Clearing of prisoners Guantanama — accident or law? Destruction of vineyards in California — of what does not remind? And turns in food shop of Seattle? The analysis of these and other data unequivocally speaks — to the USA at full speed there is a reorganisation.
Former Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev hopes, that new US president Barack Obama will undertake reforms and will essentially change the American policy. Already now, for the promised changes in the country, some name Obama "the American Gorbachev"...
"Own reorganisation" is necessary to America, — Gorbachev in interview to news agency Associated Press has declared. With it some ill-wishers of mister Obama agree also: they recollect, that after Gorbachev's liberal reforms in 1991 Soviet Union has collapsed, and wait, that policy Obamy will lead to the USA to crash.
Gorbachev, however, is convinced, that strong America is necessary to the world, and financial crisis has clearly shown it. The ex-president of the USSR has urged Washington to use the influence on the blessing of all planet. "That is bad for America, is bad for all world", — he has noted.
Earlier Gorbachev already declared, that only by means of new reorganisation it is possible to win world financial crisis, and also asserted, that the future US president should change seriously a former course to restore balance on a planet.
Now Gorbachev has added, that many world leaders, including heads of Russia and Iran, aspire to improvement of relations with Washington, and has urged the president not to miss this possibility.
He has suggested a policy to reconsider the decision on placing of systems ABOUT in Poland and Czechia. Making comments on threat of president Dmitry Medvedev to place a short-range missile in Kaliningrad, Gorbachev has noticed, that it was not attempt to check up on durability of the new US president. — It was simple an echo of the past epoch, — he has declared. — If you will make it to us, we will answer you the same... — It it is not necessary To us.
Speaking about, whether Vladimir Putin can return to the Kremlin by early election, Gorbachev has told: "To tell the truth, I do not think... It all the same that the United States initiate new elections right after these". He has added, that many Russian consider Putin as stronger leader, but has underlined, that Putin and Medvedev is one command. "To Russia a tandem, a normal tandem, it does not represent danger", — Michael Gorbachev has calmed.
Skoda Fabia, a car advertised for the most spacious cabin in its category, was transformed into a real hostel: with a comfortable double-bed, pillows, free wi-fi, and everything needed for a comfortable stay. Yes, it had a bathroom next to the car just in case. The hostel was placed at «Izmaiolovo Park», one of the most pleasant parks in the city to provide a great view for the guests.
The project was created by the advertising agency Proximity (BBDO Russia Group), in a partnership with the accommidation website Tripping.com: every time someone was searching for a place to stay in Moscow, surprisingly, the Skoda Hostel appeared in the results, and users could book it online and spend one night there. The only payment accepted were likes, tweets and shares.
Guests could also take the car for a ride around the city, so each booking became a full scale test drive. The hostel was fully booked, and had great feedback from its guests.
Credits: Creative Ad Agency: Proximity, Russia Luis Tauffer — Creative Director Andres Vergara — Creative Director Luis Tauffer — Art Director Ivan Malakhov — Art Director Polina Zabrodskaya — Copywriter Ilya Andreyev — Creative Technologist Natalia Ten — Client Services Director Julia Bogdanovich — Managing Director Oleg Malyutin — Group Account Director Valery Gorokhov — Producer Giuliana Giora — Producer Production Company E:mg, Hype Production, Lógico Music, All Awards, Goudron Music Factory, Guto Chicanelli
Idea NEXT MORNING EVEN AFTER HARD PARTIES YOU’LL BE HAPPY TO WAKE UP WITHOUT A HANGOVER.
Solution DEVELOP A SERIES OF PRINT ADS OF THE BIGGEST BOOZY OCCASIONS LIKE NEW YEAR’S EVE, BIRTHDAYS AND CHRISTMAS. THROUGH A SIMPLE TWIST OF THE PHRASE, WE HIGHLIGHT THE KEY PRODUCT BENEFIT OF NOT HAVING A HANGOVER THE FOLLOWING DAY.
Credits: Ad Agency: BBDO, Russia Chief Creative Officer – Igor Lutz Creative Director – Mihai Coliban Senior Art Director – Aaron John Nielsen Copywriter – Andrey Sivkov Producer – Marina Shponko Account Director – Darya Arkharova Senior Account Manager – Boris Sorokin Production Studio – ‘Masked Brothers’
The immersive world of PS3 is brought to life in the fantasy fairground setting depicted in the ‘Family Day Out’ TV commercial, which sits at the heart of the new campaign.
