The worlds third largest economy may command respect for its military might and new superpower status.But director John Woo wants to use the universal stories of ancient China to build a more culturally respected worldview of the great nation. His new film Red Cliff (read the review here) is one hes been trying to make for almost two decades to that end.The story of Red Cliff took place a thousand and eight hundred years ago in China, says the godfather of action-films. It was a battle bearing significant historical importance. Through the widely told tales of the battle, we learned…
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Would you walk on someone’s grave? Or cross someone’s back yard if they asked you not to? Or risk your life if you knew someone else would feel responsible if you died? They’re simple questions of common sense and respect, but neither comes into the equation when it comes to climbing the world’s most famous monolithic site. The traditional Aboriginal owners of Australia’s Uluru (also known officially by its European name of Ayer’s Rock), ask tourists to not to climb their sacred site. It’s considered by the local Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara (or Aangu) people to be sacred because it links…
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The ponchos are in the wash, the 34 minor incidents have been recorded, the four cans of scrumpy per person have been consumed and recycled, and English Heritage has breathed a sigh of relief and locked the gates of Stonehenge against protesters and other undesireables for another year. Yes, that’s it, the summer solstice is now over. Unless you live in New York, that is. Druids, hippies, and (probably) bored, unemployed bankers and thespians will descend on Manhatten for “Manhattenhenge” – the most important date in the Druid New Yorker’s calendar. The Manhattan Solstice happens twice a year, when the…
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First he gets cruelly (and, many would say, unfairly) evicted, and then he finds his home crammed full of 35,000 half-cut hippies, and not the odd copper on patrol. It’s enough to make a reincarnated Medieval King hang up his cloaks for good. But King Arthur Pendragon is not going to let a little thing like being evicted stand in his way. Pendragon’s home is a campervan parked on a byway 12, which is known locally as the Netheravon coach road, beside Stonehenge – the closest you can get to the stones without a ticket from English Heritage. There is…
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This Saturday Athens’ stunning New Acropolis Museum throws open its doors in a $4.1million opening ceremony, following years of heady anticipation. Thousands of foreign dignitaries and heads of state are scheduled to arrive from all over the world – all except Britain. The opening of Greece’s most lavish museum has already thrown open the debate surrounding the 160m-long Parthenon marble friezes, taken by the British Lord Elgin in 1811. Britain has long since argued that Greece does not have a sufficient space in which to display the magnificent marbles – a claim Greek officials argue the New Acropolis Museum shatters.…
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Actually the old iPhone camera is not so bad. The new iphone seems to be even better (finally). It isn’t a digtial single lens reflex (DSLR)with a wi-fi memory card but it is quite handy and you can blast your photos across the internet and now even MMS! Check my iphone photos here on my flickr stream. above: iphone photos that I sent to my Flickr stream using AirMe A few tips: * The lens is not that sharp, so best to shoot stuff within 5 meters (15 feet). Closer the better really. * It behaves like a 35mm more…
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The Wiltshire police has announced there will be a large police presence at Stonehenge for this year’s Summer Solstice. Because the celebrations fall over the weekend and fine weather is predicted, bigger crowds than usual are expected and Wiltshire police have said they will clamp down heavily on antisocial behaviour. The police operation will involve an unmanned drone and horses. Also drugs sniffer dogs will be launched at Stonehenge tomorrow as huge crowds descend on the ancient site for the summer solstice. The Guardian reported on visitors of the Stonehenge fearing a repeat of the escalations at the recent G20…
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Thanks to being fenced off by English Heritage to much druidic chagrin, Stonehenge is now largely the preserve of sedate tourist visits. Yet four times a year – during both equinoxes and solstices – the great stones are opened to the public in order to celebrate the ties between Britain’s most famous prehistoric monument and the heavens. This Sunday on June 21, the summer solstice welcomes a whole host of druids, hippies and revellers to marvel at the giant megaliths – which many claim to have been an ancient temple to the sun. Last year some 30,000 foolhardy fun-lovers braved…
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Desperate to figure out before the Summer Solstice 2009 what Stonehenge is all about, but you can’t decide which theory – sacrifices, calendar, discotheque, burial site, religious temple, neolithic art – to go with? Don’t panic!Worth1000.com‘s finest Photoshop artists present us with a few alternative – but very plausible – theories about the iconic stone circle’s construction, use, location and present state. Which of the options below do you deem to be most likely? Take the poll, let us know! Option 1: One Giant’s Game is Man’s Neolithic Monument Most scientists claim humans started piling up earth, wood and rocks…
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An archaeological excavation in Jerusalem has revealed an ancient aqueduct that brought water to the Sultan’s Pool – a Herodian Reservoir that gets its name from Suleiman the Magnificent, who restored the site in the 16th century – and to the Temple Mount, supplying clean water to the city’s residents and visiting pilgrims for drinking and purification. Most Jerusalemites identify the Sultan’s Pool as a venue where large cultural events are held; however, from the Roman period until the late Ottoman period it was one of the citys most important water reservoirs. The excavation, directed by Gideon Solimany and Dr.…