Added 13 July, 2013
"Love without materialism is just a pile of sand." That is a quote from China's current top film, Tiny Times, a film that set a new opening day record in China and just crossed the $50 million box office threshold. A sequel will be released this December and two more films are planned in the series. What's startling is that the line about...
Added 11 July, 2013
Iberia, the Spanish airline, has launched MyBagTag, a "service" that allows passengers to download and print their own luggage tags before they head to the airport. Customers checking in on line for flights departing from Spain can now download, print, and attach the tags themselves, then check in at fast bag-drop counters. Rather than adding more...
Added 11 July, 2013
To many people, it just doesn't make sense: Why tip a waiter in a restaurant when you don't tip most other service providers? I mean, they are just doing their jobs! Many of New York's best-known restaurateurs agree and there is a trend afoot to ban tips in their restaurants. It starts with the city's best-known restaurateur, Danny Meyer who, in...
Added 10 July, 2013
Already tired of cronuts, the light and flaky mashup of croissants and donuts, the world is already looking to crown a new, sweet foodie fad. Will crookies be the Next Big Thing? This croissant stuffed with crushed Double Stuf Oreos and topped with sugar icing is the brain-child of Canadian Oliver Jansen-Reynaud, the owner of Clafouti Patisserie...
Added 10 July, 2013
For the past few years, several restaurants around the world have introduced handmade sodas to their beverage menus. Hospoda, an upscale European restaurant on New York's Upper East Side is a good example of this, offering a variety of house-made sodas in addition to their cocktail menu. Now Starbucks is quietly testing "handcrafted" soft-drink...
Added 9 July, 2013
An American online grocer called Peapod has created shopping truck with "mobile billboards" on the sides that invite consumers to shop for groceries using their smartphones. The trucks are showing up at summer gathering places such as ballparks and concert venues in Peapod’s markets along the East Coast. Customers scan a QR code to download a free...
Added 9 July, 2013
In much of Africa many people's access to the internet is limited to using internet cafes where computers are available by the hour. But keeping an internet cafe running in a place where electricity is expensive and power outages are common has proved to be a big challenge. But if these cybercafés used tablets instead of desktops, it may be...
Added 8 July, 2013
Called 2Seas, the UAV is designed to fly lengthy surveillance missions for coastguards in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. It is a direct descendant of the catapult-launched, 1.5-metre-wingspan, electric-powered SULSA (Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft) – the world's first all-3D-printed drone, built at the University of...
Added 8 July, 2013
No longer just a special-diet staple, top chefs are using nut milk in dishes from breakfast to dinner. Almond milk, which is popular among the juice-cleanse crowd, is leading the charge of these concoctions, which are generally made by pureeing nuts with water and sometimes flavoring, such as vanilla, sugar or trendier sweeteners like agave nectar...
Added 8 July, 2013
While most college freshmen are busy buying books and stationery, a growing number of Chinese teens are opting for plastic surgery to get ahead when the new semester starts. Following the end of college entrance exams on June 8th, plastic surgeons reported a staggering rise in the number of youngsters going under the knife, Wuhan based Changjiang...