CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Rosario Dawson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Delphine Chaneac attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Fiammetta Cicogna attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Anja Rubik (L) and Peter Dundas attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Anja Rubik attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Gwen Stefani attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Gwen Stefani attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Courtney Love attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Model Claudia Schiffer attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Model Claudia Schiffer attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: (2L-R) Paolo Sorrentino, Heinz Lieven, Liron Levo, Sean Penn, Eve Hewson, Judd Hirsch, David Byrne and Simon Delaney attend the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Clotilde Hesme attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Clotilde Hesme attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 20: Daniela Lumbroso attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2011 in Cannes, France.
source : daylife
photo: Gettyimages

VIA Eve Hewson attends the 'This Must Be The Place' premiere during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Pablo Giorgelli with the Camera d'Or for his movie 'Las Acacias' with Camera d'Or jury president Joon Ho Bong (R) and actress Marisa Paredes (L) during the Closing Ceremony at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Nuri Bilge after winning Grand Prix Ex-aequo award for the film 'Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da' (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) during the Palme D'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Director Maryna Vroda winner of the Palme d'Or - Short Film poses at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

Argentinian director Pablo Giorgelli poses with the President of the Camera d'Or jury Joon Ho Bong during a photocall after being awarded with the Camera d'Or (best first film) for his movie 'Las Acacias' at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Actor Jean Dujardin poses with director Maiwenn Le Besco during the Closing Ceremony at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: French director and actress Maiwenn poses after winning the Jury Prize for the film 'Polisse' at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

US actress Kirsten Dunst poses with Venezuelian actor Edgar Ramirez after being awarded with the Prix de l'Interpretation Feminine (best actress) with the movie ' Melancholia' during the closing ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.

Belgian directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne (L) and Luc Dardenne pose during a photocall after being awarded with the Jury Grand Prix for their film 'The Kid with a Bike' at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Actor Ryan Gosling (L) and 2011 Best Director Nicolas Winding Refn of the film 'Drive' pose at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 22: Producers Bill Pohlad (L) and Dede Gardner (R) pose with the Palme d'Or for 'The Tree of Life' at the Palme d'Or Winners Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France.
source: daylife
photo: Gettyimages

VIA The 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2011 in Cannes, France

Car factory in Paris

AREP builds on city's historic legacy with redevelopment of former car factory in Paris. AREP has redeveloped the former Panhard car factory in Porte d'Ivry, Paris, applying exciting design choices to work with the city's existing heritage.

The Panhard and Levassor workshops were partially demolished in 1967 to create the Olympiades district. They are the last remnants of a thriving industrial past, after the demolition of all the automobile plants in Paris: the Renault facilities on Ile Séguin, Citroën in Javel and part of the Panhard factory at Porte d'Ivry.

Between 2007 and 2013, AREP extended and entirely refurbished the building to create 21,000 sq m of office space as well as public facilities (a nursery and the premises of a non-profit organisation running a day centre for the homeless). The firm worked with architects Jean-Marie Duthilleul and Etienne Tricaud and with Benoît Ferré and Serge Caillaud (Phase 1 and Building Work Management).

In an environment dominated by the verticality of high-rise residential blocks, the project keeps the former factory alive, sustains its horizontality and unique architectural style and relies on the ornamental features of the existing façades: materials, dominant chromatic palette and contour line.

The brick façade provides a mineral base extending the current façades while the openings are in line with the rhythm of the original building. Each, partially or entirely, new façade forms a coherent whole with the reinforced mineral angles providing the framework for a more open sequence in the centre.

Two large industrial-style statuesque boxes loom above the roof-top mouldings, clad in a double semi-transparent layer of glass and perforated coppery metal and echoing the tiles on the saw tooth roofs. These are intended as a metaphor of the former industrial features.

The adjacent cut of the Petite Ceinture (an abandoned railway line) was decked over to create a garden. Planted with ground covering plants, shrubs and trees, the garden slopes down from Rue Regnault to the new garden level, reflecting the characteristic bucolic image of the embankments of the Petite Ceinture, where vegetation takes over any available space.

The new extension houses a nursery in its north-east corner and a day centre for the homeless in its north-west corner, both situated on the garden and ground-floor levels.

The work spaces inside the building are designed to facilitate contact, interaction, formal and informal relations. This result is achieved through clearly designed spaces (atrium and vertical access flows), quality of the working environment (natural light, acoustics and ergonomics) and green spaces.

VIA «Redevelopment of the Car Factory In Porte d'Ivry [France, Paris]»

Li Xiaojie, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, presented a gold ornament to Liu Weiping, Gansu provincial governor, at a hand-over ceremony on Monday morning, marking the relics' return.

