Hurricane Irene & jetBlue

While we are waiting for Irene to reach NYC (and hopefully pass benignly),  I am sure many of you have flights cancelled and are working to rebook, reinstate. I tried calling jetBlue airways to ask about my flight flying out of NYC on Sunday, and after waiting an hour I hung up. 

I decided to contact them on Twitter, and saw that they were replying to queries by the minute. I was very impressed! All I had to do was DM them my confirmation number, and they replied within 7 minutes giving me options and other dates with available flights. I have never experienced such prompt service in times like this.

I highly suggest contacting them via Twitter (@JetBlue) if you are flying with them. 

Well done JetBlue! Other airlines, take heed.

Review: BBC History Magazine

BBC History magazine recently went digital, and although I had never laid hands on a printed copy, I was thrilled and immediately bought a few issues through Zinio. A self proclaimed history buff (boasting a mere minor), I am very impressed so far. BBC has the knack of making seemingly dull material (to most) appeal to the masses. I don't know if the magazine is considered a scientific journal that one could cite in papers and research, but it is definitely an enjoyable read. Covering a wide range of periods, from prehistoric ages to modern times, it certainly will please interested audience. 

A great addition to my electronic library. I absolutely adore the milestones page.

Priced at $6.20 per issue, or $77.56 for a 13 issue subscription.
Click here to get it through Zinio.

Currently reading: Love in the Time of Cholera

I bought this way back in 2007, but for some reason I never got around to reading it. I'm liking it so far.

Current craving: Big Smoke Burger

I heard and read great reviews about Big Smoke Burger having the best burgers in Toronto, and I decided to give it a go a while back in July. Previously named Craft Burger, the chain has three locations in Toronto (and a fourth opening soon). I randomly picked a location and drove 9 hours, all the way from NYC. Upon entering, I thought UH oH. The place was somewhat tiny and had only four tables. I don't know why I was expecting something similar to the burger scene in Kuwait (again, I don't know why). Loud dark eateries with burgers drowning in sauce (I'm not complaining here).

Having no where else to go, my friend and I ordered a cheeseburger, a Craft burger (comes with sautéed mushrooms, rosemary garlic mayo, lettuce & tomato) & poutine (fries with real Ontario cheese curds & gravy).

It was the BEST cheeseburger I have ever had in my life. And I've had a lot. A true classic succulent cheeseburger. The poutine and the craft burger were absolutely great, but the cheeseburger was out of this world.  I wouldn't be able to do it justice explaining how great it tasted, but if you like gourmet burgers that are proper burgers, you'll love this!

If there's one thing you should know about their burgers is that they're handcrafted, made from fresh (never frozen) AAA Ontario beef.

We were so hungry and tired and then busy stuffing our faces we didn't take any photos, and I've been craving that cheeseburger for a good three weeks now . If you are in Canada / USA or planning a trip soon, I suggest you try it out. I'm sure it'll easily be one of the top five burgers ever.

To see their menu click here.

image via Big Smoke Burger

Review: Jamie Oliver's iPhone app

I recently downloaded Jamie Oliver's iPhone app; I am absolutely loving it. Free to download, and comes with a starter pack of 10 recipes and 3 videos. You can purchase further packs for $0.99, and they all come with 10 recipes and 1-3 videos so far.

I realized while writing this post that an iPad version has just been released, and it looks even better than the iPhone counterpart!

The design is pretty intuitive, and there are many cool features such as Jamie Oliver (audio) explaining things randomly or pushing you on saying only this step left to do. You can also double tap any step to view a picture of it. The app also has the ability to create a shopping list of the ingredients that you need for a particular recipe.

Idiot proof really. Can't wait to try some recipes out.

Get it here from iTunes. It is also available for Android.

LIMITED OFFER: To celebrate the launch of Jamie's Recipes on the iPad all packs are half-price. But be quick, offer ends on the 14th August.

Vonage, sounds bad.

I am not happy with Vonage today, the VoIP service . I use it constantly to call the states, and today I needed to call British Airways, my car insurance company and an agent but it refused to connect me to anything. The dial tone is there, so I know its not an internet problem. but after it rings there just nothing, nada, nil. Just dead air. I can't even reach my voicemail.

I sent an email to them and they said they will respond within 12 hours. This has happened to my friend before but it took 3-4 days to resolve.

Paying $35.99 a month for this service, I honestly do expect this not to happen, or at least Vonage should provide a faster customer service.  

Review: Graham Greene's The End of the Affair

The End of the Affair is a novel about an author's infatuation with a civil servant's wife. The lead character, Maurice Bendrix secretly follows his former mistress during WWII in London, desperately trying to find out why and who she left him for. Definitely not a beach read or a summer romance, Greene examines guilt, love, treachery, misery and religion very intensely. The book doesn't follow a linear sequence, but jumps back and forth between important events in the characters' lives.

It has a very strong mystery element interwoven with it as well. Greene never fails to create a  gripping read, and the Penguin Deluxe Edition is a great edition, shown above; spine is very flexible, lovely paper. There are two film adaptations of this book (1955 & 1999) but I've yet to see them. Truly a timeless classic.


"There are times when a lover longs to be also a father and a brother: he is jealous of the years he hasn't shared" My favorite line.



Click here for Penguin's Deluxe Edition on Amazon.

Alexander McQueen's "Savage Beauty"

If any of you are in NYC I urge you to go visit the "Savage Beauty" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It ends August 7th. You will probably have to wait two hours in line like I did, but it was well worth it.

all images via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 To read more about the exhibition click here.

NBK app

Joy oh joy! Finally NBK released an app! The app seems amazing so far with very detailed entries for transactions. You can even make transfers online (local and international).

It also shows branches that are near you, how far they are and their opening hours.