Author: Martin D'Anjou

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Quebec’s Valcartier Vacation Village opens for season

Just 20 minutes north of Quebec City, North America’s largest winter playground, Valcartier Vacation Village, opens for the winter season today, December 16.

Originally scheduled to open on December 10, lack of snow forced the winter park to postpone its winter opening. To celebrate the season opening, a special $20 pass, taxes included, is offered for December 17 and 18 only.

The year-round park has 42 winter slides for thrill-seekers of all ages, 17 mechanical lifts, and several skating paths. Visitors can put their courage to the test by zooming down one of the four steep ‘Himalaya’ slides hugging the mountainside. There are also restaurants and bars onsite.

The facility is open daily in January and February from 10 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with a special schedule through March break. In the summer, it converts into a massive water park.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Babar turns 80 in Paris

Les histoires de Babar (Babar Stories) exhibition is currently on display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of Babar in Paris until September 2.

Babar was brought to life by the pen of French illustrator Jean de Brunhoff. One summer evening in 1930, his wife Cecile de Brunhoff told their daughter and son the story of a little elephant in the jungle, who fled to the city after a hunter had killed his mother.

The story might have remained unknown, but the children then told the story to their father, Jean de Brunhoff, a painter. Captivated with the tale, the artist drew an album of watercolors that he called The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant.

The exhibit features all the Babar books, with a selection of a hundred original drawings lent by French and foreign institutions such as the Bibliothèque Nationale. the Morgan Library and the Mary Ryan Gallery in New York, as well as private collectors.

With a multi-generational following, the king of the elephants, is one of the best-loved heroes of children’s literature worldwide, with books translated into 27 languages, and more than 13 million copies sold in 167 countries.

The exhibition is on display in the Toy Gallery at the museum’s Rivoli site.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Museum exhibition devoted to Steve Jobs

Famous founder of Apple computer brand, Steve Jobs, now has his own exhibition – a virtual one – as is fitting for the computer marketing genius.

The Computer History Museum, based in Mountain View, California, currently offers website visitors an overview of the life of the man who profoundly changed the technological landscape in recent decades.

Jobs, head of the California computer firm, Apple, died of cancer last October, leaving a legacy of numerous electronic products that have changed consumer habits.

Among the Apple products developed under the leadership of Steve Jobs: the Apple MacIntosh personal computer in 1984, the iMac in 1998, the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and the iPad tablet in 2010. 

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Forty-Part Motet back on display in Ottawa

From December 17 until March 25, 2012, Janet Cardiff’s Forty-Part Motet is back on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

After its introduction and winner of the Millennium Prize 2001, the brilliant sound sculpture by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff has finally returned to the Canadian capital.

Based on Spem in Alium by 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis, forty separately-recorded choir voices are played back through 40 speakers positioned around the museum’s Rideau Chapel.

The effect of this 10-minute Gregorian chant on visitors is deeply moving, earning it a popularity rarely encountered by contemporary art.

"Most people experience this piece now in their living rooms in front of only two speakers," said Cardiff. "Even in a live concert the audience is separated from the individual voices. Only the performers are able to hear the person standing next to them singing a different harmony. I wanted to be able to climb inside the music."

The National Gallery of Canada, located at 380 Sussex Drive, is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Thursdays until 8 pm. The museum is closed Mondays.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Los Angeles home to most social airport

Serving 60 million passengers a year, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has topped a new Facebook list as the “most social airport” in the world. Facebook named LAX as the most popular airport people “checked into” between August and November this year.

Ok with announcing their travel plans to online friends, American passengers are leading the “checking in” trend – the Facebook process which lets their friends know where they are in the world.

Twenty of Facebook’s 25 “most social airports” are located in the U.S., and include the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in second place, followed by Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Also making it into the top 20 are London Heathrow Airport, Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

According to LAX, its Facebook and Twitter pages provide passengers and the general public with information on flight delays, weather conditions, travel tips, construction news, and acts as a platform for comments and questions.