It was the first time cultural relics have been successfully returned to China following bilateral negotiations between the Chinese and French governments. They were returned by French private collectors Francois Pinault and Christian Deydier earlier this year.

The 32 gold items came from tombs in Dabuzishan in Lixian County, Gansu Province dating back to the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC). The tombs were badly looted during the 1990s and a large number of relics, including the gold ornaments, were smuggled abroad.

A public exhibition of the relics also opened on Monday and will last until Oct. 31. After that, they will be permanently displayed at the Gansu Provincial Museum.

Source: Xinhua [July 20, 2015]

The grotto at Vallon-Pont d'Arc in the Ardeche region of southern France, is a reproduction of the closely guarded Grotte Chauvet, which was granted World Heritage status last year.

The French president had already officially inaugurated the museum earlier this month and it officially opened to the public on Saturday.

The replica cave, which took a team of scientists two and a half years to create, will enable tourists from around the world to continue to see the frescos of painted animals without damaging the original cave.

Unique in the world for being such an identical and precise reproduction, the grotto has been built in the shape of a bear's paw, and stands just one kilometre away from the original site.

Inside the new grotto, which came a cost of €55 million visitors will be able to see more than a thousand drawings, including 425 animal figures of 14 different species, which have been meticulously reproduced.

The smell, humidity and even stalactites of the Grotte Chauvet have also been recreated to make the new site as authentic as can be.

The visitor walks down a long ramp to get into the building housing the replica, entering a darkened, cool and humid place that mirrors conditions in the grotto.

Then just like in the real cave, people stick to a walkway that takes them past replica bones and the skull of an Alpine ibex, a species of wild goat.

The drawings reveal themselves as the visitors walk further into the fake cave, a total of 1,000 paintings including 425 animals -- including bears, rhinos, big cats, owls.

These have been reproduced using charcoal, just like our Aurignacian ancestors did some 36,000 years ago.

Using ultra-modern techniques such as 3D imaging, engineers, sculptors, painters and visual artists faithfully reproduced the paintings.

A team of 10 people in Paris also worked for four years to reproduce stalactites, stalagmites and other formations present in the Grotte Chauvet itself.

Authorities hope that the giant replica will attract some 350,000 visitors a year.

The original Chauvet grotto was preserved for more than 20,000 years thanks to the fallen rocks, which blocked its entrance.

The grotto was discovered on the 18th December 1994 by amateur potholers: Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel et Christian Hillaire.

Yippee! Beatrice leaps into the air on the end of this trapeze before plunging into the Mediterranean
As she sunned herself off the coast of Antibes, Beatrice’s black strapless swim suit displayed her slender frame to perfection.
And while the frills across her chest and hips highlighted the curves inherited from her mother the Duchess of York, the Queen’s granddaughter showed that she has kept up the regime developed with her personal fitness instructor in the lead-up to last year’s London Marathon.
Can't take my eyes off you: Dave Clark smiles as his girlfriend Beatrice leaves the water in Antibes, Southern France
Her toned appearance on Sunday was a far cry from pictures of the princess in a tight blue bikini in the Caribbean in 2008, which spurred her into vowing to shed her puppy fat.
Beatrice told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘It was such an unflattering bikini and I've got one that's so much nicer, so I could have kicked myself for wearing it.
Making a splash: Dave Clark leaps into the sea from a jetty where the yacht was moored in the Mediterranean
Slimline: The Princess's one-piece swimsuit perfectly showed off her frame with the frills helping to highlight the curves she has inherited from her mother
Surf's up! Beatrice and Dave also had fun on a pair of jet-skis
'I thought people were a bit mean, although I know it comes with the territory. The trouble is, I don't have much confidence so it can be quite upsetting. I could probably do with losing the odd pound though, so perhaps it is the kick I need.'
But this weekend the royal’s self-assurance was palpable as she changed into a bikini and let down her auburn locks.
Watched by admiring friends on the 195ft German-built Oasis yacht where she and 29-year-old Mr Clark are thought to have stayed as guests, Beatrice leapt into the air on the end of a trapeze before plunging into the Mediterranean.
An equally svelte Mr Clark, a millionaire’s son who works for Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, executed an impressive back-flip from the boat’s second deck.
The six-berth yacht comes with a crew of 15 and a gym that transforms into a private nightclub. According to online advertisements, it can be chartered for between £285,000 and £418,000 a week.
Testing the water: Beatrice dips her toes into the Mediterranean before taking a dip with her boyfriend
That's enough: Following her swim the Princess returns to the boat - which houses a gym that transforms into a private nightclub
Luxury on the waves: The Princess and her boyfriend are staying on a £400,000-a-week yacht
Beatrice, who has faced a similar battle with yo-yoing weight as Sarah Ferguson, has previously put her transformation down to trainer Nadya Fairweather, whose help she enlisted in the lead-up to the London Marathon.
She is also understood to have embarked on a diet that centres on eating fresh fruit and drinking plenty of water.
Beatrice and her boyfriend have been dating for five years since meeting at a birthday party for Sean Brosnan, youngest son of James Bond actor Pierce, in 2006.
The fifth in line to the throne has just finished a three-year course in history and history of ideas at Goldsmiths College in South London.
Rather than becoming a full-time royal, she is expected to get a job once she has graduated, possibly in the field of art, fashion or charity work.
source :dailymail

