As of summer 2016, Ireland (Republic and Northern) can be explored by rail luxury style aboard the Grand Hibernian, a new member to the family of iconic trains such as the legendary Royal Scotsman. Between August and October, clients are offered an attractive choice of three journeys – each following a different itinerary, yet all starting and ending in Dublin. The train boasts accommodation for up to 40 guests in private en-suite cabins whose cosy interior has been inspired by the isle’s rich cultural heritage.
City tourism: Sound-hearing soon enhancing Sight-seeing?
What are the sounds usually associated with a city? The irritating ones issued from cars hooting, tyres screeching, trams rumbling, from air-conditioning units humming relentlessly? From ambulances swishing by with sirens amplified by the Doppler effect that hurts our eardrums and sets our minds on alert? When embarking on a trip to a busy metropolis, an undistinguishable concoction of man-made noise will have to be tolerated as an inevitable part of the package. Positive connotations are asking for more pleasant experiences, though.
Conquering an urban jungle by mapping it out via the typical sounds it exudes, is an idea temporarily put into practice in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam during an “ambient marketing” campaign: from interactive audio billboards, the “Sounds of the City” could be tapped by means of a personal headphone plugged into jacks directly embedded in the “neighbourhoods” of choice.
TED Talk. Andreas Ekström: The moral bias behind your search results
This talk may be well equal to a harsh awakening for uncritical users of the internet! According to Swedish author and journalist Andreas Ekström, it is a philosophical impossibility to ever get unbiased search results. “Behind every algorithm is a person with a set of personal beliefs no code is ever able to eradicate completely.” He explains the power structures of the digital revolution by stating the example (a.o.) of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who blew up government buildings in the city of Oslo and killed a large group of kids on the island of Utøya. Around 80 people died that day in 2011. Specialists knew that the next thing Breivik would do was to google his own name, a predictable act of vanity. Nikke Lindqvist, a Swedish web developer and search engine optimization expert in Stockholm, understood that immediately and lanced a highly effective campaign. This video talk tells us that we are not helpless after all!
Oman: Crossing the Empty Quarter revisited
Responsibility, self-dependence and endurance are the magic keywords: the example the Sultanate of Oman is setting this December is of a practical but none-the-less spectacular nature. Predominantly addressed to young nationals, an adventure of Crossing the Empty Quarter previously undertaken in 1930, will now be reenacted to detail. The intended benefit: to symbolically illustrate to the young generation how to adopt the requirements of a rapidly changing world and to pursue their goals with ambition.
The most astonishing lesson for adolescents to be learnt may perhaps be, that survival is actually possible without an almighty digital device glued to one’s cheek. In all likelihood, internet reachability is limited in a quarter as empty as the one named Rub al Khali.
Palm Springs pays tribute to Frank Sinatra
The list is long, impressive, reliably star-studded and makes the hearts of veteran fans pound faster even from a distance: Hollywood celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., Liz Taylor, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Kirk Douglas all resided in Palm Springs – or paid frequent visits to it – at some point during their remarkable careers. Especially dearly remembered is Frank Sinatra – ol’ blue eyes – whose 100th birthday the destination is celebrating this year. Reason enough for the city to concoct a host of events surrounding the historic anniversary of its still much-revered former resident.
Another sounding name associated with Palm Springs is Albert Einstein’s; the great physician’s attention had not merely been directed at perishable stars on a twinkling cinematic firmament – but at the entire universe created to outlast time.