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Absinthe: The Green Fairy and Ritual of La Louche

Absinthe is a green colored drink with high alcohol along with several medicinal, herbal and culinary content.

Absinthe is also known as “la fee verte” in classic historic literature. Translating as “the green fairy”, this drink is associated with historic icons like Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe and many more. With a heavy alcohol content of 45 to 74% ABV, absinthe is popularly considered as an addictive psychotic drug and a hallucinating agent. In fact, in 1915, it was banned throughout several European countries as well as in the US.

However, this 18th century drink has a rich heritage. It was first produced in Neuchatel of Switzerland. It became ingrained in popular bohemian culture after being related to famous icons of art and literature. As of now, Absinthe is a rare and classy drink with almost 200 brands popular across French, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, Czech Republic and several other countries.

La Louche is the ritualistic process of adding cold water in Absinthe through lumps of sugar.

Absinthe is primarily prepared from flowers and leaves of Grand Wormwood, an ornamental plant that grows in Eurasia. It comprises of green anise, sweet fennel and several other medical and culinary herbs. It is more common as spirit as it is not bottled with added sugar.

Although, drinking absinthe involves traditional methods, in modern days, it is being used as a refreshment drink in parties as well as with dinner. A traditional way is to louche with water referred to as “Absinthe ritual of La Louche”. It is the process of adding iced water to dilute the drink. After dilution its color will change from emerald green to a lighter shade of milky green. Water is poured over a lump of sugar on a perforated spoon on the top of a glass of the drink. This practice is considered as a ritual of liberating the ‘green fairy.’

La Louche has a strong symbolic relevance, related to rituals related to Absinthe.

La Louche has a symbolic relevance. While on the process, the transformation is clearly observed. It is compared to liberation of the mind as water liberates the essence of absinthe. It is believed, this ritual releases the true Green Fairy out of the drink. The Pontellier glass is used to drink Absinthe. The spoon used is called absinthe spoon, which has a traditional shape. It is recommended that 3 parts of water is poured in one part of this alcohol. As cold-water flows through the glass, the drink would release the essence of oil and herbs. This ritual makes absinthe a complex drink.

Apart from ritualistic drinking of Absinthe, there are many other ways of enjoying this drink. There are several stories and legends surrounding this drink. There are believes that absinthe provides out of body experiences. It is certainly worth a try.

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Dubai’s Shape-shifting Skyscraper is a breakthrough in Hi-tech architecture

Dubai, the global city boasts of its modern architectural wonders. However, there seems no limit to what architects are trying to achieve in this city. Its latest attraction in building architecture is the rotating skyscraper, the first of its kind. This wonder is set to complete by 2020 and is under construction now. This structure is 80 story building scaling a height of 1,272 feet. The wonder of engineering and design in this building is, each floor can rotate 360 degrees in both directions. This capability makes it to change shape continuously. It is being developed by Dynamic Architecture under the supervision of David Fisher, the globally renowned architect.

It was in 2008, when Fischer first proposed the idea of rotating skyscrapers. He believes that an architect should design building that adjust to life, which adapt to space, functionalities and can change continuously as per requirements. Per Fischer, this new development in building architecture and engineering is will change the ways architects thinks about their jobs. Apart from Dubai, the proposals of such buildings are being forwarded to top cities of the world including Moscow, London, Paris, Milan, Rome, New York and Miami.

The shape-shifting skyscraper is being developed with a complete hi-tech package. Residents will be able to rotate their apartments with voice commands. Each floor is detached from each other so that they can move freely. The space between the floors are used as power generating space fitted with wind turbines. Thus, each floor of the building will be self-sustained with power supply generated with wind turbines as well as solar panels attached to the roof.

The rotating apartments are connected to the central core that acts as the fulcrum. This concrete core acts as an elevator apart from being the prime support. Residents will be able to transport their cars and park it next to their apartment using the large elevators build inside the core. The floors of the building are prefabricated units, which are assembled beforehand at factory. These will be attached as movable units to the central core. The units are made of steel, aluminum and carbon fiber.