VIA For Bea, what a difference three years makes as self-conscious teen is transformed into glam princess

The story of how the relic was discovered has entered local legend in Reuil-Malmaison after a resident, who has never been identified, turned up at the municipal dump in 2001 and asked where to throw her unwanted goods.

“She said: ‘Where shall I put this, it’s a mummy?’ We weren’t sure exactly what she was talking about. She just said she was clearing her cellar,” Jean-Louis Parichon, an employee at the dump, recalled shortly afterwards.

“I immediately saw it was an extraordinary thing and put it to one side. Then when I’d stopped being astonished, I called the town museum.”

After years of examination, experts declared that the mummy had been brought from Egypt by one of Napoleon’s generals in the mid-1850s.

The mummy, whose name from the hieroglyphics is Ta-Iset (she of Isis), is believed to date from around 350BC and comes from the Akhmim region in upper Egypt on the east bank of the river Nile.

Radiographic scans revealed that the mummified body is that of a girl “in her fourth year” measuring 92.5cm. The skeleton is well preserved and whole, the head is bent towards the chest, and the quality of the wraps and cask suggest a child of the Egyptian middle classes.

Although the linen bandages and coverings decorated with hieroglyphics were badly damaged, a stylised bird feather and inscription revealed the name Ta-Iset.

“A cut from a knife is visible on the side showing that certain people have already tried to see if [the casket] contained precious metals or amulets,” said Marie-Aude Picaud, director of the history museum at Reuil-Malmaison.

The town council contributed to the restoration, but a large part of the cost was raised by public donations.

Ta-Iset will now go on display in a temperature-controlled room at the town’s history museum.

Author: Kim Willsher | Source: The Guardian [May 13, 2015]

VIA Machine Head Announce Album Title, Release Date and European Tour

In an area of Colombia so vast and remote that contact has still not been made with some tribes thought to live there, Mike Slee used a helicopter to film hundreds of paintings depicting hunters and animals believed to have been created thousands of years ago. He said: “We had crews all over the place and helicopters filming all over Colombia. As a photographer, Francisco Forero Bonell discovered and took the pictures for my movie.”

The extraordinary art includes images of jaguar, crocodiles and deer. They are painted in red, on vertical rock faces in Chiribiquete national park, a 12,000 square kilometre Unesco world heritage site that is largely unexplored. There are also paintings of warriors or hunters dancing or celebrating. “It is the land that time forgot,” Slee told the Observer.

There had previously been only vague reports of rock art in the area, which is known as Cerro Campana, he said: “There’s no information, maps or communication. It’s such a massive central part of Colombia.” Though some paintings had previously been found and photographed elsewhere in Chiribiquete, this Cerro Campana art has never been filmed or photographed, Slee said: “It was an absolutely stunning moment to be able to get the footage.”

Slee used a helicopter to gain access to the area, as the terrain is impenetrable – thick vegetation, forested rock peaks and valleys, sheer cliffs and giant rock towers soaring through a rainforest canopy.

Professor Fernando Urbina, a rock art specialist from the National University of Colombia, was struck by the “magnificent naturalism” of the depictions of deer when shown the photographs.

“They reveal the hand of a master of painting,” he said, adding that the paintings could be up to 20,000 years old. He was particularly interested in a human figure in a seated position whose arms appear to be folded over his shoulders, a ritual position in Amazonian cultures. “A seated man has special significance as the sage of the tribe,” he said.

The art may have been painted by the Karijona tribe, a few of whose members still live in the region. The seated position might suggest a prisoner or slave, Urbina said.Jean Clottes, a French prehistorian, and author of Cave Art – a book covering key sites such as Lascaux in France – described the images as exciting and well-preserved, but said it would be hard to determine their age because radiocarbon dating could not be used, as they were painted with mineral-based materials derived from iron oxide rather than the charcoal used in European rock art.

