabi
Nour holds a Master in Business Administration and a Bachelor in Marketing and is a Member at The Kuwait Economic Society and British Council Entrepreneur Network in Kuwait. Stay tuned for her articles and features in the CityPages magazine.
citypageskuwait.com
FUNNY HA HA
Peregrine Spode
Dentally challenged. Still single.
Longer ago than I care to remember, I lived in a place called England. One or two of you might have heard of it. It’s overcrowded there and it pours with rain. Rather a lot, as it happens. With the exception of rural Surrey, but only rich people live there, so that doesn’t count. With a name like Peregrine, of course, this should come as no surprise – not the rain, but my birthplace. My dear old mother, not, I have to admit, the sharpest chisel in the toolbox, adhered to the delusional belief that if she gave me what she perceived to be a name redolent of wealth and privilege, I might somehow in my maturer years actually get to move in such exalted circles myself. The result was, people used to make faces at citypageskuwait.com
me at school and call me ‘pelican’ and I still catch the bus home at night. The neighbours often remarked, in the words of Mae West, that “she should have thrown me away and kept the stork.” But, back to England and my mother, unfortunately. She had a phrase – used tiresomely often – from which the title of this little offering is taken. She used to say… “Funny! Ha, ha!”. This was as close as she ever got to a breath of sarcasm, to which my father, a self-made man who worshipped his creator and well-trained Pavlovian that he was, would rumble “No. Funny peculiar” from behind his newspaper, to gales of merriment underlain by the grinding of my pre-adolescent teeth. Which probably accounts for the horrendously awkward overbite which I now have the
misfortune to suffer from. Never let it be whispered that old Perry has a political bone in his body. I haven’t, and the thought of tramping about waving some species of placard bearing some outrageously simplistic meme does turn the old stomach a bit. Especially when accompanied by large women wearing glasses with a revolutionary gleam in their eyes and a hedonistic desire to be hauled off to the calaboose by the local constabulary and get their name in the papers. Nevertheless, in common with what appeared to be half the population of the republican Shangri-La where I now make my home, in response to the well-documented incidents in Paris, where people were actually killed because of a cartoon, I turned up the other week, and milled about anonymously for a bit,
Before the English language got boiled down to four-letter words and textspeak and emoticons were a figment of depixellated imagination, you duelled verbally with the satirist at your peril. Imagine this, in the British House of Commons. A Member of Parliament once said to Benjamin Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." Not a bad opening gambit, but what about this for a response: "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress." Disraeli clearly had what Walter Kerr once described as “delusions of adequacy." Winston Churchill was a master at the putdown. The playwright George Bernard Shaw was no admirer of the Great Man but it was politically expedient to include him. "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one." Bernard Shaw wrote. Churchill’s response was masterly: "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second, if there is one." After the performance, he might have quoted Groucho Marx: “I’ve had a wonderful evening. But, this wasn’t it.” "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire" Churchill once remarked in reference to Sir Stafford Cripps, whose Marxist sympathies brought WSC out in a rash. He might have come up with this on the same subject, but it has been attributed to the American lawyer and wit Clarence Darrow: "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
more out of idle curiosity than anything else to see what all the fuss was about.
using wit as a weapon and as a tool to draw attention to wider issues in society.
Now, I want you to hear me clearly. In the soul of every Frenchman is the instinct to do two things. First, to pee wherever he pleases, whether in a public place or not and second, to think, say and even draw whatever he likes. It’s generally believed that this is called Free Speech. You may not agree that this image of the grossly overweight French actor Gérard Dépardieu with the caption “can Belgium welcome all the cholesterol in the world?” – he left France to live in Belgium in order to reduce his tax bill – is remotely amusing, but some people think that the right to say it is the important thing. As, no doubt, did Mr Dépardieu when he elected to relieve himself in the corridor of a crowded aircraft. In midair. The cartoon pokes fun at Mr Dépardieu’s excess poundage and it ridicules his decision to leave for a cozier fiscal climate. The joke is supposedly satirical. The Purists among us refer –rather grandly - to Satire as a ‘genre’ of literature or art, in which all manner of vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government or society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism
On the other hand, so my mother told me, satire is when people poke fun at their elders and betters to make a point and is a nasty, low form of gutter entertainment much like watching people being torn limb from limb in the Roman amphitheatres. She once referred me to a picture of the Capitol building in Washington with the caption “…never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups”, without a flicker of expression. We do live in an age of the quick-fire riposte, the headline tweet, and the unforgettable meme. It’s never been easier to show off our satirical skills on social media and magazines. No, I’m not going to draw a cartoon, although we might notice that just about every newspaper known to mankind has a resident cartoonist. Perhaps a statistician might disagree, to which my response would be in the words of the anthropologist and literary critic Andrew Lang: "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than illumination." For myself, I’ve always rather admired those who use the written word, irony and sarcasm with the skill of a master fencer but whatever happened to the art of the glorious, perfectly timed, offthe-cuff insult?
Writers are often the most scaldingly abusive about fellow-members of their profession – after all it is their job to use words in ways others might shrink from. William Faulkner was quite scathing about Ernest Hemingway, being quoted as remarking: "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." Hemingway, not slow to respond, replied: “Poor Faulkner. Does he think big emotions come from big words?” Hemingway might easily have been the butt of Oscar Wilde’s famous funereal quip: “he had no enemies, but was intensely disliked by his friends.” One of these days, I might get around to writing a book, as long as I can find a way to get over the suicidal disappointment of rejection from any and all publishers who might receive an unsolicited copy. Imagine how one might feel if Moses Hadas, the American teacher and classical scholar upon receiving one’s manuscript had replied: "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." Returning momentarily to Oscar Wilde: "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." So, this might be a good time for me to go, too. If I have upset anybody, by word or implication, I am sorry, perhaps I have Van Gogh’s ear for music. If I have, in the words of Mark Twain, “why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” Say something! February, 2015
THE ARROGANCE ALERT Even though nobody is perfect, there remain some certain characteristics that you really wouldn’t want to have in the person who will share your life with. Whether you are a man or a woman, you wouldn’t want to marry a cheater, a liar, or a manipulative partner. However, why do some marry those very persons? Two reasons: 1-They might be the kind that deserve it. 2-They can’t really detect those features till after a long time of a sad marriage. Let me tell you about one of the characters you want to stay away from: The Arrogant One. Why the arrogant(s) in specific? Because arrogance is nothing but an umbrella to many other characters you don’t want to be involved with. For this reason, I am offering you a guide and I call it “The Arrogance Alert” because it will help you identify them and, hopefully, run for your life and never look back.
Self-revolved Arrogant people are ones with very limited experience in life. Do they want this to be exposed to others? No. Do they tend to overcome this deficiency and go out, learn more, know more, be more? On the contrary. What they do is try to trick everyone into thinking they are the “wise” ones; those who know it all. Arrogant people tend to generalize their very limited life experiences and try to impose it on the weak others.
Jealous No! Not this kind of Jealousy. Do you know this “Mmm” you get when going on and on about an achievement of yours and Sherihan A. Hassabo Sherihan A. Hassabo is a passionate writer who started expressing her opinion about controversial subjects when she was 14. When she is not directing events, she likes to investigate the interesting relationships' controversy in our Eastern society. Every month, and from real life experience; Sherihan will share a story, an idea, opinion, or a simple advice for men and women to live happily ever after. citypageskuwait.com
the person listening makes it seem so trivial with a nod and an “Mm”? Well, this person is one of “them”. Jealousy of your achievements, of your looks, of your lifestyle, is a feature for no other than arrogant people. Try it. Say something good about yourself, be proud when you say it, listen carefully to the reply. Is it an “Mm” followed by an “I”? Because in such situations, an arrogant person pretends to be the least interested, give you that look to make you feel vain, and then open their mouth to say something about “themselves” instead of even commenting on what you were just saying.
Control Freaks A steering wheel is how they would like to - or rather think that they actually – control their lives, and that of others. They can’t let anyone else take charge, not out of leadership senses, but pure arrogance! The simple kind of “Why You and Not Me?” It’s like they are cursed, and the witch literally said: “I curse you to eternal damnation if you don’t always have the last word” So if you say almost anything in almost any situation, you will find that the arrogant one can’t help give you this sweet opportunity; they always have the last word. You: Let’s go out. The arrogant one: I agree You: let’s have dinner at that new restraint at 8. The arrogant one: no, let’s have lunch at that old restaurant at 4. If it happens ones or twice, then it is a healthy “we don’t always agree on everything” kind of relation. But if it happens every single time, you know what to do!
Unreasonably Critical Every single person is not good. They hate almost everybody. And it’s always a deficiency in that other person’s personality. But if you listen carefully, and look closely, you will see that your arrogant one is the one
who is deficient. The harsh criticism bestowed upon all live creatures other than themselves is the arrogant(s’) way of demeaning everyone else in order to “seem” higher in level. You will always catch them talking poorly about anyone and everyone, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, someone they just met or even their siblings; all is part of the master plan to look better and shine.
Friendless The Arrogant(s) have Zero friends. None! Since real friendship is based on elements of honesty, trust, and mutual support; an arrogant person can’t seem to have one real friend. They have this urge to be the best, look the best, and feel the best. And thus, find difficulty helping a friend out in fear of making them be better, or even look better. They might surround themselves with lots of acquaintance, but they are definitely not friendship material.
Hypocrite They are the people who would treat others according to a list of aspects. In their manual of how to deal with others; they have a checklist of different backgrounds, beliefs, perspectives, and many others that determine the way they deal. Kind of like this: I can’t shout at old people. I can shout at old people who are on a lower social level than me. All in All, although arrogant people hide a huge deal of vulnerability behind all the above acts, but everyone else need to know the one weapon sharp enough to fight them with: neglecting and ignoring them! Everything they do is to feed their ego, once you don’t acknowledge them, they are done… emotionally devastated! They will then leave you alone in search for another prey to feed on.
Salhiya Complex, Mezzanine 1, Gate 3, Shop 36, Tel: 22 99 64 35 info@mosaic-enterprises.com Instagram: @mosaickuwait www.shopmosaickuwait.com
February, 2015
REALLY ELEMENTARY John McArthur
citypageskuwait.com
The British are quite a selfeffacing people. Which means that they tend to apologise when there’s no need and generally take the blame in awkward social situations just in case anybody might for a moment point the finger at them. Most well brought up types do it. They have the gene. They’d apologise to the mugger in the street who has just stolen their wallet at knifepoint for not having enough money in it. This desire not to offend, however, has metamorphosed into the rather more hard-boiled notion of ‘political correctness’. Political correctness, the attitude of being careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society who are believed to be in some way different or indeed disadvantaged is so quintessentially hard-wired into the British psyche that it’s almost painful. Ironically, it was the Communists who first popularised the term, and those who toed the Party line during political debates were derisively referred to as being ‘politically correct’. Communist loyalty overrode compassion and the Socialists who believed so passionately in egalitarian moral ideas could be separated from the Communists who, like Boxer, the carthorse in “Animal Farm”, stubbornly proclaimed that “Napoleon is always right” without really being able to give the matter much critical thought. I sometimes wonder whether we have all apologised ourselves into a corner. Is our desire not to offend or to challenge an opinion with which we disagree in fact contributing to a mainstream culture which has become cautious and sanitised, almost afraid of its own shadow because of "the watchful eye of the PC police", those shadowy arbiters of public consciousness and good taste? The more PC the reader might be, the more he might now be wondering if I am going to offend anybody by saying something outrageous and hurriedly thinking about turning the page. Certainly, it would be possible, but perhaps not expedient. Some cultures are much less happy than others about people who poke their sacred cows with a pointed stick and the thought of – by way of a completely hypothetical example – drawing offensive cartoons could never be contemplated. However, if we must find a scapegoat, a softer target might be, let’s say, global warming. There is a body of thought – perhaps even evidence -, which is unafraid to use heavyweight language in this context. The “propaganda which masquerades as science” – the public pronouncements of scientists who state without real certainty that global warming is a crisis simply peddles fear in fossil fuel hungry countries like the USA. Stanford climatologist Stephen Schneider had this to say: 'We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have.' Doubts there are, and in abundance. As an example, Hans von Storch a professor of climatology in Germany wrote that “scientific research faces a crisis because its public figures are overselling the issues to gain attention in a hotly contested market for newsworthy information."
"The alarmists think that climate change is something extremely dangerous, extremely bad and that overselling a little bit, if it serves a good purpose, is not that bad." What this really means is that here’s one scientist who knows that rather a lot of the 'science' is nothing more than propagandistic conjecture and hype. He goes on to remark “climatologists tend to 'make only comments that are politically correct' and that their wobbly research is at the service of fear.” “The pattern is always the same: the significance of individual events is processed to suit the media and cleverly dramatised; when prognoses for the future are cited, among all the possible scenarios it is regularly the one with the highest rates of increase in greenhouse gas emissions — and thus with the most drastic climatic consequences — that is chosen. Equally plausible variations with significantly lower emission increases go unmentioned.” Whom does this serve? It is assumed that fear can motivate listeners, but we tend to forget that it mobilises them only in the short term. Each successive claim about the future of the climate and hence the fate of the planet must be ever more dramatic and awe-inspiring than the previous one. Once apocalyptic heat waves have been predicted, the climate-based extinction of animal species no longer attracts as much attention and images of solitary polar bears on ever-shrinking ice floes fails to garner the emotional momentum that it once did. Thus we all get locked in to a spiral of hyperbole. We, as a species, crave a degree of certainty about our future which scientific relativism, much as we might wish it to be otherwise, can frequently fail to adequately provide. The scary, exponentially shaped curves showing runaway global warming in our own lifetime do little to reassure us. If we overnight abandoned fossil fuels, methane generation and all the other chemical mechanisms by which the Sun’s ultraviolet rays were caused to re-radiate back to the surface of the Earth and heat it up, would this of itself make very much difference, either to ourselves or our children? Because of the vast complexity of the problem, plus the multitude of unpredictable and often competing factors like solar activity hence outside of our control, the answer is most likely to be “We don’t really know”. All we can therefore manage is best fit ‘scientific relativism’. Ah. There’s that new phrase again. Just like PC, the notion of “relativism” has pervaded our thinking. It is used to justify so much in the way we interact with the world and with each other. Philosophers would explain it as the theory that value judgments, as of truth, beauty, or morality, have no universal validity but are valid only for the persons or groups holding them, hence may be culturally or geographically variable. Some go further after all, the notion of, for example, beauty, is entirely subjective - and a consensus hard to find at, let’s say a party, as to who might be the most beautiful woman in the room. Moral philosophers handle the tougher problems and argue about questions like “is any belief is equally as valid as any other?” And it is clear
therefore that they have to define exactly what they mean by ‘valid’, also whether consensus is an appropriate yardstick for its measurement. One can’t help but point out that Western democracies have been to some extent overtaken by moral relativism. Roman Catholic and some secular intellectuals attribute the perceived decadence of Europe after the Second World War to the displacement of absolute values. The perception that each follows his or her own version of the truth, selecting from a smorgasbord of morally justifiable offerings on the table, is the norm rather than the exception. Popes have consistently bemoaned the fact that that Europeans have massively abandoned many traditional norms rooted in historical Christianity and replaced them with continuously evolving relative moral rules. The family has been legally redefined by same-sex marriage and some have argued that depopulation in Europe can be ascribed to the decline in what used to be called ‘family values’. Islamic doctrine is by contrast perhaps rather more clear-cut in that it attempts to recapture the absolute, which stand at odds with moral relativism. Just as there are degrees of criminal behavior, there are degrees of punishment, but even this relies on our perception of right and wrong. We no longer hang people for stealing a loaf of bread, but some argue that the slide away from the comforting black and white of our forefathers into a bewildering number of relativistic shades of grey has only one inevitable consequence. Whether we like it or not, we have to define in our own minds whether the grey which we perceive falls closer to white or black, right or wrong. Just as a computer processes millions of whites or blacks, ones and zeroes every second, we to have to ultimately decide. Whether or not we believe that a clerical opinion carries any weight, the following two observations from two different theological traditions make the point well. From one: ‘we have a responsibility to ourselves to challenge the relativism that tells us there is no right or wrong, when every instinct of our mind knows it is not so, and is a mere excuse to allow us to indulge in what we believe we can get away with. A world without values quickly becomes a world without value.’ And, from the other: ‘The relativism which is not willing to speak about truth but only about ‘what is true for me’ is an evasion of the serious business of living. It is the mark of a tragic loss of nerve in our contemporary culture. It is a preliminary symptom of death.” Have we really lost our nerve? Can we still be courageous in the face of obvious injustice and wrong, when everyone around us is telling a different story? I think not. The human condition is to crave the comfort of certainty above almost all else and one day, when the mist has rolled away, we will learn to see things as they are meant to be seen, in black and white. February, 2015
HOW TO ACHIEVE MORE AND SET YOUR SELF UP TO
SUCCESS! So many of my clients complain about a lack of time or wishing that there were more than 24 hours in a day. Unfortunately, I can’t add more hours to my clients days. I can however, teach my clients how to be more focused which in turn helps them be more productive with the time they already have! This month, I would like to share some of these tips with you. Time management can be – and is – a great dilemma to many people. Some find it daunting, others do not realize the importance of time management skills. When talking to a client about their time management skills or habits I usually find out that many find it intimidating at first to figure out what they need to do to get a task done. This usually means that a person ends up going around in circles, thus wasting both time and energy. Needless to say a person doing that will loose steam quite fast and get frustrated as nothing ever feels like its getting done. The solution? In order to avoid burnout, you need to stop trying to go faster and instead maximize the time you have so you are more productive. And yes, it is possible, and the benefit of this is that as you gain productivity; you actually work less. Now, if you are ready to trade your current frantic pace of work for one that is more Zahra Taqi Zahra is a Certified Professional Coach and the President of Milestones Coaching. She would love to hear back from you. So please feel free to drop her a line on her email: zahrataqi@gmail.com or find her on FB: http://www.facebook. com/MilestonesCoaching or twitter: @ MilestonesCoach citypageskuwait.com
relaxed yet efficient, the following strategies will help you achieve more in less time. Tips on working less, achieving more and setting your self up to success:
1.Plan your weekly and daily tasks. Do this EVERY day. Not sometimes,
not every other day and not once a week. This is detrimental in understanding your responsibilities for the coming week and what needs to get done in order to move you closer to your goals. Trust me that if you dedicate 30 minutes to plan your week and 5-10 minutes a day to focus on your tasks for the day AND stick to your plan- you will have clarity over your tasks and what needs to be done thus ensuring that you move forward more efficiently and successfully.
2.Get stuff done! That sounds like a no brainer but is actually a tough one to achieve. We all have tasks throughout the day that if done efficiently, should not take more than 30 minutes to get done. The problem is that we spend more time procrastinating or beating round the bush than actually getting down to business and getting these tasks done. Identify these “filler” tasks, these are the ones that only need 20-30 minutes to get done and you can cross them off your list as soon as you are finished with them. This gives you both a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, which in turn helps you be more focused and efficient on your other tasks. 3.Prioritize! Identify your most important jobs and get them done first. On any given day we are bombarded by many
jobs and responsibilities that need to get done. Sometimes it feels like everyone – or everything – is asking for our immediate attention. When you break down your tasks in order of importance, it then becomes easier to focus on what needs to get done first and what can wait until later in the day or even week. Failing to prioritize means that you end up filling your day with tasks that will not get you anywhere, putting more pressure on you and making it seem like you do not have enough hours in the day.
4.Multitasking is your ultimate demise. I see people (sometimes me
too!) doing this all the time, thinking that multitasking will help them become more efficient and allows them to get more done throughout the day. This couldn't be further away from the truth. Despite what many people think, we humans are terrible at multitasking. To be efficient we need to be focused which is the exact opposite of multitasking. Break your time up into chunks and focus at one thing at a given chunk of time.
5.Cut
yourself some slack! Be reasonable with yourself, your time, and understand that somethings will not get accomplished in a day. Setting unreasonable time rules ends up in you being stressed which leads to you being inefficient. Understand your commitments, know what needs to be done in any given time and be gentler on yourself when it comes to allocating your time. Do not crowd your day and set yourself up to failure. Instead understand your day, your commitments and your limitations. Work within your means and set yourself up to success.
February, 2015
HOSPITALITY
Education in Switzerland
of choices.
Decided to study in a hotel school but not sure which one to choose? There is wide spectre of the hospitality schools around the globe but it is hard to choose a right especially if there are a lot
Education is a valuable investment to your future and it’s important to determine if the university has accreditation and high educational standards that will guarantee you receive a high quality education and recognition after completion for your future. There are few hospitality schools in Switzerland. Before choosing them I made a research on each of them and even went to see and meet them personally. Aigerim Rahmet Born in Kazakhstan, lived in Prague, Czech Republic for more than 10 years, graduated with a HND in Business and BA(hons) in International Management from Teesside University, Aigerim Rahmet is an Assistant Spa Manager at Six Senses Spa. She earned an MBA in Hospitality Management from one of the top hospitality schools-Les Roches International school of Hotel Management and an MAS degree from Les Roches Gruyère University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. Follow Aigerim on Instagram at: @a_rahmet & @divineq8
citypageskuwait.com
I have visited Cesar Ritz, Glion and Les Roches. I was considering Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne but couldn’t apply as they have some age restrictions for MBA programs such as you should be above 26 years old in order to apply for MBA. My choice fall on Les Roches that is located on the top of the mountain at the Crans Montana resort in a small village called Bluche. Les Roches International School of Hotel Management has numerous accreditations and professional memberships in various organizations worldwide, signifying its determination to maintain the highest possible educational standards as well recognition for Excellence in Hospitality Management Education. Les Roches was ranked among the top hospitality management schools worldwide and considered to be a 3 hospitality management schools in the world for an international career. Moreover, Les Roches has expanded in different countries and offer course transfer and rotation possibilities through branch
campuses and partner institutions in China, Spain and Jordan. Les Roches Switzerland is offering a wide range of hospitality management degrees with a focus on international business and global service industry applications. School provide different degrees with the big variety of specialization such as Event Management, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Finance, Innovation and Sustainability, Culinary Business Management or Spa and Health Management with the Undergraduate degrees, Postgraduate degrees in Hospitality with different specializations and a Master’s degree. Education is divided into theoretical part with the hands on hospitality courses and in practical where students practice their skills in operational levels such as internships in famous luxury hotels. If you want to know more about the school, you can visit their website or you are welcome to ask me and I’m happy to share with you.
February, 2015
citypageskuwait.com
Photohraph by: Abdulaziz AlSorayia @alsry3 and Abdulrazaq AlSorayia @rzag_alsry3
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH AL-MUBARAK AL-SABAH Accepting challenges with a smile There are some men who just exude power. The minute they walk into a room their presence is felt. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah AlSabah is one such man…sporting a broad smile and a firm handshake, he simply looks like a powerful man. Yet his contagious smile and affable persona let you know immediately that his strength lies in his power to persuade. A self-taught photographer and an avid learner, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs - Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah supports all things creative. He is also a big supporter of Kuwait Grand Photography Contest. In an exclusive candid chat, he spoke about his love for the politics, photography and his beloved country Kuwait. Following is an excerpt of the interactive session with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah AlSabah.
February, 2015
Hi and welcome to CityPages! Let's start with a brief introduction about you and a little background info for our readers:
I was born in Egypt and spent two years there. Then I went to the UK where I was enrolled in the kindergarten. After spending 4 years there I came back to Kuwait and continued my education in the New English School. I stayed in Kuwait for about five to six years when I got a chance to go to Geneva for two years and it was there when the best thing in my life ever happened; I got into the Eton College - the oldest educational facility in the world! I got my A-levels from there and that allowed me to get into the prestigious Oxford University, where I studied Politics, and Philosophy in Economics. I studied at Oxford for about a year when the Gulf war happened and at the time when my country needed me the most I couldn’t continue my education and decided to return to Kuwait. Once the war was over I went back to the UK and completed my Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Political Science from the Nottingham University. Later I got a Masters degree from University of London SOA in International Law and Diplomacy. I then went to apply for my PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE) when one of my great friends, who has now passed away (R.I.P), Professor Said Mohammad advised me “go and get work experience. You have been in school all your life and now you need to get the real work experience” and here I am still getting working experience and waiting to go back and get my PhD.
Did you get any opportunity to apply what you learnt in Politics?
No, not really. That's a short answer. But I would like to apply it. Try and apply certain principles. Actually, politics is not something that is applicable. It's academic. University education provides you discipline and it provides you with sociological skills in order to interact with your peers. It's a beautiful thing that in the UK they do not say you 'learn', they say you 'read'. You read Politics, or you read Maths or you read Biology. Because it's actually only reading and all you do is read, consume and understand but you do not apply it, with the exception of probably Law or Mechanics, or Architecture. What are your hobbies? I have many hobbies like reading, fishing, and hunting. I am also very big into gadgets and internet and have recently taken up photography too. So, is photography a new hobby? Yes, I have been dabbling over it for a while but have taken it seriously about a year and a half ago.
What or who inspired you to take photography as a hobby?
The fact that it is challenging. I like to do things that challenge me. It's not easy as it looks so I found it interesting. citypageskuwait.com
Are you learning it from someone or somewhere?
No, it's self-taught. I also taught myself shooting, post-productions, and Photoshop. I self-teach myself everything. I write short novels and play musical instruments and they are all self learnt.
In which language and what types of novels do you write? And who is your favorite author?
I write it in English. I love the classics. Honestly, these are not novels that I write. I write to put my thoughts down on paper and they automatically come out as short pieces or stories. I am a great fan of Socrates, politics is my life and I enjoy reading political theories. People like Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, and Joseph Ney are some of my favorites. I take their ideas and reformulate them in a way that becomes more accessible to me. So, they are not exactly novels but are short essays.
Would you ever like to publish them or share them with public?
No, never. I think my writings are too dry and will be difficult to understand. What I write is extremely academic. And since I always wanted to get a Ph.D. and never had a time for it so maybe what I am writing will help me to make a skeleton of a thesis one day.
What type of photography is your main interest?
Everything but portraiture photography. It is too challenging for me. I don't understand portrait, I don't understand the lighting setup. That would be my next challenge. I currently do more of nature photography, especially macro photography.
What are your favorite tools or gadgets for photography?
There is this laser trigger which has a laser beam and whenever something passing the beam, it triggers and photographs it and that's how I got one of my best photographs. Everyone thought it was natural but I was cheating, I was using the laser trigger. Quite a few people in Kuwait use it. It's made by a company called Cognisys. But gadgets are gadgets; I cannot specify a favorite one.
What made your support the biggest photography competition in Kuwait?
I saw it last year while I was developing my love for photograph. I witnessed some fantastic photographs in the competition and seeing the interest of people looking at the pictures displayed at the mall made me interested. So I approached Jassim and told him to keep me in mind for the next year and that I wanted to support it. I hope this will be bigger than the last year and gets bigger and better every year. That is how things are supposed to be.
Which is your favorite place for holiday? And why?
Australia. Because it is a heaven on earth. I heard that New Zealand is even nicer but I have never been there. UK is my home and whenever I get a chance I do go there. But my favorite holiday destination would be Australia. It has the best place for fishing in the world.
When did you start hunting?
At a very young age. It's part of our culture in Kuwait using falcon. I had a falcon at a very young age. I hunt both with falcons and shooting. As it was said by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) teach your children to swim, to ride, and archery which in a way translates to hunting and shooting and my dad was very persistent in teaching those skills to us.
What is that one gadget that you cannot live without?
My iPhone.
The first thing that you do in the morning?
Open my eyes and thank Allah for the blessings of another beautiful day.
The last thing that you do at night?
Thank Allah for everything and close my eyes.
Your message for our readers and people of Kuwait on the occasion of National and Liberation day:
Each one of us is so lucky to be living in this beautiful country. I know there is a lot of negativity in society generally but we really need to think very carefully about how lucky we are to be in a country in which we are all one big family. A country where there are no prosecutions, no one lives fearing for his life or fearing for his daily living. Thankfully, we do not have homelessness, sociological issues. The main message that I would like everyone to think about is 'GRATITUDE' let’s be grateful for what we have and let's be more positive to work for a better future.
