HalaBahrain March 2009

HalaBahrain Magazine | March 2009 1

HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine Lifestyle - Culture

Entertainment - Events

Your Local Bahraini Guide!

Mar 2009 - Volume 1 - Issue 9

Events & Events & HappeningsHappenings We cover the races at We cover the races at

the Circuit, comedy, the Circuit, comedy,

fashion and more!fashion and more!

Imran Al AradiImran Al Aradi

We speak to the Radio Bahrain DJ, musician,

and comedian!

Places to Go

Things to Do

Events

Tradition

And much more!


HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine Lifestyle - Technology -

Entertainment - Events ©

Spring is here!Spring is here! Dear Readers,

It’s been a very messy month weather-wise, and it seemed

that February brought in a few seasons to Bahrain, and then

some! The weather has cleared up, and we’ll have a few very

nice days of cool breezy sunny weather before we head back

into Bahrain’s 6 month-long summer.

This issue, we’ve covered quite a lot of the happenings around our little island, and even managed to head over to

Dubai Desert Rock Festival to cover the event (which is

considered a bit of a holy spot for a lot of Bahraini rockers!). We’ve also gotten together with DJ Imran; a DJ, MC,

musician, comedian, manager of the Comedy Club (and

more), to ask him about his various antics. We’ve also got an

amazing contribution by Aziza Salman for all those who want

to improve their photography skills.

Again, we would love to hear from you about anything; send

us your emails with thoughts about the magazine, letters,

ideas, and let us know what you’re thinking!

Till next time,

Ammar Al-Aradi Editor In-Chief

The Team

Editor-in-Chief Ammar Al-Aradi

Creative Director

Fardan Raffi

Public Relations Amal Fareed

Copyright Information © All Rights reserved. This

publication may not be

reproduced or transmitted in

any form in whole or in part without the written permission

of the publisher. Liability: While

every care has been taken in

the preparation of this magazine, the publishers

cannot be held responsible for

the accuracy of the information herein, or any

consequence arising it.

HalaBahrain is a fully registered online publication with the

Bahrain Ministry of Information,

under registration number

EQHBH210

HalaBahrain is published

monthly; to view the magazine,

for a free subscription, or to

download a copy, please visit www.halabahrain.com. For

advertising and all enquiries,

please contact [email protected]

www.HalaBahrain.com [email protected]

Editorial


Craic Attack

Location: JJ’s Irish Restaurant

Price: BD5 per person

Contact: +973 - 39532530

News, Events News, Events

& Happenings& Happenings With the Spring of Culture fully underway,

there is quite a LOT happening around Bahrain!

We were considering publishing a full list of

the Spring of Culture events, but every other magazine on the island seems to have done

that and in fact it becomes a little pointless, so we’re focusing on everything else. Want to know

what to do during the Spring of Culture? Then check out www.SpringOfCulture.org

Rock fans can get a little taste of the local flavor at Envy, with Bahraini band Motor Militia playing on

the 10th of the month. For comedy lovers, and as part of the St. Patricks Day celebrations, two of

Ireland’s favorite comedians are performing at JJ’s as Craic Attack. Redbull is organizing a paper

plane competition; who can design a paper plane in a way to fly the longest, furthest, highest, etc.

The competition is global, so join and you might get a chance to get your name out there (for your

paper plane skills, that is); competition is open to all university students. For those feeling charitable

and energetic, the Shoemart walkathon is going on at Amwaj on the 27th, so get your walking gear

on, get healthy and do it all for a good cause! After the walkathon, there will also be a festival with

games, food, live DJ and entertainment. All proceeds go towards Bahraini Mobility Center.

Fancy art away from the Spring of Culture? The Elham group is at it again with their 18th monthly

gathering, displaying photos, video and poetry from the creative day out in January. A few days

later, Elham is also organizing a second creative trip to AlDar Islands for a full day of sun, sand and

creative musings. Finally, for those who love cars and bikes, get ready for 3 days of shiny vehicles as

the International Motor Show hits BIC!

23 March

Upcoming

24 March

Redbull Paper Wings

Location: Seef Mall

Timing: 10:00am-2:00pm Contact: +973-39558462 [email protected]

25 March

Elham 18th Gathering

Location: Casa dell’ Arte

Contact: +973-17822414 [email protected]

10 March

Midweek Rock

Location: Envy @ The Palace

Timing: 9:00pm-12:00am Contact: +973-36983376 [email protected]

International Motor Show

Location: Bahrain Int’l Circuit Email: +973-17746848 [email protected]

2-4 April

Shoemart Walkathon

Location: Amwaj Islands

Timing: 9:00am-5:00pm

Contact: +973-17297040

27 March

28 March

Elham Creative Trip

Location: Al Dar Island

Timing: 10:00am-6:00pm Contact: [email protected]


Got something to say? Anything specific you’d like to see in Got something to say? Anything specific you’d like to see in

the magazine? Or maybe you just love our magazine? Hate it? the magazine? Or maybe you just love our magazine? Hate it?

