Added 14 May, 2013
As part of its 275th anniversary, the world-famous Mariinsky Theatre in Russia presents a live broadcast of Swan Lake produced by Mariinsky Ballet, Glass Slipper and Cameron Pace, James Cameron’s 3D production company. This adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was originally staged at the Mariinsky in 1895, and is the basis of all modern...
Added 13 May, 2013
Your smartphone is now your key. Kevo by Kwikset is leading the move towards locks that don't require physical keys to open them. Just touch your lock with your phone, it will recognize it and unlock the door. You can also send an electronic key to family, friends, or visitors who have a compatible smartphone, so they can use their phone as a key...
Added 13 May, 2013
Basic parenting meets social media messaging with TweetPee, a new moisture-monitoring device and iPhone app that alerts parents via Twitter when baby's diaper gets soggy. Created by Kimberly-Clark Corp. for their Huggies brand of diapers, the app also monitors the family's diaper supply, counts diaper use, and facilitates online ordering to assure...
Added 13 May, 2013
The biometric gates at Dublin Airport are using facial-recognition technology to speed passengers through border control. While it now gets passengers through automatic border control gates in as few as 8 seconds, it doesn't bode well for privacy campaigners who see this as a harbinger for widespread, general public use of this technology. “Many...
Added 13 May, 2013
The past few years it was looking like hotels would follow the airline model, by charging lots of ancillary fees for everything from parking to Wi-Fi. However, it now looks like that strategy is being abandoned. Instead, many hotels are putting most of their attention into raising room rates. In 2012, room revenue was about 68% of total revenue,...
Added 13 May, 2013
Karl Lagerfeld is the director of an 18-minute short Once Upon a Time celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first Chanel boutique in Deauville Normandy. Keira Knightley stars as the late Coco Chanel. Not coincidentally, Knightley also the face of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle fragrance campaign, and she is joined in the film by models Stella...
Added 10 May, 2013
Hard cider’s popularity is accelerating, according to research firm GuestMetrics, which analyzes point-of-sale data at full-service restaurants. Cider sales in restaurants grew by 40 percent in 2012. But year-over-year sales in the first quarter of 2013 jumped by 70 percent, the company said. Several restaurant chains added cider this spring,...
Added 9 May, 2013
The high end London department store Selfridges is introducing the world of retail to drive-thru service that will enable customers to order items via Selfridges.com, and then collect them without having to leave their car. With Internet shopping taking off, we can expect more stores to offer easy, same-day collection of goods ordered from the...
Added 9 May, 2013
Close on the heels of last month’s unveiling of new Qantas uniforms, Virgin Atlantic has announced a partnership with iconic British designer Vivienne Westwood to create new uniforms for its male and female staff. The carrier said that Westwood plans a futuristic look, while at the same time referencing "her enduring interest in 40&#...
Added 9 May, 2013
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is a six-volume, 2,400-page set that has ignited the cooking world by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. Now the book's scientist-inventors are looking to reinvent the home kitchen with highly engineered tools...