The building would cost 355 million pounds and per Dynamic Architecture, each apartment would cost from 4 to 40 million dollars.

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Top Cruise Tours in the World

Luxury is the other name of a cruise vacation. Cuisines, refined accommodations and excellent service are what that set apart a luxury cruise experience to that of other vacations. All cruises offer an array of high end features and luxuries, but only a number of such cruises provide services that set the tone for higher experience. The following is the collection by Forbes to bring out the best luxury cruises around the world.

1. Silversea There are only six ships in the Silversea fleet. Each of these is with ocean view suits, Bulgari Bath products and Egyptian cotton linens and features butler service. The routes of these cruises encompass Venice, Barcelona, Cape Town and so on. It runs from January to the month of May. The rate in 2013 was USD 49,999 per person. The cruise starts at Los Angeles and ends at Fort Lauderdale for a 115 day trip. On the way is Tahiti, Hong Kong, Barbados and other top destinations.

2. Crystal Cruises Only two Crystal Cruises operates for 98 day tour over the Pacific Rim touching natural habitats of wild life, temples and cities. The trip starts from Auckland in New Zealand reaching Los Angeles via Sydney, Bali, Hong Kong, Alaska and others. The luxuries featured in the cruise are room service, fresh flowers, nightly turndown and on board perks. Crystal Cruises also offer language classes; golf lessons wellness seminars and other enrichment programs on board. The rates start at USD 33,135 per person.

3. Seabourn cruises are with 104 to 255 suites in each of its six ships. Luxuries offered in these cruises include personal mini bars in each room with wines and spirits to match guests’ preferences. The tours offer exotic experience in destinations like elephant rides in Thailand, walking the ruins of Pompeii and horse riding in Patagonia of Chile. The trip expands to 32 days taking guests to offbeat destinations of India, Arab coasts and other Asian places. The cruise starts in Honk Kong and lands in Dubai through cities like Singapore and Mumbai. The cost is USD 10,116 per person.

4. Regent Seven Seas Cruises Comprising of three ships, the Regent Seven Seas Cruises has a capacity of 500 to 700 guests in each of its vessels. They are with Spa Clubs, several restaurants, private balconies and exotic bath products. There are provisions for free internet service of hours and dinner reservations for high level suites. There are penthouses with personal butlers and in room iPads. The journeys are across the Atlantic Ocean. Another option is from Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro through Africa. The cost per person is USD 8,299.

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Ritz Carlton’s new Cruise is not Just a about luxury, it’s about an experience

After a long wait for the richest persons on earth, luxury brand Ritz-Carlton is finally coming up with its signature cruise ship. However, as the company decided to sail it only in 2020, the wait would be still on for some time. The upcoming cruise ship is designed with both the lavishness of a private super yacht, blended with the grandiose of a small sized ocean liner. The prime differences featured in this collection of cruises are larger space, which is always deficient in any ships. This luxury yacht accommodates large rooms, wide common spaces and suite sized rooms with separate private terrace. The design of the cruise is a brain work of Till-berg Design, a firm from Sweden.

The Ritz-Carlton ships has 149 suites. It has a capacity for 298 guests at a time. This cruise also has two duplex penthouse suites, which is 138 meters each. The ship is developed for luxury experiences and fine dining. Dining on board is presented by Sven Elverfeld of Aqua, the three Michelin rated restaurant. The cruise offers private spaces for drinking and dining to guests. Customized meals are served for guests as per their individual demands. The tentative time to roll out reservations is May 2018. The reservations will be opened only for exclusive members filling up the early bird seats.

The itinerary of Ritz Carlton would make guests spent more time on coastal holiday destinations rather than on the sea. Guests will be entertained by local artists, guest entertainers, lecturers and chefs throughout the trip. The luxury yacht is supposed to cruise through Mediterranean, Caribbean and New England. The final itinerary is yet to be decided. In a press release, Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company said the new venture is a unique combination of yachting and cruising. Per Humler, the new ship will create “a new way of luxury travel for guests seeking to discover the world”.