The species depicted are thought to include capybaras, snakes and anteaters. Slee described the art as a wildlife chapel. “The peoples who once lived here have left in pictures testimony of their awe and respect for the wild,” he said. “When I saw the images, I honestly felt an affinity with the artists. They were attempting to capture the power, grace, spirit and essence of the animal in pictures. Perhaps it was to make the hunt better next day, but there is clearly careful observation in their art. It’s what contemporary photographers, painters, film-makers set out to do when they create a wildlife project.”

Slee made his name making natural history films and directed the movie Bugs! 3D, about two rainforest insects, narrated by Judi Dench. In 2012, the Observer reported that his Flight of the Butterflies 3D had captured butterflies in unprecedented detail, moving scientists to tears at an early screening. Over the past three years, Slee has been exploring Colombia to make Colombia: Wild Magic, which will be in cinemas next year. Through spectacular footage, it portrays “a majestic tropical wilderness” – but one he said was threatened by humans who are “taking more than they are giving”. With swooping aerial footage and detailed close-ups, it reveals a landscape of canyons and caves, lakes and lagoons, rivers and rock masses with “the largest varieties of living things on the planet”, including unique species of hummingbird and endangered jaguar.

Drawing on the expertise of a dozen scientific advisers, the film warns of threats from the world’s “craving” for natural resources such as gold and emeralds. Slee said: “We’ve got illegal gold-mining polluting the rivers, we’re overfishing the seas, the habitat destruction is massive. We’re taking out the rainforest, we’re losing species every week. We have the most beautiful country on Earth and we are in danger of destroying it. There are places that no Colombian has been. It’s mainly because, when you think of Colombia, you think of kidnapping and drugs.”

Bonell, a Colombian conservationist and photographer, was inspired to become executive producer of the film, describing the region as “one of the few areas on our planet that still remains unspoiled and unexplored”.

The film has been produced by British company Off The Fence, and will be distributed free in schools in Colombia, as well as cinemas, “spreading the word about what their country has and the need to protect it”, Slee said. Slee hopes to return for another large-scale expedition focusing on the rock art. “We’ve probably only scratched the surface,” he said. “There are believed to be many hundreds of these cave paintings dotted throughout that central region.”

Author: Dalya Alberge | Source: The Guardian/Observer [June 24, 2015]

When the first ones were discovered 100 years ago, archaeologists marvelled at the ancient relics, some of them foetuses, their little bodies amazingly intact.

But now the mummies, which are believed to be the oldest on earth, are melting. Mariela Santos, curator at the University of Tarapaca museum, noticed a few years ago that the desiccated skins of a dozen of the mummies were decomposing and turning into a mysterious black ooze.

"I knew the situation was critical and that we'd have to ask specialists for help," said Santos, whose museum stores and displays the so-called Chinchorro mummies, which date back as far as 5000 BC and are among archaeology's most enigmatic objects.

Within weeks, university staff members had contacted Harvard scientist Ralph Mitchell, an Ireland native who specialises in finding out why relics are falling apart. A bacteria sleuth of sorts, Mitchell has taken on assignments that included identifying a mysterious microflora breaking down Apollo spacesuits at Washington's National Air and Space Museum, analysing dark spots on the walls of King Tut's tomb and studying the deterioration of the Lascaux cave paintings in France.

Mitchell launched an investigation of the mummies' deterioration and this year issued a startling declaration: The objects are the victims of climate change. He concluded that the germs doing the damage are common microorganisms that, thanks to higher humidity in northern Chile over the last 10 years, have morphed into voracious consumers of collagen, the main component of mummified skin.

Mitchell believes that the case of the disintegrating Chinchorro mummies should sound a warning to museums everywhere.

"How broad a phenomenon this is, we don't really know. The Arica case is the first example I know of deterioration caused by climate change," Mitchell said. "But there is no reason to think it is not damaging heritage materials everywhere. It's affecting everything else."

Conservation of the fragile mummies has been a constant concern of researchers and curators since German researcher Max Uhle's archaeological expedition to Arica ended in 1919. Named after the nearby beach district where Uhle uncovered them, the Chinchorro mummies - about 120 of which are at the museum - are considered special for many reasons in addition to their age.

The community that made them was at the early hunter-gatherer stage of social evolution, compared with more advanced mummy-making civilisations such as the Egyptians, who had progressed to agriculture and trade, said Bernardo Arriaza, a professor at the University of Tarapaca's Institute of Advanced Research.

"Chinchorro mummies were not restricted to the dead of the top classes. This community was very democratic," said Arriaza, who for 30 years has led archaeological digs on the 500-mile stretch of Chilean coastline where most of the mummies have been found.

