Algerian Traditional Dresses

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Louwane Billebault, France

Any fashion that is lucky enough to fall under the influence of three civilizations is certain to be an extraordinary blend of style and chic. Algeria sits at the crossroads of three worlds, Arab, Mediterranean and African, and Algerian fashion has long been influenced by the fact that its unique location has been a place of historic meetings and exchanges.

Algerian map

Not surprisingly, Algerian designers have succeeded in combining the cultural traditions with the influence of the atmosphere of the country. These influences have found their way into the fashion industry and have foreshadowed several changes in the choice of colour, design and pattern.
Women‘s costume in particular, successfully combines flamboyance, utility and elegance. There is a strong emphasis on intricate decoration and colours. The use of colourful fabrics for clothing stands out against the predominant surrounding earth tones and the Algerian woman has kept her love for colour and brightly coloured patterns. Reds, yellows, greens and blues as well as many other colour combinations are combined and finely embroidered with gold and silver threads.

Algerian fabrics

The Karakou is a typical traditional dress and incorporates a velvet jacket embroidered in gold and silver worn with the traditional saroual (Arab pants) and comes from Algiers, the capital of Algeria.

Karakou

The Blousa from Oran, West Algeria is a fulllength, straight-cut dress made entirely from lace and sequined chest.

Blousa from Oran

Chedda of Tlemcen is a traditional caftan velvet and golden son, decorated with pearls, necklaces. It is considered in this region, as the most beautiful and the most expensive dress worn by the bride on her wedding day but also the other women at weddings. It is my favorite one, because it’s from my city, where my mom come from. There is a picture of me wearing it when I was younger.

Chedda of Tlemcen

The Djeba of Constantine is the traditional dress from Constantine in the eastern side of the country. This dress is always made with velvet and embroidered by gold and silver thread. The sleeves can be made of lace. In the central region of Tizi-ouzou, the dress is mainly made from cotton and is completely embroidered at the neck and bodice as well as at the wrists. However, it is at wedding and other special occasions that these traditional dresses do justice to the affair. Distinctive jewelry is also worn.

Djeba of Constantine

Chaoui Dress known in eastern Algeria as ‘L‘Haf Chaoui’, is a traditional dress made of black cloth embroidered with multicolored wool threads. This dress can be a one-piece or two-piece dress. Nowadays, Chaoui Dress is often worn with wide comfortable pants or with traditional pants known as ‘Serwal’.

Chaoui Dresses

El Hayek, the Algerian Veil, is emblematic of Algeria‘s traditional dress heritage. Typically, Algerian and closely connected to daily life in urban areas, the veil is a traditionally dress worn by women and a symbol of modesty. Algerian traditional Hayek comes mostly in white but some regions of the country offer variants in other colors as well. According to tradition, women started wearing black veils as a way of mourning the death of a beloved Dey or governor. The name for veil can also vary from one region to the next, with ‘hayek’ being typical of central Algeria.Veils come in different styles of embroidery and offerings range from plain linen, to fine wool or silk. They are worn to preserve a woman‘s modesty but also to protect her from the harsh sun typical of that region of the world. While veils are mostly intended to cover a woman‘s body, they also help her hide any precious jewelry she may be wearing under it and protect her from unwanted attention. In the traditional popular narrative, the veil was always seen as the great equalizer and a symbol of unity insofar as it helped blur regional and social differences between people.

El Hayek

The fact that these forms of traditional dresses are still used is a tribute to its comfort and suitability for the climate. It also points to the pride that Algerians take in the tradition of their ancestors and their identity in the modern world.

You Want To Be a Cool Parisian Guy ? Follow my Advice

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Rudy FRANÇOIS-MÜLLER, France

1- The Style

  • A lot of big luxuous companys come from France, like Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent. Parisian guys are inspired a lot by the street mode. For exemple, when people wait at the pedestrian crossing, it’s time to find your inspiration.

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Paris fashion week 2018.

2- Good Place to Be!

  • Paris is a big city, but not so big when you want to discover beautiful areas without a lot of tourist. The district of Saint Germain des Pres is a really good place to be! I really like to seat in the “Cafe de Flore”. This is an really expensive coffee, but I can see a lot of celebrities (from France or Internationnal) and thst can inspire some people!