Your message for us at CityPages magazine:
It's a brilliant and fantastic publication. I am honored to be interviewed in this edition and I hope that you go from strengthto-strength. Congratulations on your 5th anniversary and maybe I will be with you again on your 10th year anniversary, Insha’Allah.
February, 2015
Photohraph by: Abdulaziz AlSorayia @alsry3 and Abdulrazaq AlSorayia @rzag_alsry3
citypageskuwait.com
JASSIM JASSIM
FOUNDER OF KUWAIT GRAND PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST When Kuwaiti photographers started attending photography contest awards abroad, they use to ask a very sensitive question “Why don’t we have photography contests in Kuwait? And the answer was always; ‘Sorry we don’t have one and I don’t know why’! "I heard the same story from several Kuwaiti photographers and was also in search of the answer which pushed me to take personal initiative regarding this matter." said Mr. Jassim Jassim the founder of Kuwait Grand Photography Contest. He further added "In zest of making this happen in Kuwait I did my homework and financial planning, then I consulted with some the big names of photography in Kuwait who were ready to be a helping hand. I also checked with several companies in the private sector if they think it’s a good idea and their nod converted my dream into reality." Kuwait Grand Photography Contest under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and direct support of His Excellency the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah is ready and has launched its second edition in Kuwait. The second session of the Kuwait grand photography contest organized by Phoenix Company and chaired by the founder of the contest: Mr. Jassim Jassim. The first edition in 2014 was a great success as it was the first event of its kind. It not only encouraged the new talent of Kuwait but it also provided the platform to the professionals to show their skills and satisfy their competitive instinct. It can quite easily be categorized as one of the elite competition of its sort. Mr. Jassim Jassim added, “The success is not measured by the numbers only, but the photography level was amazing, and many of the chosen top 50 photos, had won several reputable international contests after our announcement”. The second term of Kuwait Grand Photography contest is about to close since the launch was early Jan 2015. The contest total prizes are KD 65,000/ which makes it one of the biggest photography contests in the world. Photography in Kuwait never been bigger than where it is today, and the level of Kuwaiti photographers is among the world’s elite. While thanking the contest sponsors Mr. Jassim Jassim paid them the tribute and said ”this contest wouldn’t have seen the light without the is endless”. support and belief of our sponsors, their social responsibilities and giving This year KGPC2015 is not limited to Kuwait only, but all nationals and residents of the GCC countries are entitled to join the contest. Concluding his remarks he elaborated that the participants can contest in the following eight categories this year; 1.The Art of Light 2.Kuwait 3.Landscape 4.Wild Life 5.People 6Islamic 7.Sport 8.General February, 2015
COLOR BLINDNESS? Color vision deficiency, or more commonly known as color blindness, is not a form of blindness at all. Instead, it is a deficiency that affects the way you perceive colors. Contrary to popular belief, it is extremely rare for a “color blind” person to see only in shades of grey. Most color blind people can see colors, but certain colors appear washed out and are easily confused with other colors, depending on the type of deficiency they have. Color vision deficiency occurs when the lightsensitive photoreceptors in our retina, called rods and cones, do not respond properly to the variations in the light wavelengths that enable us to see an array of colors. Although rods are plentiful and more sensitive to light, they are incapable of perceiving colors. Cones Erika Habig Erika Habig is an optometrist and contact lens specialist at International Optique. She studied at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Optometry and Dispensing Optics. For more information contact International Optique. Tel: 25714007 – 97234787, www.intoptic.com – info@intoptic.com, Instagram: @intoptique citypageskuwait.com
are less abundant; however, they are highly concentrated in the macula and fovea, the area on our retina responsible for the most acute vision and color discrimination. There are three types of cones, each with a different sensitivity to light wavelengths. One type of cone perceives blue light, another perceives green and the third perceives red. All three cones work together allowing you to see the whole spectrum of colors. When light enters the eye, the cones become stimulated, and send signals to the brain which are interpreted into the colors you see.
A person with normal color vision has all types of cones working properly. This is called trichromacy. One type of color blindness is known as anomalous trichromacy, when one or more cone types are faulty and light is perceived out of alignment. For example, if the red cone is faulty you won’t be able to see colors containing red clearly. The anomalous conditions protanomaly, which is a reduced sensitivity to red light and deuteranomaly, which is a reduced sensitivity to green light are the most common types of color vision deficiency. Tritanomaly, which is a reduced sensitivity to blue light, is extremely rare.
Other common forms of color blindness include dichromacy, in which only two types of cones are functioning properly and there is a total absence of one cone type. Dichromacy is further specified by protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia, which is a complete lack of perception of the color red, green and blue, respectively. As with anomalous trichromacy, the more common cases of dichromacy involve the deficiency of the red and green cones. Monochromacy, or achromatopsia, is the rarest form of color blindness in which the patient sees completely without color, only in various shades of grey, ranging from black to white. For most color blind persons, the condition is genetic and it is more common among males than females. In other cases, people acquire the condition as a result of diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis or due to the prolonged intake of certain medications. Color vision tests are performed by eyecare practitioners. Although there is no treatment or cure for color vision deficiency, certain colored lenses and glasses can help improve color discrimination.
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- Sharq
- Kuwait City
- Sharq
- Fahaheel
February, 2015 International intoptique Optique
WAYS TO PREVENT PSORIASIS FLARE-UPS Skin is the human body’s largest organ, spanning roughly 3,000 square inches and weighing about 6 pounds on the average human. Flexible and rugged, skin is also susceptible to damage, and conditions that affect the skin can be visible, embarrassing and troublesome. Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition blamed on a improperly functioning immune system. The body may detect a perceived anomaly and attack itself. When a person is suffering from psoriasis, his or her skin cells are produced at an accelerated rate, resulting in red, raised, and scaly patches on the skin known as plaques. Plaques typically appear on the scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of feet and are well-defined. About one-third of people with psoriasis have a family member with the disease. Studies show the emotional and social effects of psoriasis Dr. Nazia Nausheen
Dr. Nazia Nausheen is a certified medical doctor. She also holds a Masters Degree in Business, Specializing in Sales and Marketing. Readers should look forward to her regular articles on women health and other general health related issues. citypageskuwait.com
are more significant for women than men, but both can be affected negatively by symptoms. There is no cure for psoriasis, and some people are affected more severely than others are. In addition, certain factors can aggravate psoriasis and lead to flare-ups. Understanding theses triggers may help those affected by the disease better manage their symptoms. Although some of these triggers are not backed up by firm scientific evidence, many people with psoriasis attest to their accuracy. Overexposure to sunlight: exposure to sunlight and other forms of ultraviolet rays can be beneficial in reducing symptoms of psoriasis, and some dermatologists may even prescribe UV treatments. However, overexposure to the sun can worsen symptoms, particularly if men and women get sunburn. There is a fine line between what is too much sun and enough sun, which is why those with psoriasis should only undergo UV treatment under the care of a dermatologist. Stress: doctors do not know exactly why, but psoriasis and stress seem to be linked. As stress escalates, flare-ups of psoriasis may become more common. In turn, flare-ups can lead to additional stress. Finding ways to reduce stress may result in clearer skin. Deep breathing, yoga, and meditation may help alleviate stress. Hot water: bathing or washing in very hot water can worsen symptoms of psoriasis. Use
lukewarm water and a moisturizing soap. Some dermatologists recommend colloidal oatmeal or Epsom salts in a bath to soften skin, relieve itching, and help slough off scaly patches. Additionally, avoid situations that will lead to dry skin, such as exposure to hot or cold weather. Use moisturizer and reapply as needed. Certain foods: some people with psoriasis note that certain food and beverages trigger their flare-ups. Tomato and pepper-based products and acidic beverages may cause flare-ups. Infections: after a bout of strep throat or an ear infection, people with psoriasis may find their condition takes a turn for the worse. Though doctors do not quite understand why, certain infections and medications to treat those conditions can cause psoriasis to act up. Discuss your psoriasis with your doctor before taking any medication. Hormones: women may find that hormonal changes trigger their psoriasis. Research is not clear as the connection between psoriasis and hormones, but doctors do know that pregnancy and menopause can cause psoriasis to worsen or even appear for the first time. Others find that increase or decrease in the estrogen level improves their psoriasis symptoms. But symptoms are unique, and psoriasis outbreaks need to be evaluated on a person-to-person basis.
Pain, especially intractable or chronic pain, used to be something many patients simply had to learn to “live” with. In recent years, however, researchers have learned a great deal about pain and its physiological and psychological basis, leading to pain management treatments that can provide complete or partial pain relief. Untreated pain can interfere with the healing process by affecting the immune system and leading to other undesirable results. In cases of back pain, discomfort can impede the rehabilitation process by interfering with exercise and increasing the risk of psychological distress. New Understanding of Chronic Pain Patients who report continuing pain in the absence of a definitive pathology (an identifiable, anatomical cause of the pain) are sometimes dismissed by health professionals. Even in the absence of such an identifiable cause, however, chronic pain can lead to neurological feedback processes that only serve to worsen the pain and make it more difficult to treat. Pain is inherently subjective, and a greater awareness of the need for taking pain seriously is growing among the health community as well as the public at large. This is particularly true for chronic back pain sufferers. While a great majority of back pain cases are self-limiting and resolve on their own, the risk of recurrence and development of chronic disease is significant. Chronic back pain tends to be very difficult to treat, especially in cases involving failed back surgery or neuropathic pain (also called nerve pain). The above considerations have led to a proliferation of services available to patients seeking both medical and alternative treatment for back pain. What is Pain Management? Pain management, also known as pain medicine, draws on many disciplines in science and the healing arts to systematically study pain, its prevention, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment, as well as the rehabilitation of painful disorders. In spine and musculoskeletal cases, pain management serves a variety of purposes. Pain management is usually distinguished from surgical treatment. Pain management and the techniques it uses may be employed as follows: •To help identify the source of a patient's back pain •As an alternative to surgery, as part of an aggressive conservative (nonsurgical) care program •To help determine the areas to be addressed Dr. Mohammad Shamsah
Consultant Pain Management MBBS. FRCPC Fellowship in chronic pain Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine Fellowship in Echocardiography
Specialized Boushahri Polyclinic
Baghdad Street, Building # 38, In front of Suleiman Al-Luhaib Mosque. Tel: 1888877 Ext: 121 citypageskuwait.com
surgically •To help rehabilitate the patient after surgery •For patients after surgery to cope with residual or recalcitrant pain Pain can be divided into cancer and non cancer pain. Each type of pain has specific management algorithm. Technology is advancing so rapidly with astonishing results in pain therapy. Pain management uses a wide variety of techniques to address pain and painful disorders. The scientific basis for these approaches ranges from those that are completely without experimental support to those whose effectiveness has been well demonstrated in clinical trials. In view of the diverse uses and methods of pain management and pain medicine, an overview of this fast-developing field is needed. Invasive Pain Management Techniques Invasive techniques in pain management involve injections and/or placement of devices into the body. A multitude of invasive pain management therapies have been used to treat neck and back pain. Some of the most popular interventional pain management techniques include: Injections (also known as blocks) Injections provide direct delivery of steroids or anesthetic into joints, ligaments, muscles, or around nerves. These injections may provide relief of pain (often temporary) and can be used to confirm if the injected structure is the source of the pain, clarifying the diagnosis. Epidural injections can provide temporary
relief for upper extremity or lower extremity pain due to a pinched nerve. It delivers a powerful anti-inflammatory medication at the site of injury and pathology. Injections to Diagnose Causes of Back Pain Diagnostically, injections can be used to help determine which structure in the back is generating pain. If lidocaine or similar numbing medication is used, and the patient feels temporary relief after an anatomic region is injected (e.g. facet joint or sacroiliac joint), it can then be inferred that the specific region is the source of the pain. When considered in conjunction with a patient's history, physical exam, and imaging studies, injections used for diagnostic purposes can be very helpful in guiding further treatment for the patient. Most of the pain is due to facet pathology which can be easily treated with blocks followed by either cool or thermal radio-frequency for a more lasting effect. Other techniques include: 1- Ultrasound Guided nerve pulsed radiofrequency 2- Capsular radio-frequency 3- Cool and thermal Rhizotomy 4- DRG pulsed RF 5- Botox for muscular spasm 6- Spinal cord neuromodulatioN 7- intrathecal pump 8- Diabetic foot IV lidocaine therapy 9- Fibromyalgia interventional therapy
Baghdad Street – Building 38 same as Boushahri Seema Pharmacy, Opposite Suleiman Al-Luhaib Mosque - Tel : 1888877
www.boushahricp.com
Boushahri_clinic
PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING Are you breastfeeding your child and have just found out that you are expecting again? Or maybe you are just starting to think about trying for baby number 2? What should you do? The decision to continue to breastfeed can be a scary one. Especially with people around you telling you that it is dangerous. If you are eager to avoid unnecessary weaning, you have good reason. Breast milk provides important nutritional and immunological boosts for as long as a child nurses. The Holy Quran indicates breastfeeding should continue for 2 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum of one year of breastfeeding, and the World Health Organization calls for two years or more. The best thing you can do is educate yourself on current research, look at your personal situation, and decide what you believe will be best for your family. No one can make that decision for you. This article will provide you with information to help you make an informed decision.
Conceiving While Breastfeeding Are you worried that you will have to wean your baby before you will be able to conceive your next? While it is true that breastfeeding can delay the return of fertility, most women become fully fertile while still breastfeeding. If you are experiencing regular menstrual cycles, and if you were normally fertile before, chances are you have returned to normal fertility. Irregular cycles can be a sign that you are not yet fertile. However, it is possible to conceive without returning to regular cycles, or having a cycle at all. What about fertility treatments? Although there is no direct research, there is no obvious reason to believe that fertility treatments would harm the breast milk. Clinical observations suggest that Clomid (Clomiphene) is compatible with breastfeeding. Further there is no reason to expect that breastfeeding would affect your fertility treatment because the medication will control your cycles. It is also important to note that past fertility problems Dr. Fatima A. Boujarwah
Assistant Professor, Information Science Department - Kuwait University Director, Breastfeeding Support Program, BirthKuwait Breastfeeding Counselor Lactation Educator
BirthKuwait is a non-profit organization operating as part of The Voluntary Health Association.For more information, visit their website: www.birthkuwait.com or Instagram: @birthkuwait
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do not necessary predict future problems.
Breastfeeding and Risk Miscarriage and Preterm Labor
of
Nipple stimulation releases the hormone oxytocin into the bloodstream. Oxytocin is important for breastfeeding because it is responsible for milk ejection (the “let down reflex”). Oxytocin also tells the uterus to contract. All women experience contractions during breastfeeding, although they are usually too mild to be noticed. Is this something to be concerned about if you are pregnant and breastfeeding? The scientific literature indicates the following: 1) During pregnancy less oxytocin is released in response to nipple stimulation than when a woman is not pregnant. 2) The uterus does not respond to oxytocin equally throughout pregnancy because: a) “Oxytocin Receptor Sites,” the uterine cells that detect the presence of oxytocin and cause a contraction, are sparse up until 38 weeks, increasing gradually after that time, and increasing 300-fold after labor has begun. As such, the small amounts of oxytocin produced when breastfeeding will not significantly stimulate the uterus. b) Natural oxytocin-blockers, most notably progesterone (an important pregnancy hormone), prevent oxytocin from reaching its receptor sites throughout pregnancy. As you can see, scientific research shows that breastfeeding during pregnancy is safe, and should not increase the chances of miscarriage or trigger labor before the body has already begun to prepare for it. While miscarriages and preterm labor may still occur in women that breastfeed while pregnant, they are equally likely to happen as in a pregnancy in which the mother is not breastfeeding. It is important to note that if you have a history of miscarriage or preterm labor you may want to wean your baby, however, even in such cases discuss your options with your doctor. Weaning can still be avoided in many cases; no two mothers’ situations are the same.
The effects of breastfeeding on the nutrition and development of your nursling and growing fetus.
Your Growing Fetus Research indicates that nursing during pregnancy is safe, and will not deprive the fetus of essential nutrients. A well-nourished mother should have no problem providing enough nutrients for her unborn baby, her nursing child, and herself. If you are pregnant and breastfeeding, you should: • Eat healthy, nutritious meals. • Take prenatal vitamins. • Increase your calcium intake by eating more raw vegetables and other calcium rich foods. • Drink 2-3 liters of water per day. • Relax and rest.
Your Nursling Throughout pregnancy, though your milk may change, it will continue to provide valuable nutrition for your child. During the second trimester, the milk will begin to change to colostrum. Both the quantity and the taste of the milk change dramatically during this time, and many babies will wean themselves when the milk changes. If you are nursing a baby younger than 6 months when you become pregnant, you will need to carefully monitor his growth and weight gain, and you may need to supplement. Older babies who are eating solids will usually show an increased appetite for other foods as your milk supply decreases. Due to hormonal changes, some women will experience nipple soreness during pregnancy, which can make nursing very uncomfortable. Since the cause of the soreness is hormonal, there is no real treatment other than time. Some mothers find relief by reducing the time the baby spends at the breast, and reminding the child to “open wide” while latching. Through the above discussion it can be seen that in most cases you can safely continue to breastfeed throughout your pregnancy. If you feel breastfeeding while pregnant is too much for you, the best way to wean your nursing toddler, for you and your child, is gradually. First, stop offering the breast. Try offering him some healthy snacks or distract his attention when he asks for milk. If it is impossible - don't refuse the breast. As every child is different, the weaning process may vary.
February, 2015
10
THINGS TO GET YOU BACK ON TRACK
Finding out you are at risk of or have a serious heart condition can be a shock. Here's what you can do at this point to speed up your recovery and improve your long-term health…
1) FOCUS ON FOLLOW-UP CARE If you've had a heart attack or threatened heart attack (unstable angina), it's essential citypageskuwait.com
to attend any follow-up appointments that are arranged for you. Your medical team will want to assess your progress and may need to adjust your treatment prescription depending on your recovery. Take action! Speak to your doctor about when he or she will next need to see you. It can be helpful to make a list of questions to take with you to the appointment to ensure you get all the answers you need.
2)FIND OUT MEDICINE
ABOUT
YOUR
“Suddenly having to take lots of drugs can be confusing but if you’re sure about what each one does, it helps you stay motivated to take them, so you enjoy the benefits,” says Elizabeth Steyn, Coronary Care Unit Manager at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi. Studies show that taking your drugs correctly and making the right lifestyle changes cuts
get active as soon as you can," says Elizabeth. Exercise lowers blood pressure, may reduce 'bad' cholesterol, helps you lose weight and even reduces stress. Take action! "It's quite normal to be able to do 10 minutes walking twice a day within two weeks of leaving the hospital, as long as your GP, cardiac nurse or exercise physiologist says it's OK," says Elizabeth. "Even if you're feeling weak, a short walk will actually make you feel better. You can build up to around 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking (getting slightly out of breath) every day.”
4)BAN SMOKING AT HOME Even though you may have made the decision to quit smoking, it's important to make your home smoke-free to truly get the benefits. Prolonged exposure to passive smoking (or second-hand smoke) increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 25 per cent. Heart disease can be genetic, so your family may be at a higher risk. Encourage them to quit smoking with you- you'll be able to support each other through any cravings and will be drastically lowering your chances of having a future heart attack together. Take action! "Tell anyone who smokes to do it outside," says Elizabeth.
5)TREAT YOURSELF You may well be feeling anxious or low (or both!) right now - this is not uncommon after a heart attack- so be kind to yourself. Take action! "Pleasure is a great antidote to stress or anxiety, so do something enjoyable every day even if it's just taking a relaxing bath or reading a good book," says Dr Dan Robotham, senior researcher at the Mental Health Foundation in the UK.
6)BANISH STRESS AND ANXIETY
your risk of developing further problems. Take action! There’s information about the most common drugs prescribed for high cholesterol and high blood pressure on the Ministry of Health website (www.moh.gov. ae).
3)GO FOR A SHORT WALK "Many people are scared to move from the sofa after a heart attack, but it's important to
As well as making you feel less anxious, tackling stress can help to keep blood pressure under control- good news for your heart in the long term. Take action! Take time every day to relax property. Try free relaxation podcasts at www. mentalhealth.org.uk or try this exercise (the more times you do this, the more effective it will be): Choose a quiet place and sit comfortably. Take notice of how your body is feeling and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe out slowly and completely and breathe in gently and naturally. As your breathing gets slower, gently tense and relax each area of your body in turn, from your shoulders down to your feet, letting any tension slip away. Do this for around 20 minutes. Then take a deep breath, wriggle your fingers and toes, stretch and open your eyes.
7)EAT HEALTHILY Read up on the best foods for a healthy heart. Don’t feel that you have to do everything at once, but start making simple changes to your diet.
Take action! “As a general guide, eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, limit red meat to twice a week, exchange butter for lowfat spread or olive oil, go for low-fat dairy products and eat more fish, especially oily fish like salmon or mackerel,” says Elizabeth. You might find skimmed milk a little watery to begin with, but persevere and you’ll get used to it and your heart will thank you for it. Aim for a fruit-based breakfast and take control of our diet by investing in a cookbook and making as many of your own meals as you can. “Many processed foods are surprisingly high in saturated fat and salt – both bad news for your heart,” says Elizabeth. TOP TIPS: TO HELP YOUR HEART HEALTH
•‘You may be worried about further heart
problems or feel angry with yourself for having become ill, ‘says Dr Robotham. ‘Talking about these feelings can help, and reduce the likelihood of becoming anxious or depressed.’ •‘If you don’t want to talk to family and friends, speak to your medical team, who may be able to reassure you or refer you for counselling,’ says Dr Robotham. •You can also read stories from other people in the same boat, or contact people who have had similar problems to you by email, by going to www.bhf.org.uk.
8)MAKE A 'FEEL-GOOD' LIST When you're feeling down it's good to remind yourself that it won't always be this way. "Think of the bigger picture and what matters most to you - grandchildren or friends could be good examples," says Dr Robotham. Research from the University of Connecticut found that people who said their heart attacks had made them become more appreciative of life, were less likely to have another. Take action! Make a list of all the good things in your life today. And before you go to sleep every night, make a note of one good thing about your day.
9)KNOW YOUR NUMBERS "Ask your doctor what your blood pressure and cholesterol readings are and what they should be," advises Elizabeth. "Keeping these in line will significantly reduce your risk of having a heart attack in the future and help you feel more in control of your health." Take action! Your doctor can give you advice. And if you have access to a computer, visit the Blood Pressure Association at www.bpassoc. org.uk and HEART UK at www.heartuk.org. uk and read up within the next two weeks.
10)DIARY TIME WITH FRIENDS Research suggests that heart attack survivors who feel they have a good social support network tend to recover better. And people who are satisfied with their support networks tend to have lower blood pressure. Take action! Spend time catching up with friends to take your mind off your recent illness. The saying goes that laughter is the best medicine, so put on a comedy DVD on and sit down with a friend to relax. February, 2015
ABDULLAH ABDUL-MOHSEN AL-SHARHAN Building a culture of leadership, learning, and productivity Mr. Abdullah Abdul-Mohsen Al-Sharhan is the Chairman of Australian College of Kuwait for the last 10 years when it opened its doors in 2004 with a vision to generate human capital with practical skills and knowledge, and to provide its students project based learning aligned with industry and thus enabling them to effectively contribute to the development of the country. Under his leadership and support from his team, ACK has received growing recognition as Kuwait’s premier institution. CityPages connected recently with the man behind the outstanding success of ACK. Here, Mr. Abdullah Abdul-Mohsen Al-Sharhan discusses the key challenges ACK has faced over the years, how these challenges will continue to affect the future, and what makes ACK students extra special.
The Australian College of Kuwait has established its name in a very short period of time. Please share with us a brief history of ACK and some of the important milestones of the institution.
ACK opened its door to students in 2004. Its purpose was to provide the practical education required by Kuwait especially the private sector. ACK began by providing a two-year professional diploma in business and engineering. This allowed the holder to enter the job market if he so wished. In 2006 ACK was granted permission to offer a bachelor of technology for those who wanted to continue their higher education.
Keeping in perspective the mushrooming of universities in Kuwait, there is national competition as well as there is competition abroad; Kuwaitis can now choose to study at one of the major universities established in citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
Abu Dhabi, Dubai etc. What makes ACK really competitive and able to attract Kuwaiti nationals? ACK’s management is continuously occupied in evolving its curricula with a view to preparing its students for jobs of the future. ACK sees itself as complementing other colleges and universities in Kuwait and other Gulf countries. In fact, ACK is at the forefront in calling for coordination and cooperation among the private tertiary education institutions to remove obstacles to their progress. In addition, ACK has a niche in that; it was the first private educational institution in Kuwait to adopt the 2+2 system, where a student could acquire a professional diploma in two years allowing him or her to seek fruitful employment at that stage, or to continue his or her tertiary studies. Those who chose to work after receiving a diploma could later return to further their studies if they so wished. To date, there are total of 4,598 graduates in the market; 3,655 with diplomas and 943 with bachelor degree.
Education plays a vital role in socio-economic development of a country. As the chairman of ACK, how do you see the Kuwait’s education system in comparison to other countries in the GCC?
Since I myself am a product of the Kuwait education system, I will limit my comments to Kuwait. My feeling is that there is much that can be done to improve the system starting at kindergarten and on to high school. My recommendation is that there should be one stream at the high school level, in that all students should have a rudimentary understanding of basic sciences, such as math, physics, chemistry and biology. These are subjects that allow one to better understand aspects of life.
In what ways is the tertiary education segment developing in Kuwait to accommodate the needs of the economy?
There is a move to provide more hands-on programs in services and manufacturing as well as extracting industries such as oil and gas. There is recognition that Kuwaitis should play a bigger role in the workplace, be it in hands-on tasks, or managerial roles. ACK is at the forefront of this process.
Looking more closely at ACK, it is one of the institutions in the GCC offering specialized courses in aviation programs. Please tell us a bit more about this?
Through the “offset” program ACK acquired in 2005 from Boeing a “live” 737-200 aircraft which was flown to Kuwait, as well as a maintenance workshop. This gave ACK the capability to train ground maintenance staff. Subsequently ACK’s program became the 74th to be licensed by European Aviation Safety Agency. ACK made an agreement with Kuwait citypageskuwait.com
Airways to train its students at KA premises as part of its training, and also reached an agreement with Lufthansa to offer its training program.
Please tell us affiliations and collaborations:
about ACK’s international
ACK’s affiliation with international institutions have evolved over the past ten years moving from an almost 100% dependence on our partners for curricula and staff to one where ACK became a strategic partner. This was the result of rising levels of mutual confidence, and the fact the ACK’s experience began to have practical relevance to its partners. Having said this, ACK still insists on close quality supervision and mentoring with respect to acquiring new programs. In addition, all ACK diplomas and degrees bear the certification of our partners as well as that of ACK itself.
What in your opinion makes the ACK student different or special?
ACK’s competencies based learning is the key ingredient. From the feedback of employers, ACK graduates top of the list of desirable employees due to their proficiency in English, their hands-on skills and their attitude toward work. Recently an employer described the demeanor of our graduates as “modest” in that they were willing to learn, and were not “full of themselves!”
Do they have high success rates of finding a job when they finish at the college? What is the percentage of your graduates who find work within say one month?
Our diploma / degree certificates are handed to the graduates three months after the end of the semester. Therefore, most of our graduates are hired within five to six month after graduation.
Do you think local companies can work with universities to add course content that fit the current job market? How?
ACK has an Industrial / Business Advisory Board that advises on the needs of the market. ACK also has close ties with companies in sectors such as the oil industry that comment on its curriculum.
What is your definition of leadership? What have been your leadership priorities as chairman of ACK?
Leadership has to have a vision. ACK in choosing the “less travelled road” where it provides its students with knowledge, the skills to apply the knowledge, and the proper attitude towards work – all based on project based learning – reflects that vision.
What are the main short term and long term challenges you are
facing?
