ARTSPACE London Showcases Photography Of Iraqi Artist Halim Al Karim

by Sean McLachlan on

ARTSPACE London is one of London’s lesser-known art venues for out-of-town visitors. It opened in May of 2012 and focuses on Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art. The original ARTSPACE is in Dubai, and the owners decided to open a London branch to expose these Eastern artists to a Western audience.

The latest London exhibition is of Iraqi photographer Halim Al Karim, opening this year to mark the tenth anniversary of the invasion that led to the downfall of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist government.

Al Karim felt the oppression of that regime as much as any Iraqi. He was an opponent of the dictatorship and refused to serve his compulsory military service. To avoid being imprisoned and tortured by Saddam’s goons, he hid out in the desert for three years, where he lived in a hole in the ground and was fed by local Bedouin.

How that experience morphed into the surreal yet delicate image shown here is for the viewer to resolve. His show, “Witness from Baghdad,” displays a range of works from throughout his career. Many confront the issues of war and oppression head on, yet always in a creative and distinct way.

“Halim Al Karim: Witness from Baghdad 2013“ runs until February 23. If you won’t be in London in time to catch it, show up at ARTSPACE London anyway. It’s fast becoming a landmark on the London art scene.

For more on contemporary Iraq, see our series on traveling in Iraq.

[Photo courtesy ARTSPACE London]

Controversy In Czech Republic Over Making Water Cheaper Than Beer

by Anna Brones on

If water is cheaper than beer, what do you choose? Beer. No wait, water. No, beer. Water?

It’s not an option most of us are presented with – a free glass of water is easy to come by. But in bars and taverns across the Czech Republic, the birthplace of pilsner, opting for beer is in fact often cheaper than water. But according to the Wall Street Journal, that could soon change.

Beer (and drinking in general) is a cornerstone of Czech culture, in fact Czechs drink an average of 37 gallons of beer per year, but Health Minister Leos Heger thinks the country needs healthier options and wants to require restaurants and bars to offer at least one nonalcoholic drink that is cheaper than beer.

Such a proposal sounds easy enough, but it has left some bar and tavern owners in a fit. “It ticks me off,” said Eleni Atanasopulosova, 34, the manager at U Zelenku, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

The deeply ingrained beer culture in the Czech Republic might not make Heger’s proposal easy to get through. For now, it haven’t even been approved by the cabinet, but if it makes it any further, it could spark some cultural controversy, pitting beer lovers against those wanting public health changes.

After all, it’s hard to change tradition – especially when it comes to beer.

[Photo Credit: Debarshi Ray]

Chile’s Valle Nevado Resort Launches Early Bird Promo For North American/UK Skiers

by Laurel Miller on

One of South America’s top ski destinations is Valle Nevado, located just 20 miles east of Santiago, Chile. Already the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, Valle offers access to over 7,000 acres of Andean terrain, as well as a full-service, self-contained resort.

North American and UK skiers can get in on some serious savings with purchase of Valle’s Early Bird Promo packages before March 15. The savings include up to 35% off on lodging, lift tickets, half-board and après ski activities.

Accommodations include three hotels ranging from budget to luxury, dining at all price points, boutiques, a spa/fitness center, and South America’s most modernized lift system, as well as a new gondola.

Valle also offers the continent’s best heli-skiing, with up to 5,000 vertical feet in one run. The resort season is June 28 to late September, so if you’re already mourning the advent of our spring, get in on this deal. Savings include 35% off stays of a minimum of three nights during specific dates; 25% off seven-night stays from July 12-19 and September 13-20; and 20% off minimum three-night stays August 2-16 (at neighboring Tres Puntas Resort only), and August 16 to September 13. Other restrictions apply.

To book a reservation or for more information, contact Valle Nevado reservations at toll-free at 1-800-669-0554 (U.S.), or 1-888-301-3248 (Canada). You can also email reservas@vallenevado.com, or click here.

[Photo credit: Azure PR]

Get inspired watching this heli-skiing clip of Valle Nevado, courtesy of PowderQuestTours:


Scientists Develop Tractor Beam (On A Microscopic Scale)

by Sean McLachlan on

A research team in Scotland and the Czech Republic has developed a tractor beam.

A press release from St. Andrews University reveals that scientists at that university and at the Institute of Scientific Instruments in the Czech Republic have for the first time been able to use light to draw objects closer, although only on a microscopic scale.

It has long been known that photons create a small amount of pressure. Johanes Kepler described the effect way back in the 17th century when he observed that the tails of comets point away from the sun. Experiments using light to push microscopic objects have been conducted for decades, but the current research is the first time light has been used to attract objects.

The team discovered that under a certain set of parameters with a special optical field, the pushing effect turns into a negative force and the object is drawn closer.

The negative force is specific to the object’s size and composition, allowing scientists to pick and choose what objects to attract. This would have applications to medicine and biological research, enabling researchers to sort cells or even parts of a cell. The team’s results have been published in Nature Photonics.

A real science-fiction-style tractor beam would have to be on a vastly greater scale than these experiments, however, so don’t expect it to be used for transportation anytime soon. We’ll see space tourism long before that. The tractor beam experiments are a bit like teleportation experiments that made headlines a year ago. We’re seeing what our grandkids might one day take for granted.

[Image courtesy St Andrews University]

Video Of The Day: Airplane Kindergarten

by Meg Nesterov on


Get nervous when you see a kid on a plane? How about a whole classroom of kids on a plane? A clever kindergarten in Georgia (the country, not the state) has transformed an old airplane into a school, with an intact cockpit. Check out the video above from the UK Telegraph and get ready to be envious of a bunch of Georgian 5-year-olds who get to play with cool buttons and learn their Alpha Tango Bravos.

See a cool travel video? Leave us a link in the comments for another Video of the Day.