Arriaza spends some of his days at a dig on a cliff overlooking Arica. A score of partially unearthed mummies, possibly of the same family, cover a sloping area about 50 feet across. It's one of many sites that construction has revealed, in this case digging for a pipeline.

Vivien Standen, an anthropology professor at Tarapaca and co-author with Arriaza of dozens of papers on the Chinchorro mummies, said they are also unusual in that they include human foetuses.

"That's a very special facet, the empathy that it demonstrates, especially compared with modern times where foetuses are simply abandoned," Standen said.

Volcanic pollution of drinking water evident in the presence of arsenic in the mummies' tissue may hold the key to why the community began mummifying its dead.

"Arsenic poisoning can lead to a high rate of miscarriages, and infant mortality and the sorrow over these deaths may have led this community to start preserving the little bodies," Arriaza said. "Mummification could have started with the foetuses and grown to include adults. The oldest mummies we have found are of children."

Chinchorro mummies have survived into modern times only because of the arid conditions of the Atacama Desert, said Marcela Sepulveda, the university archaeologist who made the initial contact with Harvard's Mitchell.

Sepulveda said it was possible that other groups in Latin America were doing the same thing, "but what is unusual here is that thanks to the climate, the mummies have been conserved."

Arriaza and Sepulveda both direct laboratories with high-powered electron microscopes dedicated to the analysis of materials found on and around the mummies. Continued decomposition of the mummies jeopardises their research, they said.

"Just raising them from the ground introduces the challenge of not breaking them," said Santos, the museum curator. "But over the last several years, the higher humidity - and how to deal with it - has presented a whole new challenge."

After months of growing cultures of microorganisms collected from the skins of the decomposing Chinchorro mummies and comparing their DNA with known bacteria, Mitchell identified the transgressors as everyday germs "probably present in all of us" that suddenly became opportunistic.

"It was a two-year project to identify and grow them and then putting them back on the skin to show what was breaking down," said Mitchell, a professor emeritus who donated his time to the Chileans.

Mitchell had used the same painstaking process to identify the bug causing stains on the walls of King Tut's tomb in Egypt, and to conclude that the germs weren't introduced after the tomb was discovered in 1922 but probably were on the walls of the crypt when the boy king was entombed about 1300 BC.

Similarly, Mitchell used microbial analysis to investigate the erosion of Maya monuments at Chichen Itza at the request of the Mexican government. He found that the application of a polymer coating, far from protecting the ancient carvings and buildings as intended, was actually abetting the destructive microorganisms that were causing the stone work to crumble.

He also has an ongoing project at the USS Arizona monument at Pearl Harbor, where bacteria that thrive in the oil leaking from the battleship's fuel tanks are accelerating the disintegration of the sunken World War II vessel.

Mitchell began specializing in microbial damage to cultural relics in the mid-1990s, when the Italian government invited him to look at widespread damage to centuries-old frescoes at churches and palaces.

He identified Italy's main problem as industrial pollution, and thus came to the sad conclusion he has arrived at several times since: Isolating the problem doesn't always lead to a practical solution.

Mitchell seems more optimistic in his work with the Chilean mummies. Over the next two years, he and the faculty at the University of Tarapaca will be working on possible solutions to the deterioration. He thinks humidity and temperature control offer the best chance of stabilizing the relics.

Mitchell and the archaeologists feel a sense of urgency: The Chilean government has budgeted $56 million for a new museum scheduled to open in 2020 to house the mummies, and everyone wants the right climate controls built in to the new structure to safeguard the relics.

"The next phase of the project is to look at how you protect the mummies and at possible physical and chemical solutions to the problem, which we don't have yet," Mitchell said. He and the Chileans will experiment with different combinations of humidity and temperature to determine an optimal ambience.

Optimally, each mummy will be encased in its own glass cubicle in the new museum and have its own "microclimate," Arriaza said. But the irony is not lost on him and his fellow archaeologists that mummies that survived millenniums in the ground are proving fragile in the face of changing conditions of modern times.

"I'm not optimistic we can save them," said Standen, the anthropology professor. "From the moment they are taken out of the ground, they start deteriorating."

Author: Chris Kraul | Source: LA Times [May 08, 2015]

In case you haven’t realised by now, yes, it’s my first blogversary. It seems insane to think I started this unusual blog on this day a whole year ago. Alas, 286 posts later, here I am still ranting and raving about anything semi-movie related. Over the past few weeks, when my brain has gone for a wander mid-conversation, I’ve pondered about what to write/do on my blogversary. I tend to get uncomfortable when it comes to celebrating my own birthday so I figure there is no harm in celebrating this one properly. That is, I have caught and trained 13 marsupials and shaved this web address into their fur. I intend to release them at the entrance to the nearest shopping centre and let their frenzied rampage be its own kind of celebration/marketing ploy. My plan does not go into effect until 2100 hours. In the meantime, I thought I would share some personal reflections about this blog.