As a family arrives and tours the entertainment stalls, different family members explore rich, interactive experiences demonstrating the proposition that PS3 provides "a world of endless family fun".
By directly referencing a variety of entertainment and gaming experiences available on the platform – from motion control games on Sports Champions 2, and HD movies on demand such as Ice Age 4, to new ways of playing on Wonderbook and games for everyone such as Little Big Planet Karting, the ad also underlines the promise that PS3 brings the family together – whatever their particular interest or taste.
The accompanying print execution invites mums to enter the world of PS3 by visiting playstation.com/family to discover and learn more about the different features the console offers. Digital creative draws on elements of both the TV and print work to further drive traffic online.
“With a world of gaming and entertainment titles, this campaign for PlayStation 3 takes a unique take on play, igniting the imagination of our audience to discover a range of new experiences as a family” says Al Moseley, Executive Creative Director at 180 Amsterdam.
The campaign began airing on December 7 in the UK where it will run until the end of the year, will also be seen in Ireland, Poland, Austria, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Credits: Creative Agency: 180 Amsterdam Creative Directors: Graeme Hall and Martin Terhart Art Director: Robbie Graham Copywriter: Rachel Holding Production company: Park Pictures Directed by: Ben Dawkins Post-production: Glassworks, Amsterdam.
Despite this turning out to be a fake ad for Tampax that came out of Russia that was made to promote the film "Movie 43." Sharks and Tampax ads don't seem to be anything new either, this Leo Burnett created print came to us from France in 2004.
In Russia the Orange Fitness Gym decided to promote their gym with this new commercial. Make sure you watch the whole clip, I wont pass judgement but I will say this.....eeewwwwwwww!
April 3, 2013 marked the 40th aniiversary of the bar code. The first product ever scanned using a UPC back in 1974 was a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. In honor of the 40th we thought it might be fun to compose a list of some creative bar codes in advertising.
For the UK's TigerTrust preservation charity a tigers stripes are made to look like a bar code. Created by ad agency Leo Burnett, Copywriter, Nick Bell and Art Director Mark Tutssel. I believe from back in 1998.
In France a Renault burns out a few barcodes in this print ad from Publicis Conseil, copywriter Serge Ficard and art direction by Pascal Midavaine.
Coca-Cola has a history of cute bottled shaped bar codes, this one from ad agency Chaitra Leo Burnett, India.
Soul Tattoo & Piercing in Brazil ran this IRA Communication created tramp stamp print campaign back in 2008.
The Belgian Federation of Food Banks asked us to donate a barcode and feed the hungry.
Some where in Russia.
For those of us old enough to remember Mad Magazine, they weren't too pleased back in '78 so they ran this cover hoping to jam every computer in the country...Sorry Mad Mag, you're plan didn't work.
All around the hull of the longest Viking warship ever found there are swords and battle axes, many bearing the scars of long and bloody use, in an exhibition opening in Copenhagen that will smash decades of good public relations for the Vikings as mild-mannered traders and farmers.
A violent animated backdrop to a reconstructed Viking warship [Credit: Guardian]"Some of my colleagues thought surely one sword is enough," archaeologist and co-curator Anne Pedersen said, "but I said no, one can never have too many swords."
The exhibition, simply called Viking, which will be opened at the National Museum by Queen Margrethe of Denmark on Thursday, and to the public on Saturday, will sail on to to London next year to launch the British Museum's new exhibition space.
In contrast to recent exhibitions, which have concentrated on the Vikings as brilliant seafarers, highly gifted wood- and metal-workers, and builders of towns including York and Dublin, this returns to the more traditional image of ferocious raiders, spreading terror wherever the shallow keels of the best and fastest ships in Europe could reach, armed with magnificent swords, spears, battleaxes and lozenge-shaped arrows. "The arrow shape did more damage," Pedersen explained, "the wounds were bigger and more difficult to heal than a straight-edged slit."
Other powers employed the fearless warriors as mercenaries, including Byzantium and Jerusalem, but some were anxious to keep weapons of mass destruction out of their hands: a Frankish law forbade selling swords to Vikings. They got them anyway, as the exhibits prove.
