We have all heard about the volcano that erupted in Iceland and how air travel all over Europe has been affected. You might have had a personal experience, or you might know someone who suffered. It certainly has cost a lot of people (and businesses) considerable amounts, but Iceland is not taking it sitting down.
In fact, the government is taking this chance to highlight all the other things that their country has to offer visitors. The volcanic eruption has placed the country’s geothermal assets into the forefront. After all, the very same geological reasons for the eruption make Iceland the foremost destination for hot springs!
Indeed, the government has offered all stranded travelers free access to the eight hot pools of the capital, Reykjavik. The temperatures in these pool range from 29 degrees Celsius to 42 degrees Celsius (84 to 108 Fahrenheit). The pools are known for their relaxing and healing properties and are frequented by both locals and visitors alike. Iceland has one of the highest concentrations of these kinds of pools in the world, thanks to its geological resources.
The response of the people has been encouraging, as the government’s offer has not been ignored. In fact, the government says that there are so many people taking them up on their offer that the pools have been full!
The eruption took place (is taking place, rather) under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and countless airports in Europe have been affected by the ash. Some airports have resumed their operations while others are still at a halt.
This piece of news is so hot, but I do not fully understand why. Still, everyone’s talking about it, I might as well jump into the bandwagon. Earlier this day, all the girls at the office were saying: It’s the end of the world! This hunk of a guy is gay, and he’s proud of it. What’s to become of us?
Is he indeed gay? Well, the news came straight from the horse’s mouth. Ricky Martin, the cute little boy who was the youngest member of the 80’s boyband (when that term hadn’t been coined yet) Menudo, has come out of the closet. He has been quoted all over the place as saying: “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”
This was what he posted on his Twitter – both in English and in Spanish. Alright, I have to say that most of us knew that anyway, right? Then again, I guess it’s different when the person actually comes out and says it. I still don’t get the “fortunate homosexual man” part. Can someone enlighten me?
Anyhow, the 38-year-old is supposed to be writing a book – surprise! According to him, the memoir will highlight his struggle to hide his real identity. So what triggered this honesty? He is now a father of twins (born via surrogate by the way) and he says that he cannot hide who he is anymore.
I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more of this in the near future.
It is every librarian’s nightmare: library users NOT returning books on time. In school libraries, penalties are laid down left and right because students tend to forget that the book they borrowed is due on a certain date. Many students even forget to return the book forever – resulting in huge fines at the end of the school year.
In public libraries, it is harder to lay down measures and actually “get” the person who does not return books. After all, you can’t go after each and every person that does this. Sooner or later, they remember that they need to return the book and they do so. Of course, they have to face the consequences, don’t they?
But, have you ever heard of someone returning a book that has been overdue for 45 years? Yup, that’s exactly what happened at a British library recently. Dinnington Library is located near Sheffield in northern England. According to its principal assistant, Alison Lawrie, they received a Penguin first edition copy of “Quartermass and the Pit” by Nigel Kneale in the mail. It is not everyday that a library receives an overdue book through the post, and it is even rarer that this overdue book should have been returned in October 15, 1965! I was not even born yet!
As can be expected, the book was mailed with no return address. I do not blame the person – he or she is probably scared of the hefty fine that comes with the book! Lucky for him or her, the library’s records do not go as far back as 1965. Still, Lawrie says that they would love to know the story behind the book’s return and that the person will NOT be fined. Come forward, whoever you are!
Early Saturday morning was just a normal time for most people in the world, but for those in Chile, it could very well have been the worst day of their lives. Not many months have passed since the killer earthquake hit Haiti, and a lot of people the world over still live in anxiety. You can just imagine what our fellowmen from Chile were thinking when they awakened to a rocking world.
The quake that hit Chile was way stronger than the one that hit Haiti – it measured in at 8.8 on the Richter scale. Seismologists classify this as “great” earthquake, capable of incurring tremendous damages. To date, hundreds have been reported dead in Chile, with the numbers expected to rise.
The extent of the effects of this earthquake is supposed to reach far and wide, though. As a matter of fact, a tsunami was triggered by the tremor. AP reports that waves have already reached as far as Russia and Japan on Sunday – a day after the quake hit Chile. The good thing is that the waves were not as huge as was expected. People were already told to evacuate as early as Saturday, and evacuate they did. Perhaps due to the distance, the waves were a “mere” 4-feet high, which, while causing some flooding, did not really cause much damage. The Japanese government has already lifted the tsunami warning.
Most other countries who are in the path of the tsunami have also lifted their warnings.
Would you pay that much for any dish? I suppose that if you were dining at a 3-star Michelin restaurant, a hundred bucks is not that expensive for a single dish. Then again, it really depends on what you’re eating.
In a Japanese restaurant, you can taste a one of a kind soup – ramen – for $110. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this price tag is more than hefty for a bowl of soup! Indeed, if you ever go to Japan, you will be able to find bowls of ramen for as low as $10. This is especially true in areas where they sell food on the streets.
So what makes this ramen soup worth the price tag? According to restaurateur Shoichi Fujimaki, his soup is “not really ramen. This is my cuisine, it’s my 25 years of experience distilled into one bowl. This is the only place in the world that people have this kind of soup.” Twenty-five years of cooking experience, more than 20 ingredients, and three days of preparation – all these add up to $110 per bowl.
And what do customers have to say about the Five-taste Blend Imperial Noodles, which is the highlight at Tokyo’s Fujimaki Gekijyo? It looks like they’re loving it despite the price and the not-so-good Japanese economy! By the way, not just anyone can have a taste of this soup. In fact, customers are required to dine at another restaurant (Fujimaki owns it too) and sample “lesser” fare before they can be qualified to have even a glimpse of THE other soup. Nice business tactic, huh?
We have all heard about the volcano that erupted in Iceland and how air travel all over Europe has been affected. You might have had a personal experience, or you might know someone who suffered. It certainly has cost a lot of people (and businesses) considerable amounts, but Iceland is not taking it sitting down.