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Mumbai ranked as 12th Wealthiest City in World, ahead of Paris and Toronto

On that way of becoming the top economic power of the world, India is making headlines one after another. As a mark of its boosting economy, Mumbai, the financial capital of the country recorded enough wealth to be named among the top 15 Wealthiest Cities in the World. The report published by New World Wealth ranked Mumbai as the 12th wealthiest city in the world ahead of Toronto, Frankfurt and Paris. The measurement was based on the net private wealth of all individuals, including business liabilities, immovable or movable properties and cash or equities.

Per the report, Mumbai residents has a total wealth of USD 950 Billion. It also suggests that in next 10 years the city will witness a sharp growth in net wealth further. In fact, the city will be the fastest growing city in the world in terms of wealth. At present, Mumbai is the home to 28 billionaires. This makes the city among the top 10 cities with billionaire population.

Also, there are reports that listed 46,000 millionaires in the city. Known as the financial capital of India, Mumbai also boast off the two largest stock exchanges of the nation. The Bombay Stock Exchange is also the 12th largest stock exchange in the world. In Mumbai, the richest localities are identified as Bandra, Juhu, Goregaon, Parel, Worli nand Palm Beach Road.

The list ranked London as the second wealthiest city with the figure of USD 2.7 trillion. The cities following London are Tokyo, San Francisco Bay Area, Beijing, Shanghai. Los Angeles, Honk Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Chicago. Within India, Mumbai is followed by Delhi and Bengaluru. Delhi has 18 billionaires and 23,000 millionaires amounting to USD 450 Billion.

Bengaluru stands with an aggregate of USD 320 Billion with a tally of 7,700 millionaires and 8 billionaires. Other top cities in India are Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune. Per a 2016 report India had a total wealth of USD 6.2 trillion. The country had 2,64,000 millionaires and 95 billionaires in total.

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Remember Melania’s blue Tiffany box? It had a “lovely frame” for Michelle Obama

When it comes to the POTUS, the calls of protocols are louder than any gesture, motion or emotion. Even if the President and the first lady can set aside politics and let informality in for a moment, they cannot do away with the set of protocols. These rules meant for the chair of responsibility they hold. However, protocols are being followed since ages and they are also being broken many a times. One of such instance happened when Barrack Obama handed the most powerful office of the world to Donald Trump.

It was in the inauguration day ceremony of President Trump. This day is many written and unwritten protocols. There are both formal and informal rules, which are being followed by the Presidents of the states. For example, walking side by side with the First Lady has been an informal protocol for Presidents so far. It is because, all presidents including George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama, did walk in the same way.

However, president Donald Trump did it the other way. There are reports that, Donald Trump is the only president in US history who did not escort his wife up on the White House steps on the Inauguration Day. In the day, Trump was seeing walking ahead, while his wife, Melania walked following him. This was not as per general protocols, but there was another case as well. Melania Trump was carrying a gift, a blue Tiffany box as a gift for Michelle Obama. Although, it was a heartwarming thing to do, protocols do not allow it.

There were many speculations about what might be inside that Tiffany box, and it was only recently that Michelle Obama disclosed what she received as a gift. It was a “lovely frame”, she disclosed. In an interview aired in the first week of February 2018, the former first lady described the whole incident. She didn’t actually know what to do with the gift. She explained, there are protocols for everything and she was confused about the gift. It was this moment when President Obama intervened and took the box inside the White House. Else, the official photo session could have gone glitchy with that gift.