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3- Are You Really Already Going to Paris?

You can’t say that you are going to Paris if you have not made these trips:

  • The Eiffel Tower is one of those must sees! I don’t recommend it to anyone who is afraid of emptiness but when you are in the Tower, we can see a beautiful view of Paris! And for the richest you can even eat in a starred restaurant in the first floor.Image result for tour eiffel
  • The Champs-Elysees is the most beautiful street in the world. They are many shops for all budgets. In the winter, all the trees are illuminated and this makes the street even more beautiful!Image result for champs elysees illumination
  • Montmartre is a very old district in Paris. Hilltop Montmartre district is a former artists village once habited by Picasso and Dali, and home to the domed Sacre-Coeur basilica. There are sweeping views of the city from its steep, winding streets, while the iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret below draws tourists and night clubbers.Image result for montmartre

4- The French Food

During your trip you should try the beef Bourguignon in a restaurant! It’s a beef stew braised in red wince, often red Burgundy (very delicious), and beef stock, generally flavoured with carrots, onions, garlic and a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms and bacon.

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I hope you will soon discover the city of Paris and share your experience :).

 

Things To Do in Switzerland

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Alyssa Knutti, Switzerland

Switzerland is officially the second happiest country on the planet, according to the 2016 World Happiness Report. And while you read this article you’ll soon realize why Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. There are so many things you can do in this small country from exploring the Swiss Alps to passing the spectacular Rhine Falls or sailing around Lake Geneva.

  1. Go skydiving

An amazing place where you can skydive is Interlaken. Interlaken is close to the capital city and is surrounded by peaks of the alps. It’s one of the most spectacular spots on earth to go skydiving.

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2. Take the Glacier Express

You should definitely ride with the famous Glacier Express through the mountains. Riding the train is pretty spectacular because it has huge panoramic, glass windows. If you want to take the whole ride you have to get in from Zermatt and then you go out at Davos or St. Moritz.

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3. Visit the James Bond Restaurant

The famous James Bond restaurant in Switzerland is located at the top of the Schilthorn, a 2970 meter high mountain in the middle of the country. The restaurant is called Piz Gloria. It is where the 1969 James Bond movie was set. It’s also a revolving restaurant. That means you can eat and the view changes all the time.

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4. Get soaked by the waterfalls

If you want to see one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Switzerland you have to go to Lauterbrunnen and take the one hour hike to Trummelbach. You’ll actually pass about two or three other waterfalls along the way. Trummelbach is the most famous waterfall. It has been formed by the melting snow breaking through cracks in the rocks.

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Does the Street Art have a place in Galleries ?

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Post graffiti, murals, frescoes or Urban Art, the Universe of the Street Art is known under many appelations. But where does it come from ? What were the changes ?

These different kind of appellations have evolved over time and with the artists in this movement. At the beginning the Street Art was known as “Graffiti” which was an act of vandalism during the 1960/1980s decades. 2018-06-24 11.52.31Nowadays, this form of Art which is exhibited in the international galleries, festivals or fairs like the “Urban Art Fair” in Paris, “District13 Art Fair” in Paris [which is coming soon in September 2018], “Beyond The Streets in Los Angeles” a huge showcase of graffiti and street art or the different festival of POW ! WOW ! in Hawaii, Long Beach, Washington and many other countries in the world.

This big change about Street Art in our time period evolved the attitudes and beliefs in this Art movement. Now, this kind of Art is perceived as cool and “in”, Artists don’t really need to hide anymore. Some of them became famous and can live on the income from their Art. Companies, city halls, associations and different kind of institutions call on these artists to beautify their buildings and facades. Artists are not perceived as “delinquent” like in the past when they could be arrested and go to jail for vandalism, but this fact depends as well on many aspects (location where the artists “graff” and if it can be legal or not).

Street Artists now are reconignized and some of them have their exhibits in Galleries because they deserve to be famous and well-known and live off their passion for their art. Their passion became their profession. However, if Street Art tends to be exhibited in galleries and only in galleries the movement will lose its meaning/value. If Artists forget the space that gave them their reputation, their birth as an Artist and they will expose/exhibit in Galleries, the fact that they wanted and desired to make Art accessible to the street, to people who don’t go on or are used to going in galleries will be lost and the debate on this accessibility and about money and business can be questioned.