The main short-term challenge is expanding capacity while maintaining quality. The long-term challenge is introducing programs that keep up with the rapid development of technology. We would also like to be able to provide other programs for those who wish to continue to a Master or even a Ph.D. It should be noted that all private tertiary college or university programs must receive prior approval of the Ministry of Higher Education as represented by the Private Universities Council.
Your message for us at CityPages magazine:
My message to CityPages magazine is not to take your eye off education. The importance of education to Kuwait’s future cannot be over-emphasized. By contributing to the understanding of this fact, CityPages should assist in the formulation of policies that support progress.
February, 2015
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THAT FEELING OF REJECTION, AND HOW TO COLOR IT OUT OF THE WAY.
www.thecolorrecipe.com
by: Wala'a Al Muhaiteeb
for it and for some reason it stuck with me. I felt rejection for my excitement even though what happened was not like that at all, but this incident pushed a button and brought back memories of “Big Mouth” “Loud” “No Filter” Wala’a. We react in these ways when we don’t forgive ourselves or accept who we are or were. even though I wasn’t rejected it felt that way to something inside me that needed reassurance that expressing any feeling is still ok. We happily sat and decided that my excitement is a part of me that is linked to my passion for things and I love that side of me. No matter what I will always love and cherish this part of myself. I’m happy I sat with these feelings and I’m grateful that I manage to comfort myself, this no complaining was not so bad after all. I wanted to share this experience with you, because many of us give in to patterns of negativity we are used to, because it’s easier to run away and do what we thought always worked. Stepping back and looking inward using color is a great way to understand these feelings and this negativity so you can turn it around. The start of this year was extremely challenging for me and the Magenta energy was interestingly strong. It really pushed me to make a shift and send it out as a #StopComplaining Campaign. My StopComplaining day two was the most challenging. I left the office at 6pm filled with negative thoughts. When you are changing your words you tend to start speaking less and listening more, and this is when you hear the patterns that need clearing and changing. I left and I couldn't shake off a small incident that happened at work. It was a small incident but me being extremely self critical and sensitive, I did what I always do; punish myself for it over and over again, by repeating the story in my head. Since I was watching my words all day I was also listening to my thoughts more. It got very noisy in my head. All I wanted to do was just run and hide and not listen anymore.
I wasn’t grounded and this bad feeling left me anxious and on edge. I tried to distract myself by calling my friends but the universe decided to teach me a lesson; they were all busy. I was forced to deal with these feelings on my own, no escape this time. As I was driving with this annoying feeling, I decided to stop for a minute and accept that I wasn’t feeling good. I sat with it and let myself feel really down and listened to that hurt voice inside of me. As this feeling of overwhelming negativity took over I asked myself what was the color of this feeling and to my surprise (not really) I heard myself say black and super light baby blue. Black is a color we hide behind, it’s protective and it conceals mistakes and asks fears. The super light baby blue is what gave me the Aha moment, because I was punishing myself for expressing excitement. Not getting the same excitement back is something I always struggled with. From a young age I was expressive and loud, many criticized me
The negativity is there to tell us something. What are you hiding behind, You can always join the #stopcomplaining movement, email me on info@thecolorrecipe.com
Exercise: Sit down in your meditation space or a quiet space where you won't be disturbed. Take three deep breaths in close your eyes. Ground yourself by visualizing a cord coming down from your base chakra (the base of the spine) going down, down to the center of the earth where it wraps itself around a giant beautiful clear quartz crystal. Then visualize the color that came up for you (for me it was light blue) and see where you can feel it in the body, get in touch with it, why does it feel this way? where is the fear coming from after you sit with it it's time to release it. Wrap this color wherever it is in a silver ball and start sending it down and release to the earth using the cord. you send this energy to the earth for healing and releasing. February, 2015
IMAGE OBSESSION
Our body is our identity. Whatever we eat, whatever we feel reflects directly on our body. To whom it might concern, if you are obsessed with your body image then let’s see how you can deal with that. Dear lady, dear man: you are not the Kardashian nor are you Federer. Therefore, you shouldn’t seek the look of someone else’s body. In the past decade, we have witnessed increased rates of nutrition related diseases such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa especially among teenage girls. The main reason for the appearance of such disorders is the media that sheds the light on celebrities. Their body shapes and images are perceived as a sign of beauty. In the 1990’s the trend was towards the slim body shape. In the 2000’s, the trend changed to the curvy look. People are becoming more Sara El Bizri Clinical and Community Dietitian
aware that fitness is not slimness; however, image obsession is still there whether for the ones who still want the skinny shape or to the ones that seek the curvy look. A healthy diet along with good physical training will aid in getting a close result of what you are looking for. However, you should not make it your quest to look like someone because as mentioned earlier, your body is your identity. You can modify your bad eating habits or change the type of exercise to get a better body shape but you never make it your main concern otherwise, it will become an obsession. Feeling good about yourself boosts your self esteem, your production at work, reflects on your social relationships and of course makes you look good. If you are doing your best to get a healthy body, then you should be satisfied with whatever results you get. If you have a pear shaped body for example, you will always have it but you can work on it to look better, more firm and less obvious. But you cannot get rid of it and should not work on that. If you are a mother and you have “the body image concern”, do not pass your obsession to your teenage girl. At this critical stage of her
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life along with her body changes, girls might overreact or might be more sensitive about their body. Be careful what message you pass to your child. Consult a dietitian to deal with your body concerns so that you do not affect your child negatively. Dear young men, you will look good with a healthy diet and a good training at the gym. Whether or not you get the 6 packs or you still have this extra skin in your belly after losing weight, you still look good. Carbohydrates are not your enemy; they are the main source of energy for your body. Proteins are the building blocks for your muscles but are not your main nutrient. Consult your dietitian to assess your body requirements according to your nutrition assessment and physical exercise and to correct the misconceptions that you might have and might affect the way you perceive yourself. In short, we should seek the healthy fit body shape rather than a specific weight on the scale or a certain body image. Do not over think and do not stress out. Accept yourself and work on enhancing your lifestyle as a whole. Let your thoughts limits go beyond your shape.
HEART HEALTH TIPS FOR THIS VALENTINE’S DAY
Even though your loved one may have the key to your heart, good nutrition and regular physical exercise is the key to a healthy heart. This Valentine’s Day whether you are celebrating with someone special or on your own, here are some ideas for the special day and tips that you can incorporate in your life for a healthy heart.
1.Gift sensibly Even though chocolate seem to be the obvious choice of gift for many; sending a fruit basket to your loved one, along with a bar of dark chocolate says you care. Fruits are not only low in calories but also nutrient dense. They are a source of fiber and antioxidants which are linked to reduce risk of heart diseases. Similarly Dark chocolate (75-85%) is rich in fiber and antioxidants and other valuable nutrients that help lower LDL cholesterol ( BAD cholesterol) and increase HDL cholesterol ( GOOD cholesterol)
2.Eat more vegetables A lot of good evidence is gathered in favor of Sanaa Abdul Hamid Sanaa holds Masters of Clinical Dietetics from University of Queensland, Australia and is a Clinical dietitian and a Certified Yoga Teacher. Sanaa is also a blogger and very active on Instagram. Read more from Sanaa at: Blog: www. balancewithsanaa.com , Instagram: Sanaa_dietitian
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vegetable consumption. This food group is linked to protecting the heart from strokes and risk of heart diseases. It also helps maintaining a normal blood pressure when combined with an overall healthy diet and lifestyle.
3.Choose wholegrain Wholegrain are a great source of fiber and nutrients that are effective in regulating blood pressure and heart health. For example, consuming wholegrain oats which contain soluble fiber, has proven to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol. Food such as prunes, barley, pears, and beans all contain soluble fibers which reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your blood stream. You can also incorporate flaxseed or wheat germ in your diet for a fiber boost.
4.Limit unhealthy cholesterol
fats
and
Saturated fats which are also know as unhealthy fats are found in the skin of poultry, beef, lamb, butter, cream and other full fat dairy products. Limit these by trimming the fat off your meat, removing the skin off your poultry, swapping to low fat dairy products. Also be aware of the type of oil you choose to cook with. While oil made from olive, canola, sesame or peanut help boost ‘good cholesterol’; palm oil, coconut oil and lard are high in saturated fats which increase ‘bad cholesterol’ and should be avoid or used sparingly.
5.Get fishy The American Heart Foundation recommends eating about 75-80 grams of cooked fish (particularly oily) twice a week. Fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which lower cholesterol and protects you from cardiovascular diseases. Fatty fish such as sardines, salmon, tuna, herring contain the most omega-3 fatty acids and should be on your weekly grocery list.
6.Avoid smoking and second hand smoking Smoking is a major cause of heart attack, stroke and blood vessel damage. Consider quitting smoking this month or help a loved one quit.
7.Get active Engaging in regular physical activity is important to prevent heart diseases and stroke. The American heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderateintensity aerobic exercises 5 days per week. Climbing stairs, brisk walking, cycling’s, jogging, swimming are all great exercises to improve heart health. Exercising doesn’t have to be boring, pair up with your partner and go for a bike ride or walk by the beach. The key is to keep things interesting. Lots of love to all my readers
ACHIEVE YOUR FITNESS GOALS FASTER WITH THESE SMARTPHONE FITNESS APPS!
The definition of a smartphone. Well according to Wiki, a smartphone is ‘a mobile phone with an operating system.’ In my opinion? More like a device which has greatly integrated itself into our lives so much so that we can’t fathom living, functioning or breathing without it. Smart move and well played I would say. As a personal trainer, we tend to see a plethora of applications or apps for these smart phone devices. Whether it is weight you would like to lose, gain or simply improve on your cardiovascular or fitness strength, here’s a list of apps I would recommend that you download and try out. Regardless if you’re an honorary member at your gym as you tend to be there 24/7, an intermediate gym nut who is best buds with your personal trainer or an individual new to fitness, these apps are designed in mind to help you with your fitness goals. An add-on shall we say to your preexisting fitness routine and/or something to fuel your motivation when it comes to working out. Reshmi Revi
Business Development Manager Multi Works General Trading & Contracting Co. L.L Hospitality Consultancy & Personal Training Division
citypageskuwait.com
1.MyFitnessPal
I started using MyFitnessPal (MFP) back in 2013 as a way to track my meals and calorie expenditure when I started my competition prep for bodybuilding. This is a great tool to have when it comes to keeping you in check with your food and activity. Over the last 2 years, the makers of MFP have digitally enhanced this application for the better. Users now can record their water, food and exercise intake and you can even switch on your smartphone’s motion-sensor turning it into a pedometer to track how many steps you’re taking each day. Sync and keep your data in its ‘cloud’ so even if you were to lose your device, you would still have a record of your fit achievements kept safe and sound. What’s more MFP now works with other fit devices such as the FuelBand, FitBit and Jawbone to collect even more intrinsic data about your health, fitness and wellness.
2.StrongLifts 5x5Workout
An easy to use app, this application was designed in mind for lifters who would like to get stronger. The aim of this is to challenge yourself to three exercises, three times a week in 45 minutes. Whenever you train, log your weight, sets and reps on this app. This smart app will also prompt you to add or decrease your weight depending on your performance with a timer to clock in your rest time in between your sets.
3.Runtastic
If you’re keen to start running outdoors, runtastic is an amazing app to use (why they even have the same program for fitness enthusiasts who bike too!). Runtastic allows you to track 5 essentials when running : distance, duration, speed, elevation changes and calories burned. Designed for all fitness levels, it even features a virtual audio coach to give you feedback and allows you to challenge your time on your previous runs. Once your run is complete, you can post your results on social media outlets such as Facebook to let your comrades know of your timely fitness achievement.
4.Nike+ Training Club
For my clients who constantly travel for work and find it challenging to work out on their own while abroad, I would recommend this nifty app for them. The Nike+ Training Club features a myriad of workouts with stunning visuals (who wouldn’t want tennis star Serena Williams on their phone training them?!) and exercise cues to help you push through your workout. You can use this app while at home and even in the gym but my take on this is that it’s the perfect workout buddy for when you’re abroad and not wanting to workout on your own in a mundane setting. The app features over 100 workouts including a 4-week program to get you ripped, fit and ready.
STAY FIT WITH
LAYALI
by: Layaly AlKanderi
Layaly AlKanderi is a certified personal trainer and fitness coach Follow her on Instagram @layaly82
Exercise: 1 - Crunches
Step:1
Exercise: 2 - Cycling Crunches
Step:2
Exercise: 3 - Leg Raising Abs
Step:1
Step:2
Exercise: 4 - Plank Hold
Step:2
Beauty is a killing machine I have met a lot of people around the year, and when the time comes to know that I am a personal trainer who lift weights and a fitness coach I find shocking faces everywhere all because of the way I look. Being in the field of coaching and weightlifting does not mean that I have to look bulky or as they say in these days looking like a man’s body, instead one can look the way one wants to, beauty from the outside and a monster in the gym. Why I am a Personal Trainer! My name is Layaly AlKanderi and I am a personal trainer and fitness coach. I have a passion for helping people achieving all that they are capable of becoming. I am a firm believer that EVERYONE is capable of doing amazing things if they challenge themselves and put forth effort. It’s my job to assist them and guide them, keeping them motivated along the journey. As a personal trainer I have the unique opportunity to work with many type of people, all with different goals, lifestyles and medical conditions. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all interested in becoming healthier and stronger version of themselves. Why the exercise is important and the benefits of it? Many people hit the gym or pound the pavement to improve cardiovascular health, build muscle, and of course, get a perfect body, but working out has many benefits too. For the past decade or so, scientists have pondered how exercising can boost brain function. Regardless of age or fitness level (yup, this includes everyone from mall-walkers to marathoners), studies show that making time for exercise provides some serious mental benefits. Get inspired to exercise by reading up on these unexpected ways that working out can benefit mental health, relationships, and lead to a healthier and happier life overall. citypageskuwait.com
Step:1
Step:1
Exercise increases your energy level. Exercising delivers oxygen and nutrients to your whole body helping it to work more efficiently and boost your endurance. Exercise and other physical activities are often great opportunities to socialize. Going to the playground, joining a sports team, or going to the local recreation center are all great ways to meet new people. Being physically active will keep you healthy. Research says that engaging in 30 minutes of exercise a day is all you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Exercise makes you happier! Physical activity releases chemicals in your brain called endorphins that are known to make you feel happier and more relaxed. Regular physical activity has been proven to help prevent a wide variety of health problems. Exercise can be fun! Often times exercise can be a part of some your favorite daily activities, such as walking the dog, going to the playground, or riding your bike. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight. Exercise is good for your heart! It helps maintain a healthy blood pressure and improves circulation. Regular physical activity helps you sleep better. When you are active during the day, you typically fall asleep easier and stay asleep longer. Exercise is good for your mind, body, and soul. Now that we have given some reasons why exercise is so important, You need to think about what are you going to do to live a healthier and happier life. Set a goal for yourself and pick one activity you are going to commit to this week. We’d love to hear about what activities you and your family choose.
The benefits of Abs exercise: You can't get great abs just by exercising your stomach muscles. There is a lot of misinformation about what you need to do to get that flat stomach that you want. First, you have to know what it takes to get the results you want. You also need to know why you might be more likely to collect those rolls of flab around your belly than your friends are. Once you understand these things, you can choose and use a stomach exercise that will really work for you. There are several benefits associated with stomach exercises beyond getting a flat belly or a six-pack of abs. For example, doing regular stomach exercises helps your body to attain a better posture because your muscles will be stronger. Also, you'll probably notice that your lower back will be more flexible, and your digestion will improve through regular stomach exercise as well. By performing a regular exercise routine, you'll enjoy life more because you'll be more active and able to participate more. Your body will feel better, and your mental abilities will also be stimulated, and your thinking abilities will improve. You need to be dedicated to a regular exercise routine to get these benefits. However, if you're trying to lose weight, for example, you won't see any improvement if you don't take the time to tone up your stomach muscles. It's important to stay motivated. Don't get discouraged. It takes time and patience to firm up a flabby belly. And consider that there might be other factors that impact your efforts. If you're a woman in menopause, your body will collect fat along your waistline due to the lack of estrogen. Even with regular stomach exercise, it will be a struggle to rid yourself of this fat. Your specific genetic makeup also has an influence on your ability to have a flat stomach. If you are under a lot of stress, the hormone cortisol makes your body produce more sugar, and it makes you eat more too. Additionally, diseases such as diabetes can cause weight gain, and doing stomach exercises alone won't get rid of the fat around your mid-section. If you're starting an exercise routine to decrease your excess fat, it's important to focus on the lower abs first because this area is the most difficult to strengthen and tone. The upper abs will tone and tighten naturally as the lower abs become stronger. You should also recognize that your weight didn't increase overnight. You can lose excess weight and fat, but only if you perform stomach exercises as part of a total lifestyle change. Go ahead and take the challenge! Try for the body you've always wanted. You'll feel good about yourself for making the effort. How Often Should You Be Training your Abs? The truth is that your abdominals are just like any other muscle in your body. They need some rest in between exercise bouts as well. Doing some crunches or planks at the end of every workout leaves your midsection in a constantly overworked state preventing any results you’d like to see. To get results and prevent over training, focus on hitting your core three times a week post-workout. During those workouts, aim to include a variety of core exercises – not just crunches. Planks, woodchops, and abdominal rollouts are all good variations to include. Also, aim for the bulk of your program to consist of total body exercises that are going to involve your core like front squats, deadlifts, and standing shoulder presses. When choosing sets and reps, also be sure to mimic your current training program. If the rest of your training is geared towards increasing maximal strength and power, then your core moves should focus on that as well (shifting to medicine ball throws versus woodchops for instance). As with other muscle groups, vary the exercises and intensity to constantly see results and avoid overtraining. When focused on definition, don’t forget about nutrition. The majority of changes in body composition are going to come from your diet. In fact, maintaining your normal diet but tossing in some abdominal work will likely have no affect on belly fat according to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Hit your abs with a variety of exercises a few times a week and use the rest of the time to improve your nutrition. Finally I will mention abs workout that you can do anywhere: n n n n n n n
Crunches Sit-ups V-sit up Leg raises Cycling crunches Hold planks Russian twist
Do it 15 to 20 repetitions for 3 to 4 rounds and the planks for 30 sec and more if you can. February, 2015
A HOLISTIC APPROACH The dreaded topic that every woman has to deal with; hormones. The hormones in a women’s body change from day to day, and as the women progress in age, they change even more, and the production of certain hormones decreases dramatically if not completely. Now most women go about their day to day business assuming that they are at their optimal hormonal health until they start nearing the age of 40 and begin to think of menopause. Well that isn’t necessarily the truth when it comes to hormones, because as mentioned previously your hormones change daily and there are several factors that play a role in that. But first let us begin by discussing what the tell tale signs may be that you have a hormone imbalance? Hormone imbalance presents itself in many different ways. The most well known would be the night sweats that all our mothers spoke about while going through menopause, but to be honest that symptom is not only associated with menopause only because a study has shown that young women as young Maha AlRashed
Maha AlRashed is a CHEK Certified Exercise Coach and a regular contributor for CityPages magazine. citypageskuwait.com
TO HORMONE HEALTH
as 18 years old have the hormones of women in their 90s! Back to the signs of a hormonal imbalance; some signs present themselves in cravings, whether it is a sugar craving or a salt craving if it is extreme then you may have a hormonal issue and should get it checked out. Mood swings, meaning sudden changes in mood from complete happiness to extreme depression would also be a sign. Weight gain in itself is a sign, now the assumption here is that you haven’t been having a turkey dinner every night for a full month, moreover you are maintaining your diet and yet you are still gaining weight, especially in the belly area. Sleep pattern is also something to consider, are you having problems getting your 8 hours a night? Do you find yourself tired but completely wired? And finally do you feel like you need to keep drinking coffee to wake up? We’ve all been guilty of saying that we need a cup of coffee to feel like we can actually start our day, but here I mean that if you didn’t have a cup of coffee all day, would you fall asleep? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then chances are you are suffering from a hormone imbalance. So what can you do to help reverse that? As you’ve probably noticed in all my previous articles I’m a big believer that diet plays a large role in how your body functions; so here are some suggestions on how to improve your hormone levels through diet. First be sure to eat a nutrient rich whole foods diet in which you limit your exposure to processed foods.
Understandably, it is difficult to have access to these kinds of foods here, but a small effort goes a long way. Also, increase your intake of iron by having a good quantity of leafy vegetables and some good quality red meat. Get enough fiber in your diet, these help with hormone levels. Make sure that you are having fruits and vegetables daily, that way you kill two birds with one stone as they say, having your veggies, increase your iron and fiber intake all at the same time. Make sure you drink lots of water to stay hydrated, especially during the hot months here in Kuwait, just remember that just because you’re feeling cold and not thirsty all the time doesn’t mean that your body doesn’t need the hydration. Try to maintain a healthy weight, by eating healthier. Control the amount of sugar and salt in your diet. Reduce your exposure to Xenoestrogens; these are environmental estrogens that effect hormones, and can be avoided by eating organic, free-range food, and also by avoiding heating foods in plastic containers. Another way to rebalance your hormones is by doing some energy building exercises like Yoga and Tai Chi, creating an inner balance. Finally and most importantly, READ LABELS! When picking up your food make sure you take a look at the label, if there is a word you can’t read, you probably shouldn’t be putting that in your body. Remember your body is your temple you only get one treat it the best you can!
Let’s Get Cosy, With IKEA
®
You know that you’ve had a good night’s sleep when you wake up easily in the morning. While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between seven to nine hours of sleep per night in order to function at their best. A good night’s rest is important to our health, as the quality of our sleep affects the quality of our waking life: mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even weight. IKEA can help you make the most of your bedroom, so that you can make the most of you. But, did you know that your bedroom environment affects your sleep? Regardless of how you define your bedroom space, it is undoubtedly your “sleeping quarter.” It is where most days start and old ones end. A place where you recharge and refresh your body and soul. Obtain your ultimate comfort zone by surrounding yourself with soft textiles, piles of pillows, cosy quilts, and a mattress that
So put aside your daily routines, and create a cosy corner where you can just be you… A more relaxed, and a more refreshed you!
soft and cosy textiles that give you the perfect excuse to snuggle up and start hibernating. Made with 100% cotton, soft bed linen, cosy quilts, duvet covers and pillow cases give you the comfort of a better night’s sleep.
Find the Bed that’s Just Right
Cosy Up With a Welcoming Pile of Pillows
best suits you. A zone that enhances your sleep experience with products that meet your need for warmth, comfort and softness.
A bed that’s big enough for you to stretch out, cosy enough for you to snuggle up, and functional enough for you to store all you need close at hand. Adjustable bed sides make room for the perfect mattress of your choice. So plump up a welcoming pile of pillows, snuggle down under a thick quilt, and enjoy a little “me time.” Come On In and Get Comfy Tossing, turning and exhausting mornings -we all know the feeling. But did you know that sleeping on the right mattress can help get rid of these problems? IKEA’s wide range of high quality mattresses, with a 25 year guarantee, suits everyone’s sleeping habits at affordable prices. Depending on your sleeping style and body type, IKEA can help you find a mattress that meets your needs. Whether you prefer foam, latex, or spring mattresses, IKEA will have the perfect solution that’s just right for you. Dive into Softness You don’t need to get up just yet. Snuggle into restful sleep each night by surrounding yourself with soft bed textiles. IKEA offers
Back sleepers, side sleepers, or hug-your-pillow sleepers—choose your style and nestle into comfort. IKEA offers you a wide range of pillows filled with down and feathers, memory foam or polyester in a variety of thicknesses to support your sleeping style. With covers made from synthetic materials, you can tell allergies and mites good-bye. Make the most of your comfort zone Complete your comfort zone with IKEA products that satisfy your everyday needs. Treat your feet to some softness with IKEA’s plush or flat-woven rugs, organize your belonging with storage solutions that keep your bedroom clutter free, or simply refresh your bedroom with curtains that come in varying colours and tones. Whatever your needs are, IKEA’s bedroom essentials can help you get that good night’s sleep that you deserve. Visit IKEA store and let our experts help you choose from the wide range of comfort offers that are available. For more ideal bedroom combinations and options, you can also use IKEA Bedroom Vista planning tool in 3D to choose the bedroom that best suits your personality, style, and budget. February, 2015
MEET THE
WITH TASS HASSOUN
From a young age we are told to dream big and follow and never give up on them of us have, it's those who keep working hard and visualize their success whom achieve their dreams. Meet Maraim Al Hamad and Rawaa Jaafar, two young Kuwaiti girls who worked hard to make their dream a reality and listen to the advice they have for other young people looking to build a business. These two ladies own Koon Kuwait fitness apparels shop, here is what they said about their journey. citypageskuwait.com
What’s Koon Kuwait? KOON is more than a fitness apparel store. It is about communication and motivation. It is about all of us, a system. KOON is a system, a push for positive physical and social activity and interaction. It is a completion and continuation to positively active socio-fitness. The idea of KOON started because we wanted to incorporate fitness and fashion, and to get as many people as possible join the fitness community. We wanted to create a socio-fit support system continuum of health and fitness awareness, collaborations and events, for a physically and socially active lifestyle. Where does the name come from? KOON comes from the Arabic word meaning BE (pronounced in a Kuwaiti dialect). We chose the name because it gives out our message of encouraging people to simply BE, the best that they can be. If you didn’t open Koon KWT, where and what would you be doing? Well, Rawa Jafar and I (Maryam AlHamad) are both full-time employees. We had our jobs before opening KOON, and we still do. I’m a clinical dietitian with a BSc from Purdue University and a MSc from University of Leeds. I’m currently working at
the Diabetes Unit of AlAmiri Hospital. Rawa Jafar has 6 years of experience working in the Investment field after completing her BA in Communications and Media from the American University of Kuwait. To what do you attribute your success? We try really hard to collaborate with the community. I think the interest in fitness is growing, you can tell with the number of gyms that have been opening in the last two years. Because of this growing interest, there’s been a lot of events happening around. We try to sponsor or collaborate with as many as we can to both mark our presence and encourage people to achieve a more active lifestyle. Our friends and families have also shown a lot of support both before we opened and now. Rawa and I also have our tasks distributed and trust each other with the effort we put and the results we achieve, which I think counts for a lot. We make sure we get things done efficiently that way. What do u tell new entrepreneur about your experience? Before a business is seem like there’s SO enough time to do consuming initially,
up and running, it’ll much to do and not it. It was very time especially when it’s
all new and there aren’t set guidelines and rules to follow when trying to finish ministry work, finding possible store locations and potential employees. But it’s all doable with good time management. So take it one step at a time. Get things done efficiently, but at your own pace, and enjoy the process. When someone purchases from your store, what would you like them to walk away thinking? That KOON is introducing them to an active, socio-fit community, one where the environment is positive and engaging. We obviously also want them leaving the store excited to wear their newest purchases to either the gym or their next casual hang-out! How is Koon different another “Fitness” clothing lines? We love fitness and fashion. We've both been regular gym-goers for a few years now, and Rawa has also been a long-time footballer. We try to cater to our customers by brining a variety of styles, whether classic blacks and greys, or patterned and multicolored leggings and tops. We notice that the demand for both yoga and crossfit apparel is growing, and so we're trying to meet our customers’ demands with a variety February, 2015
of brands to choose from. We carry multiple brands from England, USA and Australia, catering to different sports and uses. We want people to enjoy being active, and to look good doing it. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? We are hoping to open a larger store, allowing us to bring more brands and a larger variety of styles to our customers. We also want to reach customers around our region, by taking orders and shipping regionally. Our main goal would have to be to get as many people as possible involved in our socio-fit community. Do fitness and a healthy life style play a major role in your life? Yes! Before the idea of KOON even crossed our minds, we were regular gym-goers. I’m more of the one who wants to be a yogi and a runner, whereas Rawa loves competitive sports and in particularly football. Being a dietitian, I also try to balance my exercise with my food. Eating well to stay fit and healthy has always been a part of my adultlife. It’s almost routine now, so whenever I have an off-day, I just get back on track the day after. It’s important to spend time away from your business, ho w do you balance your time? And what do you enjoy doing? Traveling, reading, and spending qualitytime with family and friends. Rawa and I share a lot of friends, so we end up spending a lot of good times together both while working and when hanging out. It was hard to balance our time initially, because we both have our day jobs as well, but now that we’ve established KOON and have everything in control, it’s been a lot easier to manage our time and give each part of our lives enough time and attention. If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting now, what would it be? Might be cliché, but honestly opportunities are endless. So do what you love, and you will do it well. That’s the best way to enjoy the process, success will follow! How you guys as friends and business partners like to spend your spare time? We mostly spend time with friends and family. Whether at the gym, chalet, or at the comfort of our own homes, it’s always a good time. Tell me 3 words that describe you best? Optimistic. Active. Pizza-addict. citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
ZEN I T I C A F O Y DIAR D L R O W E H T OF (DCW)
The Bubble This is a challenge
to all of you out there
is not going as good
as they would have
is to turn EVERY SI
who might think th
at life
hoped for. The chall
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NGLE BAD THOU
GHT INTO A GOOD
ONE, and I mean EVERY SINGLE ON E. If you can keep up this for a week you can easily see the transformation of your life in a we ek and you will cont inue to do so even
after the week is ov
er. This is something
invisible bubble ma
I call the Positive Bu
bble which is an
de of strength and po
sitivity from the wo
you from all the ne
rld that will protect
gativity, however, yo
u must keep in mind
that it is up to you
to let what kind of emotions get into the bubble, so no ma tter what happens on the outside of th at bubble your etern al equilibrium shou ldn't change which
then will help make We just need to loo
your feelings and th
k at things differen
en your life more sta
citypageskuwait.com
tly, start your Bubb
ble.
le TODAY
ADOPT A STREET PRINCESS @ADOPT_A_STREET_PRINCESS
Vision: To provide the street dogs of Kuwait with a better life, and give them the love, respect, and home they deserve. What is “Adopt a street princess�? Adopt a street princess is a campaign dedicated to improving the wellbeing of street dogs in Kuwait, whilst reducing their population and preventing rabies in Kuwait. Since its inception, the programme has been active in many ways, addressing the said critical issues facing society. Adopt a street princess approaches these issues with immense hope, creating a strong impact on the welfare of both animals and peoples of Kuwait. Adopt a street princess rehomes puppies as well as adult dogs. We rely on a wide network of fosters, veterinarians and caring peoples to ensure each dog finds a loving home. Get involved! ADOPT Open your home to a homeless dog and you will be saving a life, while adding love and laughter to your home. FOSTER
Mira: a big female, 1 year old
Benny: a small male dog
Photos by: Witold Wilczynski
You can provide a temporary loving home for a dog awaiting adoption.
