Welcome to Russian Beach in Dubai. It’s a pretty crazy scene actually as Russian couples flex their new passports – and their even newer matching tattoos – as conservative locals motor past just a few hundred metres off the shore.
Local Bloggers Revealing Country Secrets
The political situation of many countries doesn’t allow much freedom of press; what gets printed is thoroughly watch-dogged. That’s kind of messed-up when you realize that the media is the one thing that keeps us connected and informed about the rest of the world.
I remember when I lived in Dubai, I saw journalists fearing to write about anything outside the standard protocol of the publication. I would get bored senseless reading the local publications and as a budding writer, would get itchy palms when some meaty news would come to me through the grapevine, that of course, would never see the day of light. Until we started blogging!
I think blogging has taken to new levels our insight into otherwise forbidden cultural information of cities. Secret Dubai Diary, UAE Prison blog (blocked in Dubai) and Neurotic
There was great story in the IHT recently about underground bloggers in Havana who are screaming out to let people know the realities of life in Castro’s city.
My only contribution to the free press cause is being part of Global Voices and Reporters Without Borders. Both blogs are fighting for freedom of press and doing their best to provide untainted feeds and news from around the world.
It takes solid guts to blog on the edge, as it could result in imprisonment and/or deportation. I don’t know if I’d have the balls.
The Skyscraper Museum Pays Tribute to the Tall and Taller
We’ve posted about a few of the tallest buildings in the world. The latest, Mexico’s Torre Bicentenerio is still in the planning stage. In New York City, the place where skyscrapers first defined the magnificence of a city’s architectural skyline, The Skyscraper Museum is where to find out details about Manhattan’s skyscraper history, as well as the tallest wonders of other countries.
Through October 14 there is an exhibit about the Burj Dubai. In addition to presenting the facts about the building, such as, when it’s completed it will be twice as tall as the Empire State Building, the exhibit covers the sociological, economic and psychological reasons for such a structure–a sort of what this building means and how it represents a shift in skyscraper development and purpose. The modern day skyscraper is made of concrete or composite while the ones predominately made in the U.S. are made of reinforced steel. The U.S.’s skyscrapers were built as office complexes, while the ones in Asia are mostly residential.
The exhibits at the museum are a chance to learn about skyscraper physics as well. Along with the exhibits, The Skyscraper Museum has programs that get people out into the city on building tours. One focus is to point out the buildings that are green. There are also programs geared toward having participants design buildings themselves. The photo shows the location of the museum near NYC’s Battery Park.
Dubai is Getting Taller in One Spot
Dubai’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai has finally reached the height of being the tallest one in the world, and it’s not finished. Now it stands at 1,831.5 feet tall (555 meters), just a bit taller than the CN Tower in Toronto (1,824.9) which was the largest free standing structure. The once tallest building, the Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, lost it’s first place standing in July. Oh, well. In order to make sure it stays the tallest, the developers of the Burj aren’t saying how tall it’s going to be. Now, that’s tricky.
As countries clamor to make sure they are noticed by the rest of the world, I expect we haven’t seen the last of the let’s build a really tall building. Height could mean might–that’s the theory anyway. For now the United Arab Emirates has the honor.
Once I wrote a physics factoid for a textbook that explained what makes tall buildings able to withstand a stiff breeze. Even though I understand the principles, I get heart flutters when I get too high off the ground, although my sunglasses did fly off the top of the Carew Tower in Cincinnati when I looked over the wall. Oooops. Here’s something you may not have known, until 1964, Terminal Tower in Cleveland was the 2nd tallest building in the world after the Empire State Building until it was surpassed by the Prudential Tower in Boston.
Here’s an easy to understand article at How Stuff Works that explains how skyscrapers work and how their height is determined, ie, the actual height vs the number of floors.
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Ice Bar in Dubai
Is it just me, or has the city of Dubai gone completely crazy?
We’ve posted a number of times here on Gadling about the wild construction frenzy enveloping this city and the wacko projects which have been popping up around town, such as a ski resort in the frickin’ desert, for example.
Well, not to be outdone by their friends to the (way) north, Dubai is now host to the Middle East’s very first ice bar. Yep, an actual bar made out of ice.
We’ve posted about ice bars here on Gadling as well, but they’ve been located in places like Montreal and Stockholm. I never thought we’d be posting about an ice bar in the middle of the frickin’ desert, however.
And yet, all that oil money has brought ice to the desert.
According to recent an AP article, the $3 million bar was craved out of ice in Canada and then shipped to Dubai where patrons enjoy “walls, tables and chairs; cups, glasses and plates; … art, sculptures, beaded curtains, a chandelier and the bar” all made entirely of ice.
And you wonder why the price of gas is so high?