• Surprisingly, I’ve kept to my original mission statement and avoided any posts about the exploits of my personal life. Except for the post about my friend who broke her vagina because, well, that was simply too good NOT to share.
• Originally I was inspired to start this by the brilliance of good friend Rickis’ much wittier and substantial blog. That has not changed, however, the pool of writers who now inspire and entertain me has grown to include the likes of Siamese Saffron, King Of New York Hacks, Fuck You Penguin and Little Bohemian.
• A fitting tagline for this site finally occurred to me a few weeks ago in a dream which may or may not have featured Mark Wahlberg.
• Within a year some friends have gone and others nearly been lost which makes me appreciate having this outlet to write about things I love, however trivial that may seem to some.
• I have maintained this site for a year, which is approximately 11 months and 15 days longer than any relationship I’ve maintained with a member from the opposite sex.
• A newspaper journalist by trade, I founded art & architecture as a way to improve my writing and vent all the film thoughts I had going on in my head. After the first few months I began to realise how much I loved writing about movies and started treating this blog as a portfolio of movie related stories. Without revealing too much, a year on this site has helped me take those few important steps closer to my dream career.
• Damnit! I did not want to get soppy and here I am preaching about dreams coming true if you work hard enough and blah blah blah.
• Thanks to this blog I have met an awesome bunch of like-minded people on the 20 something bloggers network. They were even helpful enough to suggest some ways to celebrate my first blogversary. These included strippers, a vlog (which it turns out is not a vampire-hog like I originally presumed), commemorative post, getting hammered, strippers, give-away’s and strippers. Er, thanks guys.
• I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing up and coming filmmakers, actors, producers, special-effects experts and bring their work to you. With an exciting trip on the horizon, I hope to give you some more juicy juice in the next month.
• 365 days does not change the fact that despite being of indigenous France heritage, I do not appreciate being called `cuz’ or `Maori-a’. Unless it is amongst the select group of friends with whom racist and parental jokes are allowed.
• I have broadened my readership from two faithful subscribers to a bunch of peeps from all around the globe. I hope you continue to find something mildly interesting on this site so you keep coming back and sharing your opinions with me.

VIA «Happy blog birthday to me, happy blog birthday to me!»

French Provencal Style

Design of a kitchen room in the French style — the fine decision for the romantic ladies. This tendency takes a predominating place among all fashionable trends of interiors, thanks to the grace and unique charm.

The Kitchen Tendencies

Provencal style is a reflection of an aesthetics of the south of France. The 1st in such design — a whitewash. Bleached ceilings and walls — some kind of the standard of Provencal style.

Provencal style welcomes all home decoration with olden time touch. The new kitchen furniture can be made old a little: small cracks, scratches will give it charm.

Do not forget about the furnace! A decorative mantelpiece — an important component part in Provencal style of kitchen room. Do not forget about jugs, vessels and small vases with artificial or natural flowers.

The Kitchen Furniture

Besides it, in antique shops you can find set of original additions which will give to your interior the finished sort. Also it's necessary to give great attention to a choice of blinds and curtains.

VIA «The French Country Style»

Fresh from their Seychelles honeymoon, a well-tanned Duchess of Cambridge performed her Royal duties with aplomb as she spoke to Mr and Mrs Obama in a 10-minute private meeting.
There were smiles all round moments earlier when the Obamas arrived at Buckingham Palace and were met by the Queen and Prince Philip.
Sorry we couldn't make the wedding: The couples chat and no doubt the recent Royal marriage ceremony was a topic of conversation

Friendly: The couples met before President Obama was the subject of a 41-gun salute
They arrived in the Presidential limousine known as The Beast, which pulled into the front of Buckingham Palace just before noon.
After the meeting of the heads of state, the Obamas spent about 10 minutes speaking with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, before meeting more Royal figures.
Senior members of the Queen's household were introduced to the Obamas in the Bow room.
Among them were the Queen's private secretary Christopher Geidt, her treasurer Sir Alan Reed, master of the household Air Vice Marshall David Walker, and the Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel.
Others who met the president and his wife included Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, Philip's private secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Ford, comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and a number of ladies-in-waiting to the Queen including Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie.
Having a giggle: The Duchess of Cambridge and Michelle Obama enjoy a brief moment of hilarity during their meeting
Meet and greet: The Queen welcomes Barack Obama to Buckingham Palace, watched by his wife Michelle and Prince Philip
Old friends reunited: Two years on from their last meeting, the Obamas and the Queen and Prince Philip look pleased to see one another
The Obamas were then taken to Buckingham Palace Gardens where they faced with a guard of honour, 101 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, and three officers lined up in two rows. Behind them were the Band, Pipes and Drums of the Scots Guard.
The air was shattered by the noise of booming gunfire as a 41-gun salute was begun by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in nearby Green Park while simultaneously at the Tower of London another was fired by the Honourable Artillery Company.
The guardsmen gave a royal salute and then the American national anthem was played in honour of the US president.
Hold on to your hats! The windy weather plays havoc with the Royal party