Aron: a small male dog February, 2015
Mario Mozzetti Providing authentic Italian culinary experience
Alfredo’s Gallery, a well-renowned authentic Italian diner famous for its Italian cuisine and the scrumptious, finger-licking original Fettuccine Alfredo, was born out of the passion of Alfredo and his ability to prepare simple meals with extraordinary tastes. Alfredo opened its first restaurant in early 1900s in the heart of Rome and began a tradition of culinary excellence that has attracted celebrities from around the world. And now his grandson, Mario Mozzetti is continuing his tradition. Mario is a born entrepreneur. Of those satisfied not just with optimizing the status quo but rather seeking constant development. Under his impetus and with the support of those around him, Alfredo’s Gallery is all set to take the world by storm. In an exclusive interview, Mario Mozzetti shares the long and enriched history of Alfredo’s Gallery and the brand’s expansion plans in Middle East and rest of the world.
citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
Alfredo’s Gallery is the result of over 100 years of tradition and experience in the culinary arts. Can you tell us a bit about its history and how it came about?
The long and enriched history of Alfredo’s Gallery began in early 1900s when it opened its doors in the heart of Rome in Via Della Scrofa. But the reason that has made it cross boundaries is the very famous Fettuccine Alfredo. It was born out of the passion of Alfredo and his ability to prepare simple meals with extraordinary tastes. In a very short time the original and irresistible Fettuccine Alfredo crossed the borders of Rome to achieve international acclaim and become one of the masterpieces in the world of cuisines. After having enjoyed an enormous success for nearly half a century, Alfredo decided to expand his restaurant to forward the dream of his life in the hands of people that with the same passion and care would have perpetuated the secrets, the tradition and the unique atmosphere of Alfredo alla Scrofa. From that moment on, Alfredo alla Scrofa continued the tradition of offering refined family service and timehonored recipes year by year and generation after generation.
This restaurant is the birth place of the original Fettuccine Alfredo. We heard there is a story behind it?
You heard it right! There is a very interesting story that has led to the birth of the celebrated Fettuccine Alfredo. It was invented by Alfredo in 1907 as a gesture of love for his wife and his unborn child and to satisfy the craving of his pregnant wife.
What are other items on your menu besides the well-known Fettuccine Alfredo?
The menu is full of recipes that brings you back to the old flavors, and there are also new recipes all prepared like at home. We offer a choice of soups, salads and pizzas. We also serve a wide variety of pasta and risotto. Meat lovers can choose from delicious variety of chicken, meat, and seafood. And to satisfy your sweet tooth we serve mouth-watering desserts such as Tiramisu Alfredo, Panna Cotta, and Profiterole.
Over the years, hundreds of famous people dined here, the walls are lined with photographs of famous celebrities and it is said that if you ever want to see a celebrity in the flesh, Alfredo’s Gallery is the place to go. Can you name a few? Yes it’s true. Numerous celebrities, politicians and presidents have honored us with their visit over the years such as Sophia Loren, Omar Sharif, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, Dean Martin, Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Monroe, and Jerry Lewis.
Could you share the story behind the golden fork and spoon? Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks came citypageskuwait.com
to our restaurant on their honeymoon. They fell in love with Fettuccine Alfredo and they decided to give us a golden spoon and fork as a memento with their signatures on the back. Fettuccine Alfredo thus became famous all over the world with this simple story because when Pickford and Fairbanks returned to the States, journalists started writing about their honeymoon and their experiences at Alfredo’s restaurant.
Could you outline your restaurants for us please? We have many branches worldwide today such as in Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, and now here in Kuwait and soon opening in Qatar and in Greece.
What is your personal favorite?
Of course the original Fettuccine Alfredo but I am learning to appreciate the combined plate with chicken and mushrooms.
Are you planning to offer any special items for the Kuwaiti market? I am importing an exclusive balsamic vinegar and pure extra virgin olive oil from my land.
According to you how important is the location for your brand? Our location in the Avenues is not really strategic but we believe the atmosphere is unique as staying in a private terrace. Moreover I believe that if a food tastes good people will come for it no matter where it is located and we serve that kind of food!
Are there any specific challenges that you face with your business? We are trying to bring the REAL Italian food served in a REAL Italian environment in Kuwait; our staffs including more than 15 servers and others are all Italian.
Your message to our readers:
Coming to Alfredo’s Gallery is like visiting Italy.
Your message for us at CityPages magazine: It is a very professional magazine and wish we can follow each other during this trip.
February, 2015
The silhouettes that whisper
Avant-garde fashion
Defined by clean lines and a stirring simplicity, the easy silhouettes whisper avant-garde fashion and discreet luxury, the kind a cool and classy girl would so appreciate in today’s world. A mix of comfort, of nonchalance, of modern sophistication, the looks brought to life by thouqi.com and lensed by Claude Stephen don’t thrive on illusions, their palpable ease acting as the one and only incentive. And you can only get inspired by the basic combinations that manage to effortlessly conjure the idea of luxury using merely key pieces such as the oversized coat, black leather pants and clean cut dresses, and they are all made to look incredibly beautiful, tied in a story with flawless make-up and gorgeous hair by Layla Harmony.
Model: @yassi95_ Photographer: Claude Stephan @claudestephanphotography Director by: Jameel Arif @jameelarif Clothes & Accessories: THOUQI @thouqi Makeup, Nails, and Hair: LAYLA HARMONY @laylaharmony
citypageskuwait.com
Coat: Ba&Sh Paris Skirt: Essentiel Bag: Rebecca Minkoff February, 2015
Jacket: Clu Necklace: Essentiel Pants: Tara Jarmon
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Top: Essentiel Pants: Tara Jarmon Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Ring: Maria Francesca Pepe Shoes: Zara
February, 2015
Crop top : Tibi Skirt: Essentiel Bag: Antik Batik Sunglasses: Spektre Ring: Isharya
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Dress: Darling Ring: Isharya Shoes: By Malene Birger Bag: Rebecca Minkoff
February, 2015
Dress: Issa Ring: Isharya Shoes: By Malene Birger Bracelet: Isharya Bag: Essentiel
citypageskuwait.com
Dress: Dress Gallery Paris Bag: Lulu Guiness Shoes: Zara
February, 2015
&
Khalid Al-Zanki The face behind the LAUNCH ON FIRE Business Podcast
citypageskuwait.com
Innovation is what makes the world go round, and in Kuwait it has been the driving force behind the changes that are taking place in the small businesses arena. Khalid Al-Zanki is one of those people who is contributing to this culture of newness that the business community is experiencing by way of an exciting new podcast that he launched and which has grown in popularity since he first launched it.
February, 2015
Introduce yourself to our readers Khalid. I was born in 1978 in Kuwait, I am the face of ALZANKI ENTERPRISES, the creative force behind its launches, and a formidable team builder. I’m the founder and CEO of the first product launch agency in Middle East, which was launched in 2005, and I’m the host and producer of the first business and entrepreneurship podcasts in Middle East, LAUNCH ON FIRE Business Podcasts. I built my first business at the age of 23, reaped profitable rewards and was labeled “A True Leader and Entrepreneur” & “Most Influential Person Online”. I’ve been positioned as one of Kuwait’s Top Marketing Mavens (trusted expert), because I share real life advice as someone who has been there in his own ventures. An entrepreneur almost since birth, it all started with childhood dreams of becoming a businessman running multiple businesses that would make a difference in the world. Basically, I’m a classic example of turning a personal obsession into a business success in Kuwait. What did you receive your formal education in and where? I’m a computer engineer. I received my formal education from the College of Engineering & Petroleum in Kuwait University. It is one of my secret weapons in business success, which has shaped my important skillsets. Tell us about your career path until you reached the point of establishing LAUNCH ON FIRE. I started my career working at College of Business Administration in Kuwait University’s Information Technology Department for a few years. One day, a friend from one of the departments who moved to private sector invited me for coffee, and he shared that citypageskuwait.com
there was an open opportunity in the company he works for. I had three interviews in one week, and then decided to quit my job with the university and accept a new challenge in Salhia Real Estate Company. It sounded great, but guess what, the government seemed to follow me there too! The company hired a director who used to work for one of Kuwait Government Agencies for 15 years prior. I never thought this would happen, but it did. So, while working in the company, I noticed average leadership was demonstrated in both the public and private sectors. Quick research was done to find out more about outstanding leadership and how we can raise the level of leadership and build true leaders in the country. Hence, I launched my first business LEADER ENTERPRSIES, which was the first leadership development company in Kuwait. It was dedicated to delivering outstanding leadership seminars, workshops and programs. My team and I had outstanding performance in such a small and a competitive market. We had great success and we turned sand into gold. In 2008, the financial crisis hit the global economy; so I did my research and asked for advice from the best in the field of business and economy about what to do. The outcome was shutting the business down in mid of 2009, and I took a warriors break. After that I re-launched ALZANKI ENTEPRISES, which is known for positioning people and companies products and services for profit through proven marketing innovative product launch solutions. World-class product launches are responsible for the success of giant businesses today. How did you get into the business of Pod-casting? Part of my investments helped me to be a member in many platinum mastermind groups internationally, back in 2006 podcasting was one of the new media platforms which allow
people to produce content online, for audiences to consume that content anytime and anywhere. The community was talking about it, and at the beginning we had failures and successes in utilizing and monetizing the podcasting platform. Today, there are at least 500 millions podcasts listed on Apple iTunes, and some podcasts succeeded and many failed for various reasons. Where did you find your inspiration to start the LAUNCH ON FIRE Business Podcasts? I was inspired by the markets needs and wants, and started LAUNCH ON FIRE business podcasts for three main reasons; the first reason for there is no central location where information about local entrepreneurs is shared. The second reason is that the podcast gives people a chance to get to know the entrepreneurs better. The third reason is because there are common issues, stories, or matters applicable to entrepreneurs in Kuwait that people would love to hear. Also LAUNCH ON FIRE does not highlight the success of entrepreneurs reaching a certain level; in fact it highlights failures and lessons they learned. What steps did you take to ensure that you were conducting the podcast in the most professional way? There are many steps in the process; I’ll highlight the major ones. The number one step is to identify a market need and anticipate a trend ahead of time, and then formulated the idea and designed a blueprint launch plan. The second step was, we did a quick survey to see if our business community and entrepreneurs were whiling to participate and share their stories with the world. Finally, we asked for advice from professional audio production experts, because quality sound really matter in the world of podcasting. Where do you meet all your guests that you've interviewed? I’m part of various business and entrepreneurship communities in Kuwait, and I’ve developed a very solid network of entrepreneurs, professionals and experts over a decade, both locally and internationally. On the other hand, the massive success of LAUNCH ON FIRE first season created a massive interest, and people started calling us for interviews or nominating entrepreneurs and/ or experts for the podcasts. How much time does it take to conduct your interviews? Usually, it takes 30-60 minutes. What kind of technical set-up does one have to have to begin a basic podcast? A very basic one, you can start with a desktop or laptop with USB microphone, along with a website that syndicates episodes/ podcasts with Apple iTunes or any other podcasting networks. Where do you get your energy from, seeing how busy you have become lately? I get my energy from the LAUNCH ON FIRE community and raving fans. It is such an awesome feeling, when one of podcast listeners/ subscribers shares their aha-moments from the interviews that I record, and when an entrepreneur shares the exclusive content with our audience that adds greater value. What does your typical day look like? My typical day usually looks crazy, it starts at 6:00 AM. I spend few hours getting ready for projects and initiatives that we manage. Then, I take a break in afternoon to refresh and energize, then we start recording interviews during the evening time, and sometime I record morning interviews. Finally, I evaluate the day and prepare for brand new day. What do you do for fun or to relax? For fun, I spend quality time with family and best friends. Relaxing is important, I rejuvenate during weekends and I make sure to spend time with myself, yes alone! I enjoy reading books, listening to music and watching business related videos or business shows.
Do you have any new projects in mind that you feel will become as popular as LOF? Of course, there are a few projects related to business. I can’t talk about all the projects at the moment, because we’re still connecting things and brainstorming ideas. You’ll be the first to know, when we start launching. By the way, I will be starting a solo-podcast titled “LAUNCH ANSWER MAN”, the main aim of this podcast to help individuals, startups and entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Have you experienced any setbacks during your employment history? Yes. It is part of the game. If you want to win in life, you will face setbacks and challenges. The road to success is always under construction, you’ve to keep moving forward. Never give up! Now that you've yourself interviewed a diverse group of business owners, what is the one thread in common that you have found that ties them together? That’s a great question; I love it! Since LAUNCH ON FIRE is a story-based podcast, I got the opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurs and their stories. There are many common factors, I will highlight few. (1) They work in and out of their business, (2) They all faced high levels of negative emotions and thoughts throughout their business journey, but they believed in themselves and their ideas, (3) They have the power to improve the business environment in Kuwait, they just need a chance to prove it, (4) They have the willingness to create massive success stories. If our audience listens to at least one podcast a day, then they will findout more inspiring, common factors between every guest we’ve interviewed. How do you plan on further developing LAUNCH ON FIRE? That’s a secret plan Kinda. If your readers follow LAUNCH ON FIRE, they’ll be able to connect the dots. Personally, I’m devoted in developing LAUNCH ON FIRE and taking it to next level, we’ve huge responsibility towards our 20,000+ podcast listeners. Who are your own mentors or influencers? How have they affected your life career wise and personally? I have the best mentors around me. When it comes to being the best, it pays to learn from the best. I look for the best in the field always; I never surround myself with mediocre mentors. If any of your readers interested to get great mentors, just drop me a message; and I will be more than happy to share with them the mentors affected my professional and career. What is your most favorite time of day? Early morning. Do you have a favorite destination? My favorite destination is California, USA – I love it! What is your advice to anyone who needs encouragement in their career path? When you live for other’s opinions, you are dead. I can’t tell you what the worst opinions in my life taught me. And, I don’t live in the past, I always look forward. Surround yourself with an “A+” Team, don’t waste your time with average players or leaders. What is your one message to Kuwaiti youth, who want to make something of themselves? Never wait for permission from others, and follow your heart. Develop your skills, because when opportunity knocks the door and you’re ready you’ll have a much better chance at taking on an opportunity than when you aren’t ready. Listen to LAUNCH ON FIRE log on to www.launchonfire.com Put your comments and thoughts on twitter @KhalidAlzanki February, 2015
Lina Brax Driven by passion, fuelled by dreams Lina Brax is the mastermind designer behind the new, highly sought-after handbag design brand Lina Brax the Brand. She was born in the beautiful city of Beirut-Lebanon, and grew up there till age 21 when she left to Paris to pursue her studies at L’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce. Lina Brax’s creativity is fueled by a lifelong passion for art and design. At a young age, she began exploring the boundaries of art with painting. Love for art and creation continued in to later years of her life leading to the birth of her brand. Designer Lina Brax has created a line of handbags which are designed to be classic yet edgy and offer a lifetime of use. All of her handbags are designed and made using the finest materials without compromising on quality or practicality. Here, she talks about when and how did it all start, her inspirations, and the challenges she has to face. Continue reading…
Please introduce yourself to our readers: I am a handbag designer and my brand is named after mine; Lina Brax.
Tell us about your education:
I have completed my education in France and graduated from one of the top 5 universities in Paris – École Supérieure de Commerce. I have a Bachelor in Economic and Masters in Finance.
When did you first get into design?
My desire to create and innovate has accompanied me since my early childhood. I remember when I was young, we used to have painting classes at our school and I got the first award for my project but due to lack of orientation at that time in Beirut I couldn’t continue in that field. Later on, after completing my studies I decided to take painting courses in Paris with a Russian teacher, who taught me the basics and how to mix and match colors. I studied there for 4 continuous years and it was during that time when my love for art, creation and fashion was nurtured. I did several exhibitions in some of citypageskuwait.com
the Parisian galleries and have a big collection of paintings.
How did it all start and what made your interested in handbags? It all started with a desire to carry a python bag… but not just any bag, only the one that I had dreamt of. So, instead of simply shopping for one, I bought the python skin then scouted a factory out to produce my own! Lina Brax the Brand, was thus born in Beirut, just after I decided to return with my family in 2012 and spend the rest of my life creating for myself and other women out there!
How would you define Lina Brax the Brand?
Lina Brax is a brand for luxury handbags. Lina Brax handbags are basically European style, classical and timeless pieces. I want women who wear Lina Brax handbags feel proud and happy. I would not want them to wonder if they have chosen the right accessory to fit the attire. Feeling natural is a luxury in itself, and my main objective is to ensure that carrying my handbags on daily basis is natural whilst bringing about admiration.
What's the your pieces?
motivation
behind
As I work in fashion, I get my inspiration from this world. I am open and aware of my environment. Many times influence from several different sources get me thinking and lead to new ideas or solutions. I can get my inspiration from a baby cushion, and this can lead me to a new design of a handbag like for example, the wood wings was inspired from a photo shoot of Stefano Pilati I saw in VOGUE magazine, having many feathers around him with the YSL bag he designed at that time. These feathers stayed in my mind, and I decided to create a bag around this idea. Feathers are everywhere in the fashion world lately, there is something so frivolously fun about them.
You started your first design using python. Why python? What other materials do you use? Material can play a factor in deciding how much the bag will cost eventually, as well as what kind of quality I want to offer. It also defines the personality of my brand. I started
February, 2015
with python and leather all the way inside out. I get attracted to the full grain leather, which is the highest quality of leather that shows natural scrapes and marks. but recently I was driven by a fabric from Italy that is 100% washable, I started using it on the jumbo design and the new mini lovely, even though the inside of the bag is made by leather. You will never see Lina Brax - the Brand using synthetic material or false leather.
What are the challenges you have faced during your journey as a handbag designer? As I was reading one day in VOGUE : « So often, in fashion, the outside world only sees the glamour and sparking flashbulbs of the runway and forgets that the industry's greatest designers are really business owners who face the same triumphs and challenges of other entrepreneurs ». Starting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs like me but maintaining one is the bigger challenge, that I feel today with my 2 years of existence in the market. The first challenge lies in the market itself. We have to know the market, so the design of the bag fits in its right place. The second is marketing the bag, targeting the key people who can boost the bag to its highest level and impact the sales. And the most important challenge is balancing between
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quality and growth. The obsession to maintain the right balance between the quality and the cost of this quality is an everyday challenge.
What is the price range of your handbags?
If you could design a bag for anyone in the world, who would it be?
How can people get a hold of Lina Brax bag?
Angelina Jolie, she is the kind of a person who doesn’t live in the extravagant fashion obsession. She is beyond fashion, we can call her a timeless piece of humanity. I feel that I can design a bag for her without any difficulties as the values of Lina Brax - the Brand are a perfect fit for her.
Through the website www.linabrax.com, it is turning into an e-shop very soon (end of February) and also on www.mooda.com they can also get in contact with me directly through the instagram. People usually like this way because they feel they are very close to their product.
Are you planning to venture into anything else other than bags?
Where do you see the brand going in the future?
Definitely, but not now. It’s the normal growth trend for any brand.
If you weren't a designer, what would you be? Another designer (LOL).
What has been your greatest achievement in your career to date?
I am very happy that my bags started to get recognition pretty quickly by everyone. I have achieved big success in building the image of the brand in just two short years.
From 230$ to 630$.
My dream is big and hopefully I will realize it one day.
What would be your ultimate goal for the brand? Never play with quality. Doing more and more exhibitions. Trying to be everywhere.
Your message for us at CityPages magazine: Thank you for finding me and doing this interview. Keep the good job of finding the emerging designers.
GETTING PERSONAL Where were you born? Beirut.
Where do you live now? Beirut.
Profession:
Bag designer.
Birthday:
18 February.
How would you describe your personal style? I always had this edgy style.
What are your favorite shoes? My YSL boots.
What Fashion Tip do you live by?
Skinny jeans, my YSL boots and the red lipsticks.
Favorite city, and why:
Paris, because I am French and I lived there for more than 15 years.
Favorite place to shop:
I love to walk while I shop at the Le Marais in Paris.
Favorite vacation spot:
Forte dei Marmi that is located along the northern Tuscany coast, I can rest and relax there with my family and have a lovely time shopping and eating the Italian food.
Favorite food:
I love barbecues and tomato salad with lots of fries. I am a very picky eater, I prefer organic food.
Favorite movie:
I am addicted to The Godfather. I love it when Calo says: In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns. If you give it a definition today, it can be: never underestimate the power of a woman.
Favorite band:
My favorite singer was Amy Winehouse.
Favorite book: Le petit prince
Favorite designers: Phoebe Philo
Style icon:
No one can compete with Kate Moss First thing you do in the morning: I drink hot water with a twist of lemon and honey.
Last thing you do before bed: I check my phone and pray.
What are you obsessed with at the moment? With the designs of my new collection.
Personal motto:
Work hard and be nice to people. February, 2015
Miami
Take a number of diverse cultures, add a strong dose of the arts and a splash of ocean water, and you have Miami. Looking at the fantastic art museums and the blossoming gastronomical scene, you might find it hard to believe that just a century ago, this colorful Floridian city was covered in swampland.
Where to Stay
What to do:
For Shopping:
Crowne Plaza South Beach - Z Ocean Hotel
Lincoln Road: Great shopping and peoplewatching in SoBe
EPIC Hotel - a Kimpton Hotel
Art Deco Historic District: The look that makes South Beach iconic
Dolphin Mall
Mandarin Oriental, Miami
Coconut Grove: neighborhood
Dadeland Station
The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami
Miami Zoo: The only US subtropical zoo
Design District
Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach
Art Basel: One of the world's best fine art shows
Miracle Mile
citypageskuwait.com
Miami's
Bon voyage!
oldest
Antique Mall Y'All
February, 2015
ومـاهـي المـشـاعـــر سوي تصرفات بسيطه تـسعـدنا أو تـتسعـنـا مدي الحياة ولــيــد بعد تلك الليلة ..تحسف علي اللي سواه وحب يلطف الجو وبدل
ما يعتذر لها بدأ يسرد أحاديث دينية تحرم فيه األحتفال بهذا اليوم ، ألغت سارة من بعد هذا اليوم المشاعر الرومانسية من قاموس حياتها الزوجية فأصبحت حياتهم الخاصه مثل الوجبات السريعة اشباع مؤقت ال طعم وال نكهه . استفاقت من ذكرياتها الحزينه علي صوت الخدامه تنادي بأن الجميع بأنتظارها والضيوف وصلوا ،فأستعجلت بترتيب حالها وذهبت ألستقبالهم والترحيب بهم أحـمـد األخ األصغر( الجعده) لزوجها تزوج حديثا من لـيلـي بنت حلوه ورقيقه فكانت أول عزيمه للترحيب بهم بعد الزواج في بـيـت ولـيـد
رحـلـة الـمـالـديــف حجز لهما في المنتجع الفاخر NIYAMA Maldives Per AQUUMعلى الجزيرة الخاصة Olhuveliفي المالديف ،ويضم سبا يعمل على مدار الساعة، كما يتميز بأول نادي ليلي تحت الماء في العالم .وتوفر هذه الجنة االستوائية شاطئ هادئ خاص وخدمات الخادم الشخصي وخدمة الواي فاي المجانية في جميع أنحاء المنتجع.
وسـارة .
جـميع أفراد أسرة ولــيــد مجتمعين ..واألنظار موجهه للعرسان الجـدد أحـمـد و لـيلـي ومغامراتهم في شهر العسل ،عندها بدأ الكل بأسترجاع ذكرياته والمقارنه بين الجيل القديم والجيل الحالي ،عندها أحـمـد بدأ يحكي عن ترتيبات عيد الحب مع أقتراب موعده وأين سيقضيه مع عروسته لـيلـي ؟؟ وتـداخلت المشاركات من أخوات ولــيــد وأزواجهم فمنهم من حجز رحلة بحرية واألخر ســفره قـصـيره وغيره ذلك .. انصدم ولــيــد بمدي االنفتاح علي الموضوع وأهميته لدي الجميع وان الوضع عادي والكل متقبل ان يحتفل بهذا العيد حاول ان يصر علي أفكاره وبدأ بأقناعهم ان هذا اليوم اليجوز األحتفال فيه والشخص اللي يحب اليحتاج يوم معين ليبرهن علي حبه ،الجميع اخبره ان مثل هذه المناسبات تنعش الحياه الزوجيه بعيدا عن األطفال والمسؤوليات وروتين الحياه ،بدأت النساء تبتعد عن المجلس وتشكل لها أحاديث جانبيه عن تحضيرات ذلك اليوم . في هذا الوقت استرق ولــيــد نظرات تمني أن ال تشعر بها ســارة ،بحث عن ردت فعل تبرر له صحة معتقداته لكن لالسف رأي فيها انكسار وكأنها أقل منهن شأنا فانشغلت بتقديم الضيافة عن مشاركتها احاديثهن السعيده عن ماذا تتحدث ؟؟ عن تصرفه الغبي في تلك الليلة إلعتقاده بأن هذه الرجوله التي يحكي له اصدقائه عنها وان التعبير عن المشاعر يعتبر ضعفا ،فحرم علي نفسه وزوجته التمتع باللحظات الرومانسية ،لكن لماذا كل هذا العناد واالصرار ؟؟ ما الضرر لو أشتري حبها بورده حمراء!! مالضرر لو بادلها مشاعر الحب التي يحملها لها من أول يوم خطبها فيه !! ولــيــد أحب ســارة بكل تفاصيلها ،،بعفويتها و حنان األم اللي عوضته عن فقدان والدته في سن مبكر من حياته ،هل الي هذه الدرجه هو أناني ؟؟ لم يستطع ليلتها النوم فالتفكير بحياته ومراجعه معتقداته بعد هذا العشاء ،بدأ وليد يستوعب تفاصيل لم ينتبه لها من قبل عن اهتمام ساره به ،تحضيرها اليومي الفطاره وحرصها علي تنظيم حياته وتربيه أوالده ،حتي اجتماعاته بالدوام دائما تتصل لتطمئن عليه وتبث فيه روح التشجيع ،كيف لم يقدر كل هذا ؟؟ فأجئها بحجز لرحلة المالديف فقط لهما في عيد العشاق تعويضا واكراما لحبه لها . عندما يحب الرجل إمراه فأنها يعرف كيف يثبت لها حبـه ... Happy Valentine Day Everyone citypageskuwait.com
TRAVEL WITH
by: MOUZAH ALSHAREEDAH تابعوني باالنستجرام لمزيد من القصص والرحالت Travelwithmuzmuz
كل األعياد تتشابهه إال ذلك الـعـيـد ( عـيـد الـعـشـاق )
كم من عاشق سعيد ينتظر بفارغ الصبر لقاء محبوبه ،، وكم من عاشق تعيس يتمني ان يختفي ذلك اليوم اللعين الذي يذكره بوحدته ،، وكم من عاشق يحلم بأن يوما ما سيحتفل به مع نصفه االخر،، عـيـد الـحـب ،،مهما عارضته مهما همشته امام الجميع فبداخل كل شخص فينا رغبة بأن يتشارك تلك اللحظات مع من أختاره القلب والروح ويعلنها ...اني أحبك عـيـد الـحـب ،،ذلك اليوم الذي تترقب فيه كل فتاه رزمة من الورود الحمراء ،تتباهي فيها ٌ ملك لحبيب عاشق اليخاف الناس يعترف بأنها بحبه لها دون تردد . كم أنت ظالم ايها الـعـيـد ،،عند عشاق متحجري المشاعر يرمونك بأقـبـح األعـذار وكأن الـورود التي ترسل بهذا اليوم ستدخلنا جهـنم وكـأن حـبـنا هو خطيـئـتنا التي سنحاسب عليها .