Or just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, let us know, Or just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, let us know,

email us on: email us on: [email protected]@halabahrain.com

———— FROM: Wreckin Cru SUBJECT: U Rok

U Rok Guyz, seriiuzly, the

magazine iz amaaaazing,

we luv it

No spell check on your computers?

————

FROM: Mahmood Al Hussan SUBJECT: About Banned Sites

I know that the Ministry have

banned some good sites

and also some useful sites like Google Translate.. Well

anyway, there’s some sites don’t deserve to be banned

and people should talk with

the ministry about it.

Well, so far people have talked but nothing seems to be getting through to them! Let’s hope something snaps soon...

————

FROM: Miranda Novie SUBJECT: Internet Ban

I don’t understand the point

of view of the ministry. Do they think they can hide

things away with a simple

ban any 8 year old these

days can crack?

True! They ‘want’ to act smart but we’ll always be one step ahead!

———— FROM: Sahal SUBJECT: Beautiful

A beautiful magazine with

beautiful photos. Loved the

review with Aziza. Keep up

the amazing work.

Appreciated! If you liked Aziza’s work, take a look at our photography section this month by her!

———— FROM: Andy William

SUBJECT: Desert Camping!

Amazing guide on desert camping! We’ve been here

for a few months and didn’t really get a chance to see

the very ‘local’ side of

things, but we took off to the

desert after reading it here,

and we have to say, it was quite a lot of fun! We had

random strangers give us

coffee and had an overall

good time. We love you

HalaBahrain, thanks a mill!

It’s great to know our little magazine is giving people new things to discover! Keep reading, and we’ll take you places!

———— FROM: Hamado SUBJECT: Walla 3ajeeb.

Okay ukhooy.

HalaBahrain MailHalaBahrain Mail Mail



B.I.C. EventsB.I.C. Events Another busy month for the Bahrain Int’l Circuit as we lead into this year’s F1

race! During the month of February, some of the F1 teams were there to test out

the circuit, and HalaBahrain was there to capture the action! Also, the 2000cc

race went on as tensions heated between the top three positions. The National

Sprint was also up and running, pitting the best private bike and car drivers

against each other around the track, and finally, the drag races. Busy month!

Events


Events


Events

Final uRBnFinal uRBn As Club 7 prepares to close it’s doors, we were given the chance for

one last uRBn night to party away! The night was hosted by DJ Miled &

DJ Outlaw, and had crowds dancing away to the smoothest r&b and

hiphop on this wild Wesnesday!


Events

Dubai Desert Rock FestivalDubai Desert Rock Festival An annual tradition for all Rock & Metal lovers from around the

region, the Dubai Desert Rock Festival was a top hit for a huge

number of Bahraini bands and fans (don’t believe us? Just see the

huge flag waving on this month’s cover!). A full day of bands

including MotorHead, Chimaira, Arch Enemy, Opeth and many

more made this one hell of a festival, full of black t-shirts,

mosh pits and a thumping audio system that channeled the bass

through your bloodstream!


Events


Events


Events Bahrain Fashion Week PreBahrain Fashion Week Pre--LaunchLaunch From a red carpet entrance to the click of photographers, and the

astounding beauty of the models ready to display the fashion they

adorned, Aqua Fuego was transformed into a wealth of glitz and

glamour, in a pre-launch for the ’09 Bahrain Fashion Week!

Photography by: Fardan Raffii (www.fardanraffii.com)


Events Paul Mendez, one of the world’s top house DJ’s whose already

played in over 40 countries to over 5 million people, performed

live in the Marina Club last month, at an event that had the

crowds jumping and on their feet all night long!

Paul MendezPaul Mendez

Photography by: Alexander Yee (www.alexanderyee.com)



Events A night full of local comedians, open mic for

anyone who wanted to join in, and a ton of

laughs gave a new push to the Bahraini stand-

up comedy scene! The night had everyone in

tears, and with it’s success, look out for more

local comedy nights coming soon!

Local Comedy NightLocal Comedy Night


A Different Level

An unfortunate

piece of news is

that some of our

favorite nightspots,

Level & Club 7, are

closed by the time

you read this! Yep,

years of music and

dance are now gone, but the good news is the

management still has a few other venues under their

name, to which they’ll be bringing more events!

Weather

Unpredictability colored

the skies yellow from dust,

to grey with clouds and

rain, to cold and humid, to

dry and hot, all within the

span of two days, and the

after-effects meant that

almost everyone caught

the flu! The weather seems to be getting back to normal

now though, and hopefully the quick changing forces of

the elements should be done for the season!