Ceremonial welcome: The Obamas are joined by members of the Royal Family to hear the U.S. national anthem
The British National Anthem was not performed as the Queen is in residence at the palace and so it was needed to mark her arrival at the historic building.
Major Rory Shannon, in command of the guard of honour, approached the heads of state and formally stated that the troops were ready for inspection. Mr Obama, with the Duke, then walked down the terrace steps to the waiting soldiers in their bearskins and scarlet tunics.
The major escorted the president along the two lines of guardsmen as Philip followed a pace behind.
The U.S. leader could be seen exchanging words with the senior officer as they passed the troops who, when not performing ceremonial duties, are fighting soldiers.
Guard of honour: Prince Philip accompanies Mr Obama as they inspect soldiers of the Household Cavalry in Buckingham Palace Gardens
Protection: The heavily-armoured Presidential limousine arrives at Buckingham Palace
At the end of the inspection, Mr Obama took his place beside the Queen and watched as the guardsmen marched off before the party headed inside for lunch.
Earlier the President declared the UK-U.S. partnership 'an essential relationship for us and for the world'.
But he began his visit today by making a solemn statement about the loss of life in Joplin, Missouri, where a tornado claimed 116 lives on Sunday night.
The U.S. president flew into Stansted airport ahead of schedule last night to avoid the possibility of disruption to air travel from the ash cloud from an erupting Icelandic volcano.
He had been due to fly from Ireland on board Air Force One this morning to be greeted at the Essex airport by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
But the decision was taken to bring forward the visit after the announcement of cancellations to some UK commercial flights due to the ash billowing from the Grimsvotn volcano - with more disruption expected in the days to come.
Arrival: Crowds strain to take pictures of the Presidential limousine, accompanied by police outriders, as it arrives at Buckingham Palace
Welcoming party: President Obama, left with Prince Charles, and First Lady Michelle, right with the Duchess of Cornwall, leave the U.S. Ambassador's residence Winfield House today

Relaxed: The President enjoys a joke with Prince Charles, left, while Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cornwall are deep in conversation
The state visit - only the third by a U.S. president to the UK in 100 years - comes at a time of close co-operation between Britain and America on issues ranging from Libya to Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and the Middle East peace process.
This strong partnership was reflected in a joint article written by Mr Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron for The Times, in which they declare: 'Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship - for us and for the world.'
After his early arrival, Mr Obama was spending the night in the US ambassador's residence in London, Winfield House in Regent's Park.
Solemn: Barack Obama began his British visit today by making a statement about the appalling loss of life in Joplin, Missouri, where a tornado left at least 116 people dead
Despite the hasty change to their planned schedule, Mr Obama and wife Michelle were still given the formal welcome expected of a state visit.
They were greeted by the Lord in Waiting Viscount Brookeborough, who met them on behalf of the Queen.
Instead of a traditional red carpet they left the plane on special red-carpeted stairs because of windy conditions at the airport.
Later today the Obamas will view the royal picture gallery before a wreath-laying visit to Westminster Abbey and a state banquet in the evening.
The couple will stay as guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace tonight and tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be devoted to politics, with talks between Mr Obama and Mr Cameron at 10 Downing Street, followed by an address to both Houses of Parliament, in which the president is expected to say that the US has no closer ally in the world than Britain.
In their joint article, Mr Obama and Mr Cameron put the transatlantic partnership at the heart of the drive for global stability and prosperity.
Hello Britain: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle step off Air Force One as they arrive at London Stansted Airport last night
Touchdown: Air Force One arrives at Stansted Airport, London ahead of schedule due to fears volcanic ash would spread over Britain today
'When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous,' they wrote.
'And that is the key to our relationship. Yes, it is founded on a deep emotional connection, by sentiment and ties of people and culture.
'But the reason it thrives, the reason why this is such a natural partnership, is because it advances our common interests and shared values.
'It is a perfect alignment of what we both need and what we both believe. And the reason it remains strong is because it delivers time and again.
'Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship - for us and for the world.'
They also promised not to abandon the protesters fighting for democracy in the 'Arab Spring'.
Flying the flag: British and American colours stand along The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace in preparation for the visit
'We will not stand by as their aspirations get crushed in a hail of bombs, bullets and mortar fire,' said the two leaders.
'We are reluctant to use force, but when our interests and values come together, we know we have a responsibility to act...
'We will stand with those who want to bring light into dark, support those who seek freedom in place of repression, aid those laying the building blocks of democracy.'
It comes after Foreign Secretary William Hague and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton sent out a message to Syria's President Bashar Assad to halt his regime's repression of pro-democracy activists.
Speaking to American reporters shortly before Mr Obama's arrival, Mr Cameron said there was 'an incredible alignment of views' between his administration and the White House on key global issues, including the military mission in Libya, the uprisings of the Arab Spring, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

