Compact archive July 30, 2008

Titanic - The Artefacts Exhibition

Wednesday 30 July 2008 17:59

Wandering amongst the Titanic treasures you begin to realise that the cold chill isn’t from the recreated wall of ice. The artefacts belonged to people, many of whom lost their lives during the early hours of 15 April 1912.

Preserved for 92 years, this is the bronze bell that Frederick Fleet rang three times before he shouted, “Iceberg right ahead”. As you enter the first part of the exhibition and catch sight of the massive section of the ship’s hull, any thoughts of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are replaced by the awe of what lies ahead. Yes there’s romance, the beauty of the first class accommodation and trinkets, but there is also the stark reality that these things were abandoned by people in fear of their lives.

The exhibition Titanic Artefacts in Prague Lucerna offers a mixture of ship parts – ranging from plumbing and metal bench supports – to personal belongings and items of clothing such as a top hat and a single shoe. Around every corner is another fascinating artefact with another story to tell. A pack of playing cards, a clarinet – perhaps abandoned by the ship’s orchestra – miniature jars of perfume, bottles of wine, pans from the galley, money and crockery.

All the items have been recovered from the debris field of the wreck site 453 miles Southeast of the Newfoundland coastline and lying 2.5 miles beneath the ocean surface.

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Prague top 10 According to The Guardian

Wednesday 30 July 2008 15:10

The Guardian’s ladder of ten surprises, that wait for a tourist in Prague, completely ignores traditional sights of the metropolis. The list of pearls was put together by the British reporter Sarah Johnson. She recommends solid sights, but also experiences. For example the Zizkov Carnival is at the third place.

This list is for those, who are familiar with Prague, they know the traditional sights and want to see the hidden ones. British tourists are the second most numerous group of tourists; a half a million came to Prague in 2007 only.

The first place was given to David Cerny, whose artpieces can be seen in the whole Prague. Guardian mentions especially his 3-metres long babies crawling up the Zizkov television tower, or the couple peeing into the Czech Republic at Kampa.
Also, shops of young designers close to Karoliny Svetle street were evaluated quite positively during shopping and in atmosphere of surrounding restaurants.

Continue reading and find the info here

Czech Pes Foto – Dog Photography with an attitude

Wednesday 30 July 2008 12:38

The Exhibition refers to the Famous exhibition Czech Press Photo, but the photography focus is clear: Czechs as a nation of dog-lovers.

Traditionally, it is put together by the respected dog photographer Antonin Maly, featuring photos of dogs in all kinds of situations. The exhibition opened at Prague’s Josef Sudek Chamber Gallery on Tuesday.

Antonin Maly is famous for his images of dogs, including his own, Misa and Cecilia, the first a French mastiff, the second an American bulldog. At times, his pictures capture both in action, flying through the air, maws wide, jowls flapping. Antonin Maly says: “Most of the dogs featured in the show are the most horrible-looking ones including mine! Misa and Cecilia are really quite silly sometimes. Cecilia’s really fat and when you see her sitting back on the couch with her belly, well it’s kind of pathetic. I guess that I choose dogs which visually have a bit more personality: flat-snout dogs with lots of skin or overhanging flaps, who look like they just got punched in the nose, are good for this kind of thing. The pictures are supposed to be funny, so the dogs have to have some kind expression.”

Not all people appreciate dog photography but most visitors should find something fun in Czech Pes Photo. Besides, work by Antonín Malý, the show also features work of famous 20th century photographers like Václav Chochola, or the more recent Jan Saudek. Czech Pes Photo continues at the Josef Sudek Chamber gallery through July and August.

source: www.radio.cz

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'Czech Beer' to become a trademark

Wednesday 30 July 2008 10:49

Lidove Noviny presented a study of a label proposal.

The European Union is, with high probability, going to entitle the Czech Republic to use Ceske Pivo / Czech Beer as a trademark for beer brewed using the certain technologies in the certain latitude. It won’t change much for export of the well-known labels, however it should lead to higher customer satisfaction.

The reason is; beers like Staropramen or Pilsner Urquell are made in Russia, Poland or Slovakia, its externals however do not say much about the possibility of slight taste change. The Ceske pivo sign would say it all. If it is passed, we are probably going to see that label in half a year.

The other purpose is to distinguish similar labels, like the famous Budejovicky Budvar / Budweiser dispute. If both the beers use the same name and technology, the one directly from the Czech Republic should clearly say so.

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Prague – The city of Sex shops

Wednesday 30 July 2008 09:21

Have you ever thought, when walking in Prague, who buys all that stuff? I remember that there was one small sex shop at Andel ten years ago. Now, the Andel store is called Sex city, it has became a three- floor enterprise. New shops of this kind open all the time, starting in one room under the name ‘Sex Shop’ which is going to be ‘Sex Market’ in two years having two more rooms, than ‘Sex Supermarket’ (no kidding) and finally, after ten years, becoming a massive megastore, ‘Sex Megamarket’. Who buys all these things?

Ihned informed about increasing demand of Czechs, they want especially clean medical silicon equipment, as it is hypoallergenic and without smell. Increasing demand? From what I have seen, this means we are going to need a ‘Sex Shopping Mall’ in the next ten years! The official data of how much Czechs spend in sex shops aren’t available, but estimations go up to hundreds millions of czk. The biggest company in the business City Realex earned 215 millions czk last year.

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