Cities

Adventures: Japanese Supermarket

2010-01-23T12:58:00.001-08:00

ces via ign

2010-01-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

Best Blu-ray Player

PlayStation 3

The innovations on display in new model Blu-ray players at this year's Consumer Electronics Show all boiled down to two technological advances: First, a number of the devices are capable of true HD 3D playback; second, pretty much every entry level model now comes with the ability to access the Internet and home network (via internal or external Wi-Fi adapter) for music, photo, Netflix, Pandora, et al playback. TakePanasonic's DMP-BDT350 and Sony's BDP-S370 as examples.

But with all of this advancement, a veteran in the Blu-ray space still reigns supreme: the PlayStation 3. During its opening show press conference, Sony announced that every PS3 currently on the market can be upgraded via a firmware update to support 3D content -- either games, video downloads, or 3D Blu-ray. So scratch that innovation off the list. Furthermore, thanks to its built-in Wi-Fi capability, the system is already capable of accessing music, video, etc. on your home network, as well as supporting such online content providers as Netflix and Pandora. Now scratch that off.

Of course, what none of the players that we saw can do is actually play games, and the PlayStation 3 does this in spades. With 7.1 surround sound and 1080p HD gameplay output, it's PS3 for the win.

Click here for more on the PlayStation 3.

Best Prototype

Panasonic's 152-inch 4k HDTV

Move over 3D TVs, we've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and its name is 4K. Don't get us wrong, gaming and watching movies in the third dimension is plenty awesome, but doing it at double the resolution of just about every current generation TV? That's something to get excited about. Panasonic was showing off a true 4K display at CES this year and it was a ridiculous 152-inches!

Although Panasonic wouldn't even try to offer a pricing estimate or a release range, the behemoth 4K display was drawing crowds like mad. Sure, we've seen big screen TVs before, but only 4K can make the picture on a screen that large look clearer than the finest crystal. We've seen pristine high-definition displays before, but when one stands taller than you do, it deserves a little extra attention. Way to go Panasonic, if you need anyone to do a review of that 4K HDTV, let us know.

Best HDTV

Samsung LED-9000

This year 3D TVs were king, but few stood out as much as Samsung's LED-9000, which is as thin as a pencil, capable of 2D-to-3D conversion, and comes with a badass touchscreen remote that you can watch TV on. When the LED-9000 was unveiled at Samsung's press conference, the crowd of industry analysts and journalists were in awe of the display's ridiculously thin frame and alluring feature set. Specs wise, the LED-9000 comes loaded with full 1080p resolution, 240Hz refresh rates, a local-dimming LED backlit display, and is Wi-Fi enabled for seamless streaming content from Netflix and other web-based media services.

But beyond the sheer sexiness of the sleek, ultra-thin design, the LED 9000 separates itself from the pack with the inclusion of its super advanced media remote. Part iPhone, part universal remote, the LED 9000's bundled remote uses advanced Wi-Fi networking and a touch screen interface to communicate with the TV and your home media network, allowing users to navigate programming, access files localized on their home PC, and even watch TV on the remote itself. Pricing and release information have not been revealed, but we can bet the LED 9000 will cost an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, that won't stop us from standing in awe of its display at our local electronics retailer when it finally arrives.

Click here for more on the Samsung LED-9000.

Best Gaming Accessory

Nyko Wand Plus

In order for a product to be worthy of a Best of CES Award, a product doesn't have to be the most expensive, most revolutionary, or most stylish device on the floor -- sometimes it just has to take the simplest idea and make it a reality. In the case of the Wand Plus, Nyko has done just that. Recognizing that Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus Wiimote add-on is a cumbersome and counter-intuitive peripheral, Nyko has created its own 1:1 tracking technology and built it into their Wand Wiimote-alternative.