'Smile, honey. We'll be meeting the Queen and that hat cost a lot of money.'
And he paid lavish tribute to Mr Obama's style, saying that as well as being 'courageous' over issues such as Osama bin Laden, he was also 'thoughtful, measured and serious'.
The current closeness of the UK-U.S. relationship was remarked upon at a joint press conference following talks between Mr Hague and Mrs Clinton at the Foreign Office.
Mrs Clinton joked: 'If there were any closer alignment, we would worry about each other.'
The two leaders are expected to drop in on a barbecue being hosted by their wives Michelle and Samantha for families of military personnel involved in joint UK-U.S. missions overseas.
Mr Obama is due to travel on to France on Thursday morning for the G8 summit of leading industrialised nations in Deauville, also being attended by Mr Cameron.
Raw Video: Obamas Visit Buckingham Palace

source: dailymail

VIA The Prince and the President: William greets Obama and Michelle at the Palace as tanned Kate takes to Royal duties like a natural

The meeting, convened by the Permanent Missions of Jordan and France to the United Nations, co-presidents of the Security Council, was an opportunity for member countries to discuss and identify innovative and practical ways to protect and preserve cultural heritage following the recent adoption of UNSC Resolution 2199 (2015).

“In the eyes of criminals, cultural heritage often stands as an easy target,” said Secretary General Stock.

“The current situation in Syria and Iraq presents a significant challenge as sites vulnerable to destruction are often out of effective government control and illicit excavations dominate the picture,” added Mr Stock.

The INTERPOL Chief said lessons had been learned from the first Gulf War, after which just one item was inserted into the world police body’s Stolen Works of Art database. The implementation of UNSC Resolution 1483 (2003) resulted in the successful collection of around one quarter of the 2,700 Iraqi records now contained in the database.

In the context of UNSC Resolution 2199 (2015) information on more than 1,300 items removed from the Deir Atiyah Museum and other sites in Syria is currently being added to the database to be made available to more than 2,000 users from law enforcement, customs, partner organizations and private dealers.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova highlighted the extent of the tragedy underway, especially the loss of humanity’s millennial history.

“Heritage must be at the frontline of peace building, as a way to build back dignity and confidence. It is imperative to curb radicalization and counter the narrative of hatred and division. The fight against illicit trafficking of cultural objects must be strengthened throughout the world,” said Director General Bokova.

Previous successes include the deployment of a multi-disciplinary team to Iraq under the auspices of UNESCO and the creation of a dedicated INTERPOL Tracking Task Force bringing together key authorities for direct information exchange.

Raising public awareness and support through vehicles such as the UNESCO #unite4heritage campaign, which is backed by INTERPOL, and also engaging Internet Service Providers and online marketplaces to report suspected sales of Syrian and Iraqi cultural heritage were also highlighted as ways to strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking.

Source: Interpol [April 28, 2015]

In an announcement earlier on Wednesday, Greece's culture ministry said that it had asked Christie's to withdraw the item from auction, saying there was firm evidence that it had been illegally exported from Greece. In its reply, Christie's said that the Greek information was given "serious consideration" but insisted that its own investigation showed that the auction would continue as planned under British law.

The carved marble stele is dated circa 350-325 B.C. and bears the inscription 'Dorias [daughter of] Poseidonios'. According to the lot description it was found in Halkida on the island of Evia and recorded in the travel notes of Eduard Schaubert in 1844. The auction house claims the stele was from a private collection in France acquired prior to 1994. It's value is estimated between 28,000-40,000 euros.

Greek authorities argue that there is proof that the stele was recorded in Greek territory after the country's liberation from Ottoman rule and, therefore, its export was illegal.

Source: News Bomb [April 15, 2015]