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In other words, Artists should continue to do murals on the street and for free when they can/want and they have the right, as well if they wish to show and exhibit their Art in Galleries, Fairs, Festivals etc. Both can be combined for the well-being of each Artists.
E.F

Photography, a Breakthrough Technology In Art

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Angele Dubos, France.

“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.”

 

Photography is one of the most incredible breakthroughs in technology, in society and in art movements. As a mirror to the world, photography explores human emotions. It captures or marks a passage of time. Developed over the past 200 years, it enhances faster than any other visual art, plainly because it’s a blend between technology and art,  science and abstraction, reality and imagination, techniques and inspiration. Generally speaking, photography aims to capture the reality of everyday life, in parallel, it’s a fine art which requires time and attention.

This discipline, which has helped us to understand of our world, is widespread, omnipresent, everywhere: in our smartphones, advertising, social media, streets… Then how did photography become so renowned and appreciated by everyone?

Photography took shape when a Chinese photographer created the Camera Obscura, the first camera.  The main principle occurs when the image is projected through a screen which is a kind of mirror where the image is upside down.

Camera-obscura

Then, a lot of cameras, which I’m not going to list for the reason that it’ll be so long, have risen in popularity in our societies. Cameras have been examined through scientists’ hands and professionals in order to become more effective and obtain higher performance. Some well-known brands are Nikon and Canon.

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Regarding photography as an art, this discipline navigates around genres, artists, themes, works and techniques. Sometimes similar to the art of painting, photography has followed mostly the art movement: avant-garde, propaganda, contemporary art,  modernism, pointillism… On one hand, works are really carefully thought through by the artists focusing on lighting, the subject, the background, the meaning. On the other hand, some artist’s photographs are snapshots and have been captured in the right amazing moment.

However, some works are misleading, such as the The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville. Photographed by Robert Doisneau in Paris, this work is one of the most iconic of the 20th century. It reveals the love and romantic aspect that photography may have. Whereas, this photograph was actually all planned, all organized and everything you see was set up, even the extras behind, the cars, and included the blurred background.

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Photography also addresses fashion, photojournalism, war, advertising, death, nature, nudes, paparazzi and even more. That’s why I strongly suggest that you buy and read this book: The short story of Photography, which reviews in an enjoyable and pleasant way, the history of photography from the first movement until today.

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Why is Paris the N.1 world tourist destination?

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Angele Dubos, France

“Paris is Babylon, the city of all temptations” Christine Angot

Fabulous heritage, outlets and luxury shops, shows and concerts, sports and games, palaces and youth hostels, cafes, bars, pubs and gastronomic restaurants, monuments and musems free on holidays… I’ll have to stop here because it’ll be an exhausting list and a novel as well. Since October 2017, Paris has become, again, the first world city tourist destination. Added to that, France is the first world destination too. But why does such a renown city and have this amazing rank?

First of all, Hausmann architecture found his place in people’s interests. Those astonishing buildings, have been designed with very fastidious details since the 1870s. Grey rooftops are well-known as well to young Parisian people, they can climb or go out on them by their attic windows. Every Parisian has done it at least once.Résultats de recherche d'images pour « grey rooftop paris »Moreover, France is the European crossroad due to its borders with Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium…
That’s why, from a statistical point, for their holiday some people transit through France which supports its No 1 rank. On the culture side, Paris shares with Rome, the most fabulous heritage. Our museum and monuments are free during French holidays. Don’t plan to spend holidays in Paris for only 1 or 2 days, you need so much more! Garnier Opera, the Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Montmartre, the Museum of Yves Saint Laurent, Studio Harcourt for photography’s fans, Notre-Dame… And obviously our outstanding Eiffel Tower where you can eat on the 2nd floor. It truly is a stereotype of French people drinking red wine, eating cheese and bread on the grass (Champ de Mars) in front of the Eiffel Tower while the sun sets.

