This striking photo was in the TIMES art section this weekend. It is the work of a French photographer named Cedric Delsaux who has created a book in which characters from the STAR WARS series inhabit the earth. The photo above has droids from Episode 3 hanging out in a rough and tumble section of Dubai. A number of his other photos place STAR WARS characters, including Darth Vader and C3PO, in Paris.
Delsaux, 37, was a true STAR WARS baby as the movie inspired him as a child....and still inspires him today. He even found a fan in the often litigious George Lucas, who actually wrote the introduction to his book of photos featuring these characters, DARK LENS. It could be the perfect gift for the STAR WARS fanatic in your life.
As most people know, the world's tallest building is now located in Dubai...the Burj Khalifa. (You can see it prominently featured in the current trailers and commercials for the new MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movie.) But with a little less fanfare, the world's fastest roller coaster recently opened in Dubai as well. With a top speed of 150mph, it displaces the terrifying Kingda Ka at New Jersey's Six Flags' Great Adventure as the fastest roller coaster in the world.
The Formula Rossa is shaped like a Ferrari race car and is so fast that the riders need to wear protective eyewear to protect them from bugs. (Gross!) But despite the top speed, which occurs when the car is shot of out the gate by hydraulic technology similar to that which launches jet fighters, the coaster seems pretty tame actually (as you can see in the smooth ride below). No crazy loops, inversions twists or even drops; the whole ride has the feel of going around a race track. Which even at fast speeds, seems a little....dull.
Anyway, the Formula Rossa is part of a massive new amusement pavilion called "Ferrari World". Yes, it's a big promo-tisement for all things Ferrari in the guise of a tourist attraction. Or, what my father used to call, a tourist trap.
Yesterday's post made mention of the Dubai Subway, which opened in September of 2009. After doing a little research, it's not much of a subway as more than 80% of the system is above ground. But with it's sleek design and pilot-less trains, it's still pretty cool. And here's the video to prove it: a hi-speed, hi-def 3 minute journey from one end of Dubai's Metro to the other. Sit back and enjoy the ride....
Dubai, that space-age city rising out of the sandy Persian Gulf coast, has been in the news lately for its troubled present--namely a huge debt crisis which shook world markets last Friday. But despite it's financial problems, this city of tomorrow still looks pretty fabulous, especially the Burj Dubai, the tallest structure in the world.
Set to be completed in spring of 2010, there was a cool photo gallery of pictures of the Burj on the Guardian UK's website recently. The building truly looks like something from a sci-fi movie-I was thinking LOGAN'S RUN for some reason. Anyway, this super-sized skyscraper will have about 160 floors when completed though it's actual height is a closely guarded secret.
Yesterday, I found another less glamourous photo gallery on Dubai over at the TIMES website, as part of their excellent LENS feature. Photographer Lauren Greenfield has a series of pictures showing the troubles Dubai is experiencing due to its growing pains. The pictures here, though, are as equally stunning as those of Burj but in a different way. My favorite and weirdest is the caravan of trucks carrying sewage out of a city that's grown so quickly, it's sewer system can't keep up with demand. It looks like a fascinating place to visit....though I may wait a few years until all that construction is finished.
