Blue Crystal Floating Iceberg in Dubai

It sounds proposterous, but inhabitat is reporting about a new project for Dubai - a sustainable blue crystal floating iceberg lodge. It is not clear whether this is a hotel but Blue Crystal will have luxurious restaurants, an underwater lounge and a ballroom on 5 levels. It's being billed as sustainable architecture - but with the amount of solar power needed to keep this thing alive, I'm not sure that is the best use of power:

Dubai’s arid desert climate doesn’t easily lend it to ice sculptures–especially not ones with 6 stories of luxury entertainment including an underwater lounge and ballroom. The German design duo Frank and Sven Sauer claim that Blue Crystal will harness the world’s natural energy sources, keeping it self-sufficient. It will supposedly be powered by solar cells embedded in the icy facade and employ an ‘energy recycling system.’




So far it isn’t clear how much energy the structure will be able to produce and how that will be distributed amongst lounges, cafes and the most massive task of keep the ice frozen. Even if it does manage to stay off the grid I’m not convinced that a refrigerated iceberg in the middle of the desert counts as sustainable architecture.

Blue Crystal by Day


Blue Crystal by Night


Blue Crystal from the inside



Is this a crazy idea to push the imagination - or is this simply fiction? Who has this kind of money to spend in this climate - and how long will it take to make a return?


Blue Crystal Profile




Blue Crystal: A Sustainable Iceberg Lodge in Dubai?
Blue Crystal

Burj Dubai in New York

This is what the Burj Dubai would look like if it was placed in Manhattan, New York:



From Kottke.org

Fake DVDs in Dubai

Everyone's done it - or at least considered it - wherever you are in the world. And Dubai has cracked down in recent years with whole operations shut down. But the life of a fake DVD seller is difficult one, and echos the hardship felt by many other migrant workers in Dubai and the UAE. But this is a mafiose type business. Why? Because the margins associated with the fake, illegal DVDS are so high. There is payment for intellectual property, so the cost is essentially the cost of the DVD and minimal overhead:


X.W., who declined to give his real name, is one of the only visible elements in a vast and shadowy criminal enterprise, which is now more lucrative for mafia gangs than the drugs trade. Officials say that DVDs are copied for around Dh3 each and are then sold on for Dh10 — offering a 230 per cent profit. A kilogramme of heroin, on the other hand, can offer a profit of just half that. ‘There are also less risks attached,’ said Khalid Babiker El Nour, a senior adviser at the Legal Affairs Department of Dubai Customs.‘DVD sellers face only around three months in jail, compared to 10 years for selling drugs. It’s a logical choice for most mafia gangs today,’ he added.

You need an army of people to sell to get to the actual amounts of profit associated with drug dealing in dubai, for example. But the risks are a lot lower. 3 months in jail versus your life is perhaps a risk worth taking for some individuals.

We have talked about the business of dodgey DVDs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi before. What's the solution? The solution would be to make it a crime to buy counterfeit goods. Place in front of a generally law abiding expat the fact that there is 1 month in jail plus deportation associated with buying counterfeit goods from anyone - whether that's in Karama market or from the DVD lady or man who come to your appartment on a monthly basis - and you'll see a drop off in this sort of mafia lead business.

And it will remove the uncomfortable moment when the DVD seller asks you whether you want to look in the "special" bag, you realise that "special" doesn't mean latest blockbuster but means that special type of movie that could probably result in a jail sentence in its own right, and may even ruin your realtionship...or make it spicier.

The Private Street Life
of a Fake DVD Seller

Dubai Metro Commercial (Video)

Everyone loves dominos. And I'm not talking about thick base with extra jalapenos. I'm talking about the game you played as a child. Dominos remind you of the good times, the life of carefree and bring you warm feelings of happiness. Trying to create the ultimate and longest domino toppling attempt in the Guiness world of records were aspirational thoughts and trying to catch the latest attempt on TV.

The Dubai Metro commercial brings back all those warm fuzzy feelings of happiness, but one worries that the analogy of Dubai and dominoes collapsing compared to the the collapse of the real estate market is not the smartest one, with the Western media grasping at every opportunity to knock Dubai.

Enjoy:

Cleaning the Burj Dubai (video)

This could probably be one of the worst jobs in the world, and probably ranks up there with crime scene investigator, exorcist, embalmer and bomb expert. And if you are acrophobic, or if you are scared of heights, abseiling with a water hose down the Burj Dubai can't be the best job in the world. Enjoy the video!




And then, when you get to the bottom, the chief window cleaner points out - "you missed a bit".

For those of you that don't know, the song in the background is George Formby strumming away on his ukelele singing "When I'm Cleaning Windows". Appropriate.