A skull from a grave in Gotland bears the marks of many healed sword cuts, but also decorative parallel lines filed into the warrior's teeth, like those recently found on teeth from a pit of decapitated bodies in Dorset, in what must have been an excruciating display of macho bravado.
"Probably only a small percentage of the Vikings ever went to sea on raiding parties, but I think those who stayed home would have told stories of great warriors, great ships and great swords they had known," Pedersen said. "It was very much part of the culture."
Some of the objects assembled from collections in 12 countries, such as a heap of walnut-sized pieces of amber, or jewellery made to incorporate Islamic and Byzantine coins, probably did come through trade. Others, such as a pair of brooches from the grave of a Viking woman made from gold intricately twisted into tiny animals, originally panels chopped up from a shrine made in Ireland to hold the relics of a saint, certainly were not.
One magnificent silver collar found in Norway has an inscription in runes saying the Vikings came to Frisia and "exchanged war garments with them" – but that may be a black joke. Iron slave collars from Dublin confirm that the wealth they sought wasn't always gold and silver.
This is the largest Viking exhibition in more than 20 years, bringing together loans from across Europe, including hoards from Yorkshire, Norway and Russia, a silver cross and a diminutive figure of a Valkyrie, a mythological battlefield figure, both found in Denmark only a few months ago. Loans from Britain include some of the famous Lewis chessmen carved as fierce Viking warriors, biting on the edge of their shields in an ecstasy of rage.
The most spectacular object, fitting into the gallery with just 1.7 metres (5ft6in) to spare – the new space in Bloomsbury has already been measured carefully – is the sleek, narrow hull of the longest Viking warship ever found, specially conserved for the exhibition and on display for the first time. Just over 36m in length, it was built to hold at least 100 men on 39 pairs of oars.
The ship was found by accident at Roskilde, home of the famous Viking ship museum. The museum was built 50 years ago to hold a small fleet of Viking boats that were deliberately sunk 1,000 years ago to narrow and protect the approach to the harbour. In the 1990s, workers building an extension chopped through the massive timbers of what turned out to be nine more ships, including the awesome length of the warship, estimated to have taken around 30,000 hours of skilled labour to build: only a king could have afforded such a vessel.
Recent scientific tests show it was built from oak felled in 1025 near Oslo, probably for King Cnut the Great – the sea-defying Canute to the English – who conquered England in 1016, and Norway in 1028. Only a quarter of the timbers survived, but they included the entire length of the keel.
Although the exhibition includes sections on Viking politics, strategic alliances through marriage and trade, and beliefs including the contents of the grave of a sorceress with her iron magic wand and little pots of narcotic drugs, the warlike tone was dictated by the ship, which was itself a weapon of war. Vikings sang about ships – one refers to a new ship as "a dragon" – played as children with toy ships and, if rich enough, were eventually buried in ships.
The displays and some of the contents will change in London, but in Copenhagen the ship is spectacularly displayed against an animated backdrop of stormy seas and a ferocious raid that leaves the target settlement in flames.
The animation was made in the United States and the Danish team was initially dismayed as it appeared to show raiders attacking a much later medieval walled town. Eventually, curator Peter Pentz said, a Hampshire site saved the film: they agreed it was plausible that the towers and curtain walls could represent the ruins of a Roman shoreline fort, such as Portchester castle near Portsmouth.
As well as the swords, some bent like a folded belt to destroy their earthly use as they went into a warrior's grave, there is one unique weapon, a battleaxe with an intricately decorated golden shaft. Such golden axes are described in the sagas, but this, from a settlement in Norway, is the only real example ever found.
"I think the main point was to impress, not to kill somebody," Pedersen said, adding with satisfaction: "but you can kill somebody with it if you want.
Viking, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, until November 17 2013
Author: Maev Kennedy | Source: The Guardian [June 19, 2013]
Kabuto Noodles, a food brand launching its first marketing activity this week, has bravely staged the world’s first live improvised ad break to get the cut-through required to succeed in a competitive market.
Kabuto Noodles is an upmarket noodle snack bridging the gap between good quality, healthy Asian food and instant noodles found in supermarkets. The brand was founded by Crispin Busk in 2011.
Kabuto Noodles partnered with Viacom Media to secure ad space on Comedy Central to air the live improvised ad and worked with 18 Feet & Rising to create a unique and exciting concept for a TV ad that would make its launch memorable and create a buzz for the brand.
