Starship Asterisk*

revloren wrote:
The real sign of ostentacious excess here is that the Burj is pretty much empty, having been completed just after the global financial meltdown. Dubai and other desert boomtowns (such as Las Vegas) stand as our testement to our wretched excess and obsession with temporary glitz to the detriment of real development for our civilizations. I'll bet there are some Bedouin populations living not far from there that could have used some improved access to clean drinking water rather than another empty skyscraper. Pretty picture though!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_Dubai wrote:

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<<Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties, which also operates the Mall of the Emirates.

Opened in November 2005, the indoor resort features an 60-meter high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-metre-long run, the world's first indoor black run, and a 90-metre-long quarter pipe for snowboarders. A quad lift and a tow lift carry skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. Adjoining the slopes is a 3,000-square-metre Snow Park play area comprising sled and toboggan runs, an icy body slide, climbing towers, a snowball shooting gallery, an ice cave and a 3D theatre. Other attractions include a mirror maze and a snowman-making area. Winter clothing, ski and snowboard equipment are included in the price of admission.

An extremely efficient insulation system helps the facility maintain a temperature of −1 °C during the day and −6 °C at night when the snow is produced. In 2007 Ski Dubai was awarded the Thea Outstanding Achievement Award by the Themed Entertainment Association.>>

Beyond wrote:WOW! Go to the desert and play in the snow. What'll they think of next? Golfing on the moon??

Guest wrote:Mr. Tafreshi's work is greatly admired by those of us who prefer star gazing from earthbound vistas (sorry NASA!) but this is one of his worst photos because its not natural at all.

Guest wrote:Mr. Tafreshi's work is greatly admired by those of us who prefer star gazing from earthbound vistas (sorry NASA!) but this is one of his worst photos because its not natural at all. Dubai? Really? Contrast with fantastic February 2, 2008 "Venus and Jupiter in Morning Skies" which is just breath-taking. I'd ask him not to put the star indentifers on the image but continue to make us WORK to look them up for ourselves ( which I enjoyed doing for the latter using http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/ and your photo caption to geographic location and time of day ).