فلنتاين ...بالكويتي
رفـقـ ًا بقلب عاشق أبـسـط حـلمـه ورده حـمـراء مـصحـوبـة بـكـلمة ،،،أحــبــك
تنظر في المرآه لتشاهد ذلك اللون األبيض بدأ يغزو مفرق رأسها و تطول بالنظر لتري بقايا إمرأه كيف وصلت الي تلك الحاله؟؟ تسائلت :شصار فيني ..؟؟ شلون وصلت الي هالمرحله من االهمال ؟؟ تذكرت ســارة نفسها وهي عروس صغيره ،فرحانه مندفعه بمشاعرها نحو زوج المستقبل. ربوها أهلها علي أن الحب هو حبك لزوجك وأوالدك فعلت ماطلبوا ،واحتفظت بكل كلمة حب لذلك الزوج . .يجمعهم تحت سقف واحد ) (Valentine Dayتذكرت أول عيد حب رسمت بخيالها تلك الفكره الرومانسية عن عشاء يجمعهم بين الورود والشموع بدأت من شهر بالتحضير واإلدخار لتلك اللية كان أجمل مافي التحضيرات أن تقف بالطابور لتشتري الكيكه المخصصه لعيد الحب وكأنها تخبر العالم ...وأخـيرا لـدي حـبـيـب . تذكرت لحظة وصول زوجها ولـيـد الي المنزل عندما شاهد الشموع والورود الحمراء المنثوره كمسار طريق الي أجمل طاولة رومانسية مرتدية أجمل فساتينها سعيدة بأستقباله كانت متوقعه أول مايشوفها يطير عليها ويشيلها بحب وحنان ويفاجئها بكلمات حب لم تسمعها من قبل توقعت منه هدية تفرح قلبها وتذكرها بحبه لها علي طول الزمن. ســارة :كل عام وأنت بخير حبيبي ،اليوم أول عـيـد حـب لنا مع بعض. ولــيــد :شنو شهالخرابيط شمسويه ..؟؟ اي حب واي خرابيط فتحي الليتات (االضاءه) وتركي عنج الكالم الفاضي . انصدمت لما شافته بدأ يطفي الشموع وحتي ما التفت عليها وبدأ بالسخريه عليها وان هالشموع كان ممكن تحرق البيت وضحك علي لبسها ومكياجها وتنسيقها لطاولة الطعام وبدأ يضحك ويضحك. بعد هذه الليله إنهارت كل مشاعرها التي احتفظت بها ،ظلت تبكي طوال الليل وانكسر شي بينها وبينه لربما يراه البعض عادي او بسيط February, 2015
PEEL AWAY IMPERFECTIONS
Our skin gets it color from a pigment called Melanin and cells called melanocyte are responsible for its production. But if these cells are disturbed and damaged it affects our skin health drastically, causing one to experience low self-esteem and always having the need to overload their skin with every product in the market. Pigmentation or Hyper-Pigmentation occurs when there is an over-production of the melanin. In most cases pigmentation is affected to only certain areas, most common
Anisaa New LaFem Salon & Beauty Co.
Anisaa is an Aesthetic Consultant and Trainer with New Lafem Salon & Beauty Co. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram at: @lafemsalonq8 citypageskuwait.com
are forehead, hairline and cheeks while some get affected on other parts of their body as well. There are pigmentation which is genetically inherited like the age/ liver spots and freckles, but there are those which are built on during one’s lifetime due to various factors. Pregnancy, prescription medication, topical creams with fragrance or chemical ingredients, hormonal changes or imbalance and exposure to sun can cause pigmentation. As some of these factors cannot be controlled, protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful
rays is vital. While the melanin is also responsible to protect the skin cells from the UVB radiation, but in the attempt to protect the skin from damage over-exposure to the sun’s UVA rays can stimulate the melanin production causing hyper-pigmentation or increase the risk of cancer. Post chemical or laser treatments one must be extremely careful, since the skin is at a very sensitive vulnerable stage and can get affected very easily. At times if our body is deficient from essential nutrients and most importantly dehydrated our face can show signs of blotchy uneven skin tone which can be easily treated by replenishing our body from within and using rich antioxidant skin care product.
Acid-based Magic Potion •Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA’S) based peeling treatments like glycolic and lactic acid are water-soluble and can dissolve glue-like bonds between the cells causing to shed of the buildup of dead surface cells ushering in a fresher new skin layer. As the surface cells starts peeling away, the cells beneath are renewed resulting in an even toned bright complexion. •Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA’S) based peeling treatments like salicylic acid are oilsoluble and can penetrate deeper into greasy pores to control the sebum production and kill the acne-causing bacteria as well. But apart from the acne fighting property BHA’S are combined with AHA treatments to target chronic marks and pigmentation as well. There are many other acid-based peeling treatments (Retinoic acid, Kojic, Azelaic acid, Hyaluronic acid, trichloroacetic acid - TCA peel) which could be prescribed for your skin upon a professional consultation. Then there is the Microdermabrasion, Ultrasonic therapy and Laser treatments that are also prescribed to target pigmentation as it stimulates cells renewal, amps up collagen production and results in an even-toned bright complexion.
Many less potent over-the-counter acid based products such as cleansers, scrubs, toners, serum or night creams are usually recommended to give your skin a slight hit of the acid before trying out a stronger formula. These products do help as they are neutralized acids and encourage a slower process of mild micro exfoliation on your skin. On the other hand there are dermatological products which are specially formulated for pigmentation as well. But it is important to always top your skin with a broad spectrum sunscreen since your skin tends to be more sensitive when it is under the influence of any peeling treatment.
And then there is the Medically developed – Nature based Herbal Peeling “NEW SKIN IN 5 DAYS” with the GREEN PEEL® Herbal Peeling Treatment holds a worldwide proven track record for more than 50 years and targets all types of skin disorders. The GREEN PEEL® herbs are a mixture of selected herbs containing enzymes, minerals and vitamins, which are massaged into the skin causing the skin to peeling naturally. In case of pigmentation a milder treatment is advised along with recommended home care products especially formulated for uneven skin tone and pigmentation. The key to finding a solution to hyper- pigmentation is finding the right treatment for your skin type and understanding what your skin needs to feed it with the right home care products. Always know more about the treatment you choose to undergo because a wrongly performed face treatment could also lead to various skin conditions. February, 2015
Wearing and storing fragrances How to Store
•Behind the ears
Special Occasions
Wherever possible, bottles should be stored in a cool dark place. The cooler the temperature, the longer the smell will remain true. Keep out of direct sunlight and store in the box if possible. If you have two bottles the same, try to keep one sealed until you have finished the other. What our experts say: “If stored correctly your bottle can last up to two years”
Perfume should be sprayed about 20cm from the body.
Using two or more products from the same perfume range will increase the length of time that the smell stays true on the skin. What our experts say: “Spraying your perfume into your hair will cause the scent to be released at intervals throughout the day as you brush your hair or move” Follow these rules for maximum staying power perfumes:
How to Wear Wearing a perfume on your pulse points or where the body is naturally warmer will increase the reaction time of the perfume and it’s the intensity. •Wrist •Crook of your arm •Behind the knees
This allows the perfume to become a mist and absorb into the skin better. Spraying too close to your body may prevent the perfume from drying naturally to release its various different notes.
Don’t Rub It! The most common error that people make when they put scent on is to rub their wrists together. Rubbing the perfume causes the different delicate notes to bruise together. Also rubbing removes the top notes causing the perfume to smell different.
ASAMA Perfumes The creative method gave ASAMA Perfumes the time and the opportunity to craft fragrances while working with the highest quality ingredients in a bottle and using Arabic and Western scents as a unique concept point for the fragrances. They welcome your comments at PR@ASAMAPerfumes.com Follow them on Instagram and Twitter: @ASAMAPerfumes citypageskuwait.com
Hair Spray For a lovely overall layer of perfume, spray the bottle up into the air at arms length - then walk into the scented cloud.
1.Start with a body wash or shower gel 2.Then use a body lotion or cream whilst the body is still damp 3.A quick all round use of EDT 4.Then some key applications of perfume on your pulse points.
For men – Aftershave or EDT EDT should not be sprayed on the face just on the neck and body. Aftershaves and aftershave balms should be used on the face.
MELA WHITE Dermatological care for a Harmonious Even Complexion
MELA WHITE products are exclusively targeted towards balancing the existing hyper-pigmentation and preventing formation of new pigment discoloration. MELA WHITE combines its brightening effect with non-aggressive complex ingredients that have regenerating and invigorating effect on the skin. Free of parabens, paraffin oil, coloring agents and PEG derivatives.
MELA WHITE DAY CREAM: Moisturizing day cream with effective sun protection filters. MELA WHITE NIGHT CREAM: Hydrating night cream with avocado and macadamia nut oils to reinforce the skin brightening processes. Defensil速 calms and regenerates skin. MELA WHITE ACTIVE C SERUM: Brightening essence with Vitamin C that activates collagen synthesis and has an antioxidant effect. MELA WHITE OVERNIGHT: Gel-stick to target affected areas. A film is formed that enables the effect of vitamin C, mulberry, hibiscus flower, cucumber and olive leaf extract complex to directly develop its best performance. MELA WHITE ILLUMINATOR: Moisturizing lotion spray with concentrated vitamin C fight against skin discolorations. Licorice root and grapevine extracts protect skin from free radicals and hydrate skin. Exclusive Distributor & Trainer - Kuwait & UAE
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lafemsalonq8 February, 2015
Miniature Malekpour Miniature Malekpour is a Persian/Australian filmmaker based in Kuwait for the past 9 years and current MFA/PhD candidate at the University of Sydney. She received her B.A in Mass Communication from Gulf University for Science and Technology (Kuwait) and her M.F.D.I. from the University of Sydney in 2011. She has gone on to direct several short films/music videos and work as a post-producer for Cinemagic (Kuwait film production company) and as a freelance writer for Luti Media (music video production company based in London). In 2012, Miniature represented Kuwait at the Birds Eye Film Festival (London) celebrating Arab women filmmakers. In 2014, her short film ‘Majnun’ and her graphic design series THE XX SERIES was showcased at the LoudArt exhibition's in Khubar/Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Infinity (made in 2013) was also exhibited at the DLux Media Arts Showcase's Is This Art? in Sydney (2014). Her paper TARANTINO: HAPPINESS IN THE DARK was presented at the Happiness, Joy and Pleasure conference held at University of Sydney in 2014. She will be presenting another paper URBAN TERRORISM: RESURRECTION OF HIP HOP IN THE MIDDLE EAST at the 36th Annual Southwest/American Popular Culture Conference which is to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2015 and at the Far West Popular and American Culture Associations (Las Vegas). CityPages recently had an opportunity to interview Miniature Malekpour, where she discusses some of the interesting elements related to films she is creatively dedicated to. Read on.
citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
Please introduce yourself to our readers: My name is Miniature Malekpour but everybody calls me Mina for short. I am a 24-years-old Persian/Australian filmmaker currently based in Kuwait for the past 9 years. When did you first get into filmmaking and what first inspired you to do so? Well, I actually despised anything to do with film and theatre when I was growing up due to my parent’s profession. I grew up in a very artistic home, my father is a film/theatre director and my mother was an actress and is a theatre/film director and writer as well. I used to go with them on set and I enjoyed the actual ART but not the pre-production and stress that came along with it. I would see it at home how stressful my parents would become so I always wanted to end up doing something in music or study Forensic Science/Criminology. You can say that my parents initially inspired me but I actually started making movies in college after I took a video production class. Tell us a bit about your work as a music video director and short filmmaker: Well, music has always been a passion of mine. I started playing the guitar when I was 7 years old and producing music when I was 16 but I never really had the voice to go along with whatever I produced. Don’t get me wrong, I am a pretty decent rapper but when it comes to singing…I’ll leave that to Beyonce. To be honest, music videos are just fun to watch and make. Especially if you are really into music like myself. Even when I was a kid, I always looked at them like they were some sort of musical fantasy that’s on screen. With the short films, it’s just practice leading up to the big game; feature films. I’ve made around 6 - 7 shorts so far and not many people know but they are all actually connected. But I won’t give much away here. Do you have any formal education or training in your sphere or were you self-taught? I have a B.A in Mass Communications with the emphasis being Visual Communication from Gulf University for Science and Technology right here in Kuwait. I then went on to receive my Masters in Film and Digital Image from University of Sydney and I’m currently a PhD candidate in Visual Arts with a Master of Fine Arts on the side from the University of Sydney. I’m also a certified colorist from the International Colorist Academy in New York and I did an internship at Luti Media (Music Video Production House) in London. Oh and I also worked as Post-Producer/Colorist at Cinemagic (Kuwait) for around 18 months. But most of the stuff I come up with is self-taught. These are just practical training for me. The most important tool any person can have is their brain. Your short films are very successful at drawing out a very intimate and personal-seeming narrative. Are any of the stories drawn from individual experience? I think every writer or director draws out their own personal experiences in their work. I mean, most of the stuff I write is dark and disturbing, but it’s all really just metaphoric. I try to bring out the good and bad of humanity with everything I do because in reality there is a good and bad side to every thing we face. I’m just honest about it. From where do you get the inspiration for your filmmaking process? citypageskuwait.com
Life. Oh, and also what is beyond it and the unseen. There is so much to what we think we know, so I strive on that. That’s my inspiration. Do you think mentors are important for emerging filmmakers? Who have been your role models and mentors in your development as a filmmaker? Of course! Even if you are a cocky/arrogant person who doesn’t take anyone’s advice, you are still inspired by other people. That’s just the way it works. My mentors have been my parents, no doubt about that. Being surrounded by them has defined a part of who I am as a person now. Whether that is a good or bad thing, it has helped me achieve a lot. I haven’t admitted this to them so maybe when they read this they will be somewhat happy. Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Craven, and William Shakespeare are my role models. Shakespeare is so good with words that when you sit down to read his work you can’t help but visualize. Same goes for Sophocles. Do you think filmmaking is a traditionally male arena? What isn’t? But yes, definitely but I think that’s what makes it fun as a female, to try and take over a male dominated area. What are the challenges you have faced as a filmmaker? Being female is one of them. Lack of support from people is another (especially in the GCC region). And the fact that everything I have worked on has had no budget basically. My most common source of lighting comes from car lights. No one really notices this but honestly, I have limited resources every time I work and it sucks but it makes you grow as a filmmaker. You learn things others don’t. Last year, your short film ‘Majnun’ was shown at the LoudArt exhibition, which took place in Khubar, Saudi Arabia. What do you hope your audiences will take away from your films, especially Arab audiences? This doesn’t just apply to the Arab audience but I just want people to walk away from my work and think about things that they wouldn’t normally think about or are too scared to admit to themselves. I want to expose people’s inner demons because that’s the only way to make peace with oneself. And finally, what’s next for you? Is there any plan for a full-length film? There is. I am actually working on a feature documentary right now, which is quite cool, but next year inshallah, I will dive into my first feature film, which has a pretty awesome script. What advice do you have for filmmakers-to-be? Don’t be afraid to take risks. That’s the only way you will grow. You will fail and fall flat on your face at times, but it will only make you stronger, trust me. Your message for us at CityPages magazine: The world is your oyster.
February, 2015
MEN SHOULDN’T BE AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PROBLEMS
“What’s going on in that head of yours,” said Noah’s mother. He looked at his mother and sat in silence. He had a lot going on his mind and he just didn’t know how to sort it all out. His mother gave him a hug, “you can always talk to me about anything at all,” she said. He gave her a smile and got up to get ready for work. Noah was a 25- year old man, who had wonderful friends, an amazing wife and a supportive family, but he felt unhappy and he was struggling financially. After work, he sat in his car for a whole hour, thinking. His wife Sara knocked on the window and Noah opened the door for her. “What’s up love?” she said in a concerned tone. Noah’s eyes filled up, and he tried so hard to keep the tears back, he didn’t want his wife to Nadia AlHassan
Nadia Al-Hassan is a student in Ireland, studying Journalism. She is passionate about writing stories and poetry. Nadia loves helping people with her stories. She believes that words are beautiful and powerful. citypageskuwait.com
see him cry. Men don’t cry. “Oh Noah, it’s okay to talk about how you’re feeling. And if you’re feeling down, then talk about it. Men shouldn’t be afraid to talk about feeling down,” she said as she looked at his eyes fill up. “I don’t think I fit in just yet,” Noah replied. “I love Kuwait. But I just feel like I can’t fit in, I’m finding it hard to adjust here.” Noah’s mother is English and his father is Kuwaiti. He lived in England for most of his life and moved to Kuwait a year ago and has found it hard to fit in. “It takes some time sweetheart,” said Sara. “I love Kuwait, I really do. People here are lovely, the lifestyle is laid back. And the work hours are great, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get used to the change or the culture. My Arabic is pretty terrible, most of the time I’m having problems understanding what my colleagues are saying and it’s embarrassing. And, we’re struggling with money too Sara and I feel awful, I’m your husband, I want to be able to buy you everything you want,” Noah told her. “And Sara, my heart is torn into two pieces. Half of my heart is back in England and half of it is here. I will forever be missing home,” he whispered. Sara took Noah’s hand, “Well, Noah, I think
you’re lucky to be able to have two homes. And, you can always visit England again. You can go back as much as you want. Kuwait and England are a part of who you are. They will forever be home to you. Embrace the good in both cultures, they both have so much to offer. And home is where your loved ones are. If you are surrounded by your loved ones, then you will always be home my dear. And, money isn’t everything in life. As long as we have food on the table, a roof over our heads and each other, then I will always be the happiest woman alive. ” Noah turned to his beautiful wife and smiled, she was right. “And about trying to fit in, Noah, just be you. Don’t ever worry about trying to please other people or trying to act how other people want you to act. Be you and the right people will come into your life. And, just because you’re a man, doesn’t mean men should keep quiet when they feel down, always find a friend or family member to talk to when you are feeling down. It will never make you a less of a man. I will always be here for you to talk to. Thank you for telling me how you feel.” Noah gave her a kiss on the cheek, “thank you for listening, I feel so much better”.
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February, 2015
FEBRUARY Movie Releases PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION
Director: Gregory Plotkin Starring: Katie Featherston
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Director: Madden Director: John Guillermo del Toro Starring: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere,
CINDERELLA
Synopsis: A fifth installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise.
FOCUS
Director: Glenn Ficarra , John Requa Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie,
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Director:Roberto James Wan Director: Faenza
Director: Steve Pink
Starring: Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown,
Starring: Andrea Osvart, Antonio Cupo, Eline Powell, Robert Sheehan, Nico Mirallegro
Starring: Rob Corddry Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Chevy Chase, Adam Scott, Gillian Jacobs
Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence
Penelope Wilton, Dev Patel Genres: Suspense, Horror, Thriller, Sequel
ANITA B
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Sequel
Genres: Adventure, Romance, Fairy Tale
Genres: Drama
Genres: Comedy, Sequel, Time Travel
Synopsis: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Synopsis: Cate Blanchett, Lily James,
Synopsis: Immediately after WWII, Anita,
Synopsis: When Lou (Rob Corddry) finds
THE DUFF
RUN ALL NIGHT
THE LAZARUS EFFECT
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT
2 is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Dev Patel), and it’s making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina (Tena Desae). Sonny has his eye on a promising property now that his first venture, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful, has only a single remaining vacancy – posing a rooming predicament for fresh arrivals Guy (Richard Gere) and Lavinia (Tamsin Greig). Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) have now joined the Jaipur workforce, and are wondering where their regular dates for Chilla pancakes will lead, while Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are negotiating the tricky waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two eligible and very wealthy suitors.
Richard Madden, Helena, Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgard, Sophie McShera
Director: Ari Sandel
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra Starring: Liam Neeson, Genesis
a young survivor of Auschwitz, looks at the world with worried eyes. She quickly finds herself involved in an intense and passionate affair that almost shatters her, but eventually gives her the strength to rebel and start a new life. Anita, a Jewish girl of Hungarian origin, who has emerged alive from Auschwitz, is taken in after the war by her one surviving relative: her aunt, Monika, the thirty year old sister of Anita's father.In the town where her aunt lives, the former inhabitants have been forcibly ejected, their homes taken over by returning prisoners and refugees. There is an air of increasing tension in the place, as the communists prepare to seize power. In the melting pot of languages and nationalities of Central Europe during this time, Anita meets a whole range of unforgettable characters.
Director: David Gelb Starring: Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, Donald Glover
himself in trouble, Nick (Craig Robinson) and Jacob (Clark Duke) fire up the hot tub time machine in an attempt to get back to the past. But they inadvertently land in the future with Adam Jr. (Adam Scott). Now they have to alter the future in order to save the past... which is really the present, in the sequel from the same team that brought you the original cult hit.
Director: Robert Schwentke
Martinez, Stephanie Honore
Starring: Mae Whitman, Skyler Samuels, Bianca A. Santos, Ken Jeong, Bella Thorne Nick Eversman
Genres: Comedy, Crime
Genres: Teen, Drama, Adaptation
Genres: Crime, Action, Thriller
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Suspense
Genres: Comedy
Synopsis: Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie). As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high-stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop… and the consummate con man off his game.
Synopsis: Bianca (Mae Whitman) is a
Synopsis: Brooklyn mobster and prolific
Synopsis: Follows a group of medical
Synopsis: The Divergent Series: Insurgent
Rodrigo Santoro, BD Wong, Adrian
citypageskuwait.com
content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as ‘The DUFF’ (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends (Skyler Samuels & Bianca Santos). Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher (Ken Jeong), she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby (Nick Eversman), and enlists Wesley (Robbie Amell), a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school’s ruthless label maker Madison (Bella Thorne) and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone’s DUFF.
Rodriguez, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ed Harris, Boyd Holbrook, Common
hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Longtime best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), Jimmy, now 55, is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. Lately, it seems Jimmy’s only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass. But when Jimmy’s estranged son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. With Mike on the run, Jimmy’s only penance for his past mistakes may be to keep his son from the same fate Jimmy is certain he’ll face himself…at the wrong end of a gun. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy just has one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
students who discover a way to bring dead patients back to life
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Kate Winslet, Mekhi Phifer
raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time, they must find out what Tris’s family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris, with Four at her side, faces one impossible challenge after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of their world.
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Director:Joe James Wan Director: Lynch
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Salma Hayek, Jennifer Blanc, Togo Igawa, Caroline Chikezie, Gabriella Wright
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Yolandi Visser, Ninja Visser, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman
Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Action
Genres: Sci-Fi, Comedy
Synopsis: Follows a down-on-her-luck
Synopsis: Every child comes into the
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
'71
woman stuck in her apartment, fending off waves of assassins sent by her ex, a dangerous mob boss.
Director: Ken Scott Starring: Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, June Diane Raphael, Tom Wilkinson
world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings – some good, some bad – and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else: he is a robot. The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. His life, his story, will change the way the world looks at robots and humans forever.
Director: Yann Demange Starring: Jack O'Connell, Sean Harris, Paul Anderson (XVIII), Sam Reid, Charlie Murphy, Sam Hazeldine
Genres: Action, Adaptation, Comic
Genres: Action, Thriller
Synopsis: A hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable -- and unimaginable -- way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.
Synopsis: ’71 takes place over a single
night in the life of a young British soldier (Jack O’Connell) accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, and increasingly wary of his own comrades, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.
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PATRIOTISM
On the 25th and 26th of February, Kuwait celebrates its independence and its liberation respectively. In these two days, Kuwaitis express their patriotism in fairs, malls, and even in their cars honking their horns in an infinitely crowded street till god knows when. And as national days are supposed to help people strengthen their patriotism and their love for their country, it seems like, year after year has done its score into eroding the goodness of these two days. Now, they are just habits. Destructive habits, even. The only things observable on these days are the over-crowded places, the sound pollution as well as the environmental, and the overgrowing traditional stupidity of the people, making our celebration the commiseration of any intellectuals therewith. Patriotism is a virtue, and patriots are the most dignified and cherished, because those who sacrifice themselves to their countries will show valour whenever the country needs it. They will stand strong, think carefully, and Adnan Najeeb Al-Abbar
Adnan is a student in Kuwait University. His hobbies include playing videogames, reading, and writing. Adnan can be contacted by email: 3dnanoo94@gmail.com citypageskuwait.com
help this country through thick and thin, and that’s as graceful as it gets. They will help this country flourish no matter the circumstances, no matter the hardships and adversities. But what can possibly come out of this mindless jest happening nowadays other than a decrepit country, where more fights are occurring and the bodies pile up, more political corruption than ever all concerned with robbing our country of its wealth, and laziness and inertia in the people. Of course! Of course that’s what a country gets for allowing the situation to get worse by the year. And here, this, now, is not criticism of the Kuwait or its people, but a reality check. Let’s look at us now! We, Arabs, were the masters of poetry. We took the sciences from Ancient Greece, and developed them. We have Islamic culture to teach us values and merits. Our peninsula mothered the oldest civilizations in the world, and if we don’t nurse our country today with our selfless labor, our ambitions, and our original, authentic, and honourable contribution to society, it’s preposterous to think this place will become any better. And where else to start other than one’s self?
and endanger themselves. It’s never bad to make people confident of themselves and help them realize they can actualize their potentials if they really wanted to. And there’s not anything in this world better than inspiring others. And those were all off the top of my head, so I leave the reader to imagine what else can be done to make this country, or one’s self, better. We need to enrich important values in this country like dignity, honour, integrity, sympathy, respect, and devotion, and I believe this is the most effective way to bring about good change.
There are many ways to be patriotic that actually help Kuwait to become a better place. One would be to honour the old poets of Kuwait on this day, and try to learn from their wisdom. Another would be to study hard or encourage our children to do so to contribute to the welfare of Kuwait instead of promising them new cars for them to drift off the roads
Kuwait’s potential is infinite, and till we reach the clouds, we have just begun. And here I am, on my desk, imagining one day in the future where I am laid on the grass, watching the azure sky and the amorphous body of clouds above me passing, and wondering where can we start from there.
