Internet killed the dictionary star
BY Deutsche Welle | PHOTO DW
PUBLISHED 09:55, September 1, 2010
Falling sales and the growing popularity of online dictionaries mean the Oxford English Dictionary may never be printed again, its publisher says.
For over two decades, dozens of writers have been working on a book that will probably never grace a bookshelf. Online dictionaries have gained so much popularity over their printed counterparts that the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary will probably appear only in electronic form, according to its publisher, the Oxford University Press. “The print dictionary market is just disappearing, it is falling away by tens... [Full article]
Germany is becoming islamophobic
BY Der Spiegel
PUBLISHED 10:14, September 1, 2010
Thilo Sarrazin’s comments about Muslims have triggered outrage in Germany and abroad, but have met with willing listeners among the general public. His rhetoric is slowly bringing about change in Germany, transforming it from a tolerant society into one dominated by fear and Islamophobia.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin knew how to fight the plague. He knew catchy, seductive tunes and was successful against the scourge with his unconventional methods. But because society paid him no tribute and refused to pay him the wages he had been promised for his... [Full article]
Photojournalism festival reveals the photos that made the news
BY France 24 | PHOTO France24
PUBLISHED 10:08, September 1, 2010
Some of the world’s best photojournalists are taking a break from their globetrotting schedules to come to the southern French city of Perpignan for the international photojournalism festival “Visa pour l’image” that runs until September 12.
When news broke of the violent earthquake that shook Haiti in January 2010, hundreds of press photographers from around the world packed their gear and made their way to the devastated Caribbean island. For... [Full article]
Ye cannae change the laws of physics. Or can you?
BY The Economist
PUBLISHED 10:21, September 1, 2010
Richard Feynman, Nobel laureate and physicist extraordinaire, called it a “magic number” and its value “one of the greatest damn mysteries of physics”.
The number he was referring to, which goes by the symbol alpha and the rather more long-winded name of the fine-structure constant, is magic indeed. If it were a mere 4% bigger or smaller than it is, stars would not be able to sustain the nuclear reactions that synthesise carbon and oxygen. One consequence would be... [Full article]
Crisps: a national obsession
BY The Guardian | PHOTO guardian/pr
PUBLISHED 10:01, September 1, 2010
We don’t half love crisps. We consume, in Britain, around 6bn packets of them (plus 4.4bn bags of other assorted savoury snacks) annually – that’s more than everyone else in Europe put together, around 150 packets for each and every one of us each year.
Most other countries see crisps as something you consume like olives: with an aperitif, before a meal. Here, cheese & onion, ready salted, salt &... [Full article]
Venice Film Festival: lots to look forward to
BY The Telegraph
PUBLISHED 10:03, September 1, 2010
First night expectation for Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ is sky-high.
After a couple of years that felt less than stellar, the 2010 Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday with its strongest line-up of films in quite a while. Its opening film, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, feels like a statement of intent. It’s a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman as an experienced ballerina who finally receives recognition in her company, which is dominated by a seductive dance teacher (Vincent Cassel).... [Full article]
Hamburg with relish
BY Irish Times | PHOTO getty
PUBLISHED 10:18, September 1, 2010
The third largest port in Europe is a busy maritime city but the money it generates funds many things, including culture and fun, writes Don Morgan.
The designer Karl Lagerfeld once remarked of Hamburg, his hometown, that it’s the gateway to the world – but only the gateway. In fact, Hamburg is the gateway to a whole world of its own, and Lagerfeld would have known this if he hadn’t gone off to Paris as a teenager. Amid a setting as unique as Hamburg’s, sandwiched between the River Elbe and... [Full article]
Advertisement
PUBLISHED 13:53, August 30, 2010
I’m in marketing,” a woman who looked startlingly like Catherine Tate’s office-worker sociopath character told me proudly on... [Full article]
PUBLISHED 08:55, August 27, 2010
New Orleans has only gradually resurrected itself after the city drowned five years ago this week following Hurricane... [Full article]
PUBLISHED 07:47, August 25, 2010
Astronomers have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets that orbit a star called HD 10180,... [Full article]
PUBLISHED 13:34, August 30, 2010
Italian scientists have pioneered a robotic van that can navigate streets on its own. The trip has been... [Full article]
PUBLISHED 08:09, August 27, 2010
Germany is the birthplace of the modern printing press and, even today, Berlin is home to a number... [Full article]
PUBLISHED 07:37, August 25, 2010
Building an opera house in the middle of the African desert was Christoph Schlingensief’s biggest dream. Now that... [Full article]