News

Bahrain NewsBahrain News

Site Blocked

It seems to be getting

worse! With an

initiative that started

about 2 months ago,

the site block has now

covered hundreds of sites, even some of which have no

offensive content! We’re waiting to see how this heads

out, but if we don’t get a positive result soon, we may be

looking at Bahrain moving backwards in general.

HalaBahrain ban, anyone? Your thoughts on this, and

any other subject to [email protected].

Comedy Club

As the stand-up

comedy scene in

Bahrain becomes

more popular, we

see a new

prospect which

will give it more

footing on our

island! The

comedy club is a

night aimed at putting local comedy performers on

stage, as well as giving anyone a chance at an open-

mic comedy routine! These will be held once a

month, and if popular may become more frequent!


Bowling

Since we were so annoyed with the closure of

Seef Malls bowling alley a few years ago (of which

we were very regular-goers), walking around City

Center and spotting the new bowling spot open

brought us quite a bit of joy! It’s always a good thing to

have more entertainment

venues in Bahrain; head

down for some bowling,

billiards, or just to watch others

play (right next to the City

Center food court).

News

Get Ur Music

We’ve got word about a new music service coming to

town! According to what we’ve been hearing, you’ll be

able to search for all types of music, especially those

hard to find Arabic/Persian songs you can’t really find

anywhere (besides on cassette!). According to the

website, launch should be in a few days, and we’re not

sure what to expect just

yet, so to find out more

get on, sign up, and

keep an eye out!

www.UrFilez.com


Photography

It seems that you, our dear readers, like our photos! We’ve been getting many

messages asking us about our images, and some asking for advice on how to

improve their photo skills. We’ve decided to put that in this month’s issue, by getting

together with Aziza Salman to bring you the techniques to turn your photos from

bland into beautiful!

Aziza, owner of Paprazzi Photography, has years of experience of breathing life into

photos, and her work is admired by many around our island. This month she brings

you a few tips to improve your imagery.

Sharpe

r Shoo

ting

Sharpe

r Shoo

ting

5 tips

for b

etter

clicks

5 tips

for b

etter

clicks


Photography

Off Centering

x Most people usually think they always have to

center the main object in their photos.

√ To give your viewer room to breathe and achieve

a feeling of space, move the object away from the

middle. It’s a simple twist, but one that gives your

photo a special touch.

Point of View

x It’s simple to take a photo from a regular straight

angle

√ To give your photo a little bit of a twist, try a

different angle. Start lower and point upwards, or use

a different angle than usual. The results might be

surprising!


Photography

Full Objects

x No one said a photo of an object means the full object

needs to be in the shot

√ Try zooming in on your object, giving hints about what it is

you are taking a photo of, and leaving it up to your viewer

to come up with their own version of the tale.

Lighting

x The typical thought for most people is to point as much light at

your object as possible (ie full flash) in the dark, and use none

during the daytime.

√ Try using any

natural light in dark

situations; you don’t

need to have the full

object showing

clearly, and no flash

sometimes gives you a

much nicer effect.

Spontaneous Shots

x Don’t wait for people to pose

√ Taking spontaneous shots captures a real

moment, rather than a prepped pose, and

usually looks more natural


Visit the world of hidden

Bahraini Talents...

www.BahrainTalent.com


The impression most visitors get of Bahrain, is that

of a rapidly growing economy with modern villas,

buildings and skyscrapers, with little to show in

terms of traditional sites. However, if you take the

time to venture deep into the heart of Muharraq,

you will find a wealth of tradition showing you what

life was like in Bahrain years before the oil wealth

started pouring in.

The Shaikh Isa Bin Ali House was built around the year

1800, was the residence of the ruler of Bahrain from

1869-1932, and also used as the center of govern-

ment. The architecture is very distinct, with it's wall

carvings and stained glass windows.

Tradition

Shaik Isa Bin Ali HouseShaik Isa Bin Ali House


One of the most prominent features of the house is the

wind tower, or Badqeer, which was the traditional

method of air-conditioning. This is a small tower built

with openings on four sides, which lets the cool air

funnel into the room below. Visitors can feel the cool

breeze as they walk into the room.

The house is open for visitors Sunday - Wednesday from

8:00am - 2:00pm, and from 8:00am - 6:00pm on Sunday

and Thursday. On Fridays, the house is open from

3:00pm - 6:00pm only. The entrance fee is a whopping

200 fils (approx $0.50), so make sure you have some

change handy!

Tradition



A new addition to the world of entertainment has

recently emerged in Bahrain; Stand-Up Comedy.

Almost non-existent this time last year, this form of

entertainment started gaining popularity with the

coming of the Axis of Evil to Bahrain. The surprising

thing, however, was not having the Axis Comedy

Tour perform here, but it was that Bahrain

apparently had a few comedians of it’s own in

store just waiting for the right chance.