Yesterday (Monday, June 17th), live on prime time Comedy Central to 1 million viewers, four comedians were presented with a pot of Kabuto Noodles, and given an entire ad break to improvise comedy skits, using the pot as a prop.
With comedian host Rob Carter hosting the proceedings, the comedians, from improv group Mischief Theatre, improvised comedy skits live on television and in front of a studio audience.
The live three-minute TV ad, directed by live broadcast director James Russell, aired at 9.10pm on Monday night on Comedy Central. It will be followed by 30-second cut-downs of the ad featuring individual skits.
Crispin Busk, Founder Kabuto Noodles said: “We took a risk leaving our jobs to create something new and now we're taking a risk with our first TV ad. We always wanted to do things that were fun and different so we're really excited."
Jonathan Trimble, CEO of 18 Feet & Rising, said: “Kabuto are about the tastiest noodles you can make in a moment — so trying to make an advert happen live in the same amount of time has proved hair-raising with all credit to the team at Kabuto for having the balls to go for it.”
Peter Dale, Business Development Manager for BeViacom and Comedy Central said: “More so now than ever, it’s essential for a brand’s message to stand out from the crowd. This idea brings together a daring brand alongside Comedy Central’s heritage in stand-up, to create an innovative partnership for the live advert and beyond”.
Kabuto Noodles is stocked in Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Ocado and independents across the UK. In addition Kabuto exports its products to Ireland, Holland, Germany & Russia.
It has grown from 100K in the first year to 750K in 2012, and is set to continue its growth with the introduction of marketing support throughout 2013.
Credits: Improvisation group: Mischief Theatre featuring Henry Lewis, Jonathan Burke, Dave Hearn & Nancy Wallinger Host: Rob Carter Live Broadcast Director: James Russell Creatives: Anna Carpen & Alex Delaney Concept Director: Jake Mavity for Tantrum Producer: Emily Hodgson Account Director: Adrienne Little Production Company Producer: Vicki Betihavas (Live producer @ Nineteen Fifteen) and Jeannine Mansell (Producer @ Tantrum) Production Company: Nineteen Fifteen & Tantrum Composer/Music Supervisor: Sie Medway-Smith @ The Sound Works DOP: Nick Wheeler
Kiefer Sutherland stars in a new commercial for the Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook entitled "Bake It...An Acer story inspired by Intel." Sutherland doesn't just bake cupcakes...he bakes Dynamite Cupcakes. As Jack Bauer in the cult TV series ‘24,’ Kiefer Sutherland was shot, tortured, imprisoned and addicted to heroin. Over eight series he killed 267 people and used “any means necessary” to get what he needed. Every day was a bad day.
In a new ad campaign for computer company Acer’s Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ from Mother, Sutherland is back in a pastiche of his Bauer character but this time he’s showing his softer side – making cup cakes. But Bauer being Bauer, hasn’t donned a frilly apron and got out the icing bag – he’s reached for power drills and flame throwers to make his cakes. Along the way he uses his laptop to search for the perfect recipe, ruthlessly interrogates people about ingredients and blows up his own car to make the logo for his cup cake brand. The ad breaks on August 20 in the UK, Germany, France and Russia as a 90 second film for cinema and the web, a 20 second TV trailer and a series of print ads. Martin Schellekens, Acer’s Global Marketing Director says, “At Acer we’re interested in what people do with the technology we develop. The S5 Ultrabook is the first of many products that will help our users explore a different side of themselves, for Kiefer that was cupcake baking but over the coming year we’ll create more stories of characters exploring beyond their limits.” Mother said: “Kiefer makes a great tough guy – but instead of tackling terrorists or dirty bombs, we wanted to test his cake making skills to the limit. It was a great shoot to work on – Kiefer said that the explosions were as big as anything in 24. We’re really looking forward to the next episode in this series, where another celebrity will be exploring a very different side of themselves.”