Finally, I want Kuwaitis to imagine how much Kuwait would change if Kuwaitis were productive in the two national holidays (or the week off), and not wasteful and naive. What would happen if Kuwaitis celebrated these two days without harming the place, for an example, like having public speeches about enriching culture, cleaning the streets, having competitions, etc… That would be a much nicer alternative, wouldn’t it?
FILM DIRECTOR A Day in the life of a Film Director “What I really want to do is direct.” If this applies to you, read on. Directors turn a script into a movie; they are responsible for the quality of the final product and its success. In most cases, directors work on films far longer than any actor, technician, or editor, from the first day of brainstorming to the final release; it is no wonder that directing is physically,mentally, and emotionally draining. Directors work with actors; makeup artists; cinematographers; writers; and film, sound, and lighting technicians. They determine all the particulars of how scenes are to be shot, from visual requirements to the placement of the actors and the appropriateness of the script. Directors cast actors who can bring their vision to the screen. Sound judgment and an open mind are important during these initial phases. A director guides actors to a greater understanding of their characters’ motivations and encourages them to perform
at a high level—sometimes by gently cajoling and sometimes by yelling—anything to get the job done. A director’s unique vision of the final product and ability to communicate that vision effectively and immediately are critical. After the film has been shot, editorial skills are important. Directors must have a good feel for pacing and structure and must know how to integrate and cut scenes so they work effectively. Issues of finance are important in this industry—making films is expensive. First-time directors find it difficult to get work with any large-budget house, so many of them start with small-budget directing, using existing sites and sets creatively, convincing technical assistants to work for little (or more often, convincing friends to work free), and using editing and cutting rooms during off hours to save money. One director surveyed funded his first film entirely on his credit cards.
Paying Your Dues Nearly all film directors are film school graduates. Film school students must complete their own short films by graduation; you should be prepared to work under difficult conditions, share space, and convince actors to work for little or no money. Aspiring film
directors prove themselves by directing stage productions, doing film lighting design, or establishing a history of assistant or associate directorships. This last route is the most common, as professional experience and networking contacts can be combined in a brief but intense period of time. There is no specific ladder to climb. Many aspiring directors develop clips of their work as a display of their talent when applying for industrial, television, or commercial directing jobs, which pay well and serve as working credentials. Individuals entering this career should be warned that 20hour days are not unusual.
Associated Careers For the most part, directors who leave enter another area of the entertainment industry. A number of them use their financing experience to move into the producing end of film development. Others move into script development or teaching. Some directors become critics, reviewers, or reporters for film-related magazines. Still 0thers become movie or television writers. A few become actors. People who go into business enter a wide variety of fields including costume supply, lighting rentals, casting agencies, site location, and acting schools.
Abdulaziz AlKhamis
Abdulaziz is a Kuwaiti Film Maker, Visual Artist and a Script Writer. He graduated from the UK, with a passion to mix art and visuals. February, 2015
Lessons Learned, or, Failing to Perform in Front of an Audience
I perform poetry that I recite from memory in front of a live audience. When I was younger, I learned large sections of the Koran by heart. Because the Koran is a sacred text, I did not utilize any memory aids. I couldn’t highlight sentences, break them down into chunks, or reorganize the first letters of verses into names, expressions, or other word mnemonics. I couldn’t even turn verses into familiar songs. In primary school, my best friend and I memorized some of the material from our school syllabi by chanting the words to The Addams Family theme song. I could not do that to the Koran, so I embodied the holy text. No matter how many verses I had to learn, I strung them one after the other and slotted them into my head. I could only then recite them if I was in the same state of concentration, with the same kind of devotion to the text itself. I used this technique to memorize spoken word poetry when I was introduced to the genre in 2010. This methodology proved to be quite disastrous. I learned the hard way that I needed to adopt new methods in order to improve my memory. Though I am an optimist, I knew I would not learn overnight. I write this article in order to go over the lessons that I have learned from some of my most prominent mistakes. Because I had a recent hiccup while performing in Kuwait’s 7th Poetry Slam, I figured it was time to follow the advice of the old lady in E. M. Forster’s book, Aspects of the Novel. She says, “How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?” In September of 2014, I stood in front of a class of teenagers and spoke to them about failure. It was a light lecture. We gathered in drama class where I urged them to be kinder to one another. We are all flawed, I said, and those of us who point the most, who ridicule the loudest, are the ones most afraid of exposing their own faults. Therefore, they point and shout at others to distract the rest of us from concentrating on their failures. Kuwait is replete with cruelty. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve turned passive-aggressiveness into a pastime and bullying into a hobby. Then Nada Faris Nada Faris is a Kuwaiti who writes poetry, articles, and fiction in English. Her latest book, Before Young Adult Fiction, is a collection of short, award-winning articles, poems, and short stories that shaped her writing voice. Reach her at: www.nadafaris.com or @nadafaris
Photo by Greg Bal citypageskuwait.com
I remember the friend who saw me in the lobby of a clinic as I waited for my therapist to call my name. I had been going to this clinic to deal with a serious case of depression. After I explained the gravity of my situation and exposed my vulnerability, my friend said that she belonged to a group on WhatsApp that occasionally mocked me and my writing. “Do you mean to say that they critique my work? As in literary criticism?” I asked. “No. Just criticism. They’re highly qualified and everything, graduated from top-notch schools in the West, but they’re Kuwaitis. You know? Fathyeen.” I didn’t know why she was telling me this in the lobby a few seconds before I saw my therapist. I did know, however, that it hurt, whether or not she was conscious of her behavior. We’ve internalized cruelty as a defense mechanism to ward off attention from our own humanity. Nothing less than perfection is acceptable in Kuwait. Elsewhere in the world, one’s humanity is celebrated. In Kuwait, it is scorned, concealed, or combated. Well I am human. And I am flawed. And I have stumbled time and time again. My most recent failure took place during the 7th Slam Poetry Contest. It was held on a Saturday. Usually these events take place on Fridays, which means I do not need to wake up early for work the following morning, as I must on Sundays. Furthermore, although the brochure said that VIP guests (including the poets) had to attend at 7 PM, that the doors opened for the rest at 7:30, and that the event was going to start at 8 PM “sharp,” the event began more than an hour late. I had been up since 4:30 AM. Fortunately, I was able to perform the first two poems well. By the time the judges’ decisions were made—after the first round, the intermission, the second round, and entertainment—I was sleeping in my chair. I knew that upon reciting the first line of the tie-breaker that my mind had shut off for the night. I dropped the mic and exited the stage. That’s it. Lesson learned. Never compete on Saturdays again, or else be prepared to take Sunday off work. Sleep is one of the most important components of memorization. Another is a healthy diet. I was in a restaurant once, competing with a fellow poet for the opening act of a musical event. I had around eight poems prepared in my head, and I was bursting with excitement. He performed one of his. I performed one of mine. We were competing, selecting poetry from our repertoire
that corresponded to, or complimented, each other’s recitation. Then we broke off for dinner, and the poetry segment concluded for the night. After the break, we were asked to take the mic for an encore. I stood in front of a large audience. I pressed the mic to my lips. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. If my best friend, who was sitting in front of me, had not whispered the first sentence of my poem, I would not have been able to continue. I learned an important lesson that night—to not perform after eating a heavy meal. Upon my return from the writing residency in the US in November 2013, I learned my body’s limits. I don’t eat on travel days because I suffer from motion sickness. The trip from the US to Kuwait lasted two days. When I landed, I discovered jet lag. Mix a lack of food and sleep together and what do you get? Blanking out in front of an eager crowd with phones held high, their cameras capturing and immortalizing your failure. Add depression into the mixture, a mental disease that wrecks one’s memory, one’s ability to stand in front of people and accept their judgments, and what do you get? Panic attacks, asphyxiation, and hospitalization. I was breathing through an oxygen tank a day before performing in the 6th Poetry Slam in Kuwait. Before my performance, pressing the left side of my chest with my fingers, I told the judges, “If we don’t live and breathe poetry then what’s the point?” For more than a year now, I have been standing in front of people and performing by the skin of my teeth. I never do it for awards or admiration. I never do it for my CV or for my status. My art clearly possesses a social function, but the driving force, the reason I actually did agree when my friend urged me to go to the hospital the night I was suffocating, is because I, with all my flaws and human frailties, see writing and performing as the very composites of my life. And life is imperfect. And life is harrowing at times. But if you live though the painful moments, you’re bound to stumble across the beautiful ones. Winston Churchill uttered a number of wonderful remarks about success. I keep one tucked in the back of my mind: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
February, 2015
FEBRUARY Book Releases The Secrets of Midwives
Housewitch: A Novel
A novel about three generations of midwives (a woman, her mother, and her grandmother) and the secrets they keep that push them apart and ultimately bind them together THE SECRETS OF MIDWIVES tells the story of three generations of women devoted to delivering new life into the world—and the secrets they keep that threaten to change their own lives forever. Neva Bradley, a third-generation midwife, is determined to keep the details surrounding her own pregnancy—including the identity of the baby’s father— hidden from her family and co-workers for as long as possible.
Allison Darling, former foster child, now a stay-at-home mom of three, desperately wants to fit in with the organic latte drinking, hundred-dollaryoga-pants-wearing moms who run Monrovia, her charming seaside village. Constantly feeling like an outsider, Allison dreams of more for her children. When the Glamour Girls, a soap-selling company run by the most charismatic and powerful women in town, recruits Allison, she jumps at the invitation.
Sally Hepworth
The Opposite of Spoiled
Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money
Katie Schickel
Touch
Claire North
Ron Lieber
We may not realize it, but children are hyperaware of money. They have scores of questions about its nuances that parents often don't answer, or know how to answer well. But for Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist and father, good parenting means talking about money with our kids much more often. When parents avoid these conversations, they lose a tremendous opportunity--not just to model important financial behaviors, but also to imprint lessons about what their family cares about most.
A Spool of Blue Thread
Secrets of a Charmed Life
Anne Tyler
Susan Meissner
From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author--now in the fiftieth year of her remarkable career--a brilliantly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel that reveals, as only she can, the very nature of a family's life. "It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon." This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959.
She stood at a crossroads, half-aware that her choice would send her down a path from which there could be no turning back. But instead of two choices, she saw only one—because it was all she really wanted to see… Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.
It's What I Do
A Photographer's Life of Love and War
Lynsey Addario
War photographer Lynsey Addario’s memoir It’s What I Do is the story of how the relentless pursuit of truth, in virtually every major theater of war in the twenty-first century, has shaped her life. What she does, with clarity, beauty, and candor, is to document, often in their most extreme moments, the complex lives of others. It’s her work, but it’s much more than that: it’s her singular calling.
citypageskuwait.com
Kepler had never meant to die this way — viciously beaten to death by a stinking vagrant in a dark back alley. But when reaching out to the murderer for salvation in those last dying moments, a sudden switch takes place. Now Kepler is looking out through the eyes of the killer himself, staring down at a broken and ruined body lying in the dirt of the alley.
The Deep End Julie Mulhern
Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life. It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.
BOOK CLUB
THE PILLARS
OF THE EARTH
Epic British writer Ken Follett was writing The Pillars of the Earth (1989) for ten years in the process when almost everyone around him told him its best to play it safe by writing another thriller novel as it is what everyone expects from him since the release of his first best seller thriller novel The Big Needle (1979). However Ken's fascination with churches and their architecture kept him on the right track until he published The Pillars of the Earth in 1989. He had sold more than 130 million of his work. Other best sellers novels for him are Fall of Giants (2010) and lately Edge of Eternity (2014). Ken Follett won a number of prestigious awards; in 2010 Fall of Giants won the Libri Golden Book Award for Best Fiction Nada Soliman
nada.soliman@citypageskuwait.com
Meet Nada, our team member is simply a book savvy. Every month Nada picks her favourite book and shares with you its review. Please feel free to contact Nada to discuss your opinion or ask her opinion on your favourite book or author.
Title in Hungary that year, in 2003 Jackdaws won the Corine Literature Prize in Bavaria, in 1979 Eye of the Needle won the Edgar Best Novel Award from the Mystery Writers of America and In 1999 Hammer of Eden won the Premio Bancarella Literary Prize in Italy. The novel takes place in the twentieth century England; civil war, religious conflicts and royal battles over power tore families apart, when the church had a significant place in people's lives. This story talks about building a beautiful cathedral. A craftsman, a builder dreaming of one day building a cathedral but weighing the responsibilities that he has to consider in terms of providing for his family immediately. What can he do? follow the work he aspire to achieve that will take years and years or take work that is short term but the wages will sure come in and therefore ensure the income for his family? Follow the dream or follow the road everyone expects him to be on? It's a spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the spreading medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is historical masterpiece written by Ken Follett. February, 2015
to add to your wishlist Some things are just ... better.
Worx Clamping Sawhorse Integrating two tools, Worx’s new sawhorse has a simple groove that fits two clamps. Hold your projects in place, and fold it all away for storage when you’re finished.
Pawscout Pet Finder Pet tags can only help reunite you with your missing pet if someone takes the time to read them. Pawscout Pet Finder tags actively help find wayward pets with an embedded Bluetooth antenna. The tag sends a smartphone alert if Fido wanders too far—and helps home in on his location when he runs away.
Quirky Outlink When paired with a Quirky Wink hub, this smart outlet lets users monitor the electricity flowing to devices, turn the outlet on or off, and program schedules.
Moleskine Smart Notebook
Moleskine and Adobe made a Creative Cloud-connected notebook that syncs digital and hand-drawn art. Scrawl your masterpiece on the page, and capture it with an app that renders it into vectors. citypageskuwait.com
Microsoft Band The Man Who Touched His Own Heart
In time for Valentine’s Day, Rob Dunn’s book tells true tales of the heart—just not the kind you’d expect. In 325 pages, Dunn details broken hearts, transplanted hearts, and the bar-fight beginnings of heart surgery.
Every tech company in Silicon Valley is competing for space on your wrist right now. In order to stand out from the crowd, Microsoft has crammed every sensor under the Sun into its smartwatch. It’ll tell you the UV levels, record your running routes, monitor your heart rate and more. Its real winning feature is that it works with all three main smartphone systems – iOS, Android and Windows.
Next Glass Sprout
Who needs buttons anyway? The Sprout desktop PC has shunned a mouse and keyboard in favour of something more innovative. A projector beams images down onto a touch-sensitive mat, while a camera tracks your hand movements. This means that as well as using traditional inputs, you can edit photos with your hands, or turn real objects into virtual ones by placing them in the Sprout’s view.
Next Glass aims to be Netflix for wine and beer selection. The app learns your preferences— and correlates them to a database of chemical compositions—to make recommendations. Scan a wine label with your smartphone and Next Glass decides whether you’re apt to like it ... or not.
Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal TaylorMade R15 Driver The new R15 golf club has two sliding weights that can help straighten your shot, and a center of gravity that sits lower and more forward to help increase distance.
Vacuums are convenient. Changing their bags and filters—not so much. To end that aggravation, Dyson modified its bagless vacuum to make it filterless too. Cinetic has tiny flexible cones that vibrate to capture every particle without clogging. February, 2015
HAMID MALIK
Instilling innovation and creativity into marketing Hamid Malik is the Chief Marketing Officer for OSN, the ultimate destination for the widest choice of premium entertainment in the Middle East and North Africa. Inspired by the power of purpose, passion and people, Hamid is an exceptional strategist and a gifted communicator who infuses fresh ideas and sound strategy into just about everything. He put these talents to work by helping OSN understand on-the-ground realities, identify market opportunities, and realize them with smart strategy and impactful marketing solutions. In an interview, Hamid Malik explains the changes and strategies he has adopted to steer the company to its remarkable growth and success.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from originally and when did you join OSN? I am Hamid Malik - the Chief Marketing Officer for OSN. I was born and brought up in Dubai. All my working has been primarily in Dubai although I had some regional roles. I joined the company in 2011 that is around three and half years ago.
Since you have joined OSN, what are some of the changes and strategies that you have adopted to lead the company to its tremendous growth and subscriber base?
From the marketing perspective, our focus is in aligning what we do in marketing to the commercial realities of the organization. So what we want to do is to pursue growth by deploying innovation in marketing as well as in creativity. For us in terms of strategies we have three main buckets. The first bucket is where we wish to increase our subscriber acquisition, the second bucket is to decrease our churn and then the third bucket is to continuously try to enhance our brand equity. So, in terms of brand equity there are quite a few things that we have done. Like, we changed the brand to OSN and we came with the slogan of “Just Imagine” and under that what we have tried to do is marketing that is very imaginative. One of the things that we did last year was our CSR initiative which was the ‘Live More’ campaign. As you may know that this region has a very high rate of diabetes and obesity so we thought it was our social responsibility to use the power of our media or medium to citypageskuwait.com
communicate with the masses on the virtues of exercising. On the churn side we launched an initiative called OSN Privileges. It’s a CRM program for our subscribers and through it our focus is to give Money Can’t Buy experiences and reward their loyalty in a way that is very unheard of in this market. One of the examples is that we send some of our subscribers every year to experience Oscars. As we are the home of movies and entertainment, we broadcast Oscars so it is very apt that we send our subscribers to Oscars. As you may know in Oscars no matter how rich you are there are no tickets for sale, you can only go if you are from the Hollywood fraternity or have something to do with entertainment. And on the subscriber acquisition side we have done quite a few things. One of the most important is to understand our subscribers better. We have invested substantial resources in learning and understanding what our customers want and who they are. So, we have focused on these segments and as an organization we feel our ability to win is higher.
What are some of your strategies for 2015? The focus remains obviously on the fact that we want to grow and pursue profitable growth. So, it’s very important for us to acquire the right customers and give them the product based on our research and the product that they want. On the content side, there are quite a few initiatives that we have launched. For instance, we are getting all the popular series at the same time as the U.S. which we were previously getting late. For if there is any time difference then people tend to download them.
In Saudi Arabia for instance, as you may know we have launched a product called Saudi Home Cinema as there are no cinemas in Saudi Arabia. In this way all the films that are released in the cinema are available within a couple of weeks on OSN. We are therefore pretty much a substitute for cinemas in Saudi Arabia. For Cricket world cup that starts this month, we are the official broadcasters for Middle East and North Africa and we are the ICC broadcast partners. We want to establish ourselves as the home cricket in this region. All kind of cricket whether local or international is currently all on OSN. What we want to do is undertake activities that will make us a platform synonymous with cricket. In Kuwait, since last year we are supporting the official cricket to develop it at the grass-root level. In UAE for instance, the national team is going to participate in the world cup after a long time and OSN is the official sponsor of the team. Recently, to demonstrate our passion for cricket we inaugurated and unveiled the world’s largest cricket bat. We made a bat that is almost 32.1meters long and almost 4 meter high. If you put it vertically, it is comparable to an eight to ten story building. It weighs almost 950kgs. Aqib Javed, who is the coach of UAE national cricket team, was present at the event along with the team’s other officials. We are trying to make an attempt to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records. Whatever we do is to ensure that creativity and innovation comes through in all of our work.
Can you explain more on OSN Privileges and OSN Live More?
We have designed a campaign where we have used hand-drawn sketches and images to communicate small tips about how to live healthy. One of the examples is that if you just tell someone that exercise is very good for you and you should go to the gym for one hour every day and they will just say that ok, I will do it one day but in reality no one will do anything. But, our focus is to try and tell people to take those small steps that would result in a very positive way. Our first campaign was to tell people that you don’t need to go to the gym everyday but what you need to do is walk for half an hour and if you cannot do that at a stretch then walk three times a day for ten minutes and other small things that not to park the cars very close to the place they have to visit and instead park a little bit away and then walk to the place. We started this campaign both internally and externally. In the office throughout our offices in the regions we closed down all the elevators and everybody had to take the stairs. Simple things like these make a big difference. It’s all about education and we are using our medium to do that. We have over 150 channels and we are using them to communicate these messages. Every quarter we pick up a campaign. Like we did with keeping yourself hydrated, how to sleep well, what you should eat, and importance of exercising. We do this through the power of our medium and also do several ground activities. For example, one of our initiatives is sports marketing. So initiatives like sponsoring the cricket tournament in Kuwait is one of them. So with the help of these initiatives we have colleagues in the company who have quit smoking and others have lost substantial weight.
How important is the Kuwait market for OSN?
Kuwait is a very important market for us. We have been operating in this market for a very long time. OSN is synonymous with premier entertainment in this region. We have a very strong foot-hold in this market as we understand what the customer needs in this market and we do our best to provide a product which fits their needs and tastes. In Kuwait, we have done a lot of marketing initiatives to differentiate our brand from others in the last 3 years. Our focus is to position ourselves as a premium brand; a brand which is at the same time affordable. Kuwait is a market which is very responsive to high quality entertainment. We try to blend into the local fabric of the society we operate in rather than be viewed as a foreign brand.
What are some of the challenges that you face? Piracy is still a very big challenge. That is where we need support from the local authorities and media such as yours and all the other stake holders. The challenge with piracy is that there are legitimate brands out of the gulf area but they operate in this region without having the
proper rights and permissions. As a result companies such as ours who are paying the legitimate fee to get the official rights and invest in proper infrastructure and resources suffer. Piracy basically takes the money away from the industry and limits the ability of brands such as ours to invest back into the society and economy. We need support at this level to educate that Piracy=Theft. If you wouldn’t like your children to steal, you should also not encourage pirated cable networks other means.
Your message for the people of Kuwait on the occasion of National and Liberation day: We have a very special offer for our Kuwaiti customers on the occasion of the National
Day. We do this every year. Kuwait is a very important market for us. From OSN we always wish the government and people of Kuwait a good year ahead, lots of prosperity, stability, and success. We believe that as these countries progress in the right directions we will prosper too. Our fortune is tied with the fortune of the people of the country we are operating in.
Your message for us at CityPages magazine: I would like to thank CityPages for all the support. We really appreciate it and consider you as friends of OSN and we hope you continue to highlight some of the issues that companies like ours are facing such as piracy. February, 2015
Top 10 biggest tech fails in 2014 (Unsorted) 1- A hacker got access to celerities iCloud pictures by phishing (hacking method) them and spreads their private photos to the public. Apple beefed up iCloud security after that! 2- Amazon phone have 3D display but it's not great at all. The company launched it in June, but they didn't mention any numbers about sales. Now, Amazon giving them away for FREE!
) (غير مرتبة2014 تقنيات فشلت في10 أكبر لبعض المشاهير عبر التصيدiCloud تمكن هاكر من الدخول لحسابات خدمة-1 بعد ذلك قامت أبل بتحسين.(طريقة للهاكرز) ثم قام بنشر صورهم الخاصة للعامة !مستوى الحماية فمنذ، هاتف أمازون الذكي يملك شاشة ثالثية األبعاد ولكن هذا األمر ال يجعله رائعًا-2 ! واآلن تقدمة أمازون مجانا.إطالقة في يونيو لم تذكر الشركة أي أرقام حول المبيعات
3- iPhone 6 plus bentgate was trending in the social networks. People went crazy with images of best phones. Apple said it's only 9 phones!
بلس كانت أشهر مايتم تداوله عبر شبكات التواصل٦ مشكلة أنحناء آيفون-3 وأبل. درجة التفاعل وصلت للجنون عبر نشرهم لصور هواتفهم المنحنية.اإلجتماعي ! هواتف٩ تقول فقط
4- More than 56 million credit card stolen from The Office Depot. The company says it improving payments data encryption!
. مليون بطاقة إئتمان تمت سرقتها من متاجر أوفيس ديبو الشهيرة٥٦ أكثر من-4 !علقت الشركة بعد ذلك بأنها ستحسن من مستوى تشفير وسائل الدف
5- Microsoft and HP layoff 34,000 employees. Their stocks wasn't even bad, but it always reminds us that if you're in tech industry you have to innovate!
حتى أن أسهم، ألف عامل٣٤ قامت مايكروسوفت و هيوليت باكرد بتسريح-5 لكن هذا األمر يذكرنا بأننا في عصر صناعة التقنية البد، ،الشركتين لم تكونا سيئة !أن نخترع
6- The most dangerous security flaw in history "heartbleed" . More than 80% of web servers was affected. Within 3 weeks, 4.5 million records was stolen from hospital networks!
٪٨٠ أكثر من، -نزيف القلب- ” أخطر ثغرة أمنية في التاريخ على اإلطالق “هيرتبلييد-6 ماليين ونصف سجل٤ بأقل من ثالث أسابيع سرقت.من سيرفرات الويب تعرضا للخطر !للمرضى من شبكات المستشفيات
7- Smartwatch with UI based on cards is the worst experience ever. Android Wear forcing users to swipe cards to control music player and heart rate monitor. Imagine that if you're jogging! 8- Gamers still prefer playing games rather than talking to consoles. Microsoft pulled Kinect from XboxOne bundle and sold it separately to compete with Playstation4! 9- Don't pay 99$ to buy Playstation TV, It doesn't support 1080P resolution. You can't even watch YouTube! 10- Where is Google Glass?
فنظام. أسوأ تجربة على اإلطالق هي استخدام ساعة ذكية مبنية على البطاقات-7 أندرويد وير يجبر المستخدمين على تبديل البطاقات للتحكم مثال في مشغل ! ولك أن تتخيل بأنك تمارس رياضة الجري،الموسيقى هذا ماجعل. اليزال محبي األلعاب يفضلون اللعب بدالً من التحدث ألجهزتهم-8 ليباع بشكل منفصلXboxOne من ملحقاتKinect مايكروسوفت تسحب ملحق ! PlayStation4 وتنافس .1080P فهو ال يدعم البث بجودة،PlayStationTV لتشتري جهاز$٩٩ ال تدفع-9 !بل ال يمكنك حتى مشاهدة يوتيوب أين نظارات قوقل؟-10
Yousif AlSaeed Yousif holds a BSc. in Information Technology & Computing Degree and is a Teacher and Software Developer. He loves sharing the latest technology news and gadgets with people. Yousif believes that behind everything in the tech-world is a great story. He spends most of his time reading technology blogs and self development.
Saad Almseikan A burger lover who works as a Computer Technician during the day. Saad has a curious mind that likes to discover everything new that's related to computers, hardware, gadgets and technology. You'll most probably find him holding a burger while playing with a new gadget. He is 27 years old, loves Mixed Martial Arts. Music is what keeps him going especially Rock & Roll.
citypageskuwait.com
Hackers Who Are Responsible For Xbox And PlayStation Network Shutdown Are Targeting Tor They called them self “Lizard Squad”, and after shutting down PSN and Xbox, they are after Tor network and it`s user anonymity. They are creating over 3000 relays nods so if anyone is using them, their traffic and all what they are doing will be read by the hackers. But they are not a real threat cause they are a new nods with low bandwidth allowance. Even though they are running thousands of relays, they are just 1% of the Tor network. Tor are working in removing these nods so they won’t be a future threat.
A Skype Security Flaw Allow Intruders to Listen Through Your Device. If you use Skype on regular bases, its a smart to sign out when you`re not using it. A security flaw make it possible for someone to listen in without you actually accept a call. This happen when you sign-in in to devices with a single account. This happen when you initiate a call to a target from a device and disconnect while its ringing. And the target`s account will ring back to you from the other device and you can pick it up. Skype had this feature to re-initiate a call to avoid dropped calls over lousy connections, but this might fire back on them.
Bluetooth 4.2: Internet for everything. Have you ever heard about "Internet of things”? Your tech gadgets (smart lightbulb or sensors) can connect directly to the Internet (via your router or access point). You don’t even need a hub to control many bulbs. Bluetooth 4.2 supports (IPv6/6LoWPAN) protocol to share the internet between smart devices. Moreover, they improve security, power, privacy, speed and capacity. We expected to see it early this year and watching things connect to the internet.
Samsung TVs will play PlayStation without PlayStation Sony and Samsung are teaming up to bring your dream in the first half of this year. PS Now offer over 200 PS3 games, You just need a Sony Dualshock controller and start playing immediately. It was exclusively on Sony’s Bravia TVs but now Sony decide to expand it to other electronic brand. On the other side, LG will introduce new Smart TVs power by webOS 2.0 this year. LG says apps will running faster than the previous generation by 60%.