The Wand Plus has everything you'll find in a standard Wiimote – buttons, a trigger, rumble, and a light-weight rectangular design – but also adds a number of new alluring features. In addition to the built-in 1:1 motion tracking, the Wand Plus features digital Trans-Port technology that enables the remote to export rumble feedback and button controls to add-ons. The best part of the Nyko Wand Plus? It costs $39.99 – cheaper than the original Wiimote with Motion Plus.

Click here for more on the Nyko Wand Plus.

Best Smartphone
Palm Pre Plus

As we reported from CES last week, there simply was no iPhone-killer at the show. Not that there was any shortage of handsets that desperately wanted the crown. But none visible offered the same experience that the iPhone provides. The iPhone, after all, is more than a touchscreen. It's a portal to Tunes, the single best media shop on the Internet, and that includes games.

But while there was no iPhone-killer, there are some emerging iPhone alternatives for those with zero interest in getting tethered to AT&T. The best at CES 2010 was the Palm Pre Plus, the sequel to last year's big CES surprise, the Palm Pre. The Pre Plus offers greater storage and more onboard memory, which means you can store more applications and having more running simultaneously. The Pre Plus supports 3D gaming now, too. The design remains largely the same. The attractive curve is back, as is the QWERTY keyboard. But now the back is an inductive material for wireless charging on the Touchstone charger.

The best feature, though, is router mode. With the flick of a switch, the Pre Plus turns into a mobile hot spot for multiple devices over Verizon's 3G network. That alone blasts a huge hole in AT&T's stubborn refusal to let iPhone users tether their handsets to laptops, which is currently available to customers in many other countries.

Click here for more on the Palm Pre Plus.

Best Computer
Alienware M11x

Gaming laptops are all too common these days, but ones that are small enough to fit into a small and light enough to carry around with ease but can still run Modern Warfare 2 at high specs? That's unprecedented. The M11x is the world's first sub-12" gaming laptop that is capable of playing detailed high-definition games and not suffer from any frame rate drops or graphic degradation. Packing an 11-inch high-definition display, NVIDIA GT335 GPU, built-in Wi-Fi and webcam, an overall weight of only four pounds, and a discrete processor swapping system, the M11x is a great mobile gaming solution for PC gamers on the go.

But then again, specs only go so far in the long road to a laptop sale; the real test comes when you start talking about pricing. The M11x has a pretty exciting base price of $799, with fully customizable spec loadouts to match each individual user's needs. The biggest selling point for us, however, was the M11x's functionality as a go-anywhere netbook. Through its built-in SIM card port, anyone can connect a smartphone chip to the device and get wireless connectivity anywhere they are, regardless of proximity to a Wi-Fi hotspot. We'll be looking forward to seeing more of the M11x when it ships this February.

Click here for more on the Alienware M11x.

top ten cities to visit via times online

2010-01-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

Istanbul

One of the greatest cities the world has ever known, nowhere does the cliché of East meets West, old meets new, apply more aptly.

The last few years have seen Istanbul thrive with boutique hotels, uber-trendy bars and gourmet restaurants adding to its already intoxicating mix of historic and cultural sites. Watch it ramp up another notch as the city becomes a European Capital of Culture in 2010.

Feted as the world’s most livable city, this West Coast gem has a lively cultural scene with superb restaurants and hotels. A beautiful city where glass towers and skyscrapers are set against a backdrop of coastal mountains, in 2010 it will host the Winter Olympics.

With a strong focus on sustainability, the legacy of the Games for Vancouver will see improved public transport, striking ‘green’ buildings and a huge arts and culture programme.

Delhi

Rejuvenated and refreshed, Delhi is sprucing up to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The colonial city centre and Delhi’s main shopping area, Connaught Place, has been given a new façade, while the city’s monuments are being cleaned and revitalised and improved transport links are opening up the city. Don’t be surprised to find bullock carts still plodding placidly alongside the latest luxury car though – Delhi is a city where contrasts sit happily.

