Compact archive January 10, 2008

Once is a 2006 Irish musical film written and directed by John Carney. Set in Dublin, it stars musicians Glen Hansard (of popular Irish rock band The Frames) and Markéta Irglová, a fictional Czech emigrant, as struggling musicians.

The Czech singer and pianist Marketa Irglova and Irish musician Glen Hansard got the prize of the American National Society of Film Critics, for the best original film song. They gained the Critics Choice Award for their song Falling Slowly from the 2007 film Once.

In December, they gained the prize of the Association of Los angeles film critics for the best film music. They are as well nominated for two Grammy Prizes – the best soundtrack and the best song.

The work of the team of lawyers, who were supposed to examine the contest of the National Library designs, ended yesterday. And it ended in quite a puzzled way – according to the MF Dnes intelligence a half of lawyers consider the international competition and the winning architect Jan Kaplicky contested.

A well informed source said to MF Dnes: “At least five members of the commission are convinced the contest principally broke Czech legal regulations.”

What is the problem? Kaplicky placed the books deposit into the underground of his Octopus. The assignment states, books deposits must not be placed in underground levels. According to the National Library of the CR there was not a problem in changing the conditions, they make reference to meeting criteria of the International Union of Architects (UIA)

The official stance of the National Library team will be revealed after their meeting on 17th January.

At the end of January, the first Starbucks café opens in Prague, on the Malostranske namesti (Little Quarter). They chose a house that hosted a famous pre-communist café for hundreds of years. Cliff Burrows, the president of Starbucks for Europe, said they are proud to have such an opportunity to take the tradition up again at the place which was a famous destination ‘between work and home’ for many famous Czech philosophers, writers and artists.

The entrepreneur, originally Polish company AmRest agreed with Starbucks Coffee co. on running the cafés in Poland, Hungary and the CR. During 2008, up to 20 Starbucks premises should open in the CR and Poland.

Starbucks sold their first cup of coffee in 1985, now there is more than 4300 cafés in 42 countries of the world.