February, 2015
THAILAND
This month, I want to take you to the streets of Thailand, to the back alleys and local eateries, where food is prepared in an authentic way, with minimal fuss but with fragrant and tantalizing results.
Pad thai or phat thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at casual local eateries in Thailand.
Enjoy‌. With Love!
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CHICKEN PAD THAI INGREDIENTS:
•1 packet Thai rice noodles •1 to 1 ½ cups chopped chicken breast or thigh – about 4 pieces •Marinade for Chicken: 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp soy sauce 4 cloves garlic, minced optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced •3 cups fresh bean sprouts •3 onions sliced •½ cup fresh coriander •½ cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews) •¼ cup chicken stock •olive oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime PAD THAI SAUCE: • ¾ Tbsp tamarind paste dissolved in ¼ cup warm water • 2 Tbsp fish sauce, or more to taste • 1 tbsp chili sauce, or substitute ½ tsp or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste • 3 Tbsp brown sugar • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
METHOD: 1.Bring a large pot of water to boil and dunk in rice noodles. Turn
down the heat to low and keep an eye on them: you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but still firm and a little "crunchy". Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside. 2.Make the sauce by combining sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve tamarind and brown sugar, and set aside. Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so amazing! 3.Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside. 4.Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp oil plus garlic and minced chili, if using. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Add marinated chicken. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock, 1-2 Tbsp at a time, to keep the chicken frying nicely (5-7 minutes, until cooked). 5.Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two utensils, use a gentle "lift and turn" method to fry noodles (like tossing a salad). Stir-fry in this way 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan. 6.Add the bean sprouts and and continue frying 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful! Tastetest for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached. Toss well to incorporate. 7.Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges to squeeze over each portion
Most Thai desserts are low calorie and gluten free, and this classic treat is no different.
MANGO STICKY RICE PUDDING Galaktoboureko is a traditional Greek dessert made with a custard in a crispy phyllo pastry shell. I love to serve it with Vanilla Ice Cream or just some freshly whipped cream…. Heavenly delicious… and best served with black coffee… YUM!!!!
INGREDIENTS: •1 cup Thai Sweet Rice (also called 'sticky rice' ) •1-2 ripe mangos •4-5 Tbsp brown sugar or traditional Asian palm sugar •¼ tsp salt •1 can good-quality coconut milk •water
METHOD: 1.Soak the rice in 1 cup of water for 20-30 minutes, OR up to 4 hours. 2.Do not drain the rice. Add ½ cup more water, plus ½ can coconut milk, ¼ tsp salt and 1 tbsp brown sugar. Stir well.
3.Bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid (leaving some room for steam to escape). Reduce heat to medium-low.
4.Simmer in this way for 20 minutes, or until coconut-water has been absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner with the lid on tight. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.)
5.To make the sauce, warm (do not boil) the rest of the can of coconut milk over medium-low heat (5 minutes). Add 3 Tbsp sugar, stirring to dissolve.
6.Taste-test sauce for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. (note that it will taste less sweet when added to the rice).
7.When ready to serve, prepare the mango by slicing it open and using a melon ball scoop to create mango spheres or simply dice or slice up the mango. Pick up the warm rice in your hands and shape into rectangular or triangular shapes. Set one into each serving dish and add the mango balls on top. Drizzle lots of the sweet coconut sauce over. It should look like an English pudding with custard sauce, with the rice swimming in sauce. Garnish with fresh mint and serve.
February, 2015
NEW ARRIVALS MASERATI Potenza Auto Black Dial and Leather Strap Gold Tone Men's Watches
PHILIPP PLEIN Electric Feel Black Slip on Men's Sneaker
PAUL SMITH Graphic Garage Print Business Folio
MCM Medium Stark Cognac Backpack
THE BRIDGE Pininfarina Legacy Marrone Leather Messenger Bag
KARL LAGERFELD Karl 7 36 mm Black/ Gold IP Stainless Steel Unisex Watch
VITALIANO PANCALDI Fashion Geometric Flower Print Silk Tie
HOGAN REBEL Denim Blue Leather High Top Men's Sneaker
PAUL SMITH Men's Leather Fishing Tote
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THINK RED
CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA Monroe Red Suede Pump
MARC BY MARC JACOBS Baker Bracelet 36MM Red Dial Rose Gold Steel Women's Watch
ROBERTO CAVALLI Tasmania Leather Evening Clutch w/Studs
MCQ ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Mini YT Fire Orange Satchel
MCQ ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Fire Red Smooth Nappa Leather Swallow Wrap Bracelet
MCQ ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Lilly Ankle Strap Sandal
GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI Flame Red Satin Mule w/Crystal
VALENTINO Deep Orange Logo Silk Bandeau
MOSCHINO Red Love Moschino Quilted Eco Leather Crossbody
VERSACE Red Vanitas with Diamonds Women's Watch
MICHAEL KORS Lana Leather Medium Tote
ROBERTO CAVALLI Renaissance Light Gold Tone Metal and Ruby Clip On Earrings February, 2015
CityPages Fashion Report COLOR FEST
S/S 2015 As the warm season is approaching our hemisphere, the world’s top designers have already started showing signs of what we can expect to be, a vibrant and exciting new season, with creations that could interest even the most fashion skeptical gals. As by all means these creations display amusing expressions of art in movement with fabric choices that in many cases resemble magic itself!!
Depending on your mood, you may want to choose from a palette of Bright colors and Pastels.
The standards have been set for what promises to be a romantic and dreamy season for some and for others an edgy and controversial one with the launch of the upcoming Spring/summer 2015 haute couture and ready to wear collections of the most popular designers and main world brands. What we are certain of is that many of that many of the pieces created by our favorite designers depict an amazingly bright season ahead! In this article we’ll go over the highlights, the innovations and the revamps that the highly anticipated catwalks have left us. Hoping this review may guide and inspire your choices of wardrobe during the first shopping sprees of the season and maybe dare you to try combinations and styles that in the near past may gave appeared to be unthinkable.
Fabulous ice cream, and cotton candy rock not only the snack bars but also the catwalks.
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As in previous seasons pastel colors continued inspiring great creations to get sweet and naïve looks that all ladies adore.
The loud shades in color avocado, pumpkin and yellow in for this season take us back to the Brady Bunch era.
BOTANICAL DREAM
“Nothing says spring as flowers do”. So it appears to have been thought by our main designers… The bigger the print pattern, the better. We love that ‘70s feel!
FLARE AFFAIR
70’s flare pants are back making a statement (It’s safe to say that skinny pants are almost on the way out). The cool thing is that this item will make your legs look longer while classy and elegant. Match it with a tacked in light weight blouse and you’ll feel ready to rule the world! February, 2015
BELLE EMBELLISHMENT Less it’s not always more when it comes to combining different materials to create classy elegant looks. Having a heavily embellished monotonal or multi-tonal piece in your closet will definitely come in handy this season.
PURE WHITE TIME Get a fresh summer look for whichever occasion you have by sticking to a full white combination wardrobe. The catwalks have showed us that this season white is as in as ever, especially while mixing textures.
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IT�S ALL IN YOUR HEAD Trend alert: An extravagant headpiece is what you need this spring to spice up you outfit of choice. Don’t hesitate risky new trends on your head for a stylish and eye-catching look that will make you stand out from the crowd. Time to get creative!
Julieta Altamiranda Julieta Altamiranda is a talented fashion designer on the rise. She was born and raised in Argentina. During her adolescence she started developing her artistic vision while living in The United States and in the capital of fashion (Italy). Eventually her love for sketching and for creative artistic expressions led her to study a career in fashion in one of the main institutions of her home country. From then on, she has been developing her own collections. Once having moved to Kuwait she has collaborated with one of the main Kuwaiti fashion companies designing several collections. Additionally she has participated in designing competitions where she has been awarded with multiple prizes. Her great devotion for the world of fashion keeps her constantly engaged in exciting new projects.
February, 2015
dunhill - Spring Summer 2015 Collection
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CITIZEN introduces unique models with Eco-Drive Technology Citizen introduces unique models with Eco-Drive technology. Unperturbed by passing trends, the fine collection is a modern fashion statement for youthful, authentic-seeking individuals who seek a watch that may transcend their generation. Eco-Drive is a revolutionary technology that powers watches using any natural or artificial light, relieving the necessity of replacing batteries. Although the usage of solar power generation is common among automobile, housing and other industries today, Citizen had the foresight to start development of a light-driven watch more than 40 years ago, and launched the world's first light-powered analogue quartz watch in 1976. Citizen's inquisitive mind and determination toward the success of Eco- Drive technology have brought about numerous breakthroughs. Some outstanding examples include the recent renowned Concept Models and their production versions. Furthermore, cutting-edge discoveries which have been acquired through the development of these models are being adapted to high-end models, and eventually to lowerpriced models targeting a wider audience. It is a principled theme for which Citizen emphasizes new possibilities of Eco-Drive, in order to bring joy and excitement to the world.
BLOSSOM COLLECTION
CARA DELEVINGNE ACCESSORIES
February, 2015
TRUMP HOME PARTNERS WITH LIFESTYLE TO LAUNCH AN EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION OF HOME DÉCOR
Fleurs de Cerisier
L’EAU
THE SEASON OF FRIVOLITY
The spring light unveils the very first cherry blossoms in the Luberon orchards. Their cozy whiteness diffuses the sweet scent of frivolity. Subtle and crystal-clear, Fleurs de Cerisier L’eau invites you to get whisked away in a whirlwind of fresh and delicate notes. Top notes: lemon sparkles over blackcurrant and watermelon. Heart notes: frivolous cherry blossoms swirl into delicate violet and rose notes. Base notes: The fragrance nestles into a subtle musky wood trail To complement the 50ml fragrance (limited edition), a whole collection will also be launched comprising of:
FRAGRANCE TOUCH 14ml Dabbed onto pulse points (neck, wrists), the gel texture melts onto the skin and reveals its springtime notes. A new beauty ritual for perfumed touch-ups at any time of the day.
SHOWER MILK 250ml DT Home Marks International LLC and Lifestyle are pleased to announce their new partnership to introduce the Trump Home brand exclusively across stores in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The collection was unveiled in Kuwait by the management from Landmark Group in the presence of local media and VIP guests. The collection includes room décor, bath accessories, lighting, decorative mirrors, and jewelry boxes inspired by the luxury and sophistication of the Trump brand.
Gently cleansed, the skin snuggles into a luminous fruity and floral scent.
MOISTURIZING MILK 250ml
“The Trump Home brand offers the consumer beautiful product, focused on attention to detail and added value,” said Donald J. Trump, Chairman and President of The Trump Organization. “We are excited to be expanding the Trump Home global footprint and to be collaborating with Lifestyle.”
The amazing texture melts over the body, enveloping it in delicately perfumed hydration.
"We chose to collaborate with Trump Home for an exclusive Middle East launch keeping in mind the growing demand of the region's style conscious consumer's need for premium and bespoke brands,” said Sachin Mundhwa, the CEO of Lifestyle. Highlights of the assortment include bath accessories with mother of pearl and chrome detailing, along with luxurious, fashion forward jewelry boxes made of leather. The collection captures the essence and attention to detail that has become synonymous with the Trump brand. The collection is available at Lifestyle at Centrepoint,Fahaheel in Kuwait. Trump Home is a brand inspired by the luxury, sophistication and elegance associated with the Trump lifestyle. Products are inspired by Trump’s awardwinning, five-star luxury properties around the world. For more information, visit www.Trump.com, and www.lifestylegulf.com citypageskuwait.com
HAND CREAM 30ml Enriched with shea butter, the formula helps nourish and protect the hands. Light notes and a bouquet of tenderness.
Hublot & Behbehani Group unveil their latest activity, the Ferrari F1 Simulator in Kuwait.
Pinky By Tissot Valentine’s Day
Passionately Red The Pinky by Tissot is both a watch and a piece of jewellery, with the elegant Double Tour version featuring the strap that encircles the wrist two times just like a beautiful bracelet, to add a jewelleryinspired edge to any outfit. This time, has a strap that is deliciously bright red with a patent leather strap, in honour of the day of love, Valentine's Day. It is the moment to let your loved one know just how special she is, and the Pinky by Tissot is the perfect gift for the woman who is both glamorous and feminine and appreciates the beautiful things in life.
The Body Shop launches Limited Edition floral body care range & spicy new fragrance range Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot showcases the different facets of the “Art of Fusion” combined with the Hublot Challenge in Kuwait, at the Grand Avenues in The Avenues Mall, featuring the ultimate F1 racing experience with the Ferrari F1 Simulator. The Kuwait experience is the 4th round of the Hublot Challenge in the GCC. The inauguration took place on January 28th 2015 in the presence of Mr. Marco Tedeschi, Hublot Regional Director, and Behbehani Group management. Hublot luxury timepieces featuring high complications and innovative material are exhibited in Prestige located at the Grand Avenue in The Avenue Mall throughout the duration of the Hublot Challenge. The activity saw an array of luxury timepieces, including the aptly named Big Bang Ferrari Ceramic Carbon with the mythic Ferrari Yellow, alongside the Big Bang Ferrari King Gold, the Big Bang Ferrari Titanium Carbon with its renowned red sapphire glass, and the Big Bang Pop Art. As the Official Timekeeper of Ferrari, Hublot is offering guests and VIPs a fully immersive experience with the Ferrari F1 racing simulator as part of the exhibition. The simulator features the electronic and technical system which is used by professional race drivers. Equipped with HD graphics displayed onto a wrap-around curved screen with accompanying 3D effects, the ride transports drivers onto the track and gives a realistic driving sensation. Guests were able to compare their performances with Ferrari F1 drivers’ scores live on the www.hublotchallenge.com website. Hublot watches are available at Hublot Boutique - The Avenues, Prestige and Behbehani Group showrooms.
The Body Shop’s new Limited Edition body care and fragrance range draws inspiration from flowers and hot spices. The New Floral Body Care Collection has a captivating scent, blending spices, florals and heavy woods. The careful balance of ingredients delivers a warm scent to envelop the senses. The range includes an Eau de Toilette and a shower gel containing honey (sourced through the Community Fair Trade from Ethiopia) that leaves the skin soft and supple. The body lotion offers veil-light moisturisation, while the body butter has a rich luxurious texture to lock in moisture, leaving skin moisturised for 24 hours. February, 2015
The Flat White. Sink into something sublime and sophisticated. A smooth coffee lift topped with silky textured milk.
citypageskuwait.com
CostaKuwait
At Opening Of The 9Th British Trade Exhibition In Kuwait
At The Quarterly Draw Event Of Burgan Bank To Announce Winners Of: "Yawmi" "Thuraya"
At The Guinness Record Making Event By GUST For Collecting 56.9 Tons Of Clothes For Charity In 24 Hours
February, 2015
citypageskuwait.com
At The Opening Of ICONIC, NEW LOOK & FUN CITY At Al Salam Mall Salmiya By The Landmark Group
At Horeca Kuwait 2015 Exhibition
At The Opening Of Katsuya Restaurant At Arabella
February, 2015
At The Opening Of Unique 3 By Baloonyland
At A Quintessential Night By The Salhia Medical Pavilion Showcasing Unique Pieces Of Art By Renowned Artist Farid Abdal
From the Mental Health Awareness Walkathon #1in5 Organised by Taqabal
citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
At The Official Opening Ceremony Of "Bon Appetit" Exhibition At Discovery Palace - The Scientific Center
At The Opening Of Q8 Fashion Italy
At The Reopening Of The Spanish Brand Pronovias At 360 Mall
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@maharani_kuwait
الفروانية -شارع اخملفر فوق بيت التمويل تلفون24725558 / 24726164 : January, 2015
الفحيحيل -شارع الدبوس البرج األخضر -الدور 16 تلفون25456100 / 25456969 :
www.6alabat.com
الساملية -شارع سالم املبارك فوق ماكس -الدور 4 تلفون25721717 / 25721818 :
كيفان -قطعة - 2مول جمعية حولي -شارع بيروت مقابل البنك التجاري كيفان اجلديد الدور 1 تلفون 24914081 / 24914082 :تلفون22661604 / 22661603 :
بدالة مطاعم 1808099
At The Launch Of The New Oral-B Pro-Expert Toothpaste
At The Launch Of Toyota Racing Development TRD
From The Presentation By American University Of Kuwait On The New Award "Challenge 22
citypageskuwait.com
The birthplace of the original fettuccine Alfredo
mario alfreDo himself welComes you to enDulge in italian Cusine right from the heart of italy, rome. The FirsT AlFredos’ GAllery in The Middle eAsT. AlFredosGAlleryq8 Website: alfredosgallery.com.kw inquiries & reservations: 90955057 Grand Avenues - soku courtyard 1-17 Alfredo’s Gallery February, 2015
FROM THE PRESS
More than 600 players participate in Kuwait’s premier youth football event ACK’s “SKRAAB TEAM” placed in the Top 3 during the Regional “Young Entrepreneurs” Competition
Under the patronage of HH the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, and in the presence of honorary guest, His Excellency, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, INJAZ Al Arab announced the successful conclusion of the 8th annual Young Entrepreneurs 2014 Regional Competition. The event was concluded with a prestigious awards ceremony held at the Kuwait Regency Hotel, where winning teams were awarded for their outstanding achievements. INJAZ Young Arab Entrepreneurs Competition was launched in 2007 and is attended yearly by national competition winners from countries across the region. This year’s competition was the culmination of 18 teams from 13 different countries; namely Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. Representing Kuwait, ACK students placed in the top 3 for Best Product of the Year and the Best Company of the Year categories. The competition was judged by two prestigious judging panels. Student companies were assessed on their ability to demonstrate sound business insight, financial knowledge, marketing support and feasibility studies. In addition, competing students were required to spend one day showcasing their products, presenting to the public, and holding a private question and answer session with the judging panel in order to present their business in its entirety. Professor Jehad Yasin, Head of School of Business at ACK, commented: “For the second consecutive time our “Skraab” team participated and succeeded by representing Kuwait in this prestigious competition. We are very proud of our students. This demonstrates excellence and dedication, as well as their desire to always aim high. I personally would like to thank Ms. Johanne Flynn, their instructor, for all the efforts and support provided, as well as her leadership and persistence which led to this success and we look forward to participate in next year’s version.” The ACK Family would like to congratulate the “Skraab” team for once again successfully representing Kuwait and the College.
citypageskuwait.com
adidas Ultra BOOST™ Delivers Your Greatest Run Ever
Introducing Ultra BOOST, the ultimate expression of adidas’ revolutionary BOOST™ technology with the industry’s highest Energy Return. Ultra BOOST combines a cohesive system of the most innovative and fully adaptive technologies to deliver your greatest run ever. Through years of research and testing used by the world’s top engineering institutions, adidas has developed a collection of innovations built to harness the awesome power of BOOST to reach new heights of its Energy Return potential. Ultra BOOST answers every runners needs by offering the very best in Energy Return, support, stability, comfort and style. Ultimate Energy Return Ultra BOOST contains 20 percent more BOOST* which performs consistently in any conditions, for countless kilometers; season after season. Using thousands of unique energy capsules, BOOST technology returns energy conventional EVA midsoles lose. BOOST provides support and guidance through a runner’s gait without compromising the energy needed to experience your greatest run ever.
The Premier Sport Academy in association with Everton F.C., under the sponsorship of Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, held their 2014 Winter Festival of Football event at Bayan Park under the patronage of H.E. the British Ambassador, Matthew Lodge. In total, more than 600 players ages 3 to 18 participated in the Porsche Centre Kuwait sponsored event, including teams from the P.S.A./ Everton Coaching Courses and Everton Centre of Excellence, as well as numerous private schools and football academies from across Kuwait. A huge turnout of enthusiastic parents and spectators cheered on and encouraged the players, who were superbly organized and guided by their coaches throughout a series of exciting matches. The players demonstrated great skills, sportsmanship and an abundance of effort and commitment. There were also plenty of attractions for everyone to enjoy, including the Porsche Kids Driving School, bouncy castles, the Baroue Kids Magic Show and a craft fair. H.E. Matthew Lodge and several other VIP guests presented medals to all participants, as well as certificates of appreciation to event sponsors and supporters. The event also included a football match between teams representing the British and German Embassies of Kuwait to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the World War 1 Christmas truce football matches which ended with a thrilling penalty shoot-out. H.E. Lodge expressed his appreciation and recognition for the collective effort behind such an important community event, and congratulated all the players and coaches who took part, in addition to the event organisers and sponsors Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, Sports Direct, H & M, Baroue and Sultan Centre and all the contributors and participants .
Eucerin AtopiControl breaks the vicious circle of Atopic Dermatitis – in a gentle way
New Nikon D750 is at the Pinnacle of Innovation, Offering Performance and Maneuverability
Katsuya by Starck launches its first stand-alone restaurant in the Middle East Kuwait’s second Katsuya by Starck now open at Arabella, offering breathtaking views of the Arabian Gulf
Labello Lip Care Fruity Shine now available in Watermelon flavor
With superior maneuverability and agility in a powerful, compact package, the revolutionary Nikon D750 is packed with features to provide photographers all they need to capture stunning images
Have you or your baby ever experienced Atopic Dermatitis symptoms? Eucerin® offers you the solution with the launch of the AtopiControl cleansing, caring and active range of products. The range includes the Eucerin® Acute Care Cream to use during acute phases and the Body Care Lotion, the Bath & Cleansing Oil and the Face Care Cream to use during symptomfree phases, all of which are gentle enough for use on sensitive baby skin. Collectively, these products reflect a unique, holistic approach which effectively alleviates symptoms of Atopic Dermatitis. Up to five percent of the adult population and one in five to ten children around the world are Atopic Dermatitis sufferers where 90 percent of these people first experience this chronic, noninfectious skin disease before they reach the age of five. “The symptoms of scaly, inflamed areas of skin and extreme itching are the visible side of Atopic Dermatitis. What people don’t see, though, is the effect that it has on the psyche. Many people with Atopic Dermatitis feel restricted, unattractive and rejected. Children, in particular, are exposed to peer prejudice and teasing,” explains Dr. Gitta Neufang, Head of Research Eucerin® Actives.
Nikon Singapore Pte Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of the new D750, the smallest and lightest Nikon FX-format camera*1 to deliver incredible image quality in an ideal package of enriched features. The D750 enables the freedom of photographic expression with sought-after functionalities of built-in Wi-Fi®*2, tilting monitor, 24.3 megapixels, 91K-pixel RGB sensor, and outstanding high-speed continuous shooting rate of approximately 6.5 frames per second*3 for both FX- and DX-format, all fitted into a slim and durable body. The innovative D750 challenges the common assumption that the higher a DSLR’s specifications, the bulkier it becomes. The D750 includes revolutionary technologies designed to offer a strong, lightweight camera without compromising image quality. Its powerful FX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 4 image-processing engine are packed into a monocoque structure framed by carbon fiber composite material (new material*4), carbonfiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) and magnesium alloy to provide nimble durability while producing beautiful, balanced shots. Aimed at a discerning audience, the D750 is a superior camera with similar full-scale features and performance as those in the high-end range to offer photographers the room to expand their capabilities and evolve their skills.
Katsuya by Starck today opened its first standalone restaurant in the Middle East, and its second Kuwait location, at Arabella. The restaurant is a result of the prodigious pairing of master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi and worldrenowned Creator Philippe Starck. The opening of the restaurant was celebrated at an official launch ceremony hosted by John Kolaski, COO of sbe Restaurant Group, and Jim Dunn, VP of Asian Dining at M.H. Alshaya Co. The launch was attended by prominent dignitaries, VIP guests and local media, who engaged in an interactive sushi-making and a cocktail mixology session on how to make signature Katsuya dishes and drinks. Katsuya by Starck is known for its creative and dynamic decor and menu, which are truly a feast for the senses. With four speciality kitchens, award-winning freshly-squeezed elixirs, and spectacular sushi and sashimi platters, Katsuya skilfully translates Japanese flavours for an international palate. Guests at the Arabella restaurant will love the diverse collection of signature dishes made fresh from the highest quality ingredients. Favourites include Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, Baked Crab Hand-roll, Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño, and Wagyu Tenderloin Toban-yaki. The new 465 m2 Arabella restaurant seats 204 guests and features three private dining rooms for up to 10 people each. Commenting on the launch of the new restaurant, Mr Kolaski said: “We have had an overwhelmingly positive response to our first restaurant in the region at Grand Avenue, The Avenues, which opened in October, 2013. Since then, we’ve also expanded into the UAE with a similarly successful restaurant at The Dubai Mall. We see great opportunities for further regional openings and expansion.”
To give you a great feeling on your lips all year round Labello Lip Care Fruity Shines is now available in exciting new Watermelon flavor – with aromas and fruit extracts. The highlyeffective care formula with Hydra IQ provides the lips with long-lasting moisture. This fashionable lip care stick is the perfect accessory for ensuring a seasonal feel at any time and in any place. Real fruit flavor give you a multi-sensory experience Watermelon is the latest flavor and color to join the Labello Lip Care Fruity Shines range. These aromas and fruit extracts provide an authentic multi-sensory experience, because they don't just smell delightful, they also taste delicious. The new Labello Watermelon doesn’t just pamper your lips with its exciting taste and the light shimmer, the formula with selected fine waxes and rich caring oils also provides intense care. It forms a protective film on the skin of your lips and protects them from drying out. Long-lasting moisture Enriched with Hydra IQ, the Labello Lip Care Fruity Shines Watermelon also has a long-lasting moisturising effect. "Hydra IQ is an innovative and exclusive technology that stimulates the generation of new water channels in the skin for optimum hydration – even in the deepest layers of the skin," says Zeynep Balyali, Senior Brand Manager Labello Lip Care. With its fashionable flavor and highly-effective care formula, this new NIVEA Lip Care Labello Fruity Shines Watermelon really creates that perfect feel all year round. It gives you a trendy, natural look and soft as well as smooth lips that look incredible
February, 2015
مدربي وطالب أكادميية الماسيا حلو ضيوفا على سلسلة مطاعم سابيكو
Diet Care “Get Healthy” Campaign successfully reaches out to a large segment of society
FROM THE PRESS
Landmark Group announces winners of “Art Olympiad VIII”
Diet Care, Kuwait’s leading provider of health and nutritional programs and services saw a very positive demand for Kuwait’s biggest initiative “Get Healthy” for better nutrition and health. The initiative which started in September engaged more than 800 participants across schools, universities, ministries and leading organizations in Kuwait Diet Care in association with Royal English Laboratory provided free screenings for blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure and overall health for all employees and students of the participating organisations and schools. The initiative which aimed at educating individuals of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle was a huge success and reached out to over 16 entities in Kuwait till date. Participants were alerted about the importance of healthy living and weight management and encouraged to make positive changes in their lifestyle. They were made aware of the ailments by providing them with all the necessary health information related with cholesterol and blood tests as well as weight analysis. Commenting on the success of “Get Healthy” Sarah Dimashkieh, Director of Clinical Operations, Diet Care said: “We are very delighted to have been able to contribute towards making a positive difference in lives of people and thank all the schools, universities and organizations for their participation and cooperation.” Because of their busy schedules, people often times neglect their body’s nutritional needs. Our role through “Get Healthy” is to remind them that healthy living starts with healthy eating and weight management. We do this by providing individuals with free screenings for blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure and oneon-one consultations at their own work place or schools. The response by the participants has been great so far because in effect we are shortcutting the process and helping them take easy first steps towards getting healthy.” “Our efforts don’t stop here “Get Healthy” is a yearlong initiative so we encourage many organizations to participate. The more people know about the diseases that affect them and their own risk factors, the better able they will be to take charge of their health and live better lives.” As the leading provider of health and nutritional programs and services, Diet Care has always strived to make efforts to reach out and add more value to the community. Get Healthy Kuwait encourages people to live a healthy life.
citypageskuwait.com
Landmark Group awarded the artistic talents of eight students at the eighth Art Olympiad held this year. The event saw the participation of 140 students from 14 schools of repute across Kuwait. The atmosphere was abuzz with excitement as the names of winners were announced. The Art Olympiad which recognizes the outstanding creative talents of students got an overwhelming response. The paintings were judged by famous Kuwaiti artist Mr. Asad Bunashi. A total of eight winners were selected at the end of the Olympiad on the basis of creativity, workmanship, overall impression and relevance to the Theme. The paintings of the young talented artists offered the judges to choose the best of the best. Landmark Group organized the event for the eighth consecutive year, as it falls in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy to uplift the capabilities and skills of youth in Kuwait. The event is seen as a grooming platform for these students by helping them improvise their flair and encourage their innovative ability through art. This year’s competition themes which the students could select from were; traditions, celebrations and events; seascape, landscape or cityscape; If you had to design Kuwait’s new currency what would it look like, for the 9-11 years category. For the 12-14 years category it was aviation disasters, world comparison between 1915 and 2015, I want to become …. There were also two special prizes for the most colorful painting and the most creative painting. All themes brought out the unique talents and skills of the participants.