Nottingham

In May 2010 Hollywood’s eyes will focus on this humble corner of the East Midlands, as Ridley Scott’s new Robin Hood film is released to the world. Meanwhile old meets new at Nottingham Contemporary, a new building designed by award-winning architects Caruso St John, with a series of exhibitions and art projects running across four galleries. Add to this Nottingham's designer shopping credentials and you have plenty of reasons to visit the city.

Nara

Japan’s ancient capital Nara celebrates its 1300th anniversary in 2010 with special displays of hidden national treasures and rarely-seen Buddhist statues, as well as a host of other cultural events including an International Film Festival.With its wooded hills, temple, parks and some of the world’s oldest wooden buildings this ancient city remains a symbol of tranquility in a country where teenagers experiment with the gadgets of the future.

Boston

New England’s largest city exists to be explored. From spring 2010, intrepid visitors will benefit from the biggest bike share scheme to launch in the US to date, with two and a half thousand bikes available to hire at the swipe of a credit card from special stands across the city.

Film lovers might choose to seek out locations used in a slew of filmed-in-Boston movies due to hit screens in 2010, including Ben Affleck’s The Town and Mel Gibson’s Edge of Darkness.Oslo

There aren’t many capital cities where you can swim in summer and ski in winter, all within the city’s boundaries. Oslo is charmingly Scandinavian but with the kind of outdoor ‘chilling’ culture more usually associated with Southern Europe.

With new flights from Ryanair and costs that now compare favourably with many Euro-zone destinations, Oslo is more affordable than ever. And in 2010 it plays host to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Tel Aviv

Touted as the New York of the East, Tel Aviv looks set to really attract attention in 2010 as news spreads about the city’s party credentials. New Easyjet flights from Stansted, starting in late 2009, are bound to encourage the crowds. The heat generated by the city’s nightlife is matched only by the temperatures on its glorious sweep of city beach.

Valparaiso

A charming town, where Chilean socialist Pablo Neruda hid in the late 1940s when Communism was outlawed. 2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of Chile’s first democratically-elected socialist head of state, Salvador Allende.

Valparaiso offers a fairly unique South American experience, with painted houses sitting on hills leading down to a huge bay, with old elevators taking you up and down the city's steep slopes.

Reykjavik

Financially speaking it’s a relatively good time to visit. Getting there might be easier too, with Iceland Express flying to New York four times a week from June 2010, and Icelandair increasing its services from Glasgow and Manchester, and connections to North America.

Logistics aside, Reykjavik offers a fine visit, from hedonistic revelry to the calming charm of a city that offers glaciers in its sea views, a mountainous backdrop and geothermal lagoons

Venice

2010-01-15T11:30:00.001-08:00

Origins

While there are no historical records that deal directly with the origins of Venice, the available evidence has led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice comprised refugees from Roman cities such as Padua, Aquileia, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic invasions and Huns.^[4] Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae(lagoon dwellers).

Beginning in 166-168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila. The last and most enduring irruption was that of the Lombards in 568, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, and the main administrative and religious entities were therefore transferred to this remaining dominion. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon.

The Byzantine domination of central and northern Italy was subsequently largely eliminated by the conquest of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751 by Aistulf. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge") was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of the Byzantine territories.

In 775-776, the bishopric seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811-827) the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore") island, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto were subsequently built here. Winged lions which may be seen in Venice are a symbol for St. Mark.

In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the acquisition of the claimed relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.

Florence

2010-01-15T05:05:00.001-08:00

Florence (Italian: Firenze listen (help·info), pronounced [fiˈrɛntse]; Old Italian: Fiorenza, Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area).^[2]

The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the richest and wealthiest cities of the time,^[3] Florence is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.^[4] It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

The historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Florence is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world,^[5]^[6] and its artistic,^[7] historic and culturalheritage and impact in the world remains vast up to this day. The city has also a major European impact in music, architecture, education, cuisine, fashion, philosophy, science and religion. The historic centre of Florence contains numerous elegantpiazzas, Renaissance palazzi, academies, parks, gardens, churches, monasteries, museums, art galleries and ateliers.