Credits: Project: Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ Brief in one line: To launch the new Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ Acer's Global Brand Director: Maarten Schellekens Film credits Creative Agency: Mother Art Director: Mother Copywriter: Mother Planner: Mother Agency Producer: Mother Director: Ivan Zacharias Production Company: Stink Producer: Nick Landon Editor: Richard Orrick Post Production: The Mill Audio Post-Production: Jungle Sound Design: Jungle DoP: John Lynch
Challenge: OBI is OBI is a reliable partner which helps people to make their lives and environment better by making changes in their homes. The agency’s goal was to make a TVC which will inspire people to make renovation by themselves by showing that with OBI it is easier than it seems. Idea: The story shows that all renovation-related matters that appear big and difficult are in fact easy with OBI.
Credits: Advertising Agency: BBDO, Moscow Creative Director – Adrian Ely Copywriter – Andrey Yarinich Art Director – Omar Thabet Producers – Boris Anisonyan, Valery Gorokhov Client Service Director – Blazej Soniewicki Account Director – Tamara Vasina Account Manager – Katrin Auashria OBI Russia Tatiana Ignatochkina – Head of Marketing Department Elena Naryshkina – Manager for Advertising Bazelevs Producer – Alla Sobetski Director – Leo Gabriadze D.O.P – Marat Adelshin Composer – Ivan Sevastianov
National Maritime Museum Cornwall is bringing the Vikings to Cornwall in a new major exhibition called Viking Voyagers, opening on 20 March 2015. The new exhibition, featuring nationally and internationally historically significant artefacts, explores what is behind the popular myth of the bloodthirsty raiders, what it meant to become a Viking and shows how their mastery of maritime technology was the secret to their success.
Ships and boats were vital to Viking expansion; they explored and colonised, were invaders and migrants and the seas and rivers were the highways and byways to amassing huge wealth and power through raiding and trading.
Their power was built on their knowledge of boatbuilding and their seafaring skills, enabling them to sail across the Atlantic’s icy waters to Newfoundland and Iceland, down to the warm Mediterranean to Istanbul and as far East along the river Volga as Ukraine and Russia.
Visions of horned helmets, unkempt beards and fearsome raiding fighters carried by longships that were dragon headed war beasts come to mind when thinking of Vikings. However, this new show dispels the myth and reveals that just like us they also wore jewellery, combed their hair and many were entrepreneurs, using smaller boats and ships to do business and seek new opportunities far from their Scandinavian homelands.
This new show invites you to encounter these Norse voyagers and the people and things they met along the way, contrasting the mayhem of the raiders, pillagers and ransackers with the resourceful trader, boat builder, craftsman and family man, woman and child.
The humanising of the Vikings is conveyed through engaging interactive displays that amplify what life was like as a Viking. With institutional and loaning partners including the British Museum, National Museum of Ireland, National Museum of Denmark and Manx National Heritage and others, a stunning number of artefacts show a culture that enjoyed ostentation and hierarchy as well as ritual, religion and the simplicity of family life.
These archaeological finds, which are over 1000 years old, include weaponry, jewellery, household implements, slave chains and coins, richly showing the global reach of the Vikings and their ships.
Richard Doughty, Director of National Maritime Museum Cornwall says: “It is enormously exciting for National Maritime Museum Cornwall to be bringing the Vikings to Falmouth and hosting historically significant artefacts, in what is undoubtedly our most important exhibition to date. The Museum’s legacy of award winning work has now afforded us the opportunity to access national and international collections, securing loans with major partner Museums, and offering Cornwall and the South West a unique first in being able to see these items outside of these national and international institutions.”
“This new state of the art show has taken years to develop. You might think you know the Vikings but you will have never experienced them in the way this new exhibition promises. All I can say is watch out, the Vikings are coming!”
The theatre is provided by a beach market scene. A full scale replica of a 14m coastal cargo Viking ship, from 11th century Denmark, invites you to climb aboard and discover what it was like to sail and row in these awe inspiring vessels, and explore the wares they carried.
The iconic Viking small boat, a 6m Norwegian faering, built by ‘apprentice Viking boat builders’ from Falmouth Marine School, is the centrepiece of a ‘touch and feel’ boat builder’s yard. Visitors can hold tools and materials used to design these clinker-built ships with their shallow drafts, which allowed them to navigate inland rivers and conquer kingdoms.
The history of Britain and Ireland was transformed by the impact of Viking raiding and colonisation. We still utter their words in our everyday language such as starboard, berserk, kid and ransack. What began as small encampments up river grew to be Viking towns such as Dublin, which for a time was the centre of the European slave trade. Cornwall was very much part of the Irish Sea world, and the exhibition will reveal tantalising evidence for Vikings in Cornwall.
