Dinosaur National Monument re-opens Carnegie Quarry for first time in 5 years

by Kraig Becker on

Dinosaur National Monument is one of the lesser known gems in the U.S. National Park system. Spread out across parts of Colorado and Utah, the park is home to an amazing display of fossils left over from the Jurassic era. In fact, the park’s Carnegie Quarry is considered one of the best places on Earth to view the remains of a wide variety of dinosaurs. For the past five years however, the Quarry has been hidden from the eyes of visitors due to an ongoing construction project. On Tuesday, that will change.

The National Park Service has announced that the all new Quarry Exhibit Hall will officially open on Tuesday, October 4th at 11 AM local time. When the facility does open, it will allow visitors to view the world famous fossil wall, where the remains of nearly 1500 different dinosaurs are encased. Amongst the species on display are Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Torvosaurus, to name just a few.

The Quarry Exhibit Hall joins a new visitor center, which was just opened this past Wednesday, as well. The visitor center serves as a gateway to the Quarry and features its own exhibits, bookstore, and theater. The two were built in conjunction with one another over the past few years and are now ready for the public to enjoy.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony will be attended by Utah Governor Gary Herbert and a number of other guests, such as Park Paleontologist Dan Chure and the jazz and marching bands from a local high school. The public is invited of course, and for fans of dinosaurs, this is sure to be a grand occasion. After all, for the first time in a half-decade, we’ll all have the opportunity to see one of the best displays of natural history on the planet.

Austrian pop-up store opens in Nolita, New York, in October

by Jessica Festa on

Austria comes to Nolita, New York, this Fall from October 5-19, 2011, with the Taste of Austria pop-store store. For two weeks, the Openhouse Gallery will be transformed into an authentic Viennese coffeehouse, complete with marble tables, traditional Sacher wallpaper, and Sacher cups, under the name The Sacher Cafe. Along with delicious Austrian food fare, such as the Sacher Torte, a thick, chocolate cake separated by layers of jam and topped with whipped cream, there will also be cultural happenings. Enjoy a free film screening, sample some of the best wines from Austria, listen to a concert by Austrian composers, or sit in on some Austrian storytelling.

Aside from learning about Austrian culture through food, music, art, and film, patrons can also enjoy the fact that they are doing a good deed, as part of the proceeds from the event go towards helping City Harvest, a charity that works to feed the hungry in New York.

While almost all of the events for a Taste of Austria are free, you will still need to get a ticket. Click here to see the schedule of events and reserve your spot.

The Openhouse Gallery is located at 201 Mulberry St, between Kenmare St. and Spring St. Take the 4, 6, or 6X to Spring St., the J to Bowery St., or the N or R to Prince St.

Hours for the event are 12PM-9PM, Sunday-Thursday, and 12PM-10PM, Friday-Saturday.

Five fantastic (and mostly budget-friendly) Chilean wines available in the U.S.

by Laurel Miller on

Chilean wine–if given any thought at all–has historically been considered cheap plonk; the Gallo of the Southern Hemisphere.

Those days are over, baby. In recent years, Chile has become a contender with the wines of the more well-known Mendoza Valley in Argentina, just a very high-altitude hop over the Andes.

The central Chilean wine regions of Maipo, Colchagua, Casablanca, San Antonio, and Aconcagua Valleys (and their various sub-regions) are blessed with a Mediterranean climate; rolling hills; a lack of crowds and attitude; amazing diversity of varietals; affordable wines, and refreshing coastal breezes or stunning views of the nearby Andes. You’re not going to find all of that in Napa.

While in Chile last month, I visited a number of wineries in the above regions, and I was impressed by the quality of the wines. Modern Chilean winemakers are young, progressive, and well-trained, often in Europe or the U.S..

Below are five of my favorites, all of which are available here in the States. If you can’t find them at your local wine shop, they can be ordered online through your favorite retailer or via New York-based Puro Wines–the world’s first dedicated Chilean wine store.

All of the following wineries have tasting rooms open to the public; quoted prices are in U.S. dollars and may vary depending upon retailer.

1. Emiliana Organic Vineyards Eco-Balance Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Bio Bio Valley
This forward-thinking family vineyard practices organic and biodynamic farming, relying upon their resident sheep, alpacas, and poultry to do the weeding and fertilizing, but more modern sustainable business practices and employee-incentive programs are also at work. The Sauvignon Blanc is loaded with nectarine, white peach, and tropical fruit without being cloying or heavy. The 2010 is a steal at $8.99-$10.95; look for the ’11 coming soon.2. Matetic Vineyards EQ Syrah 2007, Rosario Valley
This rural vineyard with a luxe, seven-room guest hacienda is in a sub-region of the San Antonio Valley. The Syrah is lush and velvety, with a blackberry nose and notes of leather and spice. At $35.00, one of the more pricey selections, but worth it.

3. Viña Undurraga T.H. Syrah 2009, Leyda Valley
Located in the heart of the Maipo Valley, this historic, 120-year-old family winery was founded by Don Francisco Undurraga, one of the pioneers of Chile’s wine industry. Cooling coastal fog cloaks the vines that yield this jammy Syrah, which features a hint of spice and vanilla; $29.00. If you happen to visit the winery, do not miss out on their Pinot Noir sparkling rosé ($14.99, but not currently available in the U.S.).