The city boasts a wide range of collections of art, especially those held in the Pitti Palace and the Uffizi, (which receives about 1.6 million tourists a year).^[8] Florence is arguably the last preserved Renaissance city in the world^[9] and is regarded by many as the art capital of Italy. It has been the birthplace or chosen home of many notable historical figures, such as Dante, Boccaccio, Botticelli, Niccolò Machiavelli, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Donatello, Galileo Galilei, Catherine de' Medici,Antonio Meucci, Guccio Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli ,Florence Nightingale, andEmilio Pucci.

Comune di Firenze

Panorama of Florence

Coat of arms

Florence

Location of Florence in Italy

florence

2010-01-14T03:58:00.001-08:00

vader vs police 2

2010-01-12T08:35:00.001-08:00

Police vs Darth Vader

2010-01-12T08:33:00.001-08:00

vader dabce

2010-01-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

tokyo dance tropper

2010-01-12T08:30:00.001-08:00

Tokyo

2010-01-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Tokyo (東京 Tōkyō^?), officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都 Tōkyō-to^?),^[2] is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. Tokyo's government also administers the twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, that cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture.

The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 12 million. The prefecture is the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, the world's most populous metropolitan area with 35 to 39 million people (depending on definition) and the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008.^[3]

Tokyo was described by Saskia Sassen as one of the three "command centers" for the world economy, along with London and New York City.^[4] This city is considered an alpha+ world city, listed by the GaWC's 2008 inventory^[5] and ranked fourth among global cities by Foreign Policy's 2008 Global Cities Index. In 2009 Tokyo was named the world's most expensive city for expatriate employees, according to the Mercer and Economist Intelligence Unit cost-of-living surveys ^[6] and named the third Most Liveable City and the World’s Most Livable Megalopolis by the magazine Monocle.^[7]

Tokyo is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family.

history

Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo. In 1457, Ōta Dōkan built Edo Castle. In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo his base and when he became shogun in 1603, the town became the center of his nationwide military government. During the subsequent Edo period, Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the 18th century.^[11]

It became the de facto capital of Japan^[12] even while the emperor lived in Kyoto, the imperial capital. After about 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of restoring imperial rule. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo. Tokyo was already the nation's political and cultural center,^[13] and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. The city of Tokyo was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

Central Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about 1900 to be centered around major train stations in a high-density fashion^{[citation needed]}, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own right-of-way. This differs from many cities in the United States that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though expressways have been built in Tokyo, the basic design has not changed.

Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both. One was the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, which left 140,000 dead or missing,^[14] and the other was World War II. The bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945, with 75,000 to 200,000 killed and half of the city destroyed, were almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.^[15]

After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the 1964 Summer Olympics. The 1970s brought new high-rise developments such as Sunshine 60, a new and controversial^[16] airport at Narita in 1978 (some distance outside city limits), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan area).

Tokyo's subway and commuter rail network became one of the busiest in the world^[17] as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during a real estate and debt bubble. The bubble burst in the early 1990s, and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with mortgage backed debts while real estate was shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's "lost decade"^[18] from which it is now slowly recovering.

Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a Shinkansen station), and the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as Omotesando Hills.

Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center. Various plans have been proposed^[19] for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial^[20] within Japan and have yet to be realized.

2010-01-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

Origin of the name

Holywood was named Sanctus Boscus ("Holy Wood") by the Normans after the woodland surrounding a monastery founded by St Laiseran before 640. It was on the site of the present ruins of the medieval Old Priory. The name appears first in Latinizedform as Sanctus Boscus. The earliest written use of the Anglicized version occurs in a document dating from the fourteenth century in which the name is written as 'Haliwode'. In the present day, the name is pronounced identically to "Hollywood."