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Five little known facts about Meghan Markle, the going-to-be princes of Buckingham Palace

Meghan Markle will become a royal member of Britain after her marriage to Prince Harry. As the marriage is getting closer, scheduled on May 19, 2018, she has become the most sought-after celebrity. A retired American actress, she is much more than a simple description fitting the screens. Here are five little known facts about Meghan Markle :

Meghan Markle might have Shakespeare’s blood running in her veins. There was report by My Heritage about Meghan’s ancestry. The magazine claimed that she is from the same lineage as William Shakespeare. Per a spokesperson, she always had a connection to eminent Britons. They also claimed that Meghan was destined to be Brit.

Markle is related to several charity works and involved in many humanitarian causes. She was more into women’s health awareness and gender rights. She is also related to many organizations for animals. Her profile as a philanthropist extend across Africa and Asia. She has worked with World Vision and United Nations wings for gender equality and women empowerment. She also resolved to retire from her career as an actor to focus on philanthropy.

Meghan Markle was married to Trevor Engelson, the film producer, in 2011. They split up in two after two years. They were married in Jamaica after dating for six years. They were divorced in August 2013, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason.

Princes Diana was the Meghan’s childhood role model. She was inspired by the princess she was more interested in her humanitarian work rather than the royal life. She also collected clothes and toys for disadvantaged children in her school days. Per her biographer, she wept watching the funeral of princes Diana.

Her most treasured possession is a small note from her father. Meghan keeps it in her jewelry box and places it beside her bed. The note says, “Meg, I knew this day would come. I’m so proud of you,” congratulating on her first TV show. She says, it is the best handwritten note she ever received

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Who had the Most Expensive Wedding Ring ever?

Wedding ring is perhaps among the most precious possessions for anybody. Although the significance of wedding ring is more about being just a symbolic representation, its price has been always a matter of great attention. When it comes to price, the most general question would be, which is the costliest wedding ring in the world? Yes, the metric is there.

There are several women who still wear the most expensive engagement rings costing millions of dollars. Women wearing a wedding ring that costs more than a million dollars are only handful. Celebrity like Jennifer Lopez, Melania Trump, Paris Hilton and Beyoncé are or were the owners of wedding rings ranging to several millions becoming the women with the most expensive rings. Legacy women like Grace Kelly and Jacky Kennedy Onassis are also in this list.

Among table toppers owners, actor Elizabeth Taylor leads the crew for long with her 8.8-million-dollar wedding ring, but not until Mariah Carey hit with her 10-million-dollar ring. Hence, Taylor and Carey are the two women at the zenith.

Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic wedding ring was presented to her by her husband Richard Burton. This ring features the Krupp Diamond, which latter, became famous as Elizabeth Taylor Diamond. Burton bought the diamond in 1968. This is a 33.19 caret type colorless diamond, certified as type IIa. This certification is only given to diamonds which are chemically one of the purest and thus, of highest quality. These attributes make the diamond of the rarest and an exceptional one. Later in 2011, the diamond was sold for 8.8 million dollars by Taylor’s estate, after the death of the celebrity. The diamond was auctioned by Christie’s, sold to a South Korean collector.

Carey’s ring, on the other hand, had a large 35-carat diamond encrusted to it. James Packer, her fiancée presented the ring to the artist. This ring was designed to be as expensive as possible by the singer’s Jeweler friend Wilfredo Rosado. However, after broking up with Packer in 2016, Carey sold the ring in May, 2018. Once, the famous celebrity joked that the ring has become so heavy that she cannot lift her hand!

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‘Laughing Skull’ is the new hot-model by Bell & Ross watches

The Bell & Ross Laughing Skull Watch is creating the latest sensation in fine watch market. Since the brand’s debut back in 2009, the ‘Skull’ has been the integrated part of its design. The new design has a laughing skull, which bearing a strong insignia of innovation and craftsmanship. This watch is only the 5th design concept in-line, presented by Bell & Ross. The brand marketed it under the model name of BR 01 Laughing Skull.

Bell and Ross’s skull concept had its basis on the famous BR 01 Tour-billion Skull, which made a strong impression back in 2011. Latter in 2015, the same design was presented with a bronze remake. After a year in 2016, the brand started its innovation designing the Burning Skull. The watch had a three-dimensional touch. The design was engraved case recessed with black lacquer. Also, the ink used by tattoo artist was used.