4. Viña San Esteban In Situ Gran Reserva Carmenère 2008, Aconcagua Valley
Located in the charming village of Los Andes, this small, friendly, high-altitude winery lies in the Andean foothills, an hour from Santiago. A short walk past the tasting room will take you to rocks bearing Incan and native Mapuche petroglyphs hundreds of years old. In Situ is their premium line; Carmenère, a member of the Cabernet family of grapes, is the signature varietal of Chile. Intense, full-bodied, and almost chewy, with dominant flavors of blackcurrant and tobacco; $16.00

5. Viña Indómita, Duette Chardonnay 2009, Casablanca Valley
This blindingly white winery sits grandly atop a hillside in the Casablanca Valley, 24 miles from Valparaiso and 54 from Santiago, respectively. You can tour the cellar, then hit the elegant restaurant post-tasting room. This Chardonnay has unexpected, intense pineapple overtones and is creamy on the palate with a refreshing finish; $19.99.

My trip was sponsored by Wines of Chile, but the opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.

Not to Forget: the Kuwaiti Museum of Saddam Hussain Regime Crimes

by David Farley on
Walk past the miniature brick house with a Smart Car-sized bomb sticking out of it, stroll right by the gift shop selling t-shirts of WWE wrestlers and Pocahantas, and plop yourself down in the sofa-lined reception hall of the Memorial Museum. Here a docent will eventually arrive and encourage you to relax a bit, have a smoke and, oh by the way, would you like a cup of tea?

This isn’t any normal museum in any normal city. This is Kuwait City, capital of the wealthy diminutive desert state that most Americans know thanks to the first Gulf War in 1991, in which the US-led team reversed Saddam Hussain’s invasion of the country.


Which is the topic of the Memorial Museum, a name the belies the not-so-subtle message. The sign at the front is less innocuous: Not to Forget Museum: Saddam Hussain Regime Crimes.

You might be wondering: So? (to summarize former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney when recently reminded that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq–thus killing any original justification for the 2003 war). Ask the docent why you shouldn’t forget the Not to Forget Museum and you’ll likely be told there are a couple good reasons: Kuwait is currently celebrating two major anniversaries. The 50th year of independence (from the British) and the 20th year since the end of Iraq’s short occupation of their country. The previous day from the “lookout sphere” atop the Kuwaiti Tower, a photo exhibition showed some of the Iraqi-led destruction of the area. One photo of some concrete rubble was captioned: “Even the air conditioning control center was harmed by the barbaric invaders.” When you’re attacking a country in 120-degree heat, the first thing you apparently attempt to take out is the air conditioning.

Not to forget about the Not to Forget Museum, after relaxing few minutes in the reception hall, I (along with a small group) was taken into a darkened room. I had no idea what was in store for us. That is, until a voiceover narrator began retelling the recent history of Kuwait, culminating in this gem of a line: “The discovery of black gold was a gift from god to this good people.”

The docent ushered us forward through a long, wide hall. The room was still dark until a diorama was lit up, complete with GI Joe-like figures and strobe lighting to create a miniature theater of war (see this video for an example of this fine show/exhibition). Sound effects in the form of crashes and booms assaulted our ears and the voiceover put it all into context, saying things like “As is the Kuwaiti habit, the leaders tried to solve the conflict through friendship and brotherhood.”

But as we know, when it comes to our desire for “black gold,” friendship and brotherhood hardly proves effective for preventing war. Case in point: after being taken through a dozen or so Iraqi-occupation-themed dioramas that could rival a junior high science fair in its level of sophistication, we were ushered into a room showing graphic photos of Kuwaiti war injuries, and, eventually, a room whose centerpiece was a giant bust of Mr. Hussain himself, which the docent proudly said was donated by US troops after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

At the end of the 30-minute tour, I was back in the reception hall, its walls painted with images of emirs and princes past and present.

The docent put an ashtray in front of me and handed me another cup of tea. Which I sipped slowly before finally wandering out into the oppressive Kuwaiti heat again.

Egyptian Book of the Dead on display at Brooklyn Museum

by Sean McLachlan on


After three years of careful study and restoration, an important version of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead has gone on display in the Brooklyn Museum.

The Book of the Dead was a collection of prayers, spells, and rituals to help the dead in the afterlife. The book has its roots in prehistoric times. As the civilization in Egypt developed, the prayers and spells became more elaborate. Eventually they were gathered together in chapters to create what we call the Book of the Dead. Individual chapters or sets of chapters were written on tombs, mummy cases, and rolls of papyrus. Many burials have portions of the book, one of the largest being the Papyrus of Ani, which you can view online.

The Brooklyn Museum example was for the tomb of Sobekmose, a gold worker. It’s an early and long version, probably dating to the reign of Thutmose III or Amunhotep II (c. 1479–1400 BC). It’s 25 feet long, written on both sides, and contains nearly half of the known Book of the Dead chapters.

Portions of this book have long been on display at the museum. This is the first time the entire book is on display.

[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]