[edit]History

In the 17th century Ulster ports began to rise in prominence. In 1625 William Pitt was appointed as Customer of the ports of Newcastle, Dundrum, Killough, Portaferry, Donaghadee, Bangor and Holywood.^[2]

In the early 19th century Holywood, like many other coastal villages throughout Ireland, became popular as a resort for sea-bathing. Many wealthy Belfast merchants chose the town and the surrounding area to build large homes for themselves. These included the Kennedys of Cultra and the Harrisons of Holywood. Dalchoolin House stood on the site of the present Ulster Transport Museum, while Cultra Manor was built in 1902–1904 and now houses part of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

The railway line from Belfast to Holywood opened in 1848 and this led to rapid development. The population of Holywood was approximately 3,500 in 1900 and had grown to 12,000 by 2001. This growth, coupled with the growth of other towns and villages along the coastal strip to Bangor, necessitated the construction of the Holywood Bypass in the early 1970s. Holywood today is a popular residential area and is well known for its fashionable shops, boutiques, arts and crafts.

The Old Priory ruins lie at the bottom of the High Street. The tower dates from 1800, but the oldest ruins date from the early 13th century. The Priory graveyard is the resting place for many distinguished citizens including the educational reformer, Dr Robert Sullivan, and the Praeger family. Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865-1953) was an internationally renowned botanist^[3] and his sister, Rosamund Praeger (1867-1954) gained fame as a sculptor and writer. "Johnny the Jig", one of her sculptures, is situated in the town. Praeger House at Sullivan Upper Grammar School is named after the family.

On 17 June 1994, Garnet Bell, a former pupil bearing a grudge, entered an assembly hall at Sullivan Upper School and used a flamethrower to attack students taking A-level examinations. Six pupils were injured; three of them seriously.^[4]

demographyic

Holywood Urban Area is a medium town within the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA) as classified by the ^[5] (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 12,037 people living in Holywood. Of these:

19.9% were aged under 16 years and 20.6% were aged 60 and over
50.6% of the population were male and 49.4% were female
23.0% were from a Catholic background and 68.6% were from a Protestant background
3.0% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
placies of intrest
- Holywood is famous for its maypole at the crossroads in the centre of town. Its origin is uncertain, but according to local folklore it dates from 1700, when a Dutch ship is said to have run aground on the shore nearby, and the crew erected the broken mast to show their appreciation of the assistance offered to them by the townsfolk. The maypole is still used for dancing at the annual May Day fair.
- Nearly as famous, is the adjacent Maypole Bar,^[6] locally known as Ned's or Carty's. It was first licensed in 1857, and remarkably, from then until 2006, it has had only 3 proprietors. County Donegal native, Ned Carty, bought it from Mick O'Kane in the late 1960s. It had been owned by O'Kane since 1908. It is now run by Ned's son, Brian Carty.
- There is a Norman motte in the town which may have been constructed on an earlier burial mound.
- The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum illustrating the way of life and traditions of the people of Ulster is nearby, at Cultra.
[edit]Holywood people
- Garth Ennis, comic writer (born 16 January 1970)
- Maurice Jay, U105 presenter
- Professional golfer Rory McIlroy comes from Holywood. In 2007 he became the youngest ever player to earn his card on the European Tour
- Tom Kerr, comic strip artist
- TV news anchorman Dermot Murnaghan is a former resident of Holywood. Although he was born in Devon and spent some of his early years in Yorkshire, his family later moved to Holywood where he lived just off Church View. He attended Sullivan Upper School.^[7]
- The former BBC security correspendent Brian Rowan was born and raised in Holywood.
- Mick Fealty, political analyst and editor of Slugger O'Toole was born in Belfast but raised in Holywood
- Davy Sims broadcaster and writer, former head of BBC Northern Ireland New Media was born and raised in Holywood
- Alban McGuinness, lawyer and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician was born in Holywood
- Rosamund Praeger, artist, sculptor and writer; younger sister of the naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger
- Professional rugby player Darren Cave playing for Ulster Rugby and helped Ireland U20 lift the 6 nations Grand Slam in 2007
- Dr. Robert Sullivan, educational reformer and founding benefactor of Sullivan Upper School
- Sir Charles Brett, architectural historian, born in Holywood
- Bulmer Hobson, Irish nationalist activist and politician
- Henry Harrison MP, secretary to Charles Stewart Parnell, is buried in the Priory graveyard in the centre of Holywood
- Michael Smiley, comedian, writer and actor was born and raised in Holywood.
- Margaret Mountford, lawyer, businesswoman and advisor to Sir Alan Sugar.
- Sir Desmond Lorimer, Former major Irish business man comes from Holywood.
- Clive Standen, an actor, was born in Holywood.
- Stephen Brown, S.J., writer, librarian, founder of the Central Catholic Library, Dublin, was born in Holywood.
- Breandán Mac Giolla Choille (1921-2006) was an Irish scholar and historian who was born in Holywood as Brendan Woodman; he later changed his name to the Irish equivalent. He was Keeper of the State Papers for the Government of the Republic of Ireland, and edited Éamon de Valera'spersonal papers.^[8]
- Barney Eastwood, businessman and owner and founder of the Eastwood bookmakers up until 2007 when he sold them to Ladbrokes.
- Paul Carty, Banker and father of seven boys and one girl, now residing in a manor in the county Down coastal town of Warrenpoint. Born and raised in Holywood. One of the founders of the St. Paul's Gaelic Football Club in 1979. Son of Ned Carty of the Maypole Bar.
- Eamon Nancarrow, singer and author. Raised in Holywood and writes about the town in his autobiography 'Holywood Star: The life and times of a rock and roll misadventurer'.^[9]
- Jonathon Bramley, television producer, Bafta winner.^[10]
[edit]Transport
The first section of the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) line from Belfast to Holywood, along with Holywood railway station, opened on 2 August 1848. The line was extended to Bangor by the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway (BHBR), opening on 1 May 1865, and acquired by the BCDR in 1884.^[11] Holywood station was closed for goods traffic on 24 April 1950.^[12]

[edit]Education
[edit]Sport
[edit]Cricket
Holywood Cricket Club is amalgamated with the Holywood R.F.C. Cricket may have been played in Holywood as early as 1860 but the present club, as we know it, was formed as a result of a meeting held on Monday, 28 March 1881. In the first season games against Ballynahinch, Enfield, Lurgan, North Down and Sydenham followed the opening game against Wellington, when the team was captained by Joe Ross.

The club’s first home was at Kinnegar where the club President and Benefactor for many years gave use of part of his land to the club free of charge. The members worked hard to turn the area into a cricket ground and by 1883 had secured sufficient money to erect a new pavilion.

North Down Borough Council has provided HCC with a new home at Seapark. "Seapark Oval" was finally ready during the 2005 season, after 8 years of using the pitch at Sullivan School.

The club had been forced off the Belfast Road grounds it occupied for 100+ years due to the GAA upgrading the pitch it leases from the Down and Connor Roman Catholic diocese. This meant that with the playing surfaces of the two sports pitches being at different levels, cricket could no longer be played at this venue unless the ground was raised to the same level as the GAA pitch.

The cricket club now share the Seapark grounds with a bowling club and Holywood Football Club, the latter hoping to secure new grounds at Spafield in the near future. There are also plans for a new club house at the Seapark grounds.