Although Skull has been a symbol of courage and tenacity bearing in pirates, it has also a sharp humorous side of it. The latest watch with an animated theme has an intricate mechanism running on its background. It runs on an ingenious movement mechanism developed by Bell & Ross. Apart from high artistic value attached to the design, it is loaded with intricate technology. It is a step ahead of all designs produced by Bell & Ross so far.

In previous design the skulls were static. In the ‘Laughing Skull’ model, the jaw bone of the skull moves when the hand-wound movement is manipulated. Another addition is the caliber support made of 4 bridges from the crossbones in the case to the main plate. This is fitted in a single system making the skull appear floating weightlessly in the center of the case. This is the new BR-CAL.206 model caliber system.

The new model is launched in two versions. For watch lovers, the first model is studded with diamonds on its bezel outline. It is named the BR 01 Laughing Skull Light Diamond. The second model named BR 01 Laughing Skull Full Diamond has more diamonds on the surface area. Four larger diamonds are placed on the four screws, making the total number of diamonds to 394. The total weight of diamond in the watch is 2.891 carat.

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BMW i8 is a moving topic. It has literally reinvented the meaning of urban mobility. A sports car that has revolutionized BMW’ vehicle class, i8 is a perfect amalgamation of electric motor and combustion engine. This is the first sports car that matches the consumption and emission values of a regular compact car. This car reflects a new thought altogether – elegant dynamics, maximum fuel efficiency, tough built, and above all, design supremacy.

Design Efficiency

BMW i8 represents modernity and sustainability. The design of the BMW i8 will certainly fascinate anyone who gets a glance of it. It is called innovative LifeDrive architecture that makes use of modern materials, such as carbon fiber, high-end plastics, and aluminium to give the car ultra-light weight, yet superb compactness and toughness. Designed to be a sports car, i8 has perfectly explored its aesthetic side and maximum aerodynamics. It includes the so-called black belt design that runs from the front, over the roof, to the rear.

The exterior of the car is a perfect example of aerodynamics that holds everything is appropriate proportion. If you look at the car, at the first glance it will give an impression of an extremely low and wide sports car; however, a closure look reveals its new vehicle concept. A side view of the car prominently shows its exaggerated wedge shape, layering design, and extremely sporty appearance. The joints meet harmoniously revealing its agility, unification, and holistic design. The spectacular scissor doors swings upwards when opened, further supporting its sports gene. They not only are design marvels, but are 50% lighter than their conventional counterparts are. The entire array of lighting in the BMW i8 is in LED. It contains the typical BMW i U-shaped light frames holding the Daytime Running Lights and the built-in indicator. The high-beam headlight that is arranged as a second broad frame increases the range and enhances illumination.

The Interior design of BMW i8 is seamless. It perfectly supports its exterior sporty appearance. The layer concept in the interior is well maintained. The center console ideally bisects the vehicle and is aligned towards the driver, which contains the iDrive Controller. Seating positions are low and extremely comfortable. The interior light design is again built on LED technology. It alternates between Amber, Blue, and White that gives the interior a special glowing effect, extending from the contour lines of the doors to the instrument panel and end in the footwell through the steering wheel.

While the design efficiency perfectly supports the sporty nature, the TwinPower Turbo technology powers the car. The innovative eDrive technology, a plug-in hybrid system facilitates selecting optimum operating mode. It takes the car on 100% electric to conventional turbo. The TwinPower Turbo technology runs the car together on electric motor and combustion engine at all times.

The design philosophy of the BMW i8 emerged from an attempt to mix athleticism, dynamics, efficiency, and sustainability together. It stared started in 2008 with the launch of Project i. the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept lead the way through to the development of BMW Concept i8, in the next year. Based on this, the existing BMW EfficientDynamics technologies were united to give shape to the revolutionary BMW i8.

Catch it in action…