Dr Tehmina Goskar, Exhibitions Registrar at the Maritime Museum says: “The story of the Vikings is incredibly alluring. Not only have they left us with a legacy of beautiful storytelling in their Sagas but also an astonishing material culture. Above all, the Vikings were sailors, their men, women and children thrived because of their skills with boats and seafaring so with our harbour location, celebrating the sea and small boats, there is no better place to come to hear their stories.
“I am completely delighted to bring amazing Viking antiquities to Cornwall for the very first time, some of which have never been on display in any museum before. Working closely with our Guest Curator Dr. Gareth Williams of the British Museum, a world-leading expert in the Vikings and also an outstanding Viking re-enactor himself, has been an immense privilege and a lot of fun, and hopefully visitors will feel this from the way we tell the story of the Viking Voyagers in the show.”
The two year exhibition, funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a number of generous trusts and foundations, aims to show how the Vikings were a maritime culture, not an ethnic group but something you became when you wanted an adventure.
Ben Lumby, Exhibitions Manager concludes: “Aboard their ships Vikings reached further than any culture had before them and they have left huge legacies behind since the 300 years of the Viking Age from the 8th to 11th centuries. This atmospheric exhibition will evoke the Viking world through thought-provoking stories, stunning exhibits and engaging interactives which take you on an epic journey. We invite you to discover who the Vikings really were and what was the secret to their success. ”
Viking Voyagers runs from 20 March 2015 to 22 February 2017.
Source: National Maritime Museum Cornwall [Jabuary 16, 2015]
The history of the horse is the history of civilisation itself. The horse has had a revolutionary impact on ancient civilisations and this major exhibition explores the influence of horses in Middle Eastern history, from their domestication around 3,500 BC to the present day. Britain’s long equestrian tradition is examined from the introduction of the Arabian breed in the 18th century to present day sporting events such as Royal Ascot and the Olympic Games.
Fragment of a carved relief featuring three horses drawing a chariot. From the north-west palace, Nimrud, Assyria (modern-day Iraq). Neo-Assyrian, 9th century BC. [Credit: BM]Important loans from the British Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Royal Armouries, as well as rare material from Saudi Arabia, will be seen alongside objects from the British Museum’s exceptional collection, including famous pieces such as the Standard of Ur and Achaemenid Persian reliefs. Supported by the Board of Trustees of the Saudi Equestrian Fund, the Layan Cultural Foundation and Juddmonte Farms. In association with the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities.
The domestication of the horse more than 5,000 years ago dramatically changed human history. Domestication is thought to have first happened on the steppes of South Russia with horses being introduced into the Middle East around 2,300BC. Before this introduction, asses and donkeys were used for transport, predominantly as harness animals pulling cumbersome but technologically advanced vehicles — as seen on objects found at the Royal Cemetery of Ur -but gradually horses became the means of faster transportation for these early societies.
The exhibition includes one of the earliest known depictions of a horse and rider: a terracotta mould found in Mesopotamia (Iraq) dating to around 2,000 – 1,800 BC. Horses became a vital component in warfare and hunting, as reflected in the art of ancient Assyria, where elaborate and ornate horse trappings and ornaments were developed reflecting the prestige and status of horse, charioteer and rider.
Riding became an essential part of society during the Achaemenid period (5th -4th century BC), a cylinder seal of Darius, dating to 522 – 486 BC shows the king hunting lions in a chariot, and famously, the Achaemenid’s introduced ‘post horses’ which were used to deliver messages on the royal road. The horsemen of the Parthian Empire (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD) were celebrated by Roman authors for the ‘Parthian shot’, in which an apparently retreating rider would shoot arrows backwards whilst on horseback. The renown of Parthian horsemen is shown in their representation on terracotta plaques and bronze belt buckles in the British Museum collection.
Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Mughal miniature paintings, ceramics and manuscripts all attest to the growing importance of the horse in the Islamic world from the 7th century AD. Exquisite Mughal miniatures depict princes with their valued Middle Eastern steeds, horses that were famed for their speed and spirit. A magnificent Furusiyya manuscript, dating to the 14th century AD, on loan from the British Library, is a beautifully illustrated manual of horsemanship, including information on proper care for the horse, advanced riding techniques, expert weapon handling, manoeuvres and elaborate parade formations.