Imran headed up the first show as MC and

general comedian; keeping the crowds in tears

of laughter, he moved on to hosting other shows,

and very recently organizing the local comedy

club, to give anyone who thinks they’re good

enough a shot at stand-up. We caught up with

him to ask about the comedy concept in the

region and where it’s going.

Local Talent

Imran Al AradiImran Al Aradi


Local Talent

- Okay Imran, so the Bahrain Comedy Club. What is it exactly?

Well, the Bahrain Comedy Club is an organization that brings together

local and international artists, and gives locals the opportunity to get up on stage and perform. Pretty much to try out stand-up comedy,

something that’s been lacking in Bahrain for a very long time. Plus, it’s

a place to promote local artists; main point is that there quite a lot of

talent in Bahrain.

- Okay, so you’re basically giving anybody the chance to come up

and audition?

Yup.

- Recently in the past few months, we’ve seen the stand up comedy

scene change from almost non-existent to shows happening every

month or so. What sparked that up?

The demand, definitely. It all started with the Axis of Evil comedy tour,

and it was such a big change for Bahrain which was just used to the

regular forms of entertainment (DJ’s coming down to play, nightclubs,

regular parties). But when comedy kicked in, it was so different, and

people enjoyed it so much that the 3 hours of the first show went by

and most people didn’t even feel it. I guess that’s what sparked it.

There was also local talent on stage, alongside the two international

acts, which again tells you that Bahrain has talent, and that’s actually

what opened the door.


- Great. So how did you end up in comedy? That’s not your background is it? Well now it is! I’ve always wanted to do stand-up comedy, but there was no real chance. No one would even listen to you or take

you seriously if you said you wanted to try it out. I used to host show a lot of shows, I was an MC for corporate events, staff parties,

events in general, and what I used to do was I would kick in some humor anyway, so in some ways it used to look like a stand-up act

in between what I was supposed to do. Last year in October I was asked to host the Axis of Evil, and it was the first time somebody

asked me to get on stage, host, and be funny. And I tried it out, it was pretty much the best experience of my life!

- Weren’t you working some office job before this?

I was a solution specialist for Batelco, not, umm. Well very very different from what I do now! I also have a corporate background in

telecommunications, marketing, product management, but I don’t do that anymore. I use my corporate background now in the

organization of these events.

- So how did you make the actual decision to switch?

I guess it was more of like, an awakening. I’ve always wanted to be in the entertainment industry, for example when I joined Radio

Bahrain as a DJ in 2006. It was quite a good experience, still is, but it’s a part time job and I don’t see a career forming out of that.

However, comedy, when I first got into it, I realized the feedback was very positive, the people loved it, I loved it, and so I thought of

taking this interest up forward. And yeah, so far so good!


Local Talent

- Okay, so you DJ, you’re a stand-up comedian, what else do you do now?

What do I do now?

- Who is Imran?

Who is Imran..

- What’s your business card say?

Hahaha… Well, you can say that I’m manager of the Bahrain Comedy Club, I’m a

performer as well as the guy behind the scene organizing the events, so I guess you can call me a full time comic and event organizer.

- Sounds good. So do you offer services outside the scope of the comedy club? Or is it limited to just that?

It’s open to other markets; what I’m planning to do is not only host comedy events, but

also add an additional service to the corporate market. I have years of experience

hosting staff events, anniversaries, so on and so forth, and they’ve faced a big challenge

not knowing what they want to do for these events, not knowing what entertainment to

bring. Everyone is used to the bands, the regular dancers. People want something new,

so what I want to provide in the near future is stand-up comedy to that market.

Ok so hopefully we’ll start seeing this come up in the next few weeks or months! How can

people find out about your services?

Well they can simply give me a call; the Bahrain Comedy Club website is coming up

soon, and that will have all our updates, who our performers are, what we do and what

we’re gonna do.


Local Talent

- Cool. Now let’s take a step back; you’ve managed to leave the

corporate world to something which you love, but isn’t considered a serious career move by society here, which must be tough. How

about other people who want to follow in your footsteps. Do you have any advice for them?

My advice is don’t let anybody bring you down; a lot of people

have actually mentioned this to me before, that what I do isn’t really

a career, it’s a hobby. The barrier I’m trying to break is this; yes it is a

hobby, but one that can turn into a serious career for me, and it has

turned into one already. If someone wants to do it, go for it if you

believe in yourself, don’t let anybody stop you, and even if you fail

you keep trying. Radio Bahrain, for example; I tried to get a job there

in 2000, and I kept trying and trying and made it in 6 years later.

- Nice. How long have you been doing this now?

A good 6 months almost.

- And you’re enjoying it?

Love it, best job in the world. We get paid to crack jokes.

- Great! It was good talking to you, thanks a lot Imran.

Your velcome Darleeng (Indian accent)


Photo by: Ali Zainal

Documents

HalaBahrain March 2009