تشجيعا ً وحتفيزا ً للرياضة ومنها لعبة كرة القدم وتقديرا ً ألكادميية الماسيا لتعليم كرة القدم والراعي الرسمي لها شركة هيونداي إلكترونيات SABECO استضافت سلسلة مطاعم سابيكو مجموعة مميزة من العبي أكادميية الماسيا كويت الرياضية لتعليم كرة القدم وتنمية مهارات الالعبني من البراعم الذين تتراوح اعمارهم مابني سنه وكان الضيوف من الطالب الرياضيني15 و5 الصغار برفقة كوكبة من مدربي االكادميية الذين لبوا دعوة مجموعة مطاعم سابيكو (مطعم للمشاوي والشاورماAbou Jassem ابو جاسم Sandawicha ومطعم سندويشة،وغيرها JJ’s ومطعم جي جيز،السندوتشات العاملية MEYWA ومطعم ميوه،أشهى البرغر والستيك )أشهى العصائر والشيكس واأليس كرمي وقد رحبت إدارة املطاعم بالضيوف الذين جتولوا واطلعوا على ما تتمتع، في أرجاء هذه املطاعم سواء من،به من مزايا جذابة لتناول الطعام فيها حيث النظافة وجودة املواد املستخدمة وطريقة اعداد الوجبات بأنواعها بشكل صحي ومناسب إضافة الى التشكيلة الواسعة من،خملتلف األذواق ،العصائر الطبيعية بنكهاتها املتعددة والرائعة كما استمتع احلضور بأشهى احللويات املعدة في ،مطعم ميوه بأسلوب مميز وصحي وبأشكال الفتة كما استمتع الضيوف باألجواء الرائعة وباإلطاللة املميزة للموقع الرائع على شارع البالجات مقابل شوبيز وبالتراس اخلارجي اجلميل في واحد من مبا يقدمه من أجواء،أفضل املطاعم في الكويت أسرية ومأكوالت لذيذة معدة على أيدي أمهر ومبا يلبي رغبات الذواقة من شتى أصناف،الطهاة .املأكوالت والعصائر واحللويات وفي اخلتام توجهت إدارة االكادميية وشركة هيونداي إلكترونيات بالشكر الى ادارة مطاعم سابيكو على مبادرتهم الطيبة وعلى حسن مشيدين باملستوى الرائع،الضيافة واالستقبال لهذه السلسلة ومبا تقدمه من أجود أنواع األطعمة املقدمة بطريقة احترافية نالت اعجاب .اجلميع
KidZania Kuwait welcomes VIP delegation from Nissan Japan
KidZania Kuwait, the kid-sized metropolis, recently hosted a VIP delegation from Nissan Motors Japan, including Senior Vice President Mr. Takashi Hata and General Manager Mr. Hiroki Muto. During their one-day visit to Kuwait, the delegation toured the city of KidZania where they were introduced to its famous landmarks, including the Independence Fountain, the RightZkeepers’ statues, and KidZania’s Nissan establishment and driving streets. They also got the chance to enjoy the annual Winter Festival while meeting the stilt walkers and KidZania’s beloved Rightskeepers - Urbano, Vita, Chika, Beebop and Bache. The guests were accompanied by representatives from Nissan Al Babtain, the sole distributor of Nissan automobiles in Kuwait, including Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohammed Shalaby, and Al-Babtain Board Member, Mr. Abdulmohsen Barrak. The guests were also received by representatives from Nissan Gulf FZE, among which were President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nasser Watar, and Director of Sales & Marketing, Mr. Cameron Gowing.
February, 2015
FROM THE PRESS Toddler gut defenses can be strengthened with the help of Splash in Love with “L-Protectus” Probiotic, Fashion- Volume II proves New Research 5th edition of the Splash Unveiled by Nestlé in Calendar unveiled by Esha Dubai
’ويسترن يونيون‘ تختار ً عمرو دياب سفيرا لعالمتها التجارية
Gupta
TSC Held a Blood Drive for Employees & Customers
As part of its leading social responsibility program and its commitment to the Kuwaiti community; The Sultan Center Company (TSC) held a blood drive at The Sultan Center Souq Sharq in conjunction with Kuwait Central Blood Bank on the 25th, 26th and 27th of January 2015, under the slogan “Donate Blood, Save Lives”. Aiming to support Kuwait Central Blood Bank and those in need of blood due to health complications; illness; accidents and surgeries, the blood drive was attended by a large number of volunteers; employees, customers and member of the local media. Lisa Al-Ghareeb-Marketing Manager at TSCsaid: “we embrace our responsibility to host initiatives that improve lives and in this case, can save lives. The Sultan Center has a long standing commitment to supporting blood drives within the communities it operates by and creating awareness of the need to support and save lives through the gift of blood donations”. TSC would like to thank all those who volunteered and gave the gift of life, she added
citypageskuwait.com
It’s not unknown that individual style is ruled by powerful star signs so this 2015, the Splash Calendar blends the world of the celestial and fashion. Titled ‘In Love with Fashion’ Volume II, the Calendar was unveiled by Mr Micky Jagtiani, Chairman, Landmark Group, Mr Raza Beig, CEO, Splash and ICONIC along with the gorgeous Splash Brand Ambassador and Bollywood actress Esha Gupta at the Viewing Deck, Palace Downtown. Shot creatively through the fashion lens of Tejal Patni the Calendar explores the dominant characteristics associated with each zodiac sign and connects that with the style sensibilities of Furne One @ Amato. As we flip through the 12 pages, the Calendar tastefully blends styles and silhouettes, timeless fabrics and design aesthetics with a fashion editorial eye to visually express the signs. While each month is an individual story brought alive by dramatic sets and lavish props, the Calendar is bound by an invisible thread of the brand’s philosophy of ‘In Love with Fashion’ and each image evokes a broad range of expressions. Bound to delve into the nuances of the most popular trends these vivid images promises to capture your attention the moment you set your eyes on it. The trends have been highlighted and brought in the forefront by marrying two diverse worlds through a story that defines their relationship. A Cancer sign known to be simple, loving and protective is dressed in the Mod trend with scissor hands to signify the dominant characteristics while Leo is motivated, ambitious and majestic and suitably dressed in pure opulence to bring reflect Safari Glam. Virgo is aptly portrayed in the Floral trend as it brings out characteristics like faithful, sensual and loving and the color white symbolises purity and so on and so forth. Each trend lends itself well with the signs and identifies and enhances the traits associated with it.
Breakthrough findings from recently-concluded research proving that one of the world’s most researched probiotics known as L-Protectus (L.reuteri) helps strengthen gut defenses of one to three year-old children have been unveiled at a Nestlé roundtable discussion in Dubai, with the participation of leading local and international experts in the fields of clinical nutrition, pediatric medicine and nutrition research. According to a recent study published in the UAE by Dr. Mohamad Miqdady, Division Chief, Pediatric Gastrointestinal Infections, Hepatology and Nutrition Division at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, children between the ages of one and three fall sick due to infectious diseases 10 to 15 times a year, which is why discovering new means to strengthen their immune system is crucial. Almost 100% of children will encounter these gastrointestinal infections, and more than once. Such illness can affect the family in several ways; in addition to the direct and indirect costs, it can also disturb the family’s dynamics and can result in the loss of more than two days of work for the parents. The study also showed that the gut is the most important line of defense in our body since it houses 80% of immunity cells, and maintaining its health and balance with good nutrition is essential to preventing gastrointestinal infections and diarrhea. “Toddlers have a tiny stomach that is the size of their fist,” explained Dr. Wafaa Ayesh Director, Clinical Nutrition Department, Clinical Support Services Sector, Dubai Health Authority. “This is why we must ensure they get several small meals a day containing the right nutritionally dense foods that help them grow healthily. Milk is a very important food at this age, especially specialised growing-up milk containing that is designed to cater to their growing needs.” It is generally recognized that as children turn one, they learn from exploring and touching everything around them. While this is necessary for healthy growth, it exposes them to germs and increases their risk of getting sick. “This randomized placebo-controlled study has been completed by 336 children proving that L. Protectus (L. reuteri) helps to reduce gastrointestinal infections in children when given on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important for parents to know that choosing the right nutrition for their children from a very young age is crucial to avoid them from getting these infections, and subsequently growing up healthy,” concluded the event’s key speaker Dr. Kimmo Makinen, Senior Scientist and a probiotic expert at the Nestlé Research Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland.
الشركة العاملية الرائدة،أعلنت ويسترن يونيون في خدمات التحويالت املالية والدفع (املدرجة في اليوم عن توقيع،)WU بورصة نيويورك حتت الرمز اتفاقية مع جنم البوب األكثر شعبية في العالم ً تختاره مبوجبها سفيرا، عمرو دياب- العربي وبوصفه النجم العربي األكثر.لعالمتها التجارية شهرة وصاحب القاعدة اجلماهيرية الدولية سيمثل عمرو دياب اآلن ويسترن يونيون،الكبيرة وخدماتها السريعة واملريحة واملوثوقة لتحويل بلد وإقليم حول200 والتي تقدمها في،األموال وسيكون النجم عمرو دياب هو واجهة.العالم شركة حتويل األموال الرائدة عامليا ً في حمالتها اإلعالنية املرئية واملطبوعة في جميع أنحاء .2015 املنطقة خالل عام وقد ساهم عمله الشاق وشغفه باملوسيقى ودأبه على تطوير أساليب وأمناط جديدة منها في تعزيز انتشاره وزيادة األعداد الهائلة ملعجبيه من حتى،مختلف اجلنسيات في جميع أنحاء العالم أثبت مكانته كأحد أفضل املطربني املؤثرين في الشرق األوسط ملا يتمتع به من موهبة استثنائية وشخصية كارزمية حتظى بالقبول من الكبار حاز عمرو دياب، وخالل مسيرته الفنية.والصغار منها،على سبع من جوائز املوسيقى العاملية جائزة املوسيقى العاملية ألفضل مبيعات أللبومات وخالل حفل.األغاني في الشرق األوسط أربع مرات ،2014 توزيع جوائز املوسيقى العاملية في العام وأفضل فنان عربي،صنف كأفضل فنان مصري من الرجال وأفضل فنان عربي في العالم من . والتي مت التصويت لها عبر اإلنترنت،الرجال رئيس ويسترن يونيون في،وقال جان كلود فرح الشرق األوسط وأفريقيا واحمليط الهادئ وأوروبا "نحن في غاية:الشرقية ورابطة الدول املستقلة السعادة الختيار عمرو دياب سفيرا ً لويسترن فهو يتمتع بشعبية وجاذبية هائلة.يونيون ،بني اجلماهير العربية في جميع أنحاء العالم وسيسهم في خلق روابط قوية مع عمالئنا مثلما نفعل كعالمة جتارية رائدة من خالل تقدمي خدمات التحويالت املالية لألسر في جميع أنحاء العالم إلى أحبائهم في الوطن ومساعدتهم في الوقت ذاته على االستمتاع بأغانيه وعيش حياة ".سعيدة ً "أنا متحمس جدا: قال عمرو دياب،من جانبه وبوصفها.لتمثيل عالمة ويسترن يونيون التجارية فإن،شركة عاملية مبدعة حتظى باالحترام الواسع قدرتها الفريدة على ربط الناس في جميع أنحاء العالم بأحبائهم من خالل خدماتها السريعة كما أعجبني شغف.واملوثوقة ألمر عظيم ،ويسترن يونيون بعمالئها وأعمالها التجارية وانتابني شعور كبير من الراحة للتعاون مع عالمتها التجارية لنشر قيمنا املشتركة من خالل السعي إلى التميز وااللتزام التام بالوصول إلى ."طرق مبتكرة للربط بني الناس حول العالم
February, 2015
Dalal AlDughaishem
Website: www.saycheeez.net Email: info@saycheeez.net Twitter & flicker & instagram: @saycheeez_photo phone number (only Whats App): 55062262
Dalal is a professional photographer specializing in Kids and Babies Photography. Contact us if you wish to feature your Kids brand in CityPages magazine.
citypageskuwait.com
February, 2015
MATHS QUIZ 1. What is 8 multiplied by 5? 2. How many centimeters in 2 meters?
FUN FACTS ABOUT KUWAIT
3. What is double 45? 4. Write down an odd number that is greater than 275 and less than 280. 5. Divide 6 by 3 and then add 4. 6. Double 14 and add 2? 7. The chips went in the oven at 5:05pm, and they’ll take half an hour. When will they be ready? 8. What’s the difference between 705 and 602? 9. How many degrees is one full turn plus 10 degrees? 10. What is -12 + 11? 9. 370°, 10. -1
ANSWERS:1. 40, 2. 200cm, 3. 90, 4. 277 or 279, 5. 6, 6. 30, 7. 5:35pm, 8. 103,
FUN RIDDLES
1. You are feeling hungry and you open your refrigerator. What you find inside is a dozen of apples and you choose one of them as you have no other choice. When you take a bite from the apple you find a worm inside. Can you think of anything worse than that? 2. I can make the number one disappear by adding something to it. Can you? 3. My car is in a good condition but one of the tires is a flat tire. I still able to reach the destination without replacing the tire. How? 4. Venus Williams was given a cigarette lighter. Why?? 5. Two men enter a café. One man orders H2O and the other man says “I will have H2O, too”. The second man dies. Why?
JUMBLED WORDS 1 . E L A B 2 . T C N O E N I V N E 3 . L OA F I F I C 4 . A A B D O R 5 . K A C B 6 . K D R A 7 . YA E R L 8 . Y F R O C A T 9 . E G A M 1 0 . FA L H 1 1 . T I N M A P R T O 1 2 . U N A R YA J
= = = = = = = = = = = =
lost all the matches, 5. H202 (Hydrogen peroxide) is harmful and can cause death.
7.EARLY, 8.FACTORY, 9.GAME, 10.HALF, 11.IMPORTANT, 12.JANUARY
the number ONE and it will be GONE, 3. The flat tire is a stepney tire, 4. Because she
ANSWERS: 1. ABLE, 2.CONVENIENT, 3.OFFICIAL, 4.ABOARD, 5.BACK, 6.DARK,
ANSWERS: 1. Finding half a worm would have been worse, 2. Just add G before citypageskuwait.com
The image of falcon appears on stamps and even on currency of Kuwait.
1.Kuwait is officially known as the ‘State of Kuwait’. 2.Kuwait is one of the smallest countries in the world in terms of land area.
10.The flag of Kuwait was adopted on September 7, 1961, and officially hoisted on November 24, 1961. Before 1961, the flag of Kuwait was red and white with the word " "الكويتin the middle. The present flag is in the Pan-Arab colours, but each colour is also significant in its own right. Black represents the defeat of the enemy, while red is the colour of blood on the Kuwaiti swords. White symbolizes purity, and green is for the fertile land.
3.Kuwait means “Fortress built near water” in Arabic. 4.The official language of Kuwait is Arabic, but English is also widely spoken and understood. 5.Majority of the people in Kuwait follow Islam followed by Christianity and Hinduism. 6.The currency of Kuwait is Kuwaiti Dinar. 7.The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City. 8.Kuwaiti men usually wear the national dress of long white dishdashas and white head-cloths, while women wear yashmaks. 9. Falcon is the national bird of Kuwait.
Build-A-Bear Workshop has some exciting products in store exclusively for the month of February as we will bring in the legendary Superheroes!!! Build-A-Bear Workshop® - the world’s only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience.
lCaptain America: KWD 9.600 lBatman Bear: KWD 9.600 lSuperman Bear: KWD 9.600 lSpiderman Bear: KWD 9.600
lIron Man: KWD 9.600 lHulk Bear: KWD 9.600 lCamo Bear: KWD 7.600 lPink Camo Bear: KWD 7.600
Build-A-Bear store in Kuwait is located in The Avenues Mall February, 2015
HOMEWORK FOR GROWN UPS EVERYTHING YOU LEARNED AT SCHOOL... BUT CAN YOU REMEMBER? General Knowledge Quiz 1. Geographically, Guantanamo Bay is located in: USA; Cuba; Mexico; or Canada?
Test Your Vocabulary profitable means :
2. What kitchen-related term refers to a major music publishing/retailing street, notably Manhattan's West 28th Street and London's Denmark Street?
8. Warren Buffett coined (What?) key investment term to symbolize 'competitive immunity' of a corporation: Moat; Boat; Float; or Stoat? 9. If five baskets contain respectively 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 apples, what is the average number of apples in two baskets? 10. London's Claridge's hotel restaurant attracted pavement demonstrations in 2014 after objecting to a customer's: Weight; Height; E-cigar; or Breastfeeding a baby? 11. The coffin of which famous assassin, buried in 1963 and exhumed in 1981, was sold at auction for $87,500 in 2010? 12. What is the main currency of Bali, Java, Sulawesi, and several thousand other islands of the same nation? 13. What disease causes the human immune system to attack healthy tissue, named/ believed originally from the bite of a wolf? 14. Which of these is not a usual brass instrument pitch, transposed/equating to middle C: Bb; Eb; F; or D? 15. Whose December 2014 official photographs, wearing a guardsman-design knitted pullover, prompted huge sales interest in the product?
LETTERS & WORDS There are three bags.The first bag has two blue rocks. The second bag has two red rocks. The third bag has a blue and a red rock. All bags are labeled but all labels are wrong.You are allowed to open one bag, pick one rock at random, see its color and put it back into the bag, without seeing the color of the other rock. How many such operations are necessary to correctly label the bags ?
ANSWERS: Just One!
7. The dinosaur Archaeopteryx or (German) 'Urvogel' is considered a main ancestor of modern: Fish; Birds; Cattle; or Mice?
4. needful
If u get Blue rock with label as "blue+red" => this is red as all labels are wrong.
6. Toot, Percy, Charlie, ching and chang all refer informally to what?
2. gainful
In this way u can logically solve this puzzle.
5. What commodity value is benchmarked in the USA and elsewhere according to (among more technical terms) 'Texas Light Sweet'?
3. peaceful
ANSWER: 2. In this question, profitable is an adjective that means yielding material gain.
4. The Golden Spurtle is an annual world championship, held at Scotland's Cairngorms National Park, for: Rock climbing; Salmon fishing; Monster impressions; or Porridge making?
1. thoughtful
Things that are profitable make money or are beneficial in other ways. Businesses hope to be profitable in the financial sense, but a profitable relationship is one that's good for everyone involved. Profitable started out as a word to describe anything useful, but it hooked up with finance in the mid-1700’s. Profits are measured in money earned beyond expenses, so profitable businesses or transactions make money. A busy restaurant, sold-out concert, and bestselling book are all profitable. People also use this word for situations that are good in ways that don’t involve money. If you learned a lot from something, then it was a profitable experience, even if you didn't make any cash.
3. Which sugar confectionery adopted the slogan 'Taste the Rainbow' in 1994?
16. Which UK entertainment franchise claimed its use of car registration H982 FKL in Argentina as a purely coincidental reference to the 1982 Falklands War?
18. The expression 'to shirtfront' someone (confront head-on), adopted by certain politicians in 2014, originated in: Ice-Hockey; Rugby Leage; Australian Rules Football; or Ten-pin bowling? 19. The largest ever white (What?) weighing 4.16lbs was sold at NYC Sotheby's for $61,250 in 2014? 20. Name the controversial 'extreme' global taxi-hailing smartphone app, banned by several territories in 2014?
ANSWERS: 1.Cuba, 2. Tin Pan Alley, 3. Skittles, 4. Porridge making (a spurtle is a wooden stirrer/cooking implement), 5. Oil (or Petroleum or Crude Oil), 6. Cocaine, 7. Birds (Archeopteryx derives from Greek, 'ancient feather/wing' - Urgvogel means 'first bird'), 8. Moat (symbolizing the gulf between a corporation and its competitors - the bigger the moat, the more investment potential), 9. Ten (7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 = 25, 25 ÷ 5 = 5, 5 x 2 = 10), 10. Breastfeeding a baby, 11. Lee Harvey Oswald (US president John Kennedy's killer), 12. Rupiah (the Indonesian Rupiah, Rp), 13. Lupus (Systemic lupus erythematosus, and SLE are also technically correct answers), 14. D, 15. Prince George (UK), 16. Top Gear, 17. Beats, 18. Australian Rules Football, 19. Truffle, 20. Uber (Uber means 'excessively' or 'over' in German)
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JUMBLED WORDS V A R O B S C U M I K E D O W R A T E P U B S C E P H Y ANSWERS: BRAVO, MUSIC, WORKED, UPBEAT, PSYCHE
17. Dr Dre became the highest earning musician in 2014 by selling his headphones company (What?) to Apple for c.$600m?
January, 2015
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FEBRUARY HOROSCOPES The Full Moon in Leo could bring public recognition to some who have worked tirelessly to meet a deadline. Mercury turns direct on February 11. It's possible that you'll realize the rewards on yet another completed project that you thought had been abandoned. With both a New Moon in Aquarius and Venus conjunct Mars within four days of each other, February 18 to February 21, you could receive unexpected financial remuneration. If your work aligns with your beliefs, the cash will flow more readily. With a Quarter Moon in Gemini on February 25, managing responsibilities could be slippery business if you don't read the fine print.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19)
It's like the holidays never ended when the February 3 Full Moon rises. Be the life of the party and rock any social scene or gathering. Obviously, keep things under control and get home safely. The New Moon on February 18 is more private and intimate, but it's every bit as intense. Everyone will hear what you say and see what you show them. This might involve some closet charity work or a notso-random act of kindness on your part. The weekend of February 20 to February 22 is steaming hot with romance and passion of all kinds. Play nice!
You own this February 3 Full Moon. Romance sparkles, and you may inadvertently catch someone's eye and look like the answer to a dream. Flirt with extreme care (especially if you're already attached). The February 18 New Moon will make crystal clear exactly what you need, what you want, and what you need to do to get it. There will be no indecision. Things may not be easy or fun, but they'll be simple. Sometimes it feels good to not hesitate. Wednesday, February 25, the Sun conjoins Neptune. Seeing is not believing today, but a spiritual "ah ha" moment is likely.
TAURUS
VIRGO
(April 20 - May 20)
(August 23 - September 22)
Make a major improvement at home during the February 3 Full Moon, but don't curl up and enjoy it right away, as work may be booming with a lucky break of its own. Private home time will be sweet, though. At the New Moon on February 18, you may start playing a bigger role in a social group or association that means a lot to you. It's probably been on your mind for a while. You don't have to do it forever. The work week starting Monday, February 23, has challenges with the Sun/Saturn square, but people want to get along with you.
SAGITTARIUS
Venus conjoins Neptune in the sign opposite yours on February 1, so any dreams of love will be under heavy scrutiny. You can be very lucky in the most secretive and mysterious of ways under the February 3 Full Moon. If a perfect partner (possibly but not necessarily romantic) doesn't appear, the image of one might come into focus. The February 18 New Moon may start a lunar month of passionate, magical love. If this sounds like too much excitement, you can downplay your reaction, but the passion won't go away. If already in a happy relationship, the happiness could get deeper and stronger.
(November 22 - December 21)
The February 3 Full Moon might set you up to teach someone a valuable lesson. You may want to wait until asked, but once you decide it's appropriate, don't be shy about sharing what you know or what you've seen. Home is where your heart is for the February 18 New Moon. It could be an emotional time, and family affairs may intrude more than usual, but it's still full of love and tender feelings. Don't get overwhelmed or paralyzed by it all. A Moon/Jupiter sextile on Thursday, February 26, may provide a pleasant cool-down period to end the month.
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
February 3 holds a very serious Full Moon for you, but you don't have to overreact. If someone more intense than you tries to push their agenda, be firm and don't get rattled. This, too, shall pass. With the February 18 New Moon, see your immediate neighborhood (and perhaps some friends) in a new light. Is a new restaurant or coffee shop opening? Let a detour or different traffic pattern show you something new and better. Mars trines Saturn on Wednesday, February 25, firing you up to blast through the work week and the rest of the month.
GEMINI
LIBRA
AQUARIUS
(May 21 - June 20)
(September 23 - October 22)
(January 20 - February 18)
No matter how busy you are, save time for lightweight, frivolous fun with friends around the February 3 Full Moon. It will recharge your emotional batteries, keep you close to home, and even calm you down. Retrograde Mercury turns direct on Wednesday, February 11. Clear thinking gets easier now. The February 18 New Moon will keep you busy at work, possibly doing more for more people. Grow with the extra responsibility, benefit from it, and learn that it isn't that hard to satisfy all those demands and expectations. Don't be surprised if some people think you've pulled off a magic trick.
The February 3 Full Moon lets you walk into a new social scene and vibrate with precisely the right frequency. A lot of people may work hard just to see you happy. Be gracious and let them please you. The February 18 New Moon is also about you, but in a different way. Resolve to keep some little maddening detail of daily life under control. Pick just one. Recycle junk mail promptly or clear out some other clutter. You can feel virtuous all month. The weekend of February 24 is custom made for love and making passionate connections. If they don't last, the memories will.
The February 3 Full Moon is all about being lucky in love. If you aren't craving the perfect lover, you may be deep into some other personal passion. Make the most of this short but intense lucky streak. Around the February 18 New Moon, something started last month (or last year) might finally begin to pay for itself. It may be tiny, but you'll know there's life in it and it deserves to continue. Don't sacrifice necessities on this, but don't give up just yet. Mercury has been in Aquarius all month. End the month with things making more sense than ever.
CANCER
SCORPIO
PISCES
(June 21 - July 22)
(October 23 - November 21)
(February 19 - March 20)
You may be preoccupied with money until after the February 3 Full Moon. Be organized and don't be afraid to adjust that budget. Someone else may have advice for you, if not a random act of kindness. If you don't take a trip before or during the February 18 New Moon, someone or something special and exotic could come to you. Spend the rest of the month with your perspective changed and your world widened. The February 27 weekend is an emotionally fragile time, so protect your heart. Be tactful and walk away from silly arguments. citypageskuwait.com
LEO (July 23 - August 22)
Be lucky and brilliant at work around the February 3 Full Moon. Don't stress or overreact, and you'll possibly see a door open wide for you. If looking, a new or better job might just find you. Mercury goes stationary direct on Wednesday, February 11, with a Scorpio Moon. Others may scramble to resume business as usual, but you'll already be there. The February 18 New Moon holds some thrills. You could get swept away by a risky gamble or wacky amusement. Don't spend (or bet) much on it, but sometimes you need a small break from the routine.
Use the first week, especially around the February 3 Full Moon, to get organized and disciplined about your daily routine. Be healthy and habitual. There's magic in these tiny rituals that will make this a strong period for you. The February 18 New Moon is powerful. Start something that's truly a once-in-a-lifetime project or effort and watch it take you where you need to be. It's a special time, so spend it with special people. Wednesday, February 25, may be the spaciest day of the year, with the Sun conjunct Neptune in Pisces. You can cope better than anyone.
*All the Illustrations on this page are done by: Sandra Bakhamian @SandraBakhamian and are Copyrighted
February, 2015