The horse has a long history on the Arabian Peninsula, becoming an important cultural phenomenon and a noted part of the traditional Bedouin way of life. The ‘Arabian horse’ was developed through selective breeding, and with features including a distinctive head profile and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most familiar horse breeds in the world. The exhibition includes ‘Gigapan’ panorama photography of rock art which show horses in scenes of various dates from sites in Saudi Arabia, as well as loans of objects from Qaryat al-Fau which include wall paintings and figurines.
The importance of fine horses in the Middle East is explored through the fascinating Abbas Pasha manuscript (dating to the 19th century and on loan from the King Abdulaziz Public Library, Riadyh). This document is the primary source of information about the lineage of the purebred Arabian horses acquired by Abbas Pasha (the viceroy of Egypt) throughout the Middle East.
The story of the Arabian breed of horse is examined in parallel to that of Wilfrid Scawan Blunt (1840-1922), poet and agitator, and Lady Anne Blunt (1837-1917), the granddaughter of Lord Byron. The Blunts travelled widely in the Middle East and established a celebrated stud for purebred Arabians, which was crucial for the survival of the Arabian breed, at Crabbet Park in Sussex, and another outside Cairo in Egypt.
Horses, including Arabians had long been imported from the Middle East to Britain, but from the 17th century, three Arabian stallions in particular were introduced, which, bred with native mares, produced the Thoroughbred breed, now the foundation of modern racing; some 95% of all modern Thoroughbreds are descended from these three horses. Paintings and prints, trophies and memorabilia explore their remarkable success and their influence on sport and society, from early race meetings through to modern equestrian events.
Faissal Ibn Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al-Saud, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Saudi Equestrian Fund said "It is well known that the horse has played a crucial role in the development of civilization, and that a close bond exists between horses and men. I am very pleased that it has been possible to support this exhibition in London which gives us an opportunity to look at different aspects of the history of the Arabian horse and the context from which it emerged."
The exhibition runs until 30 September 2012 and is part of the celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee.
In Russia the Talisman Linguistic Center had this ad created: "Show Me Your Boobs" where several men ask a young non-English speaking "gifted" woman the same question via video. It seems as though she took the phrase to mean something else as is evident when she asked another man to show her his boobs...Funny? maybe, ridiculous? Absolutely!
Credits: Client: TALISMAN — Linguistic Center Creative/Production: RA Space Director: George Molodtcov Sound engineer: Ilya Singers Cameraman: Igor Petrov
The US president Barack Obama insists on carrying out detailed audit of the American arsenal of nuclear arms, newspaper The New York Times writes on September, 8th.
Results of this work will allow to define, as far as possible to reduce their stocks within the limits of the new contract which is planned to sign with Russia.
Last time defensive department of the USA carried out similar audit in 2001. Military men have come to conclusion, that the American army will enough have from 1700 to 2200 nuclear warheads ready to application. This indicator suited also administration of then US president George Bush. Now Moscow and Washington are full determination to reduce the nuclear arsenals even more, that is one of the diplomatic purposes of the American president.
Nevertheless, as underlines The New York Times, the detailed analysis of a condition of the American nuclear arsenal in this situation is critical for the USA. He will allow to define a minimum quantity of necessary arms, and also to answer other questions. In particular, what rockets, bombers and submarines the Pentagon, and also what means to spend for their modernisation taking into account if the nuclear weapon appears at other states should keep.
In 1960th years of the USA possessed an arsenal in 32000 nuclear warheads, however by the moment of signing of the contract on reduction and restriction of strategic offensive arms in 1991 their number was reduced to 10500. In 2009 The Federation of American Scientists has informed, that Washington has lowered number of warheads ready to application to 2200. It happens for three years before the terms provided by the international arrangements.
Clearing of prisoners Guantanama — accident or law? Destruction of vineyards in California — of what does not remind? And turns in food shop of Seattle? The analysis of these and other data unequivocally speaks — to the USA at full speed there is a reorganisation.
Gorbachev, however, is convinced, that strong America is necessary to the world, and financial crisis has clearly shown it. The ex-president of the USSR has urged Washington to use the influence on the blessing of all planet.
Speaking about, whether Vladimir Putin can return to the Kremlin by early election, Gorbachev has told: "To tell the truth, I do not think...
