Swine flu: it's here

Yeah. The title says it all.

Details: not one, three or five, but EIGHTEEN soldiers on U.S. bases have tested positive for the swine flu virus. As of today [May 23, 2009], 12022 confirmed cases of swine flu in humans in over thirty countries have been recorded, with 86 deaths attributed to the disease.

So far, it is believed that the virus is contained within the bases and has not spread to the civilian populace.

Yeesh. In times like these, I'm sure we're all hoping that nothing major happens. Not that we need any more problems here or anything.

For the full article, visit the following link: http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=327234

Change in the air?

It's official: we have four female members of parliament. Aseel Al-Awadi, Salwa Al-Jassar, Massouma Al-Mubarak and Rola Dashti will be going down in Kuwaiti history as the first women to ever join the National Assembly. This is truly iconic in any democratic system, seeing that Kuwaiti women were only given suffrage and the right to run for parliament back in 2005.

Four. أربع

Women. نساء

And what's more: the elections have revealed a decrease in the number of Islamists elected into parliament, from 21 in the last session to 11 this time around. An increase in Shi'a Muslim MPs has also been noted, jumping from five to nine representatives.

Is this a sign? Maybe people aren't liking the fundamentalists anymore? Is Kuwait bound to get better from this point?

While I can't stress how much of a turning point this is for us as Kuwaitis and Arabs, I don't think our problems will be solved just yet. According to Reuters, Kuwait still needs to approve a five-billion dollar economic stimulus package which was rejected by the previous parliament, as well as work together with other government figures to push major infrastructural projects forward [including the City of Silk in Subiya and Kuwait's largest hospital, the Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital in South Surra]. Still, the fact that we actually have female MPs this time around should hopefully pave the road to a different [better?] Kuwait.

In the meantime, all I'm worried about is whether or not Aseel Al-Awadi and Rola Dashti will be harassed by the few fundamentalist MPs to wear hijabs.

Floating. Bed.

No, you're not seeing things.

That's a bed. And yes, it's actually floating.

If we're going to get technical, it's not floating as much as it is magnetic interaction. The brainchild of Dutch designer Janjaap Ruijssenaars, this sleek slab essentially hovers 40 cm above ground due to repelling forces found in magnets on the underside of the bed and on the floor directly below. To ensure that the slab doesn't fly off or fall to the side [in case you, uh, roll around while you sleep, wink wink], this little number is discreetly tethered to the ground in each of its four corners. It can support up to 2000 pounds [approximately 909 kilograms] in weight while suspended, so you can still defy gravity even if you're on the heavy side.

Could this ingenious innovation be the possible berth of the twenty-first century? If you've got 1.5 million dollars to spare, you could get one right now and have it put up in your own room. [I'd suggest waiting the recession out and seeing how far that'll whittle the 1.5 mil down. Maybe we'll find one of these in the back room at the local co-op for 10 KD. Oh, black market.]

1.5 million? Floating bed? Imagine the possibilities. 

Porsche Panamera unveiled... after an elevator ride

A lot of you may have heard of Porsche's newest model line, the four-door four-seater Panamera. A lot of you don't like the Panamera. While I strictly believe in a "to each his own" policy, I think that this car is one that grows on you after a while. After all, when Porsche unveiled the Cayenne in 2002, the automotive world scoffed at it. And now, it's one of the most popular cars; especially here, where you see so many of them that it makes you want to pull your eyes out and blindly hurl them at one. But, I digress...

The Panamera was just unveiled at the Auto Shanghai 2009 expo on April 19. When it officially goes on sale in Europe, North America and Asia in September [with other regional releases in October through December], the [current] base option, the V-8 400-horsepower Panamera S, will begin at 89,900 US dollars. Eighty-nine thousand nine hundred dollars. The Panamera Turbo, the top-end offering from this line, will liberate you from a whopping 132600 dollars [customizable options not included]. Recession? What recession? Ree-se-shun?

Something cool that Porsche managed to pull off at the car's unveiling was its ability to reveal the car from the 94th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center [currently the world's second-tallest building at 492 meters]. How'd they get it up there, you ask?

By elevator. Duh.

The five-meter long car was put on a specially-constructed rig, where it was then turned vertically and shoved into an elevator cabin with only inches to spare on all sides. It then began the climb to the 94th floor of the tower, where it was presented to the world 425 meters above the ground. 

Fitting, seeing that only that very top echelon of the financial demographic [or Kuwaitis] would be able to afford that thing in times like these anyway...

Fire at Al-Marzouk Pearl Building

Ring the alarms: there was a fire at the Al-Marzouk Pearl residential complex earlier today.

The fire happened around 3:45-4:00 PM. Apparently the elevators in Block 2 of the building caught fire, destroying the elevator shafts and cabins, as well as causing considerable smoke damage on the fourth floor. Thankfully, no casualties have been reported. Exact details on the fire's cause should be available soon.

The fire was fully extinguished in under an hour, but a lot of renovation work needs to be in line for the complex's owners/managers.

The following photographs were taken on my iPhone when I checked the damage out with my friend and fellow blogger K5.

MOBA: The Museum of BAD Art

With a slogan of "art too bad to be ignored", you just can't help but to be intrigued.

The Museum of Bad Art [MOBA] is, you guessed it, a gallery that showcases art that no one else would display or bother appreciating. With two branches in Dedham and Somerville, Massachusetts [outside of Boston], MOBA has a collection of over 500 artworks ranging from the delightfully mundane to the appallingly ghastly.

It started back in 1994, when an antiques dealer found a painting in the trash and showed it to some friends. He soon started featuring rejected art at a friend's home, which soon gained tremendous popularity and eventually led to the art needing to be displayed in a larger space for people around the world to gawk, point and laugh at.

The next time you're in the Boston area, you can join in the fun.

For more info, visit MOBA's official site: http://www.museumofbadart.org/

Planet Hollywood Kuwait: 2009

That's right, people. Planet Hollywood is coming to Kuwait.

Details:

- Opening during the summer

- To be located at the Olympia mall in Salmiya [at the Olympic Council of Asia headquarters across from the Scientific Center]

- Coming with all the usual offerings of deep-fried goodies and the branded merchandise you can't live without

Interesting. I've never been too swayed by PH, and the last thing Kuwait needs is another eatery that contributes to the country's rapidly growing waistline. Meh.

Let's see how this one pans out.