Monday, March 9, 2020
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Coronavirus and Flu: How do they compare?
56 cases in Kuwait, no new cases over the last 24 hours. Stay safe.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Al Salam Palace Museum in Kuwait
Al Salam Palace Museum is one of the most important projects of the Al Diwan Al Amiri Al Salam Palace was originally designed and built in the 1950s as a residential palace for Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah. In 1961, after Kuwait gained its independence, a state guest house was needed to host foreign delegations that began to visit Kuwait after becoming a member of the United Nations. Thus, Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah, Amir of Kuwait, transferred the Palace’s ownership to the State. Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Minister of Finance at the time, was assigned to supervise the construction and furnishing.
The palace received its first visitor in 1964. Over the following 26 years, more than 166 emperors, kings, heads of states and many important political and diplomatic figures visited the Palace. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 the Palace was destroyed, and its properties were looted. After 23 years, Al Diwan Al Amiri set a plan for refurbishment and renovation of Al Salam Palace, converting it into a museum that narrates 300 years of Kuwait’s history. This was based on a proposal submitted by the Historical Affairs and Museums Sector of Al Diwan Al Amiri, which was assigned the task of collecting the undocumented history of Kuwait from sources all over the world in addition to the design and implementation of the museum.
For opening times, location and more details. You have to book online. It is KD8 per person and only 12 years and up are allowed. It is only by guided tour. They have tours in English and Arabic and you have to book in advance. https://aspm.com.kw/
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
The Wandering Quinn in Kuwait
I spent 2 days seeing Kuwait with my local friends and from it, I've got some good places to visit in Kuwait city, and further afield for you. Kuwait is often referred to as being a boring city or tourists and travellers and I would say that's because things are spread out and it's hard to get around. However in one day in Kuwait there are a few things to do in Kuwait City and ways to Kuwait. Start at the Scientific Centre and walk along the boardwalk to Marina Mall. Get lunch at Fareej Swalieh. Catch a cab or the bus to the Old Marina and do a round boat trip to see the city for 1KD. Take a cab or bus to the Kuwait Towers and go up them for Sunset. Take a cab to the Grand Mosque in Kuwait City and do a free guided tour on Thursday-Sundays at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 & 6:30pm. Walk to Souq Al Mubarakiya and to Salat Square. End in Al Shaheed Park at night. There are also museums and of course lots of shopping malls in Kuwait too which will introduce you to the old and the modern Kuwaiti culture. The following day I headed along what is the longest bridge in the world to the desert for an evening of camping and dune buggies in the desert with my friends. This would be possible to do as a tourist but you would need a 4x4 and equipment.
The Wandering Quinn *********************************************************** GET MONEY OFF YOUR NEXT AIRBNB WHEN YOU CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT WITH THIS CODE: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/c/equinn81 YOU CAN FIND ALL OF MY KUWAIT BLOG POSTS HERE: https://thewanderingquinn.com/categor...
Always nice to hear from people sharing a positive experience here - LWDLIK
Sunday, November 17, 2019
"If" by Rudyard Kipling
"If—" first appeared in the "Brother Square Toes" chapter of the book Rewards and Fairies, a collection of Kipling's poetry and short-story fiction, published in 1910. In his posthumously published autobiography, Something of Myself (1937), Kipling said that, in writing the poem, he was inspired by the character of Leander Starr Jameson,[4] leader of the failed Jameson Raid against the Transvaal Republic to overthrow the Boer Government of Paul Kruger. The failure of that mercenary coup d’état aggravated the political tensions between Great Britain and the Boers, which led to the Second Boer War (1899–1902).[5][6]
Reception[edit]
As an evocation of Victorian-era stoicism—the "stiff upper lip" self-discipline, which popular culture rendered into a British national virtue and character trait, "If—" remains a cultural touchstone.[7] The British cultural-artefact status of the poem is evidenced by the parodies of the poem, and by its popularity among Britons.[8][9]
T. S. Eliot included the poem in his 1941 collection A Choice of Kipling's Verse.
In India, a framed copy of the poem was affixed to the wall before the study desk in the cabins of the officer cadets at the National Defence Academy at Pune, and Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala.[10]
In Britain, the third and fourth lines of the second stanza of the poem: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two impostors just the same" are written on the wall of the players' entrance to the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where the Wimbledon Championships are held.[3] (These same lines appear at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, where the US Open was played.)[11] The first verse is set, in granite setts, into the pavement of the promenade in Westward Ho! in Devon.[12]
The Indian writer Khushwant Singh considered the poem "the essence of the message of The Gita in English."[13]
In popular culture[edit]
In 1914 the New Zealand School Journal published the poem without asking permission following the outbreak of World War I. The Education Department wrote to the publishers and offered to pay a "reasonable fee". Kipling, who routinely turned down requests to publish "If—", asked for £50 to settle the matter. The Solicitor-General said that the Crown was not bound by the New Zealand Copyright Act of 1913, and could reprint the whole of Kipling's works if it chose.[14]
There is a classical translation in French by André Maurois, who was an interpreter with the British Army during the First World War. It was published in Les silences du colonel Bramble (1921), chap. XIV (Collection Poche, pp. 93s.).[citation needed] In Portuguese, the most widely-circulated translation is by Félix Bermudes.
On 21 September 1938 the Czech journal Přítomnost published the poem in the place of editorial (as a reaction on the situation before the Munich dictate).[15]
The cab driver character Alex (Judd Hirsch) begins the poem and it is finished by the unlikely character Jim (Christopher Lloyd) in season 2 episode 22 of the television show Taxi.
In Apocalypse Now, when the photojournalist played by Dennis Hopper meets Capt Willard, played by Martin Sheen, he spouts a few lines of the first stanza during his drug-fueled, frenzied greeting while trying to relay how much he admires Colonel Kurtz.
In The Simpsons, Grandpa Simpson quotes an abbreviated portion in "Old Money" as justification to betting all the winnings of a recent inheritance at roulette.[16]
Reebok produced a shoe commercial in 1993 featuring Basketball Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Willis Reed, Bill Walton, and John Wooden reciting "If—" to then-NBA rookie Shaquille O'Neal.[17][18]
The book by David Weber “March Upcountry” references this poem. (2001)[19]
The fictional character Bridget Jones is powerfully struck by "If—": "Poem is good. Very good, almost like self-help book".[20]
Brand New adapted part of the second stanza of the poem for the lyrics of their 2006 song "Sowing Season".[citation needed]
The poem was adapted and performed as a song by Joni Mitchell on her 2007 album Shine.[21]
The first lines of the poem are used as a password in the 2015 film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
In 2016, the Boston Red Sox used the poem in a short video tribute to retiring player David Ortiz, narrated by Kevin Spacey.[22]
Tennis player Serena Williams recited a version of the poem for International Women’s Day 2017, substituting 'woman' for 'man'.[23]
In July 2018 students of Manchester University defaced a mural with the poem written on it, and replaced it with Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, saying that Kipling "dehumanised people of colour".[24]
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