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Dinner cruises, party cruises, 1 hour-boat rides, are available for sailing on  and visiting at the same time, our breathtaking capital. You will discover the timeless majesty of Paris and be on a journey out of time. Bear in mind that we’re part of the few countries which you can name their cuisine of gastronomic. Enjoy every meal, every taste, every drink because Parisians pay attention to details. That’s why everyone is spellbound (in order to give a great rank to Paris). Gourmet City tours are the most fulfilling experiences in a short time of your stay in this city.


With your friends, you can hang out in the Paris nightlife until 9am, chilling in its awesome and lit streets. At Arc of Triumph, the most unexpected nightclubs show themselves but don’t get used to it because when you taste the flavors and Paris’ life, you can be easily and quickly addicted.
Some events follow Paris’ daily life as the well known Fashion Week. Everyone gets crazy and outrageous. However, anytime you go in Paris, you can find out events to make all of your dreams come true.

 

Here is a little presentation about an comedian Parisian girl for her next show. Let’s find it interesting because it well depicts the Paris lifestyle.

“Because Julie has lived in London, Chicago and New York, but she has always remained a true Parisian … She decided to leave the Legal Department of a large company to play in the first one woman show about a 100% Parisian women in English.
You’ll be won over by her: getting up late, struggling through the crowds in the metro at rush hour, juggling a career and family life, having a quick drink and doing some shopping, preparing a meal with friends, going out clubbing … Come and experience a hectic day in Paris with Julie! Encountering the various characters played by Julie Collas is a hilarious experience: the audience laughs at the foibles of Parisians and revel in Julie’s delightful French accent … A show for everyone.

A joyful show not to be missed!”

Japanese Have a Low Tolerance for Alcohol

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Rikako Fujita , Japan

Generally speaking, Japanese are not strong for alcohol. We can drunk quickly. On the other hand, people from Europe and Latin is really strong. Sometimes, I see them drinking wine straight from bottle. If Japanese do same thing, we will die by acute alcohol intoxication.

What is Acute Alcohol Intoxication.

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Alcoholic drinks menu

As a result of examining the genetic information of Japanese people, it was found by RIKEN which is Japanese science organization. That “evolution” has occurred for thousands of years to increase the number of people with weak constitution to drink. Although detailed cause is unknown, weak constitution of alcohol seems to have worked advantageously for adapting to the environment for some reason. It announced to the English scientific journal Nature Communications of 24th.
Two types of metabolic enzymes, “ADH1B” and “ALDH2”, are involved in the alcoholysis in the body. Each enzyme has strong and weak types, with 75% of ADH 1 B and 25% of ALDH 2 being weak in Japanese. On the other hand, Westerners and others are known to have strong types for most two types.

Acute-Alcohol-Intoxication
Analysis of the total genetic information of 2200 Japanese people revealed that there are many mutations that are rarely found beside genes that produce weak type enzymes. When genetic information is inherited to offspring, it indicates that the mutation accumulated without being lost together with this gene, and it is considered to be one of the evidence that having a weak type of enzyme worked advantageously. They also found that Japanese with weak type of enzymes increased over the past 100 generations.

This is why, Japanese have a low tolerance. When Japanese drink with friends who is from foreign countries, they must care about amount of alcohol. They DO NOT drink same like friends.

Bettina Clauss , France

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Do you have a pet ?
Yes my thoroughbred horse , two cats , and one fish

What is your favorite meal ?
Sushi

What your favorite hobbies ?
horse jumping

What type of music do you listen ?
Techno , house

Why did you choose Santa Barbara ?
because of the sun and it’s s small city.

By Antoine Marotte from Belgium

Olympic Games History

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Tom Lumiere ,  France

The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, a city of Greece. Competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic, but also combat sports, such as battle and the pankration, horse and chariot racing events. It has been generally written that during the Games, all conflicts with the participating city-states were suspended until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or accord. This idea is a modern illusion because the Greeks never suspended their wars

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The modern Olympic Games (French: Jeux olympiques) are best international sporting events presenting summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world’s principal sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are adhered every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by developing every four years but two years apart.

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Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin (French) founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, principal to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.

Pierre de Coubertin

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The reason why I choose is that since I was young, I have been

going to every summer Olympic Games: ‘Athens in 2004, Beijing in  2008, London in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and I will go to Tokyo in 2020’ .