Many airports offer online services to passengers, who have quickly adopted the new technologies to facilitate travel from city to city.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

London hotel offers rooms for £20.12 to celebrate Olympics partnership

If you’re visiting the United Kingdom in the next couple of months, you’re eligible for a great deal on hotel rooms from Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

To promote the brand’s partnership with the London 2012 Games, 186 participating Holiday Inn properties are offering rooms for just £20.12 per night (about $32) beginning next week – a real bargain in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

The sale starts on December 20, 2011 from 00:01 hours to 23:59 hours to book stays between December 26, 2011 and January 31, 2012.

Holiday Inn is the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and will be opening a hotel within the Westfield Stratford City development next to the Olympic Park next year.

For a list of participating hotels, visit holidayinn.com/2012, although please note that the webpage is not scheduled to go live until Thursday, December 15.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Abu Dhabi airline offers fine dining at 35,000 feet

Abu Dhabi airline Etihad Airways has introduced a fine dining service, Mezoon Grille. The airline has hired 110 international chefs and made changes to its aircraft to accommodate a pantry for storing meat, sauces, food, spices and fresh vegetables, and a variety of cooking utensils.

The Mezoon Grille offers a variety of premium produce, including beef, chicken, lamb and seafood, along with a range of delicate sauces, sides and delicious desserts, all of which are prepared to order.

Available in Diamond First Class, your onboard chef will personally guide your meal choice and offer expert advice on creating or adapting your dishes.

The Taste Of Arabia menu offers the finest delicacies from the region, across a 6-course Middle Eastern tasting menu.

The Mezoon Grille is currently open on flights to Sydney, Melbourne, London and Paris, and will be available across the entire Diamond First Class fleet by March 2012.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Armani opens hotel in Milan

Following the success of the Armani Hotel Dubai, located in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, Italian designer Giorgio Armani opened the Armani Hotel Milano on November 10 in the heart of the city, within the palazzo at Via Manzoni 31.

Armani described his world of harmony and privacy, “I have concentrated all my efforts on delivering my personal aesthetic vision within a precisely defined ambience of total comfort.”

The 95 rooms and suites each offer a small vestibule that creates an intervening space before the bedroom is revealed. Minibars, high-tech amenities and cupboards vanish into the walls – referencing Armani’s passion for order and sense of space that he pursues in his own homes.

The hotel has been planned to satisfy the needs of work, relaxation and pleasure, with the inclusion of a restaurant, bar, business center, along with a spa, gym, and pool.

Following Dubai and Milan, Armani will continue to expand his luxury hotel brand with plans to build in Marassi, Egypt, and Marrakech, Morocco.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Titanic dive expedition in 2012

Next April 2012 will mark 100 years since the sinking of the famous ocean liner Titanic, after it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

To mark the milestone, travel company, Tematis, is offering 40 participants the opportunity to board a special submarine, two at time, and dive 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) for an up close and personal view of the wreck.

The 8 to 10-hour diving period allows underwater tourist a chance to admire the Titanic from every angle. From the bow of the boat, one can even see the grand staircase.

In order to sign up for the trip, participants must successfully undergo a medical check-up, and are warned that they shouldn’t consider the dive if they suffer from claustrophobia.

One final detail – the 13-day trip from St John’s, Newfoundland, costs $60,000.

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Uncategorized

Method of delivery not linked to postpartum emotional distress

Norwegian researchers at the Akershus University Hospital Health Services Research Centre have analyzed data for 55,000 mothers who gave birth between 1998 and 2008, according to a new study published in an international journal of obstetrics and gynecology, BJOG.

The objective of the research was to assess whether there was an association between mode of delivery and maternal postpartum emotional distress.

The scientists found that delivery method didn’t really have an influence on a new mother’s psychological state six months after the birth. However, they did discover a link between the mother’s mental state during her pregnancy and her mental state six months after the birth.

There was a strong link between emotional distress during pregnancy and emotional state six months later. Women with the highest levels of distress during pregnancy were 14 times more likely to suffer from postpartum distress six months later, compared to mothers who experienced little or no emotional distress during pregnancy.