[edit]GAA
The first Gaelic Athletic Association club in Holywood was organised in 1927. It was called St Colmcille's. The team's strip was made up of black shorts and black shirts with white collars. This early club team also sponsored a handball team and a drama club. Although successful in the early days, the club lasted only ten years. It was revived in 1948 under the title of Holywood's Patron Saint, St. Laiseran, and lasted until it withdrew from the League in 1956.
- The successful Thomas Russell Gaelic Club was formed in 1962 and soon earned the name “the Holywood Giant Killers”. It played on a notoriously uneven pitch in the 'Convent Fields'. But early success did not continue – the club struggled on until 1976 when it withdrew from the Antrim League.
The next milestone in the story is the foundation of the St. Paul's Gaelic Football Club in 1979: an amalgamation of the Holywood, Bangor and Newtownards clubs. It operated under a deal with Holywood Cricket Club which maintained the Gaelic pitch in return for using a small section of the lower pitch as part of its 'out-field'.

[edit]Football
Holywood F.C. was formed in 1983 following the amalgamation of two Northern Amateur League teams, Loughview Star (1961-83) and Holywood Town (1972-83). These two clubs had not been very successful, though Loughview had caused a sensation when they reached the Clarence Cup final while still a Second Division club, losing 2-0 to Lisburn Rangers in 1964-65

Loughview won Division 2B in 1981-82 and after the amalgamation, the new club finished runners up in 2b in 1992-93, but were soon relegated again. The club's biggest day came when they won the IFA Junior Cup final in 1989-90, beating their town rivals Holywood Rec. in the decider.

The club has enjoyed even more success in recent years, by winning the 2a title and the Cochrane & Corry Cup in the 1999–2000 season. As a result the club were promoted for the first time in their history to intermediate status in Division 1B.

[edit]

Holywood

burj khalifa

2010-01-11T05:28:00.000-08:00

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"),^[2] formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).^[2] Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010.^[1]^[8] The building is part of the 2 km² (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

The tower's architecture and engineering was performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the chief architect and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project.^[9]^[10] The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers.^[11] Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager.^[12] Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa. Therefore, by adoption of SOM's design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting was legally the Design Consultant for the tower.

The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion.^[13] Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m²) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m²).^[14] The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as "the latest ... in [a] string of monuments to architectural vacancy."^[15]

Height

[edit]Current records

Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m (1,671 ft))
Tallest structure ever built: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m (2,121 ft))
Tallest extant structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
Tallest freestanding structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m (1,815 ft))
Building with most floors: 160 (previously Willis Tower – 108)^[16]
World's highest elevator installation^[17]
World's fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s)^[17] (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft)^[18] (previously Taipei 101 – 449.2 m (1,474 ft))
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 606 m (1,988 ft)^[18] (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant – 532 m (1,745 ft)^[19])
The first world's tallest structure in history to include residential space^[20]
Highest outdoor observation deck in the world (124th floor)^[21]
World's highest mosque (located on the 158th floor)^[22]
World's highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at a height of 512 m (1,680 ft)^[23]
World's highest swimming pool (76th floor)^[22]

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2010-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest, most massive, and densest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet,^{[note 3]} or Terra.^{[note 4]}

Home to millions of species,^[11] including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago,^[12] and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land.^[13] The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, allowed life to persist during this period. The world is expected to continue supporting life for another 1.5 billion years, after which the rising luminosity of the Sun will eliminate the biosphere.^[14]

Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that gradually migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered with salt-water oceans, the remainder consisting of continents and islands; liquid water, necessary for all known life, is not known to exist on any other planet's surface.^{[note 5]}^{[note 6]} Earth's interior remains active, with a thick layer of relatively solid mantle, a liquid outer core that generates a magnetic field, and a solid iron inner core.

Earth interacts with other objects in outer space, including the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once for every roughly 366.26 times it rotates about its axis. This length of time is a sidereal year, which is equal to 365.26 solar days.^{[note 7]} The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane,^[15] producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago, asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the surface environment.

Both the mineral resources of the planet, as well as the products of the biosphere, contribute resources that are used to support a global human population. The inhabitants are grouped into about 200 independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade and military action. Human cultures have developed many views of the planet, including personification as a deity, a belief in a flat Earth or in Earth being the center of the universe, and a modern perspective of the world as an integrated environment that requires stewardship.

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